Theme Park Scope

The Hollywood Tower Hotel has looked deliberately abandoned for over three decades, which has always been the whole point.

Lately, though, it’s looking abandoned for a completely different reason, and the scaffolding just spread somewhere new.

As of this week, scaffolding on The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror has expanded to the rear of the building, adding to a front facade that was already nearly fully enclosed. Between the front and back, a significant majority of the 199-foot structure is now covered top to bottom in steel framework. The good news, if you can call it that: the ride itself remains fully open throughout all of this, and Disney has reportedly left gaps in the scaffolding at the attraction’s windows specifically so the in-ride views for guests aren’t affected.

This didn’t happen overnight though; it’s been building since early in the year, in fairly distinct phases:

• March 2026: Walt Disney World files a construction permit for the project, listing MLC Theming as the contractor — a company that specializes in scenic painting, facade fabrication, and hand-applied architectural weathering, which tracks given how deliberately “aged” this building’s whole look has always been.
• Early May 2026: Refurbishment work becomes visible around the outdoor queue. Historical flags near the Tower Hotel Gifts exit are removed, and protective scrims appear over lower architectural details.
• July 2026: Scaffolding begins climbing above the gift shop on the building’s right side.
• Early August 2026: Construction barriers expand rapidly across the main front elevation, eventually covering the iconic “The Hollywood Tower Hotel” marquee sign. Painters begin applying primer to balconies and chimney stacks.
• September 2, 2026: Scaffolding reaches the corner section next to the elevator shaft tower.
• September 11–12, 2026: The front facade becomes almost fully enclosed, with scaffolding wrapping around the upper right elevator shaft.
• This week: Scaffolding expands to the back of the building as well, meaning the Hollywood Tower Hotel is now covered on multiple sides.

Here’s the real tension behind this story: Disney’s Sunset Seasons Greetings projection show, a holiday-season staple at Hollywood Studios, uses the Hollywood Tower Hotel’s front facade as its actual projection surface, turning the building into gingerbread houses and snowy villages every night during the season. Heavy scaffolding covering that same facade would make the show difficult to pull off in its usual form.

On top of that, Disney Jollywood Nights (the separately ticketed holiday event )returns on select nights from November 7, 2026, through January 5, 2027, with Tower of Terror listed among the attractions operating during the party. The building also regularly serves as a backdrop for event photography during Jollywood Nights, which raises the stakes even further.

So far, Disney hasn’t said whether the building needs to be uncovered before either the holiday season or Jollywood Nights begin, and there’s been no announcement about changes to Sunset Seasons Greetings because of the ongoing work. That silence is exactly why this refurbishment has become such a hot topic among Disney planners heading into fall…nobody actually knows yet whether Sunset Boulevard’s most photographed building will be camera-ready in time — sans scaffolding.

If you’re heading to Hollywood Studios in the near term, don’t worry about missing out on the ride itself…Tower of Terror remains fully operational, scaffolding and all. But if getting a clean, unobstructed photo of the Hollywood Tower Hotel is part of your Sunset Boulevard plans, or if Sunset Seasons Greetings is a must-do on your holiday trip, this is one to keep an eye on as November approaches.

We’ll keep tracking this refurbishment as it progresses, so check back with Theme Park Scope to see whether the Tower gets uncovered in time for the holidays.