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

Animaniac93-98

Well-Known Member
Brace yourself - Disneyland seems primed to get their own version of the CGI Hitchhikers during its ongoing refurb. Along with a few other unique surprises.

šŸ˜¬

Your earlier post about the Mansion as old-time Magic Show is spot on.

Thanks. I'm probably parroting something I've read elsewhere before, but it seemed relevant to bring up again to contrast with the kinds of effects added in recent years.
 

MerlinTheGoat

Well-Known Member
Well, it turns out the reason the Hatbox Ghost ended up next to the Endless Hallway is because WDW management wouldn't give WDI the proper funds to create his balcony outside the attic. I have updated my article to reflect this.
I sort of assumed it was budget related, but yensidtlaw1969 was quite insistent that there were complications involved with this area at WDW specifically that prevented it from being installed (or at least made it much more difficult and expensive than it was out at DL, which he claims didn't have these complications).

I don't disbelieve your assertion as I always figured it would be possible to overcome with a proper budget regardless, but still curious to know where you found this confirmation.
 

yensidtlaw1969

Well-Known Member
Well, it turns out the reason the Hatbox Ghost ended up next to the Endless Hallway is because WDW management wouldn't give WDI the proper funds to create his balcony outside the attic. I have updated my article to reflect this.
It's worth reiterating that this situation is a little more complex than it sounds.

There are indeed structural (and infrastructural) differences between the Disneyland and WDW Mansions that genuinely made it prohibitively expensive to install him in his Disneyland location. I say this as someone who isn't known for kissing the feet of beancounters when they shortchange us - the expense would have been much larger than it appears on its face.

Truthfully, I think at that point it would have been best to reconsider adding him at all. But some trains can't be stopped.
 

yensidtlaw1969

Well-Known Member
I sort of assumed it was budget related, but yensidtlaw1969 was quite insistent that there were complications involved with this area at WDW specifically that prevented it from being installed (or at least made it much more difficult and expensive than it was out at DL, which he claims didn't have these complications).

I don't disbelieve your assertion as I always figured it would be possible to overcome with a proper budget regardless, but still curious to know where you found this confirmation.
It's complex. There are many places in the WDW Mansion The Hatbox Ghost couldn't go, and multiple different reasons that's the case. The Endless Hallway is one of only a few places he could have reasonably gone at WDW, and the other ones aren't necessarily better.

I truly would love to rip this whole thing wide open, but I've been asked by multiple people not to. Best I can say is that it really was complex.
 

MerlinTheGoat

Well-Known Member
I mean, if they were hell bent on adding Hattie but with no chance of him being added to the balcony, i'd have been in favor of restructuring parts of the attic to make space for him in there. Along with a new bride if lighting was a concern (but I also hate the current bride, so i'm a bit biased in favor of another attic overhaul to implement a more classic quiet and scary bride).

I do think I really would rather not have him at all than where they place him. He ruins the hallway scene IMO. Sort of reminds me of the insertion of a new Barbossa AA into DLP's POTC right in front of the old iconic skeleton shipwreck scene. As cool and high quality as these figures may be in a vacuum, it's putting things where they don't belong.
 

peter11435

Well-Known Member
Well, it turns out the reason the Hatbox Ghost ended up next to the Endless Hallway is because WDW management wouldn't give WDI the proper funds to create his balcony outside the attic. I have updated my article to reflect this.
Way more complicated than what you claim here.
 

UNCgolf

Well-Known Member
I mean, if they were hell bent on adding Hattie but with no chance of him being added to the balcony, i'd have been in favor of restructuring parts of the attic to make space for him in there. Along with a new bride if lighting was a concern (but I also hate the current bride, so i'm a bit biased in favor of another attic overhaul to implement a more classic quiet and scary bride).

I do think I really would rather not have him at all than where they place him. He ruins the hallway scene IMO. Sort of reminds me of the insertion of a new Barbossa AA into DLP's POTC right in front of the old iconic skeleton shipwreck scene. As cool and high quality as these figures may be in a vacuum, it's putting things where they don't belong.

I'd also prefer he was left out of the ride.

I'm glad they were willing to plus the attraction, but in this instance the compromise they apparently had to make just didn't work. The Endless Hallway is better (despite being much simpler), and his presence right next to it means both he and the hallway end up diminished.
 

Kittlesona

Active Member
I truly would love to rip this whole thing wide open, but I've been asked by multiple people not to. Best I can say is that it really was complex.
COMPLETELY understand that you canā€™t say more, but I hope this story comes out at some point FAR in the future. This has consumed a lot more of my brain space than I want to admit.
 

Squishy

Well-Known Member
Hungry Cat GIF
 

Magicart87

No Refunds!
Premium Member
Imagineering could benefit from a little retrospective. And reread some of it's founding principals and core commandments... Or at least listen to reason, fandom and internal counter arguments. Unrelated, seems like Uni isn't having any difficulty in poaching former Imagineers. šŸ¤” Wonder why?

And yes, I definitely feel like Hattie's placement is a blight on the Orlando mansion. But, whatever.
 

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