Haunted mansion updates spoiler!!

marmiedook

New Member
Original Poster
Check this blog on allears.net for the new Haunted Mansion features. I wish I could see them in person but I live in WA state and won't be to WDW until November!
It sounds cool!
http://land.allears.net/blogs/jackspence/2008/09/haunted_mansion_attic.html

Or read the full blog below:
A number of effects were either enhanced or added. The Attic Room is one such example. Gone are the carnival-like pop-up heads to be replaced with state-of-the-art effects.
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This blog is going to discuss some of the nuances of this room that are easily missed when traveling through. Since flash photography is not allowed in the Haunted Mansion, I do not have any pictures of the attic to share with you.
Note: Spoilers ahead!
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One of the first things you’ll notice as you enter the attic is a portrait of a bride and groom. This “happy” couple is Ambrose Harper and Constance Hatchaway.
Near this portrait are a number of modest wedding gifts such as a music box, china, crystal, and various household goods. A nearby wedding album reads:
OUR WEDDING DAY
Ambrose and Constance 1869
Ambrose is the son of successful farmers. For this particular occasion he wears a sensible woolen suit and bowler hat. Constance’s past is murky and suspect. For her special day she wears a stylish wedding gown and a single strand of pearls. As you pass their portrait, Ambrose’s face fades into nothingness and then reappears – signifying that Constance has outlived him for some reason.
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You soon come to a second portrait, this time featuring Constance and her new partner, Frank Banks. Frank is an Eastern banker and well placed in his community. He proudly dons a stovepipe hat. Constance, being practical, chose to wear the same wedding dress as before, but this time proudly displays two strands of pearls around her neck.

Look closely at the cabinet in the foreground. On it you’ll see a porcelain figurine of a well-to-do French woman looking down at a second, toppled figurine of a gentleman, who apparently lost his head in the fall. On the shelf below you can see a broken ceramic heart-shaped box.
There are more wedding gifts in this area and they seem to be of better quality than those given to Constance on her first marriage. A nearby banner reads:
Constance and Frank
TRUE LOVE FOREVER
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Constance chose for her next spouse a foreign diplomat known as the Marquis De Doom. In their wedding portrait, The Marquis wears a military uniform, complete with sash, assorted medals and a formal hat with plume. The ever sensible Constance once again chose to wear the same dress; however three strands of pearls are now evident. There wedding album reads:
The Marquis Constance
1874
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Continuing her social climb, Constance’s next husband is Reginald Caine. He was a railroad baron and dressed the part. For his wedding he sports a brocade vest, fancy shirt, and costly jacket. And like her previous husbands, he too dons a fine hat. Being ostentatious, Reginald also wears a large ring on his little finger and a sizable stone in his lapel.
Constance, as usual, chose the same wedding dress. It has served her well so far and she sees no reason to tamper with things. The only change, a fourth strand of pearls has been added to her ensemble.
A nearby frame says:
Reginald & Constance
1875
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Constance’s last husband was George Hightower. He should look familiar to you as you have seen his countenance for many years on the gravestone in the stretching room. Before his demise, George owned the stately mansion you are now visiting.
The gifts for this final wedding are by far the most expensive. In keeping with her growing wealth, their wedding portrait is displayed in an ornate frame. An inset reads:
George & Constance
1877
As you might have guessed, Constance now wears five strands of pearls.
As with Ambrose, Constance’s first husband, each successive spouse fades from view as you pass their portraits. All the while, a melancholy rendition of “Hear Comes the Bride” can be heard in the background.
In this same area is a hat rack. Hanging on it are all five of the hats worn by Constance’s dead husbands.
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Just before you exit the attic, we finally get to meet the ghost of Constance.
She stands in peaceful serenity as her hands move from her side toward her chest and an axe materializes in her grasp. All the while, she utters a number of well known, albeit telling, wedding phrases, each with a slightly different expression. With a twinkle in her eye she calmly says:
"'Till Death…. Do Us Part…"
"Here comes the bride!"
"As long as we both shall live…"
"For better or for….WORSE."
"I do. I did!"
"In sickness and in ….wealth!"
"You may now kiss the bride."
"We'll live happily ever…after!"
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Many of the sights I’ve described are difficult to see. EXTREMELY difficult to see. I rode the Mansion five times in a row last week, looking for them and it took a quick eye. Good luck!
Interested in learning more about Disney's Haunted Mansions? Check out Imagineer Jason Surrell's book The Haunted Mansion: From Magic Kingdom to the Movies!
Posted by Jack Spence on September 13, 2008 5:00 AM
 

FigmentJedi

Well-Known Member
slowpoke.gif

"Hai guys! Is it too late to save Mr Toad?"

Seriously though, nice that more blogs are pointing out the details in the Constance scene. Ghost Relations Department did a nice entry on Constance's pearls and increasing smile.
 

Captain Hank

Well-Known Member
In addition, the wedding certificate from each marriage is hidden somewhere near each of the portraits. Most are nearly impossible to see from the ride in show conditions, though the second one (I think) is the the most visible--though it's upside-down. Also, Constance's axe is sticking out from under a tablecloth near the portrait of her last husband. It's also pretty impossible to see under show conditions.
 

Laura

22
Premium Member
Wow I had no idea there was so much in that attic scene. I've only ridden 3-4 times since the refurb and wasn't able to figure out the story there. I had no idea it was the same women in all the portraits and then as the bride. Pretty creepy! Looking forward to riding it again knowing this.
 

Fantasmic

Well-Known Member
Wasn't the refurb done a year ago... when I was there when it reopened (I rode it on the day it reopened).. or is this further to the refurb that opened a year ago?
 

MattyFresh

Well-Known Member
Wasn't all this pretty much already known??? I mean maybe not the little details like the figurines and all that, but that it was the same women and she was beheading her husbands???
 

tirian

Well-Known Member
So the Haunted Mansion is no longer Master Gracey's in this new version? :veryconfu

The Haunted Mansion purposely has contradicting possibilities to avoid a "real" storyline.

For example, many people assume that the corpse seen hanging in the stretching room is Master Gracey—but then again, he's supposed to be buried outside.

The suggestion that Hightower owned the mansion is merely speculation by AllEarsNet. The stretching portrait of Constance and George has been in the Mansion since the beginning, and nobody has ever before assumed he actually owned the house. Besides, the portrait in the main gallery is Master Gracey's, not George Hightower's; George is just one of many portraits in the next room.

If you really wanted to create a storyline, you could suggest that Gracey brought Constance in to marry her, then found out (through Madame Leota) what she did to her previous husbands, then hung himself and got Leota to fake his burial. Or you could just assume that the bride is one of the 999 Happy Haunts and has nothing to do with the house. The story is up to you! :)
 

One Lil Spark

EPCOT Center Defender
The Haunted Mansion purposely has contradicting possibilities to avoid a "real" storyline.

For example, many people assume that the corpse seen hanging in the stretching room is Master Gracey—but then again, he's supposed to be buried outside.

The suggestion that Hightower owned the mansion is merely speculation by AllEarsNet. The stretching portrait of Constance and George has been in the Mansion since the beginning, and nobody has ever before assumed he actually owned the house. Besides, the portrait in the main gallery is Master Gracey's, not George Hightower's; George is just one of many portraits in the next room.

If you really wanted to create a storyline, you could suggest that Gracey brought Constance in to marry her, then found out (through Madame Leota) what she did to her previous husbands, then hung himself and got Leota to fake his burial. Or you could just assume that the bride is one of the 999 Happy Haunts and has nothing to do with the house. The story is up to you! :)

Interesting! :drevil:

I'd always thought that when you turn backwards to go out the attic into the graveyard that you were 'dying' yourself. That's why the man and dog in the graveyard are scared when they see you. Don't know/remember where that came from, but I guess the attraction is different for each person.

Ahh, the beauty of a well-done attraction! :king:
 

aurora1982

New Member
I'd go with the swinging Gracey is an apparition and not the real corpse theory...

I'm sure I saw Man Utd shirts in January - do they really not sell them?
 

MattyFresh

Well-Known Member
I never really took the time to think into the ride that deeply. I have always just enjoyed it for what it is. Not sure if that makes me less of an enthusiast, but I never really stopped to think or try to figure out the whole story behind the ride.
 

aurora1982

New Member
I never really took the time to think into the ride that deeply. I have always just enjoyed it for what it is. Not sure if that makes me less of an enthusiast, but I never really stopped to think or try to figure out the whole story behind the ride.

I think you're like most people! It's just that some of us are geeks and get quite into the whole Imagineer story-behind-the-ride, attraction or even store in some cases. It's what separates Disney from other theme parks.
 

MattyFresh

Well-Known Member
I think you're like most people! It's just that some of us are geeks and get quite into the whole Imagineer story-behind-the-ride, attraction or even store in some cases. It's what separates Disney from other theme parks.

I like looking for the little hidden things for the different rides....but it never really occurred to me that there is a story inside the ride itself.

After reading this I will pay a little more attention the next time I go. Thanks for the info everyone.:wave:
 

Mstr Gra-c

Active Member
This ride is one of the greatest entertainment devices in the history of mankind. The ambiguity of story just makes it even better. Life is formulaic by nature...we wake up, eat sleep...wake up etc. But death is the ultimate crapshoot.
However, we (as humans) like to make sense of things...that organization of the irradic (sp?) helps us become emotionally attached which helps when talking about things of the spiritual...this explains why so many people think they have seen ghosts and haven't. Disney therefore has been incubating the idea of the story by building up the "bride" storyline.
Really, the point is, whatever story you choose is best for you...here's mine...maybe others can share thier own stories:
You stumble upon this old mansion...the doors open, you walk in and are trapped. You are whisked up by the spirits of the house but can only ever barely make them out and they appear only as abstract more than literal... floating candlesticks, moving books, expanding doors and fleeting birthday parties. You anger the bride and she seperates your body from your soul...and yes the descent to the garden is essentially your burial and your introduction to the spirit kingdom. Congratulations you have become the one thousandth ghost. You take place in a little ghostly shindig and die sorrowfully ever in the afterlife.
 

aurora1982

New Member
I like looking for the little hidden things for the different rides....but it never really occurred to me that there is a story inside the ride itself.

After reading this I will pay a little more attention the next time I go. Thanks for the info everyone.:wave:

If you're interested in learning more, have a look for the Imagineers' Guides - I got them fairly cheap second-hand on Amazon Marketplace, but I don't think they cost much new.
 

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