News Hatbox Ghost coming to Walt Disney World's Haunted Mansion

yensidtlaw1969

yensidtlaw1969

Well-Known Member
Tom Morrow said:
Those making the decisions today are not the creative visionaries of the past though. They don't think about this stuff, or don't care. That's why we get a Moana splash pad in Epcot. I'm willing to bet money that this was some team of 20-somethings who have been given an explanation of "fans love and want hatbox ghost, make it happen" and that was the extent of the proposal. If they thought about this more than "I bet he could fit here" I'd be interested to know what their thought process was.

He should be in the graveyard, for what it's worth. Being in the attic also takes away from the bride and the whole point of that scene (projection-face bride issues aside).
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You don't really know me if you think you've got to tell me all that.

But in this case I'm willing to give them the chance . . .


PS: He was initially meant to be the climax of the Attic back in the 60's, so I'm not sure what you're on about in that last part. The only reason he didn't end back in that same place in 2015 is that the Constance additions flooded the Attic with more light than ever before, so he needed to go somewhere darker. Which is why they put him just outside the Attic - as close as they could get to his old spot while still having sufficient darkness to achieve the new effect.
 
rreading

rreading

Well-Known Member
Tom Morrow said:
Those making the decisions today are not the creative visionaries of the past though. They don't think about this stuff, or don't care. That's why we get a Moana splash pad in Epcot. I'm willing to bet money that this was some team of 20-somethings who have been given an explanation of "fans love and want hatbox ghost, make it happen" and that was the extent of the proposal. If they thought about this more than "I bet he could fit here" I'd be interested to know what their thought process was.

He should be in the graveyard, for what it's worth. Being in the attic also takes away from the bride and the whole point of that scene (projection-face bride issues aside).
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In the graveyard, the ghosts are no longer menacing. The ride has shifted its tone to a fun rather than ominous feel - but hatbox seems to be a foreboding character…right?
 
Bocabear

Bocabear

Well-Known Member
I say throw Constance out into the graveyard and start with the attic fresh... maybe a couple of new ghosts in the attic along with Hattie...
But the endless Hallway area does have a little "dead" space... Does the music room shadow ghost count as a ghost? That is even earlier in the ride...if we are concerned about the " Leota Rule...."
 
lazyboy97o

lazyboy97o

Well-Known Member
Neuner said:
I thought when MK opened in 1971, the Haunted Mansion had a bride and groom in the attic. Whenever her heart beat, his head would leave his shoulders and appear in a hat box. I was in my teens then, but I thought that was the best effect!!
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The Hatbox Ghost was not there in 1971. A figure was built but never installed. There was an incredibly brief period at Disneyland when the ride first opened that the figure was visible there, but that’s it.
 
ppete1975

ppete1975

Well-Known Member
Its fan service. People wanted the hatbox ghost and they are giving him to fans. Does it help the story? Does it make sense? Is it needed? That stuff isnt considered.
This is purely fan service, and much cheaper than building anything significant like a new ride or new tracks where needed.

Hopefully I am wrong, and it actually improves the rather murky story line that is there currently.
 
Sir_Cliff

Sir_Cliff

Well-Known Member
I feel agnostic about this without more details. The idea of the Hatbox Ghost in the endless hallway sounds terrible. If he's placed after the hallway, I think a lot will come down to the staging and placement of the figure.
 
HMF

HMF

Well-Known Member
ppete1975 said:
Its fan service. People wanted the hatbox ghost and they are giving him to fans. Does it help the story? Does it make sense? Is it needed? That stuff isnt considered.
This is purely fan service, and much cheaper than building anything significant like a new ride or new tracks where needed.

Hopefully I am wrong, and it actually improves the rather murky story line that is there currently.
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It's a good thing they didn't think that way when they installed him in Disneyland.
 
lazyboy97o

lazyboy97o

Well-Known Member
ppete1975 said:
Its fan service. People wanted the hatbox ghost and they are giving him to fans. Does it help the story? Does it make sense? Is it needed? That stuff isnt considered.
This is purely fan service, and much cheaper than building anything significant like a new ride or new tracks where needed.

Hopefully I am wrong, and it actually improves the rather murky story line that is there currently.
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Wouldn’t fan service involve putting him near where he was originally intended?


How is the storyline murky there? You’re in a haunted house.
 
yensidtlaw1969

yensidtlaw1969

Well-Known Member
FigmentJedi said:
Still using his rotting meat body instead of appearing as an ectoplasmic entity like all the ghosts Leota materializes.
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Not really - the hands that used to cling to the edge of the door in the Corridor of Doors mere moments later were also considered ghost hands, which is why they were removed by the Imagineering team in 2007, because they felt they broke the "Leota Rule" whereby "no ghosts materialize in the house before Leota has summoned them".

However, as I said before, 2007 was the first time such a rule was implemented, and the Coffin Occupant was given a pass by that same team - not because he wasn't considered a Ghost, but because he was considered too iconic to remove despite breaking their new rule. So the rule is not nearly as longstanding as people are suggesting, nor has it been particularly steadfast since they broke it from day one.

Add to that the fact that those hands they removed in 2007 were added to the WDW Door by Claude Coats himself, who revised the WDW Corridor to improve it over the DL version, and that the install of the WDW show was supervised by Marc Davis, and it becomes harder to argue that this "rule" even needed to be implemented in the first place. If anybody knew what they were doing with The Haunted Mansion, it was Marc Davis and Claude Coats on their second stab at it. These changes were replicated in Tokyo, where they stand today untampered with.

More like a guideline than a rule.
 

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