Tower of Terror Tokyo to open Sept. 4

Tokyo DisneySea has announced that their version of the popular WDW ride Tower of Terror will open September 4. The ride will be located in the American Waterfront portion of the park. The ride features a slightly different story than the American versions of the ride, although the actual ride experience

is expected to be similar. The ride will take approximately 2 minutes, with each elevator holding 22 passengers. The ride building will be 194 feet tall when completed, and a new Tower of Terror Memorabilia shop will open along with the ride.

From the announcement:

The History of Hotel Hightower

The once lavish Hotel Hightower, built by multimillionaire Harrison Hightower III, is the setting for the “Tower of Terror” attraction. Harrison Hightower was a great collector of cultural artifacts, and explored various exotic regions in search of valuable relics to take home. Once back in New York, Hotel Hightower was the adventurer’s favorite place to show off his latest prizes and boast about the exploits it took to obtain them. The somewhat less-than-scrupulous Hightower apparently used whatever methods were necessary to acquire the items he wanted, even at times engaging in outright plunder, according to rumor. Still, the parties he threw when unveiling the latest additions to his collection were thronged with high-profile guests and reporters.

On New Year’s Eve, 1899, during a party he was throwing to introduce a strange statue he had gotten hold of in one of the far corners of Africa, Harrison Hightower III abruptly disappeared on his way to his penthouse. After that night, the hotel was closed, and no one has seen Harrison Hightower since.

After its closing, the aura of mystery and foreboding around the Hotel Hightower has only deepened. However, since there is obvious historical and architectural value to the building, the New York City Preservation Society has now started a “Tower of Terror” tour to allow interested parties a peek inside the hotel.

What happened to Harrison Hightower the night of his fateful party? You may find the answer by joining one of the New York City Preservations Society’s “Tower of Terror” tours.