The Hollywood Tower Hotel is getting its spark back.
Crews at Disney’s Hollywood Studios are repainting the lightning scar on the Tower of Terror’s upper facade, and the goal is to restore its opening-day look.
The first new paint became visible this week, with fresh purple spotted recently through gaps in the scaffolding. The scar is painted in deep violet, blue and indigo streaks across the tower just above the Hollywood Tower Hotel sign, with dark painted cracks running through the color. A lighter violet streak sits beside a small round window on the upper right, and broken stucco and rubble around the corners add to the effect.
The purple had faded over the years, so the fresh, saturated color is quite a change. The scar tells the story of the lightning strike in the attraction’s backstory, which happened on Halloween night in 1939, and the new paint is meant to recreate the look guests saw when the ride opened on July 22, 1994.
This is part of a bigger exterior refresh that began in the spring in the outdoor queue. Scaffolding expanded along the southeast side in July and climbed the front of the tower in early August. The southeast side was revealed on October 3, and the scaffolding has now come down from the upper facade, though it still covers the sides and lower floors. Crews have also repainted the pink stucco and re-aged the stonework by hand.
The good news for anyone planning a visit is that the ride has stayed open throughout the work. Disney hasn’t announced a completion date.
I love this kind of detail work. The lightning scar is one of the most recognizable parts of the whole attraction, and a repaint that brings back the original colors is a gift to anyone who has loved the ride since opening day. For families, it also adds a fun new thing to spot from Sunset Boulevard, whether you’re brave enough for the drop or you’re happy to stay on the ground. I’d take a photo of the new purple while some scaffolding is still up, because it will be fun to look back on the before and after once it’s all uncovered.
We’ll keep sharing updates on the Tower of Terror refresh as more of it is revealed. Keep checking back with us here at Theme Park Scope for the latest Hollywood Studios news, and tell us in the comments if you’ve spotted the new paint in person.
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