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

[GhostHost1000]

I have. And it seems to me Disney geeks like us are some of the only people who pay attention to what's said at D23 and connect that to new updates/additions whenever the are actually opened.

D23 fan convention blue sky announcement about new thing

• fans get excited
• Disney's social media team makes hay
• Everyone but uber fans forgets about said announcement
• Disney gauges public opinion

18 months later, Disney Parks makes an official press release about the new thing

• Casual fans hear for the 1st time, get excited
• Actual official teaser advertising begins
• Everyone forgets about announcement
• Disney adjusts marketing

12 months later, new thing opens

• D+/Disney Channel features
• guests book vacations
• critics write reviews
• vloggers/social media ramps up
• Disney spins the success/failure of the project

I lost you at 18 months later they make an official press release and 12 months later a new thing opens

Are we talking about the same company?

Social media Disney fan sites everywhere pick up these “idea announcements” and post them constantly as if it’s a for sure thing coming…but it’s not. …the next 5 years are going to be a reality check for many including ol Bob…if he makes it that long as CEO

 

[_caleb]

I lost you at 18 months later they make an official press release and 12 months later a new thing opens

Are we talking about the same company?

Social media Disney fan sites everywhere pick up these “idea announcements” and post them constantly as if it’s a for sure thing coming…but it’s not. …the next 5 years are going to be a reality check for many including ol Bob…if he makes it that long as CEO

The Hatbox Ghost AA was demonstrated at the 2013 D23 Expo, and was unveiled at Disneyland on May 9, 2015. At that time, social media lit up with "did you know that HBG was an original to HM?" content. But then they moved on to other things.

Disney's official Parks Blog, which had been teasing the addition, made the official announcement on April 10th, 2015. Again, social media lit up with "did you know...?" content. And then they moved on to other things.

At D23 Expo in 2022, Disney announced HBG for MK's Mansion. DPB made an official announcement about the addition on Sept. 11, 2022. The social media machine spins up again...

 

[lazyboy97o]

I lost you at 18 months later they make an official press release and 12 months later a new thing opens

Are we talking about the same company?

Social media Disney fan sites everywhere pick up these “idea announcements” and post them constantly as if it’s a for sure thing coming…but it’s not. …the next 5 years are going to be a reality check for many including ol Bob…if he makes it that long as CEO

So what you’re saying is that social media influencers are really important and Disney absolutely should make more decisions based on them?

 

[GhostHost1000]

So what you’re saying is that social media influencers are really important and Disney absolutely should make more decisions based on them?

Uh. No. How did you get that from my post?

Disney should make the right decisions. Period. Something they haven’t been good at in years

 

[lazyboy97o]

Uh. No. How did you get that from my post?

Disney should make the right decisions. Period. Something they haven’t been good at in years

You cited “social media Disney fan sites” running with things as an issue. They can only be an issue if they have some importance. But of course complaining is what was more important, not the actuality of what was said.

 

[GhostHost1000]

You cited “social media Disney fan sites” running with things as an issue. They can only be an issue if they have some importance. But of course complaining is what was more important, not the actuality of what was said.

I think you misunderstood me. Social media (not just Disney parks blog) posts these “announcements” that are just ideas as “coming soon!” and run with it for clicks. Therefore lots of people think these ideas are real and under construction Cocoland, zootopia, Villians, etc. when they realize it was just mostly bs is when the Disney of today reality hits

 

[jpeden]

I'm just here to find out if we're gonna see Hat Box on our trip next week.....

 

[Disgruntled Walt]

I'm just here to find out if we're gonna see Hat Box on our trip next week.....

Good luck finding any actual information in this thread! Let me know if you're successful!

 

[SteveAZee]

I think Disney just needs to take a step back and only announce things once they are properly financed/scheduled. Too many projects are announced far too in advance of proper approvals.

Perhaps we should stop paying attention to their announcements and wait until ground is broken.

 

[lazyboy97o]

Perhaps we should stop paying attention to their announcements and wait until ground is broken.

But even when ground is broken doesn’t necessarily tell you a lot. Ground is often broken while significant design work is still well under way.

 

[SteveAZee]

But even when ground is broken doesn’t necessarily tell you a lot. Ground is often broken while significant design work is still well under way.

I'm thinking, in context, that Disney announces things that end up going nowhere and then we get upset or bothered (and occasionally relieved) and there was the suggestion was that Disney should take a step back. My thought is that until ground is broken (or a hole made for the Hotbox Ghost) there's a lot and hand wringing and fussing that goes nowhere. I see your point that even after the work had begun that changes can (and are) made so yeah... there's that level of fussing about it too.

Just saying from a personal perspective it's not great to get invested in things that then disappear. Who knows, if their announcing stuff stops giving them buzz and publicity and excitement (like we stop clicking on vloggers covering the vaporware) then perhaps they'll pull back a bit in announcing things that aren't really ready for prime time.

It's just a thought.

 

[JoeCamel]

Perhaps we should stop paying attention to their announcements and wait until ground is broken.

They control the message......

 

[celluloid]

And by "PR gates," you mean one coordinated effort?

I've been under the impression that there is little, if any, real coordination between what we hear at D23, what we see on TikTok, what's put into an official press release about a new attraction/land/etc, and what we see on Disney+.

Each one has its own media managers and egandgement teams etc...

My post were specifically about announcements of the initial release and are not the same as just entertainment venues repeating information and content engadgement. The first time something is announced and everyone jumps crazy for it, critiques it, first time offiically hearing about it, PR approved what was to be released and when. I brought this up inititally only becuase somoene said that D23 is not a PR event. It most certainly is. Fans, are still the public.

 

[Fido Chuckwagon]

Is it “Late November” yet?

 

[Rhinocerous]

Is it “Late November” yet?

Probably still mid-to-late November. I’d give it a few more days.

 

[celluloid]

If there was really a hiccup of a delay, than did B roll footage for the Christmas parade even happen?

 

[RSoxNo1]

I lost you at 18 months later they make an official press release and 12 months later a new thing opens

Are we talking about the same company?

Social media Disney fan sites everywhere pick up these “idea announcements” and post them constantly as if it’s a for sure thing coming…but it’s not. …the next 5 years are going to be a reality check for many including ol Bob…if he makes it that long as CEO

The 2013 D23 Expo had a repurposed AA as the Hatbox Ghost. It was not what made it into Disneyland's mansion.

 

[FettFan]

If there was really a hiccup of a delay, than did B roll footage for the Christmas parade even happen?

“This is just a delay. ALL major theme parks have delays.”

 

[Andrew25]

Perhaps we should stop paying attention to their announcements and wait until ground is broken.

I've had this mindset for years now, but you can't just ignore announcements made publicly by the company.

 

[Purduevian]

Is it “Late November” yet?

We are 70% of the way through November. My MK day is next week and I am praying it's not the first day of Hat Box. I don't want a 3+ hour line for HM.