When Disney announced that they were going to put a new spin on the drop-ride craze, the public gasped and waited. On July 22, 1994, they had a chance to check in.

It was nice to be back home again with one of my favorite attractions. Walking towards the imposing structure down Sunset Boulevard, I wondered what had been altered since last stepping inside the darkened lobby. For the uniniated--the TZ:TOT experience begins with the legend that one stormy Halloween in 1939, five people stepped into an elevator en route to their rooms when a lightning bolt struck the shaft. They, the elevator and the entire west wing of the hotel disappeared into the Twilight Zone.

With that comforting scenario in mind, you walk through the hotels deserted lobby which looks preserved except for a fine layer of dust and dead plants. In a perpetual state of interruption, the establishment sleeps, except for the maintenance service elevators that whisk you away to the upper parts of the building.

Until Rod Serling shows up; then everything goes whacko.

The ghosts of those five lost souls suddenly appear and begin waving you towards themselves and the missing elevator shaft. When you begin to get sucked forward into the blackness with the starfields and ghostly apparitions about you--it's time to start clutching onto lap bars.

See, the folks at Disney weren't happy with just taking the riders up and then dropping them perilously into the Fifth Dimension by a bunch of revenge-happy spirits. No, they wanted to add some level of anxiety and began a program of changing the ride sequence every now and again so that now, you drop even when you weren't expecting it. A sure-fire way to silence those locals who are "tired of the same old rides".

Without spoiling too much, suffice it to say that you end up rocketing towards the sky feeling like you're going to burst out of the Chocolate Factory, when all of a sudden the elevator doors open up with a plaintive ding and you find yourself staring at a very tiny-looking Disney-MGM Studios, feeling incredibly vulnerable. Since the wacky motors that drive your elevator cage push you towards the ground, you're actually falling faster than the force of gravity and this means: lunch afterwards.

Due to its intense themes and excellent storyline, Twilight Zone Tower of Terror is a harrowing journey that keeps you guessing and never lets up on the suspense. It's psychological effects will linger long after you're gone from the park.

These are the best kinds of thrill rides.