Tower of Terror is one of the best theme park rides in the world, and also one of the most recognizable. It doesn’t matter if you ride it in Paris, the original at Walt Disney World, or a new version on Mars 100 years from now, you should just go. Period.
This is one of the few attractions that truly feels timeless. It is incredibly stylish, has an amazing theme, and is just plain fun. Wondering what Tower of Terror is all about and how it compares to the Orlando version? Join us in the Fifth Dimension as we review the Disneyland Paris version of Tower of Terror!
What we like about The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror
Tower of Terror is one of the best drop towers in the world, and every version - from Tokyo Disneyland to Walt Disney World - deserves your time.
There isn’t a single thing about this ride that I would call outright bad. It has a great theme, with a beautiful and creepy queue where you explore an abandoned hotel, an amazing (and spooky) pre-show, and fantastic ride elements. In fact, Tower of Terror has only gotten better with time, since the drop sequences are now randomized. Sometimes your elevator suddenly drops, only to be launched back up and fall again, and sometimes it catapults up before plunging down. You never know what to expect.
The premise is simple: you enter a haunted hotel, and the pre-show offers three different variations of a scary storyline where something went very wrong in the hotel’s past. For some reason, we act like the heroes in a horror movie and decide to investigate by riding an elevator. Great. Your elevator goes up and stops from time to time, showing special projections of ghosts talking to you and advancing the story. Then everything goes dark, and the drop sequences begin.
So, what are the differences between this version and the original at Walt Disney World? The drops are still random, and you also go up and down multiple times, but the main differences are in the storyline and the ride system itself.
This version actually has three small storylines, and a little creepy ghost girl that plays a big role. Another change is that there aren’t any horizontal elevator sections like in the Disney World version. At Disney World, the elevator explores the Fifth Dimension with floating eyeballs and even math formulas appearing around you. That part isn’t present in Disneyland Paris, where the elevator only moves vertically. It’s a bummer that this section is missing, since it adds to the atmosphere and theming, but at least removing it helps with queues and overall ride capacity.
The drop is definitely the best part of the ride, and it is the same across all versions. You go up and down about six times, and there are, I think, six possible combinations, with some starting by catapulting you up and others starting with a huge drop. The airtime here is unbeatable, and everyone is smiling while having a blast inside an elevator shaft. Even after so many years, it is hard to beat this attraction when it comes to fun and atmosphere.
What we don’t like about The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror
I love this ride so much that it hurt to think about things I don’t like about it. I will say, though, that missing the Fifth Dimension horizontal sequence is a bit of a letdown, since it adds so much to the Walt Disney World version. The queue here also doesn’t explore the hotel quite as much as the Orlando version, but the line moves faster, probably because the ride capacity is higher.
So, is this one inferior to the original Tower of Terror? Yeah, but only by a little. I still love the classic story of the original and the crazy Fifth Dimension sequence. Other than that, both versions are basically the same, and the drops are amazing on both.
Conclusion
Tower of Terror is one of the best rides at Disneyland Paris and a must-see attraction. It features amazing randomized drop sequences, and the original storylines give fans of the Orlando version something new and exciting to experience. Go for it.
