Anyone driving along Buena Vista Drive near Disney’s Hollywood Studios lately has probably noticed something unusual poking above the tree line. The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror, one of the most recognizable silhouettes at Walt Disney World, is currently wrapped in scaffolding from the base of the building all the way to the top of its 199 foot facade. What started as a relatively contained refurbishment project earlier this year has now grown large enough that it’s visible well beyond the park’s gates, and we went out and took our own photos to show just how noticeable it’s become.Credit: Inside the MagicIf you have a trip to Hollywood Studios coming up, or you’re simply planning to drive past the resort anytime soon, here’s what’s actually happening with the construction and why it’s suddenly so hard to ignore.How the Refurbishment Got This BigCredit: Inside the MagicThis project has been building for months. Back in March, Walt Disney World filed a construction permit for work on the Twilight Zone Tower of Terror. By early May, crews had started work in the outdoor queue area beneath the Hollywood Tower Hotel facade. A few weeks after that, Disney pulled the flags outside the gift shop and wrapped protective scrim around several decorative sections of the building, likely to shield those details from the construction happening around them.Scaffolding didn’t actually show up on the outside of the building until July. Guests first spotted it above the gift shop entrance, and from there it steadily worked its way toward the front of the attraction and up the tower itself over the following two months. Just recently, reports confirmed the scaffolding had reached the very top of the structure, and now it has extended around to the back of the building as well, effectively surrounding the entire Hollywood Tower Hotel in construction materials.Why It’s So Visible From the Road NowThis is the part that’s really caught people’s attention. Because the scaffolding now wraps the back of the building in addition to the front, it’s become clearly visible from outside the theme park entirely. Buena Vista Drive runs close enough to Hollywood Studios that the tower has always been a familiar landmark for anyone driving by, and right now that landmark is covered in construction equipment from top to bottom. We drove past ourselves and snapped photos of the scaffolding rising above the trees, and it’s honestly striking how much of the structure is currently covered compared to just a couple months ago.For a building this tall and this iconic, it’s not the kind of thing you can really hide, even with landscaping working in Disney’s favor most of the time. Guests staying at nearby resorts, driving along the interstate, or even walking through parts of Disney Springs have reported being able to spot the scaffolding from a distance.What Crews Actually Seem to Be Working OnCredit: Frank Phillips, FlickrBased on what’s visible so far, the work appears to be centered on repainting the exterior. As the scaffolding has moved across different sections of the facade, a fresh coat of pink paint has shown up underneath, standing in sharp contrast to the older, sun faded exterior nearby. The process looks intentional too. Cast members appear to be applying a pink base layer first, then adding additional layers on top to recreate that weathered, haunted look the building is known for from The Twilight Zone inspired theming.It’s a reminder that even attractions designed to look aged and neglected require real upkeep behind the scenes. Recreating decades of intentional wear and tear isn’t something that happens by accident, and it takes just as much careful work as maintaining a brand new facade would.The Ride Is Still Running, Just Look Different for NowCredit: DisneyDespite how dramatic the exterior looks right now, the Twilight Zone Tower of Terror is still operating normally inside the park. Disney hasn’t announced any plans to close the ride, and there’s no confirmed timeline yet for when the exterior work will be finished. Guests riding the attraction shouldn’t expect any interruption to the experience itself, at least not for now.Adjust Your Camera Roll Expectations AccordinglyIf Hollywood Studios is on your itinerary soon, don’t expect the ride to be closed, but do expect the building to look a lot different in photos than what you might remember from past visits or promotional images online. If getting that classic, moody shot of the Hollywood Tower Hotel is part of your plan, you’ll want to adjust expectations a bit until the scaffolding comes down. And if you’re simply driving through the area, whether heading to Disney Springs or another resort nearby, don’t be surprised if the tower catches your eye well before you’re anywhere near the park entrance. It’s become one of those rare moments where behind the scenes maintenance work is actually visible to people who aren’t even inside the gates that day.For now, the best move is just setting expectations accordingly if photos of the exterior matter to your visit, and maybe enjoying the novelty of watching a Disney icon get a very public makeover in real time.Have you spotted the scaffolding from outside the park yourself? Share your own photos or what you noticed in the comments, we’d love to see how visible it’s been from different spots around the resort.The post Massive Scaffolding Swallows Disney’s 199-Foot Theme Park Tower appeared first on Inside the Magic.