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

[mickEblu]

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Of course we'll have to wait and see what it actually looks like but if they're going out of their way to confirm that it doesn't look like the WDW version it suggests Disney had at least some awareness that they weren't going to get away with that in the original. I'll withhold any judgement on it until we actually get to see it. If this is a true statement, then I don't really think it'll matter or change the vibe of the experience any.

It is slightly encouraging to hear them acknowledge that but we don’t know if that came from WDI or if Micechat was poking and or prodding to get the answer they wanted. On another note I’m not sure how I feel about them being “well lit” now. I could see that taking away from the effect. You don’t want them to be so well lit that they not only appear too bright / unrealistic but look like they are just images on a screen. Those HMH objects look like cartoons on a screen. Not an image in a mirror.

 

[TP2000]

I got way behind on this thread.

If the hanging corpse has been removed by HR, I would have to assume the dueling portraits in the ballroom pulling their pistols on each other was also removed by HR? Any word on that clever sight gag?

 

[PiratesMansion]

I got way behind on this thread.

If the hanging corpse has been removed by HR, I would have to assume the dueling portraits in the ballroom pulling their pistols on each other was also removed by HR? Any word on that clever sight gag?

We don't yet know if the hanging corpse has yet been removed.

The only thing that has been confirmed is that the hitchhiking ghosts are now digital, albeit not cartoonified like WDW.

 

[zipadee999]

We don't yet know if the hanging corpse has yet been removed.

The only thing that has been confirmed is that the hitchhiking ghosts are now digital, albeit not cartoonified like WDW.

As much as I love the physical effect, I think a digital version if done tastefully could surpass the original. If it’s simply a recreation using a hologram, the colors and lighting could likely do things that the pepper’s ghost never could. In recent years, the original effect often appeared faded and washed out. I’m not sure if this was due to a lack of maintenance on the lighting system, but hopefully the digital version will be more consistent.

 

[AJFireman]

I can’t speak for everyone but my attachment was to Magnolia Park as a whole - which the fountain was a part of. My attachment wasn’t to the fountain itself. Turning it into a planter doesn’t really do anything for me.

I don't see why they could not have kept it as a working fountain since the outside is to look like a lived in Mansion. I mean if you have a fountain you are going to use it not make a planter out of it. I guess I do know the answer easy to maintain but by the looks of the concept art they have a fountain as part of the queue.

 

[mickEblu]

I don't see why they could not have kept it as a working fountain since the outside is to look like a lived in Mansion. I mean if you have a fountain you are going to use it not make a planter out of it. I guess I do know the answer easy to maintain but by the looks of the concept art they have a fountain as part of the queue.

Yeah turning it into a planter and putting on the lawn is lame. It doesn’t make me happy. It makes me think of when it was an actual fountain in a beautiful setting. WDI is just off these days. They seem to be over relying on nostalgia to compensate for their lack of talent. They don’t seem to get the psychology of it all. I could point out a bunch of examples from TBA but I’ll spare you.

 

[VicariousCorpse]

The bat in the birdcage is back in the corridor of doors. Credit to @yensidtlaw1969 on Micechat for pointing it out.

 

[jmuboy]

View attachment 805129

Losing those trees may be what stings the most.

I’m hoping we will see more trees planted as the back side of the queue is completed

 

[Disney Analyst]

7:34 PT and up to group 461.

Has any other VQ had such a high boarding group number @gerarar ?

 

[McMickeyWorld]

 

[Vclguy90]

Wait why is this open now? And how long is it staying?

 

[AJFireman]

Wait why is this open now? And how long is it staying?

The Ride? It was announced it would be open for the Halloween Season and then it was announced recently that it would open today with a Virtual Queue until the Queue construction is finished.

 

[Consumer]

They should just keep Haunted Mansion Holiday year round. It’s more popular and less problematic. Hire me, Disney.

 

[dlr74]

Anyone know what time of day the virtual queue 12:00 PM drop "sold out"?
I checked around 2:45 PM and it was still available. Curious what time it finally sold out.

They're currently boarding up to group 478... which is wild! Never seen a virtual queue go that high

 

[mickEblu]

You know what time it is. I’m back. Here to say our beloved park has suffered two more casualties. The below planters have been removed. They survived the first project stardust project years back where they removed the planter that ran along the fence where people would sit facing the ROA. But they didn’t survive this project. Bummer. They really framed the HM entrance nicely.

- Planter Policeman

 

[mickEblu]

Watched a couple vlogs now. The turf doesn’t look as bad on camera. Not sure if they changed it or the lighting is just good. With that said, I do remember thinking it looked much worse in person when they first removed the real grass a couple years ago or so.

 

[Vegas Disney Fan]

You know what time it is. I’m back. Here to say our beloved park has suffered two more casualties. The below planters have been removed. They survived the first project stardust project years back where they removed the planter that ran along the fence where people would sit facing the ROA. But they didn’t survive this project. Bummer. They really framed the HM entrance nicely.

- Planter Policeman

View attachment 805204

This was one of the first things I noticed watching the fresh baked video today, the wall in front of the mansion looks so generic now, no greenery, no seating, just a brick wall with no color or anything of interest.

 

[mickEblu]

This was one of the first things I noticed watching the fresh baked video today, the wall in front of the mansion looks so generic now, no greenery, no seating, just a brick wall with no color or anything of interest.

Earlier I spoke of how they’ve walked a fine line between aesthetics and functionality fairly well. This would be an example of something I think is unnecessary and excessive. Those planters were small but did so much. They didn’t take up a lot of room. The picture I found online from my last post might even be from before they shrunk them down a bit. I believe they were even smaller than that.

 

[mickEblu]

This was one of the first things I noticed watching the fresh baked video today, the wall in front of the mansion looks so generic now, no greenery, no seating, just a brick wall with no color or anything of interest.

View attachment 805206

Oh, I see you added an image. Yeah that planter that ran along that wall has been gone for years. I was talking about the two small half circle ones they left framing the entrance.

 

[TP2000]

Wait why is this open now? And how long is it staying?

I was confused too. But apparently the ride has reopened today as Haunted Mansion Holiday. So...

I poured myself a second glass of this White Zinfandel (don't laugh, it was a very kind host gift from a dear friend whose only real personal flaw is bad taste in wine and/or party host gifts) and I found a good HD ride through from this afternoon.

Here's my Deep Thoughts on that viewing, in the classic Good, Bad, & Ugly format. SPOILERS AHEAD!

The Good:

• The ride looks very good. You can immediately tell that the simple AA's in the graveyard scene are all much more animated and displaying their full range of motion. Proof that maintenance of the 2020's is not what it once was since the change was so noticeable, but at least once in awhile they fix it!
• Lighting and special effects seemed really dialed in. Everything was spot on.
• I saw/heard the dueling gunshots in the ballroom scene, so at least that bit of murderous gunplay got past HR.
• The Ominmover seemed silent and silky. No screeching or squealing to be heard. Obviously it needed TLC.
• The new projection effect in the final mirror scene looked great! See note above about SFX in general.
• The modest restaging/redecorating of the loading area looks nice. I like the newly moved portrait there.

The Bad:

• The CM's throughout the ride seemed to be on autopilot, doing that thing American CM's do where they stare blankly into the middle distance and just sort of pace about silently passively-aggressively ignoring you. When they weren't gossiping with their fellow CM's in the loading area or out front, of course. A few CM's gave verbal instructions that seemed phoned in. A small gaggle of Dockers-clad managers milling about out front, exhibiting the same blank stare behaviors as the costumed CM's, tells me their managers don't care, (or worse) don't know what their one time "Role In The Show" used to be at that ride.
• Speaking of out front, why are they ALWAYS dragging huge patio umbrellas out to any E Ticket front entrance areas? Is there no way to create a permanent shade structure that themes and flows better than just plopping giant patio umbrellas out in front? They always ruin the view, ruin the sightlines, mess up the flow and aesthetics. It's like TDA just isn't sure if this haunted house ride is going to stick around long enough to justify building a lovely themed shade structure done with wrought iron and flowering vines for those CM's. So tacky and shortsighted.

The Ugly:

• Who the hell moved the hearse? I want a name. It's now sitting out in a weird and unnatural curve in the queue, out in the golden SoCal sun looking as non-spooky and non-threatening as possible. It looks like one of those new car displays you see at your local mall. It's just plopped there, in the sun, completely voiding any creepy and foreboding nature it once had. And not a single tree nearby to grow in and give it some shade and depth and atmosphere. Dumb!

I think the Audi display in front of the shoe store is actually a bit more themed than the hearse now.