Introduction

             In early 2016, I discovered the Miceage/Micechat.com Disney fan forums, and immediately began indulging on the various trivia, fan theories, and development rumors the users posted.  Unfortunately, in April, a very unfortunate rumor came to light: Disneyland was going to remove the popular Tower of Terror ride in favor of an upcoming Marvel project.

            After the initial shock, the fandom collectively looked at the post dates: early April.  It had to be an April Fool’s prank.  Heck, it wasn’t even an original one; just the year before a prank rumor had circulated on Tumblr and other social media and fan sites that the Tower would be replaced by a Frozen ride called “Elsa’s Ice Castle”.  The fact that the rumored Marvel replacement was Guardians of the Galaxy, one of the more obscure Marvel properties and one of the few that does not remotely fit in with California or feature a prominent tower, only made the rumor seem even more prank-like.  Still, the “leaker” for the rumor was a trusted source on the boards, and they were very assured that Tower fans should get their last rides in while they could.  For a few weeks, those who feared the ride’s demise were dismissed by yet others who were sure it was a prank and the “prank vs. real leak” debate raged.

            While I desperately wanted it to be a prank, I didn’t want to take my chances.  Perhaps it is the history-buff side of me that desperately wanted to preserve something.  Maybe it was the fandom side of me just being weird.  Either way, I had a Disney annual pass that was about to expire, so I decided to make the most of it by gathering all the data about the Tower that I could.  I tried to get extensive photographs of the area, and find audio and video recordings online (since I did not wish to risk my camera by photographing on the ride—my first experience with the Florida version taught me not to do that). 

            This trivia and photo compilation, with links to audio and video, is the culmination of my efforts.  I hope any readers enjoy it!  I feel it’s justified, now that Disney confirmed the rumor at San Diego Comic Con 2016 and, as of October 1, 2016, demolition work started for the conversion to Guardians.

            Unfortunately, since the imminent removal of the Tower was just a rumor on a fan board at the time I was gathering photos, people in line were not quite so understanding.  I tried to tell them to go ahead of me so I could photograph as much as I wished, but they didn’t seem to get it.  As a result, between uncooperative fellow guests and my own forgetting to record some things, I didn’t get all the photographs/film/etc. that I wanted.  I try to fill the gaps here with stills from videos and pictures from fan blogs, which I will credit as they appear.

The author

p.s. I am also on Tumblr at https://a-land-of-shadow-and-substance.tumblr.com/  and go by "TwilightZone" on the micechat forums