Too Many Hats
Well-Known Member
I’m bracing for the worst.
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News New Haunted Mansion Grounds Expansion, Retail Shop Coming to Disneyland Resort in 2024
- Thread starter DCBaker
- Start date
I’m bracing for the worst.
mickEblu
Well-Known Member
Same here. It would be Foolish not too. Pun Not Intended.
Disney Vault
Active Member
I haven't heard Jim hill mentioned in forever. He always seemed to have great stories of the last but was never in the loop about future projects.
It seems pretty obvious both projects are behind though
It seems pretty obvious both projects are behind though
Too Many Hats
Well-Known Member
I’d wager he has better intel than, say, Fresh Baked. But in this case, yes, anyone can assess the construction site from aboard the Mark Twain and conclude they’re behind schedule.
Disney Vault
Active Member
Oh for sure. Fresh baked will just speculate and act like they have inside sources but have no real info at all.
I also noticed this with miceage years ago after Al stepped away. I had inside knowledge on a topic they wrote about one time and they were so far off it was laughable. If they want to speculate that's totally fine but they shouldn't present it as insider knowledge
Too Many Hats
Well-Known Member
1000%.
Disney Irish
Premium Member
More "speculation" on a potential July reopening with the virtual queue for HMH from Micechat today in their Disneyland update.
chadwpalm
Well-Known Member
- In the Parks
- No
While I can understand why they don't want to swap out the decor twice in a short period of time, a Halloween/Christmas theme in July seems so weird.
I guess if they open it on the 25th they can follow the whole "Christmas in July" thing lol.
Disney Irish
Premium Member
Well they are doing the Halfway to Holiday's posts right now all over social media.....
But seriously I agree which is why I was hoping they would try to have at least a month of regular HM in July before the switch over. But I understand why its not logistically feasible from an operations standpoint, so rather it be HMH in July rather than no version of HM open at all.
chadwpalm
Well-Known Member
- In the Parks
- No
For me, as an attraction that needs to be open because it is a people eater, yes, but as an attraction that is meant for holidays in July, then no. So I'm torn down the middle on this one.
jaxonp
Well-Known Member
Tell me you haven't seen the movie without telling me.
mickEblu
Well-Known Member
Agreed. I mean in this scenario it’s better than nothing but if there is one thing I like less than HMH, it’s HMH when it’s 100 degrees out. Really gets you in the Halloween and Christmas mood.
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DavidDL
Well-Known Member
As a huge Nightmare fan, I actually prefer HMH to classic HM.
That being said, I would not be against seeing it return to a November/December thing. If it only takes about 18 days to initiate the change then theoretically you should be able to have classic Mansion available on Halloween, shut it down the next day and have HMH open before Thanksgiving.
And again, even though I actually like HMH more, I concur that having it open in July feels absurd. Especially since, as a hardcore fan of it, I want people to love it when it comes around. Not give them a reason to be upset about it.
That being said, I would not be against seeing it return to a November/December thing. If it only takes about 18 days to initiate the change then theoretically you should be able to have classic Mansion available on Halloween, shut it down the next day and have HMH open before Thanksgiving.
And again, even though I actually like HMH more, I concur that having it open in July feels absurd. Especially since, as a hardcore fan of it, I want people to love it when it comes around. Not give them a reason to be upset about it.
mickEblu
Well-Known Member
This is crazy talk. Not sure If I can’t take any of your other opinions seriously now.
but not really. Haha
Consumer
Well-Known Member
I’ve seen the movie. It’s set after Halloween. The entire premise is about celebrating Christmas.
jaxonp
Well-Known Member
jaxonp
Well-Known Member
HMH is way more popular than HM for one reason or another and having it be an even shorter viewing period will drive up the already long wait times.
DavidDL
Well-Known Member
This is crazy talk. Not sure If I can’t take any of your other opinions seriously now.
If it helps, something that helps makes HMH so special to me is that (at its core), it's still the Haunted Mansion. Sure it has characters from my favorite movie of all time frolicking around in it but they are Guests within the mansion itself. And while it's a celebration of the holidays for sure, it feels like a celebration of the attraction underneath, too. The mansion and what kooky ways it gets decorated are still as much a star of the show as Jack, Oogie or any other visitor within. It's just another reason why I love it all so much.
So when HMH goes away, Haunted Mansion automatically jumps to top of list of best theme park attraction to me. And when it comes back around? I dunno, it just sort of feels like one big celebration of the ride itself with my favorite characters hosting it. It shows they have great taste because, after all, who wouldn't want to visit the Haunted Mansion?
It's the bar for how an overlay should be handled, in my book. It's great in it's own way and it's comforting to know the mansion is still underneath it all, waiting to come back (unlike the Tower of Terror or something). And again, despite it all, I do agree that HMH's availability time should probably be reduced.
Then again, I sort of feel that way about anything Halloween (as much as I love it) right now in the parks. I understand that the season is popular, tickets constantly sell out, etc. But something about attending an Oogie Boogie Bash or Mickey's Not-So-Scary in August feels bizarre to me. As someone who constantly complains about Christmas starting too early, I think it's only fair that I apply the same logic to Halloween (even if I do like it more).
I want so badly to simply just agree with you and call it a day (because I love HMH so much) but I do think that examining the idea of reducing HMH's runtime isn't wholly without merit. Mostly because I want it to stick around forever and I think something that could be done to increase its overall lifespan would be to not give Guests a reason to get sick of it. Of course it's super popular and I hope it stays that way but I worry that as the years go by and it continues to make visiting classic mansion difficult into the months of August and January (nearly half the year!), it's only a matter of time before its runtime is cut for the wrong reasons.
I worry deeply about the rumors of HMH reopening in July because I feel like it could be turned into ammunition by detractors or cause regular Guests to become frustrated with it overstaying its welcome.
I think the overlay is special, so I don't see an issue with it becoming a sought after, limited time offering once again. "it's a small world" holiday gets along just fine after all these years and honestly, HMH is worth whatever the posted wait is going to be.
It's a tricky one because it's about how Halloween would celebrate Christmas. If you were to ask, "Is this a Halloween or Christmas movie?" I would say there is an argument to be made for it being both, or whatever you most feel like.
However, when it comes to the attraction, I think it definitely leans towards Christmas. Because Jack is decorating the mansion for Christmas. The reason the movie swings either way is because so much of it takes place in Halloween Town and so little time is actually spent in Christmas Town that one could easily see it as one or the other.
But using the context of the film and applying to the real world attraction, well, Jack doesn't leave to spread his unique take on Christmas until Christmas Eve. He doesn't leave on or before Halloween to decorate the real world or start handing out gifts to children. It stands to reason the same logic would apply to the Haunted Mansion. Ergo, HMH is more of a Christmas attraction than a Halloween one. And I can understand why some Guests would prefer to have classic mansion available to them during the month of October.
PiratesMansion
Well-Known Member
I kind of like HMH, but it sort of feels like the original "let's shoehorn an IP into a place it doesn't really belong" attraction. It kinda sorta works better than it has any right to, and naturally Disney went bananas from there doing the same thing to every ride they could get away with.
I wouldn't say it's necessarily a harmonious combination, and more often than not the Nightmare stuff is front and center over the bones of the original ride. I mean, they literally used to put "Ho ho ho" light-up signs in front of the busts. While much of what is normally there remains, your eye is inevitably drawn to the Nightmare stuff (which tends to be loud and flashy), not the more subtle effects of the original show.
Much like IASW, in a way. Yes, technically the original dolls are there and one could ostensibly choose to ignore the characters if they so chose, but that's not really a possibility in practice, because the characters are inserted into prominent points of each scene and there are musical cues reinforcing each character's presence. You are forced to acknowledge the presence of those characters whether you want to or not, and by consequence everything else-including a huge portion of those animatronics, setpieces, etc. that matter in the original incarnation of the attraction become secondary, arguably demoted to extra. Disney may have once marketed HMH or adding the characters to IASW as easter eggs or enhancements, but the reality is that their presence turns the emphasis of the original attraction on its head because the ride will not allow you to ignore them. They become the focal point, at the expense of everything else.
And again, I like HMH and would be fine with it if it was more of a Nov-Dec exclusive. But I don't really agree that at it's core it's just an enhanced version of the normal Mansion. It actively works against the spirit of the original ride too much for that to be the case.