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This article relates to the theme-park attraction. For the film of the same name, see The Haunted Mansion (film). The Haunted Mansion is a 2003 Fantasy film based on the ride of the same name, directed by Rob Minkoff and starring Eddie For the video game see Haunted Mansion (videogame)
The Haunted Mansion
Attraction type Dark ride
Theme Haunted house
Vehicle names Doom Buggies
Vehicle capacity 2-3
Ride duration 7 minutes

The Haunted Mansion is a complex dark ride attraction located at Disneyland, the Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World, Tokyo Disneyland, and Disneyland Park in Paris (as Phantom Manor). A video game is a Game that involves interaction with a User interface to generate visual feedback on a video device. Disney's The Haunted Mansion is a video game inspired by the movie (See The Haunted Mansion (film) and the ride (See Haunted Mansion) A dark ride or darkride is an indoor Amusement ride where riders in guided vehicles travel through specially-lit scenes that typically contain Animation This article is about the Theme park at Walt Disney World Resort. Walt Disney World Resort is the most visited and largest recreational resort in the world containing four Theme parks two Water parks twenty-three themed hotels is a 115 acre (466535 m² Theme park at the Tokyo Disney Resort located in Urayasu, Chiba, Japan, near Tokyo. Disneyland Park ( Parc Disneyland in French) is a Theme park which is a part of Disneyland Resort Paris. Paris (ˈpærɨs in English; in French) is the Capital of France and the country's largest city Phantom Manor is an Attraction at the Disneyland Park at Disneyland Resort Paris. At each park it is a classic attraction, and it has spawned video games, a movie, and various cult and fan groups. Each incarnation of the attraction features a ride-through tour of a haunted house in Omnimover vehicles called Doom Buggies, preceded by a walk-through show in the queue and exit. A haunted house is defined as a house that is believed to be a center for Supernatural occurrences or Paranormal phenomena The Omnimover is an amusement ride system used for Disney Theme park attractions Both parts of the attraction showcase special effects and spectral Audio-Animatronics.

Contents

History

Original concept
The Haunted Mansion at Disneyland
Disneyland
Land New Orleans Square
Designer WED Enterprises
Opening date August 9, 1969
Music The Haunted Mansion - 30th Anniversary
Guests per car 3
Ride duration 10:00 minutes
Must transfer from wheelchair

The attraction's roots date back to even before Disneyland was built, when Walt had just hired the first of his Imagineers. New Orleans Square is a themed land found exclusively at Disneyland, though a similarly themed area can be found within Tokyo Disneyland's Adventureland The Haunted Mansion - 30th Anniversary was the album released for 30th Anniversary of The Haunted Mansion. The first known design of the park showed a main street setting, green fields, western village, and a carnival. Disney Legend Harper Goff developed a beautiful black and white sketch of a crooked street leading away from main street leading by a peaceful church and graveyard, with a run-down manor perched high on a hill that towered over main street. Established in 1987, the Disney Legends program recognizes men and women who have made an extraordinary and integral contribution to The Walt Disney Company.

After Disneyland's opening in 1955, Walt and the Imagineers found they had to keep making new attractions to increase crowd traffic, and to offer guests new experiences. One of the attractions planned was the haunted house from Harper Goff's sketch; Walt assigned the creator of the Fantasyland dark rides, Ken Anderson, to make a story and design of his new 'grim grinning' adventure. Plans were made to build a New Orleans themed land in the small transition area between Frontierland and Adventureland. New Orleans (nʲuːˈɔrliənz nʲuːˈɔrlənz French: La Nouvelle-Orléans) is a major United States port city and the largest city in Louisiana For the closed theme park in Morecambe, England, see Frontierland Morecambe. Adventureland is one of the "themed lands" at the many Magic Kingdom-style parks run by The Walt Disney Company around the world Weeks later New Orleans Square appeared on the souvenir map and promised a thieves' market, a pirate wax museum, and a haunted house walk-through.

After being assigned his project, Ken studied New Orleans and old plantations to come up with a dirty drawing of an antebellum manor overgrown with weeds, dead trees, swarms of bats, and boarded doors and windows topped by a screeching cat as a weathervane.

Despite praise from other Imagineers, Walt wasn't too thrilled with this drawing, hence his well known saying, "We'll take care of the outside and let the ghosts take care of the inside. " Despite this, Walt journeyed out to the Winchester Mystery House and became deeply captivated with the massive mansion with its stairs to nowhere, doors that open to walls and holes, and elevators. The Winchester Mystery House is a well-known California Mansion that was under construction continuously for 38 years and is reputed to be haunted. Ken came up with stories for the mansion including tales of a ghostly sea captain who killed his nosy bride and then hanged himself, a mansion home to an unfortunate family, and a ghostly wedding party with previous Disney villains and spooks like Captain Hook, lonesome ghosts, and the headless horseman. "Captain Hook" is also a nickname for former baseball manager Sparky Anderson. The Headless Horseman is a fictional character from the short story “ The Legend of Sleepy Hollow " by American author Washington Irving. Some of the Universal Monsters were even planned to appear. Universal Monsters are fictional characters created or popularized by Universal Studios in a number of famous Horror films The approach began with the 1923 film version

Rolly Crump and Yale Gracey, two Imagineers put in charge of the spectral effects recreated many of Ken Anderson's stories. Walt gave them a large studio at WED enterprises; they studied reports of hauntings and Greek myths and monster movies, eventually making quite a show in their private studio. Greek mythology is the body of stories belonging to the ancient Greeks concerning their gods and Heroes the nature of the world and the origins and significance Some of these effects frightened the cleaning crews that came in at night to the extent that management eventually asked the crew to leave on the lights and to turn off the effects after hours. Defying this, Crump and Gracey connected all the effects to a motion-sensitive switch that, when passed, would turn everything on. The next day when the two returned to work, all the effects were running with a broom in the middle of the floor. Management told them that they would have to clean the studio themselves, because the cleaning crew was never coming back.

The duo made a scene where a ghostly sea captain appeared from nowhere. Suddenly a wretched bride emerged from a brick wall and chased the ghost around in circles. The frightened pirate melted into a puddle and flooded the entire scene only for the water to mysteriously vanish with the bride. "A ghost haunted by a ghost!" Rolly told Walt between chuckles. Walt and the Imagineers were amazed, but Walt still didn't like how the project was coming out. That put the mansion on hold for quite some time.

So, the decision was made to place it in the New Orleans Square section of the park, and thus the attraction was themed as a haunted antebellum mansion. " Antebellum " is an expression derived from Latin that means "before war" ( ante, "before" and bellum In 1961, handbills announcing a 1963 opening of the Haunted Mansion were given out at Disneyland's main entrance. A flyer (also spelled flier or called handbill) is a single page leaflet Advertising a Nightclub, event, service, or other [1] Construction began a year later, and the exterior was completed in 1963. The attraction was previewed in a 1965 episode of Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color[1], but the attraction itself would not open until 1969. The first incarnation of the Walt Disney anthology television series, commonly called The Wonderful World of Disney, premiered on ABC on October 27 The six year delay owed heavily to Disney's involvement in the New York World's Fair in 1964–1965 and to an attraction redesign after Walt's death in 1966. The 1964/1965 New York World's Fair was the third major World's Fair to be held in New York City

Many Imagineers such as Marc Davis, X Atencio, and Claude Coats contributed ideas after the fair and after Ken left the project. Marc Fraser Davis ( March 30, 1913 – January 12, 2000) was a prominent artist and animator for Walt Disney Studios. Rolly Crump showed Walt some designs for his version showing bizarre things like coffin clocks, candle men, talking chairs, man eating plants, tiki like busts, living gypsy wagons, and a faced mirror. Walt liked this and wanted to make the proclaimed "Museum of the Weird" a restaurant side to the now named Haunted Mansion, similar to the Blue Bayou at Pirates of the Caribbean. " Blue Bayou " is the title of a song written by Roy Orbison and Joe Melson and sung by Orbison and also made popular by vocalist Linda Ronstadt Pirates of the Caribbean is a multi-billion dollar Walt Disney franchise encompassing a theme park ride a series of films Although the idea died off, most of it lived on in the final attraction.

Marc Davis and Claude Coats were two of the mansion's main designers were in a constant argument over whether the ride should be scary or funny. Claude who had a life of a background artist made moody surroundings like endless hallways, corridor of doors, and characterless environments made a scary adventure. Marc who designed most of the characters and zany spooks, thought that the ride should be classic Disney silly and be full of gags. In the end both got their way when X. put all the scenes together in a world known script.

After Walt's death in December of 1966, the project evolved significantly. The Museum of the Weird restaurant idea was abandoned, and the walkthrough idea was replaced by the Omnimover system used in Adventure Thru Inner Space, renamed the Doom Buggy, a promising solution to the problem of capacity. The Omnimover is an amusement ride system used for Disney Theme park attractions Synopsis The attraction was designed to simulate shrinking to a size smaller than an atom (the " Inner space " Imagineers had been fighting the low-capacity nature of a walkthrough attraction for years, even going as far as suggesting building two identical attractions to get double the number of guests through.

One rumor for the change was that the original attraction had frightened a guest so badly that he died of a heart attack. Myocardial infarction ( MI or AMI for acute myocardial infarction) also known as a heart attack, occurs when the blood supply Since the attraction was never implemented as a walkthrough experience, this rumor is clearly false. No guests have ever died of fright riding the Haunted Mansion. [1] Other rumors included a guest falling into a snake pit and Walt's family lived there and they just said it was haunted to keep people away and out.

On August 9, 1969, the Disneyland version of the attraction was completed, and remained essentially unchanged for years. Events 48 BC - Caesar's civil war: Battle of Pharsalus - Julius Caesar decisively defeats Pompey at Pharsalus Year 1969 ( MCMLXIX) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. The opening brought in record crowds and helped Disney recover from Walt's untimely death. In the early 1970s, the Imagineers gave some semi-serious thought to resurrecting many of the creatures and effects that Rolly Crump had originally created for the Haunted Mansion's pre-show as part of Professor Marvel's Gallery, which was ". . . a tent show of mysteries and delights, a carousel of magic and wonder". This was to be built as part of Disneyland's Discovery Bay expansion area.

In 1999, a retrospective of the art of the Haunted Mansion was featured at The Disney Gallery above the entrance to Pirates of the Caribbean. The Disney Gallery was an attraction and merchandise location at Disneyland in Anaheim, California. Pirates of the Caribbean is a multi-billion dollar Walt Disney franchise encompassing a theme park ride a series of films When the 2003 film The Haunted Mansion was released, a retrospective of its art was featured in the gallery as well.

In October 2005, Slave Labor Graphics began publishing a bimonthly Haunted Mansion comic book anthology giving the Disneyland Mansion a backstory, with the main recurring story of Master Gracey recalling the old sea captain storyline. Slave Labor Graphics or commonly SLG, is an independent American Comic book publisher well-known for publishing darkly humorous offbeat comics

Other theme parks

The Haunted Mansion at the Magic Kingdom in Orlando, Florida
The Haunted Mansion at the Magic Kingdom in Orlando, Florida
The Phantom Manor at Disneyland Paris
The Phantom Manor at Disneyland Paris

The attraction opened at the Magic Kingdom in 1971, Tokyo Disneyland in 1983, Disneyland Paris as Phantom Manor in 1992. Disneyland Resort Paris' is a Holiday and Recreation Resort in Marne-la-Vallée, a New town in the eastern suburbs of Paris Phantom Manor is an Attraction at the Disneyland Park at Disneyland Resort Paris. For each of these parks, the Haunted Mansion is an original attraction.

The Haunted Mansion was an opening day attraction at the at Walt Disney World's Magic Kingdom, opening in 1971. This attraction was developed at the same time as the Disneyland version, resulting in a very similar experience to the Disneyland version, though the slightly larger show building allowed the addition of several new scenes. The attraction was placed in Liberty Square, a small land that was a tribute to colonial America, as the Magic Kingdom did not have a New Orleans Square. Liberty Square may refer to Liberty Square (Magic Kingdom, a part of the Magic Kingdom theme park in Disneyworld Florida Thus, the Mansion was given a Dutch Gothic Revival style based on older northeastern mansions, particularly those in older areas of Pennsylvania and in the Hudson River Valley region of New York. The Gothic Revival is an architectural movement which began For the Magazine, see Hudson Valley (magazine

At Tokyo Disneyland the Mansion was placed in Fantasyland and was a near complete clone of the Magic Kingdom version. This is an article about a themed land at Disneyland, Magic Kingdom, Disneyland Paris, Tokyo Disneyland, and Hong Kong Disneyland The only exterior differences from the Magic Kingdom are two bronze griffin statues guarding the main gates, as well as the left bottom and top windows are both smashed open, and the top has some velvet curtains hanging out. The griffin is a Legendary creature with the body of a Lion and the head and often wings of an Eagle. The narration is in Japanese.

See Phantom Manor. Phantom Manor is an Attraction at the Disneyland Park at Disneyland Resort Paris.

When The Haunted Mansion was transplanted to other Disney parks, space management was much less of a problem. For example, in Walt Disney World's Magic Kingdom, the entire show building is located within the park boundaries. [2] Luckily, the placement of the show building has no bearing on the quality of the experience. Most guests give little thought to whether they are actually inside the mansion they saw while in line.

Haunted Mansion Holiday

Just prior to Halloween, the Haunted Mansion closes for its conversion to Haunted Mansion Holiday.
Just prior to Halloween, the Haunted Mansion closes for its conversion to Haunted Mansion Holiday.
Main article: Haunted Mansion Holiday
The Haunted Mansion Holiday, based on Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas.
The Haunted Mansion Holiday, based on Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas. Haunted Mansion Holiday is a seasonal attraction at the Disneyland park in California and Japan.

Every holiday season the Haunted Mansion at Disneyland is transformed into Haunted Mansion Holiday. This crossover, based on Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas, began in 2001. Timothy "Tim" William Burton (born August 25 1958 is an American Film director, Screenwriter and Set designer, notable for the quirky The Nightmare Before Christmas (also known as Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas) is a 1993 stop-motion Fantasy The Haunted Mansion is closed every September for a few weeks as they revamp the attraction, replacing many of the props and Audio-Animatronics with characters and themes from the movie. The attraction is closed again in January when it is returned to the regular Haunted Mansion. In 2004 a similar overlay was installed for Tokyo Disneyland as "Haunted Mansion Holiday Nightmare". To date, neither the Walt Disney World nor Disneyland Paris attractions have been fitted with a Nightmare Before Christmas overlay, though the exterior of Phantom Manor is decorated for Halloween along with the rest of Disneyland Paris. The attraction is very popular and a good portion of guests come to the park to see the overlay.

Recent changes

After the 2004 Haunted Mansion Holiday overlay, The Stretching Room and Portrait Corridor were changed.

As of May 3, 2006, new changes went into effect at the Disneyland Haunted Mansion. Events 1491 - Kongo monarch Nkuwu Nzinga is baptised by Portuguese missionaries adopting the baptismal name of João Year 2006 ( MMVI) was a Common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. The new show scene introduced in the attic portion of the ride follows a ghostly bride named Constance Hatchaway (played by Buffy The Vampire Slayer actress Julia Lee and voiced by Kat Cressida), now described as a "black widow bride," and slowly uncovers her bloody past, which includes the murders and decapitations of all her previous husbands (named Ambrose Harper, Frank Banks, Reginald Caine, the Marquis De Doom, and George Hightower) in an attempt to gain their vast fortunes. Fictional narratives (and works of art exist beyond their completion e Julia Lee is an American actress. She was born in Santa Fe New Mexico and began studying acting at age 14 Kathryn Cressida is an American Voice actress, also known as Kat Cressida. The new effects start when visitors first enter the mansion's attic.

When the visitor enters the attic, the pop-up ghosts that used to shout "I do!" are gone. This is to make room for the current effects. As the visitor enters the attic, the first new things seen are an amber-glowing glass lamp, various treasures and china, and multiple portraits of different grooms, each with the same bride. An axe-like sound echoes from the pictures throughout the room, and in each portrait the groom's head disappears.

The phantom piano player is still there, but the music is louder than before. Near the end of the attic, an ethereal glow is seen and a sweet but sinister voice is heard. It is Constance in her wedding gown. She repeats her vows in a menacing tone ("I do, I do. . . I did", "You may now kiss the bride", "And we lived happily ever after", "As long as we both shall live", "For better or for worse", "Here comes the bride", "'Till death do us part", "Through sickness and in. . . wealth". Every few sayings, she raises her hand and an axe appears in it. The bride is basically a white mannequin in a white wedding gown. When the lights go off, a projection illuminates the entire body, showing her as a wispy but realistic spirit. Her face and her entire body are projected, very similar to the Leota effect in the Seance Room and the Little Leota effect at the end of the ride. Constance also floats mysteriously above the floor (made possible by a pole and a fan).

At Walt Disney World Resort, The Haunted Mansion closed for refurbishment on June 7, 2007 and reopened September 13, 2007. Events 1099 - The First Crusade: The Siege of Jerusalem begins Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. Events 509 BC - The Temple of Jupiter on Rome 's Capitoline Hill is dedicated on the ides of September Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. Changes to the attraction during the refurbishment included the addition of a new audio system for the Ghost Host that makes it seem as if the spirit is circling above visitors' heads, new red, green, and gold wallpaper (like the paper at Disneyland), and new stretching sound effects for the stretching room. The gargoyles in the stretching room now whisper and emit child like giggles after the stretching room sequence. An exclusive Escher-esque staircase scene was added to the empty dark banister area covered in cobwebs and giant spiders. Maurits Cornelis Escher (17 June 1898 – 27 March 1972 usually referred to as M After the staircase scene, there are all new ghoulish eyes that glow while monstrous sounds echo through the halls. The original Disney World Attic is now replaced with the new Disneyland attic scene including the five changing husband portraits and featuring the new Constance. The Disneyland enhancements were also implemented at Walt Disney World including the now floating Madame Leota with much clearer projection, and The Sinister 11 (the portraits with the following eyes) were replaced with the changing portraits from Disneyland's portrait gallery. Seven of the Sinister 11 are now located in the loading area of the ride while the other four are located in various parts of the mansion. The graveyard ghosts minus the deaf old man, the singing busts, and the mummy audio tracks now seem to come from the singer when near them. The once blue/purple ghosts are now green as well. A sharp-eyed guest will also notice that the Hitch-Hiking Ghosts now have empty sockets for eyes.

Following the 2007-2008 holiday overlay, Disneyland's mansion's speed ramp that guests step on when boarding their doombuggy, was made to look like an endless carpet, and a new scrim was added in the stretching room.

The one thousandth ghost

On October 21, 2004, a bidder on a Disney-sponsored auction on eBay won the right to be the first non-Disneyland employee to have his name added to an attraction. Events 1512 - Martin Luther joins the theological faculty of the University of Wittenberg. "MMIV" redirects here For the Modest Mouse album see " Baron von Bullshit Rides Again " eBay Inc is an American Internet company that manages eBaycom an Online auction and shopping Website in which people and businesses buy and Cary Sharp, a doctor and health-care attorney from Baton Rouge, Louisiana placed a winning bid of US$37,400 to become Disneyland's one thousandth ghost with the addition of his nickname, a joke epitaph and the signatures of Disney Imagineers on a tombstone to be displayed in the attraction. Baton Rouge (French Bâton-Rouge ˌbætən ˈruːdʒ in English, and in French) is the capital city of Louisiana. Its placement is guaranteed for ten years and will remain as a permanent exhibit.

According to the Los Angeles Times, the opening bid of $750 was placed by horror novelist Clive Barker. The Los Angeles Times (also known as the LA Times) is a daily Newspaper published in Los Angeles California and distributed Clive Barker (born 5 October 1952) is an English author film director and visual artist Sharp, who had only visited Disneyland once before, placed the bid in good faith as a way to entertain his friends and never expected to win. The tombstone is located near the end of the graveyard scene and can be seen just as the vehicle enters the graveyard gates. The name on the tombstone is "Jay. "

The money has been donated to the Boys and Girls Club. Boys & Girls Clubs of America (or BGCA) is a national organization whose mission is to “enable all young people especially those who need us most to reach their full potential Half went to the local Anaheim chapter of the main charity while the other half went to the Baton Rouge chapter.

The attraction

The Queue

After entering the mansion's ornate gates from either New Orleans Square, Liberty Square, or Fantasyland, guests find themselves walking through the mansion's well-tended gardens and courtyards. At Florida and Tokyo, a family cemetery paying tribute to the Imagineers who designed the attraction is placed in the sprawling lawn next to the mansion's entrance. At California, a pet cemetery rests in the lawn rather than a human cemetery. The popular cemetery has since been implanted at Tokyo and Florida.

When plans were being made for a Young Indiana Jones Stunt Spectacular, Disney bought a hearse for the show, but when plans were scrapped for budget costs, the hearse was given an invisible phantom horse and placed outside the Disneyland mansion. It was such a hit, a black one was purchased and sent to Florida.

One unique feature to the Florida mansion is a tombstone for Madame Leota. On it is a bronze carving of her face that occasionally opens its eyes and looks around. It is achieved by animatronics.

Foyer and Stretching Room

Guests are led into a spooky parlor by Cast Members dressed as maids and butlers. At Tokyo and the Magic Kingdom, a portrait of Master Gracey rests above the grand fireplace and slowly changes into a rotting corpse. At the three parks from there, the guests are brought into an octagonal room, and encouraged to stand in the "dead center". The door they entered through then becomes a wall, and the chilling voice of Paul Frees introduces himself as their "Ghost Host" and taunts them:

Your cadaverous pallor betrays an aura of foreboding, almost as though you sense a disquieting metamorphosis. Paul Frees ( June 22, 1920 - November 2, 1986) was an American Voice actor and Character actor. Is this haunted room actually stretching? Or is it your imagination, hmm? And consider this dismaying observation: this chamber has no windows, and no doors. . . which offers you this chilling challenge: to find a way out! Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha! Of course, there's always my way. . .

As the voice speaks, the audience's eye is drawn up to four portraits on every other wall of the octagonal shaped room. The walls quietly stretch upwards, elongating the Marc Davis-designed paintings on them to reveal the comedic fates of previous guests:

The lights go out, lightning and thunder effects fill the gallery and, in a rare instance of Disneyland "dark humor," a glimpse of the earthly remains of the Ghost Host is shown hanging from a noose high above in the cupola. Black comedy, also known as black humor or dark comedy, is a sub-genre of Comedy and Satire where topics and events that are usually regarded The lights go out and a shrill scream shatters the air, followed by shattering bones. The Ghost Host apologizes for frightening the guests so early, and a wall opens into a portrait corridor at Disneyland, or a load area at Florida and Tokyo.

At the attraction in Disneyland, the room is, in fact, an elevator with no ceiling that is being lowered slowly to give the illusion that the room itself is stretching; this brings the guests down to where the ride begins, below ground level. The ceiling above is a piece of fabric called a scrim, which conceals the hanging body until it is lit from above. The term scrim has two separate meanings in terms of fabric In each case it refers to woven material one a finely woven lightweight fabric widely used in theatre the other a heavy This elevator effect was necessary to lower the guests below the level of the park-circling railroad at Disneyland. The actual ride building of this attraction is located outside of the berm surrounding the park, and the Disney Imagineers developed this mechanism to lower the guests to the gallery leading to the actual ride building.

This stretching room effect is duplicated at the three Mansions at other Disney theme parks, but only one of these requires guests being moved beyond the railroad tracks. The Disneyland Railroad (DRR originally the Santa Fe & Disneyland Railroad, is a narrow gauge railroad located at Disneyland in Anaheim California The Walt Disney World and Tokyo Disneyland attractions have stretching rooms with ascending ceilings, rather than descending floors. Only Phantom Manor at Disneyland Paris uses the same descending floor as Disneyland, to transport guests toward the structure containing the major portion of the ride. (As stated by current WDW Cast member Jan 25, 2008)

When the attic scene was refurbished in early 2006, new elements were designed to tie in with the portrait of the woman atop the tombstone. In one attic-wedding portrait, the bride Constance is shown much younger, holding a rose in the same manner as the woman in the portrait. The groom's name is on the wedding portrait frame, and is the same as the name on the tombstone: George. Also, the groom has a distinctive handlebar mustache just like the bust on the tombstone does. All of the other male characters in the paintings bear striking resemblances to Constance's other grooms as well. At Walt Disney World the sound became more chilling like the Ghost Host is whispering in your ear. Another effect was that the gargoyles say "Stay Together," after the host says the same.

Portrait Corridor

When the walls finally do open, guests are ushered into a portrait corridor with paintings that depict seemingly innocent scenes. Windows on the left give guests a peek at the thunderstorm raging outside. With every flash of lightning, the paintings flicker with ghastly images (including a demure young woman sprouting snakes from her scalp (a la Medusa), a magnificent sailing ship at sea becoming a tattered and ghostly version thereof in a storm, and others). In Greek mythology, Medusa ( Greek: Μέδουσα (Médousa "guardian protectress" was a monstrous Chthonic female character gazing upon The grim busts of a man and woman placed at the end of the hall seem to turn their heads, glaring at the guests as they walk past. The effect, patented by Disney,[3] was achieved by creating inverted busts: they actually recede into the wall. A combination of dim lighting and optical illusion makes the busts appear to stare at the passing guests. The effect is unnerving and extremely convincing. (A similar effect is used in the Hollywood Backlot section of Disney's California Adventure. Disney's California Adventure Park (commonly referred to by its initials DCA) is a Theme park in Anaheim California, adjacent to Disneyland Park )

The Load Area (Disneyland)

After escaping the portrait corridor, the guests walk through an etherial void, where an eerie green, glowing fog floats endlessly, and cobweb-wrapped candlearbras dimly illuminate the area. The Ghost Host points out that the house has 999 spirits with room for one more (any volunteers?) Stepping on an endless moving carpet synched to the motion of the Doom Buggies, guests are seated and ascend a pitch-black staircase to the next scene.

Portrait Corridor, Library, Music Room, and Grand Staircase (Florida and Tokyo)

At Florida and Tokyo, the doom buggies take guests down a long portrait corridor. At Florida, guests move through the same scene as Disneyland's only in ride through format. At Tokyo, doombuggies move through a two-sided corridor with portraits of eerie "family" members, that stare at the guests constantly. The moving eye corridor was at Florida too, before the refurbishment of 2007.

Passing under an archway guests enter a library with staring busts, moving ladders, flying books, and an unseen ghost rocking in a chair reading a book by candlelight. After this is a music room where a shadow plays a mellow version of Grim Grinning Ghosts on a rundown piano. A stormy forest is shown in the window behind the piano.

Unique to Florida, the doombuggies ascend a room full of staircases that defy physics. Green footsteps stomp across the upside down and sideway stairs, which creates a very disturbing sense. At the top of the stairs thousands of blinking eyes look around and morph into demon faced wallpaper.

The Endless Hallway

The Doombuggies point guests down a hallway that seems to be endless. A lone candelabra floats down the hallway.

The Conservatory

Turning away from the endless hall, guests enter the remains of a long forgotten funeral in the mansion's conservatory. A raven perches next to a dead plant-adorned coffin, with its corpse inside trying to break free, screeching for help.

The Corridor of Doors

The ghosts become more restless and try to break free from their hiding places, which results in a corridor full of shaking, knocking, moving, and breathing doors. Demon faced wallpaper adorns the walls as well as black and white photos of goblins and ghouls nailed into the cursed walls. At Tokyo a painting of an old man grows a three-dimensional face that presses forward. A demonic grandfather clock chimes 13 as the hands spin wildly backwards, the shadow of an avian-like claw passes over it. A longcase clock, also tall-case clock, grandfather clock or floor clock, is a freestanding weight-driven Pendulum clock with the

Séance Circle

Guests enter a dark séance room full of floating musical instruments, and other things. Madame Leota, a medium appearing within a crystal ball, summons the mansion's spirits. The Haunted Mansion attraction at the Disney theme parks is said to be home to 999 happy haunts with room for 1000 Mediumship is a practice in religious beliefs such as Spiritualism, Spiritism, Espiritismo, Candomblé, Louisiana Voodoo, and A crystal ball is a Crystal or Glass Ball believed by some people to aid Clairvoyance. In the Anaheim and Orlando mansions she floats gracefully around the table. The Leota effect is accomplished through digital projection of an actress's face onto a featureless head sculpture. The movement of the cable-suspended sphere is synced to the projection via computer-control. In the Tokyo mansion (and in Anaheim during Haunted Mansion Holiday and in Anaheim and Florida when the projection is not lining up with the bust) and Phantom Manor, Leota's crystal ball rests in a cradle on the table.

The Ballroom

Next, visitors are whisked up a dark spiral staircase. As guests pass onto the balcony of the magnificent ballroom, the happy haunts begin to materialize. This article is about the architectural element known as a ballroom Translucent couples waltz to the music of a macabre organist, while a ghostly birthday party appears to be taking place at the dining table (a dinner plate and two saucers combine to make a "Hidden Mickey"). A Hidden Mickey is a subtle formation of a silhouette of the head of Mickey Mouse and his two ears a more complete representation of Mickey Mouse (such as Mickey mixed in with Some spirits sit on the chandeliers, gorging themselves on wine, other ghosts enter the hall from an open coffin in a hearse, and a ghosts wraps his arm around a woman bust. All the ghosts in this scene are created using the Pepper's Ghost effect. For the Philadelphia, Pennsylvania -based rock ensemble see Pepper's Ghost (band. An important part of Disney history is located in the grand hall scene of the original Anaheim attraction: the pipe organ on the far left of the scene is the original prop from the studio's 1954 release, 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea. The pipe organ is a Musical instrument that produces sound when pressurized air (wind is driven through a series of pipes, controlled by a keyboard 20000 Leagues Under the Sea is a 1954 film starring Kirk Douglas as Ned Land James Mason as Captain Nemo, Paul Lukas Prior to the construction of the Haunted Mansion, the organ had been on display in a shop in the "Main Street, U. S. A. " area of the park. The organs in the other parks are replicas of the prop. This scene was mostly designed by Marc Davis who designed all the humanoid spooks and portraits.

At the Disneyland Haunted Mansion, there is a circular hole (rumored to be a bullet hole from a pellet gun) in one of the floor-to-ceiling panes of glass used to create the Pepper's Ghost effect. For the Philadelphia, Pennsylvania -based rock ensemble see Pepper's Ghost (band. The damaged area has been disguised by a fake spider and web. Because of the size of these panes of glass, they cannot be replaced without removing the roof of the show building.

The Attic

The attic is an irregularly-shaped room that the Doom buggies enter immediately after the ballroom scene. It features a collection of wedding gifts, personal items, mementos, and wedding portraits. In each portrait, a common bride (Constance Hatchaway) is featured with a different groom (Ambrose Harper, Frank Banks, Reginald Caine, The Marquis De Doom, and George Hightower), whose heads disappear to the accompaniment of a hatchet sound. Just before the Doom Buggies leave the attic, the same ghostly bride from the pictures is seen floating in the air, intoning wedding-related phrases. As she raises her arms, a hatchet appears in her hands. See Hatchet (novel for the Young adult novel. See Hatchet (film for the Horror film.

The Graveyard

The Doom Buggies fall out of the attic through a window in the windy night. Stars twinkle overhead in the cold black sky. Ahead, guests can see ghosts rise up from the ground as a mysterious fog covers the graveyard below. The Doom Buggies turn around and plunge backwards down a fifteen percent grade, surrounded by dark, ghoulish trees with knotted expressions. On a branch overhead, a raven caws at the guests. The Doom Buggies reach the ground, and turn towards the graveyard's gate. A caretaker stands there, the only living person in the entire attraction, his knees shaking in fright and an expression of terror on his face. Beside him is his emaciated dog, whining and whimpering. Around the corner, a ghostly band of minstrels plays a jazzy rendition of "Grim Grinning Ghosts". " Grim Grinning Ghosts " (complete title " Grim Grinning Ghosts (The Screaming Song " is the theme song for the Haunted Mansion attractions at A king and queen balance on a teeter-totter, while a young princess swings back and forth from a tree branch, a hellhound behind them. The Doom Buggies travel down a hill and turn to see five singing busts continuing the song of "Grim Grinning Ghosts". Next, guests encounter a tea party of sorts, where ghosts are having a "swinging wake" and singing along too. Ghouls ride bikes behind them. Next, guests see a mummy and an old man. The old man tries to listen to what the mummy is saying through an earphone, but the mummy is just too hard to understand underneath its bandages. Before the Doom Buggies turn to face the two opera singers to the right, inside of a tomb there is a phantom-like ghost dressed in a robe-like outfit and in his left hand (at the Magic Kingdom) his cloak forms a "Hidden Mickey". The Doom Buggies turn to face two opera singers, blasting their voices up into the night. Beside them are three other ghosts — a headless knight, a prisoner, and an executioner — who also join in the song. A brick tomb can be seen at the graveyard's exit, and a cadaverous arm protrudes from an opening in the wall where a couple of bricks are missing. A trowel is in the unknown spook's hand, implying that he is actually walling himself in.

The Hitchhiking Ghosts

At last, guests pass into a crypt where they encounter the attraction's unofficial mascots, three hitchhiking ghosts. For those into Disney Trivia, they have been assigned official names. They are Gus (the small bearded ghost with the ball and chain), Ezra (the tall and skeletal ghost) and Phineas (the larger ghost, with the top hat. ). (These names are used in the Virtual Magic Kingdom as NPCs inside the Haunted Mansion themed rooms. Disney's Virtual Magic ) Passing by three large mirrors, guests discover that one of the trio has hitched a ride in their Doom Buggy. Guests disembark and are encouraged to "hurry back," and not to "forget their death certificates" by a tiny woman in a bridal gown (though referred to as the Ghostess in early versions of the attraction script, this character is commonly known as "Little Leota" because her voice and face are those of Leota Toombs, who also provided the face of Madame Leota) before returning to the outside world. Leota Toombs was an employee of WED Enterprises (now Walt Disney Imagineering) the division of The Walt Disney Company that designs and builds Disney's This effect is produced in the same manner as Madame Leota, Constance, and the graveyard's singing busts, by projection of a face onto a featureless figurine.

Behind the scenes

The original Disneyland Haunted Mansion required clever space management in a theme park that has always contended with a lack of space. When the New Orleans Square area was added in the early 1960s, there was no more room in that quarter of the park for large attractions. The Imagineers therefore placed the bulk of the two major attractions — Pirates of the Caribbean and the Haunted Mansion — outside the park's earthen berm. The famed "stretching rooms" were implemented simply so guests could be moved underground and outside of the park without them knowing. Most guests do not realize that the portrait hall is actually an underground passage leading under the berm behind the mansion facade. As they enter the loading area, they pass beneath the Disneyland Railroad's tracks and into a vast (approximately 37,000 square feet) soundstage-like show building located outside the park boundaries. Painted dull green like most Disneyland show buildings, this 35-foot-tall facility is roughly rectangular, with a front section that is covered by the berm and through which the train tunnel passes. Guests may catch a very brief glimpse of the building while riding the tram from the Mickey and Friends parking structure, or by boarding the Disneyland Railroad at the New Orleans Square station and facing backwards in the train. However, the show building has no visible aboveground connection to the themed façade within the park.

The show building extends an additional ten feet below the backstage ground level, though much of the attraction takes place around ground level. The layout of the track is convoluted, but it's essentially a clockwise loop that runs through the outer areas of the building. Smaller scenes such as the conservatory and parts of the attic lay outside the loop formed by the track, but most of the major scenes take place on the inside of this loop. This leads to some interesting spatial relationships between them. For example, the organ in the ballroom is back-to-back with a number of crypts in the graveyard, and the back of the loading area shares a wall with the endless corridor.

The show building also houses a number of backstage areas unseen by guests. One of the easiest ways for cast members to enter these parts of the attraction is by entering a small, shed-like protrusion behind the façade. Inside this shed is the entrance to a cast member break-room and a staircase that leads down below the berm, making a left turn into the attraction's control tower. This small room (about the size of the conservatory) is hidden between the unloading and loading areas, seen only by handicapped guests who must ride all the way through to the loading area. Another way into the show building from within the park is through a door in one of the queue's crypts. This leads down several staircases into the portrait hall.

Near the tower, a pair of stairways lead beneath the Doombuggy track and into a passageway that travels between the loading area and the graveyard, below the endless hallway, and behind the ballroom. On the other side of the ballroom, several large maintenance and equipment rooms can be found.

The show scenes themselves are only convincing when viewed from the path of the ride; exploring these areas quickly reveals the fact that they are built much like movie sets in a sound stage. For instance, the wood that the ballroom walls are built of is easily seen from backstage. The back of tombstones also shows plastic, spray paint, etc.

The top eight feet or so of the building are separated from the larger area below containing the ride. Numerous air conditioning ducts pass through this attic of sorts, which can be accessed via a caged ladder on the north side of the building. The tops of the large, squarish indentations in the sides of the building mark the floor level of this attic space.

It is worth noting that at Disneyland, the Haunted Mansion and Splash Mountain show buildings are very close to each other. WikipediaHow to fix bunched-up edit links --> Splash Mountain is a log flume attraction at three Walt Disney Parks based on characters stories and When the Doom Buggies face the back of the graveyard, adjacent to the ghostly band, guests are looking at the building's northwest corner. Just a few yards beyond the back wall is a similar but smaller building housing Splash Mountain. Guests evacuated from Splash Mountain during a breakdown will verify that the Haunted Mansion show building is virtually indistinguishable from the Splash Mountain building, and that the two have only a few yards of pavement between them. [4]

Because of the Magic Kingdom's different layout, the Haunted Mansion show building is instead located next to the one that houses "It's a Small World". This version of the ride takes place within a similar building, though this one is larger and entirely enclosed by other areas of the park. This attraction differs from the original in that the ride takes place at the same level as the mansion itself. In addition, no berm separates the façade from the show building; the back of the mansion has a visible, aboveground connection to the main warehouse. To avoid exposing backstage to the guests, WDI uses trees and other rides to hide the building from view.

Leota Toomb's daughter Kim Ivrine, now working at WED, created a rarely seen pet cemetery, once clearly visible to those entering the foyer through the side door reserved for handicapped guests and their parties. Since a wheelchair ramp was added to the front of the mansion, guests rarely see this area. This pet cemetery was popular with the few who saw it, so WDI created a larger one in the normal queue around the time the new ramp was installed. Kim Ivrine also played Madame Leota for Haunted Mansion Holiday.

Http://i97. photobucket. com/albums/l214/waltjr/Thanksgiving 2006/DSC04576. jpg

The Hidden Pet Cemetery.

Soundtrack

Narration

The foyer, stretching room, and ride's narration was performed by Paul Frees as the Ghost Host. Paul Frees ( June 22, 1920 - November 2, 1986) was an American Voice actor and Character actor. Between the Disneyland and the Magic Kingdom versions of the ride, different recording sessions were used in some places. The Magic Kingdom version of the ride includes the library scene, in which a unique piece of narration is used. At Tokyo Disneyland, whose mansion is a carbon copy of the one in Florida, both inside and out, the narration is provided by Teichiro Hori, a movie producer from Toho Studios (Hori also provides the voice of the talking skull in Tokyo's version of Pirates of the Caribbean). is a 115 acre (466535 m² Theme park at the Tokyo Disney Resort located in Urayasu, Chiba, Japan, near Tokyo. is a large Japanese Independent film Studio. It is headquartered in Chiyoda Tokyo, and is one of the core companies of the Hankyu Hanshin Toho Group In 2002, an imitation of Paul Frees could be heard in the Disneyland and the Magic Kingdom versions instead of the original safety spiel, giving a more detailed warning in the load area, followed by a Spanish spiel. In Tokyo, the safety spiel is done by the Ghost Host himself.

Phantom Manor

An opening narration by Vincent Price was recorded, and initially was used. Vincent Leonard Price Jr ( May 27 1911 &ndash October 25 1993) was an American Film Actor, remembered However, due to a deal with French officials that attraction audio had to stay primarily in French, the narration was replaced with a different track by Gerard Chevalier, who, interestingly enough, had been a French dub voice for Price in some of his movies. Price's narration is available on the CD The Haunted Mansion - 30th Anniversary (1999 CD). The Haunted Mansion - 30th Anniversary was the album released for 30th Anniversary of The Haunted Mansion. It also features a full-orchestrated score by John Debney. John Debney (born in Glendale California, 18 August 1956) is an award-winning American film composer who received an Academy Award

Theme song

Main article: Grim Grinning Ghosts

Grim Grinning Ghosts was composed by Buddy Baker and the lyrics were written by X Atencio. " Grim Grinning Ghosts " (complete title " Grim Grinning Ghosts (The Screaming Song " is the theme song for the Haunted Mansion attractions at Norman "Buddy" Baker ( January 4, 1918 – July 26, 2002) was an American Composer who scored many of Walt It can be heard in nearly every area of the ride, with various instrumentations and tempos. Contrary to popular belief, "Grim Grinning Ghosts" is not performed by the Mellomen, but rather by a pickup group. The Mellomen were a popular singing quartet active from the late 1940s through the mid-1970s A pickup group (also called a pickup band, pickup orchestra, or jobbing band) is a term used to describe a group of Musicians that are hired to The only member of the Mellomen heard is that of the deep bass voice of Thurl Ravenscroft (best known for voicing Tony the Tiger in television commercials), who sings as part of a quintet of singing busts in the graveyard scene. Thurl Arthur Ravenscroft ( February 6, 1914 &ndash May 22, 2005) was an American Voice actor and Singer Tony the Tiger (El Tigre Toño is the Advertising Cartoon Mascot for Kellogg 's Frosted Flakes (also known as Frosties A bust is a sculpted or cast representation of the upper part of the human figure depicting a person's head and Neck, as well as a variable portion of Ravenscroft's face is used as well, projected onto the bust. His face is sometimes confused with that of Walt Disney himself. [5]

Releases

"Grim Grinning Ghosts" has also been used in various other shows in Disney theme parks such as:

A Spooky Night in Disney's Haunted Mansion

Disneyland Records released The Story and Song From The Haunted Mansion as a record album in 1969. The Music of Disneyland Walt Disney World and Epcot Center was the official album for Disneyland and Walt Disney World in 1988 A Spooky Night in Disney's Haunted Mansion was a special reissue of the 1969 The Haunted Mansion LP released on cassette in 1998 The Haunted Mansion - 30th Anniversary was the album released for 30th Anniversary of The Haunted Mansion. Walt Disney World Resort The Official Album was the official album for Walt Disney World during the Millennium Celebration. Walt Disney World Resort Official Album was the official album for Walt Disney World in 2000 A Musical History of Disneyland is a CD Boxed set collection of music from Disneyland, spanning opening day to the present Fantasy in the Sky was a Fireworks performance at Disneyland Paris from 1993 to 2005 in Marne-la-Vallee France, Disneyland in Anaheim Remember Dreams Come True is a fireworks display commemorating Disneyland's 50th anniversary. HalloWishes (known by its full title of "Happy HalloWishes A Grim Grinning Ghosts Spooktacular in the Sky" is a Fireworks show that takes place during " Disneyland Records is the original name of the The Walt Disney Company 's Record company. It featured the story of two teenagers, Mike (Ron Howard) and Karen (Robie Lester), who get trapped inside the Haunted Mansion, with Thurl Ravenscroft as the Narrator, Pete Renoudet as the Ghost Host, and Eleanor Audley as Madame Leota. Ronald William Howard (born March 1 1954 is a director and producer as well as an Actor. Eleanor Audley ( November 19 1905, in New York City, New York – November 25 1991 in North Hollywood] Californi] Some of the effects and ideas that were planned but never permanently made it to the attraction are mentioned here: the Raven speaks in the Stretching Room, and the Hatbox Ghost is mentioned during the Attic scene. It was reissued in 1998 as a cassette tape titled A Spooky Night in Disney's Haunted Mansion.

Previously, as the Haunted Mansion attraction was in its planning stages and still known as "The Haunted House," Disneyland Records released the album Chilling, Thrilling Sounds of the Haunted House (1964), a collection of sound effects and brief "stories in sound" introduced by a narrator, Laura Olsher. Many of the sound effects, originally created for the vintage Disney cartoons, were later used in the Haunted Mansion ride. Disneyland Records used the same title in 1979 for a new album of sound effects and story situations.

Attraction facts

Disneyland

Magic Kingdom

Recently The Haunted Mansion at Magic Kingdom was closed for refurbishments. The refurbishments were completed September 12th, and the ride has opened for guests September 13th. The attraction was given a new scene not before seen at the other Haunted Mansions; a surreal, M. C. Escher-esque room of upside down staircases with ghostly footsteps walking up and down them. Maurits Cornelis Escher (17 June 1898 – 27 March 1972 usually referred to as M In addition, new audio and visual effects were added throughout the mansion, and many rooms were given paint and lighting touch-ups as well as new carpeting and ceiling. Also, several elements were duplicated from Disneyland's Mansion, including the changing portraits, the floating Madame Leota and the revised attic scene with Constance. Every morning a cast member digs up fresh soil and places it in front of Master Gracey's headstone, as well as placing a fresh cut rose on top of the grave. A rose is a perennial flowering Shrub or vine of the Genus Rosa, within the family Rosaceae, that contains over 100 species

Sign that was displayed outside The Haunted Mansion at Magic Kingdom during its closure for renovation. (The "Master Gracey" signature was later removed.)
Sign that was displayed outside The Haunted Mansion at Magic Kingdom during its closure for renovation. (The "Master Gracey" signature was later removed. )

Tokyo Disneyland

Disneyland Paris

Phantom Manor (version of Haunted Mansion in Frontierland)

In popular culture

Trivia

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c Urban Legends Pages: Haunted Mansion. Disneyland is a Theme park within the Disneyland Resort in Anaheim California conceived by Walt Disney. The Magic Kingdom is a Theme park located at the Walt Disney World Resort in Florida. World Bazaar See also Main Street USA#Tokyo Disneyland, L1=Main Street U " Grim Grinning Ghosts " (complete title " Grim Grinning Ghosts (The Screaming Song " is the theme song for the Haunted Mansion attractions at HalloWishes (known by its full title of "Happy HalloWishes A Grim Grinning Ghosts Spooktacular in the Sky" is a Fireworks show that takes place during " Haunted Mansion Holiday is a seasonal attraction at the Disneyland park in California and Japan. The Haunted Mansion attraction at the Disney theme parks is said to be home to 999 happy haunts with room for 1000 Phantom Manor is an Attraction at the Disneyland Park at Disneyland Resort Paris. New Orleans Square is a themed land found exclusively at Disneyland, though a similarly themed area can be found within Tokyo Disneyland's Adventureland Liberty Square may refer to Liberty Square (Magic Kingdom, a part of the Magic Kingdom theme park in Disneyworld Florida This is an article about a themed land at Disneyland, Magic Kingdom, Disneyland Paris, Tokyo Disneyland, and Hong Kong Disneyland For the closed theme park in Morecambe, England, see Frontierland Morecambe. Adventureland is one of the "themed lands" at the many Magic Kingdom-style parks run by The Walt Disney Company around the world
  2. ^ Live Search: The Magic Kingdom's Haunted Mansion building within the park's boundaries http://maps.live.com/default.aspx?v=2&cp=nr34cm8618c0&style=o&lvl=1&tilt=-90&dir=0&alt=-1000&scene=5219433&encType=1
  3. ^ US patent 5,782,698 "Optical Illusion Device", Keller; Allan, 1998.
  4. ^ Microsoft Live Site.
  5. ^ Busted!. Snopes (August 21, 2007). Snopes (ˈsnoʊps also known as the Urban Legends Reference Pages, is a Web site that is the most widely-known resource for validating or debunking Urban legends Events 1192 - Minamoto Yoritomo becomes Seii Tai Shōgun and the De facto ruler of Japan. Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. Retrieved on 2007-12-06. Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. Events 1060 - Béla I of Hungary is crowned king of Hungary 1240 - Mongol invasion of Rus: Kiev
  6. ^ http://travel.latimes.com/articles/la-trw-disney14nov14
  7. ^ http://theshadowlands.net/famous/disneylandHM.htm

External links

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