The #radp-friends Friday the 13th Virtual Tower of Terror Experience

Many thanks to Laura Gilbreath aka Tigger for the great TOT Photo (see link in the text) and also writing this report!

WOO HOO! It's Friday the 13th, and you know what that means…the RADP ToT Meet at WDW! The #radp-friends IRC lunch bunch decided that since we couldn't attend the meet in person, we would attend it virtually, and join them in spirit (so to speak…)

The virtual riders were jasmine, ldg, Scrappy, and tigger2.

(jasmine had the brilliant idea of including the
narration from Matt's Unofficial Twilight Zone Tower of Terror and that really added a lot to the virtual experience. Thanks, Matt!)

We think we had just as much fun as those who were on the real ride… and here's our trip report to prove it!

*** jasmine changes topic to 1pm RADP Meet at Tower of Terror

jasmine As you walk down Sunset Boulevard, past the Sunset Ranch Market, you
come closer to the building and notice the disintegrating letters, The Hollywood Tower Hotel. As you get closer, you hear screams
of terror coming from within the once grand hotel. You walk up to the front of the hotel… you stare in amazement. As you approach the lobby, a smell of a building at rest for more than fifty years permeates your senses. You enter the lobby…you have just entered The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror!

ldg wish i was there.

jasmine me too; even tho the ride scares me!
ldg my favorite ride!!

jasmine WOOHOO!~

* tigger2 is too chicken to ride
* Scrappy has never ridden it, either

jasmine In the lobby you notice several things. Luggage sits at the
front desk and around the lobby. There is a Mahjong game in progress. A dinner table sits with dirty dishes still on it and a woman's purse seems to have been left. Everything seems to have been left as if frozen in a moment of time. Something terrible must have happened here. As you wind past the front desk, you are escorted into the library. On your way you pass the elevators. They both say Out of Order, but one looks more than just out of order, the doors are cracked and are barely hanging on their hinges. As you walk into the library you notice several odd items: a small robot, a fortune telling machine, a pair of broken glasses, and several others. As you stand in the dark library, a lightning bolt strikes and the television comes on. You are greeted by the familiar voice of Rod Serling who introduces an episode of The Twilight Zone.

<tigger2> wow, this line is going fast! 🙂
* ldg looks around……..

<jasmine> < ==== vote for me as CM of the year! fast moving lines!
* ldg knows that they opened the ride just for the 4 of us

<jasmine> We invite you, if you dare, to step aboard because
in tonight's episode you are the star, and this elevator travels directly to…"The Twilight Zone."

As you get closer to the elevators you wonder if you're really ready for this. You have to be. You are escorted into the elevator and are seated with three other brave individuals.

* ldg pulls tigger into the elevator kicking and screaming
<jasmine> WOO HOOO

* jasmine wants to be near someone to hold onto
<ldg> scarrrrrrrrrrrrrrry!!!!!!!

* jasmine sez pls don't leave me alone

<jasmine> here we go… the doors are about to shut!
* tigger2 screams!

<jasmine> AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH
<jasmine> and we haven't even moved yet……
* tigger2 clings to ldg for dear life

* jasmine clings to ldg's other side for dear life

<ldg> the cm has that sick grin on his face and the doors close
<tigger2> we're gonna die!!!

<jasmine> The elevator doors close and you ascend quickly.

<jasmine> they CLANG close!
<ldg> and uppppppppppppp we go!!!!!!!!!!
<jasmine> oh no, we are moving!

<jasmine> we have stopped on the next floor; KERPLUNK!
<ldg> I hear the music………

<Scrappy> we're going to die
* tigger2 squeezes her eyes shut…
<jasmine> not yet tig!

<jasmine> You hear Rod Serling's voice, "You are the passengers on a most
uncommon elevator, about to ascend into your very own episode of…'The Twilight Zone.'" The elevator doors open. You see a hallway of the hotel. Trays are still sitting in the hallway and signs are still on the doors. Lightning flashes. You hear moans and see images of five people, the fateful five. They are motioning to you, beckoning you to come with them. Then as mysteriously as they appeared, they disappear with a bolt of lightning. The hallway flashes with electricity and then suddenly, the hallway disappears, leaving only the window at the end of the hallway that metamorphoses into another familiar window, the window from "The Twilight Zone." The window comes closer and… SHATTERS!! The elevator doors close.

<jasmine> are the ppl moving towards us?????

<ldg> i see them…….the cursed guests of the Hollywood tower hotel…….

<tigger2> i want off!!!!!

* ldg loves this ride!!!!

<jasmine> oh dang; we're moving again!
<ldg> upppppppp…..we gooooooooo
* jasmine turns to hold onto ldg
<ldg> hang on tig!!!!

* jasmine takes a quick look at tig!
<tigger2> hang on to what????
* Scrappy is going to faint

<tigger2> aaaaa!

<jasmine> hang on scrappy!
* ldg graps a hold of scrappy

* tigger2 thinks she's going to throw up…
* jasmine hands tig a airline bag

* tigger2 says thank you to jasmine

* jasmine looks over at tig to see if she's still alive!
<Scrappy> I wanna get off

<jasmine> You ascend again, very fast. Mr. Serling speaks to you again,
"One stormy night long ago, five people stepped through the door of
an elevator and into a nightmare. That door is opening once again, and this time its opening for you…"

<ldg> hear that tig….for us!!

<jasmine> The elevator doors open. What is this? A hallway with service lights
and mirrors? You move forward. The mirrors flash. You see images, a clock moving too fast, E=MC 2, a floating doll, another shattering window, and silhouettes of five people that seem to follow you.

<tigger2> oh noooooooooo

* ldg looks over at tig and says……."You're cutting off my circulation!!"
<tigger2> sorry…

<Scrappy> the suspense is killing me

<jasmine> You also see an eye, and if you look close enough, you can see
yourself in it. You are in "the fifth dimension…"The Twilight Zone!"

<ldg> I see myself in the eye!!!
<jasmine> isn't that the coolest!
* Scrappy covers her eyes

<jasmine> no no scrappy — look at this!

<jasmine> have you all seen yourself in the eye? it's way cool!
* jasmine sees all of us in the eye!

<ldg> see tig too…looks like she's gonna hurl!!

<jasmine> You see two mirrors split apart. You are still going forward…
in the dark. "You are about to discover what lies beyond the fifth dimension, beyond the deepest, darkest corner of the imagination in the Tower of Terror."

<jasmine> HOLD ON!!!! It's going to Get SCARY NOW!
<ldg> Get ready girls!!

<tigger2> we're gonna die….i just know it!
<ldg> lol!!!

<jasmine> You seem to stop. The lights come on. A blank concrete wall??!!
What the heck!! Click.

<ldg> love that click

<jasmine> AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH! You're dropped! You stop. CRACK!! You are
dropped again, only a short ways, though.

<tigger2> is it over yet??? we're going to die…
<jasmine> smile for the camera!

<jasmine> All of a sudden you're going up! Up! Up!! Very, very fast!!
DOORS OPEN!! YOU CAN SEE THE ENTIRE PARK THROUGH THE BACK OF THE TOWER HOTEL SIGN!! BEFORE YOU REALIZE WHERE YOU ARE…SNAP!!!

<jasmine> ARRRRRGGGGGHHHHHHH
<ldg> Woooooooo hoooooooo

* tigger2 SCREAMS!!!!! an ear-drum shattering, piercing scream unlike anything anyone has ever heard before!

<Scrappy> ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

<jasmine> AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!! You're dropped thirteen
floors, straight down! Lights flash, a loud CRASH!! You're being pulled up, up, UP, UP!! Your stomach is in your head!!

* ldg watches her mickey hat fly off her head
* jasmine comes off the seat

* ldg watches her stomach come out of her mouth

<jasmine> The elevator screeches as it goes up… THE DOORS OPEN AGAIN!
But before you can get a look…AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!! Thirteen MORE stories!! You stop, but you feel like you're still going. Lights come on.

<Scrappy> I think I'm sick

<jasmine> AAAAAAAAAAAAAAACCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKK

<jasmine> A spiraling tunnel is moving on the wall. The images from the
"fifth dimension," including the five, are sucked into it. Doors close. You are moved to your side. You see furniture and other odd items piled in a corner…must be the basement.

* ldg looks over to see if tig is still alive
<tigger2> are we dead???

<tigger2> is this heaven???

<jasmine> Mr. Serling speaks, "A warm welcome back to those of you who made it,
and a friendly word of warning; something you won't find in any guide book. The next time you check into a deserted hotel on a dark side of Hollywood, make sure you know just what kind of vacancy you're filling, or you may find yourself a permanent resident of… `The Twilight Zone'" Elevator doors open. You get off.

* ldg sighs………tig is alive!!

<jasmine> oh shibang!

* tigger2 gets up shakily…

* jasmine looks over at tigger

<Scrappy> we made it!

<jasmine> tigger… are you ok????
<ldg> woooooooooooo hoooooooooooo
<jasmine> YEA!!!!!!

<jasmine> WOO HOO!

<tigger2> woo hoo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
<ldg> let's go AGAIN!!!!!!!!!!!

* jasmine can't breath anymore!

<tigger2> can we go again????
<jasmine> COOL!

<jasmine> really?????

* ldg loves cyber rides

<jasmine> that was fun!

* tigger2 wonders if her rubber legs will carry her…
<Scrappy> yeh, are we nuts or what

* ldg thinks that before she dies she wants to meet the three of you and
really ride!!

* jasmine 's heart almost stopped
<Scrappy> my first ride on the TOT

* ldg lines up with scrap, tig and deb to get our picture.
<jasmine> Oh neat scrappy!

* ldg knows that scrappy will think of us when she rides again!

<jasmine> who's ready to go again???
* ldg is already back in line for more!!
<Scrappy> 🙂

<tigger2> ME!!!!!!

<jasmine> cool

<tigger2> i wanna sit in the middle seat this time!!!
<jasmine> cool tig – the ejector seat!

* tigger2 bounces

* jasmine wants to be near someone to hold onto
<ldg> scarrrrrrrrrrrrrrry!!!!!!

<jasmine> You are escorted into the elevator and are seated with three
other brave individuals.

<tigger2> i get the middle, i get the middle!
* ldg makes tig sit in the seatbelt seat.
<ldg> so we get a pic of her knees shaking
<Scrappy> we're going to die
<jasmine> man oh man oh man……

* tigger2 is suddenly not so sure this was a good idea…
<tigger2> we're gonna DIE!!!!

<jasmine> too late plush one!

<jasmine> The elevator doors open. You see a hallway of the hotel.

* ldg laughs out loud!!

<tigger2> i want off!!!!!

* ldg loves this ride!!!!

<jasmine> oh dang; we're moving again!
<ldg> upppppppp…..we gooooooooo
* jasmine turns to hold onto ldg

<jasmine> All of a sudden you're going up! Up! Up!! Very, very fast!! DOORS
OPEN!! YOU CAN SEE THE ENTIRE PARK THROUGH THE BACK OF THE TOWER HOTEL SIGN!! BEFORE YOU REALIZE WHERE YOU ARE…SNAP!!!

<ldg> Woooooooo hoooooooo

* tigger2 SCREAMS in abject and unholy terror!!!!!!
<jasmine> AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!
<Scrappy> noooooooooooooooo

* tigger2 floats! woo hoo!!!

* jasmine screams SO LOUD SHE CAN'T HEAR ANYMORE!
<ldg> wooooooooo hoooooooooo…….

* ldg has her arms up in the air!!
* jasmine 's eyes are clenched shut!

* jasmine yanks on ldg's arms to hold on to!
* tigger2 bounces

* tigger2 hits her head on the top of the elevator! ouch!

<jasmine> Mr. Serling speaks, "A warm welcome back to those of you who made
it."

<Scrappy> is it over yet?

<tigger2> did we make it?

<ldg> yeah, scrap

<ldg> we made it tig…..

<tigger2> we're not dead????
<Scrappy> yippeeeeee

<jasmine> WOOOOOO HOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
<tigger2> whoopee!!!!!

* jasmine asks if everyone is ok????
* tigger2 gets up shakily again…
<Scrappy> I think so

<jasmine> WOW!

* ldg jumps up to go again!!!!

<tigger2> WOO HOO!!!!

* jasmine looks at ldg

* Scrappy has wobbly legs

<jasmine> WOO HOO

<jasmine> what a ride!

<jasmine> you all were great!
<Scrappy> that was fun

<ldg> and no line!!!

<jasmine> Woo HOo!

<jasmine> what a rush!

<ldg> virtual disney……..at its best!!
<Scrappy> we probably set a record, twice in 15 minutes
<jasmine> WOO HOO

*** jasmine changes topic to "Lunch Bunch Rides TOT
– Film at 11"

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