List of Secrets and Easter Eggs in Tower of Terror

A list of secrets and Easter eggs within the *Twilight Zone Tower of Terror* attractions and *Tower of Terror* in Tokyo DisneySea.

## The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror (Walt Disney World)

### Queue

#### Exterior

* The default stand-by-time for the attraction is 13 minutes. This is because the number 13 is often affiliated with misfortune and the supernatural. The number 13 will be used as a general motif throughout the attraction because of this such as the attraction being a 13 story drop.
* The tower's proximity to *Rock 'n' Roller Coaster starring Aerosmith* factors into its backstory as the two sister-attractions have interconnected histories. Rock 'n' Roller Coaster revolves around the fictional studio *G-Force Records* who were historic allies of the Hollywood Tower Hotel, with one of their producers having been present on the Halloween night of the hotel's disaster before mysteriously escaping. The mysterious reopening of the Hollywood Tower Hotel has coincided by G-Force Records out-of-the-blue landing large business deals with artists such as Aerosmith.
* The Moroccan influenced architecture of the Hollywood Tower Hotel was chosen because the building is visible from EPCOT's World Showcase, in the horizon of the Morocco Pavilion. The Neo-Mediterranean architecture allows for the Tower of Terror to blend in with the Morocco Pavilion landscape.
* The hotel's gate-house identifies the hotel as being located on *Sunset Hill Estates*, implying it to be in the vicinity of the real-world *Hollywood Sign* (as it is often shown to be in other media). The estates are given the establishment year of 1928, eleven years after the hotel was founded.
* Visible in the Hollywood Tower Hotel is a room with its light on and a dark silhouette watching guests from the window. The identity of this watcher is unknown.
* The stone-work along the path is made to be subtly uneven, giving guests an unsettled feeling similar to the effect of a dutch angle shot.
* An oxidized sun-dial has the words, "YOUR NEXT STOP THE TWILIGHT ZONE 5 MINUTES FROM THIS POINT".
* A plaque identifies the hotel as being established in the year 1917. The Disney California Adventure version was founded in 1929.

#### Lobby

* The lobby is staged to look frozen in time and has many details contributing to this idea.
	+ One element made to reinforce this is a mahjong board made to look abandoned mid-game.
	+ The clocks are frozen at the time the elevators dropped, 8:05 PM.
* A plaque celebrates the hotel having received a "Thirteen Diamond Award" in 1939 from the real-world *American Automobile Association* (AAA). In real-life, the diamonds will only go up to five and this is an example of the attraction's 13 motif.
* The lamp on the concierge desk has a hidden Mickey on it.
* Some of the luggage is authentic and made from genuine alligator pelt. There are also various authentic antiques decorating the hotel, and the furniture was created by their original manufacturers.
* A poster advertises one Anthony Fremont and his orchestra performing in the hotel's Tip Top Club. Fremont was the main-antagonist of the *Twilight Zone* episode *It's a Good Life* where he was a disturbed child with the powers of a god and infamously hated music.
* The missing letters in the directory spell out, "EVIL TOWER UR DOOMED".

### Library

* Sheet music for *What! No Mickey Mouse?* appears under a trumpet and near a ouija board.
* In the library is the book *To Serve Man* from the Twilight Zone episode of the same name. This book was written by man-eating aliens who began using Earth as an abattoir.
* Various books were scripts for episodes of the Twilight Zone TV series.
* Cracked glasses sit atop a stack of books. This is a reference to the Twilight Zone episode *Time Enough at Last* where a man named Henry Bemis spends the whole episode wanting to avoid people to read his books, leading to him hiding in a bank-vault to do so. While in the vault, nuclear holocaust occurs outside and he is spared, happy to finally have the silence to read his books, only for his glasses to break.
* Various props on the bookshelves reference episodes from the Twilight Zone:
	+ A small spacesuit references the Twilight Zone episode *The Invaders* where a woman is terrorized by small space-men from another planet. The episode's twist is that these are actually human astronauts on an alien planet with giant, humanoid life-forms.
	+ The Mystic Seer comes from the episode, "Nick of Time" where its correct predictions became addictive to patrons of the Busy Bee Cafe in Ridgeview, Ohio.
* Behind grates are letters addressed to Twilight Zone creator Rod Serling and fictional character Victoria West. This references an episode of the Twilight Zone called, "A World of His Own" where a man named Gregory West could control reality through his writing and burned these letters to erase his wife Victoria and the narrator out from reality.

#### Lost Episode

* The Tower of Terror film identified the five victims as child-star Sally Shine, her nanny Emeline Partridge, Gilbert London, his starlet lover Carolyn Crosson, and bellhop Dewey Todd. While the film is generally considered non-cannon, these names continue to be used both by fans and by Disney itself within the parks.
	+ Sally Shine's actress Lindsay Ridgeway also portrayed the character in the Tower of Terror film.
* Sally Shine is visibly based on historic child-actress Shirley Temple (1928-2014).
* Sally Shine is holding a Mickey Mouse plushy.
* The footage of Rod Serling as the Narrator was lifted from the Twilight Zone episode *It's a Good Life*. He is voiced by impersonator Mark Silverman as Rod Serling was deceased when the attraction was made.
* The design of the Hollywood Tower Hotel is neither identical to the Florida tower nor the California/Parisian tower, rather having its own design.

### Boiler Room

* The boilers are anthropomorphic, making them resemble faces.
* Grates in the boiler-room form a Hidden Mickey.
* The permit to operate the elevators is signed to October 31, 1939, the date when five people died in the hotel. The permits are signed, "Cadwallader", an alias used by the Devil from the Twilight Zone episode *The Escape Clause.*

### Ride

#### Hallway

* The effect used to project the ghosts is called, "Pepper's Ghost", reflecting footage of them onto a sheet of glass. This effect is also used in the Haunted Mansion.

### Basement

* The dummy known for startling guests when the lights come on is Caesar the Dummy from the episode *Caesar and Me* of the Twilight Zone where it was sentient and evil.
* Near Caesar is a slot machine which is from the Twilight Zone episode, "The Fever" where it was sentient and tormented gambling-addicts which used it.

### Tower Hotel Gifts

* The Sunset Room's menu was last updated on the October 31 of 1939.
* A doll over the counter has eyes made to follow guests wherever they move.
* The sentient and murderous doll, "Talky Tina" from the Twilight Zone episode Living Doll decorates the gift-shop.

## The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror (Disney California Adventure)

*Our community needs more information on this page! Can you help out? Click here to add more.*
### Queue

#### Exterior

* This version of the hotel was founded in 1929. The Florida version of the hotel was founded in 1917.

#### Lobby

* Fallen letters in the directory spelled out, "EVIL TOWER UR DOOMED".
* In the lobby was a door with the number, "22". This was a reference to the Twilight Zone episode, "Twenty Two" in which a woman has recurring nightmares about being lead to a room labelled, "22" in the basement of a hospital, only to find out it is the morgue. When an airplane she is going to board is Flight 22, she refuses to board and shortly after, the plane wrecked.
* The portrait depicted the historic Napoleon III of France.
* During the attraction's final days, the Silver Lake Sisters performed in the hotel lobby. These are characters from the dining-service *Fiddler, Fifer & Practical Cafe* who had previously been connected to the attraction's backstory.
	+ Their names are a reference to the Disney depiction of the Three Little Pigs. In their backstories, they are affiliated with having inspired Walt Disney to create the characters.
	+ The Fiddler, Fifer & Practical cafe identifies them as having performed in historic venues and to be connected to the South Seas Club from the Rocketeer (1991), various Silly Symphonies cartoons, and Roger Radcliffe from *One Hundred and One Dalmatians* (1961).

### Library

* On the bookshelf were letters addressed to Twilight Zone creator Rod Serling and fictional character Victoria West. This references an episode of the Twilight Zone called, "A World of His Own" where a man named Gregory West could control reality through his writing and burned these letters to erase his wife Victoria and the narrator out from reality.

### Boiler Room

* A chalk symbol on the wall marked a spot where you could hear Sally Shine's ghost calling out for help. This was a reference to the Twilight Zone episode, "Little Girl Lost" where a young girl gets trapped in the 5th Dimension and this symbol is used to mark her location.

## The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror (Disneyland Paris)

### Exit

* Sally Shine will sing the theme to the Twilight Zone TV show.

### Tower Hotel Gifts

* There is a photograph of Walt Disney World's Hollywood Tower Hotel.

## Tower of Terror (Tokyo DisneySea)

* This is the only version of the attraction to have a story not based on the Twilight Zone TV show, this is due to Japanese audiences not being familiar with the Twilight Zone property in the same capacity as American and European audiences.
* Like the Twilight Zone Tower of Terror, Tower of Terror has a 13 motif.

### Queue

* Harrison Hightower III's actor is Disney imagineer Joe Rohde.
* The hotel directory mentions the, "Explorer's Club Meeting Hall". This was likely originally intended to be an allusion to New York City's historic Explorers Club, which was founded in 1904, five years after Hotel Hightower shut down. This has likely been retconned into being a meeting-hall for the *Society of Explorers and Adventurers*, a fictional colonial secret-society from the attraction *Fortress Explorations* which Harrison Hightower III was retconned into the membership of.
	+ The Society of Explorers and Adventurers has generally bastardized the purpose between Harrison Hightower III who was made to be a criticism of colonial explorers and collectors while other imagineers to handle the group romanticize them for these actions.
* Hightower's yacht seen in artwork is called *Hightower's Pride*. The mural of the boat shows many artifacts seen in the attraction being unloaded.
* One of the murals shows Harrison Hightower III and Smelding in the fictional Lost River Delta of Peru from the Lost River Delta section of Tokyo DisneySea. The artwork shows them stealing the head of the *God of Water*, an event from the backstory of the Lost River Delta attraction *Raging Spirits*. Artwork of the ancient water temple being robbed appears in the background. The idol's head appears again, being unloaded from Hightower's Pride.
* A photograph, presumably from 1883, shows Harrison Hightower III outside of the *Temple of the Crystal Skull* from the Lost River Delta attraction *Indiana Jones Adventure: Temple of the Crystal Skull*.
* The Rapa Nui chieftain may have a design inspired by Chief Nah-mee from the Jungle Cruise.
* The mural of Egypt shows Giza and Abu Simbel as being far closer than they are in real life.

### Tower of Terror Memorabilia

* One of the murals depicts Harrison Hightower III as the Hindu god, Vishnu.

## Tower of Terror Secrets & Easter Eggs in other Disney Properties

### Attractions

* **Aunty's Beach House**: A portrait from the Adventurers Club in this area is accompanied by a letter from club-leader Pamelia Perkins, retconning the portrait into depicting Harrison Hightower III and the Pillagers Brigade on the expedition where he found Shiriki Utundu.
* **BaseLine Tap House**: This restaurant in Disney's Hollywood Studios features a mural of Red Car Trolleys travelling to the Hollywood Tower Hotel. The art is lifted from those of the Red Car Trolley in Disney California Adventure.
* **Buena Vista Street**: Buena Vista Street was set within the same mythos as the Twilight Zone Tower of Terror.
	+ **Citizens of Buena Vista Street**: The citizen character Calvin Blue was revealed by the *Buena Vista Bugle* to be the police-officer in-charge of investigating the Halloween disappearances at the Hollywood Tower Hotel in 1939.
	+ **Fiddler, Fifer & Practical Cafe**: Removed posters in this Starbucks location were for the Silver Lake Sisters' performances in the Hollywood Tower Hotel. One of these performances was slated for the October 31 of 1939, the night of the hotel's disaster.
	+ **Julius Katz & Sons**: Radios will play the broadcast of KBVS Radio which includes Anthony Fremont and his orchestra playing from the Tip Top Club.
	+ **Mortimer's Market**: Copies of the newspaper from May 4, 1927 can be found with the headline, "Hollywood Tower Hotel set to open next year". The front-page shows the Hollywood Tower Hotel sign being lifted onto the hotel while under construction with the tag-line, "Promises to be a star in its own right!", referencing the Narrator's dialogue from the attraction. The press-release is done by Twilight Zone character Pete Corrigan who is identified as the hotel's manager, and who also mentions Anthony Fremont and his orchestra being planned to perform in the hotel.
	+ **Oswald's**: Radios will play the broadcast of KBVS Radio which includes Anthony Fremont and his orchestra playing from the Tip Top Club.
	+ **Red Car Trolley**: Advertisements for the Hollywood Tower Hotel appeared on the insides of these trolleys.
* **Camp Discovery**: A front page of the First International News from the July 15 of 1931 featured an article on Hollywood's Herman family going missing in the elevators of the Hollywood Tower Hotel, eight years prior to the hotel's main disaster. Also on the front-page was a story of Indiana Jones and the League of Adventurers uncovering the Temple of the Crystal Skull, which has an interconnected story with Tokyo's Tower of Terror.
* **Guardians of the Galaxy - Mission: BREAKOUT!**: In the Collector's fortress office in this attraction are a bookmark and bellhop's hat with the Hollywood Tower Hotel logo on them. Additionally, there is a portrait of Napoleon III from the Hollywood Tower Hotel within the backstage, Gantry Lift area of the fortress. In the Collector's office is a book titled, "*A Far Cry From the Top Floor*" with the Twilight Zone Tower of Terror's font, referencing the attraction.
* **The Haunted Mansion**: The Haunted Mansion was previously owned by a wealthy Californian named George Hightower that shared his surname and status with Harrison Hightower III of Tokyo's Tower of Terror. George was murdered in 1877 by his wife, serial-killer Constance Hatchaway who inherited the mansion from him. George Hightower's bust is painted in the stretching room and his photograph appears in the attic of the mansion.
* **Jungle Cruise**: In the 2021 refurbishment of the Jungle Cruise, crates from, "Hightower Industries" were placed in the queue. Over the *Global Broadcasting Service* loop added in the same year, announcer, "Skipper Missy" will make reference to tours of the Hotel Hightower.
	+ **Skipper Canteen**: Various books written by Harrison Hightower III can be found within the library. These books include *MINE!, Treasures of the Animal Kingdom,* and *Everest Expedition: Search for the Yeti*. The latter two of the books reference Disney's Animal Kingdom and its attraction *Expedition Everest* due to Hightower's actor Joe Rohde having been an imagineer on the projects. In the menus, there is a meal-item called *Shiriki Noodle Salad*, named for Shiriki Utundu from Tower of Terror and described as having been served in the Hotel Hightower on the night of Harrison Hightower III's disappearance. Framed on the wall is the, "Hightower Spirit of Adventure Award" given from Hightower's contemporary Captain Mary Oceaneer to colonial adventurer Dr. Albert Falls in 1921.
	+ **Trader Sam's Enchanted Tiki Bar**: A portrait of Sam McKim's concept art for Trader Sam that hung in the bar was accompanied by a letter from Vanessa Capshaw of the *New York City Preservation Society* from Tower of Terror. This letter identified the subject of the portrait to be Billamongawonga or, "Trader Bill", Trader Sam's supposed grandfather who was Harrison Hightower III's number one guy and that the NYCPS sent Sam the portrait after recovering it in the Hotel Hightower.
	+ **Tropical Hideaway**: On the wall of oars commemorating different river expeditions of the Society of Explorers and Adventurers, one oar is seen belonging to Harrison Hightower III from his Yangtze River voyage in 1872.
* **Magic of Disney Animation**: The poster for the film, "The Bride of Frankenollie" was written by one Harrison Hightower IV, an implied relative of Harrison Hightower III from Tokyo's Tower of Terror. Also in this area was a poster referencing Disney's portrayal of Sunset Boulevard via the *Theatre of the Stars*. The Bride of Frankenollie poster was later moved to *Disney's Hollywood Hotel*.
* **Monsters, Inc. Mike & Sulley to the Rescue!**: A towel from the Hollywood Tower Hotel sometimes appears in the Monsters, Inc. locker-room.
* **Mystic Manor**: A portrait in Lord Henry Mystic's collection shows the Society of Explorers and Adventurers meeting in the Hotel Hightower on the night of Hightower's disappearance alongside Harrison Hightower III holding Shiriki Utundu. This portrait has since been used in other attractions such as Bengal Barbecue and Oceaneer Lab.
* **Oceaneer Lab**: Copies of the *The New York Globe Telegraph* detailing the Hotel Hightower's history are on display along with the Hotel Hightower portrait of Mystic Manor.
* **Raging Spirits**: Crates from the, "Hightower Trust" appear in the queue.
* **Rogers: The Musical**: In Rogers: The Musical, the KBVS radio refers to the Hyperion Theater as, "a beacon for the show business elite", which is how the Narrator described the Hollywood Tower Hotel.
* **S.S. Columbia**: The S.S. Columbia was created by Cornelius Endicott II who was Harrison Hightower III's rival. In the queue to *Turtle Talk* are photographs of his daughter Beatrice Rose Endicott.
* **Sunset Boulevard**: Gilbert and Carolyn's luggage is located under a sign for Route 66 on Sunset Boulevard in Disney's Hollywood Studios.

### Printed-materials

* **Disney Kingdoms: Haunted Mansion**: In this non-canonical comic, the Hollywood Tower Hotel is pictured and identified as one of many haunted locations connected to the, "Endless Staircase" of the Haunted Mansion.
* **The Pilgrims of Rayne**: This book was written by D.J. MacHale, the writer and director of the Tower of Terror film. The story includes the Hollywood Tower Hotel's sister-location the Manhattan Tower Hotel in New York City.
* **Tales from the Haunted Mansion**: One of the short stories told by Amicus Arcane featured old Hollywood ghosts within locker, "39", seemingly a reference to the October 31 of 1939 from the Twilight Zone Tower of Terror's backstory.

## References

1. ↑ https://wdwthemeparks.com/attraction/rock-n-roller-coaster-starring-aerosmith/
2. ↑ https://www.themeparktourist.com/features/20190402/36801/3-bizarre-secrets-about-history-disney-s-hollywood-studios?page=2
3. ↑ https://allears.net/2010/02/04/twilight-zone-tower-of-terror-part-one/
4. ↑ https://insidethemagic.net/2021/10/hidden-warning-tower-of-terror-kc1/
5. ↑ https://allears.net/2019/04/24/7-things-die-hard-twilight-zone-fans-should-look-for-in-the-tower-of-terror/
6. ↑ https://touringplans.com/blog/13-fun-facts-about-the-tower-of-terror/
7. ↑ http://www.mainstgazette.com/2015/10/drop-in-and-stay-awhile.html
8. ↑ https://towersecrets.com/twilight-zone-references-in-the-tower-of-terror/
9. ↑ https://wanderdisney.com/item/twilight-zone-tower-of-terror-wds/
10. ↑ http://ksean.com/blog/tower-of-terror-tokyo-disney-seas/
11. ↑ https://blogmickey.com/2017/10/photo-paradise-pier-billboard-appears-sunset-boulevard/
12. ↑ https://a-land-of-shadow-and-substance.blogspot.com/2018/03/
13. ↑ https://insidethemagic.net/2017/05/photos-guardians-galaxy-mission-breakout-queue-pays-tribute-tower-terror/
14. ↑ https://mouseinfo.com/2017/06/watch-easter-eggs-and-other-surprises-inside-guardians-of-the-galaxy-mission-breakout-summerofheroes/
15. ↑ https://www.mousesteps.com/images/stories/Disneyland/Disneyland%202011/Trader%20Sams/IMG\_7374.jpg
16. ↑ https://twitter.com/Attractions/status/1082384534384062464
17. ↑ http://ultimateorlando.blogspot.com/2013/09/new-inside-jokes-tributes-added-to.html