Disney World’s Tower of Terror attraction turns 20

GEORGE SKENE, ORLANDO SENTINEL
The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror at Disney's Hollywood Studios is celebrating 20 years in 2014. The attraction opened July 22, 1994.
BOB D, ABC
The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror at Disney's Hollywood Studios is celebrating 20 years in 2014. The attraction opened July 22, 1994.
DON KELSEN, LOS ANGELES TIMES
The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror at Disney's Hollywood Studios is celebrating 20 years in 2014. The attraction opened July 22, 1994.
Ricardo Ramirez Buxeda, Orlando Sentinel
The Disney cast members working the Twilight Zone Tower of Terror are known for their Hollywood Hotel uniform costumes.
Ricardo Ramirez Buxeda, Orlando Sentinel
The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror at Disney's Hollywood Studios is celebrating 20 years in 2014. The attraction opened July 22, 1994.
RED HUBER, ORLANDO SENTINEL
(Front row, right ) Harriett Williams, 76, rides the Tower of Terror ride at Disney-MGM Studios for her 500th time. Along for the ride is Rory Williams (daughter in law, center) and Mary Holmes (daughter, left) on Feb. 24, 2003.
Ricardo Ramirez Buxeda, Orlando Sentinel
The Disney cast members working the Twilight Zone Tower of Terror are known for their Hollywood Hotel uniform costumes.
GEORGE SKENE, ORLANDO SENTINEL
Tower of Terror and Tower of Terror sign on median on entrance to Disney on Oct. 31, 2002.
Ricardo Ramirez Buxeda, Orlando Sentinel
The Tower of Terror -- Hollywood Tower Hotel at Disney's Hollywood Studios, on Thursday, April 14, 2011. After a year in which Universal Orlando rode the popularity of Harry Potter to record heights, Walt Disney World is pinning its fortunes on the intellectual property with which Potter is most often compared: Star Wars. Disney next month will open revamped versions of its popular Star Tours simulator rides in Orlando and Anaheim. The two-decade-old simulator technology is being replaced with state-of-the 3D effects and all-new film scenes shot by director George Lucas' movie studio. But Disney is banking on Star Wars to do more than just deliver crowds this summer. It also hopes the attraction will inject new life into a long line of Star Wars-themed merchandise, much the way Potter has fueled enormous souvenir sales at Universal. We look at the scope and impact of Disney's Star Wars merch and Universal's Potter results.
RED HUBER, ORLANDO SENTINEL
Belllhop Queen - Harriett Williams,76, who lives in Central Florida for 3-months of the year receives a belllhop hat from T.J. Wollard,Tower of Terror employee.This marks Williams 500th time to ride the Tower of Terror at Disney-MGM Studios Feb. 24, 2003.
BOB D, ABC
The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror at Disney's Hollywood Studios is celebrating 20 years in 2014. The attraction opened July 22, 1994.
Ricardo Ramirez Buxeda, Orlando Sentinel
The Tower of Terror -- Hollywood Tower Hotel at Disney's Hollywood Studios, on Thursday, April 14, 2011. After a year in which Universal Orlando rode the popularity of Harry Potter to record heights, Walt Disney World is pinning its fortunes on the intellectual property with which Potter is most often compared: Star Wars. Disney next month will open revamped versions of its popular Star Tours simulator rides in Orlando and Anaheim. The two-decade-old simulator technology is being replaced with state-of-the 3D effects and all-new film scenes shot by director George Lucas' movie studio. But Disney is banking on Star Wars to do more than just deliver crowds this summer. It also hopes the attraction will inject new life into a long line of Star Wars-themed merchandise, much the way Potter has fueled enormous souvenir sales at Universal. We look at the scope and impact of Disney's Star Wars merch and Universal's Potter results.
BOB D, ABC
The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror at Disney's Hollywood Studios is celebrating 20 years in 2014. The attraction opened July 22, 1994.

PUBLISHED: July 22, 2014 at 1:28 p.m. | UPDATED: June 17, 2018 at 5:13 p.m.

The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror at Walt Disney World Resort has been dropping guests down an elevator shaft for 20 years.

The accelerated drop tower thrill ride at Disney’s Hollywood Studios opened at what then was known as Disney-MGM Studios on July 22, 1994.

Still one of the most popular attractions at Walt Disney World, the tower stands 199 feet tall, making it one of the tallest attractions at the four parks.

Based on the CBS television series “The Twilight Zone,” the attraction takes place inside the fictional Hollywood Tower Hotel, which was forced to close after an incident caused guests to mysteriously vanish on Oct. 31, 1939.

As guests board a vehicle themed as an ordinary hotel elevator, they wind their way through the abandoned halls and into an elevator shaft, where they plummet down and launch up the 13 stories of the building.

The drop sequence for each elevator car is selected at random, making each ride unique for park guests.

According to a post on the official Disney Parks Blog, Walt Disney Imagineers viewed 156 episodes of “The Twilight Zone” for inspiration when creating the attraction.

The architecture of the tower is inspired by multiple Southern California landmarks, like the Biltmore Hotel and the Mission Inn. The lobby of the fictional hotel is outfitted with antiques and furniture purchased at Los Angeles-area auction houses.

In 2011, the Twilight Zone Tower of Terror 10-Miler Weekend was added to the runDisney lineup.

There are three other similar attractions at Disney theme parks around the world, including Disney California Adventure, Tokyo DisneySea and Walt Disney Studios Park in Paris.