July 22, 1994 – The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror Opens at Disney-MGM Studios
Image Credit: Official Walt Disney World Website
“Ah, but this is no ordinary hotel. Its phantom elevator is located beyond the fifth dimension, the one that crosses over into The Twilight Zone.”
On July 22, 1994, the Twilight Zone Tower of Terror attraction opened on Sunset Boulevard in the Disney-MGM Studios (later renamed Disney’s Hollywood Studios Theme Park) of Walt Disney World. The attraction, located in the Hollywood Tower Hotel, is a drop-tower thrill ride based on the classic television show The Twilight Zone. Legend has it that the hotel, a well-known hotspot for members of the Golden Age of Hollywood, was hit by a storm on Halloween night, 1939. Five unlucky passengers in the elevator disappeared when lightning struck the building, sending them to the Twilight Zone.
Guests enter the decaying hotel for a tour of the lobby, the library, and the boiler room. Guests hear narration by Rod Serling, the original narrator of the classic show, as they enter the elevator; at the last word of his narration, the elevator begins its drop sequence, which is “randomly selected by the Tower itself.” At the end of the drop, the elevator returns to the basement, letting the passengers exit after a final narration from Serling.
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