DCA Promotional Doorknob Hanger, 2004

Here's one of the original promotional items for the DCA Tower of Terror, scanned from my personal collection.  Created to promote the Tower's opening date, this was distributed to Annual Passholders.  I'm not sure if this was distributed to those who participated in AP previews, or if this was included with the passholder newsletter.

Photos of the 2004 Rose Parade Float!

While digging through some old family photos, I found quite a few treasures!  Among them were these photos of "A Sudden Drop in Pitch", Disney's record-holding, Tower of Terror themed Rose Parade float.  After the parade, Disney displayed the float at DCA, where these pictures were taken.

The float was really tall--it still holds the record for tallest Rose Parade float!

Basically everything depicted on the float in this picture is now gone from DCA.

The front of the float, with the title.

Not as bad as Mission Breakout, but still missing the mark: an Incredicoaster review (repost from Tumblr)

Note: This was originally posted to the Tumblr version of this blog on August 25th, 2018.  In light of Tumblr's potential upcoming purge of content, I am reposting it here for preservation.

Well, I finally got to try out Incredicoaster, the other “”””new”””” thrill ride DCA’s gotten, and thought I’d write out some opinions and observations.  I know I’m probably late to this, but hey, I was busy and my pass was blocked out.  I decided to break the review into sections to better organize it.

1. The Track 4/5

It’s still the same California Screamin’ track, so that’s all good!  I would give it 5/5, except the track is in surprisingly rough shape!  There were rusted looking spots and places where the paint had clearly long worn off, and the ride experience was generally rough, especially the loop.  I thought the track would feel better than ever due to it coming back from the long conversion refurb, but it was rougher than the last time I’d ridden it as Screamin’ (which was right before its closure for Incredicoaster conversion).

2. The Queue Area 2/5

To be fair, Screamin’ had a terrible unthemed queue too.  Incredicoaster sadly doesn’t really change that, aside from some artwork of the Incredibles and panels with descriptions of the characters.  What is worse, though, is that Screamin’s relatively shady umbrella-esque line covers have been replaced by white columns that, while aesthetically interesting and in the midcentury modern style, provide less shade than the old covers.  What the area always needed was more shade for the hot concrete queue, and the changes didn’t help.

3. The Soundtrack 1/5

This is probably the worst thing about the Incredicoaster.  Playing the Incredibles soundtrack over the coaster experience would probably be pretty good.  Instead, the music is mostly drowned out by constant voiceover lines from the Incredibles as they frantically search for Jack Jack in the tunnels.  The tunnel scenes are pretty self explanatory even at the high roller coaster speeds, so the voiceover feels really redundant.  Furthermore, at least on the train I rode, the volume on the voices was REALLY LOUD, so it was less “roller coaster with a plot” and more “super family screams in your ears as you ride a roller coaster”.  It’s not fun having a family, even a super one, scream in your ears for the entirety of a ride.

4. The Plot 2/5

A themed roller coaster doesn’t need much plot to work.  Rock n Roller Coaster does a great job with just “you’re going to a 1990s Aerosmith concert”.  Incredicoaster bites off more than necessary by having TWO plots.  The first, shown on screens in the upper queue area, is that the city is honoring the Incredibles by renaming a classic roller coaster after them.  Violet thinks they “deserve better than a re-theme”.  Yes, Disney gave the ride a meta-narrative about how disappointed THE CHARACTERS THEMSELVES are with the ride.  Somehow, the admission that Disney knows it did a sub-par job just makes the ride seem worse, rather than being funny.  It’s especially unnecessary given that the main plot of the ride, the one on the coaster itself, is entirely independent of the “award/disappointment” plot!

The plot of the coaster, as explained by brief scenes at the beginning of the ride, in the tunnels, and at the end of the ride, is that Jack Jack’s powers are going crazy again and the family is trying to catch him before he can wreak any more havoc.  It’s not a bad plot, maybe just the right amount to be told in its limited run time, although it’s probably more suited for a family friendly dark ride than a big looping coaster.  What makes this plot insufferable, however, is how Disney tried to use voiceover to fill in the time between the scenes; see “soundtrack” above.

Not really a category, but an important observation anyways:

What is the intended audience of this ride?  The Incredibles theme and kid-focused plot makes it seem like its focus is on a younger audience, but this is still the track of California Screamin’–a big, fast, looping coaster with one of the highest rider height requirements, initially aimed at older kids, teens, and up.  It’s not that kids can’t enjoy big thrill rides (I was one of those kids that rode every thrill ride the second I met the requirements), but the fact that the ride safety requirements exclude a significant percentage of the theme’s target audience makes it a weird fit.

Overall: 2.25/5

The most positive thing I can say about it is that the track is unchanged, and the track was generally the appeal of the coaster anyways (if your headphones could somehow drown out the shouting voiceover, you’d just need an mp3 of Screamin’s soundtrack to “convert” it back).  However, the unpleasant soundtrack, lack of effort in the queue, and the fact that the Incrediblesreally did deserve better than a quick re-theme make for an overall poor effort from Disney.  The fact that it’s so relatively easy to have the “classic” Screamin’ experience makes this a less offensive change than the Tower-Breakout conversion, but the fact that there’s two poorly done re-themes in a row marks an unfortunate trend in current Disney parks.

Happy (Late) Halloween!

Hey, sorry for being so quiet around here!  At any rate, I thought it'd be fun to share my pumpkins I carved for Halloween this year.  I decided to go with the theme of two of my favorite Disney rides.  First, of course, was the Tower of Terror (Florida version):

Unlit

With the candle inside

Unfortunately, this one rotted before Halloween.  This is how it looked about October 29th, only two days after carving:

Technically, I think this is a Mission Breakout jack o' lantern

Thankfully I was able to find another pumpkin last minute...and a rather large one at that!  It was a bit weirdly shaped, but luckily had one good side to carve.  And even though it's technically off-topic for here, I'm really proud of the result.  Here's Rock n' Roller Coaster!:

Freshly carved and unlit

With the candle inside

I'm really, really proud of how this one turned out.  There was a lot of fine detail to carve, and it was difficult finding a pumpkin large enough to fit the design on such short notice.  Also, thankfully, for some reason this pumpkin lasted much longer and I actually kept it displayed a few days into November.

If you're wondering how I did these, they're actually pretty easy to do.  All you need is a printed template of your planned design and one of those 5-tool carving kits you find at places like Walmart around Halloween (Pumpkin Masters being the most common brand I've seen).  These particular designs I've had for a while, and I think I downloaded them from one of Disney's own Oh My Disney posts about a year ago.  The best tips I can give are to be patient and give yourself enough time to carefully do the fine details.  Thoroughly scraping down the inside of the pumpkin with the scooper so that there are minimal "strings" left also makes carving a lot easier.

Also, yes, this is late, but HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

Alternate Tower Spotlight: The Florida Tower of Terror--The Boiler Room and Loading Areas

After viewing the pre-show, guests filed into the boiler room hallway.  Unlike the all-concrete walls of the DCA and Paris Towers, the walls here were brick framed by arches of concrete.  Also unlike the later incarnations, both libraries entered into the same hall, and the groups were not separated by any kind of fencing.  Across from the library openings was a faded stenciled sign on the bricks reading "Service Elevator" with an arrow pointing to the left.  Pipes ran along the walls, and a couple of covered electrical boxes were on the left side.

June 28, 2017

Near the end of the hallway, on a concrete column, a sign read:

Boiler Room -->

<-- Laundry

<-- Maintenance

Basement Level

<-- Exit

June 28, 2017

June 28, 2017

Indeed, looking back down the hall, there was an emergency exit in the direction indicated by the sign.

June 28, 2017

After walking through the open set of heavy-looking doors, guests found themselves in the boiler room proper.  Initially, one of the large boilers blocked their view into the main room.

June 28, 2017

The path to enter the boiler room, June 28, 2017

The boiler room in Florida looked completely different from its Parisian or Californian counterparts.  It differed in layout, decoration, color palette, and even background soundscape.

A very approximate, not to scale sketch of the layout of the Florida boiler room.  Unlike Paris and DCA, it had only one floor.

Unlike the blue-colored vaguely industrial aesthetic adopted by later Towers, the Florida boiler room's look was dominated by a distinctly brown-red palette (thanks to the brick) and also decorated with carts of fake coal.  The design of the machinery likewise looked older than the DCA/Paris machinery, underlining the fact that this Hollywood Tower was built around a decade earlier (in story) than the others and thus still contained the remnants of the steam age.

A screenshot from Attractions360's video, showing some steam machinery.  Note that their camera made the room look much brighter than it appeared in person.

The trash cans in the Florida boiler room were unique as well.  They were small, brown, pill-shaped canisters attached to the metal railing of the queue.

Another screenshot from Attractions360's video, showing the main path and one of the trash cans.

Florida Tower had the same vague mechanical humming sound as BGM that DCA/Paris used, but unlike those Towers that wasn't the only layer to the atmospheric soundscape.  Hissing sounds emanated from the machinery, once again making it absolutely clear that they were old steam boilers rather than just any industrial machinery.  There used to be fog machines to simulate the steam itself, but this effect had been long discontinued.

Florida also had thunder crash sound effects of varying intensity layered over its BGM.  While this continued to add spooky atmosphere and keep the threat of the storm fresh in guests minds, it also raised questions over how guests could hear thunder in the boiler room.  The lack of storm noises in the DCA/Paris boiler rooms emphasized that the guests were now deep in the buildings' basements and thus unable to hear the thunder.  This emphasis was especially important since the guests never actually walked down stairs and thus the story element of going to a lower level had to be conveyed through other means.  Therefore, Florida's sound effects implied either 1)their boiler room was not in the basement or 2) the storm was THAT intense to still be heard even deep below the building.  Depending on how one interprets that sign in the boiler room hallway, indicating "<-- Maintenance Basement Level", point #1 could actually be correct, as the sign might indicate that one must go the indicated direction to get to the basement.

Towards the middle of the boiler room the guest path forked, with one choice leading forward and the other toward the right.  It was up to guests to choose whether to take the forward or right paths, and if one choice got too full it could back up and block guests' ability to take the other route.  It is likely for this reason that the later Towers simply separated the loading lines from the libraries onward, rather than Florida's "choose your own adventure" route.

The fork in the road, June 28, 2017

Looking back towards the libraries from about the same spot as the previous photo.  June 28,2017

There were only four elevator loading sections at Florida's Tower, rather than the 6 from later versions.  The forward path went to the left two loading zones, and the right path went to the right side loading zones.  The forward path took guests past the mechanic's desk, which had the "It's easy enough to be pleasant" poem.  However, there was no spooky radio with ghostly voices; there was no spooky wall in this boiler room either.  While Florida's boiler room was arguably the most realistic rendition of a boiler room (coal visibly present, steam sounds, practical-looking machinery that never delved into the cartoony "horror" of DCA/Paris' face boiler), it also had the least to see in terms of Easter Eggs.

The mechanic's desk, June 28,2017.  Though now on a white card rather than a dark-colored plate, the poem still read, "It's easy enough to be pleasant/when life hums along like a song/ but the man worth while/is the man who can smile/when everything goes/dead wrong."

The radio on the all next to the mechanic's desk.  Unlike its DCA/Paris counterpart, it was completely silent and thus arguably not "spooky". July 2, 2017

The right side path had guests weaving slightly back towards the boiler room entrance on the way to the right side loading areas.  Unlike the left side path with its mechanic's desk, there wasn't really one distinct decorative feature that one could only view from this side.

View from near the end of the right path, right before going into the right loading area.  Note the cart of coal that confirms these are steam boilers. June 28, 2017

In between the two sets of elevators was one more "maintenance service elevator", generally dressed to look the same as the others.  However, it had a sign in front of it, stating "ELEVATOR SERVICE TO LOWER LOBBY".  The sign under its dial also notably read "express elevator" instead of "service elevator".  This was in fact the "chicken exit"/staff usage elevator, and was an actual functioning modern elevator meant to take guests or staff to the exit area of the ride.  The design not only blended in well so as not to break theming, but also probably offered one little scare for those unwilling to go for the big scares on the ride, as it would appear to the unobservant that they were being led to a loading area rather than an exit!  The sign conveniently provided a name for the exit/gift shop area as well.

The middle "chicken exit" elevator, as seen from the right side fork queue. Arguably, this clearer view of the chicken elevator was the right side path's "special view", with the left side getting the mechanic's desk. July 3, 2017

Safety warnings plaque from the boiler room.  One of these signs was posted on a brick column just before the loading area; I'm not sure if this photo is from the right or left fork.  July 3, 2017

The loading areas each had a generator between the two elevators.  While at DCA and Paris the generators sparked randomly, at Florida they were timed to give the illusion of actually powering the elevators.  They whirred to life, sparking and making loud noises, whenever one of the elevators arrived at or departed from the load station.

Overall view of one elevator's loading station, June 28, 2017

Loading area generator, July 2, 2017

Likewise, the dials above the elevators moved from 0 to "13" (past 12) as cars launched and then returned.  Unlike DCA/Paris, the needle never paused at any intermediate floor, presumably because of the different load/unload setup of Florida.

Elevator with the dial at 12.  July 3, 2017

Operator's control box in the loading area, July 3, 2017

Guests stood on brass number plates like those at other Towers, except these were connected in a line by a metal strip for unknown reasons.

Numbers on the floor, June 28, 2017

Furthermore, as indicated by the seating chart, the seat numbering was different on the Florida Tower.  The front row was rows 1 and 2, rather than rows 1 and 6 like DCA/Paris.

Seating chart, June 28,2017

While waiting for the elevator, the recorded safety spiels played.  These are the same as those played at DCA, and can be heard here (live recording from DCA).  I find it strange that DCA used these same spiels, but had a different safety spiel before the library.

Once the elevator dial returned to basement level, the doors opened and the loading cycle began.  Guests stepped right onto the elevator--no awkward dark hallways like at DCA!  This obviously made the elevator seem much more realistic.  The bellhops directed each row of guests to their seats, starting with the back row.

The elevator car looked the same as at DCA and Paris, but with one big exception: There was no graphic on the back wall!  Whereas the later Towers had "Maximum Load: 3 Tons, do not stack above this line" painted on the back wall of the vehicle, Florida Tower merely had "Maximum Load: 3 Tons" subtly painted in relatively small stenciled font near the top of the back wall.  It was very easy to miss and more like something you'd realistically see painted in a maintenance lift.

The safety check procedure also went the same as at other Towers; the bellhop cast member went row by row, starting in the back, making sure everyone's seat belts were fastened and making them tug on the yellow strap to ensure it was secure.  Once everyone was buckled up and the front gate was closed, they probably were supposed to deliver a themed spiel about ride safety before launching the ride.

I say probably, because during my entire Florida trip not a SINGLE loading bellhop even attempted any sort of themed spiel.

The most they did before launching the ride was a vague "Keep your hands and feet in the ride, and no flash photography please" basic line, usually done in a bored tone.  Thankfully, someone who was familiar with Florida's ride procedures gave me this example spiel:

"Welcome to the Hollywood Tower Hotel.  Since we have so many celebrities staying with us, we request that there please be no photography or videotaping while on board.  For your own safety, please remain seated, keeping your hands and arms inside the elevator.  Please keep a tight grip on all hats, cameras, and other personal belongings that you have... grown fond of.  Please, do enjoy your stay."

I feel the need to note that, as of 2017, photography and recording were NO LONGER BANNED on Florida Tower, provided no flash/video lighting was used.  Or, at least, that is how everyone acted.  None of the bellhops mentioned "no photography" in their sparse spiels, only "no flash photography".  Nobody made any announcements or otherwise objected when I or anyone else very obviously took photos or videos (without flash or lighting of course) either.

Thus, with the ding of a bell and possibly the obviously bored sigh of a bellhop, your trip on the original Tower of Terror began!

"YOU are the star": The Importance of Experiential Storytelling, or why Tower of Terror and Monsters After Dark succeed where Mission Breakout fails

As longtime readers of this blog know, I reviewed both Mission Breakout and its Halloween overlay, Monsters After Dark, several months ago.  After those initial reviews, I took the time to ride both versions of the Guardians of the Galaxy Tower multiple times in order to more fully assess the attractions.  In doing so, I came to a surprising conclusion: I really, really enjoyed Monsters After Dark.

Now, liking a ride in itself isn't a strange thing, but it seemed that there should be few reasons for me to enjoy that particular attraction as much as I did.  Not only is it an extension of the (in my opinion) hideous GOTG makeover of my favorite Disneyland attraction, but it is an overlay of an overlay, multiple levels of temporary solutions seemingly meant to avoid designing an original attraction.  Yet, starting with my first ride on Monsters After Dark, I absolutely loved it despite its flaws.  Something about it just worked.

Repeated ride-throughs of Mission Breakout, however, did nothing to improve my opinion of that attraction.  The "mere exposure effect" never seemed to take root.  Something about the experience of Mission Breakout just didn't work in the way that Tower of Terror or Monsters After Dark worked.  In mentally comparing the three different attractions, I finally realized what was "off".

Tower of Terror, Monsters After Dark, and Mission Breakout significantly differ in their approaches to storytelling, with Tower and Monsters making the guests engaged and involved in the story (experiential storytelling) and Mission Breakout making guests merely watch the story (observational storytelling).

Tower and Monsters both have observational storytelling in addition to the experiential, of course.  In general, rides have both types of storytelling present.  Tower has the observable story of the five unlucky passengers whose elevator gets sent to the Twilight Zone via lightning (and the characters the guests represent being unfortunate enough to follow in their footsteps), while Monsters has the plot of Rocket trying to rescue Groot from the now-wrecked Collector's Fortress.  However, both of these attractions also make sure the guests are engaged in the plot experientially; they balance the experiential with the observable.

In the Tower of Terror, guests are cursed to experience the fateful night of the Twilight Zone disaster.  Supernatural forces take control of the hotel once again as the guests hope for survival, stuck helpless in the elevator car.  Riders of course cannot change anything about the story, but this plays in to the horror.  Both as actors and as characters we are forced to watch as the supernatural takes over and we hope for the best.  The horror of events being out of your control, as well as wishing to escape the haunting unscathed, also engage the guests regardless of their familiarity with The Twilight Zone, and the basic concept of "haunted building doing scary stuff" works regardless of the IP.  The pre-show even highlights the experiential nature of the attraction: "In tonight's episode, you are the star..."

Of course, in-story, why our characters are going through this is one of Tower's greatest plot holes and perhaps its most notable flaw.  Pure Imagineering's best summary is "because reasons".  Some research about The Twilight Zone has led me to one possible, albeit unsatisfying, conclusion, which I'll detail below (in green in case anyone wishes to skip this diversion and continue with experiential storytelling):

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.

Monsters After Dark also uses the guests' forced passivity to make them engaged in the experience.  Rocket is trying to rescue Groot, but needs some bait to distract the dangerous monsters loose in the building.  This results in him setting up a constantly-moving elevator of warm, tasty humans to distract a dragon.  Our inability to affect the outcome of the ride is once again played for horror; we have to hope our elevator drops out of the dragon's jaws at the right time.  Despite us watching Rocket rescue Groot, we are directly threatened by the dragon.  There is a stake in the outcome regardless of whether or not the riders care about, or even know about, the Guardians of the Galaxy.  The result is an engaging and thrilling experience that probably deserved better than being an overlay of an overlay.

In contrast, Mission Breakout is almost entirely observational and dependent on guests' familiarity with and love for the Guardians of the Galaxy.  It's all about watching the Guardians, well, break out.  The information presented in the queue presents little to introduce who the characters are, apparently requiring that the average guest watch a few Marvel movies first (although, being a Marvel fan, I cannot confirm that someone unfamiliar would be confused, as I did understand the references).  The pre-show sets up that the guests' hand prints are required to shut down the building generator, but this duty is fulfilled within the literal opening seconds of the ride.  From then on, the guests have no personal stake in what occurs; rather, the rest of the experience hinges on how much a particular rider wishes to see the Guardians escape.  The guests are never in peril; they're the legitimately invited guests of the Collector's tour, and they merely watch the chaos of the breakout from the safety of their gantry lift.  Furthermore, the ride does not even present this observational story in a coherent or entertaining way; between drops we just get randomized, disjointed clips of the various heroes jumping out of their cages, fighting monsters, or floating in zero gravity.  If I recall correctly, at least one ending voiceover even had a Guardian thanking the riders, only for another (I think either Rocket or Star Lord) to interject, "But they didn't do anything!"

Experiential storytelling is probably one of the most important aspects of a theme park ride, especially one based on an intellectual property.  There should be a reason the guests want to go to the park and ride the attraction, rather than staying at home and watching the film's blu-ray.  Tower of Terror and Monsters After Dark both provide thrilling experiences that engage the guests in the action (including cleverly using the riders' helplessness to add to the horror), while Mission Breakout leaves us to watch characters having an adventure while hoping that we remain interested.  It is this lack of balance that serves as Breakout's most core flaw, and the primary force holding it back from being a remotely worthy successor to Tower of Terror.

2004 AP Newsletter: DCA Tower Special

The Spring 2004 issue of Disneyland's Annual Passholder News was entirely geared towards promoting Tower, and I found my copy in time for the 14th Anniversary of the ride!  Unfortunately, I'm a bit late to posting this for the anniversary, but better late than never, as the saying goes.

Click on the pictures/open them in a new tab to see them larger and read the articles.  Apologies for some tilted angles and glare; I had to take these with a camera as the newsletter was too large to fit on my scanner.

Front cover.  Note that the artwork shows the sign with a Florida-style green outline for the words "Hollywood" and "Tower", something that never featured on the DCA or Paris exterior.

Pages 1 and 2

Pages 3 and 4 folded, showing the text.

Pages 3 and 4 unfolded, showing the extra-long poster.

Pages 5 and 6, with AP blockout date flap folded over

Pages 5 and 6, with AP blockout date flap unfolded

Back cover

It's too bad that Disney doesn't appear to distribute AP newsletters like this anymore.  Promotional items like that poster were really cool, and served as fun memorabilia for favorite rides.