Chapter 11 – Hollywood Studios – Tower of Terror Part 2   posted May 2021

We’re back to continue our tour of the Tower of Terror. In this Chapter we’re going to visit the heart of the Tower. “There’s no turning back, now!” Oops, wrong attraction.
In the last Chapter, we left off standing at the doors of the Hotel’s Library.
Library
Guests are informed by bellhops that their rooms are not ready yet, and they are then ushered into the hotel library, which houses the hotel's collection of books, antiques, an old television set, and various references to Twilight Zone scattered about the room. In the libraries are some lamps with HTH (Hollywood Tower Hotel) on them. These were built for the attraction using flapper dresses from the 1920s for the material.
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Through the library window, guests can observe that a severe thunderstorm is raging outside.
With a crash of thunder and lightning, the power suddenly goes out, except for the television set which crackles into life and plays the opening sequence from the fourth and fifth seasons of The Twilight Zone, hosted by Rod Serling.

"You unlock this door with the key of imagination. Beyond it is another dimension. A dimension of sound, a dimension of sight, a dimension of mind. You're moving into a land of both shadow and substance, of things and ideas. You've just crossed over to... The Twilight Zone."
"Hollywood, 1939. Amid the glitz and the glitter of a bustling movie town at the height of its golden age, the Hollywood Tower Hotel was a star in its own right, a beacon for the show business elite. Now, something is about to happen that will change all that."
"The time is now, on an evening very much like the one we have just witnessed. Tonight's story of The Twilight Zone is somewhat unique and calls for a different kind of introduction. This as you may recognize is a maintenance service elevator, still in operation, waiting for you. We invite you if you dare to step aboard because in tonight's episode, you are the star, and this elevator travels directly to...the Twilight Zone."
Note:
  • The pre-show video was directed by award winning director Joe Dante, known for his horror films like The Howling and Gremlins, as well as, directing the  “It’s a Good Life” segment of the 1983 The Twilight Zone – The Movie.
 
  • The set that Dante used to film those scenes for the attraction was built on a soundstage in a studio in Culver City. It was then dismantled and reassembled in the lobby of the actual attraction in Florida so it would look exactly as it was in the video.
 
  • Child actress Lindsay Ridgeway at the age of seven portrayed Sally Shine in the video. At the age of 11, she recreated the Sally role for the 1997 Disney ABC television movie Tower of Terror.
 
  • The luggage carried by the bellhop in the library film is the same alligator skin luggage that is in front of the Front Desk in the Hollywood Tower Hotel Lobby.
Reference:
In the Library, there are many hidden references to the Twilight Zone episodes.
The Introduction

First, in The Tower of Terror pre-show, where guests are greeted by Rod Serling. His first lines, “Tonight’s story on the Twilight Zone is somewhat unique and calls for a different kind of introduction. This as you may recognize is a…” are spoken by Serling himself and comes from Serling's introduction at the beginning of a 1961 episode titled It's A Good Life, where he is standing in front of a map where a town has disappeared, not in front of an elevator. The rest of the introduction was voiced by Mark Silverman.
 
This is the same episode referenced by the "Anthony Fremont's Orchestra" playing in the Tip Top Club poster located in the Lobby.(see Chapter 10 - Tower of Terror - Part 1)
 
(Twilight Zone Episode: “It’s a Good Life” (Season 3, Episode 8) Original air date: November 3, 1961)
 
Note: While the Actor Rod Serling appears in the film in the Library room, the voice you hear is actually voice actor Mark Silverman. Serling passed away in June 1975 so the voice work in the video was by Mark Silverman, who was personally selected by Serling's widow Carol.
Broken Glasses
Guests look around the library they may spot this pair of broken glasses atop a stack of books. These are referencing the plot of a Twilight Zone episode titled “Time Enough at Last,” which stars Burgess Meredith as Henry Bemis. Bemis loves to read but was surrounded by people keeping him from his books.   
                                                                             
When a nuclear war devastates the earth, Bemis becomes the sole survivor of the nuclear explosion. He suddenly had all the time in the world to read the books...but his glasses fall off and shatter, leaving him virtually blind.
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©CBS
Episode: “Time Enough at Last” (Season 1, Episode 8) Original air date: November 20, 1959
 
Reference:
The Stopwatch
Sitting on the desk is a stopwatch.  This is a reference to The Twilight Zone episode called, “A Kind of Stopwatch.” 
 
Patrick McNulty is a self-important, annoying bore. He frequently contributions to the suggestion box at work. One day his boss, says that all of McNulty's are useless and boss fires McNulty for wasting his time.
McNulty goes to a bar, where he meets a drunk. The drunk gives McNulty his stopwatch. Thinking it's an odd gift, McNulty quickly discovers that it pauses the passage of time and opens the door to the Twilight Zone.

Episode: “A Kind of Stopwatch” (Season 4, Episode 5) Original air date: October 18, 1963.
Reference:
Row of Books
Imagineers viewed each of the original 156 episodes of the series several times to capture the feeling of the series and to get ideas for storylines, props and set designs to use in the attraction.
 
Near the secret door to the boiler room is a shelf with a row of books.  Each of these slender volumes contains a Twilight Zone episode script.
 
Each library contains its own unique set.
Microsoft
The Trumpet  
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©CBS
If guests look around they may notice a trumpet. The trumpet is a prop from an episode entitled “Passage for Trumpet” which stars Jack Klugman as Joey Crown.
Joey was a musician down on his luck who sells his trumpet and contemplates ending his life when he’s taken to the Twilight Zone and saved by a fellow trumpeter named Gabe.
Gabe offers Joey a choice to return to the living, while reminding him that he must "take what you get and you live with it". With the man's encouragement, Joey’s luck changes.
 
Episode: “A Passage for Trumpet” (Season 1, Episode 32) Original air date: May 20, 1960
 
Reference:
Mickey Mouse
Looking closely there is a hidden tribute to Mickey Mouse beneath the trumpet in the form of sheet music. In one of the libraries the sheet music is entitled What! No Mickey Mouse? (1932) by Irving Caesar.  In the other library the sheet music is The Wedding Party of Mickey Mouse (1931).
Another tribute to Mickey Mouse
In the video shown in the library, five unlucky souls find themselves on the fateful elevator ride. The little girl who enters the elevator with her nanny is holding a vintage plush Mickey Mouse. The story goes that the evil event happened on Halloween in 1939 and the doll is one of the first plush versions of Mickey Mouse ever produced in the 1930s. While on the service elevator, guests will find themselves face to face with the spirits of the five individuals and can spot the Mickey Mouse plush still in the girl’s grip.
Library Bookshelves

There is a large assortment of antique’s and artifacts on top of the bookshelves around the Library. Some are direct references to Twilight Zone episodes.
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The “Mystic Seer”

There Is a Fortune Teller Machine that can be found on top of the bookshelves, near the TV screen. It’s a little red box with a devil’s head on top.
In the Twilight Zone episode “Nick of Time”, a young couple Don and Pat Carter encounter an irresistible fortune-telling machine in a diner, which torments the husband (William Shatner.)  For one penny, they will be able to look into the future.
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©CBS
Episode: “Nick of Time” (Season 2, Episode 7) Original air date: November 18, 1960
 
Source:
Tiny Attackers

Look further around the top of the bookshelves guests may spot a tiny alien spaceman suit.
This prop is from the Twilight Zone episode “The Invaders” which starred Agnes Moorhead.
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©CBS
In this episode, a farm woman (Moorhead) is attacked by these tiny creatures, she eventually destroys them. However, it turns out the creatures were actually humans with the U.S. Air Force, and they only appeared tiny because Moorhead is from a race of humanoid giants on another planet.
 
Episode: “The Invaders” (Season 2, Episode 15) Original air date: January 27, 1961
 
Sources:
The Envelope
Now take a look at the bookshelf that sits across from the entrance way (and to the left of the television). There is an envelope with the host of The Twilight Zone's name written upon it: Rod Serling.
But there's a lot more to this story than just a referral to the host of the show.
In the first season of the Twilight Zone, Keenan Wynn (who appeared in several Disney films including The Absent-Minded Professor and Herbie Rides Again) plays the part of a playwright named Gregory West in an episode entitled, A World of His Own.
 
In the episode Gregory's wife Victoria stumbles across a shocking revelation: her husband is in their living room sharing a drink with a woman she had never seen before! Gregory he quickly tries to explain to his wife that the woman she saw was in fact fictional. Victoria doubts him, so he begins to share a secret talent he possesses with her. He explains whenever he writes about any person or creature in full detail that person or creature will soon appear in his living room.
Victoria proclaims that her husband is crazy, but he shows her the ultimate proof that what he is saying is true. He takes out an envelope from the safe which is marked with Victoria's name. He explains that Victoria is in fact one of his creations and not real at all. Victoria upset, throws the envelope into the fire to show him how ridiculous he sounds. Victoria begins to fade away and eventually disappears.
Gregory frantically begins to write down Victoria's description once more in order to bring his wife back. While writing he soon realizes that he would much rather be with the apparent mistress. He finishes up the mistress' description by giving her his last name.

Episode: “A World of His Own” (Season 1, Episode 36) Original air date: July 1, 1960
Closing Narration
Well, how does Rod Serling's name on the envelope connect with this episode?
At the end of the episode Rod comes on to do the closing narration and explains that nothing in the episode could ever truly happen in the real world.
In the background, Gregory sits at his desk and interrupts Rod by saying “you shouldn't say such things as 'nonsense' and 'ridiculous'!"
Gregory shows the audience an envelope with Mr. Serling's name written upon it which he then throws into the fire. Rod then disappears from the show as well and The Twilight Zone is officially in Mr. Gregory West's hands!
 
Note: Rod Serling's name is on an envelope in the right library room and in the left library you’ll find an envelope with the name Victoria West written on it.
 Resources:
The Book
In both libraries, guests can find the book, To Serve Man. If you enter through the library on the right hand side, the book is found on a shelf on the opposite corner from the television screen, while on the left hand side the book is found on your right hand side just after entering the room.
The book is titled “To Serve Man” is from a Twilight Zone episode of the same name.
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Image: CBS
In the episode, a group of aliens known as the Kanamits land on earth and visit the United Nations where they promise to help Earth by showing them better ways to grow food.
Michael Chambers, a US government cryptographer, with his assistant Patty decodes the title of the Kanamit book, To Serve Man.
 
Several Earthlings begin to take trips to the Kanamits' planet. Patty decides to translate the rest of the book and realizes that the title To Serve Man doesn't focus on helping out the people of Earth, but a cookbook which on how to actually serve man as a meal.

 
Episode: “To Serve Man” (Season 3, Episode 24) Original air date: March 2, 1962

Source:
Boiler Room
Following the video, a secret panel will open and guests are directed out of the library and into a basement boiler room.
 Guests wind through the basement past boilers that look like they have faces, with fiery eyes or mouths.
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Pass boilers, worktables, pipes, until the guests reach the Service Elevator.
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After guests are loaded into the elevator, the Bellhop issues a Farewell and the doors close. As the lights dim and the elevator starts ascend, Rod Serling's voice greets passengers saying:
"You are the passengers on a most uncommon elevator about to ascend into your very own episode of The Twilight Zone."
 
Note: The Bellhop in the photo on the right is T.J.Wollard, who was the Opening Trainer for the Tower of Terror.
artistworks online music lessons
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Photo Credit: ©Disney
The Real Service Elevator
For those who have decided that a mysterious and questionable elevator ride is not for you. There is an alternate, the Real Service Elevator, which is located between the two ride elevators. This will take guests safely to the exit Lobby, where they can meet up with the rest of their group. (Should they return from the Twilight Zone?) 
The Elevator 

Inspection
Each guest is seated and belted in with a lap belt and a small handle to hold onto. It’s not necessary to hold the handle but you might want to!
After being seated, guests should look take a quick look to their right-hand side and check out the Permit to Operate.
The number on the Permit to Operate is 10259, which references the date October 2, 1959 when the very first episode of The Twilight Zone aired on television.
Note the date of the inspection was October 31, 1939 (Halloween), which was the date the Hollywood Tower Hotel was struck by lightning and the five guests went missing into The Twilight Zone.
 
The elevator was inspected and signed by Cadwallader. Cadwallader was a character in an episode of the Twilight Zone entitled Escape Clause where it was revealed he was the Devil. Now, don’t you feel safe and secure in this Service Elevator.
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Image: ©CBS
 In the episode, Walter Bedecker, is a paranoid hypochondriac. So when the Devil Mr. Cadwallader (Thomas Gomez) appears and offers him immortality and indestructability in exchange for his soul, Bedecker jumps at the chance.
He insists on an escape clause, however: if at any time he tires of life, all he need do is summon Cadwallader. Soon, Bedecker is delighted to find that nothing can harm him. Yet, something is missing, life lacks a certain zip. Bedecker has a nasty feeling Cadwallader has pulled a fast one. In his quest for bigger and better thrills, Bedecker is setting himself up for a nasty shock....courtesy of the Twilight Zone.

 
Episode: “Escape Clause” (Season 1, Episode 6) Original air date: November 6, 1959

Source:
Floor, Please!
After guests are loaded on the elevator, doors close, and leaves the basement, the needle to indicate what floor the elevator is on moves past the 12th floor. This is a reference to the missing floor in the Twilight Zone episode "The After Hours".
 
Marsha White (Anne Francis), browsing for a gift for her mother in a department store, decides on a gold thimble. She's taken by the elevator man to the ninth floor, although the elevator's floor indicator only shows eight floors. She walks out onto the ninth floor to find that there's nothing there, but the door closes abruptly, leaving her to ponder her situation….in the Twilight Zone.
 
Episode: “The After Hours” (Season 1, Episode 34) Original air date: June 10, 1960
Resource:
First Level
The elevators rises up to the first stop. The doors open to reveal a long, dimly lit hotel corridor, with overgrown plants and doors to guest rooms, with morning newspapers and room-service trays outside, along its length. There is a single window at the opposite end of the corridor. A violent thunderstorm is raging and lightning flashes outside the window. 
Then the ghostly apparitions of the 5 missing hotel guest appear, turning to face the elevator and beckoning the guests to join them.
Then  in a burst of electricity they disappear.
The corridor fades away, but the window remains until it appears to be floating in a dark field of stars. The window morphs into the window from the Twilight Zone’s TV opening sequence, and breaks.
Second Level
The elevator doors close again and the car continues its ascent.
 
Serling's narration continues, saying:
            "One stormy night long ago, five people stepped through the door of an elevator and into a nightmare."
 
The elevator stops once more. The doors open to what looks like a maintenance area.
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5th dimension scene. Credit: Attractions 360 on YouTube
Then Serling’s says:
                 "That door is opening once again, and this time, it's opening for you."
 
The elevator car emerges horizontally from the lift shaft and enters a section "The Fifth Dimension"
 As it slowly transforms into a field of stars.
It then become a dark void of floating clocks and stars, giving the guests the feeling they are traveling into another dimension.
 A rendition of The Twilight Zone theme plays throughout.
The elevator enters another vertical shaft, this one pitch black. Serling's voice is heard again, saying:
          "You are about to discover what lies beyond the fifth dimension, beyond the deepest, darkest corner of the imagination, 
            in the Tower of Terror."
 
Note: In the “5th Dimension” floor, a little girl can be heard eerily singing, “It’s raining, it’s pouring.”  This is the childhood voice of actress Kat Cressida, who is also the voice of the current Black Widow bride in the attic scene for the Haunted Mansion (See Magic Kingdom Chapter 18 Liberty Square).  
 
The scene ends as the elevator reaches another star field which splits and opens much like elevator doors.
 
Reference:
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Lost Little Girl

The horizontal movement into the Fifth Dimension is an element that is unique to the original Disney/ MGM Studios version. Every week the Twilight Zone show began with Serling telling viewers that, with the key of imagination, one unlocks the door to another dimension.
 
The idea of entering a different dimension was shown in the Little Girl Lost Twilight Zone episode.
 
Tina was seen being tucked in bed by her mother a few hours ago. Ruth Miller, her mother, was awakened by the whimpering of their little daughter. Tina can be heard quite clearly, despite the rather curious fact that she can't be seen at all. The little girl named Tina falls into another dimension through the wall behind her bed into the Twilight Zone.
 
Episode: “Little Girl Lost” (Season 3, Episode 26) Original air date: March 16, 1962

Sources:
 Engineering

Only the Hollywood Studios’ version of the Tower of Terror is the only version of the ride that contains the “5th Dimension” scene. In the Hollywood Studios’ version the guests' elevator leaves the lift shaft and passes through the Fifth Dimension where guests get a glimpse of the 1939 passengers motioning them to go deeper and join them. The elevator then goes into another lift shaft.
 
The Tower of Terror actually employs more than one type of vehicle in order to enable riders to leave the elevator shaft and pass through the Fifth Dimension. Guests sit in Autonomous Guided Vehicles (AGVs), which rise up to the 5th Dimension corridor scene in a Vertical Vehicle Conveyance (VVC).
 
When they reach the Fifth Dimension corridor, the AGVs exit not on a track like a traditional dark ride vehicle but are guided by a magnetic wire under the floor. This technology was originally developed for the ride vehicles in Epcot's Universe of Energy attraction and The Great Movie Ride.
 
The AGVs are powered by onboard batteries, which are charged while riders are unloading. At any one time, up to eight of these vehicles could be circulating around the Tower of Terror's ride system.
 
The ride system employs specialized technology developed by Walt Disney Imagineering, particularly the ability to move the vehicle in and out of the vertical motion shaft. Once the AGV vehicles are locked into the Vertical Vehicle Conveyance (the elevator housing), they are pulled by cables connected to two enormous motors which are 12 feet tall, 35 feet long, and weigh a massive 132,000 pounds. So, the VVC is both pulled up and pulled down which is why Disney can program in multiple lifts and drops of varying heights.
The Hollywood Studios ride runs on a unique loop system, with two identical ride systems built within the Tower. There are four shafts in the back section of the building containing the dark-ride portion of the attraction. After the corridor scene, the four shafts merge into two, with identical "Fifth Dimension" scenes, and then a cab enters the single drop shaft. After the drop sequence, the elevators unload in the building's basement, then return to one of the show shafts to re-load the next guests.
 
In order to achieve the weightless effect the Imagineers desired, cables attached to the bottom of the elevator car pull it down at a speed slightly faster than what a free fall would provide. Two enormous motors are located at the top of the tower, measuring 12 feet (3.7 m) tall, 35 feet (11 m) long, and weighing 132,000 pounds (60,000 kg). They are able to accelerate 10 short tons (9.1 t) at 15 times the speed of normal elevators. They generate 275 times the torque of a Chevrolet Corvette engine, reaching top speed in 1.5 seconds. The ride's slogan, "Never the Same Fear Twice!” refers to the drop pattern being randomly selected by a computer before the ride begins. The drop reaches a top speed of 39 miles per hour (63 km/h).
 
At the time work began on the Tower of Terror, United Technologies (UT) was the sponsor of the Living Seas pavilion at Epcot. UT owned a subsidiary, Otis Elevator, which had pioneered the development of the safety elevator in 1852. They developed the elevator system for the Tower of Terror.
The self-guided vehicle was assigned to Eaton-Kenway, a manufacturer of computerized palette drivers for automated warehouse inventory transport. There were challenges getting both systems to work in tandem.
References:
Drops

When the Elevator reaches the far end of the 5th dimension corridor, it lock into the vertical motion cab
 
Eventually the car stops in total darkness and on the last word of Serling's narration, the elevator starts its drop sequence. At which time it is sent suddenly either rise or plummeting randomly. This occurs several times in a computer operated random sequence until it finally comes to an end and guests are free to exit.
 
Unlike other amusement park drop rides, no one falls on the Tower of Terror, but are pulled down to their doom by gravity. In fact, the vehicles are moving faster than the speed of gravity to a top speed of 39 miles per hour. 
The computer code had to be written and revised. The Imagineers tested 33 different drop sequences before settling on the final one. Although the attraction was to open July 4, 1994, it did not open until July 22, where it was so popular that wait times could be as much as three and a half hours. The cost for building it has been estimated as a $150 million.
 
Through the years, the Tower of Terror has received updates to the drop sequences and additional visuals in show scenes.
 
In 1996, it was modified for two "twice the fright" drops. In 1999, a triple drop was included with faster acceleration and more rumbling. In celebration of the attraction's tenth anniversary in 2004, randomized patterns of drops and lifts were added, where the ride vehicle would drop or rise various distances at different intervals for up to five to eight drops per ride. The slogan was now: "Never the Same Fear Twice!"
When you finally get to the top of the hotel, windows in front of the elevator will open, giving the guests a view of the park from the top.
 
What makes an elevator frightening is the combined fears of claustrophobia and agoraphobia (a fear of being trapped with no escape that leads to panic attacks) not to mention being out of control. Added to this the random plunges of the Tower of Terror.

                                           In the Tower of Terror Guests experience a 13-story drop.
 
Research:
Ride Music
The eerie music heard on the ride was composed by Richard Bellis, and incorporates the main Twilight Zone theme composed by Marius Constant
 
Note: Richard Bellis also worked with Walt Disney Imagineering to write the score to the Animal Kingdom attraction Countdown to Extinction, later renamed to Dinosaur, and some of the musical work in Motors, Action! Stunt Show Spectacular.
Reference:
Basement

After the series of random drops the elevator ends up in the basement of the Hollywood Tower Hotel. As the elevator moves into the unloading position, a short clip plays, showing elements Twilight Zone TV opening sequence, along with the 1939 elevator passengers and Rod Serling falling into the "vortex" .
Serling's voice says:
"A warm welcome back to those of you who made it, and a friendly word of warning, something you won't find in any guidebook. The next time you check into a deserted hotel on the dark side of Hollywood, make sure you know just what kind of vacancy you're filling. Or you may find yourself a permanent resident... of the Twilight Zone."
As the elevator turns to the unloading position, guests may notice curious array of abandoned items including many Twilight Zone Easter eggs.
Slot Machine 
With a careful look in the Elevator unloading area, guests may spot a slot machine. It’s a reference to the Twilight Zone episode "The Fever".
Mr. and Mrs. Franklin Gibbs, three days and two nights all expenses paid at a Las Vegas hotel, won by virtue of Mrs. Gibbs's knack with a phrase. But unbeknownst to either Mr. and Mrs. Gibbs is the fact that there's a prize in their package, neither expected nor bargained for. In just a moment, one of them will succumb to an illness worse than any virus can produce. A most inoperative, deadly life-shattering affliction known as the Fever and a trip to the….. Twilight Zone.
Episode: “The Fever” (Season 1, Episode 17) Original air date: January 29, 1960
 
Reference:
The Invader’s Ship
In the corner of the left unload Exit Area is a flying saucer spaceship suspended from the ceiling.   This is a reference to The Twilight Zone episode, “The Invaders.”  The episode starred Agnes Moorhead.  It originally aired on January 27, 1961. 
The model was recreated just for the attraction. 
It was moved to this location during 1994 for a press event.  It was never moved back after the press event was concluded.  It has taken up permanent residency in this area.
Back in the Library, up on the top of one of the bookshelves is the Tiny Alien Spaceman Suit.
In the section we discussed this Twilight Zone reference.
 
 
Episode: “The Invaders” (Season 2, Episode 15) Original air date: January 27, 1961
 
 
Sources:
Dummy

Another prop can be spotted in the Elevator storage area which pays homage to an episode of the Twilight Zone.
Among the items is an eerie ventriloquist dummy called "Caesar" from the episode "Caesar and Me" and is present in both unload areas.
Before disembarking the elevator guests can spot Caesar sitting amongst a pile of items looking for his next victim.
 
According to the Cast Members at The Tower of Terror, you must say hello and good night to Caesar every day or he will cause mischief around the attraction.
 
Episode: “Caesar and Me” (Season 5, Episode 28) Original air date: April 10, 1964
 
Resource:
The episode features a ventriloquist named Jonathon West (played by Jackie Cooper) who finds himself rather unsuccessful. His dummy Caesar comes to life and encourages him to commit a series of burglaries to keep afloat. After being caught by the police, West attempts to convince them that the plan was all Caesars, but the police think that he is crazy as the dummy is inanimate. After West is arrested, Caesar attempts to convince a young girl in the building to continue his evil plans and go into the Twilight Zone.
The ride elevator then rotates 90 degrees and a set of exit doors open to the basement.
 
Guest will notice a large “B” painted on the inside of the elevator doors, signifying “Basement.” As the doors open, the “B” splits in half creating the number 13.
 
The number 13 is found throughout the Tower of Terror.
  • The Tower of Terror is 13 stories tall.
  • There is 13 AAA diamond ranking plague in the lobby.
  • The elevator drops 13 floors.
  • Whenever the wait time is very short the number 13 will appear on the Entrance Stand by sign.
 
Can you find more?
 
Note: By the way for those guests going to the Haunted Mansion in the Magic Kingdom, the stand-by sign will also show a 13 if the wait time is very short
After leaving the elevator, guests are led through a hotel corridor towards an old "Lost & Found" desk of the hotel, converted to display the on-ride photographs, serviced by Disney PhotoPass. Guests can use their MagicBands to link the photograph to their My Disney Experience account via the RFID touch points.
On the way down the corridor, they’ll pass the special service elevator used by those that weren’t ready for the questionable elevator ride.
he "Lost & Found" desk is full of many leftover artifacts and items forgotten or left by their previous Hotel guests. Here they sit, wasting away, for folks to notice. Take a close look behind the desk if you get a chance. The room has definitely been left alone, and might hold many secrets.
To the right is a message board, with many little posts from various guests and businesses in the area. Notices, messages, and other little tidbits pinned to the board beg a closer look.
To the left, is a sign with 'Picture if you will...' written on it".
 This is one of Rod Serling’s Twilight Zone episode-opening phrases, which is quite appropriately applied to the ride photo area.
 
Resource:
The Pickled Sausage Jar
While the tower was being constructed, one of the imagineers received a jar of pickled sausages as a gift. The sausage jar got passed around, again and again all throughout the construction of the tower as sort of an ongoing prank. But then… someone accidentally left it out… on the day the props were to be glued down. The jar of sausages was accidently mistaken as a prop and glued down with the rest of them, and it’s still there! If you look behind the desk near the picture pick-up area, you can still see the jar of old dusty pickled sausages. 
Also note in the open desk draw…..a Hidden Mickey
Little Girl Lost
In the Basement unload corridor there is an exposed brick patch in the wall with chalk markings around it.  This is another reference to The Twilight Zone episode, “Little Girl Lost.” 
 
As we mentioned on the 5th dimension floor above, in the episode a little girl accidentally goes through a mysterious portal into another dimension. 
In the episode the little Girl’s father ends up in the alternate dimension, and returns with his daughter just as the portal shrinks and disappears, leaving only the chalk outline.
 
Episode: “Little Girl Lost” (Season 3, Episode 26) Original air date: March 16, 1962
 
Sources:
As guest leave the corridor, they will enter the Photo purchase desk.

In August 2014, video recording was added to the ride's on-ride camera, as an additional offering included with on-ride photo through the PhotoPass service. This was the first ride at Walt Disney World to offer on-ride videos. In September 2014, the Seven Dwarfs Mine Train ride at the Magic Kingdom began including on-ride videos with photographs as well.
click to enlarge
At the photo purchase desk is mural of The Hollywood Tower Hotel.  It is meant to appear as if it were painted before the incident on October 31, 1939.  It shows the hotel with both of the main tower’s hotel Wings still attached.
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Fountain opposite the Photo pickup Desk.
The Sunset Room

Just beyond this desk are three sets of doors labeled Sunset, Beverly, and Fountain Rooms. I mentioned these earlier when talking about the hotel Directory. In reality, these lead to backstage areas. But in the realm of the Hollywood Tower Hotel these are banquet rooms.

As guest pass the desk, to their right is the Sunset Room. On the wall next to the Door is a menu dated October 31, 1939 - the date that the hotel is said to have closed due to the unfortunate lightning strike.
 
If you check the menu next to the Sunset Room, you can see that a gala dinner was taking place here on October 31, 1939. As you can see, the guests were in for a sumptuous feast. Here’s what was on the menu that night:
Hors D’oeurve
Grape Fruit Maraschino
Sweet Gherkins la Moutarde
Bismark Herrings

Soups
Glear Turtle with Sherry
Potage Ecossaise
Cold Consomme

Fish
Grilled Bluefish
Dover Sole
Whitefish Matheson

Entrees
Mignon of Beef
Rack of Lamb Johnson
Tournedos Nicoise

Grill
Mutton Chops
Spring Chicken
Calf’s Liver and Bacon
Deviled Quail on Toast

Vegetables
Fresh Green Peas
Cauliflower au Gratin
New Carrots

Salads
Autumn Salad
Belgian Endive
Polonaise Beaumont

Dessert
Peach Shortcake
Apple Pie and Cream
Gateau Chocolate au Rodman
Tea and coffee, Liqueurs, Cigars, Cigarettes

Some of the menu items contain the names of writers of the Twilight Zone TV show such as Richard Matheson, Charles Beaumont, and George Clayton Johnson, Rod Serling.
 
Rod Serling’s full name is Rodman Edward Serling.
Further down the hall are other doors to the Beverly, and Fountain banquet rooms.
Tower Hotel Gifts Shop

Located at the Tower of Terror's exit, this shop sells Twilight Zone and Tower of Terror merchandise
 
The shop has cracked walls and is dimly lit in keeping with the theme of the hotel, and stocks merchandise themed to the attraction and the Hollywood Tower Hotel, the latter including hotel bathrobes, slippers and keychains.
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Living Doll
Sitting on an upper shelf behind the main register counter in Hotel Gifts Shop is a doll with her hand hanging over the ledge.  This is a reference to The Twilight Zone episode, “Living Doll.”  The episode originally aired on November 1, 1963.  The episode featured a talking doll named Talky Tina.  The Talky Tina doll in Hotel Gifts Shop is a replica that was purchased approximately 20 years after the Twilight Zone Tower of Terror opened.  The doll was added during a major refurbishment of Hotel Gifts Shop.
Talky Tina stars Telly Savalas. The episode is about a man, Erich Streator, whose stepdaughter has a doll that has it in for him. While it normally says things like, "I'm Talky Tina! Want to play?", it spews forth hatred for Erich Streator in the form of, "I'm Talky Tina and I'm going to kill you." Erich Streator doesn’t realize that he has just entered the…….Twilight Zone.
 
 It's truly creepy. And, terrifyingly, Talky Tina is sitting above the merchandise displays, waiting for a new friend. I'd advise you to steer clear.
 
Episode: “Living Doll” (Season 5, Episode 6) Original air date: November 1, 1963
 
Resources:
As guests exit the Hollywood Tower Hotel Gift show, they should do a little window shopping.

Outside the shop are three windows displaying elegant merchandise once for sale at the hotel. Pumpkins make up part of the window dressing in honor of Halloween. Also, a sign in the window mentions the upcoming Halloween Extravaganza, presumably being held in the Sunset Room.
               Or get something to settle their nerves.
Photo Gallery
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There are many, many more Twilight Zone Easter eggs scattered throughout the Hollywood Tower Hotel. Hidden references to episodes are planted on the Grounds, tucked away on bookshelves in the Library, boiling in the Basement, hidden in plain sight in the Lobby, scatter on the elevator ride and permeate in almost every area of the hotel and grounds.
 
More References:
The Tower of Terror has been the Imagineer's jewel for binding details to an extremely well developed backstory. This is not the end to the interconnects woven into Sunset Boulevard and Hollywood Studios.

We have one more Chapter to add in order to complete the backstory of Sunset Boulevard.

    We would definitely like to hear from you.
    Let us know what your thoughts, suggestions, ideas, and absolutely, if we've missed anything.
Afterword:
WDWMousing.com is designed to be a tour of Walt Disney World through photos. We have been to Walt Disney World countless times over the past 25 years and accumulated a magnitude of photos in that time. This website is an intention to combine two of our favorite pastimes, Walt Disney World and photography, and provide an insightful pictorial tour.
While doing so, we've done an extensive research of the internet and literary sources for background information on each area and atrraction. The information is available, but most bits and pieces are scattered all over. WDWMousing doesn't intend to rewrite the stories, legends or data, but to try and collect it into one location with reference and links to the original articles and authors. And giving rightful credit. We've stumbled through quite a bit of mis-information, most of which came to life by fans because the origins were lost, forgotten or no one seems to remember. Over the past 25 years we've also lost most of the great Imagineers that helped develop, design and build the original concepts of Walt Disney World. So we believe it's extremely important to make sure that their efforts, intentions, details and creativity in making this Happiest Place on Earth isn't lost.
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