Rumor: Tower of Terror becomes a Guardians of the Galaxy ride

I need evidence because this makes zero sense. ToT is one of Disney's most popular rides so I doubt they'll re-theme it. Plus Guardians could help out a much depressing Tomorrowland or Future World

"GotG are in space. They find a hole in the time/space matrix and go back to 1940s Hollywood, where they crash into a hotel. Weird happenings ensue. This crap writes itself!"--Disney Exec.

I don't understand it ether... But I saw it on the Internet and had to post about it.

Here is a link to one article I found. If they actually do this permanently I will be so angry. I loved the GotG movie don't get me wrong, but they need to build its own attraction, not take a classic attraction and change it.

http://www.wdwthemeparks.com/rumors/2015/04/27/guardians-of-the-galaxy-overhaul-coming-to-tower-of-terror

Out of all rides to convert, not this one. Maybe they should use the space from Stitch to create a GotG ride

Yeah, I'm not buying this rumor. That's all I'm going to say.

I wouldn't mind the change at California Adventure for its version of Tower of Terror is pretty bad. Changing the classic version in Orlando is a mistake.

TOT at DHS is my #2 ride in all of Orlando (only behind Spider-Man). In no way do I support this change.

Someone has said that Disney's license from CBS for the use of The Twilight Zone IP is expiring. But I would remind everyone that Disney's already crafted an excellent substitute for Rod Serling's role on the Tower.

FYI This rumor is quickly picking up steam across the theme park world.

The rumor started Sat. night on WDW Magic when it was reported by the insider "Spirit" who has a pretty good track record on Disney info (But a poor record on Universal info). There's dozens of pages to go through. I've done the read on two occasions since Sat. because its so long. For what it's worth....Bottom line, it appears the leaks are coming from WDW execs. who don't agree with the suggestion that's originating from Disney Anaheim, most specifically Chapek. One point suggested on the discussion is similar to what Robert is saying, that Disney doesn't want to pay for the IP rights that cover fees, merchandise and attendance. But, as Robert suggests, there's the Hightower alternative. But Spirit is saying there's much more to it. I'll use a few of his statements because they sum it up without getting too wordy. Spirit, "This is not Blue Sky. It is in the development pipeline.....this is a Chapek project and comes from his desire to get Marvel product in the parks as quickly as possible". This information is backed up by Insider Marni, who has an excellent track record on both Disney & Universal info. A few quotes by Marni, "Nothing more to add than what's said....It could happen. Lunatics are running the asylum. Sad. Sad. Sad." ....."I had heard the knives were out on Sunset Blvd. Either Tower or RnRC".....The Insiders talked in depth about Disney wanting to do it on both coasts to cut costs. There were heavy insinuations that WDW (Disney Orlando) didn't want to do it or pay for it (either a temporary overlay or a complete redo). Anyway, I've never read a thread over there that generated so much hostility towards Disney for thinking of doing it. Once again, it's only a rumor, but it does come from two Insiders that have a pretty decent record concerning Disney info.

Rob if you could provide a link if there is one, it'd be much appreciated

Why would they redo a great ride like TOT though? Why not Innoventions or Stitch's Great Escape?

Joe: Don't know how to link here. But it's on WDWMagic.com....Scroll down a bit on the home page and you';ll come to the top Forum posts on your left. It's the Forum thread with Marvel in it's name... Good luck reading. LOL It's already up to about 4 dozen pages. WDW1974 is "Spirit", Marni is Marni,and there's another prominent insider posting there that has a website & magazine, his name is "Lee" . They're all basically saying the same.

@Jaiden - I saw it on the internet and had to post about it.
Come on, man. At least give us the name of one forum or website where you read this.

Thank you Rob, for providing actual details on this. It just frustrates me that Jaiden waltzed in here and threw out this rumor with absolutely no additional details - at all.

That's like me starting a thread saying "I read on the internet that Animal Kingdom is removing all of their animals so they can build new attractions in the Serengeti. I just had to post about it. You know, because I read it online."

Next time, please at least tell us where you read this.

As for the rumor itself, a Guardians of the Galaxy attraction would be great. Just not in place of Tower of Terror. I could see Rock N Roller Coaster replaced, as an indoor roller coaster themed to GotG might work. But like someone Eon and Juan suggested, putting it in Tomorrowland would work a lot better. A LOT better. I mean, Iron Man is being built in Hong Kong's Tomorrowland, so I have to imagine they've thought about it.

Change the name to Hightower of Tower. Then we can call it "HoT". That ride is so HoT. Lol.

Here's the thing...As an IP, Twilight Zone is mostly worthless at this point. The show is from the 60s, and while people born in the 70s and 80s likely know about it you'd probably be hard-pressed to find anyone from the 2000s or later who really cares about the show. I'm also guessing that very few people ride Twilight Zone Tower of Terror because of the IP. Therefore, if it would cost a significant amount to renew the license it makes a lot of sense to let it go.

However, just because you lose the IP does it need to be replaced? I'm of the belief that IP can enhance a great attraction, but it cannot make an average attraction great. Is Twilight Zone Tower of Terror a great attraction? Absolutely. Would it still be a great attraction without IP? Yes. Does that mean it should be rethemed without relying on IP? Not necessarily. However, the right IP must be chosen.

In California, Marvel Land will be built on land very close to Twilight Zone Tower of Terror. As the land will likely absorb part of Hollywood Land and/or A Bug's Land, retheming the ride to a Marvel Theme makes sense. In Paris, Marvel Land will be taking over what is currently the Backlot, and while Twilight Zone Tower of Terror is not in this area it is close enough that a retheme could work. In Florida, there is talk of Disney reclaiming some of the Marvel rights and Sunset Boulevard would be the most likely candidate for a Marvel Land there, so a retheme could potentially make sense in Florida as well.

Notice, however, that I specified a Marvel retheme, not specifically a Guardians of the Galaxy retheme. I'm not saying that they couldn't be involved in the attraction, but nothing about Guardians of the Galaxy really fits with the ride system used in Tower of Terror. In my opinion, the best use of that property would be a roller coaster type attraction (I'd suggest a Rock 'n' Roller Coaster retheme). However, I could see plenty of other Marvel themes working well on the ride, particularly something related to one of Stark's inventions or something related to the Infinity Stones (which involve the Guardians of the Galaxy but really span throughout the whole Marvel universe). Also note that I always included the retheme with a Marvel Land. Due to the location of the attraction in the parks, it cannot be Marvel-ized without an entire area redo and not stick out like a sore thumb. Hyperspace Mountain works because Tomorrowland is somewhat spacey and the base attraction lends itself well to the theme. Trying to do the same thing with Tower of Terror would be nothing short of a disaster.

I have no idea what will happen, as nothing I've heard about Marvel Land plans has ever mentioned Tower of Terror. However, if this rumor holds any water I sincerely hope Disney will think long and hard about what they do. Contrary to popular belief, I do not believe Marvel is quite as stable as it appears. Release a bad MCU film (or if not one, 2-3 would do it) and the whole thing could fall apart. Create a weak Marvel attraction in the theme parks, particularly as a replacement to (arguably) the best attraction in that individual park, and demand for future Marvel theme park attractions may nosedive. In many things, there is the right way and the easy/cheap way. The latter option typically comes with greater short term benefits, but the long term drawbacks usually outweigh these, so I really hope Disney is smart and opts for the former.

Lastly, Jaiden, you have been posting a lot of news threads lately, and I think that's good as some of those parks wouldn't be featured here otherwise. However, when posting legitimate news or rumors, you should always include a link to a source. Without a link, it can look like you made it up, and that is a good way to lose credibility. So, for future reference, I would strongly suggest including a source any time you post something like this, especially when it is news that could cause the fan community to explode.

How does Disney get away with this considering the "east of the Mississippi" clause in the Universal contract?

Guardians is a somewhat different situation, although one of the characters may fall in a grey area. They probably won't be able to advertise it as a Marvel attraction if they do it though...................Concerning the rumored Marvel Land in DCA, they address that in the Magic thread. Spirit is saying that the Capt. America coaster proposed for DCA has been cancelled due to the massive Shanghai cost over runs. Tower of Terror is a much cheaper alternative. An update from last night posts, Spirit was saying that it's 50/50 on WDW since WDW doesn't want it unless Anaheim pays for it. But it's 90% probability in Anaheim....Once again, this is a rumor.

Sorry here is the link! http://www.screamscape.com/html/disney_california_adventure.htm

Aha, this rumor makes my prediction of the Rock'n Roller Coaster changing to a Hannah Montana theme ever so closer to becoming reality. Not that I want it to. I would rather they theme it to a legit band whose members still have a pulse.

Seriously though, without the Twilight Zone IP, is it so hard to come up with a haunted hotel concept that is only slightly different from the current attraction?

Factor in that unless the story behind the GOTG overlay involves them time traveling to the Golden Age of Hollywood to check into a hotel it makes little to no sense. That whole area of the park would need to be re-themed which would be a shame. How much more revenue would a GOTG overlay even bring in?

If Shanghai is the elephant in the room that is causing all of the cost-cutting and odd decisions being made stateside, then to me it seems that building that park was a massive mistake by Disney. Especially if the Chinese economy keeps slowing and there is no one in the country that can afford to visit the park in the first place.

A big chunk of GotG involved the heroes escaping from a super-max prison. It wouldn't be impossibly difficult to re-dress the hotel into a prison. The ride could be an elevator that goes haywire during the escape

I hope this doesn't happen, but I can see how it could.

"Escape From Shanghai"

Tokyo DisneySea (bless it) has a version of the Tower of Terror without the Twilight Zone IP, since that brand is almost universally unknown in Japan. Instead it is the New York hotel of one Harrison Hightower circa 1900. Harrison, a globe-trotting robber baron, cruelly stole a cursed idol from some indigenous peoples, and it is this idol which - erm - gets the drop on him. So if it's really just a question of a Twilight Zone licensing fee, this would be an easier, cheaper overlay with proven success.

It of course cheapens both the TOT and the GOTG to fuse 'em together, when we could instead get a brand new "Tree Talk With Groot" or "Rocket Roller Coaster" or "Test Drax." I mean, what do they do with the Tower's exterior, redress it as a big crazy outer space monolith?! Either they do, and this ludicrous thing looms inappropriately over every park it's in, or the interior (space opera) and exterior (1920's Hollywood) are completely unrelated. And by bifurcating the entire TOT experience in such a way, you destroy everything which makes this ride more than a bog-standard drop tower.

This idea? Disney should just drop it!

I am still calling this as an April Fools Prank.

These are the blueprints I found for the attraction.

Jaiden,is this some sort of a joke? It's a link to some YouTube video by Rick Astley. If it's a joke, I don't get it.

James, you just got Rick-rolled.

Tree talk with Groot sounds awesome. Sign me up

Rick-rolled...I'm getting too old for this group. Next thing you'll be telling me is that you can't believe everything you read on Facebook. Time for me to get down to the activities room at my Senior Citizens center...Bingo starts at 10 a.m. (and who is that hippie Rick Astley? He needs a haircut!)

I also wonder if they have taken into consideration the fact that the exterior blends in with the Morocco Pavilion in EPCOT? So making it spacey on the outside would kill that perspective.

"when posting legitimate news or rumors, you should always include a link to a source"

I disagree. This rumor originated at the Forums at WDWMagic and I highly doubt anyone would agree it is legitimate. Plus, it made its way to other blogs and rumor sites so it anyone could have read it anywhere and still report it here.

Jaiden linked to Screamscape, which was not the original source of the rumor.

It's perfect fine to post rumors without attribution, but it helps. News should have links, but they are just a Google search away in most cases.

The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror at DCA is a disappointment because it lacks the 5th Dimension room that was just creepy. The elevator booth coming out of the shaft is it's greatest achievement. Without it, the attraction lacks a element that takes it over the top.

Either they make the ride darker and more scary, or make it more thrilling and exciting. Marvel will likely make the attraction the latter. Make it seem like you're going to visit Shield's hidden headquarters at the basement. Something went wrong. You're thrown about and above. You're sucked into another dimension to save you. You return to California Adventure. All is not lost.

So there can be Avengers attraction at WDW as long as they are not pimped as Marvel characters?

Hmmmmmmm ....

At this point, there is very little Disney could do to surprise me.

James Rick Rolling has been around for 10 years or so.... I hope they don't do this to ToT.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rickrolling

TH: Nope.Avengers are in the contract.Family, characters & name....Probably the loophole with the present incarnation of the guardians is that the group was conceived after the contract was signed, and the characters (except for possibly one) aren't members of the extended families mentioned in the contract. Even though there's only X number of families mentioned in the contract, there's been so many book and group crossovers over the decades, that most every character is probably off limits. As an example, the villains from the GOG movie probably couldn't be used in an attraction. This is one of those cases that the lawyers will probably sort out.

David, so the purpose of Rick rolling is what? Other than to make me disregard anything Jaiden posts in the future as questionable I don't see the point.

I am Groot.

I think that this idea should be considered a crime against humanity and anyone who's behind it should be arrested. Now for the members crtiizing Jaiden for not having a link can you just calm down ? It is not that serious , he was just trying to have a discussion about the issue with his fellow insiders.

@Douglas Hindley
We... Are... Groot.

Jaiden did clearly identify it as rumour, so a "source " is kind of redundant. It may have been nice to mention where he saw the rumour though, so people can check it out and make their own mine up as to its validity.

If you can't tell I'm just ingnoring all of you talking about me.

I am going to cry if they do this. THEY HAD BETTER NOT!

I wouldn't have a problem with DCA doing this considering they're better off making Hollywood Land a Marvel themed area, plus the Twilight Zone has been irrelevant for years

I love the Twilight Zone theme on TOT. A Guardians of the Galaxy overlay would be a grotesque desecration.

It would fall under the east of the Mississippi Clause or soon will and if not clearly does it will be a certain court battle. Guardians is projected to merge with Avengers as the Infinity Stones are in both franchises now. As the Disney XD show also crosses the Guardians also.

Um ... a "grotesque desecration?"

Please.

I believe this would become the Tower of Error.