Second Take: End of ‘Tower of Terror’ ride shows Disney’s indifference

On a dark and miserable January night, guests of Disney California Adventure’s Hollywood Tower Hotel will plummet 13 stories down an elevator shaft and into a dimension of sound, sight and mind for the last time. From that night on, parkgoers will no longer be able to enter “The Twilight Zone.”

Sadly, there are no final plot twists in this episode. On July 23 at the 2016 San Diego Comic-Con, Kevin Feige, president of Marvel Studios, announced the upcoming closure of California Adventure’s “Tower of Terror.” The Hollywood Tower Hotel will close its doors early January 2017, exposing Disney’s heartless indifference toward established favorites in favor of lucrative fads.

Comic-Con attendees reportedly jeered at the concept art for the ride’s replacement, “Guardians of the Galaxy – Mission: BREAKOUT!” Come next year, the 199-foot building will be stripped of its iconic, flickering sign and faux cobwebs, and redecorated with alien display cases and futuristic gadgets. The attraction will feature new characters like Star-Lord and Rocket Raccoon, while maintaining its free-fall appeal, said Walt Disney Imagineer Joe Rohde in a promotional video released by Disneyland. The new ride will open in tandem with the “Guardians of the Galaxy” sequel.

Rohde said the switch will be the first of multiple adaptions as part of a project to create “a whole new universe” in California Adventure. But no amount of cheerful and optimistic Disney rhetoric can placate those who have been checking in at the haunted hotel since its opening in 2004. Disney’s decision to remove the park’s chilling and nostalgic staple is sacrilegious, and the Tower’s worshipers have not been shy to share their feelings on social media.

Introducing a “Guardians of the Galaxy” ride to the California Disney parks is no crime. Though the movie is nothing more than a dime-a-dozen superhero plot masked by Star-Lord’s (Chris Pratt) star power and a catchy 1970s soundtrack, its popularity and entertainment value cannot be denied.

Disney’s mistake was in choosing to replace “Tower of Terror” in particular.

However, others seem to have overlooked—or simply could not care less about—the death of the haunting classic, and are in favor of Disney’s decision to appeal to “Guardians of the Galaxy’s” success.

For many fans of both the extraterrestrial superheroes and the paranormal hotel, the company’s announcement has left them conflicted, unable to decide whether the impending rebranding presents a win-win or a no-win scenario.

Had Disney announced a galactic makeover for “Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride” or “Astro Orbiter,” any negative reactions from the public probably would have been minimal. Disneyland is loaded with similarly outdated attractions begging for a revamp. Instead, Disney has wrongly targeted a ride dear to its dedicated fans and nowhere near its expiration date.

And “Tower of Terror” was not the first to go. Less popular Golden State-themed California Adventure rides such as the “Orange Stinger” and “Mulholland Madness” passed on relatively unnoticed and unmourned, but Disney has pushed its luck by announcing the removal of favorites such as “Soarin’ Over California,” and now “The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror.” Finally, the Imagineers have taken this publicly unsanctioned project too far, and the cyber-sphere is rightfully speaking out.

Not only does “Tower of Terror” represent a bygone era in film and television, but it also extends the legacy of a show that shattered boundaries under the surveillance of an extremely conservative 1960s Hollywood with its controversial plot lines. It seems wrong to replace Rod Serling’s visionary voice with Rocket’s (Bradley Cooper) in favor of a flash-in-the-pan flick.

Surely “Guardians of the Galaxy – Mission: BREAKOUT!” will pull out all the simulation stops in an effort to prove its worth. But it will never compare to the eerie “Twilight Zone” theme and hair-raising narration that add extra weight to each drop and seamlessly serve riders a thrilling history lesson.

Starting next year, the public will have to travel to Florida, Tokyo or Paris in search of a portal to “The Twilight Zone.” To the “Twilight Zone Tower of Terror,” your faulty service elevators and unparalleled storyline will be severely missed. To “Guardians of the Galaxy – Mission: BREAKOUT!” your intergalactic auditory and visual effects better be out of this world.