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

[mickEblu]

Face doesn't emote. Where's the character behind this figure? May as well be a statue. But the bigger offense (which I think gives her giraffe neck) is the projection itself. Pretty sure she's supposed to look like this:
View attachment 839366

Bingo. The effect is flawed but some people are going through great lengths to prove it’s the design intent. It’s like we don’t have warped Eiffel towers on Soarin.

 

[ᗩLᘿᑕ ֊ᗩζᗩᗰ]

Bingo. The effect is flawed but some people are going through great length to prove it’s the design intent. It’s like we don’t have warped Eiffel towers on Soarin.

The issue appears to stem from the method of achieving the effect rather than the concept itself. With the angled glass, the reflected image travels a greater distance as it ascends, resulting in loss of detail and distortion by the time it reaches her face/head height. In short: They goofed.

 

[Castle Cake Apologist]

Ooo! What if they had done everything they just did, with a real dress and veil, but instead of pepper's ghost face, they only did the EYES?! Two glowing lights sitting right where eyes would be under the draped veil, but no head! That would be a real reinvention of the original bride!

This seems like such a no-brainer! I mentioned a similar idea just a little earlier, so I think we should team up and send our joint resume to WDI immediately. They need us.

I think a better concept might have been a similar setup, but with projected slit eyes peering out of the veil that fade in and out instead of an entire face. They could use the same (admittedly impressive) technology to create the illusion of the eyes floating in midair, addressing the concerns over the facial design while serving as a nice callback.

I also really think they should scale back all the extra stuff going on. It’s just too much for the attraction it’s in, way too flashy. The Mansion is a powerhouse showcase of typically very basic magic tricks, and this feels like what it is... a tech demo.

 

[mickEblu]

The issue appears to stem from the method of achieving the effect rather than the concept itself. In angled glass, the reflected image travels a greater distance as it ascends, potentially resulting in loss of detail and distortion by the time it reaches her face/head height. In short: They goofed.

And just said “ok it’s good enough.”

 

[ᗩLᘿᑕ ֊ᗩζᗩᗰ]

And just said “ok it’s good enough.”

That's been Imagineering's motto for a decade+

 

[Castle Cake Apologist]

Also, are there any other examples in the attraction of "elongated neck and face" being used to communicate "this is a ghost"? I can't think of any.

 

[Agent H]

For the Sweethearts Nite event the axe-wielding bride was meeting in the new queue. I don't understand the thinking behind this after the celebrating murder comments. Most likely just different departments that don't communicate so well.

View attachment 839357

I love this

 

[MerlinTheGoat]

I would bet that removing the “too violent axe-wielding bride” was the excuse Imagineering drummed up to get the money people to approve the funds for the change. Kim Irvine is probably just repeating that line to maintain the facade. I don’t always like Irvine’s work but after a lifetime with the company I have no doubt she knows how to play the game to get certain things done.

Given that she went on to say that she wants to replace the hangman in the stretching room, but that it was put off for "structural" reasons (whatever that means), I don't know if I buy that.

Someone can correct me if i'm wrong, but I think she was also the lead imagineer on the Snow White's Enchanted Wish overhaul? At the very least she was the one who was used in the tour and promo video for it. It was framed as if she was in charge. They painted the dark gothic brickwork on the facade and queue with Barbie's Dreamhouse pinks and blues. Replaced all the Evil Queen's props in the queue with princess paraphernalia. Made the dark forest after the cottage scene a bright daylight scene. Removed all skeletons from the dungeon and replaced them with chemistry sets (one of these is sort of a nice effect, but the rest are overkill and awkwardly set dressed). Removed the witch in the boat and replaced it with a mirror projection of Snow White. Removed the witch trying to kill the dwarfs and guests with a boulder, and subsequently being struck by lightning. Removed the entirety of the scary forest trees and witch holding the apple in the cottage door, and replaced it all with a bright flowery tunnel and happy ending finale. BTW, if they wanted a happy ending, they could likely have replicated what Paris did and sacrificed nothing, it shares an exact copy of the show building and found the space to add an extra scene right before unload.

Face doesn't emote. Where's the character behind this figure? May as well be a statue. But the bigger offense (which I think gives her giraffe neck) is the reflection itself. Pretty sure she's supposed to look like this:
View attachment 839366

That to me introduces the polar inverse extreme and makes her face looks horizontally stretched instead.

Also, are there any other examples in the attraction of "elongated neck and face" being used to communicate "this is a ghost"? I can't think of any.

Not particularly I think? There are characters with sort of elongated looking faces in the ride, and it does make them look a bit more disturbing IMO. Some of the pop-up ghosts for instance, or the now-removed ghost that used to inhabit the mausoleum. I know this isn't what you meant and doesn't technically count, but several different Marc Davis concept drawings of the bride were also unnaturally lanky and thin. Much moreso than this new one in fact.

There is something about this new bride's lanky and slender proportions that adds to her general mystique and other-worldliness IMO. Again, not scary, but ethereal. Sorry that I can't think of better terms to explain myself at the moment though.

I will bring up a somewhat unrelated example of a similar sort of vibe. The main female spirit at the end of Raiders of the Lost Arc has an almost unnaturally long and slender face that reminds me of this bride. It's a tad unsettling even before it "changes". In fact, if Disney had any balls these days, it would have been kind of cool had they given this bride a similar "transformation" into something much more horrifying as you pass by her. Doesn't have to be as insane as what Raiders did, but something at least mildly disturbing. But again, Disney is unfortunately allergic to potentially upsetting or scaring people...