Tokyo Disneysea Tower Of Terror

[Skipper]

With now only just under a year left till the Tower of Terror Opens at Tokyo Disneysea some new information has just been released... To be honest I'm a bit dissapointed that it will be following in the footsteps of the DCA version but as an overall package and the new pre show effects this is still going to me one hell of a ride with the Oriental Land company throwing 21 Billion Yen into this ride!! Welcome to the Glorious "Hightower Hotel" and the "Hightower Trust". Mr. Hightower welcomes you to his humble, but peculiar establishment filled with antiques and artifacts from his travels around the world. The Hotel is located on 1st Park Avenue in New York City across the street from Waterfront Park. Inside the Hightower Hotel, guests will enter the hotel establishment which has been abandoned since the mysterious disappearance of Mr. Hightower. The hotel lobby is filled with various artifacts and murals depicting Hightower's various travels around the world. In one of the murals, it depicts a visit to the Lost River Delta to a mysterious ruins, ala Raging Spirits. As guests venture deeper into the hotel's dilapidating innards, they arrive at Hightower's private office. Inside, guests are greeted by a mysterious Cast Member dressed as a bellhop inviting them to come inside. When guests enter the room, they will notice various books, maps, objects and paperwork scattered around through the room. The real focal point within Hightower`s office is several stain-glassed windows. As the guests are finally situated in the office, the mysterious bellhop exclaims to the them that Mr. Hightower has left them all an important and most urgent message. The bellhop cranks up an old time phonograph and mysteriously the room darkens leaving the only illumination in the room through the stained glass windows. As the record plays, Mr. Hightower explains what happened to his glorious empire and establishment and the doom to come if his warnings are not abided. He discusses a certain ancient idol which he collected (read: stole) from a certain far-off expedition. This particular idol is, of course, cursed! A little further into the recording, something appears out of thin air on an adjacent bookshelf. It's the idol itself! The idol's eyes turn ablaze! A frightening laugh can almost be made, as the darken room transforms into a star-field leaving still the stained-glass windows in view. Lightning can be heard and eventually it hits the windows. They are shattered to pieces as the room goes completely dark. Seconds later, the light comes back on, but the idol has not disappeared, and only one window is gone (replaced with an entryway into Hightowers private trust or so-called vault. As guests walk through the vault, they will notice different individual areas dedicated to certain locations around the world. They are filled with corresponding artifacts and booty along with opened and closed boxes filled with Mr. Hightower's personal collection. Guests come to a merging point to where they are escorted in groups to these individual areas. Unbeknownst to the guests, no mention of an elevator or even elevator doors are present upon entering the loading areas. They virtually are looking at a wall in front of them. Hightower's voice is once again heard, ala safety spiel, and the wall in front of them slides away revealing a cargo elevator. Once in the elevators, your friendly bellhop gives you a warning or two before your journey. The elevator doors close. Virtually, the ride at this point is almost identical to DCA's version. The elevator pulls back, it travels up to scene one. Scene one consists of the mirror effect, but directly in front of the mirror stands the idol, which zaps your elevator making the guests disappear. The lift then travels up to the corridor scene. Hightower's ghost appears and next to him on a table is the cursed idol. He reaches over to pick it up and he get's zapped by the idol! He's thrown into an empty elevator across the hallway which then drops! The idol then turns to the elevator with the guests and they get zapped. What comes next is.....AHHHHHHH! When the ride ends, you hear Hightower's deep voice explain how lucky you were surviving this time, but perhaps not the next time. The bellhop, not necessarily knowing what has just taken place, opens the door and greets the thrilled guests not necessarily knowing what has just taken place. There are some great construction pics over at http://www.jtcent.com/disneysea/american/amwtot.html