Haunted Mansion Expansion

[Jasonflz]

While looking through one of the Disney vacation books I stumbled on some intresting information that seems to have come from Jim Hill himself. He says that HM is planned to get a large expansion in the near future, possibly with a better economy. The expansion would include some image capturing system, similar to SSE, in which your image would be taken with the ghosts at the end and you could buy it. Another proposed idea was to add a crypt themed gift shop in the ride's exit. I think it mentioned something else, having to do with the ride's effects. Is this reliable and is it possible?

Another thing, is there ever any chance of Haunted Mansion Holiday arriving in the future? Thanks.:wave:

 

[wdwmagic]

No to the HM holiday - it isnt practical to close the WDW mansion down for the extended periods to install it. The WDW visitor base is made up primarily of "once per 2 years" visitors and not the primiarily local visitor base that DL has. The people heading to WDW are expecting the mansion to be open. WDW has ruled it out.

The expansion you mention would seem unlikely since the HM has just had a very extensive refurbishment. If that was to be done it would have seemed likely to have been installed at that time.

 

[TP2000]

That Image Capture rumor, where you could buy a picture of yourself in your Doombuggy with your "hitchhiking ghost", was brought up by Al Lutz for the Disneyland version of the ride about two years ago. It's a rumor that has gone cold, at least for Disneyland.

And despite the fact that it is wildly popular in both Anaheim and Tokyo, Haunted Mansion Holiday will never go to Orlando because it will "RUIN PEOPLE'S VACATIONS!". Or at least that's how some folks have explained it to me here when it has been brought up in the past. The same scenario also plays out for the fabulously charming It's A Small World Holiday that is also wildly popular in Anaheim and Tokyo. Somehow the Country Bear Christmas Special escapes this problem, although I've never gotten a good explanation for that double standard.

Don't forget...
Regular Refurbishment and Freshening Classic Attractions = Ruined Vacations

 

[SirGoofy]

While looking through one of the Disney vacation books I stumbled on some intresting information that seems to have come from Jim Hill himself. He says that HM is planned to get a large expansion in the near future, possibly with a better economy. The expansion would include some image capturing system, similar to SSE, in which your image would be taken with the ghosts at the end and you could buy it. Another proposed idea was to add a crypt themed gift shop in the ride's exit. I think it mentioned something else, having to do with the ride's effects. Is this reliable and is it possible?

The gift shop rumor has been floating around for a while now. There's room, but I don't see it happening.

Another thing, is there ever any chance of Haunted Mansion Holiday arriving in the future? Thanks.:wave:

Nope. Management hates the idea.

 

[Thrill Seeker]

I'd like to see some of the rooms from Phantom Manor come over here. Phantom Manor is the Disneyland Paris version of Haunted Mansion and some of the stuff in there is really awesome.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yzmnKItNy4E

 

[Chape19714]

looks like Jim Hill is being his regular self again.

 

[TP2000]

Just as a point of reference, in recent years Disneyland has gotten the rehab/closure for Haunted Mansion Holiday down to about 17 or 18 days for the installation in September, and about 12 or 13 days for the removal in January.

This past Holiday season it was a longer rehab because they overhauled the ride system and added new ride controls, which is unrelated to the Holiday overlay but provides a smooth and quiet operation of the Omnimover.

But most years the Haunted Mansion is closed for just over two weeks in mid September, and just under two weeks in mid January. Those are some of the slowest attendance weeks of the year, as you can imagine.

The It's A Small World Holiday changeout is roughly the same time frame, but it's in late October into early November, and again in mid January.

Tokyo Disneyland already has their Fall '09 rehab schedule up, and the Japanese are even quicker at installing their Holiday version! Haunted Mansion at Tokyo Disneyland will be closed for Holiday installation from August 25th until September 9th, 2009 (16 Days!).

The 1983 Tokyo Mansion is nearly a direct lift of the 1971 WDW version, so the Holiday set pieces and decor have already been designed for the version of the ride that is set up differently than the 1969 Disneyland original.

 

[SirGoofy]

It's really not worth having this conversation again. I completely agree with you, but apparently HMH doesn't count as the Mansion. So people just lump the entire time together.

Believe me, it would be great because HM would always be in great shape, but it's not gonna happen.

 

[wdwmagic]

Just as a point of reference, in recent years Disneyland has gotten the rehab/closure for Haunted Mansion Holiday down to about 17 or 18 days for the installation in September, and about 12 or 13 days for the removal in January.

It's an impressive time for such an extensive overlay. Thing is though, its still pretty much a month of downtime. Do you also think the large numbers of overseas visitors would have any idea of what is going on? The storyline is fairly obscure. I can imagine the Japanese are very much into it, and obviously a lot of Americans are familiar with it, but outside of that, how well is the story known?

I like the overlay at DL, but I'm happy for it to stay at DL and be something unique for that park. I'd much rather have something unique developed for another part of WDW and leave the mansion in it's current excellent shape. That way, we get something new, the mansion doesnt have any downtime to cause irrate guests, and DL retains it's unique attraction.

 

[Thrill Seeker]

Just as a point of reference, in recent years Disneyland has gotten the rehab/closure for Haunted Mansion Holiday down to about 17 or 18 days for the installation in September, and about 12 or 13 days for the removal in January.

This past Holiday season it was a longer rehab because they overhauled the ride system and added new ride controls, which is unrelated to the Holiday overlay but provides a smooth and quiet operation of the Omnimover.

But most years the Haunted Mansion is closed for just over two weeks in mid September, and just under two weeks in mid January. Those are some of the slowest attendance weeks of the year, as you can imagine.

The It's A Small World Holiday changeout is roughly the same time frame, but it's in late October into early November, and again in mid January.

Tokyo Disneyland already has their Fall '09 rehab schedule up, and the Japanese are even quicker at installing their Holiday version! Haunted Mansion at Tokyo Disneyland will be closed for Holiday installation from August 25th until September 9th, 2009 (16 Days!).

The 1983 Tokyo Mansion is nearly a direct lift of the 1971 WDW version, so the Holiday set pieces and decor have already been designed for the version of the ride that is set up differently than the 1969 Disneyland original.

The only way I see this happening is if they just took the plunge and installed all of the holiday stuff in the mansion in such a way that it could easily be removed. If that were done, a WDW version could happen, but again, it's still doubtful that it will happen...

 

[Jasonflz]

We should get a bunch of those Japanese workers over at TDL to install everything. Imagine it, the Space Mountain refurb would be done in two months.

 

[plutoismyhero]

I really would like to see HM get a gift shop for the simple fact i would pry never leave and with HMH like everyone else here i would love to see it happen but it never would...now that image capture does anyone think that it is a real possiblilty or no

 

[SirGoofy]

It's an impressive time for such an extensive overlay. Thing is though, its still pretty much a month of downtime. Do you also think the large numbers of overseas visitors would have any idea of what is going on? The storyline is fairly obscure. I can imagine the Japanese are very much into it, and obviously a lot of Americans are familiar with it, but outside of that, how well is the story known?

But how many people know the story of Song of the South? Of the Swiss Family Robinson? How many foreign guests know the Twilight Zone?

Pretty weak argument in my opinion. It's not about how familiar the story is, it's about how it is presented.

 

[Thrill Seeker]

I really would like to see HM get a gift shop for the simple fact i would pry never leave and with HMH like everyone else here i would love to see it happen but it never would...now that image capture does anyone think that it is a real possiblilty or no

I think if that and the gift shop were going to happen, they would have happened with the 2007 referb. I don't see those happening anytime soon, although I think they would be quite cool...

 

[TP2000]

It's an impressive time for such an extensive overlay. Thing is though, its still pretty much a month of downtime. Do you also think the large numbers of overseas visitors would have any idea of what is going on? The storyline is fairly obscure. I can imagine the Japanese are very much into it, and obviously a lot of Americans are familiar with it, but outside of that, how well is the story known?

It's 17 days in September and then 13 days in January. Many people would be in WDW for a week and would still catch it before or after the short rehabs. And I can't imagine anyone taking their once every two year vacation to WDW within three months of each other at the same exact times of the short September/January closures.

Magic Kingdom got itself into the mess it is in by justifying why refurbishments can't happen. Excuses for not doing short downtimes are just that, excuses. How did the place exist when they finally had to give the Mansion a rehab after 10 years of neglect and they closed it for the entire summer?

As for the plotline of the Holiday version, I don't think it's a problem. I've never seen Nightmare Before Christmas myself. I just have no desire to, and I have no idea who the characters are outside of Sally and Jack (who I know from the ride and walk around Characters now). They do a good job of setting up the new plotline in the Foyer and Expanding Room spiels. All you need to know is "A creepy skeleton who loves Halloween tried to decorate the Mansion for Christmas". That's all I really know about it, and it works for me. It also works for the big crowds each year, as I still think the Nightmare Before Christmas is a rather niche movie, sort of a cult classic that most people haven't seen.

But the Holiday version is done so well, and again the basic plotline is spelled out right at the beginning quite clearly, that it works wonderfully whether you've seen the movie or not. I probably won't ever see the movie at this point, but I always enjoy the ride!

It's A Small World Holiday is even easier. The plot there is "Children Of The World Celebrate The Holidays Together". That one is so adorable it just makes even the most cynical crack a smile. Many peole who hate the regular Small World break down and go on the Holiday version.

It's so over the top that it just works. Especially at night! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t11MkEmNSro&feature=related

 

[Thrill Seeker]

Yeah, see that is why it should come to FL.

 

[marsrunner]

And another in a long line of repeat arguments (sorry, discussions) where nobody changes anybody else's minds. :brick: Why is there no dead horse smiley?
I'm frankly glad I live near Disneyland rather than Disney World. There are more seasonal things to check out and enjoy that it doesn't get old hat, and that way visits every two years to WDW don't get stale. I think I'd be a little miffed if I was a local to WDW and we didn't get the seasonal enhancements to rides that DL gets.
Hopefully the Tower of Terror will get seasonal enhancements again after work on DCA is done. Anybody (TP2000) no the reason the Halloween Decorations weren't put up in 2008?

 

[Main Street USA]

I'm afraid the facts are as Steve has already stated. HMH is not as popular as some of it's biggest fans seem to think. I've seen it, and other than the time it took to make with that type of animation, I was unimpressed, and maybe even a little annoyed. Most of the people I know who go to WDW often wouldn't even know what that movie was, much less want to see it take the place of a classic like the Mansion during such a great (and busy) time of year. Some things are simply better left alone.

Those that want to see this layover have multiple options for places to go. Why in the world do we need another movie overlay, especially using a movie that was just OK on it's best day.

 

[wdwmagic]

But how many people know the story of Song of the South? Of the Swiss Family Robinson? How many foreign guests know the Twilight Zone?

Pretty weak argument in my opinion. It's not about how familiar the story is, it's about how it is presented.

I believe it's a very relevent argument.

Splash and the Tower primarily succeed with the vast majority of guests because of the physical thrill. Almost everyone loves flume rides and drop towers. Obviously with SM and ToT there is so much more to them, but in reality you could throw any story line on those and they would be widely popular.

 

[EpcotServo]

I can imagine the Japanese are very much into it, and obviously a lot of Americans are familiar with it, but outside of that, how well is the story known?

Well enough for them to keep OUR Haunted Mansion's shop permanently stocked with 3/4th Nightmare Before Christmas merchandise year round.