Time limit

Some versions of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? have implemented time limits to answering questions. The time limit is a Disney invention, as is the result of The Walt Disney Company owning the rights to the show in the United States; everywhere else in the world, Celador (now 2waytraffic) directly controls the show, but in the United States, Disney controls the show. Back in the day, when Celador invented the show, Celador did not implement time limits because they wanted to place emphasis on suspense and drama. When they came to the United States in 1999, however, they decided to license the show to Disney. However, Disney believed that contestants should have strict, tight time limits to answering questions, and so, they put their contestants up against the clock.

Mechanisms
On the U.S. clock format, the rules were derived from the former Who Wants to Be a Millionaire - Play It! attraction at Walt Disney World. The contestant was given:
 * 15 seconds for questions 1-5
 * 30 seconds for questions 6-10
 * 45 seconds for questions 11-14
 * 45 seconds + accumulated time bank for question 15

The clock stopped whenever a contestant used a lifeline, and resumed from where it left off when the duration of the lifeline expired. If the contestant did not beat the clock and give a final answer before the clock expired, they would be forced to walk away with whatever winnings they had won up to that point (unless a Double Dip was in play, in which case they would flunk out and lose their winnings).