Haunted Mansion gets Interactive ending

[Bocabear]

All in all I think it is whimsical and cute...and certainly even the original ending was supposed to be funny... not scary, so this does not bother me...I kind of like tieing in the new technology... The Graveyard Queue on the other hand i really think kind of makes a mockery of the whole show... These elements would make more sense at the exit, rather than the entrance... but then there is no reason to have anything at the exit as you want to move people along... I would have loved the Graveyard to have been much creepier... without all the silliness... The whole staging of the original show was to have a mement where you stop, and listen... and then it ends on a happy note.
Not sure why this generation of imagineeers never seems to understand the basic brilliant staging of the original attractions...

 

[Brad Bishop]

I really think that, if the ride is trying to get that story across, it fails in that regard. I didn't know that you fall from the attic and die, and that that's why you descend backwards into the graveyard, until reading it online. It makes sense thinking about it, but my mind never made that connection. I just assumed you were alive the entire time, and at the end, they were just inviting you to join once you die. Maybe it's just something I missed, but I consider myself to be more observant and fan-ish than the average guest, so I can't imagine I'm alone on this one.

I think the ride would benefit from that part being more clear.

I'm with you. It never occurred to me that I was falling out of the attic. Ever since I was a little kid I always thought, "Oh, this is the part that goes backwards down the hill into the graveyard.." It does kind of make sense now that it's been brought up. There's really no other reason to have you slowly climb that distance through the rest of the attraction only to fall at that point. Still, I never caught on until now.

I also get what some others are saying about the interactive queue and the end of the ride being made more "cartoony". That's a tough call for me as you could make a very good argument that the old way of the hitchhiking ghosts was pretty legendary. I mean, it's what you saw on the front of T-Shirts and anyone who's been there instantly identifies with it. The whole second part of the ride is entirely different in theme and character from the first part. The first part is spooky with a séance, ghosts, and some really great effects (plenty of husbands missing their heads). The second part really is cartoony. The whole graveyard scene is a really well-done carnival-type effect with random heads popping up from behind tombstones and the very cartoony look of the characters (even the hitchhiking ghosts).

 

[Brad Bishop]

All in all I think it is whimsical and cute...and certainly even the original ending was supposed to be funny... not scary, so this does not bother me...I kind of like tieing in the new technology... The Graveyard Queue on the other hand i really think kind of makes a mockery of the whole show... These elements would make more sense at the exit, rather than the entrance... but then there is no reason to have anything at the exit as you want to move people along... I would have loved the Graveyard to have been much creepier... without all the silliness... The whole staging of the original show was to have a mement where you stop, and listen... and then it ends on a happy note.
Not sure why this generation of imagineeers never seems to understand the basic brilliant staging of the original attractions...

That's another good point I hadn't thought about. Before, especially if you were a kid, you stood there in line waiting (with anticipation and perhaps a bit of anxiety) to go into the Haunted Mansion. You'd hear subtle queues and, eventually, pass the graveyard and enter the HM. It all set you up to be spooked.

You're right - the whimsical nature of the graveyard interactive bits completely screws that. You could argue that mobile phones screw that now, anyway, with people looking at them 24/7 but, still, that doesn't negate the first point.

 

[CastleBound]

The original smoke and mirrors, practical effect was much more charming. The mansion is a bag of tricks that you can't quite figure out, like the scrim ceiling in the elevator and the pepper's ghost effect in the ball room. Anything overtly digital or computerized robs the show of that aspect in a way.

I think this is exactly what I was going for in my earlier posts. There was so much charm involved in that scene. It felt real to me as a child. I can't assume a kid is thinking these scenes are real. When you see it, you completely understand its a digital gag and thats the end of it... it's not going to follow you home.

That being said, I think the ending looks great. It has some really cool features and the tech is pretty awesome. I'd just rather the old school tech.

 

[wendysue]

Just got back, and it wasn't working at all last wed. or this past monday.

 

[Buried20KLeague]

The ghosts are only friendly at the end is because that is when you die (by being pushed out of the attic window), and actually then become one of them.

Huh?

At ride end...

Hurry back! Hurry back! Be sure to bring your death certificate, if you decide to join us. Make final arrangements now! We've been dying... to have you...

While exiting...

If you would like to join our jamboree there's a simple rule that's compulsory. Mortals pay a token fee. Rest in peace, the haunting's free; so hurry back, we would like your company!

Doom Buggies, the undisputed Leader in all things Mansion, say that the fall from the attic theory is certainly plausible at least, and likely at most. From Doom Buggies:

"It has been suggested to DoomBuggies by a source close to the Imagineers that a subtext to the Haunted Mansion is the viewer's own journey of "crossing over" to the "other side." It is a possibility that the "fall" from the Haunted Mansion roof is a point of transition; a possible marker separating life from death, and the point at which the viewer changes from spectactor to participant in the festivities."

There's no official word on it. Because of the way the Mansion attraction came together, it's a bunch of disjointed segments with no real cohesive storyline. The fall from the attic could be death and then joining the ghosts, and then you have another disconnect with Little Leota's message at the end.

 

[Buried20KLeague]

There was so much charm involved in that scene. It felt real to me as a child. I can't assume a kid is thinking these scenes are real. When you see it, you completely understand its a digital gag and thats the end of it... it's not going to follow you home.

That's a fantastic point, and one I hadn't thought of. You're totally correct... When I was a kid, I thought the ghosts were real. So did my daughters. That's not the case now.

 

[RSoxNo1]

That's a fantastic point, and one I hadn't thought of. You're totally correct... When I was a kid, I thought the ghosts were real. So did my daughters. That's not the case now.

Removing the "how did they do that" component definitely hurts a bit.

 

[celluloid]

A lot of the whimsy is gone because guests will look at it as a live feed rather than a mirror(even though I know in part it still revolves around glass)

For example, Snapchat and many other phone and computing apps have augmented reality software that achieve a similar effect that most preteens to adults are familiar with. It can place a face on a recording or remove your head as you move around. Much like the current WDW effect does. Many can do this live.

What can't be easily replicated or downloaded however, is a large scale reverse pepper's ghost effect that the original effect has and the physical element that the rotating busts behind the glass provided.

Sometimes less is more, that is a part of my thought with the magic band detail. Only because it is starting to show up in every ride where there is a screen or projection and is going to be expected.

 

[Unomas]

I can't believe we are so desperate for something new at WDW that yall are chomping at the bit over this.

People go crazy over anything Haunted Mansion - its the only attraction that comes close to fanatical status in regards to the fan base.

 

[Brad Bishop]

People go crazy over anything Haunted Mansion - its the only attraction that comes close to fanatical status in regards to the fan base.

It's such a great attraction, though. There is no other haunted house-style attraction that matches it or comes close. Most of the ones in various amusement parks are the same UV painted characters, a boat horn, and the typical "truck coming right at you". If you're lucky you may bet the barrel room where you feel like you're not straight up.

Haunted Mansion, though, actually tried to make you feel like you were going into a haunted mansion and it's crazy awesome.

Upon further reflection, after seeing a lot of the comments here, I think I'm changing my mind: The way it was before was better: No queue toys, traditional hitch hiking ghosts, etc.

I think that the point made about SnapChat is spot-on. Your phone can do that. What your phone can't do is the old style.

..and I think it's better that the kids stand in fear/awe of the foreboding Haunted Mansion, with all of the little outdoor elements that they add in (lightning at night, sounds, etc), than be distracted by queue-toys.

The queue toys are need but, you're right.. They do take away from the overall effect.

 

[Amused to Death]

There's really no other reason to have you slowly climb that distance through the rest of the attraction only to fall at that point.

Right. And, of course, everyone also dies in Spaceship Earth when their vehicle turns around and they "fall from space" and land splat onto the ground in Epcot.

[Quoting Doom Buggies] It is a possibility that the "fall" from the Haunted Mansion roof...

Typically, one must fall between four and eight stories to actually die. The DL and MK mansions don't appear to have more than two or three stories, and we only go up one flight of stairs anyway, but let's play along. Why are there no screams as everyone falls out the window and plummets to their death? Where's the sound of our doom buggy crashing onto the ground? No kick mechanism in the floor to let us know that we've had a rough landing? No ghost to say "welcome home" to newly deceased DVC members?

I'm sorry, but this falling out the window and dying thing is nothing more than a poorly made up theory by persons who apparently couldn't be bothered to listen to and/or comprehend the script. Again, why would a ghost need to follow me home and haunt me if I'm already a card-carrying member of the netherworld?

Anyone remember the poor schmuck who bid $37,000 on eBay to be DL mansion's 1,000th Happy Haunt back in 2004? Little did he know that he was already a member of the party!

Trying to stay on topic here... perhaps the interactive element at the end needs to be changed to a McDonald's hamburgers served-like sign saying how many Happy Haunts have been added to the cemetery...

909,657,203... 909,657,204... 909,657,205... 909,657,206...

 

[Dead2009]

Is there an option to superglue your child's eyes shut so they dont get freaked out by the darkness of the stretching room?

 

[Weather_Lady]

Doom Buggies, the undisputed Leader in all things Mansion, say that the fall from the attic theory is certainly plausible at least, and likely at most. From Doom Buggies:

"It has been suggested to DoomBuggies by a source close to the Imagineers that a subtext to the Haunted Mansion is the viewer's own journey of "crossing over" to the "other side." It is a possibility that the "fall" from the Haunted Mansion roof is a point of transition; a possible marker separating life from death, and the point at which the viewer changes from spectactor to participant in the festivities."

There's no official word on it. Because of the way the Mansion attraction came together, it's a bunch of disjointed segments with no real cohesive storyline. The fall from the attic could be death and then joining the ghosts, and then you have another disconnect with Little Leota's message at the end.

I see the "death" theory as technically plausible, but incorrect and unnecessary. We don't need to speculate about Disney's intent: Disney has already told us exactly what is happening. The descent from the attic perfectly matches the storyline for the Haunted Mansion, as told by the LP many of us had as kids in the 1980s -- "I climbed out of a window and onto a balcony, then down a tree, and was greatly relieved to be out of that house. Now I had another problem... I was out of the house, but in the graveyard. I tried to get help from the caretaker, but he was more frightened than I. He and his dog just stood there shaking..." The narrator proceeds through the graveyard (describing the minstrels, the stalled hearse, the decapitated knight, etc.) and then leaves, vowing to visit the house again, quite whole and alive. I can't ride through the Haunted Mansion without that record's narration playing in my head.

The descent from the attic begins here at the 5:00 mark:

 

[Bairstow]

A lot of the whimsy is gone because guests will look at it as a live feed rather than a mirror(even though I know in part it still revolves around glass)

For example, Snapchat and many other phone and computing apps have augmented reality software that achieve a similar effect that most preteens to adults are familiar with. It can place a face on a recording or remove your head as you move around. Much like the current WDW effect does. Many can do this live.

What can't be easily replicated or downloaded however, is a large scale reverse pepper's ghost effect that the original effect has and the physical element that the rotating busts behind the glass provided.

Sometimes less is more, that is a part of my thought with the magic band detail. Only because it is starting to show up in every ride where there is a screen or projection and is going to be expected.

I think the real limitation of the current hitchhiker effect is that your reflection is three dimensional whereas the ghosts exist on a flat, 2d screen. The discrepancy is somewhat mitigated by the fact that the ghosts at least appear on the correct plane with respect to the viewer, but it's still an imperfect effect, even if guests don't consciously realise this. I wonder what sort of technology would be needed for these screen-based ghosts to appear 3-dimensional without the use of glasses.

On an unrelated note, does it bother anyone else that the final crashing sound effect in the stretch room doesn't seem to come from the center of the floor? They have so many independent channels of audio in that room and they missed using one of the best ones.

 

[sporadic]

I think the real limitation of the current hitchhiker effect is that your reflection is three dimensional whereas the ghosts exist on a flat, 2d screen. The discrepancy is somewhat mitigated by the fact that the ghosts at least appear on the correct plane with respect to the viewer, but it's still an imperfect effect, even if guests don't consciously realise this. I wonder what sort of technology would be needed for these screen-based ghosts to appear 3-dimensional without the use of glasses.

On an unrelated note, does it bother anyone else that the final crashing sound effect in the stretch room doesn't seem to come from the center of the floor? They have so many independent channels of audio in that room and they missed using one of the best ones.

This guy thinks it's 3D:

DSCF2083 by smerrick, on Flickr

 

[Amused to Death]

I see the "death" theory as technically plausible, but incorrect and unnecessary. We don't need to speculate about Disney's intent: Disney has already told us exactly what is happening.

People need to understand that just because someone says something, whether it's an Imagineer trying to embellish a story after the fact, a misinformed Keys to the Kingdom tour guide (is there one who isn't?), or a deranged HM cast member who has been known to take it upon himself to rearrange the ballroom table or who has also attempted to restore the "ring" that never was (you know who you are!), it doesn't mean it's the gospel truth.

The narrator proceeds through the graveyard...

"I passed a group of singing minstrels who paid no attention to me at all."

Rude! Aren't we supposed to be a part of their world now?

I can't ride through the Haunted Mansion without that record's narration playing in my head.

I have the See-Hear-Read record as well. And the old Haunted Mansion LP, too. I'm showing my age!

 

[Mansionfan]

Okay, for some reason, this whole business about ''falling'' out to attic window to our collective deaths has really irritated me since I first heard about it some years ago. I seem to recall it was first mentioned by someone on a guided tour who had a cast-member who wasn't exactly all that well-informed about the HM ''story'' - and for that matter he/she stated it was the attic bride (pre-Constance) doing the pushing out the window. Since then it's something that again and again crops up as part of the ''story'' and just won't ''die''. What has always seemed obvious to me though is we are actually moving out onto an outdoor balcony and then down a set of stairs (as related all to clearly on the above-mentioned LP) - backwards only because the Imagineers realized the angle of descent sitting forwards would apparently be too uncomfortable - and still very much among the living. And, if you recall, the Ghost Host himself tells us they only have room for one more (for some reason) - and not every living - now dead - soul visiting the place...

 

[MotherOfBirds]

I miss the original mirror scene. You could tell that the ghosts had some kind of physical presence in our world. The ones they added later shatter that illusion by being so obviously CG.

 

[Mansionfan]

And, while I'm at it, do any other old-timers remember from way back in the HM of the early '70's the graveyard bicycle-riders having these drawn-out piercing shrieks like related on the LP ? I feel like I'm the only one who ever heard this... along with the various screams, laughter, etc. of the graveyard pop-ups.