DCA Easter Eggs Rise Again! The Tower in 2026

It’s early in the year for an update, but @chunkecheeks just sent me some really cool new developments at Florida Tower!

First of all: DCA’S EASTER EGGS ARE BACK!  That’s right, this is not a drill, pieces of the dearly departed California Tower have shown up at the original Florida one.  Specifically, two Easter Eggs prominently shown in the DCA/Paris rides, the thimble from “The After Hours” and the stopwatch from “A Kind of Stopwatch” are now on display!  Both are now in the display case in the lobby, across from the crashed elevators/on the back of the check-in desk. 

I wish I could confirm if these were the exact props from California Tower, but alas my photos from back then are too poor quality to see if things like cracks/dents match.  Without that proof, I’m caught between “they’re probably the exact same props, after all they probably sent all of California’s spare parts off to the other Towers,” and “it’s easy to source a dented thimble and broken watch anywhere, they’re probably ‘new’ ones the prop department picked up at a local antique store.”

Photo by @chunkecheeks, January 2026

 

One detail I find particularly amusing is the new card they’ve printed for the thimble.  The text is identical to its California version: “Looking for a gift for mother?  It’s the very thing you need.  Available in our gift shop.”  However, the FONT is very different, and shows a surprising yet pleasant commitment to the two versions of the ride having different art styles and identities.  The original sign used California Tower’s omnipresent art deco Banhof Regular font, while this features a more gothic font style that aligns with Florida’s unusually gothic interpretation of the Tower’s architecture.

 

A closer look at the card. @chunkecheeks, January 2026

@chunkecheeks also provided some clearer details from the libraries.   Here’s a much clearer and more readable shot of the note on the desk, which now obviously says:

“Porcelains of Europe, although susceptible to earthquake damage, are an important element of films and attractions of Hollywood.”

The "porcelains of Europe" memo. @chunkecheeks, January 2026

 Now I’m just left to wonder… what does this mean?  It seems oddly specific to be so visibly placed, and, according to @chunkecheeks, the notes were even recently replaced/refreshed to be readable again after wear and tear.  The designers WANT us to see this note.  But why porcelains of Europe, and their connection to Hollywood?  I can’t think of any Twilight Zone episodes really having to do with European porcelain, at least after a cursory search.

A second mysterious detail she sent was a better photo of the Mystic Seer card and the art print it is placed under.   

 

Mystic Seer card and art card. @chunkecheeks, January 2026

We know the fortune card goes with the fortune teller from elsewhere in the library, and its origin episode “Nick of Time,” but the artwork it’s paired with intrigues me.  The art print, possibly a tarot card, seems to show a marble statue, but the print is deliberately obscured by fade and dust even in the clearer photo.  To me, it looks like a statue showing at least three human figures entwined by a giant snake.  My first instinct was that it depicted Laocoön and His Sons, since that’s the famous statue of three people entwined with a giant snake, but a look at that link shows that it’s not.  Or, at least, it isn’t depicting that particular statue of the myth.  Maybe there’s another depiction of the same myth, but it’s very difficult to find search results for statues of that story that aren’t the famous one.  Anyone here recognize the statue? 

Wait, a statue...that's European... could this be connected to the "porcelains of Europe" note?  But statues are usually marble, not porcelain... 

The Laocoön and His Sons statue/myth is about misery and suffering at the hands of higher forces.  Perhaps combined with the “it is quite possible” fortune, it’s a hint at our “unfortunate fates” if we set foot on the cursed elevator?

UPDATE: @laffiteslanding has provided an explanation for the porcelain!  Apparently, on a backstage tour they took last year, the guide explained that this is NOT a Twilight Zone reference but instead a developer's in-joke among Tower's designers.  Porcelain they'd ordered as props arrived broken, so they created an earthquake backstory to explain this for "nosy guests who look for continuity errors."  Funny, this whole time I'd just assumed any broken pottery around the Tower would just be due to the disaster or years of abandonment, no extra backstory needed!

Third, she sent a photo showing the envelope/letters on the desk.   

Letters and key. @chunkecheeks, January 2026

 It’s sent from Burlington, Vermont—a town I couldn’t find a Twilight Zone reference to, although I suppose it might be one of the imagineers’ hometowns or something.  I cannot fully read the address even in this closer photo, but what I can read is:

[Letter][Letter] [Lastname]

Veteran’s Hospital

Castle Point

 

Once again, this seems like a specific reference, but I can’t locate an episode.  Of course, it’s been a while since I cycled through all 156 of them (and that’s the original series alone).  Anyone know what a Veteran’s Hospital or Castle Point might have to do with anything?

UPDATE: While it's still unclear if the envelopes have any meaning, the key is number 1002, and the airdate of S1E1 of The Twilight Zone was October 2, 1959. 

Beyond what can be shown in photos, @chunkecheeks informed me that one of my favorite effects in the library is back!  At the end of the pre-show, the audio for the final line shifts so that it no longer sounds like it’s coming from the TV, but instead that Rod Serling’s voice is now in the room with you.  I LOVE this effect, but it’s gone in and out of usage over the years.  It’s great news that it’s back.

The lightning in the drop shafts is apparently also in the process of being repaired or adjusted.  She reported some runs where it was just… on the entire drop sequence (not flashing, just lit up), sometimes with a rainbow effect indicative of broken LED lights.  Then there were other runs where it only did a quick flash at the start of the sequence.  At least this is an improvement over when the shaft lightning was completely off!

Both the new references and the ongoing maintenance/adjustment of effects in the ride feels like a MASSIVE relief to me.  It shows Disney is, so far, interested in keeping this ride, and keeping it in good shape.  Furthermore, Disneyland Paris’s Tower of Terror is getting a queue expansion, that will FINALLY show the Hollywood Tower’s long-promised, but never shown pool.  Once again, this hopefully indicates that there aren’t immediate plans to ditch that Tower either, even though they have an Avengers Campus in that park right next to it.

So, do any of you have answers as to the unsolved mysteries of these new details?  Or maybe, can anyone tell me what that new font is on that thimble sign? (I love collecting and using ride fonts…you’ll notice Banhof Regular all over my diagrams on this blog.)  Please let me know if you do!