Walkthrough Part 1: The Hotel Grounds

            (And, finally, we arrive at what I plan to be the "main course" of this blog: the detailed walkthrough!)
             The DCA Tower of Terror was built in the “land” originally known as Hollywood Pictures Backlot. In the original version of DCA, this land was meant to represent the Californian movie industry, with the intent being that the “street” would reveal itself to be a studio backlot as you walked further in. After the closure of the Superstar Limo ride[1], this area was lacking attractions, as was the rest of the new park. Thankfully, Disney already had a Hollywood-themed, film-themed ride that would fit right in.
            Despite the land being themed to be a false city on a film backlot, the Tower was not presented as being an in-universe filming location. There was not any indication that it was anything other than a “real” hotel in-universe. This discrepancy was addressed in the massive 2012 remodel of DCA. In DCA 2.0, Hollywood Pictures Backlot became Hollywood Land, which was now meant to represent a “real” city (although portions still remained looking suspiciously like a backlot with unfinished façades instead of buildings).

A section of a 2008 DCA park map showing the Tower of Terror in Hollywood Pictures Backlot.  Image from: http://www.themeparkbrochures.net/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/Disneys-California-Adventure-Map-2008.jpg

            If one entered Hollywood Land from its main entrance on Buena Vista Street (or, in the past, entered Hollywood Pictures Backlot from Sunshine Plaza), one could reach the Tower by traveling all the way to the end of the “street” and turning right. At this point, one  would be greeted by this sight:

Image from the official Disney Parks website entry for Hollywood Land (LINK).  Screenshots taken 10/24/16

            Moving in closer, one arrived at the hotel grounds proper:

Another official Disney Parks website photo from the same link as the previous image; screenshot taken 10/24/16.  This lovely wide shot was taken in the Tower's early years; note the lack of A Bug's Land entrance at the right side of the photo.

            Prior to the installation of the Red Car Trolley, guests entering the Hotel Grounds passed through a set of art deco columns with light fixtures on them.  The fixtures, which you can see in the first Disney Parks website photo, were sconces with three large round lights.  These columns formed an "entry gate" for the area.  They were removed when the Red Car Trolley necessitated a wider entryway.

            The area around the Tower was quite compact, which led to some unintentional comedy. The area around the ride is basically the concrete “road” circling around the front, some themed street lights, banners with the hotel logo, and sparse hotel signage. The signage was the main source of unintentional comedy here. The signs were similar to some found at the original Florida attraction, being simple signs reading “Pool”, “Valet Parking”, and “Tennis Court”, with arrows specifying the direction in which a guest would theoretically find said hotel feature. In Florida, the ride had a winding, extensive outdoor queue area filled with deliberately disorienting twists and turns and lush greenery that gave the impression that, yes, a pool or tennis court might be somewhere beyond those trees. In the smaller, sparser California area, it was painfully clear that the signs pointed to another sign (the pool sign), a backstage parade area (the valet sign), and A Bug's Land (the tennis court sign) rather than there being any possibility of real guest facilities being anywhere near the hotel building.

Logo banners at the hotel grounds, May 2016.

The Pool sign, which was closest to the gift shop door.  December 2016 photo by Wandering Optimist of the Micechat forums.

The valet parking sign.  December 2016 photo by Wandering Optimist of the Micechat forums.

            The signs were set in Banhof Regular font, for those curious.  Also, as of this post date, I have no photo of the Tennis Court sign, and it may have been moved or removed when the trolley stop was installed.
EDIT: Mrbellcaptain from Tumblr managed to snap a distant shot of the Tennis Court Sign:

According to him, it was located "along a path that is only connected to an emergency exit and backstage", which is a very strange spot for a sign. /EDIT
            EDIT: As it turns out, a good photo of the Tennis Court sign DOES exist, by Daveland: see [this link] as I'm not sure if I have permission to post it or not.  It's dated April 2007. /EDIT
            An entrance to A Bug’s Land was added to the right (if you were facing the Tower) of the hotel entrance at an undetermined time. Based on internet searches of park maps, my best guess is that the gate to A Bug’s Land was added circa 2010. As you can see in the 2008 map section at the start of this post, there was no connection between the Tower area and Bug’s Land shown on that map. Image searches of 2009 maps also showed no connection. Image searches for 2010 maps showed the connecting path, leading me to suspect that this connection was constructed at that time. This would also make sense given the construction timeline for preparations for the 2012 remodel/reopening of DCA, which was announced in 2007.

            The Bug’s Land Wikipedia page[2] and various fan blog comments have also listed an even weirder connection between Bug’s Land and the Tower. Namely, that A Bug’s Land exists in the Hollywood Tower Hotel’s lawn. The Wikipedia page claims that, story-wise, Bug’s Land was discovered during the construction of the Tower, and Disney decided to open the pleasant little Flik’s Fair to all guests. While this would explain where the rest of the hotel grounds are outside of the compact area that visibly exists (maybe Bug’s Land is the grass of that missing tennis court?) I can’t quite bring myself to accept this as canon. After all, this would mean that a beloved Pixar family film shares a universe with the freaking Twilight Zone. That is, quite frankly, a shift in tone that seems quite incompatible, even in the nebulous canon of a theme park. Thankfully this is an un-sourced Wikipedia claim, so one is free to ignore it.
EDIT: Apparently this isn't just an un-sourced Wikipedia claim.  Trainers told new employees this connection, at least during 2012.  So... strange but true? /EDIT

            On the left side of the hotel grounds was a large gate through which California Adventure's parades entered or exited the park.  The "Valet Parking" sign pointed to it.  Here's a little atmospheric video, taken 30 September 2016, which was kindly donated to this blog by a reader:

Maybe the parade floats are valet parked?
EDIT: Note, if that video looked grainy/poor quality to you, see [here] for better quality /EDIT

            There was also a large gate to backstage on the Bug's Land side of the hotel grounds.  This gate had a mural on it.  The original mural proclaimed the Hollywood Tower Hotel as "The Height of Elegance and Glamour!" and showed the hotel in its heyday, with classic cars and fancy-dressed people arriving in front of the building.  I do not know exactly when this mural was changed, but it was definitely in place in 2007, and photos exist of it coexisting with the Trolley stop.

Undated photo courtesy Mrbellcaptain at Tumblr.

Mrbellcaptain's photo, cropped to show the mural detail.  Hey, wait a second, those are Paris' "round things" on the Tower!  This isn't the only official DCA art to erroneously depict the Paris version (years before Paris' version was even built); the gift shop mural makes the same mistake!

            The Buena Vista Street remodel of DCA brought the Red Car Trolley stop to the hotel grounds.  A stop called the “Sunset Boulevard Stop”[3] for the Red Car Trolley attraction was installed on the right side of the Tower, in between the Tower and the Bug’s Land entrance. The backstage gate with the mural sits behind this trolley stop, with the gate leading to the trolley maintenance area. Sometime around the Trolley installation, the mural on the gate changed to a retro-styled advertisement for the Red Car. I cannot definitively say when the installation and mural change took place, other than that it happened between 2007 and the 2012 official opening of DCA 2.0. My personal estimate would be around 2010, when the Bug's Land path was also opened. When the trolley was installed, it also brought its power cables which cross overhead along the entire trolley route. These cables have an annoying tendency to get in the way of otherwise lovely photos of the Tower, and they also limit the size of the parade floats that can be used at DCA. The trolley also necessitated the removal of the hotel grounds' entry gate columns.

The Red Car Trolley mural, photo by Mrbellcaptain

            Importantly, the hotel grounds also housed the fastpass distribution area for the Tower of Terror ride. The fastpass pavilion was not elaborate at all, even though it matched the Tower theme well. The pavilion consisted of columns and a roof, styled to match the art-deco architecture of the tower. The fencing around the pavilion was of the same pattern that enclosed the exterior queue area. Above the entrance to the fastpass pavilion was a sign set in Banhof Regular font, which read “Disney’s FASTPASS Distribution”, with the word “fastpass” in red. Above the words was a red and gold analog clock showing the current time. Below the sign were flip-number clocks that designated the fastpass times currently being distributed, as well as the current stand-by wait time. Underneath that, set into the entrance arch of the pavilion, was a black and white sign that read “Next Stop: The twilight zone tower of terror” in the Twilight Zone opening titles font. The background of the sign was black and the lettering white, mimicking the opening sequence of The Twilight Zone.

The Fastpass Pavilion, December 2016.  This and the following pavilion photos courtesy Mrbellcaptain

Sign Detail

Warning sign at the entrance of the Fastpass pavilion

Light Fixtures

            Inside the pavilion, there were about six fastpass distribution machines. The machines were designed to look like stacks of old suitcases covered in stickers. I never noticed any particular Easter eggs among the sticker designs, and have not heard anyone mention an Easter egg design, despite it seeming like an obvious opportunity to slip in Disney or Twilight Zone references. However, I admittedly never bothered to thoroughly look for any references in person.  Looking at photos of the machines turns up no Easter eggs either, though.

The suitcase fastpass machines

Exit gate

            The fastpass pavilion was located directly across from the entrance to the ride. The fastpass tickets themselves had a blue header with artwork of the Tower and the words “Twilight Zone Tower of Terror” in the logo font.

An example of a fastpass, scanned from my personal collection

            The last physical part of the grounds was the dried-out fountain and the main attraction sign. The fountain, as far as I can tell, was never functional or intended to be functional; it was supposed to be broken/wrecked to go along with the whole “abandoned, haunted building” theme. There were two planter bowls on the top layer of the “fountain”, filled with plants. Set against a wall of decorative art-deco-patterned tile, the top layer of the fountain was set in concrete with an art deco wave pattern carved into the concrete. The inner part of the lower basin was set in turquoise tile, which was cracked. The outer part of the lower basin had art deco tile matching the top wall. The lower basin also had a thick “ledge” around its border, which made a comfortable seat for resting guests and also a great photo opportunity spot.

            Disney themselves very briefly recognized this great photo angle as well.  After the San Diego Comic Con announcement of the Tower's demise and the ensuing fan backlash, Disney started their "Say goodbye to the Tower" promotional extravaganza.  This included setting up fake luggage as a photo op station in front of the fountain in late September 2016.  However, approximately a mere week after setting up this photo spot, Disney tore down the hotel's sign and started exterior demolition work, thus ruining any photos one might want to take!
             Above the fountain, on the wall of art deco tile, was a dark bronze-colored sign reading “THE HOLLYWOOD TOWER HOTEL”. Every few seconds, twinkle lights embedded in the sign surface would reveal the words “The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror”, done in a Twilight Zone logo-style font. This second light-up sign would slowly fade in and out (with a slight twinkle effect) periodically over the bronze sign.

The upper layer of the fountain and the unlit hotel sign, May 2016

The upper layer of the fountain and the lit Twilight Zone sign, May 2016

Cracked tile in the lower fountain basin.  You can see the shadow from the upper basin at the top of the photo.  May 2016.

Fountain with luggage photo op, December 2016 by Mrbellcaptain.  Disney apparently left this up even after they ruined the view of the building!

Here's a video clip showing the sign lighting up:

The video was filmed by me in May 2016.  EDIT: Once again, if the footage looks bad here, view it in HQ at [this link] /EDIT

            Unfortunately, due to being a nice resting bench and/or a great photo opportunity for guests, it was very difficult to get photos of the entire sign/fountain installation without it being blocked. I personally have no un-obstructed photos of it; Mrbellcaptain's photo of the fountain with the luggage photo op is the closest I have.  Online searching turned up only very poor quality images.

            Here I conclude my tour of the physical aspects of the non-queue hotel grounds. However, there is one more important aspect of theming in this area… The music!  I'll be covering the background music for the Tower of Terror area in my next post.

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[1] This was really for the best.  Experience the horror here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GKZ-nf_R8Os .  The Monster’s Inc ride currently resides in this space.

[2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Bug%27s_Land , which as of 10/28/16 states “The fictional backstory for Flik's Fun Fair holds that Flik and the other bugs were inspired to create their own fun fair when Disney's California Adventure opened next door to them. When the Imagineers set out to build The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror, they discovered the bugs in the garden and decided to open up Flik's fair to park guests.” No footnote citation is given for this claim on the web page.

[3] https://disneyland.disney.go.com/attractions/disney-california-adventure/red-car-trolley/ This official Disney Parks website lists “Sunset Boulevard next to the Twilight Zone Tower of Terror” under “Trolley Stops and Schedule” as of 10/28/16.


EDIT: As a bonus, here are some more detailed photos of the Fastpass machines and pavilion interior by Mrbellcaptain.  From what I can tell, there were no Easter Eggs in the stickers.