The Tower of Terror attraction is based upon Rod Serling’s television show The Twilight Zone. Guests approach the fictional Hollywood Tower Hotel on a maze-like path that winds through dense overgrown trees. The architecture and interiors recreate the faded glamour of 1939 Hollywood in every detail. Even the hand-written letters in the mail slots in the reception area have 2-cent stamps on the envelopes. The story unfolds that on the night of October 31, 1939, there was a thunderstorm in the Hollywood Hills, and locals as well as travelers sheltered in the hotel's lobby. Five people entered an elevator to go to their rooms and suddenly disappeared when lightening struck the upper floors. Ever since that night, the hotel has been closed and abandoned except for the ghosts of departed guests.

Upon entering the hotel, guests step into their own episode of The Twilight Zone, led by Rod Serling, speaking from an old TV in the library. He invites them to ride the only remaining elevator that still operates—the service elevator. Once seated and belted in their vehicle (one of the most technologically sophisticated ride vehicles ever created), guests are taken on a scary thrill ride featuring multiple 13-story drops and lifts, at random, faster than gravity.

MLA worked on the interior acoustics, ride noise control, and HVAC noise control for the ride. Since the open ride vehicle moves both vertically in the elevator shaft and horizontally across the room, there were two propulsion mechanisms to control. The elevator shaft was an open path for the transmission of show sounds from one floor to another that had to be addressed. The visually and acoustically transparent sets presented an interesting challenge for the location of absorbent materials.