The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror in Disney’s California Adventure: A Complete Description

Your adventure begins as you enter the massive doors of the Hollywood Tower Hotel. The gloomy interior sets the mood for the experience that follows. After passing through the Main Lobby, guests are directed into the Elevator Lobby. But the doors of the guest elevators are buckled and ruined. So guests are instead ushered into one of two Libraries.

Inside the Library, towering shelves are filled with an array of mouldering leather bound books, curios, and objets d’art. Among the books, sharp eyed guests will find a complete bound set of scripts, written by Rod Serling for the original Twilight Zone TV series. Artifacts from various episodes crowd the shelves, among them a pair of shattered eyeglasses (“Time Enough at Last�?), a model space man (“The Invaders�?), and a coin operated fortune teller (“Nick of Time�?). Before one has the opportunity to note these many objects, there is a bolt of lightning, a clap of thunder, and the lights are extinguished. High in the corner, an old fashioned television suddenly snaps on, its screen filled with dancing gray static.

A familiar theme is heard, and the opening credits of “The Twilight Zone�? appear. A familiar voice describes the evening’s entertainment. The setting is glamorous Hollywood. The year is 1939. As the film capitol’s elite rub elbows in the elegant Hollywood Tower Hotel, a storm rages outside. A small group enters an elevator, and the doors close. As the elevator ascends, there is a supernatural bolt of lightning, and the elevator plummets into another dimension.

The familiar image of Rod Serling suddenly appears on screen. He is standing in front of an elevator door. The time, he informs us, is now. And this night’s tale of terror will be our own. As the familiar theme music echoes through the Library, the screen fades to a pinpoint of light, and a sliding panel opens in the back wall. Guests are instructed to pass through, into the Hotel’s Boiler Room complex.

The Boiler Room is an immense space, with stairs leading up into catwalks above. Guests will find that they may be led to the upper level. After making their way through an obstacle course of rusty pipes, frozen gauges, hanging stairs, and abandoned work stations, guests are eventually led to one of six loading areas. After being sorted into parties, the service elevator doors open, and guests are shown into their seats. The large scale, open-cage devices are equipped with seat belts and side handles for each passenger.

The door closes, but rather than moving up, there is an unexpected movement backwards. As Rod Serling’s voice sets the scene, stars fill the field of vision. The elevator rises.

The doors open on a higher floor.. A typical hotel hallway is seen. As Rod Serling describes the events of October 31, 1939, beckoning “ghosts�? appear in the middle of the hall. They are struck by lightning and disappear. The lightning crackles through the walls, which fade away, revealing a field of stars. At the furthest reaches of the hall, another set of elevator doors glow, tilt to the side and open, revealing the same group of ghosts. As they frantically signal to you, they abruptly descend out of sight. Our elevator doors snap shut, and the elevator ascends to another floor.

These doors open a vestibule. Facing the elevator is a heavy console table, with a massive, framed mirror above. Rod Serling’s voice advises you to “wave goodbye.�? As guests do so, they are horrified to see their reflections fracture into ghostly images, which mimic their every move. Then, just as abruptly, the reflection in the glass is of an empty elevator. The doors snap shut.

Now, the true terror begins. The elevator rises and falls, setting up false starts and gut churning drops. The cab ascends to its highest point, and a final set of doors open to reveal… open sky, and a view that takes in most of the Disneyland Resort. Bright lights flash among dangling exposed wires, and the elevator plunges down the full “thirteen�? floors, eliciting screams.

After the elevator finally comes to a stop, it slowly rolls forward, as Rod Serling offers a final narrative homily. The doors open, and guest exit into the Hotel’s serv ice corridor. At the end of the hall, a small shopping arcade is seen. Inside, opposite the locked and curtained doors of Willoughby Travel, a series of showcases hold gifts and curios. Overhead, screens carry images of the most recent guests who have braved the Tower. Through a gated entry, the Tower Gift Shop beckons.

This has been… the Twilight Zone Tower of Terror.