Happy Halloween!

For my annual pumpkin carving, I decided to honor the other Disney building that's filled with blue ghosts and perpetually beset by thunderstorms.  It is the Haunted Mansion's 50th anniversary year after all!

This is actually the biggest and probably the most difficult pumpkin carving I've ever done.  The pumpkin is huge (easily a foot across), and I had to improvise the carving pattern from a design not intended for pumpkin carving (it would have left "floating" sections that are obviously impossible).

This took me about an hour and a half to complete, including the time it took to hollow out the pumpkin.  I'm pretty proud of the results!

Freshly carved

Lit up at night!

A Mansion Connection?

While browsing the Disneyland Opera House's display in honor of the Haunted Mansion's 50th anniversary, I noticed a certain piece of concept art.  At first it didn't stand out among the more famous pieces, like the bright red painting of the Hallway of Changing Portraits.  However, after reading Long Forgotten's writeup of the exhibit, I realized that the scene it depicted was familiar-- but not from the Mansion.

This was VERY high up on the wall, with a LOT of light glare, so this took quite a bit of digital manipulation to get clear and in proportion!

This artwork by Ken Anderson, as you can see, depicts a line of guests staring at their reflections in a large square mirror on a wood-paneled wall.  Long Forgotten's interpretation is that it is showcasing a proposed effect where "people see their own reflections in a large mirror and are presumably horrified by how pale and ghostly they look".  The informational plaque accompanying this image in the gallery suggests that it is artwork for an early version of the Hitchhiking Ghosts gag that eventually served as the Mansion's finale, but I can't help but notice a significant difference. 

In the Haunted Mansion, guests see themselves in the mirror WITH the ghosts, but, as Long Forgotten pointed out, here the guests are seeing themselves AS the ghosts.

Hmm, where have I seen that before?

DCA

Paris.  Screenshot from here

Tokyo.  Screenshot from here

At DCA and Paris, the wall even has wood paneling!

Now, obviously it's no secret that Tower of Terror borrowed a LOT from the Haunted Mansion.  The fact that the hallway scene runs on the Pepper's Ghost effect Disney perfected with Mansion's ballroom scene is just barely scratching the surface--I even suspect that the reason all the non-Tokyo versions use blue as the "ghostly" color is that it's carried over from Mansion (the source television show is black and white, after all; they could have colored the ghosts any way they wanted)!

I can't help but notice the context in which the mirror scene was added to the Tower of Terror as well.  Imagineers suddenly faced the challenge of finding an effect to replace Florida's 5th dimension sequence in a more compact space that still served as the "things are getting spooky" transition.  It's easy to imagine them looking back in their archives to gather inspiration from the original Ghost-Infested Disney Building.

Of course, it's just as likely it's all a coincidence.  However, it's still an interesting look at how Tower draws on traditional ghostly effects and scenes, to the point that one of its most familiar sequences more or less shows up in an artwork created over 50 years before.

DCA: The Weirdest Tower?

Supposedly, the Towers of Terror at Disney's California Adventure and Disneyland Paris are copies of each other.  They are not.

Of course I wrote about the notorious "round architectural things" that can immediately differentiate exterior photos of the two in one of my very first posts.  Disney Imagineers confirmed that budget cuts led to DCA having architectural details painted on rather than actually built like they were in Paris.  My coverage of Paris Tower in general has been one big list of differences between DCA and Paris.

However, in light of the possibility of Paris getting three new drop sequences, perhaps the most surprising difference between the two is that DCA had two different ride sequences all along... you'd just have to be really observant to notice them.

In my writeup of the ride experience at DCA, I noted something off about the mirror scene: namely, that sometimes the elevator shook violently when the guests turned into ghosts, while at other times the elevator stayed still.  I assumed this was some kind of malfunction, where sometimes the shaking effect wouldn't work.  Since it didn't necessarily affect the overall ride experience, I was content to leave it at that.

Then a group called the Hollywood Tower Hotel Preservation Society sent me an interesting observation: one of the drop shafts (specifically, the one on the far right when facing the building) just... didn't shake at the mirror scene.  Instead, it had a different sequence where the elevator did a sharp jerk as the bell sounded when arriving at the hallway.  Seriously!

For comparison, here is a video showing the far left elevator in action, where it clearly shakes as the guests become ghostly in the mirror scene:

(Fun fact, I can tell it's the far left elevator based on the jagged outline of the building rubble visible when the doors are open at the top)

Meanwhile, here's the far right elevator, with no violent shaking to be found:

You can also see the different ways they enter the hallway scene, with the far right elevator doing a distinct jerk as it parks in front of the opening doors.

Upon reading this revelation and confirming it based on careful video comparisons, I then wondered why this was the case.  My first guess was that it was a construction necessity.  One of the shafts also has the hallway and mirror scenes on different floors from the others, due to the effects equipment necessary for the hallway scenes being too space-consuming for all three copies of it to be built on the same floor.

I figured one way to tell if this was a necessary and intentional part of the ride's operational design was to compare it to Paris.  If Paris also had one elevator different, I felt safe in assuming that it had something to do with a construction necessity, such as lack of space for the shaking effect in all three drop shafts.

Nope!  According to both Laffite's Landing and another user by the name of jimmydiddles13, all the elevators shake at the mirror in Paris!

It's a LOT harder to find onride videos of Paris Tower in action to confirm this, but I think I've found some evidence.  Here's what is definitely Paris' far left shaft running its sequence as expected:

And here is what appears to be the far right elevator... with distinct violent shaking during the mirror scene!

So, to sum it up: DCA had two ride sequences.  In two of the elevator shafts, the ride car would shake during the mirror scene, but in one it would not.  There is no obvious reason for this; Paris shakes in all elevators so therefore it was not any kind of design necessity.

DCA had odd architecture due to budget cuts, was cloned from a ride that didn't exist yet, and had two different ride sequences for no apparent reason.  Oh, and it also got turned into an outer space warehouse that in no way matched the existing building.  What a strange, strange Tower.

Masterpost: The Florida Tower of Terror Full Walkthrough!

Here it is, finally complete, my extensive documentation of my all-time favorite Disney attraction--the original Tower of Terror at Disney's Hollywood Studios!  Utilizing extensive photography, detailed written description, and video content, this gives an intensely detailed impression of the ride as it appeared in summer 2017.

At sunset's "golden hour", July 2, 2017

The Main Walkthrough:
1. Introduction, Sunset Boulevard, and the Hotel Grounds
2. Hotel Exterior, the Tower at Night, and the Exterior Queue
3. The Lobby
4. The Library and Pre-Show
5. The Boiler Room and Loading Areas
6. The Ride!
7. Exit and Gift Shop

Bonus Content:
The Sweet, Soothing Blue of the Supernatural: Color as a Storytelling Tool in the Tower of Terror

I hope any readers enjoy this project; it was a lot of hard work, stretched over two years!  I hope my effort is apparent.

Alternate Tower Spotlight: The Florida Tower of Terror--Exit and Gift Shop

Having made it through your fateful journey down the cursed elevators, Cast Members instructed guests out of the ride vehicles.  There were two unload doors--one for each drop shaft, approximately facing each other.  The area was grey and industrial with concrete walls, like the boiler room, but without that warm red brick--just a that little bit much colder, and, in the color symbolism of the ride, more supernatural.  Directly between the two drop shaft unloads, free standing in its own grey column, was a real elevator--the other end of that "chicken elevator" that was cleverly hidden in the loading area.

The exit area, looking back toward the "chicken elevator" exit and the two drop shaft unloads.  June 28, 2017

Walking past the chicken elevator, guests entered a large empty space, void of almost anything aside from some concrete ledges along the walls that served as convenient benches.  Approximately halfway down the left wall of this section (that is, left as you were going toward the photo viewing area), a section of the concrete wall finish had been "scraped away" to "reveal" the exposed brick underneath.  The revealed area had the recognizable "spooky wall" chalk markings around it, and the bricks themselves had some suspicious gaps, as if they were supposed to be concealing a speaker or some other special effect that was supposed to emanate from this spot.

Looking towards the photo viewing screens, while standing approximately in front of the "spooky wall".  June 28, 2017

The "spooky wall", June 28, 2017

I highly suspect that this at one point was Florida's "spooky wall" Easter egg, and that there is a speaker behind those suspicious brick gaps.  Guests sitting on the ledge bench in front would probably get a surprise from hearing the ghostly girl behind them!  That said, as of 2017, this wall did absolutely nothing special.  Furthermore, unlike California's "spooky wall", I couldn't find anyone even mentioning the Easter egg with regards to Florida.  I suspect that, if indeed this wall functioned the same way as DCA's, it hadn't done so for a very long time.  Technically, markings alone still made this unusual wall patch a shout-out to the episode "Little Girl Lost".

The large sitting area had its own special exit music, unique from the music later heard at the DCA and Paris exits.  I have yet to find a clear recording of it, but it sounded very ominous, pulsing, and intense, almost in a manner reminiscent of the Jaws theme.  It had a much more aggressive tone than the atmospherically spooky Twilight Zone-based DCA exit theme.  It was, however, hard to hear over the crowd noise of all the exiting guests.  I was unable to make a live recording of it.

At the end of the large room, opposite the elevator exits, was the photo viewing area.  Two television screens--one for each drop shaft--displayed guests' pictures above a junk-filled office/storage area.  On the front desk of this office/storage area were two sensors where guests could wave their magic bands to claim their elevator's photo.  To the right of this was a cork board covered in announcements, and on the left, hanging from the bars enclosing the storage area, was a chalkboard reading "Picture if you will..." in Twilight Zone font.

June 28, 2017

June 28, 2017

To my extreme surprise, I could not find any specific Easter eggs in the photo viewing area.  The place was utterly packed with tons of random junk, the exact sort of visual noise one would expect a Twilight Zone reference to be hiding in, and yet, nothing!  I also haven't read of anyone else finding anything special hidden here either, so I tentatively have to conclude that, for once, the junk really was just junk.  The only specifically relevant detail I found was that, if you leaned in a bit and looked at the back part of the office that extended to the right, the clock over the desk read 8:05, consistent with all other clocks in the attraction.

Cork board next to photo viewing area, June 28, 2017

The view if you lean in to the photo viewing area and look right, June 28, 2017

To continue towards the exit, guests turned left from the photo area, going through a short hallway.  The door going into this short hallway was a large sliding door in the industrial style of the "storage area" of the exit, while the doors going out were elaborately wood carved in the "public-facing" style of the doors found around the lobby and other such areas of the hotel.

The inner door, June 28, 2017

The short hallway and outer doors, July 2, 2017

Guests then found themselves in the Lower Lobby and the hotel's conference center, which in real life served as the photo purchase area.

Looking back at the doors to the exit area, June 28, 2017

Directly ahead of guests in the lower lobby was a long counter, almost like a second check-in desk, with a lovely mural of the hotel on the wall behind it.  This was where guests could view and purchase their ride souvenir photos.

The right side of the lower lobby counter, seen directly outside of the hallway doors.  June 28, 2017

Left side of the lower lobby counter, with the mural behind it.  June 28, 2017

A closer look at the lower lobby mural, June 28, 2017

Opposite the photo purchase counter was a vaguely Greek fountain.

An overall look down the lower lobby; photo purchase counter is at right.  June 28, 2017

The fountain, June 30, 2017

Moving past the photo purchase/lower lobby desk was the hotel's conference area.  A square area on the left was sectioned off for employees only and had an employees only door within it; it possibly represented a luggage check story-wise.  The doors were labeled "Beverly Room", however, which would suggest a conference room.  Against one of the walls of this square was a machine where you could make personalized Tower of Terror themed dog tags.

The "luggage check", with the side of the dog tag machine on the left, July 2, 2017

Doors to the Beverly Room, July 3, 2017

Directly next to the sectioned off area was another set of employees only double doors, labeled "Fountain Room", presumably a conference room.  Next to these doors was a change machine and a quarter coin press machine.

Fountain Room, July 30, 2017

Opposite the Fountain Room, on an angled wall, was the Sunset Room.  Judging by its grand painted name, I'd assume that this was supposed to be the nicest ballroom in the hotel.  Furthermore, it was having an event at the time of the lightning disaster; it had a menu posted next to the doors.  The menu in question was absolutely brimming with Easter Eggs.

The Sunset Room, July 2, 2017

The Sunset Room Menu, June 30, 2017

In case you couldn't read/don't want to zoom in on the photo, the menu read:

The Sunset Room

Dinner * October 31, 1939

Hors D'oeuvre

Grape Fruit Maraschino

Sweet Gherkins a la Moutarde

Bismark Herrings

Soups

Clear 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

You may have noticed quite a few names hidden among those fancy foods.  Those are the names of prominent showrunners of The Twilight Zone, the most obvious being Rodman/Rod Serling.

Past the Sunset Room, guests found themselves at the decorative gates of Tower Hotel Gifts.

Gates to the entrance of Tower Hotel Gifts, July 2, 2017

Honestly, there's not much to say about the gift shop.  It was, well, a gift shop.  Of note, however, were two decorative posters on the wall, and the fact that "Talking Tina" from the episode "Living Doll" was on a shelf above the cash registers.  All photos taken in late June-early July 2017.

Display of Tower of Terror merchandise immediately inside the entrance from the ride.

Decorative item on the back of the previous display.

Wallpaper behind the shelves of the gift shop, with a unique HTH logo variant.

Cash register with "Talking Tina" behind it.

Overall view of the shop, standing in front of the register counter.  That purple shield above the shelves in the background has a banner reading "Tower Hotel Gifts".

View of a different shelf with another "Tower Hotel Gifts" shield, and a partial view of one of the posters.

The poster from the previous photo.

Decorations above a soda display.

Another view of the cash register.  Note the way the cashier is dressed; gift shop workers had their own unique uniforms and did not dress as bellhops.  I also witnessed a guy try to buy the round "Hollywood Tower Hotel" plaque from the top of the shelf in the background; employees had to explain to him that it wasn't for sale.

The second unique poster; this would be one of the first things guests saw if they walked into the gift shop from the outside, rather than from the ride.

Oddly, a lot of merchandise seemed to be leftovers from the DCA version.

This shirt was also sold at the DCA location.  Note that the shirt says "Hollywoodland", which was the land where DCA's tower was located, rather than "Sunset Boulevard" for Florida.

This shirt just straight up had the DCA Tower on it, despite the facade being totally different from Florida's.

Two sets of double doors let guests exit the gift shop into the exit courtyard.  Flanking the shop exit were three display windows, two to the left of the doors and one to the right (if one was facing the exit doors from the courtyard direction).  These were decorated for Halloween, indicating the season of the Hotel's unfortunate demise.  All photos taken late June-early July 2017.

Sign above the exterior doors

The first window on the left.

Detail of the sign in the first window on the left.

Second window on the left.

Detail of the sign in the second window.

The right side window.  No special signs in this one!

The exterior gift shop door was directly below the door where guests entered the lobby going into the ride, just one floor below.  You exited the ride one floor lower than you entered.

Overall view looking back towards the gift shop exit.  Note the lobby entrance above.

The exit courtyard didn't contain much; it was an open space with some benches, drinking fountains under a trellis, a snack/coffee stand, and a penny press machine.

Looking out at the courtyard and coffee stand after exiting the gift shop.

Looking toward the courtyard exit.  Note the penny press machine and the drinking fountains to the left of the machine.

Exiting the courtyard took guests back past the queue entrance and out onto Sunset Boulevard, thus concluding their tour of the Tower of Terror.

Two Towers, Two Episodes, Two Valid Adaptations of The Twilight Zone

(Alternately: Correcting Common Misconceptions about IP Application or Lack Thereof)

Based on the title, one might assume this post is about Florida Tower and DCA/Paris Tower.  Those are the two models of the ride based around The Twilight Zone after all.  This post is not about those Towers.

This is about Florida and Tokyo.

Now, there’s one frustrating accusation I’ve seen thrown towards the various Twilight Zone Towers: basically, that they do a crappy job of fitting with the IP, and that the supposed “lost episode” idea that the ride portrays would not fit with the actual show at all.  Meanwhile, I’ve seen Tokyo’s original-story version of the ride lauded as the “best” Tower, with a story designed just for the ride from the start with no IP concessions, and a morality tale that ironically fits in more with the Twilight Zone IP.

This doesn’t pop up overly often, and I’ve mentioned this issue in passing in other posts, but I figured it’s long past time I finally give this its own article.

Note that I’ll generally have Florida in mind as my example of a Twilight Zone Tower, given that it is the first and most elaborate iteration of that idea. 

I’ll also state again that I loved the story side of Tokyo’s Tower of Terror, just not the actual ride portion.  So don’t worry, this isn’t me hating on Tokyo, just correcting a frustrating assertion I’ve seen in the Tokyo vs. Twilight Zone debate.

That being said, let’s break this down by issue:

1. Does the Twilight Zone Tower not even fit with the series’ stories at all?

Absolutely yes!  I wouldn't be writing this if I agreed it didn't!

Of course, this requires some elaboration.  The Twilight Zone is famous not just as a science fiction anthology, but also as a series containing many morality tales.  Given that the Twilight Zone Tower is meant to represent another episode, this has left some fans scratching their heads and asking, “Where’s the moral?  What did the Five People in an Elevator and/or the guests do to invoke the wrath of a supernatural storm?”

In my post about experiential storytelling, I posited this interpretation:

"The Twilight Zone, in the eponymous show, is often (although not always) a realm of karmic punishment.  In the book Everything I Need to Know I Learned in the Twilight Zone by Mark Dawidziak, the author notes that people who take dares fare especially poorly in the Zone.  What was the marketing campaign heavily centered around?  "I took the dare!"  The pre-show video even states "We invite you if you dare to step aboard."  It's possible that, by taking the dare to enter the building and/or ride the elevator, our characters were getting their punishment for taking dares.  Likewise, our characters seemingly are poking around an abandoned and potentially dangerous tragic disaster site for no good reason, and thus being stupid and/or disrespectful--two other things that generally aren't rewarded in the Twilight Zone.

Of course, "this is happening because our characters were stupid jerks" is far from a satisfying explanation, and it stems from a knowledge of the ride's source material that the average rider may not have (and should not be required to have), so I won't posit my guess here as "canon".  Instead it's merely the best explanation I can offer.  Indiana Jones and the Temple of the Forbidden Eye sadly does use "the curse happens because your characters were stupid jerks" as its official story, so it wouldn't be completely out of character for Disney to use this plot device, however."

As you can see, I noted that this interpretation requires looking much deeper into the ride, marketing materials, and original show than the average rider might be expected to have.  It also places the guests in an “evil” role, which seems…somewhat rude, automatically assigning the “wrong” intentions to the guests no matter what.  However, even without a fan doing a deep dive into the lore (or having to be told they’re a jerk for riding the attraction), there is an easy explanation for how the Tower’s story absolutely fits into the show canon.

Not every Twilight Zone story is a morality tale.

Seriously, although there are quite a few episodes with morals and karmic justice, there are also quite a few where weird or tragic crap just… happens.  There is even a major example of this in one of the most famous episodes, “Time Enough at Last.”

For those of you who have not yet seen the episode, “Time Enough at Last” is about a man, Henry Bemis, who loves to read, but is prevented from doing so by his unpleasant boss and wife.  Then nuclear disaster hits the world, leaving Bemis the last person alive, but finally with time to read—only for his glasses to break, dooming him to walk the earth with horribly blurry vision and unable to do the one activity he might consider to make such a lonely existence worthwhile.

There’s no real moral to be had there (aside from perhaps the exceedingly mundane “always have spare glasses.”).  There’s certainly no karmic justice either; Bemis doesn’t seem to be a bad enough guy to deserve lifelong psychological torment, and the rest of the world just got nuked into oblivion.  Even Dawidziak’s book—a book dedicated to finding the morals of famous episodes—failed to find a message behind “Time Enough at Last”, besides, perhaps, “bad things sometimes happen to good people, and that can’t be avoided.”

Henry Bemis’ broken glasses are featured as Easter Eggs in the Twilight Zone Towers, and Imagineers viewed every episode of the original series when designing the ride.  It was no secret to the designers that faithfully adapting the licensed property did not necessitate going for a moral-based plot.

Interestingly enough, the series does have its share of ominous elevators (see the episode “22”, which got an Easter egg in DCA, for some especially familiar scenes), but none of them ever drop… until this “lost episode”.  The designers are almost making it a Chekov’s Gun.

So, for those concerned that the Twilight Zone Tower is an “unfaithful adaptation” for plot reasons, it is certainly not.  None of the Elevator Five needed to have done anything wrong to get cursed by that fateful lightning bolt, nor did the presumably hundreds of other people in the Hollywood Tower Hotel to get cursed by the lightning storm either.  The riders need not necessarily have any “good” reason to get subsequently cursed either.  The Zone isn’t always about karmic justice; sometimes, unfortunately, shit happens.

2. Is Tokyo’s storyline a flawless Twilight Zone-esque experience with a tighter plot than the Twilight Zone Tower?

Very much yes to the Twilight Zone comparison... but it requires some leaps of logic regarding why the guests get cursed.

The basic summary is this: Harrison Hightower was a super rich, super egotistical ass who built a hotel in New York, the Hotel Hightower, basically as a monument to himself.  He spent his life traveling around the world to steal artifacts from other cultures and displayed his spoils in the Hightower.  He was such a jerk that he stole more than even the vast hotel could display; piles of treasure built up in the basement.  Then, one fateful day, he obtained the idol Shiriki Utundu, which cursed him, sending him plummeting to his doom down the elevator shaft, his pride preceding his literal fall.  His ghost is sentenced to keep reliving his horrible final moments.

The New York Historical Society couldn’t let such a magnificent hotel just be demolished, though, and started giving tours of the place.  Of course, things go rather wrong with the tour once guests take the elevator to see the upper floors…

Now, the morality story angle is PAINFULLY clear.  There’s also a really clear reason why Harrison is cursed and still haunting the place; it’s his karmic punishment.  The monument he built to his ego is now his prison.  It’s obvious why people who think that The Twilight Zone automatically equals “morality tale” would gravitate towards this storyline.

But…why are the guests cursed to also plummet in the elevator on their tour?  Does the Historical Society know the guests are in danger?

An answer to the first question might be “Shiriki Utundu is warning the guests not to follow in Harrison’s footsteps”, but that’s a guess.  A more cynical guess might be that the idol also thinks the guests are somehow like Hightower and thus deserve his same fate—or that Shiriki Utundu is just a jerk who likes cursing people.  As for the second question… all I have is more questions.  Are the tour guides super oblivious?  Are they indifferent to the idea that their tours are potentially dangerous?  Have they become somehow influenced by the curse, becoming agents of the malevolent force in the building the same way the Twilight Zone bellhops are?

Of course, the actual “curse” drops are so gentle it’s almost difficult to consider them as representing “danger”, so, just as a sarcastic guess here, maybe it was an intentional part of the tour all along?  Historians, especially those working around “haunted” historic sites, can have some dark senses of humor.

If a translation I found of the pre-show is correct, Tokyo might actually use the “don’t take the dare!”/”we’re cursed because we’re stupid” version of why the guests are cursed as actual canon.  In the pre-show, Hightower warns us to not fall victim to Shiriki Utundu’s curse like him, and to run away while we still can.  Of course, we continue our historical tour anyway, and subsequently end up cursed.  Even on a different continent and with a different storyline, we still took the dare.

Tokyo’s story answers a bit more about what’s going on (namely, why the initial ghost is haunting the elevator), but clearly there’s some head-scratchers left.

3.  So… should the Towers have swapped stories or something?

I’ve read praise for Tokyo’s Tower based on the fact that it’s one of the few new attractions to not prominently feature an IP.  However, like any good Twilight Zone story, there’s a twist.

There’s no need to swap stories… because the two hotels have been in the same continuity all along.

In Shanghai Disneyland, there’s a newspaper on a bulletin board that contains headlines both about a disaster at the Hollywood Tower Hotel and about the League of Adventurers finding the Temple of the Crystal Skull.  Obviously, the Hollywood Tower is the Twilight Zone Tower of Terror.  The Temple of the Crystal Skull is the setting for Tokyo DisneySea’s Indiana Jones ride, which is in the Lost River Delta.  Lots of Hightower’s artifacts are clearly marked as having come from Lost River Delta.  The Lost River Delta and the HTH, and therefore the Hotel Hightower and the Twilight Zone version, all are in the same continuity.  It’s all the same story.

Here's the newspaper as proof.  Photo by Laffite'sLanding

Tokyo’s is still technically in the Twilight Zone, it just never says it.  It never needs to say it, both because good storytelling never needs a specific IP, and because the connections are there anyways for those who care to look.  Come on, isn’t it easy to envision Rod Serling giving some sharp commentary about Hightower while gesturing toward the idol in Hightower’s office?

Funny enough, having two “lost episodes” with the same gimmick would even fit with the actual Twilight Zone show continuity.  It had TWO episodes about ventriloquist dummies, and even used the same puppet for both!

On another note, the ultimate conclusion of all these connections means that building a 13-story hotel in the Disney Parks canon is just a really bad idea.