Haunted Mansion Holiday at Walt Disney World

[MANEATINGWREATH]

I don't know if it's taboo to speak of HMH on these boards but on other boards it is and some other boards it isn't, so I'm just going to go foward and post this anyways.

One of my favorite attractions of all time is the Haunted Mansion. One of my other favorite attractions of all time is Haunted Mansion Holiday. Now there are two groups I have grown up being a mansion fan with. There's the group that hates Haunted Mansion Holiday, and there's the group that loves Haunted Mansion Holiday. I am in the group that loves Haunted Mansion Holiday, but I'm also in the unmentioned group that loves the regular mansion as well. So I thought, well if half the world likes it, and if the other half of the world hates it, then is there some way to give both groups the best of both worlds (Without Miley Cyrus)?

Well that's where we all come in to the picture. I've had the idea in my head for a long time now (As a matter of fact I fully did the project once) that we ship out an HMH overlay for the Florida version of the mansion. As mentioned before I have done this project full-out before; it was entitled "The Haunted Mansion: A Nightmare Before Christmas." I wasn't really too thrilled with my final product as I felt it had overkill in it and some of the scenes I composed were really ridiculous and impossible to create. I think I had the Clown with the Tear Away Face riding a unicycle on the banisters of the Grand Staircase. Anyways I want to start over here and look at the project with new eyes.

So who here is with me, let's get to "Making Christmas!" :xmas:

 

[Disneyson 1]

They could do the clown, I bet...

I'd like a ride that shows some more of the characters. Sally, the Doctor, and all these other great characters hardly appear in DL! And since we now officiually have the better mansion, we've got to have the better HMH!

... too bad our park manager won't let it happen due to personal connections with the Haunted Mansion...

What are some of your ideas? I'd like to hear, even if they're ridiculous!

 

[MANEATINGWREATH]

Yeah I forgot about that one dude who hates HMH. Well my imaginary plan was to wait until he retires then re-release Nightmare in 3D then do an overlay at Florida to accompany it.

Well Tokyo actually incorporates a lot more characters from the movie into their overlay and since Tokyo used to be a carbon copy of the Florida mansion (Well it still is just without all the new stuff they added) it would pretty much be the same. They have animatronic versions of Jack and Sally where the floating candelabra above the entry balcony is usually located, Sally is sitting on a chair in the music room, Oogie Boogie is dancing on a moon in the spider nest, and Jack and Sally can be seen exchanging gifts from behind a curtain in the grand hall. Lock, Shock, and Barrel also replace the hitchhiking ghosts. Also since their mansion still has the portrait corridor belonging to the Sinister Eleven all of the portraits have been replaced with portraits of characters from HalloweenTown. To the best of my memory they have the clown holding up a grizzly chunk of fruitcake, the werewolf coming out of a giant wrapped box, and the undersea gal decorating a piece of seaweed as a Christmas tree.

My current plan actually makes the overlay a lot different than both the Tokyo and Disneyland shows. I plan on adding new stretching portraits, new scenes, and a bunch of other good stuff like that. Florida will also have a unique soundtrack for their HMH.

As most of you might know the original HMH in 2001 had a rather frightening, destroyed-Christmas like soundtrack which lasted until early January of 2002 when HMH closed. When it came back in Fall of 2002 it had an entirely different soundtrack. This has been a pretty controversial change for many as some like the new soundtrack, and others don't. I'm fine with both of them but "Kidnap the Sandy Claws" is used a lot in the current soundtrack, not that there's anything wrong with it, it's a very catchy song.

So I decided it'd be great to give HMH fans the best of both worlds (Again without Miley Cyrus) a combined soundtrack of both the 2001 HMH and the 2002 HMH. It will also have some songs from Phantom Manor as an added bonus! So here is what the rough soundtrack for the attraction will sound like:

Queue- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SmLIK5vszlc

Foyer- Ok yes, I know this link leads to the Tokyo HMH soundtrack. Well the reason I posted this is because I couldn't find any other videos of the foyer music I want. It can be heard from the beginning of the video to about 1:53, it's beneath all of the Ghost Host's dialogue of course. Speaking of the Ghost Host it sounds like he has some different dialogue in this version of the attraction. Can any of you translate it, because all I'm getting from his new dialogue is the fact that he says "Oogie Boogie" at one point. You can also hear what I want for the music room's piano around 5:21 until 6:00.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qzU0JckojRw&feature=channel

Stretching Room- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qG60mjAwbC0

Load Area through Grand Staircase- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7MlaAYzQOMs&feature=related

Corridor of Eyes through Clock Hall- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-RRKYDG_umk&feature=related

Seance Circle- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iKx5yGUH86U

Grand Hall- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dvg8KtCeaHI&feature=related

Attic- I apologize for yet another lengthy video but you can find the attic music beginning at 5:19, starting with the screams:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XJHnoSqBZI4

Graveyard- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mSQk78pdTSM

The first part of the prior video is actually the graveyard band. However that will not be the song they are playing instead they will be playing this song which can be heard over the main soundtrack from the beginning of the video until 0:28.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z2RCJ2Ol42Y

Exit Crypt- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OHsFx4sQ6HY&feature=related

By the way since the stretching room has a different audio system than the other Haunted Mansions, I think it'd be great if it sounded like the "la la la las" were climbing up from the floor and all the way up to the ceiling as the room stretches. Also I think it'd be cool to leave the creaking in the walls as well since he says "Not a creature was peaceful" and all that. And of course the Ghost Host would still float around the room and go on people's shoulders and float around the ceiling and all that jazz.

:xmas:

 

[_Scar]

Our HM is too popular and can stand by itself without any overlay imo. Build the ride!

 

[MANEATINGWREATH]

Just for Fun

Well I understand the attraction is very popular with guests but I just want to do it for fun. It's always fun to come up with attractions you know will never exist.

So I was thinking about the soundtrack for the attraction and I was thinking it would be cool to have a combo of both the 2001 HMH soundtrack and the 2002 on soundtrack. Basically my idea is to make this the best HMH out there as the Florida HM is probably the most superior of the bunch at the moment. Since they have that really cool sound system now I think it'd be great if in the stretching room as the ghost children are singing "La, la, la, la," you can have their voices climb up with the room as it stretches to make it more suspenseful. Also I think the horrible creaking noises should stay as the Ghost Host does say "Not a creature was peaceful."

So here is my general idea for the soundtrack:

Queue- The Phantom Manor Gazebo Music. This is used in the queue for the Disneyland HMH and creates quite the unsetting mood. I think it is very festive and has a very Nightmare-esque feel to it.

The Foyer- 2002 On Music. This song kind of sounds like the opening to Nightmare. Also I don't think the 2001 foyer music would work all that well (It's a demented organ with hints of the "Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy" in it) as the Master Gracey portrait would be replaced by Jack's Sandy Claws portrait (It still changes) and the 2002 music just sounds more fitting for it. Also I kind of like this track a bit better, but that's just me.

The Stretching Room- 2001 On Music. This is the music you hear in all HMH stretching rooms today.

The Load Area-Grand Staircase- 2002 On Music. This would be the lively version of "Kidnap the Sandy Claws" that you hear in both versions of the HMH today. It is a very catchy jingle and really does capture the zany kind of feel of Jack's Christmas gone wrong. It also really works well in the Tokyo version of the attraction so it would definitely work well here. However as your doom buggy climbs up the Grand Staircase the music would slowly fade away into the next song.

The Corridor of Eyes-The Clock Hall- 2001 Music. The second you pass through the corridor of blinking eyes the previous music would fade away and turn into the 2001 hallway music which was a very eerie tune with a ruined Christmas kind of feel to it. This and Scary Teddy were the two things that made me terrified of HMH when I was little. It wasn't until about 2006 until I started opening my eyes on the attraction again. It also had more of a festive kind of Haunted Mansion feel to it. This means that the man-eating plants in the conservatory will grunt to "Deck the Halls" rather than "Kidnap the Sandy Claws" or the "Scheming Song" whatever it's called.

Seance Circle- 2002 On Music. The 2002 on track for the Seance Room actually feels more like the original seance circle to me. It also has hints of "Making Christmas" in it which will be able to relate to fans of the film.

The Grand Hall- 2001 Music. 2001 had the best ballroom music ever! It was basically a big and demented version of "Carol of the Bells" with opera singers and everything. This was another reason on why I was so scared of the attraction. I couldn't even listen to the actual Christmas carol version of the song without getting nervous. It really makes you feel like you're looking down on a Christmas party being held by ghosts.

The Attic- 2002 On Music. This song is pretty much a demented kiddy version of "What's This, Deck the Halls," and "Jingle Bells." It also has the right pace for the attic.

The Graveyard- 2001/Tokyo Music. This is a lot more zany and lively than the track being used at Disneyland now. It is also very memorable and makes a perfect finale for this wonderful attraction.

Exit Crypt- 2001 Music. This is basically a solemn funeral like chant of "We Wish You a Scary Christmas" it also had a violin or cello playing in the background. This song was the icing on the cake for the original HMH. It made you want to return to the attraction for a second spin. It also stored the frightening memory of what you just saw in your mind...forever...

So what do you think about this selection?

Also I've been thinking about the ride's official mascot: Scary Teddy, the vampire teddy bear who replaces the Raven in both the California and Tokyo overlay. As much as I hated this thing when I was little I have learned to get along with it. I was thinking it'd be great to work him/her into some really funny new gags. Any ideas on this subject, I'm not really that funny when it comes to stuff like this. :xmas:

 

[Disneyson 1]

Yeah, Scary Teddy is like his own "Original Character" now! He should definitely be in there! I like the music choices, good job.

 

[MANEATINGWREATH]

Thanks!

Thanks!

Yeah Scary Teddy is basically in every room of the attraction. He used to freak the heck out of me when I was little. I don't know why he just did. I hope he does for some younger kids at WDW! No that was mean forget I just said that I was just kidding.

Well there a variety of things he can be used for:

At Disneyland he is found emerging from a coffin-shaped box in a stretching portrait, he is seen hiding in an owl burrow in a changing portrait, he is seen fishing for guests in the load area, he is seen hammering nails into the conservatory coffin, he is seen ringing bells in time with Madame Leota's seance, he is seen chewing on Christmas lights in the graveyard, and is seen for the last time blowing into a trumpet above the entrance to the exit crypt. At Tokyo he isn't in a changing portrait, is seen playing the piano in the music room, popping out of a package being held by Sally, and is not seen in the seance circle as the raven remains in place.

Now he is a great character and so much can be done with him. However I don't want to do everything that has already been done with him. As said before I'd like to come up with some new gags for him. I was thinking maybe he could randomly pop out of a package somewhere in the ride and cause another toy (Perhaps that petrified rocking horse seen in the film?) to fall over from fright. It can be kind of like when Mike knocks Randall over in Ride and Go Seek at Tokyo Disneyland. I don't know it doesn't seem very HM-ish.

Well oh well we can think of ideas for the vampire bear later.

So I've also been thinking about new toys which can be added to the attic. Some of them on the top of my head include some which were in Tim Burton's original poem but never featured in the movie. These include a baby doll possesed by a demon, a ventriloquist dummy wielding an axe, and something else I forget the name of. New never before seen or heard of toys would include a red-eyed monkey doll pounding cymbols, a crazed reindeer doll foaming from the mouth and shaking wildly, and maybe even a tiny hatbox with enormous skeletal arms emerging from within. Lots of medieval weapons and other toys not suited for kkids could work here as well.

 

[Disneyson 1]

^And I wonder how easy (or hard it would be to re-dress the Bride Mannequin into a Sally dress and project Sally's face onto it...!

 

[MANEATINGWREATH]

Hmm...

That's a good idea, but what would we have her say, and what would we do with the rest of the attic?

And of course if we can figure anything out we can always do this:

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3469/3389934646_11caf3ca69.jpg

http://www.jtcent.com/disneyland/special/speh05/images/speh05m42.jpg

By the way should we replace the Sinister Eleven portraits scattered throughout the attraction or simply decorate them up for the holidays, meaning we put wreathes and lights around them and maybe put eye masks on them or something like that. If we don't choose to decorate them maybe we could just replace them with these:

http://micechat.com/forums/disneyla...ffect-part-6-prequel-time-unrelenting-54.html

 

[Disneyson 1]

Definitely replace.