Ride Profile
each other, as well as the clever, snappy and ultimately warm dialogue between them, not unlike a 1940s Spencer Tracy/Katherine Hepburn film or a 1950s Alfred Hitchcock film. So, homework done, and fortified with my son (who handles details like how to work the fast pass), we left Arizona for Disney's California Adventure in Anaheim. We went straight to the ride as soon as the park opened, and between that and a second ride using the Fast Pass, we avoided waits that have been reportedly as long as seven hours. The ride experience is what one would expect from
Disney, perfect in its theming and execution. After watching the film, I had wondered how the drop sequence of the ride would fit in, as there's no scene in the film that's close to any type of free-fall experience, in a space-ship or otherwise. However, Disney cleverly turns one of the film's subplots into its own story, in which we must rescue our five ‘Guardian’ heroes, played by the film's actors, who are held captive within Tivan ‘The Collector's’ vast treasure drove. The cue through Tivan's Fortress develops the ride's story, first with a stern warning by Tivan himself, who is then ‘muted’ by Rocket, who has cleverly escaped his imprisonment and requests our assistance in rescuing the other four heroes. As we walk through the cue towards the ‘gantry lift’ elevators, Disneyanics will happily recognize a few of Tivan's “collector items” from classic old Disneyland rides. The gantry lift works as our vertical conveyance
through the massive fortress in our rescue attempts, and here is where the ride experience differs markedly from the “Tower Of Terror.” The former ride was, in true “Twilight Zone” fashion, a buildup of suspense, with the ‘falling elevator’ as the payoff/climax of the story. In “Mission: Breakout!” the gantry lift immediately starts its
AUGUST 2017
up-and-down motions, accompanied by a rotation of six well-chosen iconic 70s pop hits (in line with the movie's soundtrack): Elvis Presley's “Burning Love,” Pat Benatar's “Hit Me With Your Best Shot,” the Jackson 5's “I Want You Back,” Parliament's “Give Up The Funk,” Edgar Winters Group's “Free Ride,” and Steppenwolf's “Born To Be Wild.” The familiar blast of these high-octane songs, and a series of exciting ups-and-downs much longer than the original ride, brought delighted screams from the riders, myself included. Suddenly, I forgot all about the old “Tower Of Terror” as I relaxed into, and thoroughly enjoyed, “Mission: Breakout!” We somehow rescue the other four heroes, they thank us, we take a few more ‘our pleasure’ ups-and-downs, and then happily exit into the gift shop, themed as a shipping and receiving department in disarray due to our brave actions in rescuing the ‘Guardian’ heroes. Did Disney win on its gamble of changing “The
Twilight Zone Tower Of Terror” ride to “Guardians Of The Tower?” Yes, definitely. For that matter, was it even a gamble to begin with? To the creative and marketing minds behind the legacy of Walt Disney, probably not. Moreover, they show how the hardware of an amusement ride can be effectively adapted to any new experience, be it book, film or otherwise. And it makes us wonder what might come next with the successfully duplicitous Tower at Disney's California Adventure.
Gary Kyriazi is the author of The Great American Amusement Parks, and the writer/producer of America Screams, the first pictorial history and television special about American amusement parks. He has been a researcher and historian on American amusement parks for 40 years.
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