Tower of Terror is often described as one of the most intense rides at Walt Disney World. It has been a towering thrill ride inside Hollywood Studios since 1994. From the music to the spooky hotel interior, Disney does a great job immersing guests and creating suspense leading up to the thrilling ride. However, things are changing. Tower of Terror will no longer be a thrill ride.
Nothing beats walking through the Tower of Terror queue line, with the song Deep Purple playing gently in the background. The fog fills the air as you walk through the courtyard. Upon entering the Hollywood Tower Hotel, you see cobwebs everywhere to add to the atmosphere. You make your way through the intense pre-show and the boiler room to load into your elevator. There’s no turning back now. This is one of the best experiences at Disney World. However, it’s sadly going away.
Why is Disney Changing the Tower of Terror?
Recently, Disney has been retheming and changing a lot of rides. For example, Seven Dwarfs Mine Train will become an Encanto Roller Coaster as we reported here. Also, Pirates of The Caribbean is being rethemed to Splash Mountain. These decisions are all made for the same reason, to improve the guest experience and appeal to more guests.
This is the exact reason the Tower of Terror will no longer be a thrill ride. Disney is going to turn the Tower of Terror into a normal elevator. The new ride will follow the same path as it currently does. However, instead of unexpected rises and falls, it will just be a normal elevator. Guests will still experience the 5th dimension and travel horizontally in their elevator. However, in the drop shaft, the elevator will rise and fall at a standard elevator speed. No more sudden drops or screams of excitement and terror.
Disney wants to appeal to more guests, especially kids. Right now, the age appeal of Hollywood Studios skews older. Disney is looking to lower that. The announcement of removing seat belts on the Tower of Terror certainly didn’t help. They are hoping that making the Tower of Terror a slow-moving ride will encourage more families and kids to visit Hollywood Studios.
What Are Guests Saying About This Change?
So far, guests are not thrilled with the Tower of Terror losing its thrill. In fact, 98% of the guests we surveyed said they are extremely disappointed Disney is ruining yet another ride. They mention it ruins the experience and fun of the ride. As if making it’s a small world a walkthrough attraction as we reported here wasn’t bad enough.
Disney wants to take another ride and make it significantly worse, to appeal to a small population of people. Tower of Terror isn’t meant to appeal to everyone. It’s supposed to be a thrill ride that creates suspense and gives people a fun feeling in their stomachs. The unknown of the drops and the excitement of falling faster than gravity is what makes that ride magical.
So far there is no set date for the Tower of Terror to close and be changed to a normal elevator ride. However, according to an internal source, Disney can make this change overnight. Despite this, there is already strong pushback from guests. This may force Disney to rethink this decision. Alternatively, the Florida government could just get involved again.
What do you think of the Tower of Terror losing its thrill and becoming a normal elevator ride? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!
To stay up to date on more very real Disney news like this totally made-up story, be sure to follow The Mouse Trap on TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter. Please consider joining our email list below to get all of our stories sent directly to your inbox!
