As a UK visitor and Haunted mansion fan I really do find the Foyer pre-show badly presented, inconsistent and unreliable presentation wise. Firstly I'll say it's something of a myth that some years back they used to have it hold for much longer before starting. As far back as the 80s I can only ever remember there being about 30 seconds or so between the stretch room closing and the next foyer sequence beginning - it may very well have been different in the E-Ticket days but this is the only way I remember it. It is still like that today, but with one major issue - the portrait has been given at some point after the 2007 refurb a head start over the spiel rather than change in time with it. My only guess is this was done because the original timing was overlapping the stretch room opening by the last two stages, so it was brought forward to finish before it so guests wouldn't linger and watch it.
Now to be fair, most Cast Members can still open the doors before the spiel begins, with on an average day a good 10-15 seconds to spare which is fine. But as the portrait now ages almost three stages in advance of the spiel there is literally only about 15 seconds until it changes again which is leaving next to no time to admit the next group before this happens, especially when you have to take sluggish walking-in into account also. As the Cast Member can not always be ready to pounce on the door after the previous group has gone in, the first guests behind the door's experience ranges from just about catching the first stage (and this must be achieved literally by opening the door as soon as the previous has been closed in), to seeing stage two or three as they walk in, or the ultimate bad one, the spiel begins as they walk into the corridor and they see the decrepit stage first.
My questions are why on earth after all these years has nobody in charge of programming these sequences worked out (or cared) that this is not adequate for a consistent first through the door experience? I really don't see the point of selling Master Gracey related merchandise and the like if nobody is going to know who he is, as to most (including the front of the group at times) he is not seen by them as depicted on t-shirts and badges. If they really do want it finished before the stretch room opens, I would rather see the timing sped up a little and put back to beginning on the second line as it should. At least then anoraks on the ride know what to expect, because these days even if the narration has not begun you have no idea of what you are going to see as you walk in.
My second question is to Cast Members or those in the know. I have been on absolutely empty late nights, waited outside the closed door, only to be admitted as the spiel begins. Now as a foreign Guest who's spent a lot of time and money getting there, I find that unacceptable - but who is to blame? As far as I'm concerned, if the ride is empty whoever is in the Foyer has nothing to do other than open the door for the next group. Hardly anyone went in ahead of us, so why the hold up for over half a minute? In that scenario, I will always say I'll stay and see that scene again thank you very much. Don't want to put all the blame on the Cast Member, but petty as it sounds, if I'm bringing family members for the first time I'd like them to see things done properly. You can't set a standard for long running visitors and then suddenly not keep it up - but if there is genuine reason for this out of the Cast Member's control, I'm listening.
It is clear to me that with big crowds, this timed loop sequence - which is obviously very tight - doesn't work so well anymore , clear also by the fact the load hall is still jam packed when a group enters it, it should ideally be almost empty not to cause back-ups.
My fix would be for when the stretching room closes, for the foyer sequence and next stretching room to pause, and when the Cast Member opens the door or presses a button at the door, the foyer resets and gives 30 seconds to the scene beginning, and then everything from aging portrait to stretch room sequence is automated from that point. This would create a much more consistent experience, and would only really cause a pause of a about 20-30 seconds in the timing, not minutes. And let's face it, the load hall will still not be totally clear either, so on a busy day as long as the stretch room group gets to the load hall before the previous has fully boarded the buggies it has made no difference to the people boarding per hour as the line has not technically been split up with a gap.
I appreciate not many will care about this long winded whine, but am sure Haunted Mansion fans will see some sense in this...
Now to be fair, most Cast Members can still open the doors before the spiel begins, with on an average day a good 10-15 seconds to spare which is fine. But as the portrait now ages almost three stages in advance of the spiel there is literally only about 15 seconds until it changes again which is leaving next to no time to admit the next group before this happens, especially when you have to take sluggish walking-in into account also. As the Cast Member can not always be ready to pounce on the door after the previous group has gone in, the first guests behind the door's experience ranges from just about catching the first stage (and this must be achieved literally by opening the door as soon as the previous has been closed in), to seeing stage two or three as they walk in, or the ultimate bad one, the spiel begins as they walk into the corridor and they see the decrepit stage first.
My questions are why on earth after all these years has nobody in charge of programming these sequences worked out (or cared) that this is not adequate for a consistent first through the door experience? I really don't see the point of selling Master Gracey related merchandise and the like if nobody is going to know who he is, as to most (including the front of the group at times) he is not seen by them as depicted on t-shirts and badges. If they really do want it finished before the stretch room opens, I would rather see the timing sped up a little and put back to beginning on the second line as it should. At least then anoraks on the ride know what to expect, because these days even if the narration has not begun you have no idea of what you are going to see as you walk in.
My second question is to Cast Members or those in the know. I have been on absolutely empty late nights, waited outside the closed door, only to be admitted as the spiel begins. Now as a foreign Guest who's spent a lot of time and money getting there, I find that unacceptable - but who is to blame? As far as I'm concerned, if the ride is empty whoever is in the Foyer has nothing to do other than open the door for the next group. Hardly anyone went in ahead of us, so why the hold up for over half a minute? In that scenario, I will always say I'll stay and see that scene again thank you very much. Don't want to put all the blame on the Cast Member, but petty as it sounds, if I'm bringing family members for the first time I'd like them to see things done properly. You can't set a standard for long running visitors and then suddenly not keep it up - but if there is genuine reason for this out of the Cast Member's control, I'm listening.
It is clear to me that with big crowds, this timed loop sequence - which is obviously very tight - doesn't work so well anymore , clear also by the fact the load hall is still jam packed when a group enters it, it should ideally be almost empty not to cause back-ups.
My fix would be for when the stretching room closes, for the foyer sequence and next stretching room to pause, and when the Cast Member opens the door or presses a button at the door, the foyer resets and gives 30 seconds to the scene beginning, and then everything from aging portrait to stretch room sequence is automated from that point. This would create a much more consistent experience, and would only really cause a pause of a about 20-30 seconds in the timing, not minutes. And let's face it, the load hall will still not be totally clear either, so on a busy day as long as the stretch room group gets to the load hall before the previous has fully boarded the buggies it has made no difference to the people boarding per hour as the line has not technically been split up with a gap.
I appreciate not many will care about this long winded whine, but am sure Haunted Mansion fans will see some sense in this...
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