Overnight on April 28th 2016, Disney quietly brought down and removed the Earful Tower at Hollywood Studios.
Photo credit wdwinfo.com
Longtime set in the backdrop of the Walt Disney World park, the Earful Tower initially served as the branded icon piece for Hollywood Studios. Replaced by the Sorcerer’s Hat, the Earful Tower seemed to be put aside as any kind of marketing piece for the park, well below not only the hat but other signature structures such as the Tower of Terror.
When the Sorcerer’s Hat was dismantled and removed in 2015, many speculated the Earful Tower would regain its rightful place as the parks signature icon, on par with Magic Kingdom’s Cinderella Castle, Epcot’s Spaceship Earth, and Animal Kingdom’s Tree of Life. However, Disney seemed to favor the Tower of Terror instead.
Ultimately, the Earful Tower just seems to be in the way of progress. Now dismantled and brought down, the removal of the Earful Tower now paves the way for a more complete demolition of the surrounding backstage area in anticipation of the forthcoming Toy Story Land expansion.
Personally, I’ve never understand the draw to the Earful Tower. It was always tucked out of the way backstage. It was difficult to see once surrounding buildings and attractions were built, and with growing trees it became even more tough to see. It was almost impossible to get any kind of a PhotoPass opportunity with the Earful Tower in the background, and only decent photography equipment and post editing cropping could a decent image of the Tower be achieved.
It’s always sad when something that’s been inside the parks for any length of time is taken down and replaced (Maelstrom, anyone?), but the Earful Tower was playing second fiddle (more like third or fourth fiddle) to other iconic structures inside Hollywood Studios.
Here’s a question: if Disney hadn’t said one word about the tower coming down at all, I wonder how long it would have taken for anyone to notice it was gone at all?
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