I saw this as a kid, and then couldn't find any reference to this anywhere despite years of searching and I legitimately thought I had hallucinated the whole thing until I saw a video about how Disney's tower of terror works, and then came here to find out what the tower of terror actually was.
Finally, an explanation for why swing music dredges up nightmares of people dying in an elevator. I could not watch Nabisco Oreo commercials without flashbacks to this. Thought it must have been a fever dream.
Oh my gosh, this has been me right up until now!! Every now and then, throughout the years, I would try and search for it, with no luck. Can't believe I've finally found it! I really was beginning to think I may have dreamt it. So funny, I vaguely remembering how much I liked this movie as a kid, because I used to watch it so many times. Clearly not enough because the movie title still doesn't ring a bell lol!
Yeah, that was a little hard to believe, especially given the era it was set in when kids were supposed to be more innocent. I saw the movie when it came on air for the first time and remember thinking that was really extreme for a Disney movie at the time. It seemed odd that a Disney movie would have such an evil kid in it. Kids in Disney movies were usually all sweetness and light, seemed much more Twilight Zone.
There were a lot of small plot holes in the movie, all which stem from the fact that it’s not tied to the Twilight Zone. Would’ve fixed maybe 75% of them
Bunny Bustard yea and it turns out her sister was throwing her a birthday party like congratulations u kill ur sister when she’s trying to make u happy like wow lol
A terrific way to start off a movie. A good explanation of why lightning struck the tower, A good way to set up each character and a good song building up suspense once we see the green lightning appear.
Fun Fact: The hotel's interior was not film from the actual attraction, it actually was just a soundstage made to replicate it. The outside scenes of the hotel was from the actual attraction.
Not all of it. There are some areas with sprawling courtyards and pools, and other scenery peices. But the interior was indeed a soundstage as they wouldn't close the attraction to film the movie or modify it or just shoot it with actual people queuing for the ride.
They got a fair amount of the lobby right, but the light fixtures/sconces that hang from the wall are nothing like the ones in any of the Hollywood Tower Hotels
Too bad disney’s Hollywood studios isn’t a working movie studio anymore. Nowadays its all about money and low quality intellectual property based attractions They should reopen the movie studio aspect
I learned to swing dance because of this movie. My grandma and grandpa used to swing dance with me in our living room during the party scene. This is by far, one of my absolute favorite movies.
@@SHOSHANNAHJACOBSOFFICIAL ....no it wasnt. It was based on ideas imagineers came up with for a ride based on The Twilight Zone. It in no way was inspired by "real events"
Hollywood, 1939 Amid the glitz and glimmer of every Movie talent at the height of its Golden Age, the Hollywood Tower Hotel was a star in its own right. A beacon for the Show business elite. Now, something is about to happen that will change all that.
I honestly like the expressions of the characters after the elevator got stuck. They thought it was just a technical problem and they'd get to the party, just later than expected.
Hollywood, 1939. Amid the glitz and the glitter of a bustling, young movie town at the height of its golden age, The Hollywood Tower Hotel was a star in its own right; a beacon for the show business elite. Now, something is about to happen that will change all that.
Glad this isn't a real Hotel because after watching this movie I probably would never stay in it. I know it's not real but after seeing this my mind would have made it seem real. I do wonder though how she knew Sally was going to be in the elevator at that specific time
Katie12886 I just saw this comment was two years old and I felt like checking in on your life. I understand if u don't have to same RU-vid as before. It if you do, HI!!!
I would have been 6 if I would have watched it when it first came to TV and I'd imagine I would have been crying and shaking!!! Probably would have been afraid of elevators too. I watched this when I was 13 and even then I thought it was scary. Now, at 26 I wouldn't think it was too bad.
Musab Jibril Same man, I saw when I was 7 in after school class, and I left the room and i cried because of that scene where the ghost little girl is skipping down the hallways singing some creepy lullaby "la la la" ....shivers
I still love this scene. The music and happy couples dancing obliviously to the evil storm brewing outside just works for me. It sets up all the ghost characters and Abby well; watching the scene knowing what really happened--that Abigail cast the spell--makes it so much more interesting. But I love how the initial impressions we get of the ghost characters in the opening scene gets slowly deconstructed throughout the movie. Sally first strikes us as shallow, vain, and an attention seeker, but we find out the entire party was a birthday surprise for her sister, who she loved more than anyone, that after 60 years Sally still had the gift she was going to give, and she forgives Abigail at the end, even though Abby is the one who killed her. Ms. Partridge looks like an old grump who won't let Sally have fun and keeps a tight rein, and it looks like she's set up to be the bad guy--when Abigail lies to Buzzy and Anna that it was Ms. Partridge who cast the spell, we believe her because we've already seen how unhappy and disapproving Ms. Partridge seemed, but then we find out just how much Ms. Partridge really loves Sally. Dewey just looks like a hapless, worrisome klutz, but we find out he has heart and courage, and can do his job. We can see Carolyn being cute and flirty with Gilbert, and maybe she just looks like a starlet with a crush, but then we see her caring side toward the others later, and how she's willing to give Buzzy, Anna, and Q a chance. Gilbert looks just annoyed and stiff in the beginning, but then we realize at the end he was planning to propose that night--and we realize he was actually just nervous as all get out. This is not a perfect movie by any means, and it's obviously got a tiny budget, but I think it's one of those films that, despite its restraints and flaws, is surprisingly good. Like, for all its problems, this is a genuinely fun movie that's better than people might think just glancing at its cover.
I totally agree. This is a good movie. It focuses more on the story, and the characters and their interaction with each other rather then songs or special effects like most contemporary movies seem to do.
Yeah, it does have problems, like why the ghosts would try to drive people away when they need people to break the curse and fix the elevator. Or why the people in the party have ghosts (i.e. Dewey's dad is there, and shares a moment with his great-grandson). Or why Buzzy flip-flops between believing in ghosts and regarding the whole thing as bogus. But as I always say, you can't claim to love something unless you know EVERYTHING that's wrong with it.
Personally, I don't think Sally Shine deserved her fate. Judging by the movie, she seems like a kind girl who is quick to forgive and won't hold a grudge. Seeing as though her love for Abigail broke the curse. I can't say that Sally had any control over what happened to her or the other passengers in that elevator. *SPOILER* DO NOT KEEP READING IF YOU DO NOT WANT TO BE SPOILED. Abigail put the curse on Sally. However, instead of sending Sally alone to the underworld, it sent all of them half way, leaving them all trapped in the Hollywood Tower Hotel forever (That is, until Buzzy and Anna stepped into the picture). Sally is merely a child with talent, and Abigail, unfortunately, did not receive those talents. As nobody knows that she exists, other than Sally or her parents. I can understand that Abigail is sad that nobody remembered her own birthday, however, she did not realize that the party in the Tip-Top Club was for her. So yeah, this is enough to prove my thesis.
Of course she didn't. That's the whole point of the story. This movie is basically "Whatever Happened to Baby Jane" with a happy ending… in which everyone's dead. XD
Actually, I heard that Tower of Terror was a "lost episode" of The Twilight Zone and it never aired, not sure if it was ever fully shot. Then, the ride came which spawned this movie, which doesn't have anything to do with The Twilight Zone since it wasn't on TV anymore and this was a Disney film.
Oh, I see. I haven't seen the movie in a really long time and it was before I even saw the Twilight Zone which would be why I wouldn't have been able to pick up on it.
Man did they do a good job on this!! A fantastic expansion on the que line video and the music plus the dancers REALLY heightened the tension! This is a gem of an introduction to a children’s movie.
Picture, of you will, a movie based on a Disney ride, besides the first 2 pirates movies, that doesn't suck. Impossible you say? Not, in The Twilight zone.
@@candycane1744 no. Your the right person. He said imagine a disney ride movie besides the first 2 pirates that didnt suck. You said "dont forget haunted mansion" Which sucked
Kinda wonder why they didn't use the same dematerialization effect they used for the ride film, where the lightning courses through everyone's bodies before they blink out of existance.
This is my favorite movie and ride I know The five peoples names Sally Shine, Dewey,Gilbert, Caroline crossing I miss partridge. One stormy night five people stepped foot into a elevator....and fell into a nightmare, That door is Open once again this time the door open for you 👌
I know Emeline was actually a good guy, but why did she looked so pissed off when Sally smiled at her in the elevator? Didn’t she say she loved the girl as if she was her own child?
Some people are just constantly stern or in a curmudgeonly state. They're still good people, just very dour. Of course the real answer is that it's misdirection and the movie needs to make you think she's the villain.
Probably doesn't approve of Sally encouraging the paparazzi. Child stardom often leads to a massive ego and problems down the line if not well parented. Just look at Edward Furlong.
The weird part of this is thag if you watch the ride preshow, there are two towers on the front of the hotel that dissappear when the lightning struck it. Probably a missed detail from disney.
That is an amazing ride in Hollywood studios I've been on it it's called the twighlight zone and you get on the elevator you sit down and it shows you a little then it drops out of nowhere then it takes you all the way up to were the signs at and drops again
The Hollywood Tower Hotel. Halloween night, 1939. Five people disappeared mysteriously from the elevator, including Sally Shine, child movie star. Tell me something I don't know.
Probably all they could do was shout and hope someone could hear them, I don't think a elevator would have had a phone in it, as I don't think telephones existed back then 👍
@@bikerguychris33 I'm sure they did, tho I wonder either if Dewey, in his panic after the elevator got stuck, forgot about the phone, or the elevator didn't have one.
I tried the real elevator in disney land when I was 12 and it was a terrifying and joyful experience at the same time, I just found out that there's a movie about it
"There is a fifth dimension beyond that which is known to man. It is a dimension as vast as space and timeless as infinity. It is the middle ground between light and shadow, between science and superstition, and it lies between the pit of man's fears, and the summit of his knowledge. This is the dimension of imagination. It is an area which we call The Twilight Zone." ~ Rod Serling
Before this movie, people used to worry about what they might run into in the hotel stairwells - rapists, muggers, homeless people. Now it's the elevators. How can you win?
I think i was 4 or 5 years old when this was released then when it was 2018 aka year today we were at japan but im from the phillipines then what happened was at our last day at japan we were going to disney sea it was a long ride getting to disney sea then we arrived we started going to rides but i started seeing "tower of terror" at the start were a lot of people enter,and then i said "MOMMMY TOWER OF TERROR FIRST PLSSSS and then she said ok 👌🏻 and now we were finally going inside WARNING ⚠️ SPOILER ALERT:inside they r first gonna say something idk what were they saying so i didnt listen and then the doors automatically open so be careful there now you r going to see a room where you r going inside then something will happen thunders everywhere will come i just cant explain everything....when thats done another door will now open behind you you will just walk there.there r numbers to were you r going and a upstairs maybe the upstairs r for fastpassers only and then when another another door opens infront of you but first you r gonna step on a number there so its the number of your seat then the doors now will open when everyone's ready then the tower of terror starts there i got a little scared and whats pretty good is youll see the view and thats all
Did they actually fall to their deaths? It looks like the lightning struck and evaporated them.. then maybe the elevator dropped.. would have been more tragic to see them fall then evaporate.
The elevator was meant to crash. But the spell backfired so they were zapped by the lightening and their souls became trapped in the hotel. The elevators crash at the end of the movie just as Abigail originally intended.
Tower of Terror (horror movie) opening scene: At New York City, December 31 1899, the Hotel Hightower is celebrating its New Years party. That fateful night, Harrison Hightower III went up the elevator with his newly discovered artifact, the cursed idol of Shiriki Utundu. Suddenly, a huge green glow appeared from the penthouse, accompanied by a scream that actually belonged to Hightower. When they investigated the ruined elevator, they discover all that’s left of Hightower: his hat and the idol.
