Hatbox Ghost Returns soon

[drew81]

Quoted for truth. Well said.

As for Hatbox...yeah. Eventually he'll turn up. Been ready to go for months and months now.

And then some.

Would the install be something they could do at night? Or would they need to install it during a lengthy rehab?

 

[Lee]

Would the install be something they could do at night? Or would they need to install it during a lengthy rehab?

I would think it could be done over one or two nights.

 

[wolf359]

Oh please, can we not go down this road again...they added some trinkets (that actually are kind of fun, as is watching kids get amazed by them) to what is a pretty standard outdoor queue. Some people are (pun intended) mortified by them, a lot of people are amused at them, but nothing inside those doors was affected so the "artistic intent" of the ride remains. You can see Splash and Thunder next door, it's not like it was some enclosed pristine environment to begin with.

Oh, I know, "queue queue queue! as important as the ride!" but seriously...a few people are going on like they painted the walls of the stretching room pink and now have fluffy little white bunnies doing the Macarena under colored lights instead of pitch black darkness and the hanging noose.

The other new addition, the new Hitchhiking Ghosts, is probably one of the best received effects I've ever seen, people are shocked, amazed, and laughing in delight compared to the "oh isn't that neat" effect before which was simply mildly amusing.

The 2007 additions were simply amazing, although I agree with a poster above that the weakest part is the Bride herself - it's just a terribly done effect, it's clearly a projection, and I'm surprised because it looks worse than other similar effects that are much older elsewhere in the mansion. I don't understand why they didn't sculpt the face a bit to give it some angles, because when the effect is projected it just looks like it's flat and you can see the underlying material.

The Mansion is better than ever, though - it's easily the most lovingly cared for and kept-up attraction at WDW. (Yes, yes, not saying much, I know, haha.)

^Couldn't agree more. Nothing says ridiculous frothing fanboy to me than the way people get agitated over the Haunted Mansion.

Nothing in the queue ruins the attraction. It's foreshadowing at best, and lighthearted fun for kids (and adults like me) with short attention spans at worst. To say that it's anything worse requires huge leaps of logic and reading way more into it than is there. It's not as if the Imagineers went and took a dump on the Constitution. They added some small gags that do a great job at entertaining (*gasp* the purpose of the park!) to a bland queue. Not everything is executed brilliantly, but it is hardly as "damaging" as some people claim.

I think some people fail to realize not everyone is obsessed with the attraction as much as the folks on some websites dedicated to it. Those people are probably .000000000001% of all guests, yet they have far and away the loudest voices online.

Both of you summed my feelings exactly. The new cemetery is pretty cool, especially at night and the new hitchhiking ghosts are really well done and create a lot of positive buzz leaving the attraction.

I think they've done a great job freshening up the Mansion and keeping it current while still being respectful to the original. I agree the bride is the least successful update but the overall effect of all of the changes have made the Mansion much more appealing to me.

 

[comics101]

I'm taking a trip to WDW this August and can't wait to experience the new queue! It looks fantastic. My only concern is that in the last pictures I've seen you could see the HM showbuilding. I'm assuming they worked on hiding it again as no one seems to be mentioning it...I hope anyways. For those who've seen the new additions, have they rehidden the showbuilding?

 

[Scar Junior]

Foreshadowing things that should not be foreshadowed. The banshees on the organ especially is completely out of line with the Attraction. No ghosts are to appear prior to Leota and it makes no sense for the banshees to be sculpted in there because of the fact that they do not exist without Leota so what are they doing on a grave built year in advance. Who carves images of ghosts on a grave?
Another important point is that you should not know that the Ghosts are friendly. All the buildup is you get a sense of foreboding until the ghosts appear and you find out that they are friendly. It was a very carefully planned out effort. This new Queue totally destroys that you see the banshees on the Organ . Prudence talks to you directly and establishes the friendly ghost thing before you are supposed to know they are friendly. Then of course there is the Sea Captains tomb which is the most obnoxious, besides the fact that it is a lawsuit waiting to happen, In the portrait It is implied that the Sea Captain drowned at sea, this completely throws that out. The Queue is loud, obnoxious thematically inappropriate and is without a doubt the worse thing that has ever happened to the Mansion. A really good explination can be found here. http://longforgottenhauntedmansion....d-max=2011-06-11T22:07:00-07:00&max-results=1

Wow...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DwyMB19q7ms&NR=1

 

[MotherOfBirds]

How exactly is Hatty going to fit in? Are other changes going to be made to ease him into the story or are they going to rely entirely on the assumption that the audience has (will see) the Del Toro flick? I'm just curious about how he'll work with Connie and all.

 

[CJR]

The only question I have is where would they put him that would plus the existing ride and have no major changes to the story? The attic scene is incredible the way it is now so I'm not sure if it would work well there.

 

[danv3]

How exactly is Hatty going to fit in? Are other changes going to be made to ease him into the story or are they going to rely entirely on the assumption that the audience has (will see) the Del Toro flick? I'm just curious about how he'll work with Connie and all.

Same question...and also wondering where he's physically going to fit. The space across from the bride isn't that big and you pass so quick it seems like you could barely see both.

 

[Captain Neo]

Quoted for truth. Well said.

As for Hatbox...yeah. Eventually he'll turn up. Been ready to go for months and months now.

more like years. The annual "Hatbox is coming back!" rumor started shortly after the 50th. anniversary of Disneyland and intensified when Disney did their big shakeup after the pixar buyout. I see it's that time of the year again for this rumor

 

[AEfx]

Should they change the name to "The Regular Ol' Mansion" so as to not foreshadow that there might be ghosts that show up in the mansion?

You win this thread.

I have to say that I really appreciate your post. I do admit that I am one of those individuals who were/is really nervous whenever I hear about changes to HM. I also 1000% own to the fact that most of my trepidation stems from romanticized childhood memories of the attraction. When I first read about the new queue I felt a bit queasy and the initial reports weren't exactly reassuring. I will get to see the new queue first hand in September and obviously will draw my own conclusion, but your thoughts on the recent changes are well thought out and appreciated.

Too often these discussions turn into "I am right and you are wrong" situations, which I just find frustrating. So thanks for giving me a new position to consider for my upcoming trip.

I love the Mansion similarly. Had they done anything God-awful, I would have been first in line to start yelling about it.

I just saw it for the first time in May. It's really not all it's made out to be, at all. All they did was add some neat (and look-appropriate) little displays in the queue. For example, there is a double-sided bookcase that looks old and worn and books pop out of it. You push one back in, and one pops out on the other side (where other people are waiting). There is a, I don't know what to call it, a pressed metal hanging display with images of instruments - when you run your hands over the instruments, they play music. It's just little stuff like that.

In order for it to be the travesty that it's being made out to be, you'd have to solve quite a catch-22. If you've never been on the attraction before, what are the chances you'll remember each of the elements (or even recognize them as significant) that are supposedly "ruined". And if you do recognize them, you've already been on the ride, so nothing is spoiled.

I totally get if people don't care for them - I don't care about that "next gen queue" stuff in general myself. However, even I smiled a few times as I went through and tried the stuff in the queue - a lot because of this little girl and her mom who were right behind me, and the little girl kept watching me and then followed my lead to interacted with the stuff like I did (it's not immediately obvious that the stuff is meant to be interacted with). She was delighted.

So of course, form your own opinion. You may not like it. But a few people seem to think they have somehow added Donald Duck cracking jokes at the Seance, or that Stitch is now the one coming out of the nailed coffin. If you haven't seen it since 07, you are in for a treat - the 07 additions are wonderful. And the more recent stuff is, too. The interior of the Mansion is better than ever, and the trinkets/displays in the queue are just a neat minor distraction for kids (and some adults too!).

In short, to have anything "ruined" for you, you'd have to already know the story, but if you already know the story, it can't ruin anything for you.

 

[MotherOfBirds]

I know Hatty was featured in a lot of promotional stuff for HM at DL about a year ago, stuff that had Connie in the same picture. Can anyone tell me how he's going to fit? Maybe he saw Connie off-ing one of her husbands so she killed him too? Other than that, I'm drawing a blank.

 

[erasure fan1]

A really good explination can be found here. http://longforgottenhauntedmansion....d-max=2011-06-11T22:07:00-07:00&max-results=1

I cant or wont say what I think of all the queue enhancements till I see it in 20 DAYS BABY!!!!! Sorry about that. I will say this. HOLY cow! I wish I had that much time to spend breaking down a theme park attraction. I know I can be as obsessed as the next guy when it comes to Disney stuff but Gheez! :lol:

 

[UltimateLaxBro]

I'd have to disagree and say switch those two years somewhat. For all the idiocy we usually deal with in regards to Disney changing their rides for the worse, I found the 2011 changes great (i liked both the new queue AND the new hitchhiking ghosts and really have no issues with them).

The 2007 redo was undoubtedly awesome as well, but i have one major issue with it- the new bride. I dislike both her new look and that she speaks, but i also think the effect behind it looks incredibly fake and corny (i don't know what happened here, the singing busts and Leota and even the mini bride at the end all look great). The 2007 death pun bride is probably what i'd consider the worst thing done to the ride ever. She lost all her creepiness, and that fear of the unknown is gone (you knew there was SOMETHING sinister about her before, but her intentions were shrouded in mystery). Old bride didn't have to even speak, make horrible puns, nor did she need to resort to materializing a weapon with a fake looking projection effect to threaten your life. In this case, the simpler route with having her mute, relatively still, and having her face totally obscured except for her glowing eyes (not to mention her creepy beating heart) was the better choice to create the creepier atmosphere. Just standing there holding a candle in a creepy attic with her looks and the sound of her heart was enough.

The rest of the attic is a major improvement though. It's funny how i considered the original bride so creepy and well done, but the jack-in-the-box zombie grooms were so corny. The new changing headless portraits look incredible and are really ominous, but now the bride took on a corny cheesy style. They switched it around somehow. It's a shame they couldn't have just kept the old bride and had these new portraits. That scene would have been totally complete and perfect in my eyes.

HM is probably THE best maintained and updated ride in recent history. I like almost everything they did with it (sans the bride). They got more than enough right at least for me to trust them enough to keep trying.

Considering the new Haunted Mansion film in the works is reported to be putting huge emphasis on the Hatbox Ghost, i find it totally unsurprising that they'd add him in (eventually). I would surmise that with more modern technology, the effect would be much more feasible than it once was. I just wish they'd give as much attention to other rides in need of it...

EDIT- Actually, i read the thread at Disboards. I don't see how this even counts as a legit rumor. The dude who posted it is a new member and could just be making stuff up. Someone else mentioned the movie was on hold and the director may have quit. Dunno.

 

[Lee]

I see it's that time of the year again for this rumor

Only a rumor in the most technical sense, due to the fact it hasn't been announced.
It is, in reality, an active project. I've been told of it, and been shown proof.

It's just a matter of time...

 

[AEfx]

Only a rumor in the most technical sense, due to the fact it hasn't been announced.
It is, in reality, an active project. I've been told of it, and been shown proof.

It's just a matter of time...

Now the Hatbox has never been at WDW, right? It was originally a Disneyland effect that was removed, and we are both supposedly seeing it return, is my understanding. Am I thinking correctly?

 

[The Duck]

Now the Hatbox has never been at WDW, right? It was originally a Disneyland effect that was removed, and we are both supposedly seeing it return, is my understanding. Am I thinking correctly?

The Hatbox Ghost was briefly near the entrance to the attic scene at Disneyland during the testing phase. He was removed before the attraction opened to the public but a handful of cast members got a glimpse of him (notably, the teenage Tony Baxter) before his departure. According to Disney legend, his "gag" was that his head would disappear and then reappear in a large hatbox that he was holding. The Imagineers of the time couldn't get the effect to work properly so he was removed prior to the grand opening. So you could say that it is indeed a return but he was never "officially " there in the first place.

 

[Brenton Price]

I have never seen the hatbox ghost so I am hopping he will make a appearance soon

 

[Epic Epcot]

I have never seen the hatbox ghost so I am hopping he will make a appearance soon

I think it's safe to say nobody on these forums have seen the original HBG in action.

 

[HMF]

I think it's safe to say nobody on these forums have seen the original HBG in action.

There is one and no it's not me.

 

[RSoxNo1]

ThemeParkOne on Twitter has said that he doesn't think the Hat Box Ghost is coming.