Haunted Mansion to Return with New Enhancements and Magic :(

[SuddenStorm]

I've always found the dead space (pun intended) in the load area to be confusing. I've seen the limbo concept art for the space that kinda shows what they wanted to do with it, but IMO I don't think it transferred that well. So if anything I'd like to see something in that space. Phantom manor does much better with their grand staircase backdrop.

It's such an excellent idea, with such lousy execution. Made worse by such frivolous things as 'safety lighting'. If they could just put some dim lights along the floor and keep those candle lamps around, it could be a really convincing effect.

But, in a theme park attractions have to actually be safe for all guests (sigh) , so the excess lighting that's been added since '69 will remain. Which means unless they find a way to revamp the lighting in the entire room, making the effect convincing again without sacrificing safety that room will never quite live up to expectations.

I just can't think of something better. I like the idea of the load station functioning as a sort of 'transition' into the boundless realm of the supernatural...

 

[TP2000]

Is that ADA accessible?

When we've gone with my mom in a chair, we always went through the elevator. The weird thing is you have to go through the stretching room when you enter AND when you leave. It feels so wrong. lol.

Good point on ADA accessibility. There's nothing about the Haunted Mansion's alternate entrances and emergency exits that are ADA accessible, or that even begin to meet modern codes.

It's all stairways and inclines and narrow passageways. Even at 25% capacity in the Orange Tier, there's plenty of room to run both stretching rooms Socially Distanced but otherwise per normal and not go over the 25% capacity rule.

Picture box...

Yeah, like these picture boxes from 1969...

I also found these other ones from the backside, in addition to the fabulous one @Sharon&Susan already posted...

ABANDONED DISNEY: Haunted Mansion Hitchhiking Ghosts - Imagineering Disney -

Take a look behind-the-scenes of a four-decade favorite that is no longer what it used to be....

www.imagineeringdisney.com

They really are just ghosts on sticks, calibrated to travel past the mirrors at the same speed as the Doom Buggies. In a dirty and dusty backroom.

 

[SuddenStorm]

They really are just ghosts on sticks, calibrated to travel past the mirrors at the same speed as the Doom Buggies. In a dirty and dusty backroom.

When I had the opportunity to have a 'meet and greet' with President Lincoln (and while I didn't shake his hand, I did touch his hand which was pretty cool), I was shocked at how the second you leave the onstage portion of the attraction and go behind the curtain and underneath the stage, it looked unfinished. Just 2x4's and plywood. And Mr. Lincoln's inner workings. And it was dirty.

Not unlike the picture above. And yet, both Lincoln and Mansion have delighted guests for over 50 years and are both considered to be marvels of themed design.

 

[SuddenStorm]

There were rumors for years when I worked it that they were going to put in a grand staircase. Rumor mill that it was the grand staircase used in the musical production of sunset blvd from LA after they were done but the space wouldn't't allow it true or false , it was a fun rumor.

Tony talked about wanting to do the Conservatory (if I remember correct) from the Haunted Mansion film in that area. But, since the movie flopped it never came to fruition.

I imagine there have been many ideas pitched over the years for the giant empty room.

 

[yensidtlaw1969]

I've always found the dead space (pun intended) in the load area to be confusing. I've seen the limbo concept art for the space that kinda shows what they wanted to do with it, but IMO I don't think it transferred that well. So if anything I'd like to see something in that space. Phantom manor does much better with their grand staircase backdrop.

It looked much better back in the day - some of the elements have been stripped away over time, and worst of all the lighting was cranked up around the time the Holiday overlay first came in. An understandable change, but it completely destroys the effect of the room. The walls used to be genuinely undetectable - the Doombuggies seemed to materialize out of thin air. The whole room was rather chilling.

 

[1HAPPYGHOSTHOST]

And they better not remove the hanging corpse

I would be LIVID id it is gone!!!!!

 

[91JLovesDisney]

Disneyland has physical animatronics that are on the other side of the glass going the exact same speed as our doom buggy’s on a loop. I believe the ones at WDW are just CGI. And they are cartoony and are not simpatico with the rest of the attraction

That’s what I thought, but I have no understanding as to how WDW’s works - is it the same as the Rey projection? An OLED screen?

 

[George Lucas on a Bench]

It's a screen, meaning when you look across the "mirrors" there, there's no dimension as with the brilliant original mirror reflection. It seems over-engineered whereas the old effect is low-tech and perfect.

 

[Stevek]

The Haunted Mansion Will Return at Disneyland with Enhancements and "New Magic" - WDW News Today

A daily-updated resource for news and information on the Disney resort around the world.

dlnewstoday.com

Goodbye classic hitchhiking ghosts.

That link is literally the least informational, click baity article in a while which is not surprising given old Tom Unscrupulous owns the site. Literally zero information.

 

[Sharon&Susan]

Good point on ADA accessibility. There's nothing about the Haunted Mansion's alternate entrances and emergency exits that are ADA accessible, or that even begin to meet modern codes.

It's all stairways and inclines and narrow passageways. Even at 25% capacity in the Orange Tier, there's plenty of room to run both stretching rooms Socially Distanced but otherwise per normal and not go over the 25% capacity rule.



Yeah, like these picture boxes from 1969...

I also found these other ones from the backside, in addition to the fabulous one @Sharon&Susan already posted...

ABANDONED DISNEY: Haunted Mansion Hitchhiking Ghosts - Imagineering Disney -

Take a look behind-the-scenes of a four-decade favorite that is no longer what it used to be....

www.imagineeringdisney.com

They really are just ghosts on sticks, calibrated to travel past the mirrors at the same speed as the Doom Buggies. In a dirty and dusty backroom.

Wonder what that old room "across the looking glass" is being used for now at MK. Storage? A Break Room? Nothing?

 

[180º]

Wonder what that old room "across the looking glass" is being used for now at MK. Storage? A Break Room? Nothing?

The ghosty-go-round apparatus is still part of the scene. The classic animatronics were just replaced with individual, slightly concave screens. The carousel takes care of the alignment with the buggies as both distance from the mirror and horizontal tracking are instrumental in the illusion.

 

[PiratesMansion]

The ghosty-go-round apparatus is still part of the scene. The classic animatronics were just replaced with individual, slightly concave screens. The carousel takes care of the alignment with the buggies as both distance from the mirror and horizontal tracking are instrumental in the illusion.

Oh good! Maybe some day they can go back to the classic version relatively easily then.

Put IN the Hatbox Ghost, kick OUT the CGI hitchhikers.

 

[91JLovesDisney]

It's a screen, meaning when you look across the "mirrors" there, there's no dimension as with the brilliant original mirror reflection. It seems over-engineered whereas the old effect is low-tech and perfect.

Right... so the screen is behind a thin mirror film..?

 

[180º]

Oh good! Maybe some day they can go back to the classic version relatively easily then.

Put IN the Hatbox Ghost, kick OUT the CGI hitchhikers.

And ideally, put the Hatbox Ghost IN the attic. WDW doesn’t have the attic pianist so they could imitate the original Disneyland set-up. I’d really prefer that over here, too.

 

[mickEblu]

My friend, I'm a bit shocked you haven't read the Long Forgotten Blog in it's entirety.

With Splash getting the axe Mansion will become my favorite existing Disneyland attraction. So much depth and history in that one ride- it really hearkens back to a time when attraction design was treated as higher art by the designers, not a way to sell toys.

I’ll have to check it out! Admittedly, I’m not a diehard Mansion fan. Don’t get me wrong, I love it and think it and POTC are the pinnacle of imagineering but I haven’t really done any deep reading on it other than stuff that I just come across here and there. I think I know a good amount about the practical effects, back story and imagineers that work on it. Sometimes I’m hesitant to do too much of a deep dive on the practical effects. I don’t want to be thinking of the behind the scenes when I’m riding. Granted as an AP and avid consumer of Disney parks history/ info that’s not always easy to do.

 

[PiratesMansion]

I’ll have to check it out! Admittedly, I’m not a diehard Mansion fan. Don’t get me wrong, I love it and think it and POTC are the pinnacle of imagineering but I haven’t really done any deep reading on it other than stuff that I just come across here and there. I think I know a good amount about the practical effects, back story and imagineers that work on it. Sometimes I’m hesitant to do too much of a deep dive on the practical effects. I don’t want to be thinking of the behind the scenes when I’m riding. Granted as an AP and avid consumer of Disney parks history/ info that’s not always easy to do.

I highly recommend Boundless Realm by Foxxy of Passport2Dreams. About the WDW version, but still a very good read.

I also (perhaps in the minority on this side of the boards?) prefer the WDW/Tokyo version and find it overall to be an improvement on the DL original, where the stature of the attraction makes more sense, IMO. Notably, when I returned to DL in 2013 it was my first time on the normal Mansion in 15 years...and it underwhelmed, honestly. It took re-experiencing the WDW version in 2014 to really snap my affections for it all back into place.

 

[Brer Oswald]

I doubt it’s anything substantial. But maybe it is. Mansion has the most dedicated fan base for any theme park attraction, and publicly “hyping up” any changes probably isn’t the smartest move.

 

[mickEblu]

I highly recommend Boundless Realm by Foxxy of Passport2Dreams. About the WDW version, but still a very good read.

I also (perhaps in the minority on this side of the boards?) prefer the WDW/Tokyo version and find it overall to be an improvement on the DL original, where the stature of the attraction makes more sense, IMO. Notably, when I returned to DL in 2013 it was my first time on the normal Mansion in 15 years...and it underwhelmed, honestly. It took re-experiencing the WDW version in 2014 to really snap my affections for it all back into place.

I’ve only been on the DL version but from what I’ve seen and heard, I think I would still prefer the DL version. The facade is iconic and its location in NOS is perfect if you can let those Italian Cypress do their job and block out Splash Mountain. The build up is the best with DL version because Of the “underrated” facade and no cartoony cheesy interactive queues. The actual ride itself may be better in WDW/ Tokyo if we re looking at things in a vacuum but for overall experience I’d have to go with DL. I also like the uniqueness of walking though the hall of changing portraits and the fact that we re actually In an elevator in the stretching room. Mansion at DL is still the only ride I’ve been on that blurs the line between where the queue stops and ride starts. ROTR doesn’t pull it off quite the same way because after Admiral “Beck” we kind of queue up again.

 

[lazyboy97o]

Oh good! Maybe some day they can go back to the classic version relatively easily then.

Put IN the Hatbox Ghost, kick OUT the CGI hitchhikers.

The animated ghosts could be updated to be an improvement on both. Update the character models to better match the figures and tone done/remove the cartoon antics. Something more like the classic effect but use technology to actually respond to riders, so instead of always sitting in the exact same spot they’re now next to the riders based on where they are seated.

 

[mickEblu]

The animated ghosts could be updated to be an improvement on both. Update the character models to better match the figures and tone done/remove the cartoon antics. Something more like the classic effect but use technology to actually respond to riders, so instead of always sitting in the exact same spot they’re now next to the riders based on where they are seated.

Undoubtedly they would show no restraint in how the ghosts interact with us and they will end giving us wet willys or something.