This is not for a Castle Park Land, but it is still worth posting here. Sarah Winchester’s Mysterious Mansion is a trackless dark ride in Paradise Gardens Park taking guests through the Winchester Mystery House in San Jose, California, which served as an inspiration for The Haunted Mansion at the main park. The facade, while being much smaller than the real Winchester House, will be enlarged by way of forced perspective, a classic Disney illusion. Guests enter by way of a set of Wrought Iron Gates with cobwebs and queue through gardens with several bushes and flowers of all colors, shapes, and sizes dotted with statues and the classic Imagineer Tribute Graves (e.g Brother Claude, Master Gracey, Good Old Fred, etc)
Guests then load their vehicles at the front door. Vehicles enter the front doors after they swing open and immediately go through the first scene, a representation of a gallery of stained glass with lines by Shakespeare, where this attraction's Ghost Host says, “Welcome, curious guests to The Winchester Mystery House, the beautiful, bizarre mansion built by Sarah Pardee Winchester, heiress of the Winchester Repeating Arms fortune, in San Jose, California. Tormented by the guilt of victims lost to the Winchester Rifle, Madame Winchester built the dizzying Queen Anne-style structure with many odd and mysterious features. Doors that open to walls, stairways that lead to the ceiling, and many more oddities in the massive 160-room mansion. Was she simply interested in architecture, or haunted by spirits? Explore the halls and unlock the secrets to the world-famous home. Unlock doors or find yourself in terrifying rooms. Find your way in and out or walk in circles FOREVER! Ha ha ha ha ha!” As the narration plays, guests hear a music box rendition of Danse Macabre, the attraction's main theme.
Vehicles then move into two doors that creak open as cold air blasts out and the Ghost Host says, “Though some say that this mysterious house is nothing more than the product of an eccentric woman’s mind, others say that the very spirits that Sarah tried to please with the constant building, remain in residence.” Vehicles then enter The Grand Ballroom as the Ghost Host says, “One ghost that is said to linger is that of a handyman that continues to repair a fireplace in the Grand Ballroom. The black-haired man has often been seen pushing a spectral wheelbarrow or working on the fireplace. Others have reported feeling the “presence” of someone or something in the ballroom. The elegant gold and silver chandelier in the grand ballroom swings by itself on occasion.“ Vehicles go in and pass the ghostly handyman fixing the fireplace and the swinging chandelier. A ghostly orchestra plays Danse Macabre.
Vehicles then ascend a ramp as the Ghost Host says, “Behold Sarah's Attic, a newly discovered room. The space formerly boarded up and containing a pump organ, a Victorian couch, a dress form, sewing machines, paintings, china dolls, and several guns of the family brand. It's been boarded up since Sarah's death in 1922 and unexplored since. It's a spirited place for those "aiming" to encounter fun with a paranormal twist.” Guests enter the attic and see all the objects listed and the Ghost of Sarah Winchester. Dressed in a veil and glowing in a whitish-blue tint, she weeps for her husband and the lives lost at the hands of his rifle. Beside the ghost is an old photograph of Sarah and her husband William. The pump organ plays Danse Macabre.
Guests then descend a ramp, passing by an infinite staircase, with small steps that loop in a square shape and ghost footprints pacing about them. The Ghost Host says, “The Winchester Mystery House has 160 rooms including 40 bedrooms. We are about to enter one, but first let us behold the infinite staircase!” Vehicles then enter a bedroom where they see the ghost of a thin young woman resting suddenly sinking into the very deep mattress and sheets. A music box plays Danse Macabre.
The final scene is an endless hallway effect mixed with both the Corridor of Doors and the Mirror Ghost effect. Guests proceed down a hall with a mirror at the end, making it seem endless. Knocks come from behind boarded up doors as The Ghost Host says, “Some think the winding hallways and labyrinthine layout were designed to confuse the ghosts and spirits Sarah supposedly thought were haunting her, allowing her to live in peace in her new home. Look, I think Sarah has come to bid you farewell.” Guests look in the mirror and see Sarah's ghost as she appeared in the attic. The ghost says, ”Please hurry back someday, it gets awfully lonely in such a large manor and I am just dying to meet your friends!“
Vehicles then exit through a greenhouse and return to the front door where the Ghost Host says, “Although she died in 1922, Sarah Winchester, a woman of independence, drive, and courage, lives on in both Californian history and legend to this day. I hope you enjoyed the tour of the Winchester Mystery House and its mysterious rooms. Farewell, my dear friends and enjoy your day.” Guests unload and wander through the gardens before entering the stables, home to The Museum Of The Weird.
The Museum Of The Weird is an interactive walkthrough section taking guests through bizarre exhibits. Guests wait in the foyer of the museum, lined with Crump styled Tikis as Danse Macabre plays. When the time is right, guests enter a doorway that says Museum Of The Weird at Castillo Real. Guests enter a chamber with Victorian designs covering everything as Danse Macabre is played on a pipe organ. Guests see the human faced chair, who says, "Welcome to The Museum Of The Weird! The exhibits are in dire need of help, The Candle is melting, the Plant is crazy, and Leota’s woeful. Help the museum!” Guests then enter a chamber with five doors, one of which they just exited from as Danse Macabre plays. This chamber is an octagonal room decorated with darkly comical paintings on the walls and gargoyle lighting fixtures. Guests find The Wax Candle Man, who cries out in pain, “Extinguish me or else I will melt!” as frantic violin plays. They help him escape from the flames by way of a door feeling maze. If they touch a hot door, there is fire behind it. Then, guests avoid the tendrils of the Man Eating Plant in a Laser Maze themed to a greenhouse. Finally, they find Madame Leota, who weeps, "Oh! My lost orb in my cart. I need it to do my magic!” Guests then navigate a mirror maze to find The Orb inside of the wagon. At the end, Leota says’ “Thanks!” Guests exit through a small chamber lined with suits of multinational armor, portraits of European kings and queens, April-December and the other Changing Portraits, and carved faces of Aztec warriors, all of which seem to watch guests as they pass. An orchestral version of Danse Macabre hauntingly plays on an echoing loop as guests exit back into Paradise Gardens Park.
