Haunted Mansion Refurb.

[mprice]

No, not another post speculating an HM refurb. just wondering if anyone has any semi-definite clues as to when they might start (if it is happening) and when it will end. There is a news item that says possibly June - Oct. 2007 in which case I will die because I'm going in August... just curious, thanks.

 

[Chape19714]

I don't know anything about it other than it will be closed, and it will unfortunately happen during someone's vacation.

I've also heard that same time period, with re-opening in time for the Halloween Parties.

 

[Astro_Digital]

Everytime I ride the Haunted Mansion I always wondered how much better it could be if Disney updated the 1960s technology the attarcation is based on.

They can do it right.

I was worried the Disney messing around with the Pirates will wreck the attraction like they wreck just about everything they touch, but adding Jack Sparrow did not wreck the attraction at all.

 

[mnagel55]

I am not bothered by the level of tech they use...I find the Mansion like a comfortable sweater I never get tired of wearing.

However, it does need some 'sprucing up'

 

[hokielutz]

I am not bothered by the level of tech they use...I find the Mansion like a comfortable sweater I never get tired of wearing.

However, it does need some 'sprucing up'

Agreed that it does need a good sprucing up. I am a bit tired of seeing the warped wall paper in the stretch room that gives away the illusion of the room either sinking or the roof rising. I'm sure most of us that have been there in the last year know what I am talking about.

 

[fizzle75]

Please forgive my ignorance but what exactly will be done during the refurb? What exactly was done during the refurb at Disneyland? Was anything actually added? for some reason I have it in my head that they will be adding Jack Skellington,is this true or is that just something Disneyland does during Halloween. I am still a relative WDW newbie so all I have ever known is the Mansion in it's current state but according to all I have heard on these boards it is pretty rundown. Even as rundown as it is I still love it but I do hope it gets a nice rehab though. According to the update on this very site it will be closed from early June to early October so they must have some pretty extensive things in mind. We will be going in late October for Halloween so I hope it is finished by then.

 

[Simba1]

Yes, the Mansion will be going down in June and October is the expected (hopeful) re-opening date. As far as what's going to happen, I've heard everything from a new bride and a new Leota (a la Disneyland) to a new omnimover track for the Doombuggies. I'm sure they will update the sound system as well.

 

[Chape19714]

I have not heard about the new Omnimover track, possibly new omnimovers, but not track. The new bride (constance), and the new Leota effect are both very possible. Sound is most definately of priority in this attraction. As a matter of fact, they've already started to fix the sound, 3 doombuggies at a time, until it's done or the rehab starts, whichever comes first. All audio that is not fed to the vechiles probally won't be fixed until the rehab time period.

 

[cb3k]

I had posted something back in December about the extensive refurb that was to take place with HM. Many shot it down, I was just simply reporting back what an HM cast member had told me around 3 in the morning during an EMH night. He claimed the ring was removed in order to build a "real" story line. The Horseless carriage was possibly going to be auctioned off. The stretching room paintings were going to the smithsonian and were going to be replaced with ones that were much cheaper to fix should they tear. All of the sound was going to digital, and going to be much more intense. Many of the effects were going to change and become significantly scarier, he claimed that our new HM would more resemble Phantom Manor in Paris. This member stated that nearly everything was on the chopping block with the exception of the track and the ride vehicles (doombuggies staying the same). I asked..."wont this tick off some Purists?",,,,he agreed and said that it was the imagineers decision to not tweak Disneyland's version much away from the original story line...but our beloved HM would get an entire new face....Also he told me that they had been doing walkthroughs everynight for the past month (this was in late December) and that they were given a HARD open date Sept. 22 (or somewhere close to that)......This is really the truth as to what I heard...now, if it is actually TRUE I dont know.

 

[Escarabaja06]

Interesting...cb3k.

Thanks for the info, I'm excited to hear more!

 

[philsfan2185]

bummer, it will be closed when i go in august.

 

[TOCPE82]

Maybe I'm in the minority, but I don't mind if attractions are down during my vacations especially if they are being improved upon and made significantly better. This also could be because I'm a former CM whose family still goes to Disney 2 or 3 times per year..... But either way it's good to see the mansion getting the TLC it needs. Last time I rode in in December, none of the screaming heads were screaming, and some weren't even moving.

 

[Jerm]

I would not put any money down on anything until it is offical. If a referb (it is not going into rehab for a drinking problem) does happen. I would say things that are most likely going to happen are replace the speaker system in the doombuggies. Do something with the staircase room (as I saw at a place that makes the magic). Change out and update some of the effect but I would not expect anything HUGE, changing the bride to me is not HUGE. Even with what they have done here at DL it is still the same attraction with just new effects.

Things that WILL NOT HAPPEN...they will not change the track or the omnimover system, that would mean they would have to tear out almost everything in the show building. It will not become like Paris (that was just a dumb thing for a CM to say). The stretching room paintings are not going to the smithsonian, those are copies of the ones from here at DL. And most of all they will not be adding a LOOP (I know we were hoping for it)

As of right now there is nothing on the books for a refurb, but that is not to say that info can not change in a heart beat.

J

 

[nibblesandbits]

Boy do I hope if this is true...that it opens up just a little earlier than October...but I'm glad to actually hear what sounds like a potential rumor on a ride that so desperately needs it.

 

[Brian_B]

I am still a relative WDW newbie so all I have ever known is the Mansion in it's current state but according to all I have heard on these boards it is pretty rundown.

Despite what many people would have you think, when you consider it for a moment, the HM is in remarkably good condition for it's age. Think about it...that ride is nearly 40 years old. And for that ENTIRE span of time, save for the regularly scheduled periods of maintenance, it's ran pretty much nonstop every single day it's been open (i'd say on the order of 75% of the time) from 1971 - now. You homeowners out there will appreciate the logic in this - think about how hard it is to keep something like a house from reverting back to it's elemental components, and then consider the fact that a ride like the HM has got thousands of moving parts and all kinds of systems and subsystems that need to be kept operational. The fact that we're nitpicking over warped wallpaper that is barely noticable to the average guest is a testament to the quality of the original attraction and the hard work done constantly to maintain it.

Of course, once enough time elapses it's time for a major refurb, which is what's about to happen. Just about time, and I'm happy the company is willing to put money into it to make it a really amazing attraction by the standards of today...which are astronomical. I find that people are very hard to impress these days. Wait till they get a load of what Disney's got up their collective sleeve!

 

[radiohost]

Haunted Mansion refurb in the summer

=

ALOT of ticked off guests!!!!!


Yeah they got away with Pirates being closed for 3 months last year, but the whole June to Aug thing is just silly. While working at BTM last year in the college program, the ride people always wanted to know the location to, by a margin of 9/10 times, was always HM...

And with the whole year of a million dreams celebration, all these familys coming in the summer wanting to ride the ride they saw on the commercials, you know, the ride with the ghosts, is closed???? I wouldnt be a happy guest IMO....

Radiohost

 

[mgraef]

As long as it is open when I get there!!

Just kidding, I consider refurbs part of the reason I keep going back. Year after year after year.
mg

 

[marko]

I think i would be more upset if the haunted mansion was closed for the halloween party, rather then summer vacation. Part of the fun is going to the haunted mansion at midnight.:sohappy: WHATS A HALLOWEEN PARTY WITHOUT A HAUNTED MANSION!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Fievel]

I think i would be more upset if the haunted mansion was closed for the halloween party, rather then summer vacation. Part of the fun is going to the haunted mansion at midnight.:sohappy: WHATS A HALLOWEEN PARTY WITHOUT A HAUNTED MANSION!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I think this is the key...if it's going down in June, they want it open for Halloween and MNSSHP.

I see this as a good thing, even though it will be down while we are there. It has to go down for this refurb sometime, and there's no way they can do all that's rumored and still keep it open during the day.

 

[CTXRover]

For the refurb everyone wants and the HM needs, it will have to be closed during somebody's vacation. There is never a "good time" to close down such a major attraction anymore. There might be slower seasons, but the concept of a "slow season" that lasts a few months seems to be no more.

The best time is likely January through March for such a big rehab, but that means HM waiting yet another year for its much deserved refurb. Some better planning may have been needed so they could be working on it now, but for whatever reason that didn't happen. Somebody is going to be going to WDW when HM is closed, there really is now "best" time for that to happen anymore imo.