Small New Addition to Haunted Mansion (Spoiler!)

[yensidtlaw1969]

It's taken several days for guests to even notice, but when The Haunted Mansion reopened from the Holiday removal this year one of Marc Davis' original concepts for the Mansion finally materialized after 50-some-odd years:

A relatively minor addition, but it seemed worth a thread since it's not every day a Marc Davis Original makes its way into Disneyland!

Hopefully someone can grab a better shot of him in the park sometime soon, this screenshot from Youtube was the best I could do. Video here:



Happy Haunting!

 

[Consumer]

Best addition to Disneyland since the return of the PotC voices.

 

[Phroobar]

I wonder how many millions that cost.

 

[mickEblu]

So maybe I wasn’t “hearing things” in the stretching room then.

 

[shambolicdefending]

I wonder how many millions that cost.

$2 million max, including OSHA inspection.

 

[lazyboy97o]

Honestly, I'm a little over changes to The Haunted Mansion. So many other attractions could use the attention.

 

[mickEblu]

Honestly, I'm a little over changes to The Haunted Mansion. So many other attractions could use the attention.

Agree, I think the cat statue was when I became officially over it. Although I appreciate the April portrait coming back.

 

[chadwpalm]

I've ridden HM dozens of times and my focus is usually down the hall at that point, so I never even knew that chair was there. When I looked at the photo I was like, "where is that?" It wasn't until I watched the video that I realized where that was.

Doesn't' surprise me that nobody has noticed the addition.

 

[180º]

Honestly, I'm a little over changes to The Haunted Mansion. So many other attractions could use the attention.

Tbh, Haunted Mansion’s own existing elements could use the attention. How is Leota’s face so out of alignment when in Florida she’s looked perfect for decades?

 

[mickEblu]

Tbh, Haunted Mansion’s own existing elements could use the attention. How is Leota’s face so out of alignment when in Florida she’s looked perfect for decades?

Speaking of Leota did they finally abandon that super visible arm thingy that moves her crystal ball around? She’s stationary again and I believe during HMH they had her floating with the strings.

 

[yensidtlaw1969]

Honestly, I'm a little over changes to The Haunted Mansion. So many other attractions could use the attention.

It seems like it comes out of the fact that they close for the Holiday so often. I appreciate them trying to turn a liability into an asset, but I think the "gifts" they give us are of wildly varying quality.

The Changing Portrait Hall updates in 2005 were solid, probably the best contemporary change at DL. Floating Leota was fun at the time, but unnecessary and has overstayed her welcome. The Hatbox Ghost wasn't exactly a gift from the Holiday changeover, but he's generally better than was reasonable to expect - they really could have botched that and I think they managed not to even if he's not perfect. The "One-Eyed Black Cat" statue is a big ol' interrobang for me. Weird choice, weird execution, weird placement, and it barely even registers as what it's supposed to be. Either move it to the Pet Cemetery or just get rid of it entirely.

This Bat . . . I'm not sure. I think I want to like it, but he feels a little cartoony for the part of the ride he's in. If you had to pick a place to put him I think he would have made more sense in the Graveyard or the Ballroom. Sometimes it's worth remembering that some concepts weren't used for a reason and that good editing can make all the difference.

 

[yensidtlaw1969]

Tbh, Haunted Mansion’s own existing elements could use the attention. How is Leota’s face so out of alignment when in Florida she’s looked perfect for decades?

It is kind of frustrating to see "fun new things" added while major show elements continue to languish. Madame Leota's alignment is definitely not right yet this week - though they seemed to finally fix that on Little Leota, thank goodness.

As of the reopening this week Disneyland's Constance looks worse than ever and unfortunately that's saying something. She really needs to revert to an earlier, more mysterious (and reliable!) concept of the Bride, which I know they won't do because they're too far up the river with Constance and her "story".

The Hatbox Ghost 8 feet away puts her to absolute shame and really shows how she should be done - make an elaborate practical figure that's compelling on its own and integrate some projection elements to put it over the top, don't just point a projector haphazardly at a mannequin and call it good enough. She should be a chilling central figure and instead she chronically looks like an afterthought.

HBG has some of his own alignment issues on occassion, but he's a far cry from the issues that seem to plague Constance. The last time she looked decent at Disneyland was, like, 2008. Meanwhile she continues to look comparatively pretty good at WDW, which is odd. It seems like they benefit from basically just not touching her, unlike DL's Constance who's constantly going in and out for the Holiday.

 

[Animaniac93-98]

I think I like the shadow it casts more than the actual prop. The silhouette is strong enough to convey what it is without seeing the Spirit Halloween rubber bat with glow in the dark eyes. It would also work better as a hidden detail that way.

 

[D.Silentu]

The Changing Portrait Hall updates in 2005 were solid, probably the best contemporary change at DL.

Absolutely, and while I loved the altered cadence of the changes, the thing that got me the most was the visible brush strokes that are on the paintings now. That kind of detail is signature Disneyland! I'm also pleased that I no longer have to miss the April/December portrait, but if we could have the original cat lady back it would be nearly as pleasing.

This Bat . . . I'm not sure. I think I want to like it, but he feels a little cartoony for the part of the ride he's in.

This feeling struck me too, though on reflection I think it's the silly looking bones that got to me.

 

[yensidtlaw1969]

I think I like the shadow it casts more than the actual prop. The silhouette is strong enough to convey what it is without seeing the Spirit Halloween rubber bat with glow in the dark eyes. It would also work better as a hidden detail that way.

My very first thought was that the glowing red LED eyes were a little cheap and aggressive, kind of like the One-Eyed Cat Statue . . . but then 5 seconds later the Raven popped up in the Youtube Video I was watching and I had to remind myself this sort of thing has been in the Mansion since Day 1. But I do think it helped that the Raven was the only thing like that, I'm not sure we need more of it.

The silhouette is compelling. I wouldn't mind if all we saw was that, hinting at his presence in another room.

Truthfully, the best way to bring this guy back might have been IN The Haunted Mansion Holiday - throw a nametag and some holly on his cage and make him a gift from "Sandy Claws" to one of the Happy Haunts. That way we get an old Marc Davis concept finally realized and the cartooniness wouldn't stand out against the regular Mansion. At least not more than any of the other Holiday elements.

 

[celluloid]

The bones could be a little different, and more shaded and textured like the artwork, but I will take it.

Sadly, my first reaction has to be, what role is someone like this guy going to play in the new film? Because that tends to be the only way something is budgeted as an addition anymore.

 

[yensidtlaw1969]

The bones could be a little different, and more shaded and textured like the artwork, but I will take it.

Sadly, my first reaction has to be, what role is someone like this guy going to play in the new film? Because that tends to be the only way something is budgeted as an addition anymore.

I couldn't help but wonder that myself. I think this more likely lands on the spectrum of cute inexpensive addition that someone at Disneyland was able to make financial sense of, but I don't believe for a second that The Hatbox Ghost is coming to WDW out of the goodness of their hearts. That's gotta be a tie-in with the new movie. Lucky for us it also happens to benefit longtime fans whose attachment runs deeper than the movie is likely to engender, though I do hope it's good. From what I've heard The Hatbox Ghost in the movie looks like he was ripped directly out of the ride with no real variation.

I am curious/concerned what might be next for the Mansion depending on how the movie does. I remember there being talks that Jennifer Tilly would have taken over Madame Leota in the ride had the last movie done well. There's gotta be some stuff up their sleeve to go into the ride if this one does better than expected.

 

[celluloid]

I couldn't help but wonder that myself. I think this more likely lands on the spectrum of cute inexpensive addition that someone at Disneyland was able to make financial sense of, but I don't believe for a second that The Hatbox Ghost is coming to WDW out of the goodness of their hearts. That's gotta be a tie-in with the new movie. Lucky for us it also happens to benefit longtime fans whose attachment runs deeper than the movie is likely to engender, though I do hope it's good. From what I've heard The Hatbox Ghost in the movie looks like he was ripped directly out of the ride with no real variation.

I am curious/concerned what might be next for the Mansion depending on how the movie does. I remember there being talks that Jennifer Tilly would have taken over Madame Leota in the ride had the last movie done well. There's gotta be some stuff up their sleeve to go into the ride if this one does better than expected.

Good points and it is sad that there is truth to the patterns when we can all think this.
Can't wait to have Jared Leto and Danny Devito in the attraction....

 

[yensidtlaw1969]

Good points and it is sad that there is truth to the patterns when we can all think this.
Can't wait to have Jared Leto and Danny Devito in the attraction....

As long as The Hatbox Ghost remains a non-speaking character in the ride I can probably put up with whatever happens in the movie. It sounds like the character is pure CGI and not Jared Leto in prosthetics or anything. I don't expect they'll be adding Leto's voice to the ride - in fact, I don't get the impression Disney expects this new movie to perform well. It was supposed to come out next month and last fall they moved its release to August, but even then we've seen next to nothing from it despite its starry and expensive cast. You'd think they'd be shouting from the rooftops if they thought it was gonna make bank.

Point being we probably won't be seeing a Johnny Depp/POTC-style refurb here.

 

[Brer Oswald]

The most shocking thing about this is that we haven’t gotten a Disney Parks Blog Post talking about it.