Disney came close to giving Tower of Terror a very different Marvel makeover.
The attraction has been part of Disney parks for more than 30 years, first opening at Disney’s Hollywood Studios in Florida in 1994. Similar versions later followed at Disney California Adventure and Walt Disney Studios Park, now Disney Adventure World, in Paris, with a very different version found in Tokyo.
California’s version did not last, with Disney closing Tower of Terror in January 2017 and reopening the building four months later as Guardians of the Galaxy — Mission: BREAKOUT!, retaining the drop ride system while replacing the Hollywood Tower Hotel with the Collector’s fortress.
The decision proved controversial. More than 35,000 people signed a petition opposing the change, while the loss of Tower of Terror has continued to make fans wary of what could eventually happen to the attraction’s remaining versions.
It turns out Guardians of the Galaxy was not Disney Imagineering’s first idea for the building.
Disney Considered Doctor Strange for Tower of Terror
Retired Imagineer Joe Rohde has revealed that his original proposal was to transform the Tower of Terror into a Doctor Strange attraction.
Rohde discussed the idea in his book “Floating Mountains: The Art of Imagining the Impossible” and during a recent interview with the Los Angeles Times about the development of Mission: BREAKOUT!
Doctor Strange made sense to Rohde because of the building Imagineering already had to work with.
The Hollywood Tower Hotel’s imposing exterior could have been adapted into a mysterious sanctum suited to the Marvel character without completely rebuilding the attraction from the ground up.
Disney executives ultimately rejected the idea.
According to Rohde, executives did not believe Doctor Strange was popular enough to lead such a major attraction at the time. The character had only recently entered the Marvel Cinematic Universe, with Benedict Cumberbatch’s first solo movie released in November 2016.
Disney instead asked Imagineering to explore Spider-Man.
That suggestion created another problem.
“Spider-Man needs room to swing,” Rohde writes. “We only go up and down. There’s nowhere for Spider-Man to be!”
Imagineering eventually settled on Guardians of the Galaxy.
Rohde has also said the decision was not simply about tying the attraction to the release of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, which arrived in theaters days before Mission: BREAKOUT! opened.
Disney wanted a major new attraction to market in 2017 while also beginning to bring Marvel into Disney California Adventure.
The project moved quickly. Tower of Terror gave its final rides on January 2, 2017, before Mission: BREAKOUT! opened on May 27.
Its arrival marked the beginning of a much larger Marvel presence at the resort.
Avengers Campus eventually opened around the attraction in June 2021, adding WEB SLINGERS: A Spider-Man Adventure, character appearances, restaurants and the Ancient Sanctum.
Doctor Strange therefore made it into the land after all, although not through the major attraction Rohde originally envisioned.
The character has instead appeared at the Ancient Sanctum in live entertainment based around the Mystic Arts.
Spider-Man Is Now Getting His Own Tower Attraction
Disney has since found another way to pair Spider-Man with a vertical Marvel attraction.
Hong Kong Disneyland is currently developing a major new Avengers experience inside an expansion of its Stark Expo area in Tomorrowland, with Spider-Man playing a central role.
The attraction will be housed inside a new Avengers Pavilion and follows Peter Parker as he works with Stark Industries at the Avengers Research Testing Labs.
Disney says the experience will use more than 120 feet of “storytelling tech,” with guests encountering locations including Wakanda and Asgard alongside Spider-Man and other Avengers.
The Hong Kong attraction is not the same concept Rohde considered for California.
Unlike Mission: BREAKOUT!, Disney is constructing the attraction specifically for its Marvel storyline rather than attempting to retrofit Spider-Man into an existing Tower of Terror.
Tower of Terror itself now survives at three Disney resorts.
The original remains at Disney’s Hollywood Studios in Florida, while another version operates at Disney Adventure World in Paris.
The Paris attraction has drawn particular attention since Avengers Campus opened nearby in 2022. Disney has also previously used Tower of Terror as the backdrop for Marvel entertainment, including the Avengers: Power the Night drone and projection show.
There is currently no announced plan to replace Tower of Terror in either Florida or Paris.
Meanwhile, Tokyo DisneySea's Tower of Terror – which will close for refurbishment on September 28 – has a different theme that drops its Twilight Zone theming altogether.
Do you prefer Tower of Terror or Guardians of the Galaxy — Mission: BREAKOUT!?
