Tower of Terror Pins

November 25, 2013 by M. Booley

Disney California Adventure cast member pin with the letters “TOT” erroneously imprinted on the back. This pin line was discontinued and “TOT” was replaced with “HTH”, which presumably was to make the folks in the legal and licensing department happy.

If you’ve been to a Disney park in the last 15 or so years you’ve seen these artsy little bits of metal pinned to Cast Members and guests alike. At $7-$12+ a pop, pin trading isn’t a hobby for the weak of wallet, but it can be fun to hunt down favorites and complete collections. And before you get any hopes of collecting them all, just know that Disney has created over 90,000 unique pin designs.

For an excellent introduction to Disney pin trading, visit Peanut Blossom’s Disney Pin Trading 101.

Many collectors like to focus their collection around a particular theme. My primary collection’s theme is the Tower of Terror (of course!), and I focus my collection on pins that only depict the Tower itself. This helps keep the hunt exciting and the costs sorta-reasonable. 😉

There are well over a hundred Tower of Terror related pins – way too many to list here. Disney’s been pumping out pins for the Tower of Terror pretty much forever, and there’s more added all the time. The very nicely organized PinPics’s Tower of Terror pin gallery is a great place to browse Disney’s vast pin catalog.

Where to Find Tower of Terror Pins

My pins are from the parks and eBay, but for more advanced traders there’s a few more options:

Search for Tower of Terror pins on eBay is great for all pin collectors. Check back often and you might see some rare ones pop up.
PinPics is the web’s biggest site for the serious collectors
The Disney Parks – Pin racks can be found throughout the 11 parks – check ’em all, the stock varies by location, park, and season. Tower of Terror pins are found all over the parks, not just at the Tower’s own gift shop.
Cast Members oftentimes have pins that cannot be bought directly but must be traded for – check their lanyards and ask politely to see their pins, and you might find a Tower of Terror pin that isn’t available in the gift shops.
Disney’s online store – Buy ’em directly from the source. (Alas, no Tower of Terror pins are on the Disney store site last I looked.)

Tower of Terror Pin Designs

Tower of Terror pin designs usually take the form of iconic Disney characters on the attraction and/or dressed as bellhops, the Tower by itself, and hotel props such as hotel room keys and “Do Not Disturb” signs.

DCA Tower of Terror pin grand opening 2004

This blue and purple DCA Tower of Terror pin is one of my favorites.

In my experience, it’s been easier to find pins depicting the California-style Tower of Terror. (And yet if you press a penny in the California Tower of Terror, the impressed design is that of the Florida Tower!)

The top half of this Tower pin changes as you tilt the pin left and right, revealing a lightning bolt at some angles.

Filed Under: Memorabilia Tagged With: merchandise, replica, souvenir

Tower of Terror Disney Collector Packs Miniature Figurine

October 14, 2013 by M. Booley

At just 1″ tall, this miniature Tower of Terror figurine is probably the tiniest Tower memorabilia ever produced!

Disney Collector Packs are very tiny plastic collectibles in the likeness of beloved Disney characters and park features. Designs range from Tinkerbell to Test Track cars and Belle to park buses. Disney’s been cranking these things out for years. The gimmick: three figurines to a package, and the package is opaque, so you don’t know what’s inside until you open it. Keep buying (and trading) until you complete your set – super addictive!

Even though DCP trading is several years old, there’s still a thriving market for selling and trading the figurines. The Tower of Terror miniature (expansion Series 5, #13… of course) is fairly easy to find on eBay for under $15USD. I recently added the Tower of Terror Disney Collector Packs miniature to my collection – check it out below!

Miniaturetrading.com has the full scoop on Disney Collector Packs, including trading, rarity, and expansion packs.

Filed Under: Memorabilia Tagged With: replica

Tower of Terror Memo Holder (Florida version)

October 13, 2013 by M. Booley

This Tower of Terror memo holder is one of my favorite pieces of official Tower merchandise.

Don’t let the pic fool you – this Tower replica is actually quite tiny – the hotel itself is only about 3″ tall x 3″ wide. The entire memo holder is about 6.5″ tall. I’m not sure what years it was available, but there’s just something late 90’s about it, don’t you think?

It’s difficult to find official Tower of Terror merchandise in the likeness of the hotel structure itself. Not that I don’t love Disney’s characters dressed up in bellhop costumes – those are all 100% adorable. But I’m a huuuge fan of the look and feel and the architecture of the Tower of Terror itself, so I must admit a soft spot in my heart (and my collection) for Tower merchandise made in the image of the Tower itself. I found mine on ebay for $24+ shipping.

PS: Disney, if you’re reading this – please send more tower replicas! 🙂

Filed Under: Memorabilia Tagged With: Hollywood Studios, MGM, replica, souvenir

Tower of Terror Big Fig

October 12, 2013 by M. Booley

What’s a Big Fig?

Appealing mostly to elite collectors (and elite wallets), Disney big figs (literally, “big figurines”) are some of Disney’s largest, most elaborate, and most expensive souvenirs. These replicas of beloved characters and park features are typically between 20” and several feet tall.

Tower Big Fig

Figurines of the Tower of Terror itself are, in general, quite rare. Disney seems to prefer promoting the Tower through licensed characters and Hollywood Tower Hotel-themed merchandise like bathrobes and front desk bells. But a few figurines of the Tower itself exist, and the biggest and brightest of all is this gorgeous DCA Tower of Terror replica.

This Tower statue is not a “true” big fig (it’s 9” tall whereas normally big figs are 20”+), but it widely accepted as “the Tower big fig” because it’s the closest thing to a big fig Disney has made for the attraction.

The Tower of Terror big fig is 9” x 9” x 9” and made of carefully detailed cold-cast resin. It is HEAVY – about 10 lbs. Nearly two dozen individual trees decorate the exterior, along with a miniature fence perimeter, tiny window sills, roof tiles, detailed facade cracks, and light-up sign that flickers almost exactly like the sign of the real-life DCA Tower of Terror.

How to Find

This Tower replica is a must-have for any serious Tower of Terror and Disneyana collectors but Disney doesn’t make ’em anymore, and at $200+ (if you can even find it for sale) it won’t come cheap. Stalking around eBay yields an occasional Tower big fig. So if you’re interested in adding this one to your Tower collection, keep an eye on eBay and may the force be with you!

Filed Under: Memorabilia Tagged With: DCA, figurine, merchandise, replica

Minecraft Tower of Terror Models & Videos

October 1, 2013 by M. Booley

I’ve been kind of avoiding Minecraft, being both easily addicted to addicting things and short on free time. But then I found several Minecraft Tower of Terror recreations and my jaw dropped through my keyboard. These Minecraft Tower of Terror recreations are amazing! I picked a few of the best and linked ’em here for your enjoyment.

First up is TwistaaGaming’s awesome Minecraft Tower of Terror. Don’t miss the cube ghosts around 1:40. He even built the gift shop.

TwistaaGaming also built a beautiful replica of the Tokyo DisneySea Tower of Terror, complete with the unique preshow elements.

Another Minecraft artisan, GenLawrence, re-created the TOT preshow video using Minecraft elements, with eerie attention to detail.

IPyrrHaX16’s video might be 20 minutes long (and in French), but it’s incredible. He built the outside (looks amazing, by the way), the Library video room, even the numbers you stand on while waiting to board the elevator. The ride experience itself falls a little flat without the ghosts, but drop, even though it’s in Minecraft, manages to be almost as thrilling as the real ride thanks in part to the sound effects.

HOLY COW HE ALSO MADE A VIDEO OF THE FRENCH TOT INAUGURATION!

Okay, wow.

This TOT Minecraft video by Team WDW is more of a set than a functional Minecraft ride (if the comments are to be believed), but the attention to detail is a treat to watch.

And finally, this video by McMagic depicts the entire ride experience (including the pre-show) in great detail using only Minecraft pieces.

Filed Under: Fanmade Tagged With: Minecraft, model, replica