New S.E.A. Member is Hazel Hightower, Daughter of Disgraced Harrison Hightower of Tower of Terror Fame

Walt Disney Imagineering promised a reveal about the Society of Explorers and Adventurers (S.E.A.) at the 2026 D23 Expo, and we finally have an answer to a mystery that has spanned multiple months. Here’s the thief behind the digital scavenger hunt, one final riddle, the new character’s motivation for her mischief, and the Tower of Terror/Joe Rohde connection. It’s a bit of a wild ride.

In case you missed it, one of the early must-dos of the 2026 D23 Expo back in mid-August was the “Inside Look at the Society of Explorers and Adventurers.” Imagineering teased a newly rediscovered artifact ready for the presentation. This was to be the climactic moment of the presentation, with the crate unearthed from the archives and opened for the first time in at least a century live on stage at D23.

No one knew what was inside; it could’ve been incredible incredible pieces of S.E.A. history, such as those acquired by Lord Henry Mystic or Harrison Hightower III. As it turned out, it was the amazing…the colossal…the stupendous…the ninth wonder of the world: the inside of empty crate! A note left inside dared D23 attendees to recover the missing artifact, and so began our two month online expedition.

Since then, Imagineering has been sharing riddles via social media, with each one pointing to a letter of the thief’s name (but scrambled). Clues referenced various attractions and the stolen artifact, known as the Ridge Jewel. The prankster used a Timeskipper to travel through time and leave riddles behind.

It turned out the thief was rejected from the Society of Explorers and Adventurers because of their father “the one who left me behind” with a “perilous curse he could never undo.” That’s the Cliffs Notes version of the scavenger hunt. Disney has a recap of the whole thing here.

The final clue was a perplexing poem, referring to the infamous Harrison Hightower III, the central figure of the Tower of Terror at Tokyo DisneySea, who is portrayed by none other than Disney Legend Joe Rohde.

Hightower disappeared on New Year’s Eve in 1899 after acquiring the cursed idol, Shiriki Utundu. With the Hightower family name being part of the scrambled solution, the thief’s first name was thus Hazel. Hazel Hightower.

A final letter from Hazel Hightower to S.E.A. Archivist Bonnie Booker was discovered, and explains how and why she “stole” the Ridge Jewel. Being the daughter of Harrison Hightower made Hazel unwelcome to join the Society, so she concocted a plan to prove S.E.A. wrong while also righting one of her father’s wrongs in the process. Why steal the Ridge Jewel? Why invent the Timeskipper?

You can find the answers to these questions and more in the full letter from Hazel:

Dearest Society of Explorers and Adventurers,

By now, at least some of you have discovered my name, Hazel Hightower. Indeed, it was I who stole your artifact. And while that may seem significant, it’s now such a small part of my story. If you lend me a moment of your time, I can tell you my story in my own words – no riddles in sight.

I was born on April 1st, 1881, in Egypt. My father was Harrison Hightower III. Now, I know better than anyone what a controversial figure he was, and I personally don’t agree with all his actions and decisions. But I love him, and he taught me to chase my curiosities, and that an adventurous life is a valuable one.

My father mysteriously disappeared right before I started university in London, and I have never found out what happened to him. After he disappeared, I was distraught and directionless. I buried myself in my studies as a distraction, but after I graduated, I still felt lost. So, I sought to become a member of the Society of Explorers and Adventurers like my father. I hoped S.E.A. would give me the direction and inspiration I was seeking. I even showed them the plans I had been working on in school for a time-traveling device, because what greater adventure could there be than to travel across time? I thought they would be impressed.

They rejected my application. Their reason? I am a Hightower. My father caused enough problems within the organization before he disappeared, and they assumed I would be just as problematic.

This rejection, and their assumptions about my character… infuriated me (my father always told me my temper would get me in trouble). As I left the Society headquarters that day I set my mind to two things:

• Proving to S.E.A. that I was the greatest adventurer of all time, and that they were fools for rejecting me.
• Proving to the world that the name Hightower doesn’t define me.

I traveled to my father’s home in New York to ponder my plan. As I sat there trying to think clearly, I kept thinking about my father and all the treasures he would bring home from his adventures. He would return from some far-away place and show off a new artifact to me. I always marveled at their beauty. One time, when I was just a child, my father brought me on one of his adventures – to a small American mining town in the western frontier called Rainbow Ridge. He was meeting other members of your… sometimes-esteemed society and let me tag along.

The town was celebrating a recent discovery in the mines, a large egg-shaped geode filled with rainbow crystals and had dubbed it – the Ridge Jewel. They put it on display for the entire town to enjoy. On the day I got rejected by S.E.A., I remembered something that I had forgotten long ago. That beautiful egg had gone missing. I remember its disappearance being discussed at S.E.A. gatherings as, “quite the scandal.” It all started to connect for me. It must have been my father who took it. He never could help himself. Always had to have a souvenir.

That’s when I knew, to prove I wasn’t like my father; I needed to return the Ridge Jewel.

But I wasn’t satisfied. It wasn’t enough. In those moments I so desperately wanted to humiliate S.E.A. – make them feel as small and unimportant as they had made me feel. How could I damage the egos of so many members at once?

They had laughed at me when I told them what I had been working on the past few years – a time traveling device that I nicknamed, the “Timeskipper.” These adventurers and explorers had seen it all, traveled to every corner of the world, explored the darkest caves and the highest mountain peaks. I had to have one adventure that none of them could achieve – time travel.

So, I spent the next few years finishing my great work – the Timeskipper. When I was ready to test it, I knew I wanted to try and discover where my father had taken the Ridge Jewel. I had to be very careful about where I chose to go, because I knew I wanted to return the Jewel on the same day he took it, when I was with him at Rainbow Ridge. I set the Timeskipper to the day after our trip, and successfully “skipped” into my own past.

For the first time since the night he disappeared, I saw my father and indeed, he had the Jewel with him. I discovered that after he stole the Jewel, to avoid scandal, he hid his newly found treasure inside an official “S.E.A.” crate within his vast collection. I think his plan was that if the egg was ever discovered, he could try and blame S.E.A. for its disappearance. Before the crate was sealed and moved, I took the egg and replaced it with the note that I assume you found. You see, since I had my Timeskipper, it didn’t matter where or when my note was discovered. I had all the time in the world to execute my plan.

And so, with the Ridge Jewel in tow, I continued skipping across time and leaving behind my riddles so that one day, members of S.E.A. would piece together my story and remember my name. I even traveled to times and places where famous members of S.E.A. had been, just to taunt them and prove I could. However, I discovered something very strange on my adventure. The more I traveled across the world and across time, the less angry I became. My adventure slowly healed my wounds. And I suppose that’s the point my new friends, seeking adventure and discovery, opens our minds to new possibilities. It can change us dramatically. In my case, I think it changed me for the good.

I settled in Rainbow Ridge for a while after that night, enjoying the town and its people. But, as perhaps you’ve clued together – I’m a restless soul and easily bored. I decided to test the limits of my Timeskipper, and aim for a faraway place.

Now you know my story (most of it). Maybe you see me as a villain, maybe a hero, and the truth is I’m a little bit of both. No matter what you believe – I wish you nothing but luck on your next adventure.

Until next time,
Hazel Louise Hightower

As for where Hazel Hightower is now, she left us one last riddle, this time leading to a place instead of a letter…

The glorious Rainbow Ridge Jewel is viewable in full glory at the Ticket Booth outside of Pioneer Mercantile in Frontierland at Disneyland. For a limited time, guests can now witness this rare artifact and ask a Cast Member at Pioneer Mercantile or use a MagicBand+ to receive a complimentary commemorative ticket from Hazel Hightower herself, as a token of her congratulations for the incredible detective work of diehard Disney fans.

A newspaper clipping in the Ticket Booth seems to have transformed overnight, too! A photo that shows Harrison Hightower III visiting the exhibition of the Ridge Jewel with Jason Chandler in 1886 now features the time traveling Hazel, jewel in hand, returning the town’s beloved discovery moments after her father stole it.

She has been honored for this noble act with her own oar at the Tropical Hideaway in Adventureland at Disneyland, an honor bestowed upon every member of the Society of Explorers and Adventurers. Go check it out the next time you’re in the park.

While you’re in the neighborhood, be sure to visit Frontierland over the next few weeks to receive Hazel’s commemorative ticket while supplies last and view the spoils of her grand adventure. Take a look at Hazel Hightower’s ticket below:

What’s Next for Hazel Hightower?

While this whole scavenger hunt has been fun, I also have to admit that the reveal feels anticlimactic and not commensurate with the build-up. At the same time, I kind of had the sense a few weeks ago that whatever the ultimate reveal was, it wouldn’t comport with expectations or the time investment. So I can’t say I’m surprised.

Part of me wants to believe that there’s more to this. And in fact, I do. Not that there’s another riddle here hidden to solve or anything else that’ll be revealed in the near future. But that there’s more to Hazel Hightower that we’ll learn in due time. That maybe a bigger announcement was planned for the D23 Expo and cut at the last minute, or something still to come.

After all, there is the line that Hazel has “decided to test the limits of my Timeskipper, and aim for a faraway place.” This opens up a world of possibilities, from Tomorrowland to the mountains to Fantasyland and Animal Kingdom to the fifth dimension of the Twilight Zone.

I’m reluctant to speculate too much more for a couple of reasons, though. First, because my top theory would revolve around the Tower of Terror at Walt Disney World, and that finally ditching the Twilight Zone integration in favor of an original S.E.A. storyline, a la Tokyo DisneySea.

Even though she wants to distance herself from Harrison, Hazel is a Hightower after all. It’s right there in her family name!

If it weren’t for just being mildly embarrassed after reading too much into a social media tease by Rod Serling’s voice actor in the Twilight Zone Tower of Terror, I might allow myself to get carried away with that possibility. I still think the Tower of Terror getting a tremendous amount of TLC points to the possibility of enhancements being planned, but I’m in no hurry to go too deep down that particular rabbit hole again.

My second theory would involve the Matterhorn, which would probably make more sense given that this scavenger hunt has mostly revolved around Disneyland (although that could just be convenience since the team working on this appears Glendale-based).

During the D23 presentation, Matterhorn was treated as if it’s already part of S.E.A., and was featured on two different slides covering the locations of the secret society. There was one other offhand remark during the presentation that hinted at the Matterhorn being a cool place for the Society of Explorers and Adventurers, suggesting maybe this was meant to be a tease or clue?

The Matterhorn seems like another obvious option for a S.E.A. integration. It would be easy enough to add a crate or two with the S.E.A. logo inside the attraction, along with other props and maybe new details in the queue. Maybe S.E.A. leads to Matterhorn getting another refurbishment, with easily-added story lore as an added enhancement.

For the record, I still do not believe the rumors about Matterhorn being relocated and rebuilt, so if S.E.A. is going to be part of Matterhorn (assuming it’s not already there), it’s presumably going to be woven into the existing attraction and what’s already there. Expedition Everest would be another possibility of this nature, but my gut is that S.E.A. would be a poor fit for the tone of that attraction’s storytelling.

Another less-consequential explanation is that there are big Society of Explorers and Adventurers fans in Imagineering, and they wanted to have a little fun with a S.E.A. scavenger hunt while also leaving their mark on the park. This is probably the most likely scenario.

It’s also possible that the Society of Explorers and Adventurers series for Disney+ is still on life support, and someone pushed for this as a way to generate fan excitement and maybe get that greenlit. I don’t know how this would serve that purpose, but stranger things have happened.

A final possibility is that it’s (almost) all of the above. It’s potentially related that Scarlett Johansson is still working on her Tower of Terror movie adaptation.

After announcing in 2021 that she’ll produce a new film inspired by the Walt Disney World ride written by Josh Cooley, Johansson shared that the script is “taking shape” as they attempt to flesh out the narrative of the attraction.

“It’s a hard nut to crack,” she told Entertainment Weekly. “Harder than you think, because the ride itself, there’s some lore to it, but it’s… I don’t want to say thin, but it is, kind of!”

Submitted for your approval, a Hollywood starlet in need of some lore and a character to call her own, working again with a studio that wants to repair its relationship with the A-lister. The company finds a solution to her problems and theirs, directly outside of the Twilight Zone.

The bottom line is that I do believe Hazel Hightower will have more of a future in one of the parks, and that there was more to the D23 presentation and this scavenger hunt (or there was intended to be more) than meets the eye.

How, if at all, that’ll play out down the road is beyond me. I’ll leave further speculation to those who didn’t miss the mark on the Tower of Terror tease from earlier this week!

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Your Thoughts

What do you think of Hazel Hightower joining the Society of Explorers and Adventurers? Think this is the end of the mystery, or is there more to Hazel’s story in S.E.A.? Have any predictions about where she might be added? Do you agree or disagree with our assessment? Any questions? Hearing your feedback—even when you disagree with us—is both interesting to us and helpful to other readers, so please share your thoughts below in the comments!