You would think that my nose is longer than a cannoli from Harold’s Deli because of the amount of times I have perjured myself. Every time you see “To Tell The Truth” in the title of one of my blogs, you can expect to read a few fibs. If you are new to the game, don’t worry, I will explain everything. I am going to ask you guys a question, and there are four completely different stories listed as the answer. Only one of them is true. As for the others, I made them up myself. Your mission, if you choose to accept it (if you would like to exit, note that there are chicken exits right behind you), is to identify which of these four stories is the truth. Hence, “To Tell the Truth.” Are you ready? Let’s dive right in.
For most people over the height requirement, the Tower of Terror is a staple of Hollywood Studios. It is one of the must-dos for that park, and it may even be considered the reason why some people come to the park in the first place. I personally have only ridden this attraction once, and I screamed so much I lost my voice. The Hollywood Hotel opened on July 22, 1994 and changed the way we think of ordinary drop rides. Before this date, something remarkable happened when they were building this abandoned hotel. What amazing thing occurred during construction of the Tower of Terror?
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Story 1
Imagineers love to have fun and joke around. Of course, there are always times where it was all work and no play, but at Disney that didn’t happen too often. While building the Tower of Terror, the employees loved the story of a forgotten hotel that seemed to be haunted. In fact, one of the Imagineers knew a medium, and he brought her in just for kicks. Nobody expected her to actually feel the presence of a spirit. Or more than a few. How many exactly? The medium sensed five souls, which happens to exactly match the amount of people who boarded the elevator before it was struck by lightning according to the attraction’s storyline.
Story 2
On the Tower of Terror, once you reach the section of the attraction when you drop multiple times, you don’t fall right away. There are a few words of dialogue before you take the plunge. While building a thrilling drop ride for the first time on Disney property, sometimes things can be unpredictable. During the testing phase of the ride there was a malfunction, and the elevator actually plummeted down before it was supposed to. Fortunately, no one was hurt and everything came out unscathed.
Story 3
If you are in Florida, you should always expect a thunderstorm or two. Or ten. No matter how bad they are, they usually pass quickly and never leave a trace behind with the sun shining brightly or the moon glancing down at the world. While building the Hollywood Tower Hotel, one of these storms that Florida is famous for rolled in. The thunderstorm was just like all the other ones-until a bolt of lightning struck the Tower of Terror. If you know the story of this journey through the Twilight Zone, you know that five unfortunate people were in a maintenance elevator when it was struck by lightning and fell uncontrollably.
Story 4
All scary stories start out simple, maybe with the movement of curtains or the sound of scratching on the wall. This nightmare started with the lights flickering. While building the Tower of Terror, all of the lights would randomly flicker. Imagineers tried everything to figure out what was going on and how to stop it. They checked for an electrical problem and couldn’t find one. They switched the light bulbs numerous times but that didn’t fix it. There was no known reason why the lights started flickering in the first place, but on opening day they began to work normally.
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Okay, Disney fans, which one of these stories explains what amazing event happened during the construction of Disney World’s Tower of Terror? Let me know which you think is correct (or if you prefer, which ones are not) below. I am looking forward to reading your arguments.
See ya REAL soon!
Quote of the Week: “The past can hurt. But the way I see it, you can either run from it, or learn from it.” – Rafiki, The Lion King
Makena is a 14 year old high school student who spends much of her free time researching Disney. She enjoys sharing Disney facts and even plans Walt Disney World vacations (including searches for secrets and Hidden Mickeys) for friends and family. Makena began blogging for WDW Radio in December 2011.