The Sorcerer's Apprentice, Season 7: Fantasmic Journeys - Hype Thread

ThemeParkPriest

Well-Known Member
Question of the Day
I know we all miss the parks, so today let’s see, what’s your favorite memory from a theme park (Disney or otherwise?)​
My day solo at Disneyland Paris resort on a chilly January 1st. I enjoy to going to theme parks with family or friends, but going solo can be a special way to see the parks. I really enjoyed the launch/inverted Space Mountain, Big Thunder Mountain (with the tunnels to/from the island), and Ratatouille there. I posted a little trip review of that day on my blog today: https://themeparkpriest.weebly.com/blog/my-visit-to-disneyland-paris-on-new-years-day
 

DashHaber

Well-Known Member
Question of the Day
I know we all miss the parks, so today let’s see, what’s your favorite memory from a theme park (Disney or otherwise?)​
My family and I managed to squeeze in a trip to Disney World back in March, right before everything was shutting down.

That trip was my first time riding The Haunted Mansion. That attraction is so fantastic, striding just the perfect balance of creepy and fun. Seriously, the Stretching Room preshow has got to be a masterclass in creating ambiance.
 

Tegan pilots a chicken

Sharpie Queen 💜
Premium Member
My family and I managed to squeeze in a trip to Disney World back in March, right before everything was shutting down.

That trip was my first time riding The Haunted Mansion. That attraction is so fantastic, striding just the perfect balance of creepy and fun. Seriously, the Stretching Room preshow has got to be a masterclass in creating ambiance.
Last year my at the time significant other and I must have ridden Mansion, Big Thunder, and Pirates over and over about three times in a row during extra magic hours. I’m definitely an EPCOT girl, but Haunted Mansion might be objectively the greatest ride ever.
 

DashHaber

Well-Known Member
Last year my at the time significant other and I must have ridden Mansion, Big Thunder, and Pirates over and over about three times in a row during extra magic hours. I’m definitely an EPCOT girl, but Haunted Mansion might be objectively the greatest ride ever.
Haunted Mansion is so well-paced. From the build-up in the queue to the actual ride, where it starts with a spooky ambiance before we reach Madame Leota and start seeing the ghosts.
 

DashHaber

Well-Known Member
Not to mention, the tonal change is perfectly executed as we go from “dark and mysterious” to “silly ghosts singing and celebrating death”
Exactly. It starts "dark and mysterious" with the hallway of doors and that coffin, but then Madame Leota is our gateway to the ghosts. We see some life to them in the ballroom, though there are still some creepy touches (like the duelists, not to mention Constance Hatchaway). From there, we get out of the house and come face to face with the grand celebration, with silly spirits all around like the Hitchhiking Ghosts.
 

NigelChanning

Well-Known Member
Exactly. It starts "dark and mysterious" with the hallway of doors and that coffin, but then Madame Leota is our gateway to the ghosts. We see some life to them in the ballroom, though there are still some creepy touches (like the duelists, not to mention Constance Hatchaway). From there, we get out of the house and come face to face with the grand celebration, with silly spirits all around like the Hitchhiking Ghosts.
And if we really read between the lines of the story, we end up realizing that the reason all of the ghosts have “come out to socialize” is because we’ve died and become one of them after Constance pushed us out of the attic. We’ve become guests rather than intruders. Pure Genius.
 

DashHaber

Well-Known Member
And if we really read between the lines of the story, we end up realizing that the reason all of the ghosts have “come out to socialize” is because we’ve died and become one of them after Constance pushed us out of the attic. We’ve become guests rather than intruders. Pure Genius.
Such a skillful mix of atmosphere, fun visuals, the brilliant balance of creepy and fun, and not to mention those classic effects (seriously, the Pepper's Ghost is an old theatre trick that dates back to 1862!).

Disney has plenty of great rides, but Haunted Mansion is such a masterclass of an attraction.
 

Sharon&Susan

Well-Known Member
It's amazing that they got so much right with the HM especially when they first built the exterior at Disneyland in '63, the only thing that had been settled on was the stretching room pre-show, it was still to be a walkthrough at the time.
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It probably wasn't intentional, but the Haunted Mansion feels like there's secret after secret to discover and lore to uncover. No one cares about the name or histories of the Auctioneer or any of the trio in jail in Pirates, but everyone wants to know if the Ghost Host was Master Gracey or what was up with the Hatbox Ghost.
 

spacemt354

Chili's
And if we really read between the lines of the story, we end up realizing that the reason all of the ghosts have “come out to socialize” is because we’ve died and become one of them after Constance pushed us out of the attic. We’ve become guests rather than intruders. Pure Genius.
As you turn backwards out of the attic and look to the right you can see how you're falling to the ground from the Mansion - morbid but wonderful storytelling.

A small nugget but I love how the ghost host lowers the safety bar. It's automatic on most other attractions, but when for some reason it feels so eerie when it's announced like that.

And one of my favorite scenes in all of WDW is the piano player in the library.
 

NigelChanning

Well-Known Member
It's amazing that they got so much right with the HM especially when they first built the exterior at Disneyland in '63, the only thing that had been settled on was the stretching room pre-show, it was still to be a walkthrough at the time.

It probably wasn't intentional, but the Haunted Mansion feels like there's secret after secret to discover and lore to uncover. No one cares about the name or histories of the Auctioneer or any of the trio in jail in Pirates, but everyone wants to know if the Ghost Host was Master Gracey or what was up with the Hatbox Ghost.
And I love how authentic each Mansion is to the region it’s set in. Disneyland’s perfectly embodies the mystery and allure of the New Orleans bayou and Disney World’s captures the look of the New York Countryside in Colonial America so well. Heck, even Paris’s Western take on the Manor manages to be so unique and just as much full of life (or death) as the others.
 

Sharon&Susan

Well-Known Member
And I love how authentic each Mansion is to the region it’s set in. Disneyland’s perfectly embodies the mystery and allure of the New Orleans bayou and Disney World’s captures the look of the New York Countryside in Colonial America so well. Heck, even Paris’s Western take on the Manor manages to be so unique and just as much full of life (or death) as the others.
Except for:
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Blame it being in Fantasyland on a quick fix so that they could have room in Tokyo's Frontierland for Big Thunder Mountain. 🤷‍♂️
 

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Suchomimus

Well-Known Member
Except for:
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Blame it being in Fantasyland on a quick fix so that they could have room in Tokyo's Frontierland for Big Thunder Mountain. 🤷‍♂️
But isn’t it the way it is now because a carbon copy was less risky when building the park?
Ideal Buildout has said this on his blog a couple of times and I think it’s a great idea. Retheme it to be more Euro-centric like how DLP made its Haunted Mansion to be western set.
 

PerGron

Well-Known Member
Question of the Day
Character meet-and-greets are a hallmark of a Disney vacation, but only a small handful of characters can be met. What character that doesn’t have a meet-and-greet at any of the parks would you like to see get one?​
For me, I’ll forever be shocked that Pete has not had a meet and greet appearance. He’s a super classic character and would fit in really well on any Main Street or Toon Town
 

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