We all know the Tower of Terror lobby is absolutely PACKED with detail, especially for a scene you only see for a few minutes at most. But did you know that there is extensive themeing and lore even in places that guests cannot see from the queue?
Well, last June I was lucky enough to be allowed past those velvet queue ropes--escorted by a bellhop tour guide of course (and how that happened is a story all it's own...). I finally stepped into it to see these details in full and now, I'll share them with you.
(Forgive the quality of some of the photos--it's a low light situation, I was working with an old Android phone camera, and I was shaking a bit with excitement because wow I'm actually allowed in the lobby!)
The Mahjong Table Scene
According to Bella, my bellhop tour guide, the Imagineers insisted that this table be mahjong instead of a card game for a reason. The Hollywood Tower is supposed to be an incredibly rich luxury hotel, while cards were "a poor man's game." I cannot help but note that California Adventure's Tower did have a card game here instead of mahjong. Given how DCA, including its Tower of Terror, was beset by budget cuts (to the point of having an incomplete facade), I wonder if that was an intentional dig at the situation.
The game itself was set up by having one Imagineer run around to each position, playing against himself, and leaving "when the game got interesting," in order to give the impression of the players suddenly being taken. Bella was a new trainee (or at least new/in training for doing tours), so she didn't yet have all the information memorized, but she thought that the Imagineer responsible for this was "the guy who designed Expedition Everest" aka Joe Rhode.
The tea cart next to the mahjong game has a newspaper dated to when the Hollywood Tower was struck by lightning: Halloween 1939.
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The newspaper is on the lower level of the cart
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The cups on this cart, and elsewhere throughout the lobby, are accurately tea-stained despite this not being visible to guests in the normal queue. All of the dishes, drinkware, and napkins have accurate food/drink stains and lipstick marks that are all but invisible to those not actually standing in the show scene.
Throughout the lobby, the cobwebs are made out of hot glue, and real dust is allowed to stick to it for additional free atmosphere.
Statue on the Table
Moving past the mahjong table, there's the table in front of the window with a bronze statue on it. This is "Cougar Attack" by Antoine Barye, and it is an original. Apparently, for bronze cast statues like this, the first ten cast from the mold are considered "originals" and this is one of those ten. In fact, all of the bronze lobby statues here are originals.
The table the statue sits on is also antique. Nearly all of the furniture in this lobby is genuine 1930s-1940s vintage furniture, and was sourced from places like thrift stores and estate sales.
The Dinner Table Scene
In the Florida Tower's queue setup, this scene is basically unable to be viewed from the normal line (DCA and Paris let you get a little closer to their equivalent scene). However, despite its hidden nature it is no less densely detailed.
The food stains and lipstick marks are especially noticeable in this scene.
The champagne bottle is apparently also genuinely from the 1930s-1940s, and per my tour guide was sourced from the estate sale of a real Hollywood bigwig. I can't recall if he was a producer or an agent, and my tour guide couldn't recall the bigwig's name. However, she said that he was famous for having a new star be in three major movies premiering the same day, which was some sort of record. Perhaps a reader can help determine which Old Hollywood figure might have contributed this bottle?
Emergency Exit Area
Another original bronze statue is here, but it does not have a title plaque attached.
This chair with hand-shaped armrests is a real vintage piece from an estate sale.
Main Scene (Fireplace and Couches)
Remember when I said "nearly all of the furniture is genuine antiques"? Well, the only non-vintage pieces are here: the two couches. They are, however, replicas of a real vintage design that Disney commissioned for this scene. These are the only pieces of furniture that people are allowed to sit on, as they're "new." The ride (as of this writing) just passed its 30th anniversary, and was 29 wen I was there in 2023, but I guess that doesn't quite count as "too historical to sit on" yet.
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I like how you can almost see a face in the design--very Haunted Mansion
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(Yes, I absolutely took the opportunity to sit on one of the couches.)
The lampshades with the fringe are another interesting blend of genuine and replica. The designers wanted a specific vintage design, but could not source any actual existing copies. Therefore, they made their own replicas, but out of authentic vintage fabric sourced from flapper dresses. Apparently this involved some sort of special fabric treatment, since lampshade fabric has to be different than clothing fabric, but I didn't quite catch what my tour guide said about the treatment involved.
All of the luggage is also authentic to the 30s/40s, including one near the check in desk made of real alligator skin.
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This doesn't show the alligator luggage, but it is a unique view to get!
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This entire main scene was set with the idea of giving the sense of certain specific "characters" being there at the time. As in, the designers thought of people and their backstories and what they might have been doing at the moment the lightning struck.
On the left couch (when facing the fireplace) there was a rich French lady sitting on the side nearer the queue. Her lipstick is on the tea cup by the seat, and there is a French book on the table next to it. Her boyfriend was sitting at the other end of the couch, with his tuxedo jacket draped over the arm by the fireplace. My tour guide didn't mention the seat gap between them. A date-accurate newspaper is on the couch arm next to the French Lady's seat.
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The French Lady's seat
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The Boyfriend's seat, with his jacket draped over the arm
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Newspaper at the French Lady's seat
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A better look at the newspaper
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Her book. It appears to be a French-to-English dictionary
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| Her lipstick-stained cup |
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It seems she finished most of her tea, seeing how low the stain is on this cup.
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The couch opposite the French couple also has a table next to it, but I didn't catch any special stories about these items.
According to Bella, the Talking Tina doll was never on the couches here like she was in DCA Tower. In Florida, she's apparently always been above the gift shop cash register, as she is today.
The Check-In Desk
Bella confirmed what I'd long suspected: the time of 8:05 on all the clocks WAS chosen so that the numbers would add up to 13.
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I believe that THIS is the alligator luggage, by the check-in desk.
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There are, of course, signatures on the guest book, but my tour guide did not elaborate on any significance to them. There was also another "handwritten" note on Hollywood Tower stationery here, but I couldn't read it and she said she didn't know if it had any hidden details or not.
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| Guest book |
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A closer look at the guest book
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Unreadable note on hotel stationery
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NOTE: according to @chunkecheeks on Tumblr, that note says "Miss Nan Adams, Reservation for Oct 31, Arrival delayed, hold room." This is a reference to the Twilight Zone episode "The Hitch Hiker." It would be impossible to read from the normal queue.
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You've heard of the back side of water, but here's the back side of the owl statue!
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The Concierge Desk
This scene was set to appear as if a man was just inquiring at the desk as he was taken. He'd placed his hat down on the desk. There are cigarette remnants in the ashtray.
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Lamp detail. I've seen some claims that this is a hidden Mickey, but I don't quite see it. My tour guide did not mention it as a hidden secret.
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Per my tour guide, that 13 Diamond award is "real," as in actually given to Disney (by AAA?) for the Hollywood Tower Hotel and not just made up by Disney themselves for the theme.
A set of broken glasses is on the concierge desk. I'm not quite sure if it's THE broken glasses from "Time Enough at Last," as they look a bit different. The official broken glasses are currently nowhere to be found elsewhere in the Tower, however.
There is a note here, on Hollywood Tower stationery, that constitutes a travel manifest for a Mr. and Mrs. Ransome. This is a very hidden/obscure Easter Egg for Twilight Zone episode S4E7 "Passage on the Lady Anne." It even mentions their destination from the episode, Southampton!
It reads:
Travel itinerary for Mr. + Mrs. Ransome
Los Angeles--New York Nov. 1, 1939
Global Air Flt. 33
New York--Southampton Nov. 5, 1939
S.S. Lady Anne
Return to Los Angeles
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A closer look at the concierge chair
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What is this cabinet supposed to be for? Travel brochures, maybe?
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| Statues and flags |
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The famous Tip Top Club poster
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The poster stand
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The rug and floor tiles
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Another original statue. It is titled "Eagle", but I can't quite read the artist's name on the plaque in this photo. It starts with an M.
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The Library Carpet!
At this point, we'd covered the whole lobby. Bella asked if I'd like to ride the ride again--of course I said yes! She turned me over to the bellhop running the right-side library.
There, the right library's bellhop, Victor, was kind enough to point out yet another obscure Easter Egg to me! There is a hidden Mickey in the carpet. Three berries in the plant pattern in the corner of the carpet form a classic Mickey head shape. I wonder if this was intentional, or if it was just a coincidence with the carpet pattern. Either way, I wonder how many people have managed to ever spot this on their own. On the floor? In the dark??? Really, Disney!?
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| Helpfully he brought out a flashlight and pointed it out with his shoe. |
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Into the 5th Dimension
Throughout all this, it was technically after-hours for the general public. Hollywood Studios was open later for some kind of event (which I didn't have a ticket for, so I got some extra time for free!), and as a result there were very, very few other people in the queue. I was one of only five people on my elevator, and everyone got to pick their favorite seat. The bellhop who loaded us in (I wish I'd caught her name as well) had fun pointing this out, getting into character and pressing her hands on the glass when the doors closed to give a ghostly silhouette. Needless to say, everyone in the elevator had a total blast!
That was my last ride of the trip. I had to fly out the next day. For a variety of reasons, I don't think I'll be back to Disney World for a long time. I couldn't have imagined a more special experience to end with.
To Sahar, Mike, Sophia (Sophie?), Bella, Victor, and the other wonderful Disney cast members who made this possible and answered my questions: thank you so much. You brought the real Disney magic.
...And Beyond the 5th Dimension
Reviewing these photos, and writing this post, I have to admit it somewhat pains me to think about the lost details of DCA Tower. I started this blog to try and archive it, but never saw more than what the average everyday guest could see. Did DCA's lobby also have every cup and plate accurately stained? Did it have its own special characters that got zapped away? Were the couches there real or replicas that you could sit on? Were there other hidden notes and references, now forever lost?
Florida's very hidden stationery notes in the lobby apparently went undocumented by fans for over two decades. What details from California's will never be seen by the public?
And I really wish I could ask an Imagineer if the card game really was a dig at DCA being "budget." Paris has a card game too, even after being fully renovated to no longer be a "budget" Tower. At this point, though, it's possible the original designers were simply no longer present to explain the joke.
