Ghostly goings on at the Twilight Zone Tower of Terror

Dare you ride Disney’s Hollywood Tower of Terror? Board the elevator and drop 13 floors? If that sounds like your idea of fun then one of your favorite Disney World rides will be the Tower of Terror.

So what will you experience on the Tower of Terror ride. The attention to detail on this ride is perhaps one of the most striking of all the Disney World attractions.

The Tower of Terror ride is based on the television series The Twilight Zone The Tower of Terror. Naturally it is 13 stories high! Walt Disney Imagineers watched all 156 episodes of The Twilight Zone so that they could recreate the mood and feeling of the series.

The Tower of Terror is Disney World’s second tallest building at 199 feet high. Any taller and Disney would have to have put a red light beacon at the top of the building - not something that would really fit in with the 1930’s hotel style!

Like all great Disney rides the Tower of Terror has a back story. According to Disney lore it was a hotel which opened in 1919 in Hollywood. It became a favorite place to stay for the Hollywood film star elite. But one day on Halloween 1939 the Hollywood Tower Hotel was stuck by lightning. Part of the building was destroyed and 5 guests who had just entered the elevator disappeared. All of the other guests ran out of the building in terror leaving all of their belongings behind. The Tower of Terror is left empty until 1994 when it mysteriously re opens in 1994 at Disney Hollywood Studios.

So much for the story - what is so great about the ride? It is one of the most intense and original rides that you can experience. The attention to detail is amazing - even as you walk through the line you will enter a ghostly world of the 1930’s Twilight Zone. I don’t want to give you the whole story here as there are some spoilers but if you want more details here is my Guide to the Tower of Terror. But just know that you will experience darkened rooms, Twilight Zone atmosphere and then be dropped 13 floors in an elevator!

So what is my personal opinion of Disney World Tower of Terror? I have to confess I have a fear of normal elevators so the thought of stepping into one, whether I know it is fake or not, is not something I took lightly! When I first rode the Tower of Terror many years ago I did have to be persuaded on to the ride! But was it worth it? It most certainly was and I have been on it many times since.

There is of course another trick that Disney has up it’s sleeve. On some attractions you can become ‘used’ to the experience because if you ride it enough times you know what is coming next. Not so with Hollywood’s Tower of Terror. Why? Because it has a computer controlled randomized sequence. So you never know which drop is coming next. So no matter how many times you ride the Tower of Terror each experience will be as thrilling as the first.

Remember of course that the Twilight Zone Tower of Terror is a popular ride. There is a Fast Pass available and most times of year it is advisable to use it. If you are at the park at opening time this may be the one that you want to ride first before the lines build up.

The height requirement is 40″ but remember also that it is a very intense and scary experience. My 10 year old used to love the Tower of Terror but now she just won’t ride it because it is just too scary for her. If your child, or even you, get through the pre show and just don’t want to ride then always tell a Cast Member - there is a last minute change your mind exit that is used quite a bit! If you have young children who aren’t riding with you then there is a Child Swap facility - you can all stand in line together and then one adult rides while the other stays with the child. Then they swap. It saves a lot of time.

So ride the Twilight Zone Tower of Terror if you dare. Check out my Guide to the Tower of Terror for more details of the ride, it’s secrets and some amazing pictures.

Photos used under Creative Commons from kevineddy

Tags: disney rides, hollywood tower of terror, tower of terror

Have you always wanted to sail on Disney cruise line but were just waiting for the right deal? Well there has been no better time to book a Disney cruise - there are some great special offers out there at the moment.

Photo used under Creative Commons from Flickrized

One of the best offers I have seen is Disney’s current deal. If you book a 4 or 7 night Disney cruise during select nights this winter you can take a relaxing 3-Night Bahamian Cruise fall 2009 for only $99 per person based on double occupancy. So not only can you enjoy one great Disney cruise but you get to go back again!

Disney Cruise Lines are also offering round-trip airfare of $199 per person from select airport locations east of the Mississippi when you book a 7-Night Caribbean Cruise or 7-Night Land and Sea Vacation starting in January 2009. So the cost of getting to Port Canaveral is partly taken care of for you.

So what is so great about a Disney cruise? Most people agree that Disney is one of the best cruise lines in the business and their sea vacations are very popular. Disney is even expanding their fleet with 2 new huge cruise ships on order for 2011 and 2012. We all know that whatever Disney does it does it exceptionally well and with great attention to detail. Their levels of service on their ships are second to none. Of course they have some of the very best shows on the seven seas too.

Is a Disney cruise just for kids? Well Disney has gone to great lengths to ensure that all ages are very welcome on the Disney Wonder and Disney Magic. Each ship has no less than 5 areas which are adults only sanctuaries including the Quiet Cove Adult Pool, Palo restaurant, a bar , lounge and even a separate beach on Castaway Cay. Whatever your age their is something for everyone on a Disney cruise.

Castaway Cay, Disney’s own private island is a highlight of the cruises to the Caribbean and the Bahamas. Disney designed this as the perfect island destination - with beautiful white sand beaches and palm trees. You really can’t get much closer to paradise than this…….

Photo used under Creative Commons from Flickrized

I am very tempted by Disney’s new itineraries for 2010 which include the Mediterranean cruises and Northern European cruises.

If you would like to find out more about Disney cruises including which cabin is right for you,more about the restaurants and entertainment, and of course how to get the very best deals then I have written a comprehensive free guide - The Secrets of a Magical Disney Cruise. Here you will find lots of tips and some amazing photos so that you can dream about your next Disney Cruise!

Tags: disney cruise, disney cruise line, disney cruise specials

Windsor Palms, Windsor Hills and Solana have facilities to rival many expensive hotels in the Orlando area. Vacation homes already make a lot of sense in offering value to families looking for a great place to stay. But when you also look at all the hidden extras which often appear on your hotel bill it makes Windsor Palms and Windsor Hills look like an even better option!

Hotels seem to have started more and more to ‘hide’ the fees that they charge. I am not sure why they think that we won’t notice when we check out that all of a sudden there is a long list of extras. Perhaps they know that by the time we check out it is too late to make other choices!

Recently I stayed in a great hotel in California. One of the best I have ever stayed in. But it came at a price! The room rate looked good. Well that is the ‘headline’ room rate. The one that you see before you start adding the tax, the ‘resort fee’, the wireless internet access fee, the extortionate phone charges…….

But the charge that made me most annoyed was the valet parking fee. $25 a day plus tips! Was there a choice? Not unless you were prepared to put your car in the parking lot across the busy street about a 10 minute walk away. Will I stay at that hotel again? Probably not as they just didn’t seem to be being honest with me about how much it was going to cost. Why aren’t they just upfront about it?

So an added bonus to staying in one of my vacation homes? The resort facilities are free. No charge for the Windsor Palms community pool, spa, tennis, gym,basketball, volleyball or even the movie theater! No charge for all the fabulous community facilities at Windsor Hills or Solana.

Many of the homes that I offer also have free wireless internet, game rooms (no need to feed the pool table with money) and free international phone calls.

Oh, and of course parking is always free. On your own private pool home drive.

So when you are working out the amount of money you save on an Orlando vacation home as compared with an hotel remember to think about all the ‘hidden’ hotel fees. You are not going to get a big shock at check out as everything is already covered. So just check in, relax and enjoy the benefits of your smart choice.