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The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror

Disney's Hollywood Studios, FL and Disney's California Adventure, CA

About.com Rating five out of Five

By Arthur Levine, About.com

Tower of Terror at Disney-MGM Studios

The Tower of Terror at Disney-MGM Studios.

Arthur Levine, 2004, licensed to About.com

The Tower of Terror is a modern-day classic Disney theme park attraction. Combining a thrilling freefall ride, dazzling effects, and an inspired and fiendishly clever storyline based on the seminal "The Twilight Zone" television series, Disney Imagineers have created a ride that, like a select few E-ticket attractions, is so much greater than the sum of its parts.

Up-front Info

The Florida version gets 5 stars.
The California version gets 4.75 stars.
Do you want to know why? See Two Different Zones-- Comparing the California and Florida Towers
  • Thrill Scale (0=Wimpy!, 10=Yikes!): 7
    Multiple freefall drops and launches, sensations of weightlessness, psychological thrills
  • Ride type: Freefall tower with dark ride elements
  • Height restriction: 40 inches
  • Uses Fastpass

For those old enough to remember the original "The Twilight Zone" show (or those young'uns savvy enough to seek it out more recently), merely the sound of Rod Serling's voice intoning, "You've just entered...the Twilight Zone," is enough to give you a bad case of the shivers. A master storyteller, Serling created black and white mini dramas that, through subtle plot twists and deft presentation, was more spine-tingling and engaging than the Technicolor splatfests that pass for horror films these days.

The Tower of Terror reproduces the Zone zeitgeist and invokes the same sense of off-kilter foreboding as the show. Instead of passively watching a television program however, guests become active participants in a "lost episode."

WARNING: If you've never experienced the attraction, and you'd prefer to be kept in the dark until you do board it, you'll want to bypass the spoilers that follow in the rest of the article. Click to the photos instead.

Next page: Serling Sets the Stage
Twilight Zone Tower of Terror California Photos
Twilight Zone Tower of Terror Florida Photos

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