News New Haunted Mansion Grounds Expansion, Retail Shop Coming to Disneyland Resort in 2024

[waltography]

Good question.

Finally managed to decipher that signature on the bride's portrait, and it's by Imagineer James Crouch. Lends credence that this may be our new bride.

Are they tweaking the story to suggest she's following us throughout the mansion? Is she the one holding the candelabra in the Endless Hallway?

 

[D.Silentu]

I like the look in general, but I'm holding out for this one having a beating heart.

 

[mickEblu]

Finally managed to decipher that signature on the bride's portrait, and it's by Imagineer James Crouch. Lends credence that this may be our new bride.

Are they tweaking the story to suggest she's following us throughout the mansion? Is she the one holding the candelabra in the Endless Hallway?

Hope not… if it comes with dialogue. Too early into the attraction for that.

 

[Consumer]

Ghosts should not appear before Madame Leota.

 

[britain]

Finally managed to decipher that signature on the bride's portrait, and it's by Imagineer James Crouch. Lends credence that this may be our new bride.

Are they tweaking the story to suggest she's following us throughout the mansion? Is she the one holding the candelabra in the Endless Hallway?

Might this be Phantom Manor concept art? The bride holds the candelabra there.

 

[TrainsOfDisney]

I love how defenders say “wait until it’s finished to judge” and then it gets finished and it’s even worse than we feared! Haha

 

[lazyboy97o]

I love how defenders say “wait until it’s finished to judge” and then it gets finished and it’s even worse than we feared! Haha

Just a few more props and a bit more paint and it’ll definitely somehow look smaller and better proportioned.

 

[mickEblu]

Ghosts should not appear before Madame Leota.

Oh man I didn’t even consider actually seeing her there although I should have considering the HGB’s placement in Florida. Just the thought of her voice there in the endless hallway sounded bad enough.

 

[mickEblu]

WDI - please stop tinkering with things that don’t need it and take your bored @$$es to Tomorrowland or DCA.

 

[J4546]

I think it looks good

 

[Jedi14]

Ghosts should not appear before Madame Leota.

In Phantom Manor, the Bride and the Phantom appear before Madame Leota, so it could be something similar.

 

[Skip]

In Phantom Manor, the Bride and the Phantom appear before Madame Leota, so it could be something similar.

Phantom Manor is a very different attraction.

 

[Phroobar]

In Phantom Manor, the Bride and the Phantom appear before Madame Leota, so it could be something similar.

I don't think the bride is dead at that point in the Phantom Manor story. It's kind of all flashbacks until your at the gravesite.

 

[waltography]

I love how defenders say “wait until it’s finished to judge” and then it gets finished and it’s even worse than we feared! Haha

Worse than we feared is hyperbolic. I think the aging and added details/trellises/etc. make it fit in better, but the relative scale is too off balance for it to matter in the overall impression.

Oh man I didn’t even consider actually seeing her there although I should have considering the HGB’s placement in Florida. Just the thought of her voice there in the endless hallway sounded bad enough.

For what it's worth, I don't think she's gonna materialize in the endless hallway (although I wouldn't mind hearing a faint, faint whisper of hers that could be mistaken for the wind or something; no ghosts ever though). Just posing it more as like a jumping off point for why they're revisiting the bride and potentially giving her a new/revised backstory ("who's holding the candelabra?"), which I think would be fun.

Might this be Phantom Manor concept art? The bride holds the candelabra there.

James didn't join the company until September 1992 as a scenic artist at Disneyland and then transferred to WDI in 1997 (according to his LinkedIn), so I feel fairly confident this artwork wasn't concept art for Melanie and is probably a more modern commission. Good point though that Melanie also holds the candelabra so maybe they're taking cues from Phantom Manor?

 

[Consumer]

Hot take but Phantom Manor's overrated and its recent renovation was an overall negative change. There's definitely great stuff about it, such as the Western setting, Vincent Price, the music, the overall more macabre tone, but then there are huge weak elements, too, like the excessive backstory, the tonal shift of including the singing busts, and the replacement of a graveyard with a ghost town. Obviously it's still a strong ride and far better than anything WDI is putting out today, but I'll always prefer the original Haunted Mansion to the Phantom Manor.

 

[lazyboy97o]

James didn't join the company until September 1992 as a scenic artist at Disneyland and then transferred to WDI in 1997 (according to his LinkedIn), so I feel fairly confident this artwork wasn't concept art for Melanie and is probably a more modern commission. Good point though that Melanie also holds the candelabra so maybe they're taking cues from Phantom Manor?

There was the recent Phantom Manor revamp. No idea on the origins, but that would have been a more recent project than the initial development of the attraction.

 

[mickEblu]

Worse than we feared is hyperbolic. I think the aging and added details/trellises/etc. make it fit in better, but the relative scale is too off balance for it to matter in the overall impression.


For what it's worth, I don't think she's gonna materialize in the endless hallway (although I wouldn't mind hearing a faint, faint whisper of hers that could be mistaken for the wind or something; no ghosts ever though). Just posing it more as like a jumping off point for why they're revisiting the bride and potentially giving her a new/revised backstory ("who's holding the candelabra?"), which I think would be fun.


James didn't join the company until September 1992 as a scenic artist at Disneyland and then transferred to WDI in 1997 (according to his LinkedIn), so I feel fairly confident this artwork wasn't concept art for Melanie and is probably a more modern commission. Good point though that Melanie also holds the candelabra so maybe they're taking cues from Phantom Manor?

Ok that’s what I thought you might have meant. In other a words, a back story- at least as it pertains to the endless hallway. Your idea sounds cool for a movie. Not sure if it would work so well on the attraction. It’s the first show scene and too soon for something like that. What I am sure of is I don’t trust WDI to execute properly.

 

[mickEblu]

Hot take but Phantom Manor's overrated and its recent renovation was an overall negative change. There's definitely great stuff about it, such as the Western setting, Vincent Price, the music, the overall more macabre tone, but then there are huge weak elements, too, like the excessive backstory, the tonal shift of including the singing busts, and the replacement of a graveyard with a ghost town. Obviously it's still a strong ride and far better than anything WDI is putting out today, but I'll always prefer the original Haunted Mansion to the Phantom Manor.

This echos my feelings or at least what I remember thinking after I watched a ride through. Not a fan of the Western setting for Mansion or the western town instead of the graveyard. I also prefer Paul Frees to Vincent Price but Price is a great alternative if there ever was one. With all of that said if I ever go visit DLP I’ll be glad it’s there instead of a clone of DL’s HM.

 

[gerarar]

 

[britain]

Hot take but Phantom Manor's overrated and its recent renovation was an overall negative change. There's definitely great stuff about it, such as the Western setting, Vincent Price, the music, the overall more macabre tone, but then there are huge weak elements, too, like the excessive backstory, the tonal shift of including the singing busts, and the replacement of a graveyard with a ghost town. Obviously it's still a strong ride and far better than anything WDI is putting out today, but I'll always prefer the original Haunted Mansion to the Phantom Manor.

Hot take: Yes, U.S. Haunted Mansion is a better show, better tone. But the 2019 update was an improvement to Phantom Manor. Tightening the screws and changing some of the creative decisions that never really worked. And the exterior grounds and facade are very grand.