A Photo Tribute to the Haunted Mansion

[WithEerieEyes]

And yes, I am a new member..hello all! Figured would just jump right in as it were, so a small tribute to my favorite Disneyland attraction is in order, via a selection of my photos...enjoy and thanks for looking! Apologies if this thread is in the wrong place in advance..

 

[DisneyDadof5]

Great shots! Would love to see more.

 

[Admiral01]

Incredible photography. I typically take pictures of the attractions, but these are photographs. Haunted Mansion at Disneyland is an incredibly visually stunning attraction, and you captured it really, really well. It is so easy for us to look past the beauty of the architecture throughout the Disney parks, and I am so happy to see someone else paying attention to the amazing masterpieces that have been created for our enjoyment. We would love to see more of your eye's work from the parks. Keep them coming!

 

[WithEerieEyes]

Thank you both very much! I greatly appreciate it. A few more shots..

 

[WithEerieEyes]

And here I am again...hello! New photos to share.

 

[Rufus T Firefly]

Very well done. Thanks for sharing.

 

[AswaySuller]

Fantastic what wonderful shots.

 

[Admiral01]

And once again, great job. I've never noticked the "Ghost Relations" sign. Where is that? The way you capture the light is excellent. I would love to see what you would do with a clear night here in Washington DC. The monuments and buildings are best viewed at night with their lights on, and I think you would do a great job capturing them on camera.

What kind of camera do you use? Nothing I do ever looks this good.

 

[TP2000]

And once again, great job. I've never noticked the "Ghost Relations" sign. Where is that?

It's a fun story that's now 50 years old. The Haunted Mansion at Disneyland was actually built in the winter of 1962-63, and the ride was supposed to be a walk-through tour. Once the house was finished in early '63, work on the ride was stopped so that Walt and the Imagineers could move their attention to building the four big pavilions for the New York World's Fair. When they came back to the Mansion later in the 60's it had morphed from a walk-through to an Omnimover (after the lessons they learned about moving people at the Fair). But the house sat there in Disneyland near the Indian Village from 1963 to 1969, empty and closed off behind the wrought iron gates.

To give the house a spooky vibe during the 1963-69 period, they had a big sign up on the fence that invited ghosts to apply to inhabit the mansion. Interested applicants were supposed to contact Disneyland's "Ghost Relations" department, a play on the Guest Relations office in City Hall on Main Street. Here's a pic of the sign from 1963.

Take the picture honey, mommy needs another cigarette!

Then the attraction opened in 1969, and a hearse was later added in front of the house alongside the queue. Inside the hearse is a smaller version of the original sign from the 1960's. You can see the sign inside the coffin chamber, on the little stand towards the front. The sign so nicely photographed by WithErieEyes is visible and readable as you pass by in the queue.


Haunted Mansion Hearse by Preservationist1, on Flickr

The hearse gets decorated for the Holiday version, but the sign remains and invites any interested spirits to apply to the Disneyland Ghost Relations department. A fun throwback nearly 50 years to the ride that got put on hold for six years while Walt worked on other projects.