Red Paint

When Disney launched the tethered balloon, it was clear they had a problem.

Disney World in Florida is located on a very flat piece of  drained swamp.  Whenever they consider adding a new attraction, they float a weather balloon to the height of the proposed attraction and then look to see how it will visually effect the area around it.

The year was 1993, and Disney had decided to build a new thrill ride at Disney Hollywood Studios (named at the time Disney/MGM Studios).  It was going to be the tallest structure in the Florida complex at 199 feet (no building at Disney World is taller than 200 feet because the law requires that any edifice that tall have a flashing beacon for airplanes).

The ride would be called The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror.  It would tell the story of a hotel that was struck by lightning years previously and was now abandoned.  Riders would walk through the now abandoned lobby and go to the basement to board the service elevator which was still working.  The catch, when they get on the elevator, it goes up and then suddenly releases and lifts in a series of unexpected movements.

The ride building on its outside was going to recreate a luxury hotel from the 1920's in California.  Plans were made and everything was a go.

And then they raised the balloon.  And as you stood in Epcot looking over Morocco, there clear as day was the balloon.

Disney is obsessive about on-stage areas not having lines of sight into backstage areas.  They take care to make sure that there is no visual confusion or clutter.  A hotel building towering over the skyline of Morocco would surely look out of place.

What they decided to do was truly ingenious.  The front and sides of the building that could be seen in Hollywood Studios would be built to resemble a hotel.  But the back side of the attraction which could not be seen in the park but could be seen from Epcot would have in its upper stories Moroccan features.

So today if you stand in Epcot, you will see a large building off in the distance which blends in perfectly with the foreground.  This is accomplished not only through architecture, but also by the entire building being painted the same pinkish-red color as the rest of the structures in Epcot's Morocco.

So if you ever wondered why The Tower of Terror is that strange color of red, now you know why.