Our friends at Photos Magiques bring us the latest photos from The Hollywood Tower Hotel…

From outside Walt Disney Studios Park, the view we’ve waited over five years to see is finally there. “The Hollywood Tower Hotel” looming on the horizon, partnered with the Earffel Tower.

The neon signage was installed back in July, before “The Hollywood Tower” was turned to sit in its final position in September. It was only last Thursday, 4th October 2007, that the final word — “Hotel” — was turned and the Tower officially christened.

This hasn’t been the only signage to be completed on the exterior. Back at ground level, next to the developing Hollywood Boulevard, the Fastpass structure was recently completed with all its art deco details and classicaly-styled “Fastpass Tickets” text. Coinciding well with the refurbishment of all the Fastpass machines at Disneyland Park, the Tower’s are set to be themed as piles of luggage, as in California.

The entire exterior of the attraction above ground level is now pretty much complete. Scaffolding has been entirely removed since the signage and purple “lightning blast” was completed. As it turns out, the purple paint effect appears just as intense as its Californian sister, despite early appearances suggesting it may be a little less heavy.

Work now continues around the ground level developments of the faux hotel complex, not to mention on the heavy detailing which is going into the interior — as with parts of the exterior, early word suggests much of the themeing has been completed to a higher standard than the budget-tightened Californian version.

The final balconies have been installed on the front of the hotel, paintwork completed around the entrance and Tower Hotel Gifts boutique, and — most noticable of all — landscaping has begun behind the fences…

At the heart of the park and with more space and money to work with than at Disney’s California Adventure, the gardens and greenery surrounding the Parisian version of the attraction are already much more developed and expansive. The area to the left of the attraction which was previously an empty grass lawn has been absorbed into the hotel grounds and filled with conifer trees similar to those found throughout the real Hollywood Hills of California.

Last, but most certainly not least — testing has begun. The sight which Disney fans in Anaheim enjoyed for countless months in early 2004 has finally arrived in Paris — the very first elevator drops, taking place throughout the day. Spend a while in Production Courtyard and you might just notice the doors on the front of the hotel “ping” open and a doomed elevator car plunge into the Twilight Zone.

A french fan, ice0ice, posted the following video on Dailymotion:

Ladies and gentlemen, the Tower of Terror is here.

All photos by Photos Magiques; dated 6th October 2007. Video by ice0ice.