Thread: Disney Haunted Mansion Questions

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Okay, I am really dumb or out of touch. I have been reading about Disney Haunted Mansion and just sort of glided over the info and pics because I wasn't interested. Now, I have a friends who is Ga Ga over this and asked me today WHY I wasn't into it. I would not admit that I really don't know what all the hoopla is about.

I did a quick search and see that this is a ride/attraction. I have read bits and pieces about stretching portraits, etc.

What exactly would one do to use this theme? (no I am not changing at this point and won't even try to add anything in for it to please friend, but I would like to not be so ignorant when it is brought up again.

Is this just a haunted house Disney style? Does it include traditional Disney characters? Give me some details. If I wanted to impress with something along these lines, what could I consider....

I see many of you posting that you are doing this theme or incorporating it this year. So, help an old girl out with some info.

TIA

The Haunted Mansion has long been a favorite of mine. And no, it does not feature the usual Disney animated characters, though there are certainly some more light hearted visual gags among the creepier elements.

Simply put, for ambiance and variety of illusions, it is top notch. The scenes include a stretching room, portrait hall/gallery with changing portraits, conservatory with coffin, seance circle, haunted banquet hall, decrepit and creepy attic, and of course a graveyard packed with partying spirits for the finale.

It does largely skew fun rather than creepy, but it includes such elements as a veiled reference to suicide by hanging by the "ghost host" who narrates the attraction accompanied by seeing his dangling corpse, unseen knocking and snarling poltergeists, a corpse trying to escape his nailed shut coffin, and pop up "ghoul" heads. A variety of effects are used, from projections to Pepper's Ghost and blacklit robotic spectres behind theatrical scrims. It was first conceived way back in 1955 and built in 1969 as kind of a storyless, "ultimate" haunted house featuring genre staples visitors would view on a tour through the decrepit halls.

For me, the pleasure I take from it partly is in the masterful use of illusions, sound, lighting etc done on a very high level as only Disney can do, and the ambiguous nature of the ride...are the ghosts scary or funny, menacing or kindly? It's a mixture of both without an overt narrative story that allows for interpretation of the ghostly events within that can appeal to visitors of all ages. Merely my take on it from someone who dearly loves the HM..

The Haunted Mansion is on my bucket list for sure.....ZR








If you want to go more in depth, this link has TONs of info http://www.doombuggies.com/

Thanks Regions Beyone and Zombie Raider. I actually just spent quite awhile reading the same site that you linked to here after the video. I felt stupid even asking. I guess because I don't live near a Disney site, I have sort of tuned this out. So, if one wanted to include something that Haunted Mansion, it could be as simple at a hall of the lenticular portraits. I guess I would be able to pacify my friends and have a pretty creepy hallway. My actual hallway now holds photos of the family, so I could just trade them out. I read the other day about how to make the moving eye photos that I guess I could also use. Or that might be some deadly sin if I mixed the two.

I don't mean to be flippant, I am just trying to understand how something this intricate could be carried out in a home. When someone refers to liking Haunted Mansion, are they possibly just saying they like the elegant stately side of haunting? I just don't see how to carry this out unless you were to make specific tombstones from the sayings shown on the site. Everything else is so elaborate or specialized. I am just struggling with this concept for some reason. Is it more of an atmosheric mood or an unstate tone than a specific type of decor?

Haunted Mansion rules. I can't believe we missed it the first time we went to disney world. How lame are we?

The video does pretty well describe it.

Luckily, when we went this year, it wasn't busy so we went to the Haunted Mansion twice in a row. There is SO MUCH to see ... I bet you could ride it a hundred times and still not see everything. It really is truly awesome and I would recommend that anybody check it out, especially anyone who frequents this forum, you'd probably love it. It is one of the few things at Disney that really lived up to the hype as far as I am concerned.

TheEighthPlague, thanks for the info. I went to Disneyland in the mid 70s and was very disappointed in it. I had lived with the hype all my life and DH and I went to California and there on one of our early vacations. (pre-kids) Coming from Texas and the wide open land, I was shocked to find it stuck in the middle of a town! Then, the fact that the castle was not really a castle blew me away! I hated it---except for Mickey Mouse. I love Mickey. We even named our son, Mickey.

Then in the mid-80s we went to Disney World. It was much better. Epcot was new and I was not too impressed with it. (but, I am also the one who went to the Grand Canyon for the first time and looked over and said I was ready to go! I guess because I read a lot and have a vivid imagination, I just have problems with thing living up to the image I had of them.

I think I would love the Haunted Mansion. I guess I have just sort of tuned this out, it being Disney and all. We have just taken custody of my 12 year old niece and have talked about taking a trip back to Florida with her. Now, I have a quest.

Is this open year round or only during the fall?

Thanks for the comments. I guess my problem is in seeing this as a theme or decor idea for a home. I just see a lot of people describe Disney Haunted Mansion as what they are doing.

I will never skip such posts again. I am now intrigued to see what they do to achieve this.

I added a couple more interesting short videos....When people say they are doing a Haunted Mansion theme, I'm sure they mean only cetain elements of it....It would be impossible to pull something off in this magnitude at your home....The HM ride is actually housed in a warehouse sized building if this gives you any idea to the scope of size alone....ZR

*sorry all caps*

OMG OMG ! HAUNTED MANSION IS THE GREATEST RIDE / HAUNT / SUPER COOL / BAD A** RIDE / EXPERIENCE EVER!!!!!!!!

There's one on each coast and one on Tokyo Disney and one in Disneyland Pasis (tho a diff name). You MUST go see at least one of them if you even remotely lke Halloween!!!!!!!

This website has everything you need to know about the Haunted Mansion.
http://www.doombuggies.com/home.php

It's a good question. The Haunted Mansion is an experience. It's about fantasy, mystery and imagination using creatively creepy special effects. Things like the floating candelabra and the ghost illusions are classics. I try to use a couple of these in my own haunt. It's not about blood and guts and chainsaws and stuff like that. That's the typical haunted house fare. This is different. Hard to explain without seeing it. Way worth a trip!