Haunted Mansion Refurbishment News!

[Pumbas Nakasak]

Finally I must go into the behavior and comments that people are making on this thread...I don't care who likes NBC or the HM or the HMH, these people are welcome into WDW or DL or any of the Disney theme parks. They are people and they do not deserve labels for a movie that they like. I was at the NBC on opening night and I am NOT emo or a shoe stare-er! I find these comments insulting and CLEARY out of place. Also for the people on this thread, mainly one that I really cannot stand after reading their posts, need to get a grip on reality, life happens, progress happens, change happens....if you don't like it I am sure they still sell bomb shelters somewhere in the midwest that you can go spend the rest of your life in and you won't be affect by anything that changes that doesn't fit in your perfect view of this world.

Your post clearly shows that you are indeed a member of the group described and your moniker appears to an accurate reflection of your status.

but at least the foot stamping has made me smile, and being angry is no way being taken as a sign of being an Emo. It could be worse you may have been a chav.

Im delighted to see someone from the UK claims not to know what an Emo looks like or is. Ill post a pic of Sak sprog No3 later to help aid identification.

 

[lil_saria]

i'm going to agree with VK21 here.

it's very rude to degrade someone to that type of a stereotype.

i love NBC. I love HM. i am very interested in all things paranormal on top of that. but i am far from "emo or shoe stare-er". white and nerdy sure but not that. yet, because i apparently enjoy these things, you'd label me as something i'm not? you, who haven't met me and only know me for what i like already thrust a bigotted perception upon me just because you dislike those things? for that, i shake my head and wonder where the GOOD people have gone in this world.

as for the topic at hand, i'm interested in seeing what will happen at HM but it definately needs a refurb.

 

[Pumbas Nakasak]

i'm going to agree with VK21 here.

it's very rude to degrade someone to that type of a stereotype.

i love NBC. I love HM. i am very interested in all things paranormal on top of that. but i am far from "emo or shoe stare-er". white and nerdy sure but not that. yet, because i apparently enjoy these things, you'd label me as something i'm not? you, who haven't met me and only know me for what i like already thrust a bigotted perception upon me just because you dislike those things? for that, i shake my head and wonder where the GOOD people have gone in this world.

as for the topic at hand, i'm interested in seeing what will happen at HM but it definately needs a refurb.

So you ask not to be judged, then you judge me to be a bad person and a bigot. mmmmm

Perhaps my life experience has taught me if all you have to be bothered about is the perception that others think you are an Emo then there is just a chance that you realy dont have that much to be concerned about, or are you just angry at your dad Ó Bowling for Soup

but glad to see youve just joined to register your outrage. Teenagers.........its all about me me me me

 

[lil_saria]

um no i've been registered for quite a few months i just choose not to speak. further more i'm not a teenager, that ship has sailed almost 4 years ago.

and yes i judged you by the way you acted. i need nothing else. i'm pointing out the very essence of what you are doing. you standing/sitting by and degrading people for their likes or dislikes. fine you wish to do that, then so be it. but in my eyes that's wrong to do. from you, all i have seen is just blatent "these people are morons and therefore we should not cater to them" and then you continue, CONTINUE, to do so. if you believe this is right, if you believe you have you are doing the world, this board, a favor by pointing this out then you seriously need to take a step back and look at your life.

 

[Pumbas Nakasak]

um no i've been registered for quite a few months i just choose not to speak. further more i'm not a teenager, that ship has sailed almost 4 years ago.

and yes i judged you by the way you acted. i need nothing else. i'm pointing out the very essence of what you are doing. you standing/sitting by and degrading people for their likes or dislikes. fine you wish to do that, then so be it. but in my eyes that's wrong to do. from you, all i have seen is just blatent "these people are morons and therefore we should not cater to them" and then you continue, CONTINUE, to do so. if you believe this is right, if you believe you have you are doing the world, this board, a favor by pointing this out then you seriously need to take a step back and look at your life.

In my world we use capital letters for a start.
And despite your age you seem to lack the maturity to differentiate between a question about target audiences and expenditure and "these people are morons" a phrase that you chose to use, but Ill bow to your greater experience on the subject and except that clasification.

Thanks for the input.

 

[Montu]

I've just never noticed the scrims to be that different than they are now. I noticed a spot here and there, but nothing that bothers me too much.

Believe me, I know it could have some fixes here and there, I just don't think it's falling apart like some seem to think. I still enjoy it when I visit, and I'm sure I'll enjoy the changes when I go back...whatever they are.

The scrims are in *very* bad shape and it is *very* noticible. They should be hanging tightly, but instead they've begun to droop, causing ripples in the scrim completely defeating the purpose of having them there. They're supposed to look like a fog is between you and the ghosts - not a curtain as they now look.

And the worst scrim issue is on the left side of the track soon after the signing busts, behind the tomb (which is trackside, not beyond the scrim) there was - for a long time - a small rip in the scrim. That small rip has over the years of poor care turned into a *gaping hole* shredded probably three feet wide. This effects the rest of that whole wall of scrim by making it hang poorly, droop even more than the droopy other side, etc.

I realize that those of you fighting this are magic kingdom fanboys and fear change, but come on, even if they don't *change* anything in the Haunted Mansion, it desperately needs a heavy rehab to bring it up to at least what it is *supposed* to be.

 

[Pumbas Nakasak]

I realize that those of you fighting this are magic kingdom fanboys and fear change, but come on, even if they don't *change* anything in the Haunted Mansion, it desperately needs a heavy rehab to bring it up to at least what it is *supposed* to be.

No far from it. I feel it is in need of change / addition. That is why I cannot see the justification in spending what limited financial resources available on a seasonal fix that effectively removes an attraction from use for months at a time when it is made over then un done. Why cant they have the doom buggies inverting?

 

[DisneyMusician2]

I actually think the seasonal effects are a nice touch, just a chance at a special time of year to really spreuce up the look of the mansion. ANd it DESPERATELY needs a rehab. It is one of my all-time favorite Disney attractions, but some TLC could restore it to some of its former glory, so to speak.

 

[Main Street USA]

The scrims are in *very* bad shape and it is *very* noticible. They should be hanging tightly, but instead they've begun to droop, causing ripples in the scrim completely defeating the purpose of having them there. They're supposed to look like a fog is between you and the ghosts - not a curtain as they now look.

And the worst scrim issue is on the left side of the track soon after the signing busts, behind the tomb (which is trackside, not beyond the scrim) there was - for a long time - a small rip in the scrim. That small rip has over the years of poor care turned into a *gaping hole* shredded probably three feet wide. This effects the rest of that whole wall of scrim by making it hang poorly, droop even more than the droopy other side, etc.

I realize that those of you fighting this are magic kingdom fanboys and fear change, but come on, even if they don't *change* anything in the Haunted Mansion, it desperately needs a heavy rehab to bring it up to at least what it is *supposed* to be.

I noticed they look like scrims rather than fog, but they are what they are. I've never noticed any rips. I suppose I'm not looking as closely, or looking for things that are broken as closely, as some of you.

 

[mikesoccer40]

Upgrade, Tweek, but keep main points

We just returned from the MK on Saturday and I will have to agree that the Haunted Mansion could use an good overhaul and upgrade of technology (notice I did not say change).
I am not opposed to change, but the haunted Mansion has a good back story and an upgrade with some tweeking (think POTC) would just enhance the ride and the experience.
An overall ramping up of the animatroics would be great, just think of the bride being more mobile, more agressive and more animated. Not enough to give the little ones nightmares, but enough to make you pause and say "Cool". Additionally it would be fantastic to upgrade the ghoust effects in the ballroom to reflect the present technology. Just stop for a minute and envision the possiblities.
I am not a person who wants change for change sake, and while the ride does not look dated, a large portion of it is looking its age.

 

[TP2000]

To add to the mix on why there is not a HMH overlay at the world, they'd have to also spend the money to write a new show. Not entirely new, but the two attractions are not clones of one another. So it wouldn't be a turn-key operation.

Very true.

But they wrote an all new show for Tokyo Disneyland's Haunted Mansion Holiday. Not only did it have to match a different ride track, different show scenes, and different infrastructure, but the Ghost Host dialogue had to be in JAPANESE! :lol:

The Tokyo Disneyland Haunted Mansion is much more similar to the WDW version than Disneyland's is. Tokyo's exterior architecture looks to be a direct copy of WDW's, and the ride track seemed almost identical to WDW's. Even the stretching rooms that are elevators taking you underground in Anaheim were simply stationary rooms with lifting ceilings in Tokyo, just like WDW.

If they ever do HMH in Florida, they will probably have to go to the plans and files on the HMH they did for Tokyo Disneyland when HMH debuted there in 2004. The Tokyo Disneyland HM and the WDW HM are almost identical, while the Disneyland HM is a noticeably different ride with a different track, infrastructure, layout and appearance.

But the most important thing to remember is that when I visited last October, Tokyo Disneyland's HMH was FABULOUS! :sohappy: It could clearly be duplicated for the WDW version.

 

[Epcot82Guy]

No far from it. I feel it is in need of change / addition. That is why I cannot see the justification in spending what limited financial resources available on a seasonal fix that effectively removes an attraction from use for months at a time when it is made over then un done.

I agree with this. I think HMH seems like a wonderful attraction, but the budget placed for that could be much better spent upgrading and improving the Mansion itself. I think DL has some very nice new effects. I think having a similar APPROACH (I want new scenes for us, not clones) to WDW would be great. There are several old/empty scenes that could provide a neat chance for WDI to flex its spooky creativity.

 

[TP2000]

Just to clarify the amount of time each year Disneyland's Haunted Mansion is closed for refurbishment, that time averages out to just less than six weeks per calendar year. It's not the months that some folks have thrown out in this thread.

That first year they did HMH in 2001 it was closed for a couple of months; August and September if I remember correctly. But each year thereafter it is only closed for three full weeks in September to turn it into HMH. A couple of times in the last five+ years they have extended out the rehab portion in January to install new effects and slather some TLC around after the Holiday version is over, and that has clearly benefited the appearance and operation of the regular version of Haunted Mansion as well.

As I remember it, it's been only twice in five years they have spent more than the customary two or three weeks in January for a closure; one year it was closed for six weeks in January/February to paint the exterior again and install the new Floating Leota effect, install plasma screen changing portraits in the pre-load area, and upgrade the entire facilities audio to digital. And then last year it had another six week closure in January/February to install all new scrims and upgrade the Attic Scene with the new plasma screen portraits and the new bride, plus general TLC on the Omnimover and facility infrastructure that keeps the Doombuggies quietly gliding along instead of the scraping and scratching I heard the last time I was in WDW.

This year however the Haunted Mansion was closed for exactly three weeks in September, and it is scheduled to be closed just less than three weeks in January. So that's a total of about five and a half weeks of closure for this year.

It's not the months and months, year after year after year, that some people imagine it to be.

The same is true with Small World Holiday. When that Christmas layover started in 1997 the original closures were a couple of months in the start, and another month at the end. But through the years they have found the obvious efficiencies of operation that smart humans always find when repeating a task, and the yearly closure for Small World is now around five weeks per calendar year, even less than Haunted Mansion. Just under three weeks in October, and exactly two weeks in mid January is what Small World is scheduled to be closed for to install and remove the amazing Holiday version of that ride.

I just thought it might benefit some folks to realize the closure of Holiday themed attractions at Disneyland is simply measured in weeks per calendar year, and not the months that some folks have imagined in their minds.

 

[Pumbas Nakasak]

I just thought it might benefit some folks to realize the closure of Holiday themed attractions at Disneyland is simply measured in weeks per calendar year, and not the months that some folks have imagined in their minds.

is that six weeks as in one and a half months?

 

[disnyfan89]

is that six weeks as in one and a half months?

Does it really matter?

 

[Pumbas Nakasak]

Does it really matter?

it must do or why else post reems about weeks instead of months?

How about we say it closes the attraction for 10% of the year

 

[disnyfan89]

It is true that the HM is not closed for MonthS. It is closed for one month and two weeks. All your doing is being a complete A$$ because you feel like being "Smart" with someone.

 

[wdwishes2005]

Or using logic. and by the way, whats the point with the $$ signs?, besides skirting the language filter?

 

[Thurp]

I know what the HM needs.... more figment!!!

 

[SirGoofy]

Why do these threads always deteriorate into petty squabbles?

Anyway, the Mansion needs some TLC, it isn't in shambles like some have stated, but it isn't great looking either. Many of the scenes are too dark, and very hard to see. Plus there are some audio problems. I'm indifferent towards HMH. It'd be a cool addition, but it's not necessary. One good thing about HMH, correct me if I'm wrong, is that the Mansion gets refurbed every year when setting up/taking down occurs.