Tower of Terror: Have you ever done the Haunted Mansion? Cross it with a Free Fall tower from Six Flags, and you have a basic idea of Tower. Only Tower is way better than that.
You start off in the Lobby of the hotel. Look at all the amassing detail the Disney Imagineers went to in order to furnish the room. Notice that old Coffee cup, there on the table by the folded newspaper, almost like someone was drinking it, and just set it down half full and walked away, leaving the rest to evaporate over the intervening 40 years? Wow!
Now, follow the creepy Bell Boy past the broken Elevator into the Library. Look at the walls, and notice the shelves along the top, there, isn't that the Devil Doll Fortune Teller from that episode with William Shatner? No not the one in the Airplane, the other one. And look over there, that ship, it was in the episode about that guy who wished the world was more quiet, so he could listen to his records in peace. Oh, and there, above the TV, those are the glasses from that episode where the Bank Teller was in the Vault when the Bombs went off, killing everyone else, then, just as he found the Silver Lining of being the last person on earth, namely that he can read all the books he wants, he dropped his glasses and broke them.
Boom! Lightning flashes outside the window, and the TV comes on. Look it's a Twilight Zone, just starting up (Imagine that!) and there is old Rod himself. He is telling about the Hollywood Towers Hotel, and how on one fateful night... (I won't go through the whole story)...the lightning strikes the towers, the elevator drops, and the whole section of the building, just, vanishes, into the Twilight Zone. Wow! And now, he says, follow, if you dare, and take a ride on this Maintenance Service Elevator, just restored to operation...
The lights come up and you proceed through a Door you hadn't noticed before [Of course you were kind of busy looking at all that cool stuff I was pointing out, Sorry. ;) ] and into, THE BASEMENT? Here you are, in a steamy old Basement (How'd you get down here? There were no stairs! Something is VERY WRONG!) filled with furnaces, and along the far wall, a row of elevators, each serviced by a Bellhop, almost as spooky as the one who showed you into the Library (Upstairs?).
As you move forward through the line, you notice something quite odd... The Elevators arrive, the Bellhop helps the people in, says something to them, gets out, and pushes a button, closing the doors... Then, the Elevator goes up. You can see the dial. It rises slowly, pausing on a few floors for a while apiece. Then, ZZZzzzttt... There are sparks from the motor, the Car Drops, and then slows and stops, and the doors open again, on an EMPTY car! Where did all the people go? Maybe they got out on one of the other floors. Yeah right. We both believe that one.
Ok, now it is your turn. You want my recommendation? I know it sounds strange, but ask the Bellhop for the "Jumpseat". He may give you a hard time, ask if you are sure you want the Suicide Spot, or something like that, but let me pause here to explain: The standard seat in TOT has a lap bar to "Hold you in" Not a problem, as you would have to try quite hard to hurl yourself out of the car and die. The lap bars, however, only go down as low at the top of the tallest (or fattest) pair of legs on that row, so if you are small, chances are there will be quite a lot of slack. The Jumpseat, however, has a seat belt. Much snugger, and the Jumpseat, while offering an excellent and un-obstructed view, is located in the back row, and therefore the safest row of the car. It is in the Middle of the back row, to be precise. This makes it both the scariest looking, yet actually the safest seat "in the house" so to speak. It also has a great view, and you can be sure you will come out nicely in the picture, which can then be used as "Proof" of your "Bravery" to all the folks back home, who think you a chicken. Picture their surprise when you proudly show them the picture and confide "They call that the Suicide Seat. It has no Lap Bar." and earn their respect for your newfound bravery. Only you will know that it was intelligence, not bravery being demonstrated in the photo. (And I would much rather be smart than brave, any day.) Ok Back to the ride...
You will now be sitting in the Elevator, and the Bellhop shall make his quip (It varies from ride to ride) and start you off... The doors close, the lights flicker, and the elevator surges up a few floors. Not too fast.
The doors now open on one of my favorite parts: A deserted hallway, with a window at the end. Lightning flashes outside, and the light in the hallway flickers, and then ghostly Black and white figures "Fuzz" in (Like a TV set being tuned for a better picture). You recognize them from the Intro. back in the library, look, there is that cute little girl with the Mickey Mouse Doll (hidden Mickey!) and her mom, the Salesman, the Movie Star Lady, and the Bellhop who had their bags. They are beckoning to you, dare you proceed? It doesn't matter, as you are securely fastened into your seat, so you must stay where you are. Suddenly the lights flash again and the ghosts are gone, the hallway is now dark, and all you can see it the window at the end. It almost looks like it is floating there. It moves! It starts to swing, back and forth, and change shape. Stars appear, as the window transforms from the rounded-top shape it had had before, to the familiar square top window from the old Twilight Zone openings. Then, just as you knew it would, it shatters, and floats off into space. Just like on TV.
The Doors close and again your Elevator rises. Now the doors open again, and as you look around, you see a large dark room, there on your left, the swiftly moving clock, and look, the Giant Barbie Doll, and over there, an enormous Eye Ball, and look, there in it's pupil, That's You! Wow! Is it just you, or is you Elevator moving again, only this time instead of going up, it's going Forward? Hmmm. Look at the stars, now they are swirling, like water going down a drain, as they come together in a single brilliant dot, and then, with a swish, the dot becomes a line, and as you get closer, the line splits, like a doorway and you move through it to the accompaniment of Rod Serling's voice again, welcoming you onto, the Twilight Zone.
From here on out the ride will vary quite a bit. But here is the average trip: Now you are again in an elevator shaft. You can see the concrete of the walls in front of you. If you look down through the mesh floor, you see only a deep dark shaft, and above you, you can see the roof. The elevator rises, and passing some doors, slows and stops, dropping a bit, and then coming back up to be even with the top door, which now opens. Before you spreads the entire park. It is an incredible view. Too bad you won't be around long enough to really enjoy it.
The car groans, and drops a few inches, then catches. Lights flash. The car groans again, and you hear a simple "Click" Suddenly, you are plummeting down. Not falling, THE CAT IS MOVING FASTER THAN GRAVITY! the bag in your lap lifts up into the air and you grab for it as you flash past the last of the open doors and pass into... Darkness...
You are not sure what happens then, but the next thing you are certain of, you are stopped. In the dark. Maybe even alive. Then a giant TV comes on, it is the spinning top thing from the old Twilight Zone shows, and it is receding, as though you are moving back away from it, then you notice you are in some sort of storage room, and as Rod welcomes you back from the Twilight Zone, the elevator TURNS AROUND, and the doors open up.
You restraints come un-latched, and a Bellhop appears to help you out of the seats. You survived. What a trip. Your heart is still pounding, and your knees are shaky, but as you wobble towards the exit, and the Photo Stand (With a really cool picture of you terrified out of your skull, sitting there in the middle of the back row, clear for all the world to see) is that for some reason, you want to do it again.