Fixes for the Haunted Mansion

[Phroobar]

I would like to see the Raven given a more prominent role in the ride. It was suppose to be our companion as we walk through the Mansion. In the stretching room, there was concept art of the Raven up in the attic instead of a swaying corpse.

The record said the Raven flew in and perched on a bookcase.

 

[George Lucas on a Bench]

They made the right choice there. The Raven's already in the conservatory, seance room, ballroom, graveyard descent and crypt. That's just about every major scene of the ride portion!

 

[THE 1HAPPY HAUNT]

BUMP! BUMP! BUMP IT UP!!!! SO...if I was in charge I would restore The Mansion to it's original version however I would use THE BRIDE from the 90's in the attic. the one with throbbing hear and the eyes that glowed. best bride ever and I would keep HATTY but move him back to his original position in the attic. also I would return PIRATES back to it's original form. that would be my first order of business if I ran the parks. no more PC junk. ALL RESTORED. including the naked woman in the wheel barrel, the pirates chasing the women, the auction scene fully restored. and NO MORE JACK SPARROW or BARBOSA.

 

[THE 1HAPPY HAUNT]

and the HAUNTED MANSION HOLIDAY would be gone forever never to be returned. THE HAUNTED MANSION would be THE HAUNTED MANSION all year.

 

[SuddenStorm]

This is the second thread bumped by @THE 1HAPPY HAUNT where I've read the whole thing thinking it was new, only to get to the last page where I see that it's a bump.

 

[Phroobar]

BUMP! BUMP! BUMP IT UP!!!! SO...if I was in charge I would restore The Mansion to it's original version however I would use THE BRIDE from the 90's in the attic. the one with throbbing hear and the eyes that glowed. best bride ever and I would keep HATTY but move him back to his original position in the attic. also I would return PIRATES back to it's original form. that would be my first order of business if I ran the parks. no more PC junk. ALL RESTORED. including the naked woman in the wheel barrel, the pirates chasing the women, the auction scene fully restored. and NO MORE JACK SPARROW or BARBOSA.

What woman in the wheel barrel?

 

[nevol]

If you had control over what project to work on next at Disneyland, what changes or fixes would you do the Haunted Mansion? I would fix the ceiling in the graveyard scene so it doesn't look like ceiling tiles are falling off. I would also add some additional sounds of wood stretching or creeking to the stretching room.

Make the hatbox ghost less cheesy. Les blue light. Same with the bride... shes awful

 

[JD2000]

The attic scene changes need to go. The perfectly positioned portraits bug me the most. And please correct me, but doesn't constance change the original story (dude was a secret pirate, pushed his bride out the window after she finds out, then hung himself in the stretching room or something)?

 

[mickEblu]

The attic scene changes need to go. The perfectly positioned portraits bug me the most. And please correct me, but doesn't constance change the original story (dude was a secret pirate, pushed his bride out the window after she finds out, then hung himself in the stretching room or something)?

Great now I’ll always notice the perfectly positioned portraits. I guess we can always rationalize it though by imagining that the ghosts want us to see the portraits. I mean it’s easier than rationalizing why we’re all in buggy’s on an omnivmover going through a Mansion. With that said, I don’t think ride vehicles and tracks have to be completely part of the story. I mean if they can make it seamless great but their are certain things that can’t be avoided.

 

[THE 1HAPPY HAUNT]

This is the second thread bumped by @THE 1HAPPY HAUNT where I've read the whole thing thinking it was new, only to get to the last page where I see that it's a bump.

You're Welcome

 

[THE 1HAPPY HAUNT]

What woman in the wheel barrel?

the barrel that jack sparrow pops out of on the ride currently once had a naked woman who poped her head out and the fat pirate next to it had her clothes on his finger tip indicating he took it off her and she is naked in the barrel.

 

[SuddenStorm]

The attic scene changes need to go. The perfectly positioned portraits bug me the most. And please correct me, but doesn't constance change the original story (dude was a secret pirate, pushed his bride out the window after she finds out, then hung himself in the stretching room or something)?

The pirate captain story was originally considered by Ken Anderson while he was developing concepts for the Mansion. The Imagineers that finished and actually built the ride were inspired by some of Ken Anderson's concepts- but the Sea Captain story is NOT the story used in the Mansion.

The story for the Mansion is simple: You're touring a retirement home for ghosts. The first half of the ride, the ghosts are unable to materialize- they're frightful and angry. After the seance, they're able to materialize and you learn that they really have no interest in you.

The attic scene served as a sort of "gotcha" for the whole premise of the mansion. While most of the jokes you see are happy and socializing, the original attic scene was far more sinister.

When the mansion originally opened- the attic scene was far different from today. As you entered, you heard the famous heartbeat- with skulls popping out of hatboxes. As you worked your way in, on the left hand side (where the ghost piano player is now) there was a moldy corpse bride. The bride's intentions are left ambiguous- which further added to the suspense of the segment. Then, before you exited the attic, on the right hand side (where the bride figure stood for most of the Mansion's existence) there was a figure dressed in a tuxedo (the groom?)- who's head transferred to the hatbox and back. This clarifies the bride's intentions you had seen, and explained why there were skulls popping in and out of hatboxes.

Of course, this all changed soon after opening when the hatbox ghost was removed and the bride was relocated to his former place.

But the most important part? The scene could be interpreted different ways by the viewer. It was left to be interpreted by the guest, it wasn't a story hamfisted in via lousy dialogue and projections. And don't ask me how the hatbox ghost fits into the attic now.

 

[THE 1HAPPY HAUNT]

The pirate captain story was originally considered by Ken Anderson while he was developing concepts for the Mansion. The Imagineers that finished and actually built the ride were inspired by some of Ken Anderson's concepts- but the Sea Captain story is NOT the story used in the Mansion.

The story for the Mansion is simple: You're touring a retirement home for ghosts. The first half of the ride, the ghosts are unable to materialize- they're frightful and angry. After the seance, they're able to materialize and you learn that they really have no interest in you.

The attic scene served as a sort of "gotcha" for the whole premise of the mansion. While most of the jokes you see are happy and socializing, the original attic scene was far more sinister.

When the mansion originally opened- the attic scene was far different from today. As you entered, you heard the famous heartbeat- with skulls popping out of hatboxes. As you worked your way in, on the left hand side (where the ghost piano player is now) there was a moldy corpse bride. The bride's intentions are left ambiguous- which further added to the suspense of the segment. Then, before you exited the attic, on the right hand side (where the bride figure stood for most of the Mansion's existence) there was a figure dressed in a tuxedo (the groom?)- who's head transferred to the hatbox and back. This clarifies the bride's intentions you had seen, and explained why there were skulls popping in and out of hatboxes.

Of course, this all changed soon after opening when the hatbox ghost was removed and the bride was relocated to his former place.

But the most important part? The scene could be interpreted different ways by the viewer. It was left to be interpreted by the guest, it wasn't a story hamfisted in via lousy dialogue and projections. And don't ask me how the hatbox ghost fits into the attic now.

The Hatbox Ghost never wore a tux. he had back then the same outfit he has today and in the posters that featured him as you went under the railroad after entering the park even though he was no longer on the ride.

 

[SuddenStorm]

The Hatbox Ghost never wore a tux. he had back then the same outfit he has today and in the posters that featured him as you went under the railroad after entering the park even though he was no longer on the ride.

Looks to me like he's wearing formal attire. Fancy overcoat, cane, top hat? Looks like a ghostly attempt at what you'd expect the groom to wear.

You're right though, I should have said "formal attire" not tuxedo.

Here's an interesting rightup on the ghost:

https://longforgottenhauntedmansion.blogspot.com/2010/05/hat-box-ghost.html

 

[THE 1HAPPY HAUNT]

View attachment 317707

Looks to me like he's wearing formal attire. Fancy overcoat, cane, top hat? Looks like a ghostly attempt at what you'd expect the groom to wear.

You're right though, I should have said "formal attire" not tuxedo.

Here's an interesting rightup on the ghost:

https://longforgottenhauntedmansion.blogspot.com/2010/05/hat-box-ghost.html

Yes. formal wear is a better description. but I never consider the bride and Hatbox to be connected in anyway. the fact that his head comes off and constance uses a axe is incidental. I always took it as they were just 2 ghosts in the attic. the beauty of THE MANSION is that is has no formal story. it is a experience. everyone is trying to make connects to who owned it and such but that is not the point of the ride. I never ever considered The Bride to be someone who lived in the house when she was alive. I always considered her just a take on the 'bride waiting eternally for her beloveded who will never come' trope that has shown up in many ghost stories over time all over the world. they just wanted a bride like that to be in the ride. she found her way to the retirement home for ghosts in DISNEYLAND.

 

[nevol]

I like the pictures in the attic! Really creepy. Right level of photorealism and the color balance is perfect. The rest of the new stuff is junk. They stick out like pixar characters. Way too digital looking. need to be higher def and faster frame rate if they are to keep them. They look pixelated, I can see the red/green/blue, and its really bad.

 

[SuddenStorm]

Yes. formal wear is a better description. but I never consider the bride and Hatbox to be connected in anyway. the fact that his head comes off and constance uses a axe is incidental. I always took it as they were just 2 ghosts in the attic. the beauty of THE MANSION is that is has no formal story. it is a experience. everyone is trying to make connects to who owned it and such but that is not the point of the ride. I never ever considered The Bride to be someone who lived in the house when she was alive. I always considered her just a take on the 'bride waiting eternally for her beloveded who will never come' trope that has shown up in many ghost stories over time all over the world. they just wanted a bride like that to be in the ride. she found her way to the retirement home for ghosts in DISNEYLAND.

To clarify- I was referring to the Mansion as it was intended to be back in '69. Not the current Constance version. And the original intent is that the hatbox ghost and bride were, in fact, connected. Of course, that was lost very early on- especially as Hatbox ghost took on an independent persona in Mansion fandom and lore.

Read through the Long Forgotten blog, they have an excellent series on the bride + attic + hatbox ghost. That's where I get my Mansion info from.

 

[Phroobar]

To clarify- I was referring to the Mansion as it was intended to be back in '69. Not the current Constance version. And the original intent is that the hatbox ghost and bride were, in fact, connected. Of course, that was lost very early on- especially as Hatbox ghost took on an independent persona in Mansion fandom and lore.

Read through the Long Forgotten blog, they have an excellent series on the bride + attic + hatbox ghost. That's where I get my Mansion info from.

I used to hate the HM attic as a kid. It was scary stuff!

There were all these monsters that would popup and scream as we passed by. The bride's heart beating added a huge level of tension. I always closed my eyes until I could hear the graveyard music.

This is the MK version. The DL one was similar but the monsters were dressed different and the bride was better.

 

[kjb101791]

Just rode it with the Nightmare overlay for the first time and it was so stupid I seriously could not believe it. Please don't think Orlando needs that.

 

[SuddenStorm]

Just rode it with the Nightmare overlay for the first time and it was so stupid I seriously could not believe it. Please don't think Orlando needs that.

Agreed. Frankly, it's disgusting. One of the most popular attractions ever built, with one of the most loyal followings- and it gets an overlay for 1/3 of the year?

Overlays are never as strong as the original experience, since adapting a new experience to pre existing infrastructure will always limit the creativity of those involved.