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The legend of the Hatbox Ghost!


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Thanks for posting that, Shaggy! I had gotten an email from the Disney Store website last month with an offer for a Hat Box Ghost t-shirt that was only going to be available for a limited time. I didn't know the legend behind it, until now.

LOL.... I knew of the legend prior, but also got that email. (I ordered one... can you say "Suckerrrrrrr!") LOL!

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Now I'm hooked on Disney behind the scenes stuff...now on tower of terror...thanks

Interesting that you mention that. The concept originally was supposed to use the same system as Demon Drop. They actually went to an elevator company, I think Otis Elevator for a demonstration of how to get belly drops from an elevator, and the company was shocked because they had spent their entire careers perfecting elevators that wouldn't cause that sensation. That is when they started looking at the ride that looks like an elevator instead of trying to turn an elevator into a ride. The ride doesn't drop but is actually pulled down and pulled upwards. The lobby of the hotel is modeled after the Biltmore Hotel in downtown LA. The library sequence is based on the Twilight Zone episode of "It's a Good Life". Items in the library room and in the store room at the end of the ride refer to different episodes of the show.

And much much more!!!

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Now I'm hooked on Disney behind the scenes stuff...now on tower of terror...thanks

Interesting that you mention that. The concept originally was supposed to use the same system as Demon Drop. They actually went to an elevator company, I think Otis Elevator for a demonstration of how to get belly drops from an elevator, and the company was shocked because they had spent their entire careers perfecting elevators that wouldn't cause that sensation. That is when they started looking at the ride that looks like an elevator instead of trying to turn an elevator into a ride. The ride doesn't drop but is actually pulled down and pulled upwards. The lobby of the hotel is modeled after the Biltmore Hotel in downtown LA. The library sequence is based on the Twilight Zone episode of "It's a Good Life". Items in the library room and in the store room at the end of the ride refer to different episodes of the show.

And much much more!!!

...and the version in CA is a VASTLY different "elevator experience" than that at WDW's Hollywood Studios.

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*Cough*

Phantom Theatre

*Cough*

YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!

I want my Phantom Theatre Mr. Ouimet!!!

Phantom Theatre: R.I.P. (Reconstruction In Progress). That was the name I've always wanted/brought up for a new PT attraction should they ever build one.

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*Cough*

Phantom Theatre

*Cough*

YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!

I want my Phantom Theatre Mr. Ouimet!!!

Phantom Theatre: R.I.P. (Reconstruction In Progress). That was the name I've always wanted/brought up for a new PT attraction should they ever build one.

That's a great name!!!! and they should make it bigger, better and scarier.

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...and the version in CA is a VASTLY different "elevator experience" than that at WDW's Hollywood Studios.

I had forgotten that....I've only been to California Adventure one time....don't you back into the elevator shaft which is the main ride. And then you travel to a floor with a room size mirror to view as your elevator load disappears on screen....then you travel to the hallway where little what's-her-face (the child star) sings and the hallway becomes a starfield...and I'm not mistaken the ride seems way more out of control than the Fl version in it's sequences.

Darn it.....time for me to go back for a visit!!!! All this Disneyland talk has me a itchin to go yonder....LOL

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...and the version in CA is a VASTLY different "elevator experience" than that at WDW's Hollywood Studios.

I had forgotten that....I've only been to California Adventure one time....don't you back into the elevator shaft which is the main ride. And then you travel to a floor with a room size mirror to view as your elevator load disappears on screen....then you travel to the hallway where little what's-her-face (the child star) sings and the hallway becomes a starfield...and I'm not mistaken the ride seems way more out of control than the Fl version in it's sequences.

Darn it.....time for me to go back for a visit!!!! All this Disneyland talk has me a itchin to go yonder....LOL

*Spoiler*

The most noatable difference is that the elevator car never leaves the elevator shaft in the CA version. In Florida, when you reach the top floor, the car exits the lift shaft, travels through a corridor and then enters the drop shaft. In CA's version, the same shaft is used to take you up, and drop you down.

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*Spoiler*

The most noatable difference is that the elevator car never leaves the elevator shaft in the CA version. In Florida, when you reach the top floor, the car exits the lift shaft, travels through a corridor and then enters the drop shaft. In CA's version, the same shaft is used to take you up, and drop you down.

Thanks, I just remembered backing up once the elevator doors closed.....LOL. Doesn't it also have three ride shafts?

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This is due to space limitations at DL. The TOT in Florida is a monstrosity when seen up close. Much like Splash Mtn at the MK what you don't see is bigger than what you do see. I have to say that the TOT is the best themed ride (IMO at Disney) and the only thing that I can compare it to is the Harry Potter ride at Universal. Also, when first opened, the Florida ride was only running one drop cycle. Then CEO Michael Eisner quickly realized the potential of the ride and had it reprogrammed to have random drop cycles about a yr or so after it opened.

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ToT_WDW_Diagram.jpg

Florida's ride (above) loads on one floor, then enters a "show shaft" where it encounters the hallway scene. Another floor up, it enters the horizontal shaft, and navigates forward to enter the drop shaft. At the end of the ride, the elevator navigates backwards and revolves to an exit door, then the elevator enters the show shaft again and rises up to the load level to gather more passengers.

As you can see, Florida's can load four elevators, but only has two "separate" rides. So if the "horizontal" scene breaks (which it very often does), half of the ride is broken, and the capacity is reduced to two elevators.

California / Paris / Tokyo's Tower has three shafts that are both "show" and "drop" shafts all in one. Each shaft also has two load levels that feed into it (which is why their boiler rooms are two stories). The elevator on the lower load level of a shaft loads while the elevator from the upper level participates in the ride. Then, the one doing the ride stops at its level and is pushed forward to the load area. Then, the elevator that had been loading just below is pushed backward into the shaft and starts the ride.

The result is that the "second" system is MUCH more practical. The ride essentially contains THREE separate rides, not two. There is horizontal movement, but only into/out of the shaft. If by chance one of the shafts does experience a technical problem, 2/3 of the ride is still functional, which is 4 elevators.

So in Florida, the ride moves horizontally toward the front of the building, which is where the drop happens. In California, the show scenes and the drop are in the same shaft, which is why there's a big bulky extension of the building out front. Florida's is almost exactly the same size, but the two shafts allow the show scenes to occur BEHIND the drop portion, making the building flat on front and appear much much taller, also helped by its location in Florida.

tz-tower-of-terror-400-2.jpg

The-Twilight-Zone-Tower-of-Terror.JPG

Sorry, I love those rides.

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