@@neilengel3715 woah, i've been looking to see if I could find a contact to you (personal interview about your past work with disney), youtube is the LAST place I expected to find you!
@@neilengel3715 I have an early version of the blueprints for the Paris version, and I had 2 questions about it that you might be able to answer. My first question is that for the scene 7/8 doors(quad), it shows that the outer doors are more wider than the inner doors, is this true? My other question is with the guest door details and wall details in scene 8 (corridor scene), the drawings show that the details on them are in 3D/physical, is this correct or are they flat/painted on the walls/doors?
I can’t believe they gave it a marvel makeover… that actually makes me so sad. The Tower of Terror was such a unique experience to the parks. The theming was amazing, and the story was unnerving. I love the guardians and all, but I would rather have the original spooky goodness
The GoG reskin is going to look EXTREMELY DATED in as little as 5 years from now, while the classic version was timeless. Imagine if “The Rock’in Rollercoaster” was themed to a fad like K-Pop? Sure it would relevant for now, but unlike Aerosmith, nobody will care about BTS in 20 years.
@@davemccage7918calling k-pop a fad isn’t accurate. It’s just a generational shift. You don’t have to like it, but k-pop is to the youth of today what rock was to the youth of the 70s
@ while I do like your idea a lot, I would’ve still missed the original concept. I’m into the spooky, and mysterious, otherworldly stuff. For me, it was fun being a Disney fan who has some of my other quirky interests being represented. I *love* Spiderman, but Disney basically started identifying as marvel for a while there… it just feels like we are losing out on a fun, off brand side quest that still has all of the Disney imagineering that makes it all so wonderful
@ZelvindYT oh 100% 🤣🤣 I haven’t been on the refurbished version yet, but I do love your idea. Creative, fits the original ride function, and heck yes to all things spiderman
As a child, my brother was so scared after going on the Tower of Terror that he refused to go in an elevator for several years afterwards! Our family always had to take the stairs!
@@MikeFromTheParty while I have not been to Disenyland Paris......it does have two of my favorite rides Pirates of the Caribbean and Phantom Manor which I saw on youtube from a Visitor who went there.......that ride looks great and more Darker in tone the Disneyland's Haunted Mansion in Calif where I grew up.....and while I love Haunted Mansion...the Phantom Manor is even better.
The way when the new chapter about change starts, the black bars on the side of the screen retreat, and the video is colorized 😭 Mike you're such a clever editor, wonderful job. You deserve a million subs for how hard you work on these videos, and they never disappoint. Looking forward to your next upload. 🥰
I have only ridden the Florida WDW Tower - which is generally accepted as the original and best one - primarily because the vehicle doesn't start in the drop tower so that buildup is much longer. The dread from when you enter the lobby goes on for like 15-20 minutes till you get in the elevator, then many people think it's going to drop immediately, but you get the scenes, and then the elevator moves forward through the 5th dimension. The original profile from here is it lifted up, doors open, drop, ride done. I first rode the second ride profile which I think is the best (possibly because it's what I got first..) The elevator moves forward, Rod Serling says something ominous in the dark, then work lights came on with a bang, revealing you are nose-against an industrial brick wall _then_ it dropped first from there. To me *that* was the best part because the drop from a lit brick wall is unexpected. Showing the wall right in front of you for one second makes you realize there's nowhere else to go except up or down and it was a shocking "return" to the real world. Plus, seeing the wall speed past from close-up makes it seem faster. Then it launches up really fast. The exterior doors open and you can see how high you are. But now the tension is has been broken slightly by the first drop so everyone is screaming and laughing and it's _fun_ instead of scary. There was the sound of mechanical mayhem above you and elevator slips a bit, dropping one floor which was a great tease. Then the doors start to close and you made the full length drop in full darkness, then you were launched back to the top and immediately dropped again for maximum weightlessness. Experience-wise this felt like the best - not as short as the original but fully utilizing every possibility - an unexpected surprise drop, the expected hover at the top looking out, a "tease" drop, then a launch and fall. I do like that now it's randomized, but it feels more chaotic during the drop sequence instead of curated since once you hit the brick wall (which doesn't light up as a surprise jumpscare anymore) then it's just mostly just fast up and down with no sense of acting like an actual elevator. Instead of it feeling subtle and diabolical it feels like the ride operator is just mashing the up and down buttons for 30 seconds. Despite this I still think it's superior to all the other versions though since you're always going to be waiting 2-3 minutes watching scenery before any dropping starts. One of the profiles is very clever in that it stops at the bottom and the TV comes on as if you're done, but then unexpectedly launches you up one last time.
That brick wall you are talking about is now covered up with the "lightning bolt wall" that was added in the 1999 "Fear Every Drop" drop sequence update. If you could have guessed, its a thin enclosure with a bunch of strobes behind a lens with lightning bolt shapes. There are a few other effects back then that haven't been enabled for a long time, such as the sparking sounds coming from the sign at the top, that I would love for them to bring back.
@@Rodj12341 I rode that version with the random drop sequences several times after they changed it, and while it's still fun, rocketing up and down with occasional random flashes of something wasn't as cool as the brick wall of doom, and also having a moment to see the exterior doors open from inside with a view through the reversed letters of the Hollywood Tower sign after seeing how high up and far away it looks from below!
That last one is my fave too. I've worked at the parks, around this time. It's possible the light or the sensor type thing was broken. Because last time I was there, the little brick wall still occasionally popped up
I visited Walt Disney World twice, in florida, and rode the Tower of Terror each time. The first they just had the single drop, which to me made sense, because you're in an elevator which is falling and that is something that we know and understand. The second time, they had the bounce, and I thought that totally took away from the experience and also made no sense. My assumption, at the time, was that people wanted "more ride", so they added the bounces to appease them, making something that was less exciting and made less sense.
I know it’s silly, but as soon as Tower of Terror changed to Guardians of the Galaxy, I immediately started getting migraines every time after riding. The only thing I could think of is that the screens are so much brighter than Tower of Terror originally was
What if I said 1939 WAS a vibe? Then what? Tower of Terror is probably my favorite theme park ride ever but I didn't know anything about the new Paris version, so this was wonderful! I love me a video essay with a themed framing device!
The thing I'm most disappointed with about the Guardians of the Galaxy rebreand is that I'll never be able to go on that iconic attraction that I was too scared to ride as a kid.
@@KatieKatt18 that’s not true actually. Disney World doesn’t have both the Disneyland guardians of the Galaxy ride and Tower of Terror. There is a guardians of the Galaxy ride at Epcot, but it is VERY different than the Guardians of the Galaxy ride at Disneyland.
I didn't try the new tower of terror in Disneyland Paris, but I tried the old one and to me the worst moment of fear was when the elevator went back up for other drops. IAt the end I was totally motionless and silent, someone asked me "are you ok?", and I started crying like a baby. The was super embarrassing. I will never do it again, but at the same time it made me feel something so it's also a good memory (go figure). edit : next to me there was an 8 years old who didn't flinch...
i had a similar experience😭the first and only time i’ve ever ridden tower of terror was in paris in 2018 i think? and i was with my mum and i clutched onto her with a vice grip and i had such a bad time that the day after when we went to visit the eiffel tower i stayed firmly on the ground cos i was too much of a wimp to get in the lift to go up it LMAO
I'd be lying if I said I knew what the story of ToT was... HOWEVER, it is still my favourite drop tower. Ride profile/story aside I was completely sold by the theme! I love it when a ride vehicle becomes invisible (even something like Mystery Castle you know you're getting on a drop tower) whereas this IS an elevator in an old hotel. It switches from being an attraction to something that could genuinely be happening. Like a horror film that makes you scared of a pile of clothes, you know they're just clothes, but they might not be... Lovely video as always Mr Party.
I've been so looking forward to this video! As an American, who only can speak English, its crazy to me that parks I'm other countries bother making ride expositions multilingual. I wouldn't expect to go tonparis and have the ride be in my language when I'm not in a predominantly English speaking country. And, like you said, cramming all the story in by making it bilingual really makes the ride lose its plot. I know I'm wording this poorly. Lol.
The paris one has some rides on entirely English and some in French. So I've ridden their tower multiple times and it's usually either all French or all English. The reason being it has to cater for every language in Europe.of which there are many. But you stick people from France, Germany, Netherlands, Spain etc in a room... they will speak English to each other. So it's the default language as a result. You don't need to speak any French to enjoy disney paris. As everything is in English. If a lot of English speakers are heading to a ride if the cast members picks up on it they can signal to run the English version instead of the French etc.
I get what you're saying. America; despite being predominantly english speaking, has a needless endeavor to cater to every culture that walks our shores. No other country caters this way. (Go to Spain. Go to China. It's sink or swim) This becomes a detriment where entertainment is concerned. In ex: lore heavy rides. This is the gist of what you're saying. 1. It's true 2. Watch people get triggered.
So happy to see this in my notifications! Seriously, Mike, the style of your videos is such a unique and awesome way to tell these stories! And it hits home because it’s basically how I am at parties! Haha!
At least we still have the masterpiece attraction that is the original version in Florida. If they ever announce it’s death, there will be riots in the streets of Disney’s Hollywood Studios
I loved this ride so much! Rode it probably over 100 times. I truly enjoyed the cast members that acted scared about not doing the lock ins correctly and freaked out when the doors closed to our “dooms” Best Cast Members really put fear in your heart before those doors closed. And many folks screamed at that part while I laughed. Really made the ride an amazing experience. I miss this ride so much. I wonder how the cast feel about Guardians vs Twilight Tower of Terror when working the ride.
It's very cool that you were so unbiased when assessing the guardians of the galaxy redo, especially as you acknowledged that you don't really like mcu movies or media based rides. Respect!
I have a deep fondness for Tokyo DisneySea's tower of terror. It's not themed after the twilight zone, instead they created their own story. An explorer steals the artifact from a tribe (who were previously kind to him, what a dick am I right?) and is surprised the tribe doesn't come after him to retreive the idol. Naturally, the idol is cursed. The explorer treats the idol with disrespect. One night, after a party, he boards the lift with the idol to take it up to his penthouse. Suddenly, a green light shines out from the penthouse, and the lift falls. Guests report hearing the explorer scream. In searching the lift, they cannot find the explorer's body - only the idol.
I was gonna comment that the Tokyo tower version was very different story wise. I went on it in 2019 and I didn't realise it was tower of terror drop ride initially because it had a tone closer to haunted mansion with the whole amulet story etc. I normally avoid drop rides as I am a huge coward and I was assured over and over that no 'this is like haunted mansion' and when we got put in the elevator I remember my sister turning to me and saying sorry. I still have not forgiven her
Personally my favorite moment on a drop tower is when the crazy professor yells "BE VIGILANT, WHEN YOU MEET THE EVIL UP THERE... IN THE TOWER, OF MYSTERY CASTLE! HAHAHAHA" and then it fucking lauches you 65 meters up into the darkness. Edit: afterwards it holds everyone at the top for a bit with lightning effects before randomly dropping each bench into the darkness below one by one, never knowing who's next.
My aunt and uncle took me on ToT before the retheming. I was scared $hitless. Then after years of the intense Mission Breakout, I felt I was ready to go on ToT in Florida for my D.C.P. It was not as scary as I remembered and the drops were extremely mild when compared to what we have now in CA
Tower of terror remains one of my favourite ride systems in Disney parks, I feel like the moving elevator in Florida is also such a clever move for anticipation of the drop. I recently went on the guardians version and had to say it was very bouncy like you said 😂 I felt like the story was lost completely on the actual drop scenes for the guardians ride, because it was constantly bouncing that’s all you could think of, even on the front row I felt like the story scenes were hard to focus on! Great video, love this kind of videos!
Love hearing about overseas park changes, being from the states I don't hear much about disney Paris news- but man. this addition is kind of insane. it feels so cheap storywise, it reminds me of like a fairground haunted house where they just go "ok creepy little girl + monsters=scary so let's just do that. and while we're at it, let's make it drop a bunch. just throw everything u got at it". i think u can tell when the team is in love with a project vs just trying to "update it". could rant about that for years. (also as a Californian, mission breakout is definitely more "fun" in terms of how bouncy the drops are and the fast pace and music. it did well at what it was trying to do i guess. but as groots number one HATER i remain bitter. the preshow animatronic rocket is nice tho)
@bloop292 That was fun to read. What is your villain origin story for not liking monosyllabic space cowboy bonsai tree ent man? If it's spicy enough, may I make a poem out of it? Mad sounding one-liners are comedy poetry gold.
@@Firegen1 he's everywhere. i hate when they make him super buff and smirking for some reason. everywhere i turn i see that stinkin tree like this 😏😼!!!! then all my friends started pointing him out to me when they see him. it's personal at this point!!!
@@bloop292oh he's stalk-ing you! *comedy drum roll* Fair! Who knew his roots could run? Into the soil of Bloop's biz-ness A stack of logs resembling a wrestler An action star made of chipboard Eco friendly Hollywood plastic Ambling ribcage because that is shortcut to attractive Bloop's wandering party Whistle to them about a tree They think fondly of raccoon on a lift And finely anchored chainsaws 🪚👀
As a Californian with Guardians being my home version, I, along with many other Tower fans, were outraged by the change announcement. As the switch was half finished, we learned the retheme was to be part of a new Marvel Land that opened a couple years later. That calmed many heated fans. As for the ride itself, a majority of detractors became converts. It’s plainly thrilling and “fun,” a fun rarely experienced on Disney rides these days. Most everyone walking out the exit are smiling and laughing heartily, much more that the original. Much credit goes to the supervision of Joe Rohde. Unfortunately, Bobby Iger has run out most of the brilliant Imagineers, who have since moved to Universal. As witnessed by Tiana’s takeover of Splash Mountain, Imagineering has been stripped dry. As for the removal of The Twilight Zone theme in Paris, I’d expect it to move to the remaining parks. Disney has to pay a costly licensing fee to use Twilight and Serling imagery, and Disney has become uber cheap. I’d bet a contract renewal is upcoming and Bobby Iger would prefer to move on to Disney or more original IP.
I lived in Florida, so we went to the Orlando Disney park my entire life; and when I was....I want to say 5 years old? My mom, dad, and I went to then-MGM studios. I was too little, so my mom and I waited in the lobby for my dad to ride Tower of Terror. It was taking a while, so I wondered aloud where my dad was, and a well-meaning bellhop cast member said, very spookily ~maybe he's never coming back~ and I /LOST IT/. (That poor bellhop felt so bad.) For literally years I would refuse to even walk up the path to the ride itself, and even when I did I stayed in the gift shop. I rode it for the first time a few years back as someone in my late 20s, and I almost bailed halfway through the line out of sheer dread. Some of this has to do with how utterly terrifying the Twilight Zone as a tv series is to me (the moment I nearly bailed in the line was when Rod Serling started talking lol), but honestly, even to this day it is the scariest ride in the Orlando parks. The atmosphere is utterly impeccable. I'm so disappointed with what they did with Paris' Tower; it's just been made so much vaguer and messier, especially when everything I've seen about Paris' Haunted Mansion is so incredibly amazing.
Paris isn't new to "reshuffling" ride effects. Remember when they just ran the Indiana Jones and the Temple of Peril rollercoaster backwards for a few years? (Which similarly achieved nothing except making the story harder to follow)
The old Tower of Terror in California was one of my all-time favorite rides. I don't hate the GotG rebrand because I've never been on it; I just wish it was a whole new second ride and the original TOT was still there. But I want heavily themed rides everywhere. XD
I have many fond memories of the Hollywood tower ride, RIP. I miss looking at all the bits and bobs while waiting in line, taking in the atmosphere. Rose colored glasses maybe, but ill remember it forever.
The main thing I remember between my first and second visit to the Tower of Terror is that the first time, it just had a single drop, and the second time, it "bounced' a few times. I figured they added the bounce to appeal to people who wanted "more ride" but I thought it detracted from the whole theme of being stuck in an elevator that is falling. An elevator falling makes sense. An elevator bouncing does not.
I've never seen Guardians of the Galaxy. I've been to Disney theme parks three times in my life, once Disneyland (California) before Tower of Terror was built, and twice to Disney World (Florida) where I got to experience first the original, and then later the bouncy version of Tower of Terror.
I wouldn't call ToT less forcefull compared to a italian build drop tower at Thorpe. After all, Disney used cables to make the vehicle drop faster than gravity to create a ride experience as intense as possible. Nevertheless, great video! And it was nice speaking to you at IAAPA too :)
Thanks for watching and was great to meet you too! Detonator isnt just gravity-based but uses pneumatics to push the vehicle downwards and has speeds of 82km vs Tower's 63km. It's definitely a more forceful experience!
@@MikeFromTheParty It does? Odd, I didnt notice that during my ride. The version at Slagharen (also a fabbri Scary Drop model) is just a simple release and drop model, I assumed all of them had that. I do know that the tiny ABC Rides drop towers like Nemesis Subterra and Knighs Rides (another fantastic drop dark ride) feature airlaunched drops.
I couldn't agree more. What they did to paris tower of terror was a travesty. The only thing worse would be for them to retheme it to some IP slop like they did with mission breakout. Hopefully they will come to their senses and restore this ride to its former glory, but this is disneyland paris, they haven't made a single good decision there in 15 years.
I need to go to a party with you. I haven't seen much coverage of the European variant of the ride and it does upset me that they did change it this way. I dont like riding it but i adore its themeing around the twilight zone. More themeing around it would've been a net benefit if they leaned into it more and telling an episodic story for each drop. Obviously it would've been expensive and a large change. But you need to beat the physical floors of the disney world version somehow
@loonytunescrazy obviously, but they could've done more with it. I mean it is the twilight zone and if they thought about it some more it would've been worth it
Same ^ Tokyo. I live in NW Alabama & we drove to WDW every year from 1987-2015, with the 2015 trip being my present to my parents (after they hadn’t been since 2013) as they were in their mid 60s at that point & wanted to thank them for making my childhood perfect. My Wife & I went to Disneyland in the summer of 2016 to see where it all began & honestly fell in love with how much richness, history, and care had been put into keeping it “alive” with what felt like Disney Magic. Our last trip was in 2019 to WDW & haven’t had the urge to go with all the changes since. TDL/DisneySea is my go to destination, as it seems to be the last bastion of letting Imagineer’s creativity go wild & make the most incredible lands, attractions, and shows. The US side of Imagineering has been totally transformed to a shell of itself as it’s all about upcharges, canceled/shredded budget projects, and taking the fun out of the experience by looking at where they can cram random tv/movie IP vs new exciting concepts & takes on older ideas. WDW seems to be all about trying to budget in more resorts & guests but without adding more capacity experiences. Other than pre 2011 WDW (in general), Epcot pre 1996 (yea I dug the edutainment as a kid + original park IP), and Mystic Manor -the Oriental Land Company/Tokyo Disney is the only park(s) making anything truly innovative & exciting imo.
I only went to hong kong disneyland twice so I didn’t try any of the Tower of terror (HKDL doesn’t have it 🥲), but after I search about them online and watch different versions of them, the story, the atmosphere, I think the Tokyo one is the best of all of them👀 I will try it if I have a chance 🤔
I really preferred the actual ride portion of DCA's. The original version was ambitious, but a bit clunky and focused on the Twilight Zone rather than the ghost story it was telling. The DCA version had much better pacing and show scenes. The original does have the superior facade and queue. Whenever we would visit WDW, we would always find ourselves giggling alongside the rest of the car with the awkward pacing and car clumsily trying to align into the drop shaft.
A couple of weeks ago, I shared your Avatar video with someone, telling her I missed this channel--"come back to the party, Mike!" And here you are. Manifesting✨🔮 Good to have you back!
Most terrifying drop tower moment for me was in the stratosphere hotel in vegas. It was indeed right before the drop, i looked down and saw we were higher than a helicopter...and then it dropped 😅
The reason the tower of terror made me so scared was because the seatbelt didn’t completely hold me down (I’m very small) So, once it dropped, I nearly fell out of the seat. I was scared to the brim, I held onto my dad’s hand like I would die I’m disappointed they changed the tower of terror into a marvel thing
You would've enjoyed the original drop profile in Orlando (1 drop, thats it). Once they began adding multiple drops the ride was inherently different IMO
Tower of Terror is a ride I enjoy for it's themeing stories and engineering. But it is a ride based on a fear of mine, so I usually have to warn friends and family in the queue I will likely panic a bit while waiting. But scariest drop tower for me has to be Falcon's Fury, once you reach the top the seat tilt forward towards the ground then you are held there for a random amount of time before dropping.
I am an avid fan of disney rides in general and have to admit i hadnt noticed the different storylines. I just though what she said was randomly generated. I also thought the initial drop ruined it but assumed i had gotten it confused with florida and that it had always been that way. So interesting to learn my gut wad right 😂
Ruined a good creepy ride. Some say people ,especially kids don't know the series, they don't have to because their kidding a great story and not knowing the series doesn't matter for kids and was really cool for us who watched the series during its time. Disney is messing so many things up!
really like your comment about too much exposition in the ride itself. i think some rides/experiences nowadays are really struggling to find that balance of having a good story while still making it easy to understand to people actually experiencing it the way it was meant to be. i like cosmic rewind in epcot, i think its a fun rollercoaster and the soundtrack is the best element, but i think the multiple (very long) preshows in order to get through a lot of exposition kind of slows the build up. i also have NO idea what the characters are saying to me during the actual ride itself because, well, i’m screaming on a rollercoaster and earth, wind, & fire are serenading me. i also notice that some halloween horror nights houses in orlando throughout the years also suffer from exposition issues. i’ll have fun getting scared in a house, but it’s so loud and so much is going on that if a character is trying to say dialogue near me, i have NO idea what’s happening. i’ve never been on the paris version of tower, but i think the ideas of having multiple storylines (like, say, different episodes of the twilight zone) is very interesting and i think some of them are honestly very scary!!! it’s just a shame that they need the guests to understand the story while being distracted by, well, being dropped from a high height lol
Our boi is back! In a monotone party flat Giving drop-down bars To the IP attack The velocity machine Pulled by strong cable The mystery The madness Rod Serling A voice truly immortal The gathering is gathered The coke dashed with Jim Bean And Michael at the far-out blast Has returned to our regular scheduled programming
i have a card to go free to disneyland paris for over 3 years, i think they are ruining the old rides. not only tower of terror but also tram tours. making my fav truck alive and just removing a hole cene and all the oldtimers is just sad. one they did better was the rock'n rollercoaster but WHY THE ROCK'N ROLLERCOASTER IT HAD THE BEST MUSIC/LIGHTS EVER WHE DONT NEED ANOTHER VERSION OF THE RUIEND SPACE MOUNTAIN Btw i worked at the efteling for cleaning crew i love its in ur vid
I went to Disney Land in probably either 2008 or 2009, I was 9 or 10 years old. I have always loved horror and other creepy stuff in general, so it was my favorite ride during our time there. The photo taken during the ride was funny- I happened to be looking down to my right somewhere within a gentle smile, totally unfazed, while everyone else made your typical ride expressions. I really wish we had bought the photo and I regret us not doing so.
I had a panic attack in the pre-show the one time I went to the California tower. I sat in an out of the way corner after the employees took me to the exit area so I can wait for my family. I absolutely hate drop towers.
I went in the tower if terror in disneyland paris at 4 years old (Don't ask how lol). I was just so obsessed with it, and when i finally rode it. It was pretty intense, and i got a bit mad lol. But at my last visit in 2023 i heard that the entire story changed. That broke me lmao.
As someone who made over 30 visits to WDW from 1987-2019, worked at WDW from 2008-18 (now at the Disney Archives in Burbank), and has only been to Disneyland, I love the original Tower of Terror at DHS. Admittedly, I only desire to visit TDL & DisneySea but I am glad to see someone break down how so many changes done by the Walt Disney Company (as OLC is the mgmt/funding for TDL/DisneySea) aren’t thematically coherent or “magical” in execution currently.
I have a huge fear of heights, but I also have a huge thing for facing those same fear. I’m a major adrenaline junkie with a fine taste in various rides. TOT was a great ride that took aspects of the haunted mansion, twilight zone, and Hollywood glitz and glamor, mashing it into a flavorful masterpiece. It fit the California theme of CA so well. Unfortunately it was ruined by unnecessary retheming that doesn’t suit the sister park at all.
Thats why the detenator has always got me! You have unlocked this ride for me. I dont mind drop towers, despite my hatred of hheights, because when i get to the top, i shut my eyes and count to ten. I either drop before i get to ten or at ten. Those extra two seconds gives me jjust long enough to panic that its stuck (my worst nightmare) and then it drops.
Holding my hand up here, I was actually present for the original testing of this ride (and Crush's Coaster) back in 2007, which was open for Disneyland staff/staff family and gold pass holders. Although I never rode it due to a fear of falling elevators, I recall numerous issues with the ride, ranging from breakdowns of the actual ride to, and was told this at the time, slow guest turnover times (i.e. boarding, unboarding). I have a feeling this 'refresh' was basically to quicken the experience to reduce queue times since it was an extremely popular ride for the Studios. Probably to prepare it for either A: the eventually change to GotG since it's next door to the Marvel area and I am not sure who owns the Twilight Zone anyway. Or B: To take the strain of the guests who are there for the Marvel stuff and want to ride something else while waiting for their fast pass times for the Marvel rides. I regret not being brave enough to try the original ride, but next I go, I might try this new one and make up my own mind on it. Also in case anyone asks, yes, both Tower of Terror and Crush's Coaster were being tested at the same time. I tested the latter... which was fun (if somewhat disappointing cause the original ride was meant to go through an aquarium instead of screens but I could be misremembering that), but it too had a lot of issues with breakdowns that was worse than ToT, at least the former got it fixed, the latter still had issues even 3 years later (and someone required medical help once, I recall being in line when we were told to walk back out as medics came in).
I just went on the Tower of Terror in Orlando for the first time ever a few months ago; loved it. I’m surprised to hear the other iterations of the tower are different.
Fun facts that may or may not be true: Did you know you can have the Disney Park Experience for less than a cup of coffee? Step One: Go to the DMV Step Two: Wait in line Step Three: When it's your turn leave and get into your car. Step Four: Drive quickly down a hill Step Five: Repeat step one
I was like “i hope drayton manor comes up in this video!” because… you know…. apocalypse (rip). But no- I was wrong, not about drayton manor, but about the ride from drayton manor. how foolish of me!
The scariest moment of the drop tower is before getting on. Once you're on, alea iacta est, part of the fear is gone. Taking the step to get on is the scariest part by far for me
I rode the Disney World (Florida) Tower of Terror about two years before they changed it to the Guardians of the Galaxy version. My father didn't want to ride it at first, but then he wanted to go again 😂 He loved it. The cast member who was acting as the elevator operator was fantastic. He was appropriately creepy.
I've been to DLP two weeks ago. And, yes, the Studios were not a particular interesting park on its own. Ratattouille Adventures and the Tower of Terror were both easily the best parts of the park. Most of the park has a really "basic fairground" vibe to it, so hopefully the upgrade in 2026 improves things at least a little. Tower of Terror was also the very first drop tower I ever rode and, I must admit, I screamed in enjoyment of how thrilling that ride was. Sadly, I didn't have time to go a second time on it. The main park is a lot more superior in theming. Including the rides.
I've only been in the new version in DLP and I absolutely loved it, wish I could've tried the previous version! Edit: would love a weeping angel version though 😅
Half irrelevant to the video, but I was surprised to hear that the moment before the drop was supposed to be the scary part. For me I'm always totally chill and relaxed on the way up. It's only that first second into the drop where I feel gravity fall away that my brain goes "it is going to hurt very, very badly when we stop" and I scream. Though I still understood this video just fine considering that the pause at the top of the big hill on a roller coaster is definitely the scariest part for me. Same concept.
I love when people talk about disneyland paris. As a ToT lover, i HATE dimension of chills. They tried to make it feel fresh, but man everytime i get off the ride i just hate that little girl even more
I remember that when they debuted the new version, I was quite disappointed, since it seemed to me that they didn't really understand what made this attraction so unique in the first place, and instead, completely messed up the rides tone and atmosphere by putting in this super annoyingly cliche ghost girl, losing most of the soundtrack, cool special effects and storytelling in the process. I like the idea of more ride programs, since it can improve re-rideability, but none of the new programs comes close to being as good as the original one
love the different settings for each chapter, it makes it more of an Experience™️ to watch. it also scares me for some reason haha. i think im just also easily spooked
I remember going to Walt Disney World back when Tower of Terror was still new ( a couple years old) I loved that ride so much, I wanted to go a couple of times. I can't confirm this, but I remember seeing the "remains" of the family embedded in the concrete. Like the lightning pushed in the concrete and scorched them. The one thing that unnerved me the most in the waiting line, was the faulty (sparking)moter. They did a great job creating that. They ruined the California and France one. You know the saying "if it's not broken, don't fix it".
My first experience of Tower of Terror was the California version. I thought it was a lot of fun but tended to skip on a lot of visits to DCA as I got tired of the pre-show sequence. I even had a friend who liked to shout out "the gift shop" in the gap in the narration of "this elevator travels direct to.....the twilight zone." It usually got a few good chuckles. That being said, I was not happy when the Guardians retheme was announced. The exterior changes to the building are hideous but I really enjoyed the new Guardians version of the experience. I like the ride much better now, but I do really miss how beautiful the old theme looked as a backdrop for photos in the park. One of my favorite photos I've taken that included the original exterior of DCA's ToT was one that took advantage of that rare moment in time when the Disneyland Railroad was shutdown to reroute the Rivers of America to add Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge to the park. Disneyland was parking trains as the Main Street station and allowing guests to see the engines up close and personal since they weren't operating. I took a close up shot of one of the bells on the train with the ToT in the distance. It's a gorgeous photo that would not be as nice if the ToT looked like it's Guardians version. I fully appreciate how rare an opportunity it was to have a chance to take that particular photo. I did get a chance to experience the Orlando version and it definitely was the better ToT experience. One of very few things I think Orlando does better than the California parks. I hope Disney does recognize that despite it being a licensed theme, what they have there is truly special. I would hate to see that one rethemed.
Florida’s Tower of Terror still might be one of my favorite rides ever (even though I swear they run it with fewer drops than they used to.) Cali’s and even the original Paris always bummed me out because it seemed like a knock off. Sad to hear that Paris’s has only gotten worse. I always liked the faint, haunting singing of “it’s raining, it’s pouring,” but it seems like the Paris update turns that ethereal spookiness into an outright little jump scare horror movie girl. Also shout out to Martin’s videos. The hardest working TH-cam channel in theme parks, cataloguing all this stuff so you, the PTR boys, and more can discuss amusement minutia
Mike when the update came they skipped the library pre show but the brought it back because fans wanted it so that is why it is out of place and btw the shaft creatures laughter is from Tokyo’s tower of terror search it up
Omg this is the first video I have watched on this channel, and I absolutely love it! I have been out of the Disney Parks sphere for quite a while but this really reparked my interest in looking deep into the rides. Particularly the aspects of the theming, set design, and visual effects. Given it is a Disneyland Paris revamp, it immediately made me think of when Phantom Manor got its own rework in 2019. Honestly in my opinion it had the same effect as the changes on the Tower of Terror in Paris for the same reasons. The overall vibe, theme and story was the same. But changes in how the sets were laid out, how they used the characters and overall tried reworking the story felt off and removed the sense of dread and heartbreak from the original version. Would def love to see a vid on that ride as well 👏👏👏
I couldn’t agree with you more. I was the art director for the California version.
Oh damn, for real? Thanks for helping form, like, a good third of my high school era aesthetics!
Yeah. The last E ticket I worked on. It was a tough one. Especially having to ride it over 300 times to get all the shafts looking the same.
@@neilengel3715 woah, i've been looking to see if I could find a contact to you (personal interview about your past work with disney), youtube is the LAST place I expected to find you!
Wow! Incredible work; really lit up the skyline of DCA
@@neilengel3715 I have an early version of the blueprints for the Paris version, and I had 2 questions about it that you might be able to answer. My first question is that for the scene 7/8 doors(quad), it shows that the outer doors are more wider than the inner doors, is this true? My other question is with the guest door details and wall details in scene 8 (corridor scene), the drawings show that the details on them are in 3D/physical, is this correct or are they flat/painted on the walls/doors?
I can’t believe they gave it a marvel makeover… that actually makes me so sad. The Tower of Terror was such a unique experience to the parks. The theming was amazing, and the story was unnerving. I love the guardians and all, but I would rather have the original spooky goodness
The GoG reskin is going to look EXTREMELY DATED in as little as 5 years from now, while the classic version was timeless. Imagine if “The Rock’in Rollercoaster” was themed to a fad like K-Pop? Sure it would relevant for now, but unlike Aerosmith, nobody will care about BTS in 20 years.
@@davemccage7918that's just personal taste. I wouldnt say Aerosmith is still THAT relevant to be honest
@@davemccage7918calling k-pop a fad isn’t accurate. It’s just a generational shift. You don’t have to like it, but k-pop is to the youth of today what rock was to the youth of the 70s
@ while I do like your idea a lot, I would’ve still missed the original concept. I’m into the spooky, and mysterious, otherworldly stuff. For me, it was fun being a Disney fan who has some of my other quirky interests being represented. I *love* Spiderman, but Disney basically started identifying as marvel for a while there… it just feels like we are losing out on a fun, off brand side quest that still has all of the Disney imagineering that makes it all so wonderful
@ZelvindYT oh 100% 🤣🤣
I haven’t been on the refurbished version yet, but I do love your idea. Creative, fits the original ride function, and heck yes to all things spiderman
As a child, my brother was so scared after going on the Tower of Terror that he refused to go in an elevator for several years afterwards! Our family always had to take the stairs!
It was only one year afterwards 🙄
That was meeee
@@MikeFromTheParty while I have not been to Disenyland Paris......it does have two of my favorite rides Pirates of the Caribbean and Phantom Manor which I saw on youtube from a Visitor who went there.......that ride looks great and more Darker in tone the Disneyland's Haunted Mansion in Calif where I grew up.....and while I love Haunted Mansion...the Phantom Manor is even better.
Same thing happened to me I didn’t get over my fear until my late teens early twenties
@@MikeFromThePartyis this your brother? Lmao
Hey, at least the original Tower of Terror still exists at Walt Disney World.
For now .. 😓😓
@@graphicsgod bro chill dont even go there
And here in Paris
It’s hollywood studios🫶🏾
@@ChloePardovani hollywood studios is part of walt disney world lol
The way when the new chapter about change starts, the black bars on the side of the screen retreat, and the video is colorized 😭 Mike you're such a clever editor, wonderful job. You deserve a million subs for how hard you work on these videos, and they never disappoint. Looking forward to your next upload. 🥰
Thank you Maddie!! This one was a lot of fun to put together
I have only ridden the Florida WDW Tower - which is generally accepted as the original and best one - primarily because the vehicle doesn't start in the drop tower so that buildup is much longer. The dread from when you enter the lobby goes on for like 15-20 minutes till you get in the elevator, then many people think it's going to drop immediately, but you get the scenes, and then the elevator moves forward through the 5th dimension.
The original profile from here is it lifted up, doors open, drop, ride done. I first rode the second ride profile which I think is the best (possibly because it's what I got first..) The elevator moves forward, Rod Serling says something ominous in the dark, then work lights came on with a bang, revealing you are nose-against an industrial brick wall _then_ it dropped first from there. To me *that* was the best part because the drop from a lit brick wall is unexpected. Showing the wall right in front of you for one second makes you realize there's nowhere else to go except up or down and it was a shocking "return" to the real world. Plus, seeing the wall speed past from close-up makes it seem faster. Then it launches up really fast. The exterior doors open and you can see how high you are. But now the tension is has been broken slightly by the first drop so everyone is screaming and laughing and it's _fun_ instead of scary. There was the sound of mechanical mayhem above you and elevator slips a bit, dropping one floor which was a great tease. Then the doors start to close and you made the full length drop in full darkness, then you were launched back to the top and immediately dropped again for maximum weightlessness. Experience-wise this felt like the best - not as short as the original but fully utilizing every possibility - an unexpected surprise drop, the expected hover at the top looking out, a "tease" drop, then a launch and fall.
I do like that now it's randomized, but it feels more chaotic during the drop sequence instead of curated since once you hit the brick wall (which doesn't light up as a surprise jumpscare anymore) then it's just mostly just fast up and down with no sense of acting like an actual elevator. Instead of it feeling subtle and diabolical it feels like the ride operator is just mashing the up and down buttons for 30 seconds. Despite this I still think it's superior to all the other versions though since you're always going to be waiting 2-3 minutes watching scenery before any dropping starts. One of the profiles is very clever in that it stops at the bottom and the TV comes on as if you're done, but then unexpectedly launches you up one last time.
your writing is so detailed it made me feel for a moment as though i were actually back on the ride
That brick wall you are talking about is now covered up with the "lightning bolt wall" that was added in the 1999 "Fear Every Drop" drop sequence update. If you could have guessed, its a thin enclosure with a bunch of strobes behind a lens with lightning bolt shapes. There are a few other effects back then that haven't been enabled for a long time, such as the sparking sounds coming from the sign at the top, that I would love for them to bring back.
@@Rodj12341 I rode that version with the random drop sequences several times after they changed it, and while it's still fun, rocketing up and down with occasional random flashes of something wasn't as cool as the brick wall of doom, and also having a moment to see the exterior doors open from inside with a view through the reversed letters of the Hollywood Tower sign after seeing how high up and far away it looks from below!
That last one is my fave too. I've worked at the parks, around this time. It's possible the light or the sensor type thing was broken. Because last time I was there, the little brick wall still occasionally popped up
I visited Walt Disney World twice, in florida, and rode the Tower of Terror each time. The first they just had the single drop, which to me made sense, because you're in an elevator which is falling and that is something that we know and understand. The second time, they had the bounce, and I thought that totally took away from the experience and also made no sense. My assumption, at the time, was that people wanted "more ride", so they added the bounces to appease them, making something that was less exciting and made less sense.
18:34 "Monsters that feed off your screams... a brilliant concept to build a theme park thrill ride around. "
*_Monsters Inc. has entered the chat._*
It was actually Fear Co. instead.
This is actually the concept behind Dr Doom's ride at Universal Orlando.
I’m really stoked for Epic Universe and the new monsters ride they are building. Set to be the scariest ride they’ve created.
I know it’s silly, but as soon as Tower of Terror changed to Guardians of the Galaxy, I immediately started getting migraines every time after riding. The only thing I could think of is that the screens are so much brighter than Tower of Terror originally was
Practical vs screens…you go to a theme park to not look at screens IMHO.
What if I said 1939 WAS a vibe? Then what?
Tower of Terror is probably my favorite theme park ride ever but I didn't know anything about the new Paris version, so this was wonderful! I love me a video essay with a themed framing device!
🤔 Thanks for watching king, glad you enjoyed
Then keyboard warriors will accuse you of being pro-Nazi or pro-Imperialist Japan.
Joe Rohde may be an amazing ride designer, but the real terror for me is how much his earlobe stretches
And why just one, it’s so uneven now!
@@JennaLovesPickles28What ear? Aaaah! Nooooo! Just saw it!
The thing I'm most disappointed with about the Guardians of the Galaxy rebreand is that I'll never be able to go on that iconic attraction that I was too scared to ride as a kid.
SAME omg I hope we get to try it elsewhere!!
Go To Florida
Same. I was super terrified. I’m afraid of heights. If I had known it wasn’t a sudden drop, I would’ve been ok with it.
They have both in Florida Guardians is in Epcot and Tower of Terror is in Hollywood Studios
@@KatieKatt18 that’s not true actually. Disney World doesn’t have both the Disneyland guardians of the Galaxy ride and Tower of Terror. There is a guardians of the Galaxy ride at Epcot, but it is VERY different than the Guardians of the Galaxy ride at Disneyland.
I didn't try the new tower of terror in Disneyland Paris, but I tried the old one and to me the worst moment of fear was when the elevator went back up for other drops. IAt the end I was totally motionless and silent, someone asked me "are you ok?", and I started crying like a baby. The was super embarrassing. I will never do it again, but at the same time it made me feel something so it's also a good memory (go figure).
edit : next to me there was an 8 years old who didn't flinch...
i had a similar experience😭the first and only time i’ve ever ridden tower of terror was in paris in 2018 i think? and i was with my mum and i clutched onto her with a vice grip and i had such a bad time that the day after when we went to visit the eiffel tower i stayed firmly on the ground cos i was too much of a wimp to get in the lift to go up it LMAO
I'd be lying if I said I knew what the story of ToT was... HOWEVER, it is still my favourite drop tower.
Ride profile/story aside I was completely sold by the theme! I love it when a ride vehicle becomes invisible (even something like Mystery Castle you know you're getting on a drop tower) whereas this IS an elevator in an old hotel. It switches from being an attraction to something that could genuinely be happening. Like a horror film that makes you scared of a pile of clothes, you know they're just clothes, but they might not be...
Lovely video as always Mr Party.
Thank you King ‼️
CANCEL MY EVENING MIKE FROM THE PARTY UPLOADED!
lol i love seeing these on channels no ones ever heard of
I've been so looking forward to this video!
As an American, who only can speak English, its crazy to me that parks I'm other countries bother making ride expositions multilingual. I wouldn't expect to go tonparis and have the ride be in my language when I'm not in a predominantly English speaking country. And, like you said, cramming all the story in by making it bilingual really makes the ride lose its plot. I know I'm wording this poorly. Lol.
The paris one has some rides on entirely English and some in French. So I've ridden their tower multiple times and it's usually either all French or all English. The reason being it has to cater for every language in Europe.of which there are many.
But you stick people from France, Germany, Netherlands, Spain etc in a room... they will speak English to each other. So it's the default language as a result. You don't need to speak any French to enjoy disney paris. As everything is in English. If a lot of English speakers are heading to a ride if the cast members picks up on it they can signal to run the English version instead of the French etc.
@yonumpty thank you for the context and insight! ☺️
I get what you're saying.
America; despite being predominantly english speaking, has a needless endeavor to cater to every culture that walks our shores.
No other country caters this way. (Go to Spain. Go to China. It's sink or swim)
This becomes a detriment where entertainment is concerned. In ex: lore heavy rides.
This is the gist of what you're saying.
1. It's true
2. Watch people get triggered.
So happy to see this in my notifications! Seriously, Mike, the style of your videos is such a unique and awesome way to tell these stories! And it hits home because it’s basically how I am at parties! Haha!
At least we still have the masterpiece attraction that is the original version in Florida. If they ever announce it’s death, there will be riots in the streets of Disney’s Hollywood Studios
I loved this ride so much!
Rode it probably over 100 times. I truly enjoyed the cast members that acted scared about not doing the lock ins correctly and freaked out when the doors closed to our “dooms” Best Cast Members really put fear in your heart before those doors closed. And many folks screamed at that part while I laughed.
Really made the ride an amazing experience. I miss this ride so much.
I wonder how the cast feel about Guardians vs Twilight Tower of Terror when working the ride.
It's very cool that you were so unbiased when assessing the guardians of the galaxy redo, especially as you acknowledged that you don't really like mcu movies or media based rides. Respect!
I have a deep fondness for Tokyo DisneySea's tower of terror. It's not themed after the twilight zone, instead they created their own story. An explorer steals the artifact from a tribe (who were previously kind to him, what a dick am I right?) and is surprised the tribe doesn't come after him to retreive the idol. Naturally, the idol is cursed. The explorer treats the idol with disrespect. One night, after a party, he boards the lift with the idol to take it up to his penthouse. Suddenly, a green light shines out from the penthouse, and the lift falls. Guests report hearing the explorer scream. In searching the lift, they cannot find the explorer's body - only the idol.
I was gonna comment that the Tokyo tower version was very different story wise. I went on it in 2019 and I didn't realise it was tower of terror drop ride initially because it had a tone closer to haunted mansion with the whole amulet story etc. I normally avoid drop rides as I am a huge coward and I was assured over and over that no 'this is like haunted mansion' and when we got put in the elevator I remember my sister turning to me and saying sorry.
I still have not forgiven her
that's my favorite version, haven't ridden it, but seen videos, and it's just fascinating, only ridden the DCA one before the change
That's beyond horrifying.💀
Personally my favorite moment on a drop tower is when the crazy professor yells "BE VIGILANT, WHEN YOU MEET THE EVIL UP THERE... IN THE TOWER, OF MYSTERY CASTLE! HAHAHAHA" and then it fucking lauches you 65 meters up into the darkness.
Edit: afterwards it holds everyone at the top for a bit with lightning effects before randomly dropping each bench into the darkness below one by one, never knowing who's next.
What ride is this?
@@emilysmith6897 Mystery Castle at Phantasialand
Scariest thing is that dude's ear.
Straight drops terrify me but I'm a bit sad I'll never get to try the Twilight Zone ride.
Thank you! I found that to be true body horror right there. I'd love to know what makes him wear it like that.
My aunt and uncle took me on ToT before the retheming. I was scared $hitless. Then after years of the intense Mission Breakout, I felt I was ready to go on ToT in Florida for my D.C.P.
It was not as scary as I remembered and the drops were extremely mild when compared to what we have now in CA
Tower of terror remains one of my favourite ride systems in Disney parks, I feel like the moving elevator in Florida is also such a clever move for anticipation of the drop. I recently went on the guardians version and had to say it was very bouncy like you said 😂 I felt like the story was lost completely on the actual drop scenes for the guardians ride, because it was constantly bouncing that’s all you could think of, even on the front row I felt like the story scenes were hard to focus on! Great video, love this kind of videos!
Love hearing about overseas park changes, being from the states I don't hear much about disney Paris news- but man. this addition is kind of insane. it feels so cheap storywise, it reminds me of like a fairground haunted house where they just go "ok creepy little girl + monsters=scary so let's just do that. and while we're at it, let's make it drop a bunch. just throw everything u got at it". i think u can tell when the team is in love with a project vs just trying to "update it". could rant about that for years. (also as a Californian, mission breakout is definitely more "fun" in terms of how bouncy the drops are and the fast pace and music. it did well at what it was trying to do i guess. but as groots number one HATER i remain bitter. the preshow animatronic rocket is nice tho)
apologies for the yapping lol
@bloop292 That was fun to read.
What is your villain origin story for not liking monosyllabic space cowboy bonsai tree ent man?
If it's spicy enough, may I make a poem out of it? Mad sounding one-liners are comedy poetry gold.
@@Firegen1 he's everywhere. i hate when they make him super buff and smirking for some reason. everywhere i turn i see that stinkin tree like this 😏😼!!!! then all my friends started pointing him out to me when they see him. it's personal at this point!!!
@@bloop292oh he's stalk-ing you!
*comedy drum roll*
Fair!
Who knew his roots could run?
Into the soil of Bloop's biz-ness
A stack of logs resembling a wrestler
An action star made of chipboard
Eco friendly Hollywood plastic
Ambling ribcage because that is shortcut to attractive
Bloop's wandering party
Whistle to them about a tree
They think fondly of raccoon on a lift
And finely anchored chainsaws
🪚👀
The Paris one is still good it got 3 different storylines
As a Californian with Guardians being my home version, I, along with many other Tower fans, were outraged by the change announcement. As the switch was half finished, we learned the retheme was to be part of a new Marvel Land that opened a couple years later. That calmed many heated fans.
As for the ride itself, a majority of detractors became converts. It’s plainly thrilling and “fun,” a fun rarely experienced on Disney rides these days. Most everyone walking out the exit are smiling and laughing heartily, much more that the original.
Much credit goes to the supervision of Joe Rohde. Unfortunately, Bobby Iger has run out most of the brilliant Imagineers, who have since moved to Universal. As witnessed by Tiana’s takeover of Splash Mountain, Imagineering has been stripped dry.
As for the removal of The Twilight Zone theme in Paris, I’d expect it to move to the remaining parks. Disney has to pay a costly licensing fee to use Twilight and Serling imagery, and Disney has become uber cheap. I’d bet a contract renewal is upcoming and Bobby Iger would prefer to move on to Disney or more original IP.
Terrific video, I'm surprised you don't have a larger following, your storytelling and writing are top-notch!
Thank you, means a lot from you with your excellent content!! Also really enjoy your second channel analysis videos 🥰
I lived in Florida, so we went to the Orlando Disney park my entire life; and when I was....I want to say 5 years old? My mom, dad, and I went to then-MGM studios. I was too little, so my mom and I waited in the lobby for my dad to ride Tower of Terror. It was taking a while, so I wondered aloud where my dad was, and a well-meaning bellhop cast member said, very spookily ~maybe he's never coming back~ and I /LOST IT/. (That poor bellhop felt so bad.) For literally years I would refuse to even walk up the path to the ride itself, and even when I did I stayed in the gift shop. I rode it for the first time a few years back as someone in my late 20s, and I almost bailed halfway through the line out of sheer dread.
Some of this has to do with how utterly terrifying the Twilight Zone as a tv series is to me (the moment I nearly bailed in the line was when Rod Serling started talking lol), but honestly, even to this day it is the scariest ride in the Orlando parks. The atmosphere is utterly impeccable. I'm so disappointed with what they did with Paris' Tower; it's just been made so much vaguer and messier, especially when everything I've seen about Paris' Haunted Mansion is so incredibly amazing.
Paris isn't new to "reshuffling" ride effects. Remember when they just ran the Indiana Jones and the Temple of Peril rollercoaster backwards for a few years? (Which similarly achieved nothing except making the story harder to follow)
The old Tower of Terror in California was one of my all-time favorite rides. I don't hate the GotG rebrand because I've never been on it; I just wish it was a whole new second ride and the original TOT was still there.
But I want heavily themed rides everywhere. XD
I have many fond memories of the Hollywood tower ride, RIP. I miss looking at all the bits and bobs while waiting in line, taking in the atmosphere. Rose colored glasses maybe, but ill remember it forever.
They were really cool, the bits and bobs. It was like a little museum.
To be honest, I only care about tower of terror because of the theming/twilight zone connection. One of the best, smartest shows ever.
The main thing I remember between my first and second visit to the Tower of Terror is that the first time, it just had a single drop, and the second time, it "bounced' a few times. I figured they added the bounce to appeal to people who wanted "more ride" but I thought it detracted from the whole theme of being stuck in an elevator that is falling.
An elevator falling makes sense. An elevator bouncing does not.
I've never seen Guardians of the Galaxy. I've been to Disney theme parks three times in my life, once Disneyland (California) before Tower of Terror was built, and twice to Disney World (Florida) where I got to experience first the original, and then later the bouncy version of Tower of Terror.
I wouldn't call ToT less forcefull compared to a italian build drop tower at Thorpe. After all, Disney used cables to make the vehicle drop faster than gravity to create a ride experience as intense as possible.
Nevertheless, great video! And it was nice speaking to you at IAAPA too :)
Thanks for watching and was great to meet you too!
Detonator isnt just gravity-based but uses pneumatics to push the vehicle downwards and has speeds of 82km vs Tower's 63km. It's definitely a more forceful experience!
@@MikeFromTheParty It does? Odd, I didnt notice that during my ride. The version at Slagharen (also a fabbri Scary Drop model) is just a simple release and drop model, I assumed all of them had that. I do know that the tiny ABC Rides drop towers like Nemesis Subterra and Knighs Rides (another fantastic drop dark ride) feature airlaunched drops.
I couldn't agree more. What they did to paris tower of terror was a travesty. The only thing worse would be for them to retheme it to some IP slop like they did with mission breakout. Hopefully they will come to their senses and restore this ride to its former glory, but this is disneyland paris, they haven't made a single good decision there in 15 years.
I need to go to a party with you. I haven't seen much coverage of the European variant of the ride and it does upset me that they did change it this way.
I dont like riding it but i adore its themeing around the twilight zone. More themeing around it would've been a net benefit if they leaned into it more and telling an episodic story for each drop. Obviously it would've been expensive and a large change. But you need to beat the physical floors of the disney world version somehow
The Paris one is still twilight zone themed
@loonytunescrazy obviously, but they could've done more with it. I mean it is the twilight zone and if they thought about it some more it would've been worth it
@@Helsingvania Me and my dad enjoyed when we went to Disney;land Paris
I really enjoyed Tower of terror in Tokyo Disney Sea - it was very beautiful and had a great atmosphere, and I really want to go back one day.
Right now, Tokyo is the only Disney park I truly have any real desire to go to.
Same ^ Tokyo. I live in NW Alabama & we drove to WDW every year from 1987-2015, with the 2015 trip being my present to my parents (after they hadn’t been since 2013) as they were in their mid 60s at that point & wanted to thank them for making my childhood perfect. My Wife & I went to Disneyland in the summer of 2016 to see where it all began & honestly fell in love with how much richness, history, and care had been put into keeping it “alive” with what felt like Disney Magic. Our last trip was in 2019 to WDW & haven’t had the urge to go with all the changes since. TDL/DisneySea is my go to destination, as it seems to be the last bastion of letting Imagineer’s creativity go wild & make the most incredible lands, attractions, and shows. The US side of Imagineering has been totally transformed to a shell of itself as it’s all about upcharges, canceled/shredded budget projects, and taking the fun out of the experience by looking at where they can cram random tv/movie IP vs new exciting concepts & takes on older ideas. WDW seems to be all about trying to budget in more resorts & guests but without adding more capacity experiences. Other than pre 2011 WDW (in general), Epcot pre 1996 (yea I dug the edutainment as a kid + original park IP), and Mystic Manor -the Oriental Land Company/Tokyo Disney is the only park(s) making anything truly innovative & exciting imo.
I love the story on that one, and I would love to go.
I only went to hong kong disneyland twice so I didn’t try any of the Tower of terror (HKDL doesn’t have it 🥲), but after I search about them online and watch different versions of them, the story, the atmosphere, I think the Tokyo one is the best of all of them👀
I will try it if I have a chance 🤔
I really preferred the actual ride portion of DCA's. The original version was ambitious, but a bit clunky and focused on the Twilight Zone rather than the ghost story it was telling. The DCA version had much better pacing and show scenes. The original does have the superior facade and queue. Whenever we would visit WDW, we would always find ourselves giggling alongside the rest of the car with the awkward pacing and car clumsily trying to align into the drop shaft.
yipee its michael from the gathering
Not sure why this made me chortle, but it did. So formal and I love it. Lol
Egad, you're correct
A couple of weeks ago, I shared your Avatar video with someone, telling her I missed this channel--"come back to the party, Mike!" And here you are. Manifesting✨🔮 Good to have you back!
Glad to be back!!
Most terrifying drop tower moment for me was in the stratosphere hotel in vegas. It was indeed right before the drop, i looked down and saw we were higher than a helicopter...and then it dropped 😅
😬😬 I don't think I'd be able do that!
@@MikeFromTheParty and for the kicker...i lost a shoe 🤣
If there are 3 it’s a small world fans, I am one of them. If there are 0 it’s a small world fans, I am dead!
SAME
I am It’s a small world fan
It’s objectively iconic!!!! I’ve always enjoyed looking at all the little details ❤
HE'S BACK. DAY MADE.
I used to love drop towers, but ever since that person was ripped apart by one I've since lost my admiration.
NEW MIKE FROM THE PARTY UPLOAD
The reason the tower of terror made me so scared was because the seatbelt didn’t completely hold me down (I’m very small)
So, once it dropped, I nearly fell out of the seat. I was scared to the brim, I held onto my dad’s hand like I would die
I’m disappointed they changed the tower of terror into a marvel thing
5:38 Why what did done you yourself say talk "queue line"?
I had an aneurysm trying to read this
A video about my favorite Disney ride The Tower Terror with a mention of my favorite show Doctor Who?! YES PLEASE! ⚡️💙💙
Great video, wonderful work, I hope more people discover your channel. Keep going!
You would've enjoyed the original drop profile in Orlando (1 drop, thats it). Once they began adding multiple drops the ride was inherently different IMO
I would have loved to have experienced that. Also I loved your Haunted Mansion book and I'm excited to get your Pirates one this Christmas ‼️
@@MikeFromTheParty oh hell yeah!! Thanks!!!!!!
Dude I was so ready to leave a comment saying how much I enjoyed guardians of the galaxy but instead I learned something new today
I enjoyed guardians too. I still enjoyed it 100 times less than the original but still technically enjoyable.
I didn't realize Paris' Tower of Terror changed and now seeing this... it definitely feels like a downgrade in terms of story
Tower of Terror is a ride I enjoy for it's themeing stories and engineering. But it is a ride based on a fear of mine, so I usually have to warn friends and family in the queue I will likely panic a bit while waiting. But scariest drop tower for me has to be Falcon's Fury, once you reach the top the seat tilt forward towards the ground then you are held there for a random amount of time before dropping.
I am an avid fan of disney rides in general and have to admit i hadnt noticed the different storylines. I just though what she said was randomly generated. I also thought the initial drop ruined it but assumed i had gotten it confused with florida and that it had always been that way. So interesting to learn my gut wad right 😂
Ruined a good creepy ride. Some say people ,especially kids don't know the series, they don't have to because their kidding a great story and not knowing the series doesn't matter for kids and was really cool for us who watched the series during its time. Disney is messing so many things up!
really like your comment about too much exposition in the ride itself. i think some rides/experiences nowadays are really struggling to find that balance of having a good story while still making it easy to understand to people actually experiencing it the way it was meant to be. i like cosmic rewind in epcot, i think its a fun rollercoaster and the soundtrack is the best element, but i think the multiple (very long) preshows in order to get through a lot of exposition kind of slows the build up. i also have NO idea what the characters are saying to me during the actual ride itself because, well, i’m screaming on a rollercoaster and earth, wind, & fire are serenading me.
i also notice that some halloween horror nights houses in orlando throughout the years also suffer from exposition issues. i’ll have fun getting scared in a house, but it’s so loud and so much is going on that if a character is trying to say dialogue near me, i have NO idea what’s happening. i’ve never been on the paris version of tower, but i think the ideas of having multiple storylines (like, say, different episodes of the twilight zone) is very interesting and i think some of them are honestly very scary!!! it’s just a shame that they need the guests to understand the story while being distracted by, well, being dropped from a high height lol
if they EVER do anything to my baby (WDW Tower of Terror) i will go insane
GotG Mission Breakout at DL is the best drop tower in the world. So much fun! Falcon's Fury is my #2 and the Orlando Freefall is/was my #3.
Great video. First I’ve watched on this part of Paris and their Tower. Wonderfully done. I’m gonna subscribe.
Our boi is back!
In a monotone party flat
Giving drop-down bars
To the IP attack
The velocity machine
Pulled by strong cable
The mystery
The madness
Rod Serling
A voice truly immortal
The gathering is gathered
The coke dashed with Jim Bean
And Michael at the far-out blast
Has returned to our regular scheduled programming
i have a card to go free to disneyland paris for over 3 years, i think they are ruining the old rides. not only tower of terror but also tram tours. making my fav truck alive and just removing a hole cene and all the oldtimers is just sad. one they did better was the rock'n rollercoaster but WHY THE ROCK'N ROLLERCOASTER IT HAD THE BEST MUSIC/LIGHTS EVER WHE DONT NEED ANOTHER VERSION OF THE RUIEND SPACE MOUNTAIN
Btw i worked at the efteling for cleaning crew i love its in ur vid
I went to Disney Land in probably either 2008 or 2009, I was 9 or 10 years old. I have always loved horror and other creepy stuff in general, so it was my favorite ride during our time there. The photo taken during the ride was funny- I happened to be looking down to my right somewhere within a gentle smile, totally unfazed, while everyone else made your typical ride expressions. I really wish we had bought the photo and I regret us not doing so.
The scariest part of the Paris version is the city that it's in
Ugh! I love your videos! I always hoped you would talk about the tower of terror someday. It's one of my favorite theme park rides!!
I had a panic attack in the pre-show the one time I went to the California tower. I sat in an out of the way corner after the employees took me to the exit area so I can wait for my family. I absolutely hate drop towers.
it's quite the case study as phantom mannor got updated the right way. With projection mapping as well as changes to some animatronics.
I went in the tower if terror in disneyland paris at 4 years old (Don't ask how lol). I was just so obsessed with it, and when i finally rode it. It was pretty intense, and i got a bit mad lol. But at my last visit in 2023 i heard that the entire story changed. That broke me lmao.
I love your video style. So much more professional then most on you tube. Good job sir
As someone who made over 30 visits to WDW from 1987-2019, worked at WDW from 2008-18 (now at the Disney Archives in Burbank), and has only been to Disneyland, I love the original Tower of Terror at DHS. Admittedly, I only desire to visit TDL & DisneySea but I am glad to see someone break down how so many changes done by the Walt Disney Company (as OLC is the mgmt/funding for TDL/DisneySea) aren’t thematically coherent or “magical” in execution currently.
9:25 Did not expected to see Mr. Digitalisation Daniel himself in one of your vids, Mr. From The Party, a nice surprise
Analogue Andrew was unavailable
King Daniel of the Digital Realm 👑
Very interesting and informative . From across the pond keep up good videos
I have a huge fear of heights, but I also have a huge thing for facing those same fear. I’m a major adrenaline junkie with a fine taste in various rides. TOT was a great ride that took aspects of the haunted mansion, twilight zone, and Hollywood glitz and glamor, mashing it into a flavorful masterpiece. It fit the California theme of CA so well. Unfortunately it was ruined by unnecessary retheming that doesn’t suit the sister park at all.
Thats why the detenator has always got me! You have unlocked this ride for me. I dont mind drop towers, despite my hatred of hheights, because when i get to the top, i shut my eyes and count to ten. I either drop before i get to ten or at ten. Those extra two seconds gives me jjust long enough to panic that its stuck (my worst nightmare) and then it drops.
As one of the other 2 It's A Small World stans I can confirm we are very upset!
Mike posted!!! Rejoice rejoice!!! Also Austin and alley jump stare towards the end??
Nowadays, the "Tower Of Terror" has relocated to Disney Corporate HQ.
With a main satellite office at LucasFilm.
Holding my hand up here, I was actually present for the original testing of this ride (and Crush's Coaster) back in 2007, which was open for Disneyland staff/staff family and gold pass holders.
Although I never rode it due to a fear of falling elevators, I recall numerous issues with the ride, ranging from breakdowns of the actual ride to, and was told this at the time, slow guest turnover times (i.e. boarding, unboarding). I have a feeling this 'refresh' was basically to quicken the experience to reduce queue times since it was an extremely popular ride for the Studios. Probably to prepare it for either A: the eventually change to GotG since it's next door to the Marvel area and I am not sure who owns the Twilight Zone anyway. Or B: To take the strain of the guests who are there for the Marvel stuff and want to ride something else while waiting for their fast pass times for the Marvel rides.
I regret not being brave enough to try the original ride, but next I go, I might try this new one and make up my own mind on it.
Also in case anyone asks, yes, both Tower of Terror and Crush's Coaster were being tested at the same time. I tested the latter... which was fun (if somewhat disappointing cause the original ride was meant to go through an aquarium instead of screens but I could be misremembering that), but it too had a lot of issues with breakdowns that was worse than ToT, at least the former got it fixed, the latter still had issues even 3 years later (and someone required medical help once, I recall being in line when we were told to walk back out as medics came in).
I just went on the Tower of Terror in Orlando for the first time ever a few months ago; loved it.
I’m surprised to hear the other iterations of the tower are different.
Fun facts that may or may not be true: Did you know you can have the Disney Park Experience for less than a cup of coffee?
Step One: Go to the DMV
Step Two: Wait in line
Step Three: When it's your turn leave and get into your car.
Step Four: Drive quickly down a hill
Step Five: Repeat step one
New Mike From the Party video!! Best part of my day!
❤️❤️❤️
I was like “i hope drayton manor comes up in this video!” because… you know…. apocalypse (rip). But no- I was wrong, not about drayton manor, but about the ride from drayton manor. how foolish of me!
Very sadly never got to experience apocalypse (rip)
The scariest moment of the drop tower is before getting on. Once you're on, alea iacta est, part of the fear is gone. Taking the step to get on is the scariest part by far for me
I rode the Disney World (Florida) Tower of Terror about two years before they changed it to the Guardians of the Galaxy version.
My father didn't want to ride it at first, but then he wanted to go again 😂 He loved it.
The cast member who was acting as the elevator operator was fantastic. He was appropriately creepy.
I've been to DLP two weeks ago. And, yes, the Studios were not a particular interesting park on its own. Ratattouille Adventures and the Tower of Terror were both easily the best parts of the park. Most of the park has a really "basic fairground" vibe to it, so hopefully the upgrade in 2026 improves things at least a little.
Tower of Terror was also the very first drop tower I ever rode and, I must admit, I screamed in enjoyment of how thrilling that ride was. Sadly, I didn't have time to go a second time on it. The main park is a lot more superior in theming. Including the rides.
I've only been in the new version in DLP and I absolutely loved it, wish I could've tried the previous version!
Edit: would love a weeping angel version though 😅
Half irrelevant to the video, but I was surprised to hear that the moment before the drop was supposed to be the scary part. For me I'm always totally chill and relaxed on the way up. It's only that first second into the drop where I feel gravity fall away that my brain goes "it is going to hurt very, very badly when we stop" and I scream.
Though I still understood this video just fine considering that the pause at the top of the big hill on a roller coaster is definitely the scariest part for me. Same concept.
This video is amazing 👏 As always! 🙌
Kinda shocked by the "only 3 it's a small world fan" thing I legit thought it was popular until this very moment
I love when people talk about disneyland paris. As a ToT lover, i HATE dimension of chills. They tried to make it feel fresh, but man everytime i get off the ride i just hate that little girl even more
I remember that when they debuted the new version, I was quite disappointed, since it seemed to me that they didn't really understand what made this attraction so unique in the first place, and instead, completely messed up the rides tone and atmosphere by putting in this super annoyingly cliche ghost girl, losing most of the soundtrack, cool special effects and storytelling in the process.
I like the idea of more ride programs, since it can improve re-rideability, but none of the new programs comes close to being as good as the original one
@@Scoaster86 I wonder if the dimension of chills team was the same team that turned the nautilus into a sea life documentary.
love the different settings for each chapter, it makes it more of an Experience™️ to watch. it also scares me for some reason haha. i think im just also easily spooked
I love ToT. Ive riden both Cali and WDW, as well as the Guardians version. I much prefer the horror theme but guardians is different and good too
im SO ready for this
I'd love a deep dive on Nemesis, especially with the side project of the secondary 'haunt like' attractions they added.
I remember going to Walt Disney World back when Tower of Terror was still new ( a couple years old) I loved that ride so much, I wanted to go a couple of times. I can't confirm this, but I remember seeing the "remains" of the family embedded in the concrete. Like the lightning pushed in the concrete and scorched them. The one thing that unnerved me the most in the waiting line, was the faulty (sparking)moter. They did a great job creating that. They ruined the California and France one. You know the saying "if it's not broken, don't fix it".
My first experience of Tower of Terror was the California version. I thought it was a lot of fun but tended to skip on a lot of visits to DCA as I got tired of the pre-show sequence. I even had a friend who liked to shout out "the gift shop" in the gap in the narration of "this elevator travels direct to.....the twilight zone." It usually got a few good chuckles. That being said, I was not happy when the Guardians retheme was announced. The exterior changes to the building are hideous but I really enjoyed the new Guardians version of the experience.
I like the ride much better now, but I do really miss how beautiful the old theme looked as a backdrop for photos in the park. One of my favorite photos I've taken that included the original exterior of DCA's ToT was one that took advantage of that rare moment in time when the Disneyland Railroad was shutdown to reroute the Rivers of America to add Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge to the park. Disneyland was parking trains as the Main Street station and allowing guests to see the engines up close and personal since they weren't operating. I took a close up shot of one of the bells on the train with the ToT in the distance. It's a gorgeous photo that would not be as nice if the ToT looked like it's Guardians version. I fully appreciate how rare an opportunity it was to have a chance to take that particular photo.
I did get a chance to experience the Orlando version and it definitely was the better ToT experience. One of very few things I think Orlando does better than the California parks. I hope Disney does recognize that despite it being a licensed theme, what they have there is truly special. I would hate to see that one rethemed.
In Texas our version we are most familiar with is called the Superman 0:29
God, you’re good at this.
Florida’s Tower of Terror still might be one of my favorite rides ever (even though I swear they run it with fewer drops than they used to.) Cali’s and even the original Paris always bummed me out because it seemed like a knock off. Sad to hear that Paris’s has only gotten worse. I always liked the faint, haunting singing of “it’s raining, it’s pouring,” but it seems like the Paris update turns that ethereal spookiness into an outright little jump scare horror movie girl.
Also shout out to Martin’s videos. The hardest working TH-cam channel in theme parks, cataloguing all this stuff so you, the PTR boys, and more can discuss amusement minutia
Agree on Martin! He was very helpful not just documenting this but also answering some questions for me!! A king 👑
Mike when the update came they skipped the library pre show but the brought it back because fans wanted it so that is why it is out of place and btw the shaft creatures laughter is from Tokyo’s tower of terror search it up
Omg this is the first video I have watched on this channel, and I absolutely love it! I have been out of the Disney Parks sphere for quite a while but this really reparked my interest in looking deep into the rides. Particularly the aspects of the theming, set design, and visual effects. Given it is a Disneyland Paris revamp, it immediately made me think of when Phantom Manor got its own rework in 2019. Honestly in my opinion it had the same effect as the changes on the Tower of Terror in Paris for the same reasons. The overall vibe, theme and story was the same. But changes in how the sets were laid out, how they used the characters and overall tried reworking the story felt off and removed the sense of dread and heartbreak from the original version. Would def love to see a vid on that ride as well 👏👏👏