WDW Magazine April 2016 - Disney's Hollywood Studios | Page 12

You are about to discover what lies beyond the fifth dimension…

During the 90s the WDW Resort was looking to up the ante and give older visitors the thrill
rides for which they were yearning, while also trying to keep up with the many thrill rides
found nearby at Universal Studios.
Though Disney-MGM Studios was dubbed a half-day park, its popularity still continued to
grow, so it only made sense that Disney would want to expand the park and create THE
ultimate thrill ride—one that would last through the ages! After much deliberation, Disney
Imagineers landed on the concept for an elevator drop ride with a 1930s haunted Hollywood
hotel theme based on the Rod Serling’s eerie television franchise, The Twilight Zone.
Fun Fact: The voice of Rod Serling heard on the ride is a technologically enhanced
remix of Serling from the “It’s a Good Life” episode, combined with a flawless
impersonation provided by voice actor, Mark Silverman.
The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror was born. But being Disney, this couldn’t be any ordinary
drop ride; it had to tell and a story, and it had to accommodate a large capacity, thus a
whole new ride system needed to be developed. Disney employed Eaton-Kenway and the
Otis Elevator Company to help make their vision a reality, creating a unique ride system
with vehicles that could move both horizontally (for the “Fifth Dimension” sequence) and
vertically (for the drop sequence).
They came up with a system where the elevator cabs could move in and out of, and lock into, the
different vertical motion shafts throughout the ride. The cabs are Automated Guided Vehicles
(AGVs), using sensors and wires under the floor to propel and guide the cabs through the
horizontal porti