Tower of Terror turns 13 on the 13th

While some hotels shy away from having a 13th floor, there's one haunted hotel-themed attraction at Disney-MGM Studios that savors the superstition.

Triskaidekaphobics beware -- the 13-story Twilight Zone(tm) Tower of Terror marks its 13th anniversary on Friday, July 13, 2007.

Since opening in 1994, the famed Walt Disney World thrill ride has been reinvented with new effects and technology that actually places the attraction in control of each ride experience.

Random ride and drop sequences make the attraction faster and add more drops than ever before.

All of the ride sequences are unique and random, so not even the droll hotel "bellhops" (costumed Disney-MGM Studios cast members who operate the attraction) know which specific sequence guests are queued to ride. It's the first Disney attraction in the world to offer random experiences and the first where the attraction actually determines the ride sequence.

In addition, cutting-edge visual, audio and olfactory special effects make Tower of Terror one of the most advanced multi-sensory attractions anywhere in the world. Ghostly apparitions, rocketing ascents, more "air time" and cannon blasts of chilling air are just a few of the surprises in store for brave Walt Disney World guests.

"The Tower of Terror affects every one of the senses, leaving you feeling as if you have really been in your own episode of The Twilight Zone," says Theron Skees, show producer for Walt Disney Imagineering.

Tower of Terror has thrilled Disney-MGM Studios guests since it opened in 1994. Similar attractions have since opened at Disney parks in California and Tokyo. A Tower of Terror is currently under construction at Disneyland Paris Resort.

The ride's fright-filled ascent begins when visitors board a decrepit hotel freight elevator that passes through mysterious hotel passageways where ghostly images of lost guests seem to appear and disappear at will. As the journey progresses, the elevator-cage hurtles through the "fifth dimension" in a pitch-black shaft, as guests embark on a not-to-be-forgotten journey.

-- Posted July 10, 2007