The Tokyo version features an original storyline not related to The Twilight Zone and takes place in the fictional Hotel Hightower.

In California and Paris, Disney sought to use the popular attraction to boost attendance at the respective resorts' struggling new theme parks.

[12] There had been several proposed ideas for haunted attractions, including a ride based on Stephen King's novels, a Vincent Price ghost tour, a Mel Brooks-narrated ride, a real hotel, an awards show honoring classic movie monsters starring Godzilla hosted by Eddie Murphy and Elvira,[13] and a whodunit murder mystery, but none progressed into development.

[12] The tower's interior and exterior design took inspiration from existing Southern California landmarks, including the Biltmore Hotel and Mission Inn.

[7] The distinctive Spanish Colonial Revival architectural features that are present on and around the attraction's roof were designed so that the rear facade would blend with the skyline of the Morocco Pavilion at Epcot, which is located less than two miles from Disney's Hollywood Studios.

[12] The ride system employs specialized technology developed by Walt Disney Imagineering, particularly the ability to move the vehicle in and out of the vertical motion shaft.

[25][26] In order to achieve the weightless effect the Imagineers desired, cables attached to the bottom of the elevator car pull it down at a speed slightly faster than what a free fall would provide.

The design of the 199 ft (60.7 m) tall Tower of Terror was founded on advanced dynamic analysis to model the effects of moving parts on the structural and non-structural elements.

In the case of the tower, floors have to support cabs while in horizontal motion in and out of the elevators with minimal deflections to avoid blurry projection screens.

With a crash of thunder and lightning, the power in the library goes out, except for a television set which crackles into life and plays the opening sequence from the fourth and fifth seasons of The Twilight Zone, hosted by Rod Serling.

The elevator car exits from the lift shaft horizontally into the room, which slowly fades into darkness as it turns into The Fifth Dimension, an element frequently referred by Serling in The Twilight Zone.

Now, in total darkness, the car reaches a field of stars which splits open and the elevator enters a pitch-black vertical shaft.

At least once during the drop sequence, wide elevator doors in front of the riders open to reveal a view of the park, where the on-ride camera captures the in-ride photograph and video.

The exterior of these rides use architectural features reminiscent of Pueblo Deco styles found throughout Southern California during the Golden Age of Hollywood.

[39] In Paris, the default language for the pre-show library video and the ride is French, but can be changed to English by the Cast Member upon request.

[40] With a flash of lightning, the walls of the basement disappear altogether, leaving only a star field around the service doors with a rotating purple spiral.

[46][48] The attraction at Tokyo DisneySea is known simply as Tower of Terror and omits any connection or tie-in whatsoever with The Twilight Zone, as the television series is not well known in Japan.

The ride tower is located in the American Waterfront area of the park, close to the S.S. Columbia ocean liner, and its facade is an example of Moorish Revival architecture.

The scenario involves the adventures of the hotel's famous builder and owner, Harrison Hightower III (modeled after Imagineering executive Joe Rohde), who went on many expeditions throughout the world and collected thousands of priceless artifacts.

Most of these artifacts were stolen for personal gain and stored in his hotel, one of them is an idol named Shiriki Utundu, brought in by Hightower from an expedition to Africa.

On New Year's Eve 1899, Hightower held a press conference about his expedition to Africa, followed by a party, where he boasted about how he acquired the idol and denied claims of it being cursed.

In 1912, following pressure to demolish the hotel, a New York restoration company reopened it because of its historical significance and now offers paid tours of the building.

The queue area winds through gardens filled with statues from many different countries up to the Hotel Hightower before guests then enter the lobby.

On each ceiling arch is painted a mural of Hightower on one of his adventures, portraying his escape from native people with a valuable artifact or item in his possession.

While the elevator is pushed backward, the ghost of Harrison Hightower III calls the riders fools, and explains the idol had cursed him to repeatedly experience the same fate.

The idol zaps him with a bolt of green electricity, blasting him backward past the open elevator doors at the opposite end of the apartments.

As they do, the lighting of the hotel is replaced with an eerie green glow, making the reflections of the guests seem ghostlike – an effect similar to the California and Paris rides.

In an effort to be true to the spirit of The Twilight Zone, Disney Imagineers reportedly watched every episode of the original television show at least twice.

The episode dedicated to the attraction also features the Tokyo variant and the transformation of the Disney California Adventure version to Guardians of the Galaxy – Mission: Breakout!.

Following the attraction's success, Walt Disney Television produced the TV film Tower of Terror, starring Steven Guttenberg and Kirsten Dunst.