If you've visited Disney's Hollywood Studios recently and found yourself staring down a 95-minute standby wait for The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror, you're not alone. A growing number of guests have noticed a recurring pattern at the beloved Sunset Boulevard attraction: only one drop shaft appears to be operating at a time, sending wait times soaring and Lightning Lane return queues backing up in the process.

One Shaft Down Means Capacity Drops Fast

Tower of Terror was designed with multiple independent drop shafts, allowing Disney to move large numbers of guests through the attraction simultaneously. When every shaft is available, the ride has enough capacity to keep waits manageable even on the busiest of days.

When one shaft goes offline, however, that changes dramatically. Every cycle accommodates fewer riders, causing the standby queue to swell while Lightning Lane guests continue entering the attraction. The result is a scene that has become increasingly familiar to Hollywood Studios regulars: posted waits climbing well above an hour even when the rest of the park is operating relatively normally. Many Disney veterans now check whether multiple shafts appear to be running before deciding whether to join the line at all.

Fans Say It's Happening More and More

A recent Reddit discussion reignited the conversation after one guest asked whether Tower of Terror had entered a long-term refurbishment or if something else was going on. The poster described encountering a 95-minute standby wait and noticing what appeared to be just a single operating drop shaft, wondering whether the situation was expected or the result of an unexpected issue.

For many longtime Disney World fans, the question struck a nerve — because it reflects something guests have been seeing far more frequently over the past year.

Several Reddit users responded that seeing only one operating shaft is no longer unusual. One commenter noted that temporary downtime is "pretty common" for Tower of Terror and suggested that nearly anything can trigger it, from routine ride interruptions to guest-related incidents. Another user pointed out that if an item falls from a rider during the drop sequence, sensors can detect the obstruction, requiring Cast Members to inspect and reset the affected shaft before it can reopen.

Guests have long been reminded to secure loose belongings before boarding, but despite those warnings, phones, hats, wallets, sunglasses, and other personal items continue to find their way onto the ride track or into the shafts. Those situations don't necessarily keep a shaft closed for an entire day — but they do require safety inspections and system resets that temporarily reduce the ride's operating capacity. Even a relatively short interruption can create a backlog that takes hours to resolve.

Why Wait Times Grow So Quickly

Tower of Terror isn't simply a traditional elevator ride. Behind the scenes, the attraction uses sophisticated computer-controlled ride vehicles, track switches, vertical lift systems, magnetic braking components, and multiple safety redundancies all working together simultaneously. Whenever one section of that system reports something outside normal operating parameters, Disney errs on the side of caution — meaning inspections occur before the ride resumes normal operation.

Even when the issue turns out to be minor, the interruption can dramatically affect capacity. Unlike attractions that simply dispatch another vehicle every few seconds, Tower of Terror relies on carefully timed ride cycles. Losing one operating shaft removes a significant portion of hourly capacity almost immediately.

That reduction becomes even more noticeable because Disney continues honoring Lightning Lane reservations during these periods. As Lightning Lane guests enter the attraction, standby guests often see the line move much more slowly than expected, making already lengthy waits feel even longer.

This Isn't a Refurbishment

One important distinction worth making: these operational changes are different from a scheduled refurbishment. Disney has not announced any long-term refurbishment for Tower of Terror, nor has the company indicated that one drop shaft has been permanently closed.

What guests appear to be encountering instead are repeated temporary operational interruptions. Based on the experiences shared by multiple guests, these closures are generally not planned projects but rather random downtime that can resolve relatively quickly depending on the cause. That uncertainty also explains why wait times can fluctuate so dramatically throughout the day — a posted wait of 95 minutes might eventually fall to 45 minutes if another shaft returns to service, while an attraction operating normally in the morning could suddenly see waits spike if one shaft becomes unavailable later in the day.

Disney Prioritizes Safety Over Capacity

Although the increased downtime can certainly frustrate guests, Disney's approach reflects its long-standing emphasis on ride safety. Modern attractions continuously monitor hundreds of sensors throughout every operating cycle. If something unexpected is detected — even something as small as a dropped personal item — the affected portion of the ride can automatically stop operating until Cast Members verify that everything is functioning correctly.

From a guest perspective, it may simply look like "one elevator isn't working." Behind the scenes, however, multiple inspection procedures often take place before the system returns to operation. That's especially true on an attraction like Tower of Terror, where vehicles repeatedly travel through both horizontal track sections and vertical drop sequences.

A Growing Trend Guests Have Started Noticing

Perhaps the most telling aspect of the recent Reddit conversation isn't that one drop shaft was unavailable — it's that many commenters immediately responded that they'd seen the exact same thing themselves. Over the past several months, reports of Tower of Terror operating with reduced capacity have become increasingly common across social media.

While not every report reflects the same issue, the consistent pattern has led many Disney fans to wonder whether the attraction is simply becoming more susceptible to routine downtime as it continues to age. Tower of Terror first opened at Disney's Hollywood Studios in 1994, making it one of the resort's oldest major thrill attractions still operating largely in its original form. Like any highly sophisticated ride approaching three decades of daily operation, maintenance demands naturally become more significant over time.

Disney has continued investing in upkeep and reliability, but occasional mechanical interruptions remain an unavoidable part of operating attractions of this complexity.

What Guests Should Expect

For anyone planning a visit to Disney's Hollywood Studios, Tower of Terror remains one of the park's signature experiences. That said, visitors should be prepared for the possibility of longer-than-expected waits if operational capacity becomes limited. Checking the My Disney Experience app throughout the day can help identify whether wait times begin falling after additional ride capacity returns.

Guests using Lightning Lane may also encounter slower-moving queues than expected if the attraction is recovering from downtime.

For now, Disney has not announced any major refurbishment or permanent operational changes for Tower of Terror. Instead, guests are continuing to experience what appears to be an increasing number of temporary mechanical interruptions that occasionally leave only one drop shaft available. Whether those incidents remain routine operational hiccups or signal that the iconic attraction could eventually need more substantial work is something Disney has not publicly addressed.