Walkthrough part 6: The Loading Area and Boarding Sequence

After the bellhop cast member asked guests the number of people in their party, the cast member directed the guests to the proper part of the loading area.  Whether on the upper or lower level, the loading area had the same layout.

Not to scale

There were three waiting areas for the three elevators available on each level.  The left and middle elevators were closer together, and separated by a black wrought iron spiral staircase that wound up between the lower and upper levels.

The spiral staircase as seen from the upper loading area.  Photo by Mrbellcaptain

A view of the spiral staircase and the left-side waiting area, as viewed from the middle waiting area in the upper queue.  Photo by Mrbellcaptain

The middle and right-side waiting areas/elevator entrances were farther apart and separated by a generator.  This makes sense given the layout of the building.

That generator gap corresponds to the exit stairwell seen on the exterior of the building.  May 2016 photo.

The generator looked different depending on whether one was on the upper level or the lower level.

The lower level generator was housed between concrete columns, with a metal grate in front of it.  This generator also had some gauges and a "safety check" chalkboard on the columns next to it.

Left column of the lower generator, as seen from the lower queue.  Photo by Mrbellcaptain

The middle and right sides of the lower generator (including "safety check"), as seen walking past it in the loading area.  May 2016.

The lower generator also had a small caged-in storage area with a ladder extending off of its right side.

Photo by Mrbellcaptain

The upper generator was not bounded by concrete columns, but instead was entirely housed in chain-link fence material.

The upper-level generator, May 2016.  This generator also had a small storage area with a ladder on its right side, but I don't have a photo of it.

The upper generator had an additional special effect!  Periodically, the grates along its lower portion would flash and sparking noises emanated from the machine, as if there was a power overload.

Here is the source audio for the sparking noises: [Link]

I do not recall the lower generator having the spark effects or making any noise.

The walls of the loading area were the same concrete as the rest of the boiler room, and various dials and gauges decorated them.

The layout of each waiting area was the same: a square section with brass numbers embedded in the concrete floor, with the maintenance elevator doors at the front.

Number plaque in one of the lower queue's waiting areas.  Photo by Mrbellcaptain

After the cast member at the end of the queue directed guests' parties to the proper waiting area, another cast member directed the guests to stand on a particular number plaque.  The left three rows of plaques (numbered 6, 5, and 4) had plaques for four guests, while the right three rows (3, 2, and 1) held three guests.

Above and to the side of the elevator doors was a seating chart, explaining which numbers corresponded to which row in the ride car.

The loading instructions sign showing the layout of the waiting area and the ride car.  It's best if you open this image in a new tab and zoom in to read the sign.  This sign was in the upper queue, but all the signs in all the waiting areas were identical.  Photo by Mrbellcaptain

The dial above the elevator doors actually moved!  If guests paid attention, they could see that, as soon as the previous group loaded into the elevator and the doors closed, the arrow moved from "B" all the way past "12"--into the mythical thirteenth floor.

The elevator doors.  May 2016

Detail of the dial indicating basement level.  Photo by Mrbellcaptain

Elevator dial at "floor 13."  You can't see the 12 from the photo angle, but you can see that the indicator is clearly beyond where any of the floor numbers would be.  May 2016.

After a minute or so at the "13th floor", the dial started to rotate back towards "B."  As it did so, guests heard a creepy announcer (the same creepy voice that had warned about the library doors) recite this spiel:

"To our valued guests:  For your safety once on board, please remain seated with your seat belt fastened, keeping your hands, arms, feet and legs inside the elevator at all times, and do take special care to supervise your children. Thank you."

A Spanish translation of the spiel then played, read by the same creepy voice.

To hear a live recording of the DCA safety spiels, recorded by Commander Corn of Micechat, see here: [Link]

So far, a source recording of the DCA (English/Spanish) spiels has yet to appear, and that live recording unfortunately misses the beginning of the English spiel.  Thus, for completeness, I'll include this YouTube posting of the Paris Tower's source audio, which utilizes a French translation and then the English spiel:

As the spiel finished, the dial on the elevator paused, usually around the "3" or "4" mark.  I assume this pause was for when the ride car had returned to the load station, but the previous riders were still unloading.  My reasoning for this is that, after a minute of being paused, the dial moved back down to "B", and the doors opened immediately to an empty elevator as the arrow reached the "B" level.

When the doors opened, a bellhop greeted the guests and directed them row-by-row (starting with rows 3 and 4, which formed the back bench of the vehicle) into the ride car seats.  Particularly enthusiastic cast members would stay in character, acting amusingly creepy in the same way some Haunted Mansion employees act.  One memorable bellhop I encountered even figured out how to stick his fingers between the elevator doors, surprising the guests and making it look as if he was prying the doors open!

As one boarded the elevator, one was likely to notice the very large gap between the elevator doors and the actual ride car.  Since the DCA/Paris layout of the Tower involved guests loading and unloading from the same place, the exit hallway ran in between the entry doors and the ride car itself.  There were actually two elevator doors for each ride car: the one guests waited in front of in the loading area, and the one through which they actually entered/exited the ride vehicle.  During loading, the hallway was darkened in an attempt to make it less noticeable.  It remained very noticeable, however, and probably was one of the most illusion-breaking aspects of the DCA/ Paris Tower's design (yes, it was somehow more illusion-breaking than a seated elevator).

I don't have any photos of my own that clearly show this gap (probably because I was trying my hardest to ignore it), but this photo gives a good impression of how large and obvious the hallway was: [Link]

The ride car itself was a rectangular metal cage-like structure, with 21 metal (or at least metal-looking) seats arranged in three rows.

Photo by Mrbellcaptain

The back wall of the ride car was solid metal and read "Maximum Load: 3 Tons.  Do not stack above this line" in unidentified fonts.

Photo by Mrbellcaptain

For some reason, the ceiling had two square cutouts above the farthest left-front and farthest right-front row seats.

Left cutout.  Photo by Mrbellcaptain

With the exception of the solid center aisle, the floor of the ride car also was made of metal grating, albeit finer grating than the walls or ceiling.

Photo by Mrbellcaptain

As guests situated themselves in the elevator, they got to hear a unique ambient background soundtrack.  It consisted of mechanical hums, punctuated by distinct wind-like "dropping" noises accompanied by screams.  I believe that the "dropping" and screams were in fact the actual sounds of the neighboring drop shafts, although I suppose they could have been part of the background track too.

One can hear a December 2016 live recording (by Commander Corn of Micechat) of this background sound, along with a snippet of the bellhop doing the safety check here: [Link]

EDIT: Thanks to SuperHotLarry on YouTube, here is the source ambient audio for elevator loading:

This recording confirms that the "dropping" sounds and screams were, in fact, in the BGM and not from the neighboring drop shafts.

/EDIT

After guests all reached their seats and fastened their seat belts (often with the bellhop having to remind people that the belts buckled from left to right), the cast member did a safety check, ensuring that all belts were securely fastened, starting with the back row and moving forward.  When that check finished, the cast member exited the elevator and closed a small sliding gate at the front of the car, occasionally with a joke about how dangerously fast the gate closed (it moved at a snail's pace).

The gate in its open position.  Photo by Mrbellcaptain

With the gate closed and the seat belts checked, the cast member then recited another spiel:

"Ladies and gentlemen, we are glad to inform you that your rooms are now ready!  Hotel management would like me to remind you that there is no flash photography, and to please keep your hands and arms inside the vehicle at all times!  Also, make sure you hold on to your hats, glasses...loved ones... or any other loose articles you wish to keep in this dimension!"

Bellhop giving the final spiel to an elevator.  Photo by Dusty Sage of Micechat.  Original Article

Note that I'm recalling this from memory; people generally edit out things like safety spiels from their ride videos, so this is approximate.  The spiel also varied slightly from bellhop to bellhop, but the important information was the same, as was the emphasis on "loved ones" and the "in this dimension" reference.  At this point, some cast members would ask if it was anyone's first time riding the ride, or if anyone was a new visitor to Disneyland, or if there were any questions.  The spiel concluded:

"And if you need anything else... just scream!"

With the ding of a bell, the elevator doors closed, and one's ride on the Tower of Terror began.