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

[zipadee999]

Phantom Manor has always had a ghost effect in their Endless Hallway. I'm picturing this being similar, but with Hatbox instead.

Yeah, I think it would be better if they used the Henry and Melanie PM hallway effect for Hattie and then had him appear up close and personal later on, but alas, I don’t make the rules

 

[WaltsTreasureChest]

Does anyone think the backlash will make them think twice and locate him in a different spot?

Absolutely all their social media posts about this are filled with people telling them that this is a big mistake

 

[Scuttle]

Terrible placement. The attic was the place to put him.

 

[Epcot82Guy]

This is really terrible placement. Whether or not the rule is official, the effects in the ride follow a progression up to the climax of the graveyard. It's what makes the ride with. You build suspense all the way through. This is like putting a spoiler of the ending in the movie half way through. If they wanted to preview him with a hatbox with a green ectoplasm glow, that's one thing. But putting the figure in the endless hallway just doesn't fit the progression of the rides effects.

Yet again, it feels like WDI doesn't have a single fan of any ride in WDW beyond what they have built themselves.

 

[Sundown]

Make him work as a player in the story. Not neccesarily as a "hey he appeared for a brief time in Disneyland's Haunted Mansion in the attic". If Constance ending the ride in the house finishes the house story, (personally think it does)...then put him elsewhere. BUT...not as the hyped-up Hat Box Ghost that we all know b/c of theme park lore, but as a headless hat-bearing mystical ghost. Fit him in after Leaota. IMO, pre-Constance attic. Perhaps even fit in to second story real balcony in ballroom.

 

[rreading]

Does anyone think the backlash will make them think twice and locate him in a different spot?

Absolutely all their social media posts about this are filled with people telling them that this is a big mistake

It’s an interesting question. At this point, after Harmonious I would think that they might be more inclined to listen to the fan’s opinions

 

[The Rocketeer]

We do see a shadow of the ghostly piano player well before Leota invites the spirits to materialize. I guess that doesn't count as a full ghost though. I think the placement is bad and I hope they rethink this. The graveyard makes much more sense if you're going to place him anywhere else but the attic.

 

[aladdin2007]

Its time to get guest relations to take notice, send the emails in, they do get seen and shared with higher ups. Someone did not think this through well.

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

So “shove it somewhere”??

…right…magical…make sure you buy and after hours ticket so Bob can eat

 

[Castle Cake Apologist]

The ride has no linear narrative structure.

Walt and the imagineers had competing ideas for the ride and the result was a ride by committee. It's just a series of vignettes.

E.g., we see the ghost of Leota in the crystal ball before "the ghosts materialize." We also see them in aging portrait, and in the portraits lit by lightning. And we certainly hear one narrating. Then there's the ghostly footsteps, the shadow of a ghost playing the harpsichord, the busts in the library whose facing follows you.

Leota is the catalyst that brings the spirits forth, she doesn't need herself to materialize. Everything else you listed is far different from full on apparitions appearing. There is a clear logical progression to the way the ghosts appear in the attraction, and this will significantly change that. It also plays the ride's hand way too early, as the grand ballroom is supposed to be the "big reveal" of physical ghosts.

It also doesn't make sense to say that he's invited himself in from the Swinging Wake if we see him in the Endless Hallway, because the party hasn't even started yet at that point in the ride. The Ghost Host pretty explicitly tells us that the ghosts are assembling for it as you leave the Seance Room.

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

The ride has no linear narrative structure.

Walt and the imagineers had competing ideas for the ride and the result was a ride by committee. It's just a series of vignettes.

E.g., we see the ghost of Leota in the crystal ball before "the ghosts materialize." We also see them in aging portrait, and in the portraits lit by lightning. And we certainly hear one narrating. Then there's the ghostly footsteps, the shadow of a ghost playing the harpsichord, the busts in the library whose facing follows you.

And yet…all of that is wrong.

But I know it’s hard to sleep if we don’t agree that everything they do is “great”, right?

 

[ToTBellHop]

Let's check in with a former Imagineer:

I never have dinner in the desert so this doesn’t apply to me, anyway. Now it’s time for me to put all my hats back in their hall box.

I see why he’s a former Imagineer...

 

[MisterPenguin]

Leota is the catalyst that brings the spirits forth, she doesn't need herself to materialize. Everything else you listed is far different from full on apparitions appearing. There is a clear logical progression to the way the ghosts appear in the attraction, and this will significantly change that. It also plays the bride's hand way too early, as the grand ballroom is supposed to be the "big reveal" of physical ghosts.

It also doesn't make sense to say that he's invited himself in from the Swinging Wake if we see him in the Endless Hallway, because the party hasn't even started yet at that point in the ride. The Ghost Host pretty explicitly tells us that the ghosts are assembling for it as you leave the Seance Room.

I fully reject any argument portraying itself as logical or self-consistent that the clear appearance of a materialized ghost in a crystal ball isn't itself breaking the narrative that we don't see materialized ghosts until the ballroom scene. It's a fact we can see with our own eyes.

A ghost we can see is holding a seance so that we can see ghosts. It's just stupid.

But so many things about HM are just stupid if you try to put logic to it. That's a hallmark of ghost stories, they're almost never self-consistent. The good ones lull you into accepting the breaking of a logical narrative.

The only reason why anyone thinks that we can't see ghosts until after we've seen the ghost of Leota is because of the Narrator's narration. If that ethereal punmeister didn't say so, no one would have in their head that 'rule.'

And while this pixie-duster who defends everything Disney does is on a tear, let me say this: Almost no one outside of these fan forums really cares about the Hatbox Ghost appearing in MK's Haunted Mansion. There will be no groundswell of popular outrage that makes Disney change course if the Hatbox Ghost isn't in "the right place."

People love the HM even though it has cheesy and cheap skulls that pop up from behind a headstone that are very clearly attached to a metal piston. And they shake to and fro like cheesy heads obviously attached to a metal piston. And you can hear the whirr of the pistons. The bar for this audience is very low. The Hatbox Ghost can be placed in the Doom Buggy loading room and guests will be fine with it.

 

[ToTBellHop]

I fully reject any argument portraying itself as logical or self-consistent that the clear appearance of a materialized ghost in a crystal ball isn't itself breaking the narrative that we don't see materialized ghosts until the ballroom scene. It's a fact we can see with our own eyes.

A ghost we can see is holding a seance so that we can see ghosts. It's just stupid.

But so many things about HM are just stupid if you try to put logic to it. That's a hallmark of ghost stories, they're almost never self-consistent. The good ones lull you into accepting the breaking of a logical narrative.

The only reason why anyone thinks that we can't see ghosts until after we've seen the ghost of Leota is because of the Narrator's narration. If that ethereal punmeister didn't say so, no one would have in their head that 'rule.'

And while this pixie-duster who defends everything Disney does is on a tear, let me say this: Almost no one outside of these fan forums really cares about the Hatbox Ghost appearing in MK's Haunted Mansion. There will be no groundswell of popular outrage that makes Disney change course if the Hatbox Ghost isn't in "the right place."

People love the HM even though it has cheesy and cheap skulls that pop up from behind a headstone that are very clearly attached to a metal piston. And they shake to and fro like cheesy heads obviously attached to a metal piston. And you can hear the whirr of the pistons. The bar for this audience is very low. The Hatbox Ghost can be placed in the Doom Buggy loading room and guests will be fine with it.

People act like the gags prior to Leota are so subtle that you think it’s just a trick or the light. There’s nothing particularly subtle about the lightning portraits, busts, hand trying to claw out of a coffin, footprints on the upside-down stairs, or the screaming skeleton in the stretching gallery. Before 2007, you even had what looked like monsters trying to push open doors before Leota.

This no-ghouls-before-Leota theory is a fantasy. About the only legitimate complaint I hear about Hattie is that he’s too modern for the ride when stacked up against these 50-year old gags. I just think he’s cool and I like cool things. And he’s a non-IP addition! Keep whining and they’ll replace him with a Hei Hei.

 

[Castle Cake Apologist]

I fully reject any argument portraying itself as logical or self-consistent that the clear appearance of a materialized ghost in a crystal ball isn't itself breaking the narrative that we don't see materialized ghosts until the ballroom scene. It's a fact we can see with our own eyes.

A ghost we can see is holding a seance so that we can see ghosts. It's just stupid.

But so many things about HM are just stupid if you try to put logic to it. That's a hallmark of ghost stories, they're almost never self-consistent. The good ones lull you into accepting the breaking of a logical narrative.

The only reason why anyone thinks that we can't see ghosts until after we've seen the ghost of Leota is because of the Narrator's narration. If that ethereal punmeister didn't say so, no one would have in their head that 'rule.'

And while this pixie-duster who defends everything Disney does is on a tear, let me say this: Almost no one outside of these fan forums really cares about the Hatbox Ghost appearing in MK's Haunted Mansion. There will be no groundswell of popular outrage that makes Disney change course if the Hatbox Ghost isn't in "the right place."

People love the HM even though it has cheesy and cheap skulls that pop up from behind a headstone that are very clearly attached to a metal piston. And they shake to and fro like cheesy heads obviously attached to a metal piston. And you can hear the whirr of the pistons. The bar for this audience is very low. The Hatbox Ghost can be placed in the Doom Buggy loading room and guests will be fine with it.

Just to be clear, the premise of a goofy musical haunted house is fine with you, but you draw the line at a ghost who can conjure other ghosts?

The fact that you're saying we should ignore the narration of the ride, which explicitly states that the ghosts are having trouble getting through without Leota, and that they are "beginning to materialize" after we visit the seance, to make your version work is pretty telling. That's not actually even why the rule exists, but still. The rule exists because we quite literally do not see a full-bodied ghost until after the Seance Room. Up until Leota, the only thing you get are shadows and parlor tricks. Raps on doors, book pages turning, ghostly footprints, sure... but no actual ghosts.The closest we get is a reanimated corpse in a casket.

Hell, Leota herself isn't even an apparition. She's an ethereal head appearing in the fog of a crystal ball. It also makes sense that her connection in life between the spirit world and the physical world as a medium would allow her to appear without incantation now that she's dead.

Regarding one of your other points, I'm not sure why I'm supposed to care about the opinions of people outside this forum while discussing something on this forum. I see that line a lot from a certain segment here, and it seems like such a weak argument. Obviously we care more than Joe Public, that wasn't some big reveal.

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

This is a small, but important example of what they think of you at wdw…

“Anything will do…cause Philly-new jersey - New York suck and they’ll keep coming”

…keep doing a bang up job of proving them right

 

[optjay]

Aren't the 3 locations the hat box ghost is being placed just because of the new movie?
Before the movie was planned, was probably only one right?
Now with all the movie ty ins, like Cpt Sparrow in Pirates ride, aren't they just placing characters everywhere?

 

[TheMaxRebo]

Does anyone think the backlash will make them think twice and locate him in a different spot?

Absolutely all their social media posts about this are filled with people telling them that this is a big mistake

Probably depends on the reasoning currently for why they have the plan the do

If it was "hey, wouldn't it be cool if we put him near the spot that fit with that scene from the movie trailer?" ... Then maybe

If it is "structurally he doesn't fit/effect won't work elsewhere so where is the best place we can craft a good, if new, narrative to make him fit" (e.g., they actually have thought about this and have developed the best plan possible factoring things we don't know about) ... Then probably not

 

[TheMaxRebo]

Aren't the 3 locations the hat box ghost is being placed just because of the new movie?
Before the movie was planned, was probably only one right?
Now with all the movie ty ins, like Cpt Sparrow in Pirates ride, aren't they just placing characters everywhere?

He's only going in one spot - by the endless hallway

 

[networkpro]

This is a small, but important example of what they think of you at wdw…

“Anything will do…cause Philly-new jersey - New York suck and they’ll keep coming”

…keep doing a bang up job of proving them right

Not really, just the climate gets monotonous during the winter with slush, snow, and endless grey. Theres also the issue of population density.