From Monday 23 March 2026, guests will be able to discover the new covered outdoor waiting area for The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror™, a themed space designed to enrich the story of The Hollywood Tower Hotel, while also protecting guests from the rain or the heat. Here is a closer look at this new “dimension” of the iconic attraction!
For some years now, the teams at Walt Disney Imagineering Paris and Disneyland® Paris have been working to create sheltered areas throughout the resort to enhance the guest experience, whether for restaurant terraces or attraction waiting areas. Among the latest projects, led by the Imagineers in collaboration with the Design & Delivery, Park Operations Product Integration, and Ateliers Centraux teams, is one of the most emblematic attractions of Walt Disney Studios® Park (to be renamed Disney Adventure World from 29 March 2026): The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror™.
To echo the rich backstory and iconic architecture of The Hollywood Tower Hotel, Sébastien Dhainaut, Lead Stage Design at Walt Disney Imagineering Paris, envisioned transforming this covered queue into a former living space of the hotel: “We named this area The Patio, once the hotel’s terrace. It was a place where the glamorous clientele of the era would gather for cocktails, relax on sun loungers, take a dip in the pool, or enjoy music… However, this space fell into disrepair following the tragic events that struck The Hollywood Tower Hotel, and attentive guests will be able to uncover clues about the former splendour of The Patio and what happened on the night of 31 October 1939.”
The design of the queue draws inspiration from the Pueblo Deco architecture of The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror™, featuring an oak timber frame and bronze-finish details bearing The Hollywood Tower Hotel logo – reminders of the establishment’s former prestige. For the occasion, the flooring has been entirely redesigned, with natural stone, terracotta tiling and mosaic details. Every finish has been carefully considered to ensure harmony with the existing building, from the slightly aged – and even cracked – plasterwork, to the bronze-effect guttering, the warm-toned roof tiles typical of the Spanish Revival style, and the elegant onyx lanterns suspended from the ceiling.
Part of the queue runs alongside the former swimming pool, now drained and filled with concrete following the hotel’s closure to the public. Its original outline remains visible through a mosaic pool border, faded depth markings, and a “NO DIVING” warning. To enhance the exotic Californian atmosphere around the pool, new plant species have been introduced, including three large palm trees.
Additional traces of the patio’s past are scattered throughout the queue: overturned chairs entwined with ivy, a table with a spilled cocktail, an embroidered bath towel featuring the hotel logo, a once-luxurious beige parasol now faded, and most notably, a broken decorative statue of the god Pan whose upper half has fallen on the ground and whose unsettling gaze seems to follow guests. The walls, too, are rich in details: a weathered bronze-effect sign for The Patio, along with posters advertising the lively ambience that once existed there and an upcoming cocktail party… that never took place.
This covered line allows guests, from the very outset, to immerse themselves in the eerie atmosphere of The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror™, thanks to its detailed set design and unsettling lighting effects, suggesting unseen presences. “This attraction has a richly developed universe, so it was essential for us not only to respect its theme, but also to play with its codes to bring a new dimension to it, with numerous details that we hope will delight the most observant guests,” concludes Sébastien Dhainaut.