The Haunted Mansion Thread

[sarahonpointe94]

Welcome Foolish Mortals, to the Haunted Mansion Thread. This is the place to discuss everyone's favorite cult classic Dark Ride.

Here you can talk about the New Attic Bride, the Nightmare Before Christmas Holiday Makeover, the Haunted Mansion Movie, and More!

[sarahonpointe94]

Okay peeps, lets start with the new bride: Lovi it or Hate it and why?

[Piglet]

Love it! It is so much better than the bride with the red heartbeat, plus the storyline makes sense now.

[Masquerade]

I went on the Haunted Mansion for the first time (kinda) when I went to DLand a couple weeks ago. I went on it about 10 years ago when I was 7, but I was terrified and closed my eyes the whole time, and from then on I vowed never to go on it again.

Well, now I'm 16 (17 next week), so I figured enough is enough, and I just went on it. It was fun! I liked the part where you went downhill backwards... I'd put it somewhere in the Top 15 rides. :)


As for the bride, I can't compare it with anything that was there before, but it was pretty cool. I liked how the music and atmosphere of the ride suddenly changed, but I think the effects were backwards. The pictures with the bride's husbands were headless, and then their heads appeared on it. isn't it supposed to be the other way around?

Also, the axe in the bride's hands appeared at the very, very, very last second, and I wouldn't have seen it unless I knew it was going to happen. (I remembered reading about the new stuff on here)


So yeah, all in all, a fun ride.

[SplashMan]

I like the old bride/room much better. She had a much more mysterious and scary look than she does now. that whole room seems pretty silly to me now. I also liked all of the guys popping up out of nowhere. It just made the ride that much better. sigh..

[#1DisneyFreak]

the new bride scared the crap out of me the first time I saw her! I love the HM! Huge fan of HMH here!

Originally Posted by SplashMan

I like the old bride/room much better. She had a much more mysterious and scary look than she does now. that whole room seems pretty silly to me now. I also liked all of the guys popping up out of nowhere. It just made the ride that much better. sigh..

I totally agree with you, SplashMan.

It was sooooo creepy as you went through the attic, and it was very much darker, and there was that figure, holding the candle, the heart beating, and her with no face, and your doombuggy just kept taking you closer and closer to her...


The effect was much, much better. It's incredibly cartooney now.

The thing was, all you heard was that heartbeat, and you had time to think about what it could be as you came around that corner, and then that THING was there just looming...

[Executioner]

I prefer the older style way better. The new bride is just not doing it for me and as far as the story goes.... I don't see how it fits in and with what story? This version didn't really have any story and didn't need one to be entertaining or even understandable. This bride is way too bleh and not mysterious at all. The attic is now just a collection of changing pics of her "ex" husbands. The heads popping up in the attic around different turns was awesome. Also the ride is sped up now and it just isn't as fun cause you don't get time to see it all and enjoy anymore. The slowness to the ride lent to it's creepiness and now it's just kinda silly. I still love the mansion but it has lost a lot of it's better show pieces as well as it's fun.

[ozzsoad]

The Haunted Mansion is definitely my all time favorite Disneyland ride. Admittedly, I haven't been on it since they added the new bride effect and such, but I like what I've seen of it.

I'm just hoping the ride will be open on Labor Day, the night before they plan to close it. I'll pretty much have about six or so hours to ride it as many times as I can. I'm hoping to get enough of the ride (though I can't see that happening) so I won't miss it as much the following two days I'm there.

Why'd they have to push the refurb up a week? Ugh.

[GregC]

Vote NO on the continuing refurb with the Nightmare before Christmas theme..leave our mansion alone. Old school was sooo much better,and spookier during the halloween season when it was in it's original form as it was designed. I can't believe X-Tencio and Gurr let them do that!

Originally Posted by ozzsoad

Why'd they have to push the refurb up a week? Ugh.

I agree. Disney really screwed a lot of people when they moved up the entire refurb schedule. But back to the topic at hand.

Regarding the new Bride: it's a trend that's gaining momentum in Imagineering, and I addressed it in a rant that I posted about things we miss at Disneyland earlier this week.

The thing is, those fine folks seem to be under the impression that video projection and flashy animation and silly tecnology-driven eye candy are what people want. I think that they are really, truly beginning to think that kids can't see something like the original Bride and make up a terrifying story of their own in about 2 seconds flat. I sure did.

Who ever said that it had to be explained? Who actually sat down, tweaked on this idea, and decided that people are that dumb? Don't they think that Walt and the Imagineers already thought of that, and put it together the way it was for a reason? I am sure that some Imagineers have argued: "Well, they didn't have this technology back then". Well, they didn't have the "Bead Dazzler" yet, either, and that's something that nobody wants, because it, too, makes cheap, ugly things. I think that Walt would look at this new bride, and at the changing pictures in the attic, and say that it was cheesy and cheap, because it affords no room for the IMAGINATION.

Disneyland's classic dark rides work for a couple of reasons. Imagination, of course. Originality, certainly. But another part of the success of the rides is that they are ENORMOUS. We are absolutely floored by the enormity, craftsmanship and originality of the project, which allows us to be completely taken away to a different world with each attraction.


Walt build Disneyland to be like a giant movie set. Imagineers these days seem to want to project the set and all of its props onto a wall, or stick them on glorified flat-panel televisions.


Imagineers need to understand that technology at Disney is good for some things, and incredibly anti-creative for others. It's good for rendering graphics in movies, representing virtual spaces, pulling off timing in AA movements, communications, selling movie downloads etc... but it is not a good replacement for creativity or imagination, or for being used as a means to being skimpy when investing in a new attraction's infrastructure.


Regarding HMH overlay: I think it's really cool, but I also think that since I like to go mostly in the off-season, having it in that mode, or out of commission for overlay and removal for such a large chunk of the year is kind of a bummer. I do love the original Mansion. The overlay, although really well-done and thoughtfully designed, is still somewhat of a holiday novelty that feeds off of the original. I would love to see it every other year or something. I'll tell you what, though... when it is up, you can buy the NICEST Jack Skellington hoodies right across from the mansion at that cart!

Regarding the HM Movie: Due to the most recent brilliant ideas being brought about by corporate obviously dominating Imagineering (Johnny Depp AA figures in the rides, and First-person-shooters being claimed as E-Ticket attractions, etc.), you all had better believe that there was a team of individuals running around trying to get Eddie Murphy AA figures (Ala Pirates) peeking around corners in the Mansion with that big stupid mustache and his eyes popping out and his mouth making the "ooooooooo!" face, and trying to replace Leota's face with Jennifer Tilly's mug.... Thank God that abomination of a movie tanked. It wasn't good enough for straight-to-DVD.

And yes, I know, my editorials are somewhat negative sometimes, but everything isn't always perfect. And when we pretend it is, that's not helpful to shaking the people in power to changing, lol!

I promise, no more posting for me on this thread. I am done.

[PinkLavaLamp]

I love the Haunted Mansion. It's always been my favorite ride.

The Bride: I do not like the new bride at all!! I think it's ridiculous to have her there. They need to take her out, put the original back in, and add the Hatbox Ghost. I mean really: “Here comes the bride…” *holds up an axe* Lame!

The Haunted Mansion Holiday: I really like it. I saw it for the first time ever last year and I thought it was pretty clever. Even if you don’t like it you do have to look at all the ideas they put up in the mansion. I just wish I could find the gift-wrapping paper in the attic somewhere for sale.

The Haunted Mansion Movie: It needed some work but all around it was okay. It could have been better but here’s the problem with the HM and a movie. The HM is one of the rides in DL that does not have one set storyline. There are 999 ghosts in the house having a great time, how do you make a single story to fit that? They just took the most popular things in the mansion and threw them into a script. It was decent, Eddie or no Eddie.

[sarahonpointe94]

Wow!!! I had no idea this would get such a huge response!!!! Good work HM fans. Okay.
-Movie: Over all, very funny,with a hint of suspense. Gorgeous costume and set design. Eddie Murphy=hilarious!
-New Bride: I love that she went from "Jilted at the altar" to "Black Widow bride". Very creepy!

I love that I have found people who share my obsession!!! This rules. Keep up the comments.
=D

[#1DisneyFreak]

wait, the ride moves faster now? I've never noticed that!

[Executioner]

The ride system itself moves much faster than it did years ago. Of course with everyone's low attention span due to... well I won't go there now.... and the fact the company wants more people on and off the rides faster so they can go o other rides means something had to give. The spiel has been cut drastically which sucks and the ride moves like it has taken too much hot sauce and is looking for water to put out it's burning mouth.

Personally I loved it better when it was slower and had more narration lines in there. I still love to go on it to look around and see things.