Can I Use that Curse Word now? Tower of Terror....Again.

Alright, hello everyone.

I didn't think I was going to do another blog post on the Tower of Terror, but Disney has forced my hand and I NEED to speak up about this.  I am currently incensed at what I witnessed yesterday, and I feel obligated to share it.

So, my mother and I took my Aunt's two daughters to DCA in the afternoon.  The baby, now 6, needed her birthday button.  And the elder, Naomi, now 13, and I had a mission to get her on the Tower of Terror before Disney rethemes it for Guardians of the Galaxy.  I think I made my feelings plain in my previous blog. (http://theshadowofthemouse.blogspot.com/2016/08/can-i-use-that-curse-word-now-i-finally.html)

So, we each split off, my mom taking Olivia towards the Little Mermaid attraction, Naomi and myself to the Tower.

First, yes, the sign is gone. Plus, there is scaffolding on the side of the building. Visible to guests. Now, if you follow me on Twitter, again, my feelings on this removal of the sign have also been made clear.  It's insulting to the guests.  Did it honestly not occur to management that the aesthetics of the attraction contributes to the experience? Or did they care? I assume the answer is the latter at this point.

Tower of Scaffolding. 

So, around 2:09 we got int the 65 minute wait. (I verified these times with text messages to my mother, by the way). And of course there is a bit of a wait because people want to ride it before it closes.  We eventually make it to the boiler room and are directed up the stairs.  Now, if memory serves there are three elevator shafts and two floors, so that totals six separate elevator cars to accommodate guests. I didn't get to see how many were running downstairs but upstairs....only ONE.  1/3 of the capacity. I think we waited as long inside as we did outside. It was just after 4pm when we got out of the ride.  That's right. TWO HOURS.

Can I just unscrew this and take it with me NOW?

Now, Disneyland management...what could be the cause of all this?  For starters, I believe it was Micechat that reported one mine shaft being down while Disney installs the tech upgrades to the attraction.  Now, that doesn't really make sense to me because why would you risk accidentally damaging anything between January and May when this monstrosity debuts... But TWO shafts down? The attraction is operating at 33% capacity when you know for a fact people are coming to experience the attraction for the last time? When you have ENCOURAGED people to come and "celebrate" with singers, and merchandise*?

*While leaving down Hollywoodland, I spied a cast member dragging a luggage rack full of "Final Check Out" shirts and boxes of merch to the shop at the exit of Tower of Terror.

And yet, Disney seems to be doing whatever possible to thumb their noses at their stakeholders, the APs.

For those who need a little clarification, there is a difference between Shareholder value of a company and stakeholder value.   SHAREholder's are of course those who have purchased a financial share in your company, while STAKEholders are those who, as customers/clients/etc. share in the fortunes of the company in a different way.  I'd argue the APs are part of the stakeholders, and at this point, Disney is spitting on them with how they are managing this attraction closure. (Thank you, Len Testa, from TouringPlans.com for introducing me to this theory. It's right on the money.)

OK, Disney, I get it, you're trying to be "relevant". Because that's worked before.... (pause while we all come up with examples).  AND, like the Main Street Electrical Parade, you are trying to monetize the change. (Because, yeah, that parade is never coming back....).  But if you needed SO much time to destroy, PARDON!, re-theme the attraction, why didn't you JUST close it? You need to discourage visitors from visiting by running at minimum capacity, further inflating the wait times?

To top things off, in the past two weeks, Disney has been posting photos and video of the model for Guardians of the Galaxy: Mission Breakout! for the public to see, completely ignoring the backlash for the Tower of Terror.  This utterly tone-deaf response is appalling.  I don't know that I really have any words for it.  Disgusting, offensive....rude....ok maybe a few words.

While I understand Disney is a company that can technically do anything they want to their parks, this response and the continued response to the Tower of Terror lazy re-theme has gone entirely against the philosophy of the company.  Disney, YOU are alienating your customers...vociferously. What's next? Is Bob Chapek going to stand outside the Tower and throw tomatoes at anyone leaving the attraction with a smile on their face?

And I'm sorry to be harping on this, everyone, but to physically witness the treatment this attraction, and fans of it, are receiving, is beneath Disney. It seems they also wish to ruin their own reputation as a haven away from the world.

Shame on you, Disney.

God Bless the Silver Lake Sisters for their professionalism.

However, when the Silver Lake Sisters aren't performing, things look regrettably, already more blank.

Outside was a window display too cute to leave undocumented. 

It's such a shame little details like this will also go by the wayside for the loud and garish.

Luigi's Rollicking Roadsters

And just to add a little levity to the post, here's some of Luigi's.  The re-imagining of the attraction is just adorable, leaving the original queue in all its splendor.

I just love the new story and all the little dancing cars.  It's a delight to watch while you wait.  And quite infectious.  I know my family's cars weren't the only vehicles with its riders dancing along. It's the opposite of the Tower of Terror debacle, it's a well Imagineered ride that allows riders to forget their troubles while they ride.

That's it for tonight.  See you all real soon! Stay tuned for another post tomorrow, and one Wednesday after I head to Mickey's Halloween party on Monday.