The Newest Tower Of Terror! And No Twilight Zone!

[Nintendo_DualScreen]

For those of you who dont visit ScreamScape daily like I do, a video of the
newest Tower Of Terror has been posted here. It's in Japanese, but he said
he would post a video with english subtitles after it opens.

The ride system is similiar to California's TOT, so MGM's Tower Of Terror
is still the only one that goes forward into a different shaft.

The main differences are:

*No Twilight Zone Theme, has a original storyline.
*It takes place in New York, not Hollywood.
*The Library Scene
*No Boiler Room

Here's the official storyline of the ride:

Originally Posted by Disney

The once lavish Hotel Hightower, built by multimillionaire Harrison Hightower III, is the setting for the "Tower of Terror" attraction. Harrison Hightower was a great collector of cultural artifacts, and explored various exotic regions in search of valuable relics to take home. Once back in New York, Hotel Hightower was the adventurer's favorite place to show off his latest prizes and boast about the exploits it took to obtain them. The somewhat less-than-scrupulous Hightower apparently used whatever methods were necessary to acquire the items he wanted, even at times engaging in outright plunder, according to rumor. Still, the parties he threw when unveiling the latest additions to his collection were thronged with high-profile guests and reporters.

On New Year's Eve, 1899, during a party he was throwing to introduce a strange statue he had gotten hold of in one of the far corners of Africa, Harrison Hightower III abruptly disappeared on his way to his penthouse. After that night, the hotel was closed, and no one has seen Harrison Hightower since.

After its closing, the aura of mystery and foreboding around the Hotel Hightower has only deepened. However, since there is obvious historical and architectural value to the building, the New York City Preservation Society has now started a "Tower of Terror" tour to allow interested parties a peek inside the hotel.

What happened to Harrison Hightower the night of his fateful party? You may find the answer by joining one of the New York City Preservations Society's "Tower of Terror" tours.

Also, here is a review of the ride from the site:

Originally Posted by jtcent

RIDE REVIEW

A quick review here. I rode it 7 times in 2 hours this morning, then I had to go to work.

The doors opened at 9:45am and I was about the 20th person in line. They let us into the lobby and we queued up through the left side which has the check-in reception for the hotel. Across the lobby is the actual fallen elevator from the night of Hightower's disappearance. It has not been "restored." Many elements of the lobby are as they were on the last "fateful night." There are some chandeliers and murals depicting Hightower in his worldwide travels.

Once passing the check-in counter the queue turns left towards a CM who separates the guests into two groups. In either side, each group is taken into a waiting area. The walls of the room have framed pictures of items Hightower has "collected." It is here that another CM explains who Hightower is and introduces the "Shiriki Utundu" idol. Next they are lead to the study. We see Hightower's desk, the idol perched either to the left or right. A large stained-glass looking picture can be seen on the wall behind the desk.

[ NOTE: Left side waiting room = desk is on the right in study room = idol is to the right of the stained glass display = boarding on second floor. Right side waiting room = desk is on the left in study room = idol is to the left of the stained glass display = boarding on first floor.]

The story of Hightower's disappearance is told. The idol's eyes light up green as the stained glass changes images and shows how the elevator fell and the hotel was abandoned thereafter. At the end, the idol mysteriously vanishes from its perched location.

The other side of the study's doors open to a hallway leading to the storage area of Hightower's collectibles. At the point, the groups from the left and right side run parallel for a short distance before the left side goes up the stairs and the right remains in the first floor. The top floor contains items from Asia and Latin America. The bottom has items from Egypt, Africa and tropical locales.

There are three waiting rooms on each floor. Each is themed to a different geographical location. One of the rooms, for example, has graphics and items from the Temple of the Crystal Skull. Another has tapestries from Arabian countries. When guests area assigned a seat location number, they don't necessarily tell you where to face, so the doors to enter the elevators are kind of hidden until they actually open.

Once inside the elevator itself, guests use 3-point safety belts that attach from the right and go across the chest to your lower left. Guests are asked to make sure seats belts are fastened in two points. We are seated in rows of:
3334444
222S555
111S666 (S = no seat)

The CM closes the doors and we begin:
[NOTE: I'm not very good at describing these scenes, so please bear with me.]
The elevator darkens and moves backwards.
We see a pair of green eyes in front above us.
The elevator rises slowly and stops. We see the disappearance scene with Hightower standing next to the idol.
The idol's eyes flash and zaps away Hightower, he disappears.
We go up further and see our reflections on a large mirror. Then the "morphing" (???) effect takes place. Idol appears again and flashes its eyes towards us.
We race up, until we are at the top and the doors open. We are high above the Park and can even see Tokyo way out there! Photo taken.
The first drop. It's a short quick drop down one floor. We see the outside again. Then...
The second drop, all the way to the bottom.
We go up to the lower opened doors.
Final drop, all the way down. Idol's green eyes appear once more. The ride ends and elevator doors open.
The hotel employee hallways lead us out towards the attraction photo location and the "Memorabilia" souvenir shop.

Well, that's my first report. I'll have video and photos later today. I'll also include more details and translation since the whole ride is in Japanese.

My thoughts: Great queue, story, effects, waiting room, etc. The ride itself is rather tame and I couldn't feel the "drop" effect as well as I did at DCA's this past May. Overall, "A++" for presentation, "B-" for thrill factor.

[KEBSD]

Wow! You visit Screamscape daily too?

~Key

[Nintendo_DualScreen]

Originally Posted by KEBSD

Wow! You visit Screamscape daily too?

~Key

I should be saying the same thing! It's like the news, but with theme parks.

[dogsdogs]

Yes! 1 of my favorite attractions goes to my favorite park!
but with a new twist
and are there any news on the one in paris?

[Nintendo_DualScreen]

This is the coolest version of the ride in my opinion. DisneySea sure does
have alot of thrill rides. Others are Raging Spirits and Journey To
The Center Of The Earth



By the way, are there green tiki idols in VMK?

[dogsdogs]

I agree.
i think its way better than the ones in US
I just saw a video online and i was all like what?!?!
its so freaky. The stain glass window like changes and the cured idol thing goes into the wall!!
thats so awesome
im planning to go in two or three years

and no.. there are no green tikis
i think
but if your going to try to make it into a room
go ahead!
i gave it a shot but..
[IMG]http://i5.************/26110eg.jpg[/IMG]

[Nintendo_DualScreen]

Originally Posted by dogsdogs

I agree.
i think its way better than the ones in US
I just saw a video online and i was all like what?!?!
its so freaky. The stain glass window like changes and the cured idol thing goes into the wall!!
thats so awesome
im planning to go in two or three years

and no.. there are no green tikis
i think
but if your going to try to make it into a room
go ahead!
i gave it a shot but..
[IMG]http://i5.************/26110eg.jpg[/IMG]

Im was building mine today, still need to finish the roof.

[Nintendo_DualScreen]

Bump!

By the way, here's my shot at it!

[KEBSD]

Can anyone show me to an on ride video?

~Key

P.S. Nice TOT's!!

[Nintendo_DualScreen]

If you could'nt find the video within the link, here is the direct link:

http://www.jtcent.com/media/tds_tot3.zip

[LordIllidan]

So the ToT in tokyo is finally open?

I've heard about it a few months ago from Towerofterror.org (Which, in turn, I stumbled upon via Wikipedia. Not quite sure though if this website is a good one or not XD. Doesn't seem to have been updated in a while).

The ride sounds really cool. I can't wait until the video finishes downloading XD.