The
HOLLYWOOD TOWER Hotel
MGM Studio - Walt Disney World
A Sculpture by Ray Day
For Disneyana 2002
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To
accompany the MYSTERY DISNEY EVENT theme of the 2002 Convention,
Ray Day and Lilliput Lane again join together to present a
unique, highly detailed limited edition collectible. |

Exquisite
detail and rich tropical color adds to the finished
sculpture.
Molded,
cast, and painted at the
Lilliput Lane Studio in Penrith, England,
THE HOLLYWOOD TOWER HOTEL was released in conjunction
with the
Disneyana 2002 Convention - August 22-24.
Limited Edition
of 400 - Issue Price: $325.00 - SOLD
OUT
More
Color Photos
Find
eight Hidden Mickeys
Hollywood
Tower Hotel - GICLÉE
Hollywood
Tower Hotel - AUCTION PROJECT

The
completed wax model.
This
is the eighth annual Disneyana sculpture by Ray Day and
Lilliput Lane. To continue a tradition, there will be eight
Mickeys "hidden" throughout the sculpture. But
there's a twist - and I'll tell you more about it at a later date.
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I
invite you to view the progression photos below. Read about the
sculpting process and Disney's creative concept for the
"Twilight Zone Tower of Terror".
Some photos may require a 30-second download period as they are
presented in "maximum" resolution for the sake of detail.
Following
studies of the essential architectural elements of the HOTEL,
drawings were prepared depicting the structure in the exact
proportions it will be sculpted.
Wax is "blocked" and shaped to those proportions
in three dimensions.
To simplify the sculpting task, lower extensions of the
building and the landscaping are not included at this stage.
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Here
the "blocked" wax is compared to "Tom Sawyer Island",
the 2001 Disneyana piece,
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REAR
- BEFORE
Window sketches are drawn to scale and faxed to the Lilliput
Lane Studio. Computer images are prepared to the exact size specifications. They are reproduced in brass - (design is etched half way through a thin sheet of brass, then cut out and carefully inserted into the wax as pictured at left). White plastic strips and buff-colored wax segments are added
as indicated. |
REAR
- DURING
Because wax is quite vulnerable, it can not be touched once
an area is complete. Therefore, the sculpture must be finished
from the top to bottom and from center to outer edge.
The photo at right shows roof tiles and upper details complete.
Notice that no landscaping has yet begun to emerge.
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REAR
- AFTER: Right Rear of Hotel now complete.
A wandering pathway, palm tree and numerous other flowers and
shrubs have been added.
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FRONT
- BEFORE
Facade details emerge showing future placement of
"The Hollywood
Tower Hotel" sign - which will
be cast in metal and added
to the finished
painted model.
In
1989, Walt Disney Imagineering was asked to design a new thrill ride. They decided to link the attraction to
"The Twilight Zone" TV show. Today's visitor experiences
a tone and atmosphere as if they have actually stepped into
an episode of "The Twilight Zone".
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FRONT
- DURING
With the tile roofing finished, it is now time to add the foreground structure and the formal entrance.
Some windows are cast in three-dimensional gray resin from my
pen and ink drawings.
The
architecture was inspired by the revival styles that swept California during the early 20th Century.
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FRONT
- AFTER: Park visitors will recognize the entrance to
the queue line at lower center - and the familiar
exit from the gift shop at lower right.
It
is Halloween night, 1939, at the Hollywood Tower Hotel - elegant
gathering place of the movie industry elite. The evening's festivities
are in full swing, undeterred by a freak storm that has suddenly
swept across the Hollywood Hills.
 |
As
bolts of lightning rip and crack across the darkened sky,
a steady stream of limousines pull up up to the entrance of
the 12-story hotel, depositing a "Who's Who" of
the movie world at the doorsteps. |
A
young, attractive couple, two rising stars in the Hollywood
galaxy, enter one of the hotel's elevators.
A bellhop, struggling under the unwieldy weight of their
bags,
is with them. Also boarding the elevator is a small girl
in blond curls and a frilly dress - a child star, who is
accompanied by her governess.
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As
the doors close,
a bolt of lightning strikes the building, changing forever
the fortunes of the Hollywood Tower Hotel and those
five unsuspecting
elevator passengers. |
Now,
at Disney MGM Studio, the Hollywood Tower Hotel is reopened,
inviting
guests to enter the decaying old
building to draw their own conclusions about the legendary
"Tower
of Terror". But visitors should be forewarned:
perhaps the real answers can only be found
in...The Twilight Zone!
COLOR
PHOTOS of finished model
American Landmarks ARCHIVE
___________________________________
RAY DAY
ray@rayday.com