Tower of Terror Exterior Refurbishment Underway at Disney Hollywood Studios

By WDWMAGIC Staff · Thursday July 23, 2026 10:52am ET · "The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror"
Tower of Terror Exterior Refurbishment Underway at Disney Hollywood Studios
Scaffolding is up on the upper floors and queue columns of Twilight Zone Tower of Terror for an exterior refurbishment. The attraction remains open with no impact on ride availability.

Scaffolding has gone up on a large section of Twilight Zone Tower of Terror at Disney's Hollywood Studios, as work continues on a fairly extensive exterior refurbishment at the attraction.

The most visible work is on the right side of the Hollywood Tower Hotel, where scaffolding now climbs a large portion of the building's upper floors.

On the ground level, several of the exterior columns are wrapped in construction scrims, including every column along the queue just before you reach the lobby entrance.

Despite the work, Tower of Terror is operating as normal. There's no queue closure and no impact on ride availability.

What's covered so far

  • Scaffolding on the upper right side of the tower
  • Scrims wrapping the columns in the pre-lobby queue area
  • Additional covered sections around the building's lower facade

There's no word yet on how much more of the building will go behind scaffolding, or a timeline for when the work will wrap up. This kind of exterior refurbishment is common for the aging facade, and Disney doesn't typically announce these projects in advance.

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PizzaPlanet10 days ago

With all the recent attention they’ve been giving classic attractions at WDW, I would hope ToT is on their radar to fix some of these issues. Maybe add some updated special effects while they’re at it

Rodj10 days ago

Since June/July 2018, all 4 drop profiles were modified to have shortened drops & longer pauses due to motor issues at the time.

Mr. Engagement10 days ago

I heard they’re painting it rose gold because it looks best on Instagram. And that they’re using a brighter color than it’s suppose to be so the sun will fade it to just the right shade.

EricsBiscuit10 days ago

Please elaborate for the uninitiated.

Theme Park Nerdo10 days ago

Personally, I'm hoping they finally restore the original 1994 lightning strike mark that's faded away over the years, such a cool detail.

eddie10410 days ago

A more substantial interior refurb would be nice.

Rodj11 days ago

Meanwhile… It is now the 8th year of Tower running modified drop profiles, the 5th year of having audio play out of the wrong speakers, etc.

HauntedPirate12 days ago

Look at all that scaffolding ruining my (potential) pictures. Magic... RUINED! ;)

Lord Fozzinator12 days ago

Other than the yeti, I can’t think of any other upkeep projects at DAK. I think a couple years later, we’ll see a new expansion to connect planet watch to the rest of the park.

PizzaPlanetJul 25, 2026

Agreed it’s definitely due for a repaint. Unlike ToT though I think Everest would need to close since some of the rock work is so close to the track. Unless they did it at night somehow

HMFJul 24, 2026

Outside and inside, if you know what I mean.

Mr. SullivanJul 24, 2026

Based on nothing but a guess but I think once TA is done, if not even sooner to prepare for opening, the focus at DAK will shift to upkeep projects like that.

Animaniac93-98Jul 24, 2026

About time they fixed up this building, its been dilapidated since 1939!

dlfan1313Jul 23, 2026

Not really apropos of this thread directly, but my god, look at that building. An absolute masterpiece of theming and architecture.