Haunted Mansion to Return with New Enhancements and Magic :(

[PiratesMansion]

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.

Perhaps, but I'd be remiss if I didn't point out that:
1. WDW is the only version of the ride with the interactive queue
2. I, and most people probably, would take a better version of the ride over a better queue (which ironically is where DL wins most of the time compared to WDW especially; not so much with Mansion, though)
3. You also enter through the front door (and the actual front door at that, not just a door on the front of the facade), go through an elevator stretching room, and then walk through a hallway of changing portraits in Paris. The theme is a bit different, but the feeling and end goal of it all is very similar. Paris also has a superior foyer, load area, and arguably portrait hallway compared to DL.

I'd say the only HM that's in a bad location is Tokyo, and that's mainly because the mansion's just there in Fantasyland with no transition whatsoever. WDW and Paris, however, have locations that are lovely in their own right. Obviously there's something to be said the proximity of HM and Pirates and the entire NOS area there right in front of you, but there's also something to be said for having the Mansion more directly on the river as in Florida and Paris, or being in a park where you basically have DL's Pirates and WDW's Mansion there in the same place as you do in Tokyo. Paris' Frontierland is also easily the best one Disney's ever built and Phantom Manor is a big part of that. So DL's location is nice and has its merits, but it's not the only location of the ride that works by a long shot (and I still think DL's a little too close to Splash Mountain; not something that can be helped, really, but it's nice that the other Mansions have a little more room to breathe and make an impression; the more menacing facades that really dominate their areas in the other parks also help get the "story" or at least an appropriate mood started far before you enter the building, in Florida and Paris particularly).

I do agree that in a perfect world all versions of the Mansion would have a walkthrough portrait hallway, but at least they didn't straight up delete the scene from the WDW/TDL version and the actual ride portion is better. But truly, no version of Mansion is perfect. DL's load area, as it currently exists, is an ugly mess, and the ride feels a bit rushed when you're used to the slightly slower, more somber pace of the other versions. As much as some of the more recent updates to WDW's are questionable, some of them significantly elevate the attraction. Tokyo's Mansion is in the worst spot, but it is by far the closest to the original version of the attraction and it's easily in the best shape of all of them. So really, all of the versions have their own strengths and weaknesses.

 

[mickEblu]

Perhaps, but I'd be remiss if I didn't point out that:
1. WDW is the only version of the ride with the interactive queue
2. I, and most people probably, would take a better version of the ride over a better queue (which ironically is where DL wins most of the time compared to WDW especially; not so much with Mansion, though)
3. You also enter through the front door (and the actual front door at that, not just a door on the front of the facade), go through an elevator stretching room, and then walk through a hallway of changing portraits in Paris. The theme is a bit different, but the feeling and end goal of it all is very similar. Paris also has a superior foyer, load area, and arguably portrait hallway compared to DL.

I'd say the only HM that's in a bad location is Tokyo, and that's mainly because the mansion's just there in Fantasyland with no transition whatsoever. WDW and Paris, however, have locations that are lovely in their own right. Obviously there's something to be said the proximity of HM and Pirates and the entire NOS area there right in front of you, but there's also something to be said for having the Mansion more directly on the river as in Florida and Paris, or being in a park where you basically have DL's Pirates and WDW's Mansion there in the same place as you do in Tokyo. Paris' Frontierland is also easily the best one Disney's ever built and Phantom Manor is a big part of that. So DL's location is nice and has its merits, but it's not the only location of the ride that works by a long shot (and I still think DL's a little too close to Splash Mountain; not something that can be helped, really, but it's nice that the other Mansions have a little more room to breathe and make an impression; the more menacing facades that really dominate their areas in the other parks also help get the "story" or at least an appropriate mood started far before you enter the building, in Florida and Paris particularly).

I do agree that in a perfect world all versions of the Mansion would have a walkthrough portrait hallway, but at least they didn't straight up delete the scene from the WDW/TDL version and the actual ride portion is better. But truly, no version of Mansion is perfect. DL's load area, as it currently exists, is an ugly mess, and the ride feels a bit rushed when you're used to the slightly slower, more somber pace of the other versions. As much as some of the more recent updates to WDW's are questionable, some of them significantly elevate the attraction. Tokyo's Mansion is in the worst spot, but it is by far the closest to the original version of the attraction and it's easily in the best shape of all of them. So really, all of the versions have their own strengths and weaknesses.

I guess I’m one of the few people who appreciates the boundless realm loading area. To me it makes the fact that we are loading onto the omnimover in the middle of the mansion a lot more seamless. Psychologically it’s a transition from reality to fantasy. I forget what version has that grand staircase in the loading area but I’m not a fan of it. It’s a little too polished and slick for me and doesn’t make the same impact.

 

[PiratesMansion]

I guess I’m one of the few people who appreciates the boundless realm loading area. To me it makes the fact that we are loading onto the omnimover in the middle of the mansion a lot more seamless. Psychologically it’s a transition from reality to fantasy. I forget what version has that grand staircase in the loading area but I’m not a fan of it. It’s a little too polished and slick for me and doesn’t make the same impact.

Yep, that's Paris.

It may depend on how recently you saw the photo-I think the post-refurb version looks to be an improvement over what was originally there. But even the original worked better in person than I was expecting.

 

[Mac Tonight]

Having ridden both (though WDW's not since 2012), I give the edge to DL, but Florida's Library and Endless Staircase scenes are fantastic.

I'm really hoping this is more PR hype than actual major alteration. She just needs some a face-lift, not full reconstructive surgery.

 

[D.Silentu]

I have long hoped that something will be done with the “boundless realm“ loading area. I remember when it was much darker and really did seem strange and ethereal with the dim wispy lights playing across the back and the bizarre spiderwebs hanging towards the end of the room! I understand and support the need for safety lighting, but I’ve always wondered why they didn’t use soft blue gels. Theaters across the country use these backstage because the light bleed is minimum.

I think that Paris’ grand staircase scene is quite striking, but it wouldn’t work with our mansion. Paris’ portrait hallway does not have windows as ours does. To come from a hallway with windows to a staircase with windows on the opposite side creates a mansion with absurd dimensions.

 

[Max Duane]

Not trying to be *that guy*, but am I the only one who’s nervous for the longevity of the stretching room scene altogether? I’m not sure how they’re going to go about it at DL, but combine the capacity issue with the Ghost Host’s hanging corpse and suicide reference to the rest of the PC changes the parks have been making lately, and it really sounds like a prime opportunity for them

 

[Mac Tonight]

Not trying to be *that guy*, but am I the only one who’s nervous for the longevity of the stretching room scene altogether? I’m not sure how they’re going to go about it at DL, but combine the capacity issue with the Ghost Host’s hanging corpse and suicide reference to the rest of the PC changes the parks have been making lately, and it really sounds like a prime opportunity for them

I assume you don't mean remove the stretching room entirely... because not only is it one of Imagineering's best effects, it would present a logistical nightmare of how to get people to the actual ride.

The capacity "issues" will disappear by next year (imo) and we'll start seeing a return to more normal operations.

As for the hanging corpse, sadly I can see it eventually getting replaced, even though I think it's fine for the attraction. But if that day comes, it'll just be like any other Disney attraction change. It'll rile up the fanbase, maybe even convince someone it's "time to leave Disney behind", but be mostly quietly accepted by the masses until Disney announces their next bright idea.

 

[George Lucas on a Bench]

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

No, I believe it is just a screen. You are recorded and displayed on the screens with a ghost rather than actually seeing a reflection because it isn't a mirror. If you look to the sides as you're going by, it's a flat image on the screens rather than a dimensional reflection. It sucks.

 

[BuzzedPotatoHead89]

I assume you don't mean remove the stretching room entirely... because not only is it one of Imagineering's best effects, it would present a logistical nightmare of how to get people to the actual ride.

Most importantly to TWDC, the stretching room portraits themselves are extremely marketable and arguably make for social media-worthy fan art copies and homages.

While the stretching room may be “toned down” it is not likely to be done away with entirely.

 

[91JLovesDisney]

No, I believe it is just a screen. You are recorded and displayed on the screens with a ghost rather than actually seeing a reflection because it isn't a mirror. If you look to the sides as you're going by, it's a flat image on the screens rather than a dimensional reflection. It sucks.

Oh.... weeeeeird... that is so weird lol. Why on earth would anyone rather have that than physical AAs... *sigh* Disney sometimes.

 

[Anjin]

ROTR doesn’t pull it off quite the same way because after Admiral “Beck” we kind of queue up again.

Bek is a lowly lieutenant. After his performance on the ride, I don't think he deserves the promotion.

 

[mickEblu]

Bek is a lowly lieutenant. After his performance on the ride, I don't think he deserves the promotion.

Really, I think that’s one of the best parts of the attraction.

 

[yensidtlaw1969]

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.

Are you sure about that? In person it really looks like there's just one long, angled projection surface mounted across the entire distance behind the mirrors, and low-light videos seem to make it look like that too:

Which would also explain why you cans sometimes catch the Ghosts "tripping a seam" in between the mirrors, where the projectors aren't perfectly mapped together:

I suspect it likely that the Ghosty-Go-Round is still there, but it doesn't *appear* to have any active involvement in the current HHG effect.

 

[George Lucas on a Bench]

It's a screen. You can even see in those crude screenshots that look like they're from a snuff film. Absolutely no dimension when viewed from the side, unlike the real mirrors. It's flat and crummy looking.

 

[yensidtlaw1969]

To come from a hallway with windows to a staircase with windows on the opposite side creates a mansion with absurd dimensions.

In fairness, absurd dimensions have always been part of the fabric of The Haunted Mansion . . . :

. . . But I do see what you're saying. The absurdity is part of the point of the Stretching Room, it's different when it's just incidental. You don't really find people complaining about the impossible logic of the Ballroom having outward-facing windows despite us coming from that side of the house past the Endless Hallway . . . it doesn't make architectual sense, but there's enough space between those scenes for it only to register on a sumbliminal level at most. Turning the corner from the Portrait Hallway to a Grand Staircase with a Picture Window would be more noticeably *wrong*.

It's bad enough that Phantom Manor added the Lightning Change effect to their Portrait Hall with the last refurb despite it not having any windows . . . where is the Lightning supposed to be coming from??

 

[PiratesMansion]

The architectual logic doesn't make sense for ANY of the mansions.

No way could you fit the ballroom inside the DL facade. Or any of the others really.

Given that, and the room that stretches, the stairway doesn't bother me, as one of the cooler additions to the WDW version. If ghost logic dictates that rooms can stretch and there are rooms that are literally impossible to fit inside the building we see, a few impossible staircases don't really do anything to further discredit the illusion.

 

[Disney Analyst]

The architectual logic doesn't make sense for ANY of the mansions.

No way could you fit the ballroom inside the DL facade. Or any of the others really.

Given that, and the room that stretches, the stairway doesn't bother me, as one of the cooler additions to the WDW version. If ghost logic dictates that rooms can stretch and there are rooms that are literally impossible to fit inside the building we see, a few impossible staircases don't really do anything to further discredit the illusion.

That’s the magic of the Haunted Mansion for me.

You enter a tiny seeming building, and end up in this vast, haunted mansion, where the rules of logic don’t apply. It’s wonderful.

 

[yensidtlaw1969]

The architectual logic doesn't make sense for ANY of the mansions.

No way could you fit the ballroom inside the DL facade. Or any of the others really.

Given that, and the room that stretches, the stairway doesn't bother me, as one of the cooler additions to the WDW version. If ghost logic dictates that rooms can stretch and there are rooms that are literally impossible to fit inside the building we see, a few impossible staircases don't really do anything to further discredit the illusion.

I think the poster was more concerned with the Windows than the Stairs - seeing as how you'd have "bookended" the house in a strange way by being able to "see outside" on two closely placed opposing sides - but otherwise you're not too far off.

WDW's Mansion since the ReHaunting has had windows on the Left side of the vehicle path in the Portrait Hallway and then two scenes later has the big Picture window on the Right side of the path in the Music Room. In theory that might confine the layout of the house to the width of a large hall . . . but of course we don't get caught up in all that while we're riding.

 

[Max Duane]

I assume you don't mean remove the stretching room entirely... because not only is it one of Imagineering's best effects, it would present a logistical nightmare of how to get people to the actual ride.

The capacity "issues" will disappear by next year (imo) and we'll start seeing a return to more normal operations.

As for the hanging corpse, sadly I can see it eventually getting replaced, even though I think it's fine for the attraction. But if that day comes, it'll just be like any other Disney attraction change. It'll rile up the fanbase, maybe even convince someone it's "time to leave Disney behind", but be mostly quietly accepted by the masses until Disney announces their next bright idea.

Nah, I can’t see them ever removing the stretching room as it is such an integral part of the experience, but replacing the hanging corpse with an entirely new effect. Hopefully they don’t touch it though.

 

[MarvelCharacterNerd]

That’s the magic of the Haunted Mansion for me.

You enter a tiny seeming building, and end up in this vast, haunted mansion, where the rules of logic don’t apply. It’s wonderful.

The Haunted Mansion is a TARDIS.

It's bigger on the inside than out.