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

[Tom Morrow]

Just my 2 cents:

Interactive queue - somewhere between neutral and minus. Having more things to look at is nice, but it plays its hand too early that you shouldn't be scared.

Updated stretching rooms with 3D sound - plus.

New portrait gallery - minus. The old practical effect was more convincing, and having eleven different sets of eyes staring at you was ominous. The new effect just screams "look, there's UV paint hidden on these portraits!" (not sure if that's actually how it's done).

Escher staircase - definite plus, especially over the giant neon spider webs that were there before.

Glowing eye wallpaper - plus, this was more "dead space" (pun not intended) before.

Hatbox ghost - minus, entirely because of placement.

Altered corridor of doors - neutral - I'm not entirely sure on all that was changed, but the removal of some cartoony things like a snarling monster behind a door is a positive as it didn't fit with the tone of the attraction.

Floating Leota - neutral, it makes the effect more impressive, but there's also no real reason for it to be floating.

New attic - minus. The bright LED glowing bride with the projected face isn't creepy. The old floating bride that was silent except for her heartbeat was not only significantly creepier, the entire scene wasn't all dedicated to her.

Removal of (most) popup ghosts and their scream sound effect - plus. It's a tacky effect, there were too many of them, and the screams every few seconds were annoying.

Updated vocal tracks in graveyard - plus. Hated the cartoonish "snobby woman" voice (for lack of a better term).

Updated hitchhiking ghost animatronics - plus, they look really good.

Updated mirror effect - minus - probably the most baffling change for me and reeks of someone higher up trying to justify their job. The old effect was super fun and creepy because it looked real. The ghosts not actually reacting to you just added to the creepy factor. The new effect is just, well, yep, that sure is a projection of a CGI animation. It also usually doesn't even interact with your image correctly.

Recent (unannounced) updated lighting and audio enhancements - plus, the attraction looks and feels new and everything in the graveyard is more vibrant and easy to see while still looking ghostly.

 

[peter11435]

Does anyone know if they removed the mechanism for the original Hitchhiking Ghost effect at the end of the ride or if it's just sitting back there unused?

It’s all long gone

 

[Animaniac93-98]

I noticed you can still see marks on the door next to the 13 hour clock where the monster hands used to be.

 

[Animaniac93-98]

Altered corridor of doors - neutral - I'm not entirely sure on all that was changed, but the removal of some cartoony things like a snarling monster behind a door is a positive as it didn't fit with the tone of the attraction.

More pictures were added to the walls, the red lighting was replaced with a more neutral color, the hands on one of the doors was removed and some sound FX were changed.

It was made to be more like how the scene looks at Disneyland in California. Ignoring that all the changes were intentionally made by WED to begin with.

 

[Animaniac93-98]

I didn't mind when they changed the portrait corridor at first, but the blinding flash photo effect has ruined the scene for me.

 

[yensidtlaw1969]

With respect, their assessment of the animatronic is not quite correct.

Spoiler: Spoilers for how the HBG Effect is achieved

The head on the body is indeed a practical "mask" that is projected into, which recedes quickly into the chest in conjunction with the projection going out, same way the DL version is achieved.

The projected "smoke effects" on the chest of the figure are present at WDW, but it doesn't seem to register in all videos of the figure. I think there is some LED front lighting on the WDW figure in addition to the Blacklight, which maybe makes the projected smoke a little less apparent, but it is visible in several videos.

The Animation of the faces is newly built for WDW, they were able to re-scan the original 1969 sculpt in more detail and created new (similar, but slightly different) animations off of that. The colors in the projection and paint on the figure's body were changed from green-ish at DL to blue-ish at WDW to more closely reflect the color scheme of the WDW Graveyard Ghosts, which have gone very blue in the past couple years as the figures have cycled through their rolling refurbs.

About the bit about the WDW projector shutting off "well before" the head moves down - on close inspection the timing seems *slightly* different, but 1) "well before" is a strong descriptor of fractions of a second, and 2) video is really not the best way to assess this specific concern of theirs. The hair on the figure's head is lit with Blacklight, and at both DL and WDW it sometimes registers on camera even after the Blacklight has been extinguished. So it is sometimes possible to track the movement of the "mask" into and out of the chest on video in a way that isn't actually possible in person, and this phenomenon is visible even in videos from DL dating back to 2015 despite not being visible on the ride. Which doesn't mean this cocern can *automatically* be dismissed, since obviously that would be a problem if it were apparent in person, but it's not the kind of thing that can be fairly judged solely on video for either the DL or WDW figure.

 

[yensidtlaw1969]

At least we still have the DL version as a better representation of the classic experience, although we only get to enjoy that 7.5 months of the year

Brace yourself - 2024 is not looking to be a friendly year to fans of the traditional Disneyland Mansion show.

#ChristmasInJuly

 

[Tom Morrow]

More pictures were added to the walls, the red lighting was replaced with a more neutral color, the hands on one of the doors was removed and some sound FX were changed.

It was made to be more like how the scene looks at Disneyland in California. Ignoring that all the changes were intentionally made by WED to begin with.

Did they add in the famous purple wallpaper to the hallway with this change? I remember the red lighting now and how the portraits were added.

 

[Animaniac93-98]

Did they add in the famous purple wallpaper to the hallway with this change? I remember the red lighting now and how the portraits were added.

Wallpaper was always there, but after the endless hallway.

 

[zipadee999]

Brace yourself - 2024 is not looking to be a friendly year to fans of the traditional Disneyland Mansion show.

#ChristmasInJuly

I certainly don’t like the sound of that! Any thoughts as to why they seem to be pushing haunted mansion holiday so hard lately? I just think guests should be given more opportunity to experience the original mansion in all its glory. It seems like it’s getting longer and longer each year until now it seems like a lucky occurrence to have a trip booked when you can enjoy the original mansion!

 

[yensidtlaw1969]

I certainly don’t like the sound of that! Any thoughts as to why they seem to be pushing haunted mansion holiday so hard lately? I just think guests should be given more opportunity to experience the original mansion in all its glory. It seems like it’s getting longer and longer each year until now it seems like a lucky occurrence to have a trip booked when you can enjoy the original mansion!

The Haunted Mansion Holiday is very popular. It brings in people and makes them a boat load of money.

However, for 2024 the extension is less specifically related to that and more related to the new Queue and Gift Shop they announced for DL's Mansion:

New Haunted Mansion Grounds Expansion, Retail Shop Coming to Disneyland Resort in 2024

The grounds of the Haunted Mansion at Disneyland park will expand in 2024, immersing you in enhanced theming, as well as a new retail shop.

disneyparks.disney.go.com

Sounds like the HMH will close in January like normal, but then construction on the new stuff will go until July, at which point it'd be "silly" to take out the Holiday stuff just to have to close the ride again a month later and put it back in. So it sounds like Christmas will come early.

Can't help but wonder if that'll impact demand for the HMH next year. Surely the fact that it's temporary plays somewhat into its popularity.

 

[marni1971]

With respect, their assessment of the animatronic is not quite correct.

Spoiler: Spoilers for how the HBG Effect is achieved

The head on the body is indeed a practical "mask" that is projected into, which recedes quickly into the chest in conjunction with the projection going out, same way the DL version is achieved.

The projected "smoke effects" on the chest of the figure are present at WDW, but it doesn't seem to register in all videos of the figure. I think there is some LED front lighting on the WDW figure in addition to the Blacklight, which maybe makes the projected smoke a little less apparent, but it is visible in several videos.

The Animation of the faces is newly built for WDW, they were able to re-scan the original 1969 sculpt in more detail and created new (similar, but slightly different) animations off of that. The colors in the projection and paint on the figure's body were changed from green-ish at DL to blue-ish at WDW to more closely reflect the color scheme of the WDW Graveyard Ghosts, which have gone very blue in the past couple years as the figures have cycled through their rolling refurbs.

About the bit about the WDW projector shutting off "well before" the head moves down - on close inspection the timing seems *slightly* different, but 1) "well before" is a strong descriptor of fractions of a second, and 2) video is really not the best way to assess this specific concern of theirs. The hair on the figure's head is lit with Blacklight, and at both DL and WDW it sometimes registers on camera even after the Blacklight has been extinguished. So it is sometimes possible to track the movement of the "mask" into and out of the chest on video in a way that isn't actually possible in person, and this phenomenon is visible even in videos from DL dating back to 2015 despite not being visible on the ride. Which doesn't mean this cocern can *automatically* be dismissed, since obviously that would be a problem if it were apparent in person, but it's not the kind of thing that can be fairly judged solely on video for either the DL or WDW figure.

Possibly not. I’ve only sat in front of the Anaheim version so who am I to argue

 

[Touchdown]

The Haunted Mansion Holiday is very popular. It brings in people and makes them a boat load of money.

However, for 2024 the extension is less specifically related to that and more related to the new Queue and Gift Shop they announced for DL's Mansion:

New Haunted Mansion Grounds Expansion, Retail Shop Coming to Disneyland Resort in 2024

The grounds of the Haunted Mansion at Disneyland park will expand in 2024, immersing you in enhanced theming, as well as a new retail shop.

disneyparks.disney.go.com

Sounds like the HMH will close in January like normal, but then construction on the new stuff will go until July, at which point it'd be "silly" to take out the Holiday stuff just to have to close the ride again a month later and put it back in. So it sounds like Christmas will come early.

Can't help but wonder if that'll impact demand for the HMH next year. Surely the fact that it's temporary plays somewhat into its popularity.

Wonder if DLR does a move up of Halloween to August to add more OBB dates.

 

[yensidtlaw1969]

Wonder if DLR does a move up of Halloween to August to add more OBB dates.

Wouldn't be shocked, but I don't know one way or the other on that.

 

[MerlinTheGoat]

With respect, their assessment of the animatronic is not quite correct.

Spoiler: Spoilers for how the HBG Effect is achieved

The head on the body is indeed a practical "mask" that is projected into, which recedes quickly into the chest in conjunction with the projection going out, same way the DL version is achieved.

The projected "smoke effects" on the chest of the figure are present at WDW, but it doesn't seem to register in all videos of the figure. I think there is some LED front lighting on the WDW figure in addition to the Blacklight, which maybe makes the projected smoke a little less apparent, but it is visible in several videos.

The Animation of the faces is newly built for WDW, they were able to re-scan the original 1969 sculpt in more detail and created new (similar, but slightly different) animations off of that. The colors in the projection and paint on the figure's body were changed from green-ish at DL to blue-ish at WDW to more closely reflect the color scheme of the WDW Graveyard Ghosts, which have gone very blue in the past couple years as the figures have cycled through their rolling refurbs.

About the bit about the WDW projector shutting off "well before" the head moves down - on close inspection the timing seems *slightly* different, but 1) "well before" is a strong descriptor of fractions of a second, and 2) video is really not the best way to assess this specific concern of theirs. The hair on the figure's head is lit with Blacklight, and at both DL and WDW it sometimes registers on camera even after the Blacklight has been extinguished. So it is sometimes possible to track the movement of the "mask" into and out of the chest on video in a way that isn't actually possible in person, and this phenomenon is visible even in videos from DL dating back to 2015 despite not being visible on the ride. Which doesn't mean this cocern can *automatically* be dismissed, since obviously that would be a problem if it were apparent in person, but it's not the kind of thing that can be fairly judged solely on video for either the DL or WDW figure.

Having seen the figure in person, I can at least attest that the transition lighting effect in the ribcage is VERY dim and difficult to see. Moreso than video capture (modern cameras are light sponges and seem to capture the effect better than the human eye can, or at least my eyes).

The Haunted Mansion Holiday is very popular. It brings in people and makes them a boat load of money.

I'm sort of neutral on the overlay, but if it's as profitable as you say it is, do you know why they don't do it at WDW?

 

[yensidtlaw1969]

Having seen the figure in person, I can at least attest that the transition lighting effect in the ribcage is VERY dim and difficult to see. Moreso than video capture (modern cameras are light sponges and seem to capture the effect better than the human eye can, or at least my eyes).


I'm sort of neutral on the overlay, but if it's as profitable as you say it is, do you know why they don't do it at WDW?

Cultural differences between DL and WDW management, basically. WDW already makes a boatload of money, whether they spend for the overlay or not. Especially at Halloween and Christmas. They figure the added expense won't move the needle for them. Plus they find the significant downtime unattractive.

 

[Scuttle]

Cultural differences between DL and WDW management, basically. WDW already makes a boatload of money, whether they spend for the overlay or not. Especially at Halloween and Christmas. They figure the added expense won't move the needle for them. Plus they find the significant downtime unattractive.

Exactly, most tourists coming to WDW are coming regardless of a holiday overlay or not. Disneyland obviously has to cater to locals and a ton of repeat business.

 

[ᗩLᘿᑕ ✨ ᗩζᗩᗰ]

I'm sort of neutral on the overlay, but if it's as profitable as you say it is, do you know why they don't do it at WDW?

I think If WDW were to ever do a holiday overlay, a treatment touching on Dickensian Christmas Carol themes and those of Clement Clarke's "A Visit from St. Nicholas" would be the better option. It'd certainly be a more cost effective overlay. But would it move the needle? Probably not. And I'm pretty sure people aren't going to line up for A Christmas Carol plushies. So the likelihood of it ever happening is ridiculously slim. Still, it'd be fun to visit MK's mansion for a festive overlay.

Now back to your regularly schedule discussion.

 

[yensidtlaw1969]

I think If WDW were to ever do a holiday overlay, a treatment touching on Dickensian Christmas Carol themes and those of Clement Clarke's "A Visit from St. Nicholas" would be the better option. It'd certainly be a more cost effective overlay. But would it move the needle? Probably not. And I'm pretty sure people aren't going to line up for A Christmas Carol plushies. So the likelihood of it ever happening is ridiculously slim. Still, it'd be fun to visit MK's mansion for a festive overlay.

Now back to your regularly schedule discussion.

Ironically, after Small World Holiday hit big at DL they started looking at other overlays that might work in the park and some parallels were drawn between the Mansion and A Christmas Carol - Fezziwigs Party could work in the Ballroom, Ghost of Christmas Future in the Graveyard . . . ultimately it didn't feel like it fit well enough, but that opened the door for a Holiday overlay to the Mansion. They circled the idea until they realized Nightmare was a more logical IP and The Haunted Mansion Holiday was born.

 

[Roger_the_pianist]

It could be neat if the Nightmare overlay took turns from year to year alternating between Disneyland and WDW.

For the Mansion fans who loathe it being NBC 4 months a year, I wish they'd just make a whole new Fantasyland style darkride with the overlay stuff that exits into a huge Jack Skellington gift shop year round. Mini Christmasland, it could have a normal Christmas shop, a bakery...it would make money all year long...