Tower of Terror ride at Disney's Hollywood Studios was actually struck by real lightning during its construction in the early 1990s, perfectly mirroring the fictional backstory of the spooky attraction.

A closer look

Tower of Terror ride at Disney's Hollywood Studios was actually struck by real lightning during its construction in the early 1990s, perfectly mirroring the fictional backstory of the spooky attraction. In the ride's lore, the Hollywood Tower Hotel was doomed when a massive lightning strike sent an elevator full of guests into the fifth dimension, so having nature casually recreate that exact scenario while workers were laying the foundation is a beautiful bit of eerie serendipity. Disney imagineers probably viewed it as the ultimate organic marketing campaign, assuming they survived the terrifying electrical blast. You simply cannot buy that level of authentic horror, though I am sure the mega-corporation would gladly patent meteorological anomalies if it meant they could charge visitors an extra fifty bucks for a premium lightning viewing pass. Now tourists can just wait in line for three hours to experience a simulated tragedy