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News Haunted Mansion closing for short refurbishment in August 2023
- Thread starter DCBaker
- Start date
How much can they get done in 72 hours? 
yensidtlaw1969
Well-Known Member
He definitely took longer to go in at Disneyland - but then, that was also the first iteration of this new figure.
I have also heard rumors he may not appear in the same place at WDW that he does in Disneyland, but I'm not sure how that might impact the install time one way or the other . . . or even if it's true.
Considering the movie was for a time slated to release on August 11th (and the Halloween Parties start that night) I have to assume this schedule isn't just a coincidence.
I have also heard rumors he may not appear in the same place at WDW that he does in Disneyland, but I'm not sure how that might impact the install time one way or the other . . . or even if it's true.
Considering the movie was for a time slated to release on August 11th (and the Halloween Parties start that night) I have to assume this schedule isn't just a coincidence.
The argument is he is part of the 999 but has not chosen to materialize until now, so still room for 1 more.
JohnD
Well-Known Member
There's room for 1,001. Any volunteers?
5thGenTexan
Well-Known Member
Maybe they need to fix crowd control for a couple of days. When we were there mid June the script in the stretching room we were in started before they had everyone in. When we exited and were in the backed up line for loading, which I dont understand for an omnimover. Nonetheless, I could see into the 'other" stretching room,.. empty with the script running. Kinda messed up the illusion that day.
DisneyFanatic12
Well-Known Member
There is a sensor on both walls with a door on them that prevents the doors from moving when someone is in the way. They’ve been having issues with overfilling the rooms to where the sensor gets tripped and the door can’t close until the scene is almost entirely over. They should give the cast member a remote to start the scene though, or at least start the scene only after the door is able to close…
Captain Culpepper Cline
Active Member
Ah so thats why cast member announces “stand clear of the walls” or you may trip the sensor.
yensidtlaw1969
Well-Known Member
What I've heard ranges from the logical (Outside or inside the Attic) to the semi-logical (The Graveyard or Ballroom) to the downright puzzling (The Escher Stairs or - and I've heard this from several different people - the Endless Hallway).
It's to the point where I have basically no clue what to believe.
Pepper's Ghost
Well-Known Member
I think locating him in the Escher Stairs makes more sense than the graveyard or ballroom. I loved when they added those stairs to replace barely visible spiders and webs which were totally lame, but adding the Hatbox Ghost there gives it even more flavor IMO. I'd be okay with that. I think however that they'll add him in the attic. That seems to be the most natural place.
He'd get lost in the graveyard mixed in with all of the other eye candy in there. You couldn't make him too prominent in the grave yard because it would just look out of place, but if you mix him in you're losing the punch that he should add.
Adding him in the Ballroom would be idiotic. You can't mix the different ghost effect in there. All the ghosts in there are Pepper Ghosts and adding him into the scene would make him look terrible because all the rest look ghostly and semi-transparent and he'd look terrible in comparison. I vote for adding him in the staircase room, or even in the library. I think he'd look great in there.
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yensidtlaw1969
Well-Known Member
The thing with the Escher Stairs, or any early scene, is that it would break what the Imagineers call the "Leota Rule", which is that no ghosts can physically manifest in the Mansion until after Leota has called them forth. They went to some lengths in the 2007 major refurb to cull things that seemed to bend this rule (although it's not 100% - the Coffin Man in the Conservatory arguably bucks it). But most of those people are not still in charge, so maybe the sentiment has changed.
Part of the reason he didn't end up down in the Graveyard at Disneyland was the realization that he held up as a close-up effect. Why waste it by keeping him distant when he can deliver at close range?
The idea with the Ballroom, I believe, was that he'd be reversed and Peppers Ghost-ed in, like all the other ghosts in the Ballroom. I should think he'd look handsome if done that way, but again, why keep him so far from guests when he can sell the trick up close?
The reason he didn't end up in the Attic at Disneyland is basically the same reason he was evicted back in the day - the lighting in there wasn't suited to his effect.
It is set to reopen on Aug 10
Pepper's Ghost
Well-Known Member
Good point. I forgot about the Leota Rule. It's been so long since I've been at the parks.
I don't know that the coffin man is really a manifestation of a ghost. In reality it's more the living dead since it's bony hands trying to get out of a the coffin. Ghosts aren't normally bony. But that's a completely separate discussion. I'd agree that no true ghosts manifest before Leota's seance. Then in my opinion, I think the Hatbox Ghost probably best fits in the attic. There aren't really many scenes after Leota... ballroom, attic, and graveyard.I would've suggested putting him after the ghost follows you home, but then it seems like an afterthought. That's not really a prominent role. It'd be cool if they made him in a way to give a jump scare just after the ghost follows you home, but again... an afterthought. IMO he belongs in the attic so you can get a close up look instead of being 50 ft away down in the ballroom.
What do yall consider a ghost manifesting? Is it the presence of a ghost or seeing a ghost? I'm asking because beyond the coffin there are other examples.
There's the stretching room, but maybe people consider it more corpse than ghost. There's the ghost on the library ladder moving the book. There's a piano playing ghost with a shadow on the ground (I think the shadow still exists). The stairwell scene has footsteps on the stairs. The hallway has ghosts tapping on doors.
Personally, I don't think any Leota rule works very well so I'm now more inclined to include before Leota. While I thought attic before it may be too cluttered. Hearing the ghost bride before seeing her I think works well, and I think essentially sharing audio time with HBG is too much, plus if they are are across from one another it forces choosing whom to direct attention. So before Leota, maybe put in HBG where the knight's armor is located. It's a revealing effect to turn toward the long hallway, but it’s currently not revealing very much. Hearing HBG and then having the buggie turn to face him close would be a better effect, imo, if there's another time for full visual before buggie turns again.
There's the stretching room, but maybe people consider it more corpse than ghost. There's the ghost on the library ladder moving the book. There's a piano playing ghost with a shadow on the ground (I think the shadow still exists). The stairwell scene has footsteps on the stairs. The hallway has ghosts tapping on doors.
Personally, I don't think any Leota rule works very well so I'm now more inclined to include before Leota. While I thought attic before it may be too cluttered. Hearing the ghost bride before seeing her I think works well, and I think essentially sharing audio time with HBG is too much, plus if they are are across from one another it forces choosing whom to direct attention. So before Leota, maybe put in HBG where the knight's armor is located. It's a revealing effect to turn toward the long hallway, but it’s currently not revealing very much. Hearing HBG and then having the buggie turn to face him close would be a better effect, imo, if there's another time for full visual before buggie turns again.