Hello everyone! My name is Sophia and I'm going to be doing a series on the Disney Parks! This series is going to feature secrets, history and tips. Each time I post, I will do something different! For a while, I'm going to be featuring the rides. If you have any ideas for what my next post should be or, any secrets and tips you know about, please message us, I'd love to hear from everyone!
Welcome Foolish Mortals to the first Exploring The Disney Parks post. Today, there is lots to be uncovered. History will unfold and secrets will be revealed. In this mansion there are 999 happy haunts, of course there's always room for 1000, any volunteers?
It's always fun to act like the Ghost Host! The Ghost Host is voiced by the legendary Paul Frees. You can hear Paul's voice in, Adventure Thru Inner Space, Pirates Of The Caribbean, Haunted Mansion and Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln (There are more times you can hear Paul's voice, I only mentioned a few).
August 9, 1969 was the first time when the doors of the Haunted Mansion creaked open in Disneyland. This was the first ride in Disneyland that was not seen by Walt Disney. Yes, Walt knew it was being built, but he never saw the finished product. How did this happen? Well, Walt was working on it but then the New York World's Fair came and him and the imagineers had to drop the Haunted Mansion and work on the World's Fair. The Haunted Mansion wan't worked on again until after Walt died.
A little fun fact: The Haunted Mansion's exterior in Disneyland was based off of the Victorian era Shipley-Lydecker House in Baltimore, Maryland. (Each of the Disney Parks Haunted Mansion's are based off of real homes)
Another fun fact: Former Imagineer, Leota Toombs is the face of the floating head we all know and love, Madame Leota. Leota Toombs' voice was to soft spoken, so the voice of Madame Leota is Eleanor Audley (Eleanor also plays Maleficent and Lady Tremaine). Haunted Mansion Holidays Leota is the face of Kim Irvine (Leota Toombs' daughter), and voiced by Susanne Blakeslee.
There is so much more history to talk about but I must move on.
This is probably the most exciting thing to talk about with ANY Disney attraction.
Alright, here's a very frequently asked question. How does the stretching room work? Does it go down, or does the ceiling just go up? Well, this depends on which park you're at. In Disneyland the stretching room is an elevator. This is because there wasn't enough room in the actual park for the Haunted Mansion. So, they had to build the actual ride out of the park borders. In Disney World, the stretching room's ceiling does rise. Since they had so much room in Florida, there was enough room to have the ride inside the park borders.
BEFORE YOU KEEP READING: If you don't want to spoil the magic of the ghosts in the haunted mansion keep scrolling until you pass the next picture!!! You've been warned...
Here's another question. How do they do the ghosts? Well this is called the Pepper's Ghost effect. It's like looking through a window, when you look through, you can see the reflection of everything behind you. The ghosts in the ballroom are in fact real animatronics, they are all just under your doom buggy. Yes, you are seeing a reflection of the ghosts, crazy isn't it? This is done by putting a large pane of glass across the guest viewing area, and lighting up the animatronics which projects the figures onto the glass and in front of you. The Haunted Mansion is the largest set up of the Pepper's Ghost Effect. The Pepper's ghost effect is also used on Tower of Terror.
Disney recycles many animatronic molds. Some are hard to find but, the easiest one to spot is the ghost blowing out her candles, that mold was recycled from the whistling pirate in the jail cell on Pirates of The Caribbean. This mold was also used for a few of the instrument playing ghosts in the graveyard scene. The ghost with the crown sitting at the table is a recycled mold of the tall slender pirate next to the whistling one.
Here is another illusion, the busts. Many of you have probably already figured this out but I'm still going to say it. These busts always seem to be following you. Here's the trick to how that's done, it's simple really, the busts are hollow. This achieves the illusion that you are always being watched.
Hidden Mickeys are a very common thing now, people love searching for them! Hidden Mickeys were always a thing but, before it was just a little secret between the imagineers. Somehow the information was leaked out into the public. Soon enough everyone was searching for the mouse's silhouette. All it took were three perfect circles, a head and two ears. Many have been found today, here is one from the Haunted Mansion, there are more, but I'm going to let you find those on your own.
In the ballroom scene there is the dinner table, and on that dinner table you can find three plates that make up a perfect hidden Mickey!
There are many more secrets, but that is all I can say for now!
Haunted Mansion Holiday is one of the best times to go see the mansion. The Imagineers do a wonderful job transforming The Haunted Mansion into a halloween/Christmas wonderland! The best scene is of course either the ballroom or the graveyard. With the Haunted Mansion Holiday, the ballroom has a Christmas tree which the dancers waltz all night around. The dinner table has a huge gingerbread house on it which fills the entire room with the smell of gingerbread. And the room is appropriately decorated with halloween/Christmas decorations. This re-theme of The Haunted Mansion lasts from late September to early January. It leaves you with lots of time to visit Sandy Claws, Jack, Oogie Boogie, the residents of Halloween Town and the residents of The Haunted Mansion.
The Haunted Mansion is one of the most popular rides in Disneyland and although it is a continuously moving ride, the stretching room does take a while. And during the day, wait times are ridiculous. If you don't have a fastpass, I suggest going later in the evening. Also, if you don't care to watch the fireworks or shows then that is the absolute best time to go on The Haunted Mansion and any other rides that you normally would need a fastpass for.
Well my friends, that is all that I am writing today, I have a lot of research to do on all the other rides as well you know. (If you would like a part 2 of The Haunted Mansion, message us!) Like I said, if you have ideas for my next post please feel free to message us! I love the Disney Parks and learning about them, when I was tasked to write a blog post I knew right away what I wanted to do. I'm so excited to share some Disney Magic with all of you! But until my next post, I say goodbye.
We find it delightfully unlivable here in this ghostly retreat. Every room has wall-to-wall creeps, and hot and cold running chills.
So Foolish Mortals, head over to The Haunted Mansion, we're all dying to meet you!
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