California Tower on Auction…Again

 When California Adventure’s Tower of Terror closed, a major auction of its props via the Van Eaton Gallery ensued, helpfully allowing me an up-close, well-lit look at some pieces for the first (and last) time.  I haven’t really kept up with prop auctions since, mostly because I could never remotely hope to own any of this stuff.  However, @because-i-love-chess helpfully let me know that some California Tower pieces were now, almost ten years later, up for auction via Heritage Auctions, and they paint a somewhat surprising picture of what the Disney Archives still had on hand.

 

Four pieces in the auction hail from California Tower: a small table, a faux-stained-glass spider web with an HTH logo, a hanging lamp, and a chair.  Helpfully, Heritage Auctions’ listings includes detailed photos and descriptions, which I’ll retain here to preserve some of the information they provide.

 

First up, the small table.  The auction’s official description is as follows:

Official listing photos by Heritage Auctions

 

"Disneyland® Resort – Disney California Adventure® Park – "The Twilight Zone™ Tower of Terror" Original Park-Used End Table Attraction Prop (The Walt Disney Company, c. 2004 – 2016). "Hollywood, 1939. Amid the glitz and the glitter of a bustling young movie town at the height of its golden age, the Hollywood Tower Hotel was a star in its own right." Spotted during the pre-show for Disney California Adventure® Park's "The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror" attraction, this park-used side table prop once adorned the hotel's library. This famous drop tower attraction opened its West Coast version on May 5, 2004, after a decade of successful operation of its Walt Disney World® sister attraction. This iteration of "The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror" would thrill its final guests on January 2, 2016, being replaced by the Guardians of the Galaxy – Mission: BREAKOUT!® attraction in the expanding Avengers Campus®. Once furthering the ominous décor of the pre-show walk-through, this library end table features an attached tablecloth to emphasize the Hollywood golden age aesthetic. Crafted from finished wood with a permanently attached velvet-like cloth in the shape of a six-pointed star, the hexagonal-top table has an overall size of approximately 35" x 30" x 31" weighing about 50 lbs. with some of the original faux cobwebs still present. With typical handling and edge wear from park use, display, and storage, including minor surface wear and faint debris, overall, this park-used prop from California Adventure®'s "The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror" is in Very Good condition. Please note that due to size and/or weight additional shipping arrangements may be necessary. Accompanied by a Disney Certificate of Verification.”

 

Interesting that Disney kept this piece around in storage for so long.  Small antique-style tables are pretty versatile for themeing and this could’ve ended up in a variety of places.  They’re also relatively common to find, however, so I theorize that Disney realized it didn’t need to take up valuable archive space for a prop they could always get again elsewhere.  I’m also amused that the description says Tower was removed for the “expanding” Avengers Campus, when Avengers Campus expanded from Mission Breakout!

 

To my pleasant surprise, I actually have photos of this table in its original place!  They’re rather dark, owing to my lack of a lowlight-capable camera in 2016, but you can just identify that it is the same piece by the distinctive bordering on the tablecloth.  This was specifically in the King’s Library.  The Victoria West letter was on a shelf right behind it.  A Buddha statue, an old telephone, a key for room 702, some books, and cloth pieces (possibly old-timey gloves?) sat on the table itself.

With Victoria West letter in the background.  My photo, 2016

View that shows the telephone, room key, and stack of books.  My photo, 2016

Buddha statue.  My photo, 2016

 

Here’s also a flash photo from Daveland:

This photo is also dated 2016 on his site, but the gloves and key are gone from the table.

There may or may not have also been an identical copy of this table in the Queen's Library, with a slightly different setup that involved a different room key and some gold cups.  It's unclear if this is a labeling error on either his or my part, if the two really did have variations of this same table display, or if this is the same table in one library or the other with shifting displays over the years.

Daveland has this marked as January 2007.

 

 Next up is the “stained glass” piece.  The description states:

Official listing photos by Heritage Auctions

 

"Disneyland® Resort – Disney California Adventure® – "The Twilight Zone™ Tower of Terror" Original Park-Used Halloween Faux Stained-Glass Lamppost Decoration Pair (The Walt Disney Company, c. 2000s). Crowning the lampposts near Disney California Adventure® Park's "The Twilight Zone™ Tower of Terror" attraction for the Halloween season, these park-used faux stained glass décor elements added to the spooky atmosphere with their art deco spiderweb design. Disney's second "The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror" opened in their California resort on May 5, 2004, nearly a decade after the original Florida attraction debuted. The attraction thrilled its final guests in 2016 before it, and its iconic façade, was re-themed from decaying Hollywood hotel to towering citadel for the Guardians of the Galaxy – Mission: BREAKOUT!® attraction. Composed of 0.75" square metal tubing that has been hand-painted and accented with faux stained glass acrylic panels, these décor elements are near mirror images of each other measuring 24.5" x 45" and 26.5" x 46" overall with slots on their longest sides for mounting (hardware not included). With typical handling and edge wear from park use, display, and storage, including minor surface wear, paint chipping/scratches, and faint scuffing to the acrylic, overall, this matching pair of Halloween park-used "The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror" lamppost decorations is in Good condition. Accompanied by a Disney Certificate of Verification."

Now THIS was a real surprise to see!  This was one of DCA Tower’s custom Halloween Time street lamp decorations.  I don’t have solid numbers on this, but I think the last time this was spotted in use was around 2006.  I always thought it was odd Disney didn’t do more Halloween Time stuff around Tower of Terror, but it’s even weirder that they just kept an unused specific decoration around for 20 years.  Guess it’s about time they cleared this one out?

 

The photos I could find of this in place are both from 2006, one from Daveland and one from a trip report by ColdDeadFish:

Daveland has this dated October 2006

Photo from this blog post, also dated 2006

My original blog post about Halloween decorations from 2017 also mentioned these being used in 2007, but I couldn’t find any evidence online confirming or disproving that assertion.

 

Onwards to the lamp!  Which, honestly, I’m also surprised was still hanging around:

Official Heritage Auctions photos

 

Disneyland® Resort – Disney California Adventure® Park – "The Twilight Zone™ Tower of Terror" Original Park-Used Hanging Lantern Attraction Prop (The Walt Disney Company, c. 2004 – 2016). This grand park-used hanging lantern prop once lit the foreboding lobby of Disney California Adventure® Park's thrilling "The Twilight Zone™ Tower of Terror" attraction. Opening on May 5, 2004, this attraction was based on its Walt Disney World® sister attraction that had already cemented itself as a Florida mainstay for nearly a decade. Disney California Adventure®'s "The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror" would make its final fall on January 2, 2016, to make room for the expanding Avengers Campus®. Spotted almost immediately after passing through the Hollywood Tower Hotel's art deco double doors, several lanterns matching this style could be seen glowing softly against the ornate architecture. Composed of hand-painted metal resembling carved wood with faux stained glass acrylic panels, this hexagonal lantern measures approximately 18" x 18" with a height of 38" and retains its original hanging chain measuring about 36" plus a 5" canopy weighing around 32 lbs. overall with some of the original faux cobwebs still present. Please note this hanging lantern is being sold as-is with no implied working condition for any remaining electronic components. With typical handling and edge wear from park use, display, and storage, including minor surface wear/ debris and cracking/damage to panels in two of the acrylic faces, overall, this park-used prop from Disney California Adventure®'s "The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror" is in Fair to Good condition. Please note that due to size and/or weight additional shipping arrangements may be necessary. Accompanied by a Disney Certificate of Verification.

 

Yeah, as the description says, this was one of the side lamps in the lobby, hanging over one of the side scenes between the arches, or possibly above part of the area where you’d wait to go into one of the pre-shows.  There were multiple identical copies of this lamp in the lobby. 

The lamp in the upper right foreground is one of these identical lamps.  My photo, 2016

 

A differently lit look at the same lamp in the photo above, giving a better look at the diamond design.  My photo, 2016

More copies of the lamp visible under the arches in the background.  My photo, 2016.

I thought the lighting fixtures had been auctioned off in the initial Van Eaton sale. At least one other lamp identical to this one definitely sold there.  Not sure why Disney still had this.  Given that they still had that 20 year old Halloween decoration, and some anecdotal claims from cast members of props still being backstage at California Adventure itself, I wonder if the archive team just… forgot about it.

 

And finally, we have the chair.  And wow, this one has some implications:

Heritage Auctions official photos

 

Disneyland® Resort – Disney California Adventure® Park – "The Twilight Zone™ Tower of Terror" Original Park-Used Chair Attraction Prop (The Walt Disney Company, c. 2004 – 2016). "Wave goodbye to the real world. For you have just entered... The Twilight Zone. What happened here to dim the lights of Hollywood's brightest showplace... is about to unfold once again..." This park-used chair prop once helped set the spooky scene at Disney California Adventure® Park's "The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror" attraction. Inspired by the original Walt Disney World® attraction, California received its own "The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror" attraction on May 5, 2004, which would thrill parkgoers until its closure on January 2, 2016, to make way for an Avengers Campus® attraction. Two strikingly similar chairs could be seen when the elevator doors opened to showcase the second room featuring a long corridor packed with ghostly figures that then fades into a starry sky before a thrilling vertical drop. Crafted from finished wood with a velvet-like seat cushion, this prop chair measures approximately 25" x 44" x 24" with the seat about 22" from the floor and a weight of about 24 lbs. with some of the original faux cobwebs still clinging to the carved motifs. Please note these props were created for display purposes only and are not intended for use. With typical handling and edge wear from park use, display, and storage, including minor surface wear and debris, overall, this park-used prop from Disney California Adventure®'s "The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror" is in Very Good condition. Please note that due to size and/or weight additional shipping arrangements may be necessary. Accompanied by a Disney Certificate of Verification.

 

That’s right, this isn’t some random antique chair from the lobby or library.  This is from the Hallway Scene—a show scene—and the description implies it was a custom-crafted prop made for it, not just another antique picked up as set dressing.  I’m curious why it would be custom-crafted; based on the auction’s “person for scale” photo it doesn’t appear to be oddly scaled for forced perspective, like I might guess for that scene.  Maybe it's a bit short?

 

The multitude of carved faces seems unusual for California Tower; hidden faces are more of a Haunted Mansion thing than a Tower of Terror thing.  And when face motifs show up in Tower of Terror, they’re in Florida or Tokyo.  There’s also an “S” carved into the flower at the top and base of the chair.  Who or what is the “S” for?  An artist signature?  Reference to Rod Serling, creator of the Twilight Zone?

 

The "face boiler" is the only other "hidden" face I can think of in DCA Tower, and even then it felt out of place... My photo, 2016

Faces on a vase that has been "blasted off from" the facade at Florida Tower.  My photo, 2017

The faux terrace on the facade is lined with matching vases (with faces) that match the fallen one in the planter. My photo, 2017

Face over the fireplace at Florida Tower.  This fireplace design was NOT replicated for the California version.  My photo, 2023

 

Face in a fountain in Florida's exit area.  Photo by my dad, 2017

 [Harrison Hightower/Joe Rhode's face is spammed everywhere in the Tokyo ride, from painted portraits to decorative carved figures on exterior brickwork.  If I included a photo set here it would take over the entire post!]

Furthermore, these are NOT the same chairs Florida has in its Hallway Scene, so custom details and repeated motifs are not a carryover from the previous version of the ride.  Oddly, while footage of DCA Tower consistently shows these custom chairs, different Florida POVs indicate that their hallway scenes have different chairs in different show shafts (and none matches this California prop model).

 

Two of the chairs in place in California Tower.  Screenshot from this Attractions 360 video. Every video of DCA Tower that I watched showed these chairs.

Different chairs in Florida's hallway scene, indicating California's were custom to that version.  Screenshot from this Attractions 360 video.

Another one of Florida's hallway scenes has yet ANOTHER different set of chairs.  Which raises more questions. Screenshot from this LMGVids video.

Another video of Florida showing a THIRD style of chair.  How many chairs does Florida get!? Screenshot from this Attractions Plus video.

 

Furthermore, there’s the implication of this chair being sold at all: proof that at least one of the hallway scenes has been dismantled and scrapped.

 

Around 2023-2024 I had some interesting conversations with cast members, where the CMs in question claimed that significant pieces of Tower still remained.  One claim was that at least one hallway scene was still intact, albeit in poor condition, with the Mission Breakout screen just slapped across the front of it.  As you might notice, there’s a lot of “maybe” statements in that sentence.  At least one hallway (out of three) might exist, and in “poor condition” (how poor?).  This chair would’ve been one of 6 across those scenes.  Not sure why this one, and not the others, is up for sale, but at least it narrows it down a bit.  Either it means at least one hallway has been scrapped enough that Disney is ridding themselves of the custom pieces for it, and/or “poor condition” means it still exists but the chairs are gone.

 

The auction can be found here: https://www.ha.com/c/search/results.zx?ic5=CatalogHome-MostActive-ViewAll-112917&highlights=1409&auction_name=7493&sb=7&mode=live

 

(As an aside: seeing that turquoise otter from King Triton’s Carousel up for sale hurt.  That was one of the most beautiful carousels I’ve ever seen, and this is sad confirmation Disney won’t ever bring it back, even at another park…)