The Narrator is a television character who prominently appears within the Disney Parks franchise affiliated with The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror.
History[]
Background[]
The Narrator is an extra-dimensional entity of apparent near omniscience which inhabits the 5th Dimension AKA The Twilight Zone. The Narrator serves as a sort of observer which blends the lines between fiction and reality, only ever being seen on screens and never directly in-person.
Development History[]
The Narrator is a character from Rod Serling's television series The Twilight Zone and was portrayed by Serling himself. When the Tower of Terror was decided to be themed around this show, the Disney company got permission from the late-Rod Serling's estate to use his likeness.
As Rod Serling was dead when the ride was being developed, footage from the TV show was edited to place his character within the setting in the pre-show. The only line spoken by Serling himself is, "Tonight’s story on The Twilight Zone is somewhat unique and calls for a different kind of introduction" from the episode It's a Good Life of the Twilight Zone series. The rest of the narrator's dialogue in the attraction is performed by Mark Silverman doing an impression of Rod Serling.
Appearances[]
The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror[]
The Narrator is first encountered within the library of the Hollywood Tower Hotel. He appears on a television activated by a lightning-bolt where he shows guests of the attraction the backstory of the hotel. He goes on to bring up how the fate of the five victims of the hotel in 1939 were sucked into the Twilight Zone, before the TV jolts off.
The narrator is encountered again on the ride itself when guests are in the elevator. He goes on to talk about how the guests are about to become the new victims of the elevator and are to be sucked into the 5th dimension. Guests proceed to enter this realm before dropping down and re-entering the real world.
The final encounter with the narrator is when he is seen before the end of the attraction, standing before the ghosts of the hotel and the portal to the 5th dimension closing. This is revealed to be another television screen which once again jolts off. He additionally provides the closing narration for the attraction.
Trivia[]
- A letter addressed to Rod Serling can be found in the queue for the attraction.
- A small detail of the hotel's exterior is that a figure's silhouette can be seen watching guests as they enter from a window. Some assume this to be the narrator.
- The narrator's frequently used line, "Picture if you will" is used to advertise the ride photos for the Tower of Terror.
- The narrator character was homaged in a trailer for the film Tomorrowland.
See Also[]
- Rod Serling
- The Narrator on the Twilight Zone Wiki
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