Haunted Mansion Closing for Refurb Late Fall 2006?

[T-1MILLION]

I just hope they bring back the Donald chair.

I hope so too but it will probably not be returning anytime soon. Prop dept. is working on a replica but who knows how long that could take

Also to answer Str8fan's question. I should have rephrased that. There is a story to the haunted mansion. What I meant was no completely detailed "Bride killd husbands with an axe to enherit the mansion" kind of story. Because that does not make sense to the hanging corpse either. The hanging corpse is supposedly (depending on who you ask) The owner of the mansion who we now call gracey thanks to the imaigineer's name. That is a darker side of the mansion. You have laughs at lighthearted humor...then a scare with the corpse. Then you have some gags in the ride. Then a few scares from the darker side of the seance scene. Some more gags and funny puns, and then pop up ghosts. It is blending the little scares with humor. It is a morbid humor kind of thing. I think that is what the mansion is all about.

Do not get me wrong I love enchancements. But the "proposal"(bad bride pun not inteded:drevil: ) and idea of giving the mansion an entire story like Phantom manor has in a sense only darker does not seem right to me, just my opinion. I think Phantom manor is fine and Awesome in it's own right. It works. I just feel that things should be added and enhanced while keeping the original "spirit"(sorry it is a curse) of the attraction that is now in place and has always been.:wave:

It is not worth much but it is just my opinion.

 

[Buried20KLeague]

I agree its because of these moronic purists who want everything to stay as a muesuem that give people like me a bad name. Now when I say the original Imagination was a superior attraction to whats currently there or that Alien Encounter was better than Stitch people quickly try to pin the "purist" tag on me. I want Disney to continue to improve and change..but I want the changes and upgrades to be BETTER than what its replacing. In the case of what they are doing with the Mansion in california these changes make the ride better(although the brides cross-eyed face looks stupid) and I hope even more changes are on the way to both the DL and WDW version of this stale old now unscary attraction.

Agreed. Change for the sake of change isn't good. Change for the sake of clear improvement is.

THAT should be the motto of the "Disney Purist". :sohappy:

 

[SilentWindODoom]

I can kinda see your point here. But the problem I still have is this:

Why is the bride currently in the attic at WDW????

There's currently no reason for it. So here we have an attic, with some pop up heads on sticks, along with annoying screams... A total carnival effect. I can't comprehend why any Disney fan wouldn't trade in this attic for what Disneyland has: Disney quality effects that create a cohesive story line. Don't forget, not only did they update their bride, but they added potraits of her with husbands... Who's heads disappear as you pass them!!

How would that not be far superior than the pop-up heads and bride (that currently serves no purpose) that WDW has?

I get the whole "disney purist" thing, too. But geez. There's gotta be a limit.

Not talking about you, SilentWindODoom... :wave: Just tossing that in to this post.

Hehe, for a second there, I thought you were talking about me. Anyway, the Bride is a central figure in the mansion because she seems to important. There is no official clear reason for her being there, and it is not needed because everyone makes their own. However, one can certainly see something tragic about her, and the way she stands there, heart beating, with a candle in the dark. Now she's become an axe murderer.

On the subject of the heartbeat, I didn't notice, but is it gone? I certainly didn't see the vivid sight of the beating within her chest.

I wouldn't mind a refurb of the bride like in CA. I just experienced that attraction a couple of weeks ago, and I found the effect of that entire attic area unsettling -- in a good way.

I haven't ridden WDW's HM since 2002 (it was closed for the previously mentioned refurb in 2005), but does anyone else agree with me that DL's version is superior?

Just curious. Are you saying that the version of the attic is better, or that the entire Disneyland Haunted Mansion is better?

How is a 30 second scene of a much longer attraction take the focus of the whole attraction? How is it any different than the seance scene? Also, if there is no story to HM, why is there a corpse hanging in the stretching room?

Just curious.

First of all, we need look no further than the Mice Age article which mentioned this. It states that the new additions make it so that the Master Gracey storyline is gone and the new storyline is that the Bride owns the mansion and has been luring in suitors only to kill them, and I have no doubts that there are others that do and will think this. It seems that to people outside, this does change the focus of the whole attraction

Also, the hanging corpse is just a little morbid joke, like that only way out is to hang yourself. I do wish it could be changed in some way so that you can more easily see the corpse and realize what it is. It can be lost on some. It is only part of the storyline to those who make it a part.

I agree its because of these moronic purists who want everything to stay as a muesuem that give people like me a bad name. Now when I say the original Imagination was a superior attraction to whats currently there or that Alien Encounter was better than Stitch people quickly try to pin the "purist" tag on me. I want Disney to continue to improve and change..but I want the changes and upgrades to be BETTER than what its replacing. In the case of what they are doing with the Mansion in california these changes make the ride better(although the brides cross-eyed face looks stupid) and I hope even more changes are on the way to both the DL and WDW version of this stale old now unscary attraction.

I'm surprised. I would think that those who prefer Alien Encounter would be called Disney Radicals (did I just coin a new term, or is that used already?). A Disney Purist would want the ride replaced by Stitch, as it is more for the children, not mean spirited in the least, and is "what Walt would have wanted".

I agree with you about the Bride's face. The pictures of her make her look rediculous, like a Carol Burnette character in the midst of a wild take. Yes, I know I shouldn't judge on a picture, but I would like pictures of the Bride on my computer, and I wouldn't want the Bride looking like that in a picture.

Also, as to it being unscary, I think creepy and eerie is what we're looking for here, not scary. The HM is not supposed to be a scary attraction, and I hope the heads remain the most outright frightening part. Instead, I'd rather the mansion become more eerie and unsettling, dark and mysterious, as Claude Coates did such a wonderful job. Please, no Carnotaurs popping out. I don't know if that's what you meant by scary, but just figured I'd throw that out if, in fact, you meant scary as I thought you did. Forgive me if you didn't.


And, finally PLEASE don't let them cheapen the ride with a gift shop in the end. Oh, can't they just put it off the grounds in the Keelboats building?

 

[MrsGracey]

I hope so too but it will probably not be returning anytime soon. Prop dept. is working on a replica but who knows how long that could take

What happened to the other chair?

 

[ghostlyguitar]

I think the new bride special effect at DL is a pretty interesting (if simple) effect. No, there are no animatronics involved; it is simply a blank figure with the video of the bride projected onto it. The only moving the figure does is a slight blowing in the breeze, provided by an industrial fan placed just underneath the figure. The portraits of the husbands are a very cool effect.

That being said, I think that it provides the bride with a bit too concrete of a story, changes the atmosphere of the attic (instead of being full of misc. knick-knacks and furniture, it is filled with the loot from her marriages). Don't get me wrong, the attic was always a showcase for the Bride, and she hasn't really changed much for that, but the tone seems a bit off now. I liked the tragic mourning figure much more than the crazed murderer there now, but that's a matter of personal opinion, and is borderline nitpicky when it comes down to it.

Quite personally, I wouldn't be against getting an upgrade to the bride and the attic; to be honest, anything would be better than the bride that is there now. I don't know if I'd like to see the whole new axe-muderer concept make the transition to WDW, though. Instead, I would like to see the Bride return to her whispy, eerie self, with only her glowing eyes showing from behind the veil, and glowing beating broken heart pounding out in the dark. (the heartbeat is still there at DL, but it doesn't seem to be the Bride's...) Most certainly the new technology could be used to create a figure resembling the old bride. I'd rather see a full-on animatronic, though. From there? I'd like to see them bring in the Hatbox Ghost. DL's attic doesn't have much room for another animatronic figure with the piano (which WDW has, on the ground floor) and new portraits, but WDW could most certainly get some space cleared out for a new animatronic. I think most Mansion fans would like to see this character brought back to life (so to speak) with new technology.

As for the gift shop idea, I'm not so sure I'm a fan. I wouldn't mind if it was placed outside of the Mansion, close to the Pet Cemetery and the crypts, but I do like the way you exit the ride right now. That long corridor with the flickering chandeliers, and the disembodied ghosts singing the last verse of Grim Grinning Ghosts. Besides, isn't there already a somewhat Mansion-themed shop like 50 feet away from the exit? Well, on the inside at least...

-Adam-

 

[Enderikari]

I just hope they bring back the Donald chair.

I hope so too but it will probably not be returning anytime soon. Prop dept. is working on a replica but who knows how long that could take.

The Scary Face chair designed by Rolly Crump IS back into its original location, as of three days ago... There never was such a thing as a Donald Chair inside the Haunted Mansion, to call it such was taken as an affront to the aforementioned man who designed it... Rolly hated people so caught up in the Hidden Mickey fascination that they saw Donald where there was not supposed to be one... Almost as if to say that he failed to design the face that people could be creeped out by (by Claude Coates mansion designs), because people wanted to see a Donald

 

[young9222]

Hi, Kelly! Welcome to WDWMagic!:wave:

 

[shoppingnut]

From what I understand the story to be in the HM at WDW, the bride is there pushing you to your death. The doombuggies turn and go backwards and you are actually falling out a window in the mansion. When you arrive at the graveyard, the man and dog are afraid of you because you are now ghosts.

Besides, the ghost bride being is the attic is the way it should be, after all aren't there always ghosts lurking in attics.

 

[CaptainMichael]

I've changed my mind. I never want the HM to change. The bride with the fake candle with the orange lightbulb (the kind you see in people's windows uring christmas time) at the end is sheer awesomeness and a testament to how great WDI is.... The popping heads on sticks are also the greatest thing...EVER.

Come on guys! Can't you just ride the attic and be creeped out and enjoy it? The HM is far from perfect, especially at WDW. These changes could be nothing but good.

 

[ghostlyguitar]

Any storyline other than "visiting a retirement home for ghosts" is completely fan fiction. As for being pushed out a window, and becoming a ghost, it's an interesting idea, but simply not true. If you pay attention, you step out onto a balcony, and decent backward down a flight of stairs. The biggest giveaway is the ornate iron railing that follows not only the balcony, but the steps down as well. Turning backward is just an excuse to get you to look up and see the raven (originally supposed to be the Ghost Host), as well as the trees and fiber optic stars in the ceiling.

But that's beside the point.

The point is, we like the ideas that are there, not necessarily the technology. The axe-muderer bride changes the tone of the attic, and changes the scene into something that it wasn't. You could put in a new animatronic, or a new projected bride, and I don't think anybody out there would complain, so long as the integrity of the ride was maintained. I think most us probably wouldn't care that much in the long run if she was replaced with the black-widow bride, but a lot of us liek the idea of a mysterious, tragic and broken-hearted bride floating around the attic instead. If they want to update it with modern technology, I'm all for it. But don't change the theme of the ride around. They are skirting that edge at DL. We're fans of the feel of the ride, not the exact figures. The characters, the setting, and the theme, not necessarily the mechanical means used to bring said things to life.

-Adam-

 

[Kronos]

We noticed the loud squeeks and scraping noises on the WDW Haunted Mansion omnimover system the last time I rode it a couple years ago. It was very annoying. It sounded like the thing hadn't had a lube job in years.

That's what kills me the most when East Coasters scream bloody murder at the thought of bringing Haunted Mansion Holiday to WDW. :hammer: Installing HMH every September would allow them to give that old ride proper, yearly maintenance. If all you've been on in the last five years is the WDW version of Haunted Mansion, you probably have no idea how poorly maintained it is compared to the Disneyland and Tokyo Disneyland versions. In both Anaheim and Tokyo, the doombuggies just silently glide along through the ride, and that constant scraping/squeeking noise you hear in WDW's Haunted Mansion is not evident.

You are supposed to hear the music and all of the audio effects in the Haunted Mansion. You are not supposed to hear the groaning sounds of a 35 year old Omnimover that desperately needs some TLC.

I was on it yesterday and it sounded fine (i.e. not at all).

Not trying to troll here, but perhaps you shouldn't be so quick to complain about maintenance on an attraction you admittedly haven't been on in years.

 

[Kronos]

I'm surprised. I would think that those who prefer Alien Encounter would be called Disney Radicals (did I just coin a new term, or is that used already?). A Disney Purist would want the ride replaced by Stitch, as it is more for the children, not mean spirited in the least, and is "what Walt would have wanted".

And, finally PLEASE don't let them cheapen the ride with a gift shop in the end. Oh, can't they just put it off the grounds in the Keelboats building?

Just a couple of quick points here...

Yeah, I know I'm a newbie to these forums, but you have absolutely no idea "what Walt would have wanted", especially when talking about AE vs. SGE, neither one of which were so much as a twinkle in an Imagineer's eye when Walt was around. (Neither do I, admittedly... but according to reports, Walt loved scaring his friends, and got quite a chuckle out of the changing portraits when Imagineering developed them).

Also, I'm sorry you feel that placing a gift shop at the exit of an attraction "cheapens" it. I guess WDW in general must seem like a pretty "cheap" place to you then, as virtually every other attraction (including almost all attractions built in the last 20 or so years) have gift shops attached to the exits.

 

[MrsGracey]

The Scary Face chair designed by Rolly Crump IS back into its original location, as of three days ago... There never was such a thing as a Donald Chair inside the Haunted Mansion, to call it such was taken as an affront to the aforementioned man who designed it... Rolly hated people so caught up in the Hidden Mickey fascination that they saw Donald where there was not supposed to be one... Almost as if to say that he failed to design the face that people could be creeped out by (by Claude Coates mansion designs), because people wanted to see a Donald

Well, looks like I stand corrected. It's what a lot of people refer to it as, I'll try not to make that mistake again. :zipit:

 

[tirian]

I know that I'm coming into this thread really late in the game (all right... extremely late), but the only rumor floating around my department right now is that the queue will be redesigned and the old FastPass distribution area might become a Villains meet-and greet. I don't know if the location will be used permanently or only for special events, such as MNSSHP. The other rumors, such as a new exit through a wine cellar, have been circulating for well over a year. I recently spent some time in the HM breakroom, talking to some of the CMs; and although they doubt that the new exit will be built anytime soon, they are fairly confident of the queue redesign. They also mentioned the possible Villains area; but they, like my department, don't know any details. Entertainment is apparently having a difficult time staffing their current positions without trying to add more.

EDIT: Whatever happens right now, those plans in the photo are not for anything major.

 

[SilentWindODoom]

Just a couple of quick points here...

Yeah, I know I'm a newbie to these forums, but you have absolutely no idea "what Walt would have wanted", especially when talking about AE vs. SGE, neither one of which were so much as a twinkle in an Imagineer's eye when Walt was around. (Neither do I, admittedly... but according to reports, Walt loved scaring his friends, and got quite a chuckle out of the changing portraits when Imagineering developed them).

Also, I'm sorry you feel that placing a gift shop at the exit of an attraction "cheapens" it. I guess WDW in general must seem like a pretty "cheap" place to you then, as virtually every other attraction (including almost all attractions built in the last 20 or so years) have gift shops attached to the exits.

<!-- / message -->

1) I was just using it to make a point about how Disney Purists use that phrase. I was in no way saying that's what Walt would have wanted. I don't friggin' know. That's why it was in quotes.

2)

I hope they don't do the gift shop. If they want a gift shop, put it in one of the Keelboat houses, and theme it to a carriage house or something, but please not in the end of the ride. From the gates onwards, it's an experience, and self sufficient from the park. Putting a gift shop at the end of the ride will cheapen the mansion's grounds significantly.

This is my more expanded explaination of my thoughts on the subject that I posted on the first page. Let me elaborate further.

The Haunted Mansion is different from other rides. Lets take Pirates of the Caribbean a Disney classic which ends in a gift shop. Now, Pirates of the Caribbean begins in a cavern, and soon comes to a harbor town. The fascade is a Spanish fort. Now, the queue goes inside the fort, and all this, but really, the entire experience is inside the building. Once you get off that boat, the whole thing is pretty much done.

The Haunted Mansion has the mansion, which the ride is supposed to take place in. The queue is outside, and on the mansion's grounds. This is supposed to be an eerie deserted mansion, and it has grounds. Once you go through those gates, the experience begins, and everything there reinforces it. When you leave the ride, the voices sing, and you exit, and you are still on those grounds. There are these big imposing tombs there, and all that. Once you go back out the gates, you're back in Liberty Square and back in the Magic Kingdom. I think that if there is a gift shop on those grounds, it will cheapen the lonely abandoned mansion grouns idea.

Would you want posters for Pirates of the Caribbean III plastered up in the Pirates Queue? No. You're walking through an old Spanish Fort, and through a cave. Why would posters be there? I think the gift shop on the mansion's grounds is the same way. Now, I see no problem with putting a gift shop in the Keelboat house. You can theme it to a carriage house, mayhaps, and put the invisible horse out there. Maybe it can be the caretaker's house, and you can put a little doghouse next to it. I just don't want to see Jack's head posted in the exit of the mansion, or those invisible dogs hanging.

 

[Kronos]

The Haunted Mansion is different from other rides. Lets take Pirates of the Caribbean a Disney classic which ends in a gift shop. Now, Pirates of the Caribbean begins in a cavern, and soon comes to a harbor town. The fascade is a Spanish fort. Now, the queue goes inside the fort, and all this, but really, the entire experience is inside the building. Once you get off that boat, the whole thing is pretty much done.

The Haunted Mansion has the mansion, which the ride is supposed to take place in. The queue is outside, and on the mansion's grounds. This is supposed to be an eerie deserted mansion, and it has grounds. Once you go through those gates, the experience begins, and everything there reinforces it. When you leave the ride, the voices sing, and you exit, and you are still on those grounds. There are these big imposing tombs there, and all that. Once you go back out the gates, you're back in Liberty Square and back in the Magic Kingdom. I think that if there is a gift shop on those grounds, it will cheapen the lonely abandoned mansion grouns idea.

Would you want posters for Pirates of the Caribbean III plastered up in the Pirates Queue? No. You're walking through an old Spanish Fort, and through a cave. Why would posters be there? I think the gift shop on the mansion's grounds is the same way. Now, I see no problem with putting a gift shop in the Keelboat house. You can theme it to a carriage house, mayhaps, and put the invisible horse out there. Maybe it can be the caretaker's house, and you can put a little doghouse next to it. I just don't want to see Jack's head posted in the exit of the mansion, or those invisible dogs hanging.

You have a great point there, and it's not exactly an unusual one. Many people have complained that the MK is slowly turning into a poorly-themed mall with a cover-charge (and when I go to the park and see "Star Wars" DVDs for sale in Frontierland, it's hard to argue with them). That said, the simple fact remains: The HM isn't an abandoned mansion; it's a theme park ride, and a damn fine one at that.

Am I saying I want a badly-themed gift shop? Absolutely not. But do I think there's a place in the MK for a huge, sprawling, heavily-themed gift store for the HM? You betcha... just nowhere near the exit queue. I mean, look at an aerial map of the park, and find the HM. Now then... are there any abandoned attractions near the exit queue that aren't being used for anything right now? You bet, just not in Liberty Square... of course, you'd need a moving upramp to get the guests up there, but Disneyland has one in the Mansion's exit... and it's prime real estate....

And don't get me started on the Keelboats - it makes no sense to put a souvenir shop in the ENTRANCE to the attraction instead of the EXIT. Disney learned that lesson with the HM's first gift shop.

 

[Kronos]

...then you'll be able to enter this secret crypt/cellar to purchase your on ride photo of you and the hitchhiking ghost in your doombuggy as well as buy all sorts of HM and NBC merchandise then exit the ride. I hear that the crpyt from the movie will be added to this area as well. Like I said I don't trust all rumors but it does sound interesting.

Don't trust it. Well, you can in that I think a new gift shop is quietly coming soon... but Disney is quietly "divorcing" itself from the HM movie (consider this: you can't purchase a copy of it or "The Country Bears" at both attractions' respective gift kiosks - but the PotC DVD is all over the PotC Store).

I'm all for the ride photos. I know that the MK only has two attractions that offer ride photos, and City Hall gets complaints that there should be more.

 

[SilentWindODoom]

And don't get me started on the Keelboats - it makes no sense to put a souvenir shop in the ENTRANCE to the attraction instead of the EXIT. Disney learned that lesson with the HM's first gift shop.

I looked for pictures of the queue after you said this, to make sure. I had forgotton that the stanchions extend beyong the gates. I was thinking that, since the entrance and exit gates are almost next to each other on the same gate, it was about a twenty foot walk with no obstruction from the exit, but you're right. This could pose problems. The skyway building could be a bit out of the way, unless there are trees cleared and, of course, appropriate theming would be needed around the area to call attention to it. Also, it would have to theme to Fantasyland, but this could be possible. Hmm... I see some sketches coming on.

Of course, the queue change they plan could eliminate the stanchions beyond the gate.

 

[8<:-)]

Don't trust it. Well, you can in that I think a new gift shop is quietly coming soon... but Disney is quietly "divorcing" itself from the HM movie (consider this: you can't purchase a copy of it or "The Country Bears" at both attractions' respective gift kiosks - but the PotC DVD is all over the PotC Store).

I'm all for the ride photos. I know that the MK only has two attractions that offer ride photos, and City Hall gets complaints that there should be more.

"The Country Bears" wasn't THAT bad was it?:lookaroun

 

[Baums101]

Haunted Mansion is in major need for refurbishment. Popping heads are cheap, the bride, and It needs to be cleaned. Have you seen all the dust in there!!!!Im just kidding.