Parks Magic
Scaffolding Now Covers the Whole Front of Tower of Terror at Hollywood Studios, but the Ride Stays Open With Gaps Left for Its Windows
News

Scaffolding Now Covers the Whole Front of Tower of Terror at Hollywood Studios, but the Ride Stays Open With Gaps Left for Its Windows

Michael Travels
·
Published

The Hollywood Tower Hotel is wearing a cage. In an update Sunday, WDW News Today reported that scaffolding now covers the entire front of The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror at Disney's Hollywood Studios, and it runs right up to the top of the tower.

If the drop is on your list, you are still in luck for now. "The ride remains operational, with gaps in the scaffolding for windows," WDWNT reported. In an earlier update, the site said those gaps mean guests' views during the ride are "not obscured."

The Tower of Terror seen from the street between tall palm trees, with scaffolding running up the front of the tower past The Hollywood Tower Hotel sign and across the lower wing at right, and a Fantasmic! billboard at bottom right

Tower of Terror in WDW News Today's September 13 update, with scaffolding up the front of the tower and across the lower wing. Image: WDW News Today

Four months of exterior work

This did not happen overnight. WDWNT has tracked the project in a string of updates since spring:

  • Early May: Work began on columns in the outdoor queue, with several column bases wrapped in scrim. Later that month, decorative flags came down near the exit and brown scrim went up around parts of the exterior stairways and railings.
  • Early July: Scaffolding appeared above the gift shop, toward the back of the building's right side. WDWNT reported that Disney had filed a construction permit for the Tower of Terror naming MLC Theming as the contractor.
  • Early August: Scaffolding moved onto the front of the building, and two decorative friezes on the center roof turned gray and white with primer.
  • August 22: Scaffolding reached the top of the front facade, above The Hollywood Tower Hotel sign.
  • September 2: Scaffolding had started to spread onto the corner just right of the tower shaft, and gray paint on a balcony and the chimney stack had become more visible.
  • September 13: The front is now fully covered.

Looking up at the Tower of Terror, where scaffolding covers the tower face around The Hollywood Tower Hotel sign while the pink hotel wing at left has none, and yellow patches show low on the scaffolded wall

The Hollywood Tower Hotel sign framed by scaffolding in the September 13 update. The pink wing at left has none. Image: WDW News Today

What happens to the weathering

WDWNT described the August work as the start of a repainting project. In that early August update, the site noted that the primed spots no longer had their weathering details. By August 22, the two friezes on the center roof had fresh pink paint on their borders, and primer was showing on several railings and balconies.

We could not find any Disney preview of the finished facade, so it is not yet clear whether the aged, weathered look will be fully recreated.

Close up of the edge of the scaffolding on the Tower of Terror, with a smooth pink wall at left and, behind the scaffolding at right, aged, weathered wall sections, yellow patches and red plastic around several openings

Where the scaffolding meets bare wall. WDWNT spotted three walls that are now yellow, with red plastic around nearby openings. Image: WDW News Today

Where the work stands

In its September 13 update, WDWNT noticed that three walls near the edge of the scaffolding are now yellow, with red plastic around nearby openings, which the site said indicates work is underway. The site did not say what the yellow is. Back in August, it identified the red sections on the tower as protective plastic taped over openings in the wall.

Not all of the building is wrapped. WDWNT said there is no scaffolding on the part of the facade that faces away from most of the park, and suggested it is possible those walls will get their touch-ups once the rest of the facade is finished.

We could not find a Disney announcement about the refurbishment, or a date for when the scaffolding comes down. For now, the ride is still dropping guests behind the scaffolding.

The top of the Tower of Terror against a blue sky, with scaffolding across most of the tower face around The Hollywood Tower Hotel sign and the upper right corner of the tower still clear while more scaffolding rises on the right side below it

The top of the tower in WDW News Today's September 2 update, when the site reported most of the facade above the sign was covered. Image: WDW News Today

Sources

Image credits: All images WDW News Today.

Mentioned in this story

Check out our guides for more on each place in this story:

Hollywood Studios The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror

Related News

The Magic of Disney Animation Soft Opened Three Days Early, and Disney's Own Website Still Says It Opens September 14

The Magic of Disney Animation Soft Opened Three Days Early, and Disney's Own Website Still Says It Opens September 14

Disney's Hollywood Studios let guests walk into its new animation complex on Friday morning, three days before the September 14 date Disney had been advertising. Everything inside was open: Olaf Draws!, the Off the Page! character meets, Drawn to Wonderland, the Once Upon a Studio Theater and the art gallery. The in person waitlist for Olaf Draws! was not switched on, and as of Saturday afternoon the official attraction page still reads Opening September 14! with no showtimes listed.

September 14, 2026 News