Haunted Mansion

“Your cadaverous pallor betrays an aura of foreboding…”

Tucked in the back of Liberty Square is one of Walt Disney World’s premier attractions: The Haunted Mansion. Sitting atop a lonely hilltop, you will see the stately manor featuring a “Dutch gothic” style once quite popular in New York’s lower Hudson Valley area. As you wait in the queue, there is no shortage of items to view and pique your curiosity. Whether it’s admiring the mansion’s architecture itself or perusing the mansion’s cemetery and reading the headstones featuring funny quips about Imagineers who were integral to the construction of the mansion itself. Imagineers such as Marc Davis, Wathel Bender, or Leota Toombs are featured on these memorials, the latter is included on a marker that features a face with eyes that suddenly open and stare vacantly into the queue before closing again. The distant howl of a lone wolf echoes through the covered walkway as gentle breezes come and go, occasionally with just enough energy to make your hairs stand on end. And you haven’t even entered the attraction yet…

You are then shuffled into a foyer featuring portraits that magically age in front of your eyes before being ushered into the first truly striking moment in The Haunted Mansion: the Stretching Room. Keep your eyes on the portraits that surround the room, keeping in mind that there are “no windows and no doors,” at least for the time leading up to a view of a corpse hanging from the rafters. (A bold decision by Disney that they have stuck with time and time again, despite rumors that it would be eliminated or softened for the more faint of heart.)

At last, you are loaded into black clamshell cars known as “Doom Buggies” on a massive Omnimover track that carries you through the remainder of the attraction. You will meet your Ghost Host who will narrate the festivities for you throughout, and as a show of his power, he will lower your vehicle’s safety bar for you, so don’t attempt to do it yourself or you will be reprimanded by the unseen spirit.

The first half of The Haunted Mansion focuses almost entirely on setting the mood for what’s to come. It has a more ominous feel and no Audio-Animatronics to admire, rather it contains dark rooms with a spirit tickling the ivories, Escher-like stairs that lead to nowhere, floating candelabras that appear to reside in an endless hallway. All of this changes once you reach the Séance Circle and meet Madame Leota – a sallow, pale face, who speaks from a crystal ball while floating about the room. The effect is mesmerizing even if you know how it’s done, but it’s also the signal that the mood is about to change, which becomes abundantly clear once you enter the massive Grand Hall and come face to face with an entire room full of ghosts. (To fully enjoy the details of this room, multiple ride-throughs will be required.)

From here, you travel through the attic featuring a bride who is not so intent on a happily-ever-after ending to her romances, then out into the Graveyard where the ghosts come fast and (happily) furious. It’s almost overwhelming how many effects are being thrown at you at the same time. Your journey ends with a ghost hitching a ride in/on your vehicle via a simple effect that is still stunning to experience. As you make your way to the exit, be sure to “look alive” for you have safely returned from a trip that no foolish mortal should take.

Behind the Schemes:

Walt Disney was dead set on having a haunted manor of some sort added to Disneyland and went through a rotation of well-regarded creative staff to make it happen. Sadly, this was the last attraction that he helped devise before untimely death from lung cancer. Imagineers Marc Davis and Claude Coats were married up to come up with a final product for guests to enjoy, but their philosophies on how the events in the mansion should play out presented many hurdles along the way, only to end up with a compromise that Coats’s focus on mood and spookiness would be featured in the first half while Davis’s sight gags and comedic wit would shine in the latter half. As it turns out, the dichotomy worked wonders and The Haunted Mansion continues to be a guest favorite at Disney parks around the world.

Because the creation of The Haunted Mansion took roughly ten years to really get off the ground, the decision was made to also include the attraction at the yet-to-be-built resort in Florida, which allowed the creation of two sets of Audio-Animatronics, scenic designs, and props.  Guests were surprised to see the Dutch Gothic façade of the Florida version, but it helped to strongly define the newer “land” of Liberty Square. 

Reality Check:

For years, rumors have swirled that some of the architectural goodies sitting atop the mansion are reminiscent of chess pieces. The official company line is that the toppings are purely in the style of the time and their similarity to the game’s pieces is purely coincidental.

Another persistent rumor is that during the finale that features four busts singing X. Atencio’s jaunty theme song, “Grim Grinning Ghosts,” one of the heads is a molding of Walt Disney’s face and skull. Alas, this rumor has proven to be false as well.

The Ghost Host narration is provided by Paul Frees who is also known for voicing Boris Badenov in the Dudley Do-Right cartoons, as well as Donald Duck’s uncle, Ludwig Von Drake.

When exiting the attraction, take a look at the small hill on your left where you will find a pet cemetery. Way up in the back, you can catch a glimpse of none other than Mr. Toad himself.

The Caretaker of the Graveyard seems to be the only “living” human in the attraction.  The addition of the Hatbox Ghost to the Florida park in 2023 was met with some resistance from fans.  In particular, people took exception to his placement in the endless hallway scene.  Online speculation continues as to the reasoning for this placement.  At Disneyland, the Hatbox Ghost appears as you “fall” from the attic scene.

Two live-action films have been made based on The Haunted Mansion. At the time of this writing, only the first version has recouped its production costs. The second version’s failure is probably Jared Leto’s fault.

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