Earffel Tower

{{Short description|Faux water tower at Disneyland Paris}}

{{Use mdy dates|date=November 2013}}

{{Infobox attraction

| name = Earffel Tower

| logo =

| logo_width =

| image = Impossible-shot 3315666871 o.jpg

| imagedimensions =

| caption = Hollywood Studios' Earffel Tower and Topiary tribute in 2008

| location = Disney's Hollywood Studios

| section = Studio Backlot

| coordinates = {{coord|28|21|24|N|81|33|46|W|region:FR_type:landmark_scale:1000|display=inline}}

| status = Removed

| cost =

| opened = May 1, 1989

| closed = April 29, 2016{{cite web|url=http://www.orlandosentinel.com/travel/attractions/theme-park-rangers-blog/os-disney-hollywood-studios-earffel-tower-removed-20160429-story.html|title=Disney: Earffel Tower removed at Hollywood Studios|first=Dewayne |last=Bevil|date=April 29, 2016|work=OrlandoSentinel.com}}

| replacement = Slinky Dog Dash
(Toy Story Land)

| reopened =

| location2 = Walt Disney Studios Park

| section2 = Front Lot

| coordinates2 = {{coord|48.8732|N|2.776|E|region:FR_type:landmark_scale:1000|display=inline}}

| status2 = Open

| cost2 =

| opened2 = March 16, 2002

| type = Water tower

| ride = no

| designer = Walt Disney Imagineering

| height_ft = 130

| height_m = 40

| custom_label_1 = Height (Paris)

| custom_value_1 = 33 m (108 ft)

}}

The Earffel Tower{{cite news|last=Rasmussen|first=Nate|title=Vintage Walt Disney World: Holidays at the Earffel Tower at Disney's Hollywood Studios|url=http://disneyparks.disney.go.com/blog/2011/12/vintage-walt-disney-world-holidays-at-the-earffel-tower-at-disneys-hollywood-studios/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120113205439/http://disneyparks.disney.go.com/blog/2011/12/vintage-walt-disney-world-holidays-at-the-earffel-tower-at-disneys-hollywood-studios/|url-status=dead|archive-date=January 13, 2012|access-date=February 12, 2015|publisher=The Disney Parks Blog|date=December 8, 2011}} is a faux water tower located at Walt Disney Studios Park at Disneyland Paris in Seine-et-Marne, and formerly at Disney's Hollywood Studios at the Walt Disney World Resort in Bay Lake, Florida, near Orlando.{{cite news|last=Bevil|first=Dewayne|title=Disney: Earffel Tower removed at Hollywood Studios|url=http://www.orlandosentinel.com/travel/attractions/theme-park-rangers-blog/os-disney-hollywood-studios-earffel-tower-removed-20160429-story.html|access-date=April 30, 2016|work=Orlando Sentinel|date=April 29, 2016}} Adorned with a set of Mickey Mouse ears, it is inspired by the real water tower located at the Walt Disney Studios in Burbank, California. A pun on the Eiffel Tower, it is based on water towers commonly found on Hollywood studio backlots of the first half of the 1900s, which were originally a safety measure to douse fires on highly flammable wooden film sets. However, the Earffel Tower has never contained water.{{cite news|last=Pedicini|first=Sandra|title=Earffel Tower coming down, attractions closing at Disney's Hollywood Studios|url=http://www.orlandosentinel.com/travel/attractions/the-daily-disney/os-lights-motors-action-disney-closing-20160115-story.html|access-date=January 20, 2016|work=Orlando Sentinel|date=January 15, 2016}}

The first, 130-foot tower was located in the Studio Backlot Tour area of Disney's Hollywood Studios, known as Disney-MGM Studios when the park opened in 1989. It was the park's original icon, with The Great Movie Ride—a life-size replica of Grauman's Chinese Theatre—serving as the visual centerpiece. Both were displaced from icon status by the Sorcerer's Hat, which stood in the park's central hub from 2001 until its removal in 2015.{{cite news|first1=Sandra |last1=Pedicini|first2=Dewayne |last2=Bevil|title=Disney's Hollywood Studios removing sorcerer's hat|url=http://www.orlandosentinel.com/business/os-disneys-hollywood-studios-sorcerers-hat-20141024-story.html|access-date=October 25, 2014|work=Orlando Sentinel|date=October 25, 2014}} The Earffel Tower was removed itself on April 29, 2016, to facilitate the construction of Toy Story Land.{{cite web|last=McCabe|first=Adam|title=R.I.P. "The Earffel Tower" at Disney's Hollywood Studios, 1989-2016|url=http://www.insidethemagic.net/2016/04/r-i-p-the-earffel-tower-at-disneys-hollywood-studios-2002-2016/|website=Inside The Magic|date=April 29, 2016 |access-date=29 April 2016}} Since then, the Hollywood Tower Hotel has been the representative icon in marketing, with the Chinese Theatre (which now houses Mickey & Minnie's Runaway Railway) restored as the centerpiece.

File:Earffel Tower - Walt Disney Studios Park (4012411944).jpg

The second, 108-foot tower at Walt Disney Studios Park debuted in 2002 and has served as the park's icon ever since.