Haunted Mansion to Return with New Enhancements and Magic :(

[Californian Elitist]

In addition to the lighting balance that may or may not be an issue, the placement of the new portrait seems like it could cause some issues.

The original hallway is a masterclass in carefully guiding the guests' attention through the room, subconsciously guiding them down the ever-narrowing walkway, which starts wide enough for the dual sets of oversized double doors at the stretching room and ends at a single-file line at the conveyor belt without ever feeling forced. The series of portraits along the right wall capture your eyes after exiting the stretching room, and you're then pulled forward by the busts directly ahead. You're then drawn through the compression-and-expansion of space created by the small portal under the railroad tracks and the mysterious void beyond, straight to the loading area.

This new portrait is accompanied by a new folding screen that partially obscures the initial view of the Doombuggies, and is hung on the wall opposite them. The screen will clutter up the view through the small opening to the loading area, presumably to divert attention toward the new portrait. This means that people looking at the portrait will have their backs to the loading area, pulling their focus away from their next steps, and creating a congestion point in a location where the walkway has already narrowed almost to single-file. This issue is further exacerbated by the 4-panel format of the April-December portrait, which takes a lot longer for a guest to absorb than the simple flash of lightning portraits in the larger hallway.

While it's nice to see the return of an element that was removed 10-15 years ago, the location of it seems less than ideal. Instead classic WED's cinematic unfolding that gradually reveals details, we get another modern WDI creation that seems to be inspired by the Applebee's school of thought, where more stuff on the walls is the only way to decorate a room

I’m also thrown off by its placement and not sure if it works.

 

[yensidtlaw1969]

In addition to the lighting balance that may or may not be an issue, the placement of the new portrait seems like it could cause some issues.

The original hallway is a masterclass in carefully guiding the guests' attention through the room, subconsciously guiding them down the ever-narrowing walkway, which starts wide enough for the dual sets of oversized double doors at the stretching room and ends at a single-file line at the conveyor belt without ever feeling forced. The series of portraits along the right wall capture your eyes after exiting the stretching room, and you're then pulled forward by the busts directly ahead. You're then drawn through the compression-and-expansion of space created by the small portal under the railroad tracks and the mysterious void beyond, straight to the loading area.

This new portrait is accompanied by a new folding screen that partially obscures the initial view of the Doombuggies, and is hung on the wall opposite them. The screen will clutter up the view through the small opening to the loading area, presumably to divert attention toward the new portrait. This means that people looking at the portrait will have their backs to the loading area, pulling their focus away from their next steps, and creating a congestion point in a location where the walkway has already narrowed almost to single-file. This issue is further exacerbated by the 4-panel format of the April-December portrait, which takes a lot longer for a guest to absorb than the simple flash of lightning portraits in the larger hallway.

While it's nice to see the return of an element that was removed 10-15 years ago, the location of it seems less than ideal. Instead classic WED's cinematic unfolding that gradually reveals details, we get another modern WDI creation that seems to be inspired by the Applebee's school of thought, where more stuff on the walls is the only way to decorate a room

Its nice (and VERY surprising, to me) to see the return of April/December, but I can’t say that you’re wrong here. The load area was really quite carefully crafted and you do a great job of describing why - that its effects have been permitted to languish for years is disappointing, but it was still very successful on these other fronts.

My hope is that this refurb managed to restore the integrity of the room’s effects concept, but I really hope the effort doesn’t compromise the functionality of the room, which has really been pretty quietly unimpeachable for 50+ years.

 

[yensidtlaw1969]

You make a great point. While you spend quite a bit of time in the first hallway, by the time you’re in the load room you have to start planning on how you’ll get on the buggies. I imagine the first view as you turn the corner is important to new guests. They get a bit of a heads up about the conveyer belt loading.

Wonder if the same portrait would work in that dark corner at the top of the stairs.

I do think this is part of the brilliance of the Load Area as it was originally staged - the darkness of the room was so real and intense that it did feel like it’s own effect, chilling in its absolution, but it cleverly also wasn’t much to LOOK at. The biggest piece of visual information in the room was the giant spider web through which the Doombuggies passed on their way in, so it really drew your attention to the buggies and made clear what you would need to do to board them properly.

A change was made in designing the load of the WDW Mansion that seems to suggest they may still have had some trouble here at Disneyland after opening - the WDW Mansion funnels guests down a path that stretched the entire length of the load hall, then doubles back sending guests walking up right along side the low wall of the Load Belt. This not only gives guests twice as much time to see the Doombuggy loading process before they do it themselves, but it gives you a closer look at it than Disneyland ever did since the path doesn’t run right along the load belt but instead at an angle to it.

With these new changes at Disneyland, both rerouting the path to the right a bit and putting up the steel frames (and directing attention to April/December) have the potential to impact guest’s ability to deduce what the ride system is they’re about to board and wrap their mind around how they’ll be expected to board it safely. It will be less clear than ever what‘s going on.

Now, the ride’s been around for 50 years, so most people likely know exactly how to board a Doombuggy and this probably won’t change that, but I wonder if there will be more trickiness now with first-time riders.

 

[George Lucas on a Bench]

Here we go with essays on the Load Area's brilliance. Maybe we are getting back to normal in this nuthouse.

 

[SuddenStorm]

I do think it's weird to have one portrait by itself on that wall... away from all the others. Since once you turn and enter the load area you're in another part of the attraction. Which makes me think @mickEblu is right, and that the weird divider that looks like a temporary afterthought is there to 'extend' the portrait hallway.


This is the wallpaper/drapes in the hallway in 2007

And here's the new wallpaper. I wonder how much this will contribute to changing the feel of this portion of the ride.

I like the idea behind the one eyed cat but it does seem out of place in the portrait hallway/loading chamber. Perhaps it would have been better outside in the pet graveyard? With the red eye only being on at night or something as an Easter egg?

 

[yensidtlaw1969]

I do think it's weird to have one portrait by itself on that wall... away from all the others. Since once you turn and enter the load area you're in another part of the attraction. Which makes me think @mickEblu is right, and that the weird divider that looks like a temporary afterthought is there to 'extend' the portrait hallway.


This is the wallpaper/drapes in the hallway in 2007

View attachment 548087

And here's the new wallpaper. I wonder how much this will contribute to changing the feel of this portion of the ride.

View attachment 548088

I like the idea behind the one eyed cat but it does seem out of place in the portrait hallway/loading chamber. Perhaps it would have been better outside in the pet graveyard? With the red eye only being on at night or something as an Easter egg?

I agree about the One-Eyed Cat. Seems very random to place it in the Load Area. The style of the statue also seems very out-of-step with the Mansion, it looks too contemporary.

I would have thought the most logical place for this kind of statue (or a better version) would be the Pet Cemetery, especially since they were clearly doing work on it. But perhaps there is something about this specific cat there in the cemetery that we haven’t seen yet.

The way they tease it in the Disney Parks Blog and Tiktok videos gives me the sense that there‘s more to this cat than we’re seeing yet - perhaps it makes an appearance in the ride somewhere now? It seems like a sort of odd, almost-too-obscure throwback even if there is a payoff, but it’s ESPECIALLY weird if there isn’t. The One-Eyed Black Cat never struck me as a Mansion concept that was sorely missing from the finished product. The Raven kinda took over its proposed role. I‘ll be interested in seeing what they have up their sleeve for it.

 

[George Lucas on a Bench]

I couldn't see the ghost fruit on the dining room table. I hope they didn't remove that.

 

[mickEblu]

I do think it's weird to have one portrait by itself on that wall... away from all the others. Since once you turn and enter the load area you're in another part of the attraction. Which makes me think @mickEblu is right, and that the weird divider that looks like a temporary afterthought is there to 'extend' the portrait hallway.


This is the wallpaper/drapes in the hallway in 2007

View attachment 548087

And here's the new wallpaper. I wonder how much this will contribute to changing the feel of this portion of the ride.

View attachment 548088

I like the idea behind the one eyed cat but it does seem out of place in the portrait hallway/loading chamber. Perhaps it would have been better outside in the pet graveyard? With the red eye only being on at night or something as an Easter egg?

I completely agree. Not feeling how they tried to MacGyver a hallway where there isn’t one and the April portrait does seem out of place even if I do like the thought of her being in the mansion again.

 

[DanielBB8]

There’s no time to linger by the loading area. The portrait will be easily missed. I’d rather they keep all portraits in the original hallway.

 

[CaptinEO]

I hope the cat ties Haunted Mansion to SEA!

 

[CaptinEO]

I completely agree. Not feeling how they tried to MacGyver a hallway where there isn’t one and the April portrait does seem out of place even if I do like the thought of her being in the mansion again.

Its like the hatbox ghost, on one hand fans clamored for this go back in the ride, but then its a cartoony 2016 high tech hatbox ghost in a 1960s ride next to an early 2000s bride.

Now we will have a 2021 high tech portrait next to all the 1960s portraits. It will probably stand out as much as Pirate Redd does.

Wait a second, Redd... Who else had two Ds in their last name and was a pirate? Captain Kidd!

 

[lazyboy97o]

I hope the cat ties Haunted Mansion to SEA!

Of course! It’s a mystic artifact recovered by Han Ted Manshun.

 

[CaptinEO]

Of course! It’s a mystic artifact recovered by Han Ted Manshun.

This has me laughing way too hard.

 

[yensidtlaw1969]

I couldn't see the ghost fruit on the dining room table. I hope they didn't remove that.

Checking the video again, it does seem to be there. I don't know how much of this was stock footage or if all of it was shot new, but I wouldn't expect to see a change here.

 

[SuddenStorm]

The Changing Portrait Hall that Never Was (or, "Rewriting History Part Two")

. Lights out, nobody home, in this old photo The late David Mumford of WDI was a great source of information for Disney park historia...

longforgottenhauntedmansion.blogspot.com

This post shows why having each April-December is a big deal. But, I hope they revised the currently existing portraits as well to keep it consistent.

Losing the April portrait was mourned among fans, but it doesn't have the level of fame among Disneyland fans as the Hatbox Ghost. Which makes it weird that they gave her an entire wall designed to showcase the return of the portrait.

She's not the Hatbox Ghost. They should have added her in the normal hallway. Having her isolated is weird.

 

[George Lucas on a Bench]

I think they just put it around the corner because there wasn't space on the other walls, and there was nothing in that spot before.

 

[yensidtlaw1969]

I don’t blame Kim but lets not pretend that these videos aren’t productions. Disney isn’t just letting people put something together to share. There is no reason that Disney can not have better writing and performances. They have the resources to make this pieces better. And it’s not just these design videos. Go watch Chapek speaking at IAAPA and he’s about as charismatic as a bag of bricks. There’s no reason public facing executives can‘t have some coaching.

Jumping back in to add, since I failed to address it in my last reply, that Bob Chapek has all the personality of a wet noodle. It's *unbelievable* how bad he is in front of a crowd. And I WISH that were the worst thing I could say about him.

There are certainly at least several standards by which Disney could do better, the above outlined among them.

 

[Sharon&Susan]

I think they just put it around the corner because there wasn't space on the other walls, and there was nothing in that spot before.

If there was room, she would've also felt pretty redundant next to the "Master of the House" portrait or been out of place.

Having it be a four frame portrait farther away from the rest ensures that it feels both unique and doesn't clash with the others. Plus yay! It allows them to add it to a re-do of the worse looking part of the Boundless Realm where the ceiling is the lowest.

 

[Bear550]

Is this something that was said to you recently? Or do you mean that was the sentiment before the refurb?

Something from Cast Members that have returned back to mansion

 

[yensidtlaw1969]

Something from Cast Members that have returned back to mansion

I find that surprisingly comforting. The Load Area has been far, far too bright since the first year of the Haunted Mansion Holiday.

Of course, it needs to be balanced with something that works for Ops, so I hope they're able to give the CM's what they need, but to think that it's THAT dark in there suggests that they're taking the Load Area very seriously.

I hope it once again achieves that chilling, boundless effect that it had.