Question: Would you like Haunted Mansion Holiday to come to WDW's mansion?

[TP2000]

I LOVE the arguments on this topic, as they always crack me up!:ROFLOL:

"You can't close a 40 year old attraction for maintenance every year! It will ruin someones vacation!" HA! Cause the embarassing condition the Mansion was in before the first rehab in years, and the equally embarassing condition other old Magic Kingdom attractions are still in like Peter Pan, Jungle Cruise, Space Mountain, Country Bears, etc., etc. is certainly better than routine maintenance and upkeep?

"The attraction would be closed for half the year with refurbs and Holiday versions!" Um, no. They have both the install and removal rehabs down to a 12 to 17 day period. This year, in September, the attraction will be closed for an additional week because they are replacing the old slurry pavement around the New Orleans Square area with themed pavement. (This is one of the last areas of slurry left in Disneyland and soon to be gone, although it's still widely in use in WDW for some reason.) So this September the Mansion will be closed for one extra week, but only due to the fact that the pavement all around the attraction is being replaced.

The average time that the Mansion is not available in its 1969 original version is four months each year. Two weeks of install, two weeks of removal, three months of daily operation as Haunted Mansion Holiday. The same timetable is used for Small World Holiday, except it has about a month less of Holiday operation as it's only running from mid November through early January. And the two week install/removal rehabs come at some of the slowest weeks of the year in September and January.

I'm not a Tim Burton fan personally, and from the thirty minutes or so I've seen of Nightmare Before Christmas I found it to be a bit creepy and weird. But I LOVE the Holiday version of Haunted Mansion. It's just such a fun, unique thing to do. I also really enjoyed the Tokyo version of Haunted Mansion Holiday, and it was just as well done as the Anaheim version.

Interestingly, the Tokyo Haunted Mansion facility is almost an exact duplicate of the Florida version. So the other random argument sometimes used that "Florida's version is different from Anaheim and would be too hard to have the Holiday show installed" lost its validity once Tokyo opened Haunted Mansion Holiday a couple of years ago.

 

[disnyfan89]

HMH works in Disneyland. The majority of their visitors are repeats/annual passholders, whereas WDW has mostly new visitors. Having HM closed for a period of time every year when not necessary does not make sense at WDW, because it will affect this first time visitors. I'm not saying it isn't a great overlay, it just doesn't make sense. Plus OPs would not want one of their main attractions closed for a month every year just for an overlay.

But on the same note then we should never close or rehab an attraction because that will also have an effect on first time guest. Which would be the greater evil? Having to close the mansion for yearly maintenance during the slower parts of the year while receiving a special holiday overlay or leaving the mansion to rot away until a lengthy rehab that could take upwards of six months during some of the busiest times of the year?

Also, back when the Country Bears did a Christmas overlay no one complained about it being down. They knew that it would reopen shortly as a beloved Christmas classic that grew to be a classic and a tradition for many. Some would even say it was better than the original attraction. When they announced that the Country Bears would no longer be featuring a Christmas show there was a large out cry from the fan community.

I'm more than aware that WDW's and DL's attendance is made up from different demographics. However, this still does not mean that Disney can't market to it's locals. After all, look at Epcot. Their biggest event, the Food and Wine Festival, is marketed mostly to locals and is an added bonus to first time guest.

Then look at Universal. Their Halloween Horror Nights event started out as a way to market to locals to come experiance something different and has turned into a event that attracts individuals from all over the world! Their haunted houses have even in the past occupied attractions which caused them to close in July.

Who says that WDW's demographic wouldn't welcome a Holiday Overlay to the HM?

 

[fizzle75]

I'm a huge Haunted Mansion fan AND a huge Nightmare Before Christmas fan...so I say Yes, YES,YES!!!

My wife and I were just watching the awesome new extras on the NBC 2disc Special Edition and we especially loved the Haunted Mansion Holiday ride through and behind the scenes footage. I've been dying to see the holiday overlay for quite some time but after seeing the footage on the dvd I'm even more anxious to see it. We're hoping to make our first trek to Disneyland in December of 2010 so hopefully we'll get to see it then.

 

[Pumbas Nakasak]

But on the same note then we should never close or rehab an attraction because that will also have an effect on first time guest. Which would be the greater evil? Having to close the mansion for yearly maintenance during the slower parts of the year while receiving a special holiday overlay or leaving the mansion to rot away until a lengthy rehab that could take upwards of six months during some of the busiest times of the year?

Also, back when the Country Bears did a Christmas overlay no one complained about it being down. They knew that it would reopen shortly as a beloved Christmas classic that grew to be a classic and a tradition for many. Some would even say it was better than the original attraction. When they announced that the Country Bears would no longer be featuring a Christmas show there was a large out cry from the fan community.

I'm more than aware that WDW's and DL's attendance is made up from different demographics. However, this still does not mean that Disney can't market to it's locals. After all, look at Epcot. Their biggest event, the Food and Wine Festival, is marketed mostly to locals and is an added bonus to first time guest.

Then look at Universal. Their Halloween Horror Nights event started out as a way to market to locals to come experiance something different and has turned into a event that attracts individuals from all over the world! Their haunted houses have even in the past occupied attractions which caused them to close in July.

Who says that WDW's demographic wouldn't welcome a Holiday Overlay to the HM?

So MVMCP, Osbourne lights, etc etc arent a big enough enticement to seasonal guests, but a makeover from a film popular with Emos would have them piling in? Interesting concept.

Well you

 

[disnyfan89]

So MVMCP, Osbourne lights, etc etc arent a big enough enticement to seasonal guests, but a makeover from a film popular with Emos would have them piling in? Interesting concept.

Well you

I didn't say that MVMCP, Osbourne Lights, and other such entertainment offering weren't, but you seem to agree that these items add to the overall experience based on your comment. Wouldn't adding this Holiday overlay only stregthen these seasonal offerings?

Now saying that NBC appeals to only emos is stereotyping and could also be considered highly offensive to other individuals. That's like saying only people in Britain have bad dental hygiene.

NBC must attract a larger demographic than just emos? After all it is a film that has been re-released in theaters several times as well as on VHS and DVD. It also is popular enough to justify turning a classic attraction in both California and Tokyo into an NBC theme which in turn will Double and or Triple the average wait time of said attraction. It even has the ability to entice individuals who have never even seen the movie into loving this Holiday attraction. Surely there aren't enough emos in the world to support these type of numbers?

 

[sponono88]

Several posters have mentioned the HMH tour on the Nightmare Before Christmas DVD special features. For those of you who don't have the DVD, it is now up on youtube in four different parts. They explain the concept and give an overview of the attraction.

Part 1.

Part 2.

Part 3.

Part 4.

Thanks to conner623

 

[HMF]

Thank you for saying what I always think when I hear this question. Think about the last Haunted Mansion rehab at Disney World. How long did it have to be shut down due to neglect? Now, at Disneyland, they use the 24 days of Haunted Mansion Holiday setup (based off the calendar on their website) for more than just setup. Rehabbing is going on, too. Similarly, the attraction is down for another 24 days or so (the exact amount of time isn't currently posted) for removal and MORE rehabbing. Every attraction should really go down for a time each year for maintenance, so why not make it part of an event?
My wife doesn't care for Tim Burton or "The Nightmare Before Christmas," but she loves Haunted Mansion Holiday. To hate something without giving it a chance is silly; to be angry that they've temporarily changed an attraction to fit a holiday theme seems just as silly to me. Yes, I've heard the arguments - they're coming a long way and don't get to Disney World very often, blah, blah, blah. You know, people do come from other countries to see Disneyland, too...we're not all just locals here. It's also quite interesting how southern Californians are portrayed from thread to thread. In some we're rabid purists who can't stand the idea of change and thus that's why most of our attractions are they way they were when Walt lived. In others we get bored easily and need constant change...we need Haunted Mansion Holiday and It's a Small World Holiday or we'll quit coming because there's not enough new stuff to do. The truth is, we're just like you guys. We're good with change if it's a change for the good. Haunted Mansion Holiday is an incredible temporary change to the Park (by the way, shouldn't we be getting bored of this by now, too, if the "we need constant change" theory is correct? It's been here every winter season since 2001). Space Mountain was given a pretty amazing permanent update. Meanwhile, I personally think certain other updates should have only been temporary (or not done at all). I completely dislike the current Pirates overlay and find myself rarely visiting it now.
What I'm trying to say is that Disney World should give Haunted Mansion Holiday a shot. One look at how the line more than doubles here when it's around should be incentive enough. But then, The Magic Kingdom appears to be too cheap now to even bother with the Country Bear Christmas Special, so why would they want to spend all that money on something new...especially when it would be too hard to restrict it to just those plopping down another $40 bucks for an elitist after-hours event.

The Magic Kingdom's operations team is cheap and until that changes Disneyland will always be superior to the Magic Kingdom.

 

[disnyfan89]

The Magic Kingdom's operations team is cheap and until that changes Disneyland will always be superior to the Magic Kingdom.

So what your saying is we need to drill into the heads of management that they could make crap loads of money off of HMH merchandise by offering a seasonal overlay that has already been developed for our mansion so its would be half the cost to develop which in turn means more profits?

 

[SirGoofy]

But on the same note then we should never close or rehab an attraction because that will also have an effect on first time guest. Which would be the greater evil? Having to close the mansion for yearly maintenance during the slower parts of the year while receiving a special holiday overlay or leaving the mansion to rot away until a lengthy rehab that could take upwards of six months during some of the busiest times of the year?

Also, back when the Country Bears did a Christmas overlay no one complained about it being down. They knew that it would reopen shortly as a beloved Christmas classic that grew to be a classic and a tradition for many. Some would even say it was better than the original attraction. When they announced that the Country Bears would no longer be featuring a Christmas show there was a large out cry from the fan community.

I'm more than aware that WDW's and DL's attendance is made up from different demographics. However, this still does not mean that Disney can't market to it's locals. After all, look at Epcot. Their biggest event, the Food and Wine Festival, is marketed mostly to locals and is an added bonus to first time guest.

Who says that WDW's demographic wouldn't welcome a Holiday Overlay to the HM?

And I didn't say never close an attraction. I said it's foolish to close an attraction for an unnecessary overlay.

And did you really compare Country Bears to HM?

 

[HMF]

So what your saying is we need to drill into the heads of management that they could make crap loads of money off of HMH merchandise by offering a seasonal overlay that has already been developed for our mansion so its would be half the cost to develop which in turn means more profits?

Well in part. I was thinking more about what people want and park maintinence than profits but yeah they could make a lot of money if they had HMH and the Mansion would not have to have a full-scale refurb like the one we just had again because WDI would take advantage of the downtime to make enhancements.

 

[TP2000]

So what your saying is we need to drill into the heads of management that they could make crap loads of money off of HMH merchandise by offering a seasonal overlay that has already been developed for our mansion so its would be half the cost to develop which in turn means more profits?

But, but, but... VACATIONS WOULD BE RUINED! :ROFLOL:

 

[disnyfan89]

Well in part. I was thinking more about what people want and park maintinence than profits but yeah they could make a lot of money if they had HMH and the Mansion would not have to have a full-scale refurb like the one we just had again because WDI would take advantage of the downtime to make enhancements.

I agree with you as well. I was more or less making a satyrical comment on the condition in which most WDW management is motivated from.

And I didn't say never close an attraction. I said it's foolish to close an attraction for an unnecessary overlay.

And did you really compare Country Bears to HM?

I was just going off the comment that you said the closing of an attraction has a negative effect on the first time guest. Guest will always deal with these problems unless an attraction was to be open 365 days a year. I'm a strong believer in routine maintenance and every attraction could benefit from being closed for two to four weeks a year. HMH is a win because not only does the attraction get the attention it deserves but it also creates a new and interesting experience such as The Osbourn Lights or the new Castle lights. There will always be individuals opposed to new and innovative ideas. That doesn't mean they aren't a great one.

As for the Country Bears. It used to be a popular classic attraction. DL certainly misses theirs. The only reason why most guest don't experience this attraction is because it has become old and out dated. It is also in a desperate need of a rehab. I guarantee if you were to update the show and give it some new AAs much like the recent HM and Pirates refurbs it would draw a crowd. After all, Pirates and HM used to be a walk on until fairly recently. Don't know what changed that tho.

 

[LaughingGravy]

.......
WDW has the blessing of space, so put an all-year NBC attraction in the studios somewhere. Make it a dark ride, and then it wouldn't have to follow the Haunted Mansion's own story.

Well they used have the blessing of space as Walt put it too, before the Four Seasons selling trend....
Back to your regularly scheduled thread.

The idea of some Christmas Decor in the mansion, like decorations in the ballroom would be cool, though.

I'd love to see NBC in the mansion at WDW, but there's the big problem of WDW being an expensive one time vacation for so many and the lengthy shutdown required for the conversion.

DL has the the regulars, so the lengthy shut down is not as such a big deal.
I know I'd be really disappointed if one of the signature attractions, especially the HM, was shut down for weeks.

A day or two max. for quick changes allows someone to likely come back during their stay.
Put a tree in the ballroom, add a Jack here or there you can plug in (or not), or heck, just do a few more things for a holiday change, but plan ahead and do it in a 48 hr. period.

Manufacturers do these sort of things all the time, when a new piece of equipment comes in. Off hrs, well planned ahead, so plug and play.

Do it in little steps in off hours. Get most of the pieces in place that take minimal time, then in one focused day, finish it up and get the sound in.

Think of the progress reports on the forums.
ooh, I saw Jack #1.
ooh, I saw a new wreath.
ooh, the tree is up.
ooh, the stretching room has some minor differences.

Repeat visitors, no one unhappy, and easy to set back to normal in a minimal time too.

This may mean a slightly lesser or different holiday makeover than DL, but I've got the NBC audio and it's great!

 

[HMF]

Well they used have the blessing of space as Walt put it too, before the Four Seasons selling trend....
Back to your regularly scheduled thread.

The idea of some Christmas Decor in the mansion, like decorations in the ballroom would be cool, though.

I'd love to see NBC in the mansion at WDW, but there's the big problem of WDW being an expensive one time vacation for so many and the lengthy shutdown required for the conversion.

DL has the the regulars, so the lengthy shut down is not as such a big deal.
I know I'd be really disappointed if one of the signature attractions, especially the HM, was shut down for weeks.

A day or two max. for quick changes allows someone to likely come back during their stay.
Put a tree in the ballroom, add a Jack here or there you can plug in (or not), or heck, just do a few more things for a holiday change, but plan ahead and do it in a 48 hr. period.

Manufacturers do these sort of things all the time, when a new piece of equipment comes in. Off hrs, well planned ahead, so plug and play.

Do it in little steps in off hours. Get most of the pieces in place that take minimal time, then in one focused day, finish it up and get the sound in.

Think of the progress reports on the forums.
ooh, I saw Jack #1.
ooh, I saw a new wreath.
ooh, the tree is up.
ooh, the stretching room has some minor differences.

Repeat visitors, no one unhappy, and easy to set back to normal in a minimal time too.

This may mean a slightly lesser or different holiday makeover than DL, but I've got the NBC audio and it's great!

The short downtime for the layover is nothing compared to the refurb we just had. Because we do not have HMH thus our Mansion is more neglected requiring longer refurbs.

 

[Gepettotrevor]

It's a neat idea, however, I think it should be something kept to DL to keep their's unique. WDW doesn't have as many locals as DL does. The HM holliday and the small world holliday (if they still do it) definately draw in some more locals to check something new out

 

[JimboJones123]

No. It is availible to see more than 1/4 of the year at Disneyland. Keep it unique there. Also keep Small World Holiday there.
Do something unique to WDW if you want to have NBC there. Don't do another clone.

 

[TP2000]

WDW doesn't have as many locals as DL does. The HM holliday and the small world holliday (if they still do it)

Yes, It's A Small World Holiday opens in November at Disneyland for it's 12th season. It's A Small World Holiday was the first attraction to get a holiday overlay in 1997, and it's still extremely popular. Haunted Mansion Holiday didn't come along until October, 2001.

Small World Holiday is another holiday version of a classic attraction that they also do in Tokyo Disneyland.

 

[Pumbas Nakasak]

I didn't say that MVMCP, Osbourne Lights, and other such entertainment offering weren't, but you seem to agree that these items add to the overall experience based on your comment. Wouldn't adding this Holiday overlay only stregthen these seasonal offerings?

Now saying that NBC appeals to only emos is stereotyping and could also be considered highly offensive to other individuals. That's like saying only people in Britain have bad dental hygiene.

NBC must attract a larger demographic than just emos? After all it is a film that has been re-released in theaters several times as well as on VHS and DVD. It also is popular enough to justify turning a classic attraction in both California and Tokyo into an NBC theme which in turn will Double and or Triple the average wait time of said attraction. It even has the ability to entice individuals who have never even seen the movie into loving this Holiday attraction. Surely there aren't enough emos in the world to support these type of numbers?

Yes Brits with bad teeth and fat Yanks with no sense, some stereotypes are indeed a good laugh.

However I think you missed my point, why would WDW pay out for an overlay that in all likely hood not add to the over all numbers attending, Im sure if the counted beans added up it would be actioned. Just because a few petulant fan bhoys want it dosent make it a sound commercial primes.

As for ruining my holiday, nope wouldn't affect me in the slightest, but then unlike Kuzko and some on here, its not all about me. :shrug:

Have I touched a nerve about Emos? C'mon they are value entertainment,

 

[TimontheGreat]

Saw it on the new NBC dvd and I definetly think WDW should get it.

 

[disnyfan89]

Yes Brits with bad teeth and fat Yanks with no sense, some stereotypes are indeed a good laugh.

However I think you missed my point, why would WDW pay out for an overlay that in all likely hood not add to the over all numbers attending, Im sure if the counted beans added up it would be actioned. Just because a few petulant fan bhoys want it dosent make it a sound commercial primes.

As for ruining my holiday, nope wouldn't affect me in the slightest, but then unlike Kuzko and some on here, its not all about me. :shrug:

Have I touched a nerve about Emos? C'mon they are value entertainment,

The interesting thing about HMH is that each park it has been put into has doubled or tripled its wait time. If WDW was to advertise both to locals and those one time only guest or first time guest that this was something extra special for the Holiday season they would line up. Just like locals, one time only guest, and first time guest line up for a new attraction.

I think that a lot of us forget that not every person who goes to WDW has a large background of information or studies the web site or even in general plans what their doing each day other than the park their visiting. Not every guest that comes to the MK knows that HM is a major attraction. They simply see it or heard about and want to ride it. It used to be a walk on up in till they put a note in the map saying it received major enhancements. Would it still get that wait if there was no note? Pirates keeps its popularity due to the highly successful movie franchise. HM doesn't have that to keep people coming back. If guest didn't know the HM had new elements, would they line up? :shrug:

As for emos, history has shown us that anytime this topic or one featuring NBC comes up one of the arguments against adding it to the parks is because emos and Goths would swarm the park. It is an asinine statement that holds no ground. Not everyone who likes NBC is an emo or a Goth and not every emo or Goth knows what NBC is. I'm just tired of hearing this over used argument that holds no ground where one can use deductive reasoning showing that NBC holds a larger demographic and audience base than just emos.