Celebrating at Disney World can be a scream, especially when you’re celebrating one of the best rides to “drop in” on while visiting Disney World!
Disney’s Hollywood Studios just celebrated a major milestone with its own 35th anniversary festivities but another milestone year for one of its most popular rides wasn’t too far behind! If you’ve been a fan of taking the service elevator instead of the stairs and dreamed of dancing the night away at the Tip Top Club, this anniversary is for you!
One of Disney World’s most popular rides is celebrating a HUGE anniversary! The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror attraction was truly groundbreaking when it first debuted back in 1994. It featured a state-of-the-art ride that dropped you faster than gravity, unique theming, and a cameo from one of the most popular science fiction series to ever hit television.
The tower itself stands at 199 ft. tall making it just slightly taller than Cinderella Castle, while the ride’s full drop spans 130 ft. at 39 mph and around 1.3 g-forces as you’re falling faster than the speed of gravity. Its tall tower has most recently made it prominently featured in the icons that signify each of the four Disney World parks.
Its pre-show queue is one of the most notable (and probably most quotable) taking you through the hotel’s abandoned lobby and corralling you into the hotel’s library where you’re treated to a short spiel from the Twilight Zone’s host, Rod Serling, introducing you to the ride, its backstory, and advising you that you’ll be taking the service elevator as you step through to the next room.
Since its debut in the park, Tower of Terror has undergone an upgrade where the amount of drops you’ll experience as a rider on the ride is preselected before the ride begins by a computer. This means you could ride this particular ride over and over again and not ever experience the EXACT same ride pattern twice!
This year, one of our favorite rides in all of Disney World turns the big 3-0! Disney also took time to mark the occasion in a tribute on social media to the ride! In their post, Disney wrote, “30 years later. Still in operation. Waiting for you. ⚡🌀 Happy Anniversary to The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror™. 🛎️ 📺 “
It’s hard to believe this ride has been in operation so long thrilling ourselves (and even a few of our team’s own kids) for decades — man, that was hard to admit out loud! But, with its consistently higher wait times within the park, it still seems to have no trouble packing in the crowds to drop in through its service elevators.
We’re always down to celebrate with Disney World anytime they’re up for it! Stay tuned with us at AllEars for even more Disney World news, updates, and more!
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Is Tower of Terror one of your must-do rides at Disney World? Tell us why or why not in the comments!
It is a great themed ride, we have loved the Twilight Zone all our lives, and the fun of the drops and lifts are addictive.
the first few times we went to DW my wife and i chickened out riding it, but once we did i fell in love and would go get back in line right after the ride to go again, i wish i had rode it the first trip there. My wife isnt as thrilled she has to be in the mood and get herself prepared for it, BUT she loves the story and the theme a lot. hope its there for 30 more years.