The Haunted Mansion: Why it has been a Beloved Classic for over 50 Years
I've always loved Halloween Season. Not as much of the dressing up part as much as just getting candy and the aura of skeletons and pumpkins and other scary touches.
Ghosts are fun too. Especially ghosts that run a haunted house. A ghost host, if you will.
You know where you have a ghost host? The Haunted Mansion, a staple at Disneyland since 1969 and at Walt Disney World since 1971. I love The Haunted Mansion. Whenever you hear the name Haunted Mansion, chances are good you think of the ride and not the bad movie with Eddie Murphy.
I'm guessing that if you have been to any Disney park, you have been on the Haunted Mansion. It's pretty hard to miss, with the size of the attraction and the amount of websites telling you that it is a Disney classic attraction.
And they're right. It is a Disney classic attraction. But why? What's the love affair with a simple ride that tours you through a haunted house? Well, that's what I'm going to get to the bottom of.
The ride was, well, never supposed to be a ride at all. Originally, The Haunted Mansion was supposed to be a walkthrough. Walt Disney wanted to have each guest go through his creation at his or her own pace, but as Disneyland got more and more visitors, the Disney Imagineers had no choice but to make it a ride. The story is what was really up for debate. Some Imagineers wanted a humorous experience, others wanted the Mansion to be truly terrifying. Eventually, what we got was a combination of both, a creepy dark ride with several funny overtones. It could not have been any better of a compromise. (If you want to learn more about the history of the original Haunted Mansion experience, go check out Park Ride History or Yesterworld's videos about the topic on YouTube. A great watch.)
The queue you go through depends on the park that you ride the attraction at. In Disneyland, you walk through the garden of the Mansion, with a very New Orleans-antebellum flair to it. In Walt Disney World, you enter through an interactive graveyard. Tombstones galore bear the names of former residents of the Mansion, complete with puns and rhymes on the headstones. A fun twist that makes WDW's queue stand out.
Now is where both versions of the ride become similar. You enter The Stretching Room, a pre show area where, you guessed it, the room stretches. The ghost host begins to talk, saying "Is this room actually stretching? Or is it just your imagination?"
Next comes the actual ride. The Doombuggies pull up and you hop in, ready to take your tour. The host says that the house is run with "999 happy haunts, but there's always room for 1,000. Any volunteers?" Then comes the attic, dusty and gloomy. That is where the old bride resides, still in her dress from years ago. There's a massive backstory with the bride as well. The bride animatronic has been upgraded over the years, but still retains that magic from Opening Day.
I cannot mention The Haunted Mansion without talking about the animatronics. Madame Leota in the seance room in her ball and the Hatbox Ghost in Disneyland. A historic animatronic that would take a whole separate blog post to cover. The relationship between all the characters in the ride would take me so long to cover as well. I really wish I could. Maybe Halloween 2020.
In the ballroom, there's so many little touches that make this ride so good. The ghosts dancing through a special effect. The plates on the table that line up to make a Hidden Mickey. It's just so special and it is at this ride you think to yourself "yeah, I'm in Disney now".
Then comes my favorite scene: the graveyard. A breeze in the air as your Doombuggy goes backwards down the stairs. A great place to nap if you're stuck, but you want to see the best part of the Haunted Mansion, right? Traveling through the graveyard, various animatronics pop up from the graves while the singing busts begin to sing the ride's iconic theme song, Grim Grinning Ghosts. A song that has become one of the best among Disney attractions. Your ride concludes as you look through a mirror and see that a ghost has entered the Doombuggy. The Ghost Host lifts up your safety bar, and your tour at The Haunted Mansion is over.
I probably did not do this ride justice, so I'll link a video at the bottom to watch. It's Disney imagineering at its finest.
Yet I did not answer my own question: why is the ride loved by many despite its basic idea? I think personally that it is due to a combination of everything I mentioned above. The ride is living proof that Disney does not have to rely on movies to make a ride enjoyable by all. The Grim Grinning Ghosts song is a part of Disney history, and it was even a part of the soundtrack of the 2003 movie. The intricacies involving the characters' relationships and their animatronics gives this ride a certain charm. And most of all, it's a Disney ride that stands the test of time. Many Disney attractions have done this as well, but The Haunted Mansion has been the least updated from those days. Only a handful of upgrades have been made over the years, but the voice of the Ghost Host has been the same since Opening Day.
The Haunted Mansion may not be my favorite ride in Disney, but it is pretty high up there. It's always a must do on any trip I take to a Disney park, and whenever I'm on the ride, it's easy to remember that I am in Disney World. And yes, I love it. It's a quaint ride that harkens back to the days of old school amusement parks. Most importantly, it shows that a great ride at Disney does not have to involve movies to make an enjoyable experience for people of all ages. The Disney Imagineers have done some great work over the years, but the Haunted Mansion's tiniest details make the ride a great experience. That's what makes the ride special. The smallest of details result in the biggest of smiles, laughs, or screams.
Now one question remains: on Halloween night, will you be Happy Haunt 1,000?
Link to SoCal Attraction's Haunted Mansion ride through: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZKVd-xwxgJs
Ghosts are fun too. Especially ghosts that run a haunted house. A ghost host, if you will.
You know where you have a ghost host? The Haunted Mansion, a staple at Disneyland since 1969 and at Walt Disney World since 1971. I love The Haunted Mansion. Whenever you hear the name Haunted Mansion, chances are good you think of the ride and not the bad movie with Eddie Murphy.
I'm guessing that if you have been to any Disney park, you have been on the Haunted Mansion. It's pretty hard to miss, with the size of the attraction and the amount of websites telling you that it is a Disney classic attraction.
And they're right. It is a Disney classic attraction. But why? What's the love affair with a simple ride that tours you through a haunted house? Well, that's what I'm going to get to the bottom of.
The ride was, well, never supposed to be a ride at all. Originally, The Haunted Mansion was supposed to be a walkthrough. Walt Disney wanted to have each guest go through his creation at his or her own pace, but as Disneyland got more and more visitors, the Disney Imagineers had no choice but to make it a ride. The story is what was really up for debate. Some Imagineers wanted a humorous experience, others wanted the Mansion to be truly terrifying. Eventually, what we got was a combination of both, a creepy dark ride with several funny overtones. It could not have been any better of a compromise. (If you want to learn more about the history of the original Haunted Mansion experience, go check out Park Ride History or Yesterworld's videos about the topic on YouTube. A great watch.)
The queue you go through depends on the park that you ride the attraction at. In Disneyland, you walk through the garden of the Mansion, with a very New Orleans-antebellum flair to it. In Walt Disney World, you enter through an interactive graveyard. Tombstones galore bear the names of former residents of the Mansion, complete with puns and rhymes on the headstones. A fun twist that makes WDW's queue stand out.
(Photo credit to Park Ride History)
Now is where both versions of the ride become similar. You enter The Stretching Room, a pre show area where, you guessed it, the room stretches. The ghost host begins to talk, saying "Is this room actually stretching? Or is it just your imagination?"
Next comes the actual ride. The Doombuggies pull up and you hop in, ready to take your tour. The host says that the house is run with "999 happy haunts, but there's always room for 1,000. Any volunteers?" Then comes the attic, dusty and gloomy. That is where the old bride resides, still in her dress from years ago. There's a massive backstory with the bride as well. The bride animatronic has been upgraded over the years, but still retains that magic from Opening Day.
I cannot mention The Haunted Mansion without talking about the animatronics. Madame Leota in the seance room in her ball and the Hatbox Ghost in Disneyland. A historic animatronic that would take a whole separate blog post to cover. The relationship between all the characters in the ride would take me so long to cover as well. I really wish I could. Maybe Halloween 2020.
In the ballroom, there's so many little touches that make this ride so good. The ghosts dancing through a special effect. The plates on the table that line up to make a Hidden Mickey. It's just so special and it is at this ride you think to yourself "yeah, I'm in Disney now".
(Photo credit to NBC Los Angeles)
Then comes my favorite scene: the graveyard. A breeze in the air as your Doombuggy goes backwards down the stairs. A great place to nap if you're stuck, but you want to see the best part of the Haunted Mansion, right? Traveling through the graveyard, various animatronics pop up from the graves while the singing busts begin to sing the ride's iconic theme song, Grim Grinning Ghosts. A song that has become one of the best among Disney attractions. Your ride concludes as you look through a mirror and see that a ghost has entered the Doombuggy. The Ghost Host lifts up your safety bar, and your tour at The Haunted Mansion is over.
I probably did not do this ride justice, so I'll link a video at the bottom to watch. It's Disney imagineering at its finest.
Yet I did not answer my own question: why is the ride loved by many despite its basic idea? I think personally that it is due to a combination of everything I mentioned above. The ride is living proof that Disney does not have to rely on movies to make a ride enjoyable by all. The Grim Grinning Ghosts song is a part of Disney history, and it was even a part of the soundtrack of the 2003 movie. The intricacies involving the characters' relationships and their animatronics gives this ride a certain charm. And most of all, it's a Disney ride that stands the test of time. Many Disney attractions have done this as well, but The Haunted Mansion has been the least updated from those days. Only a handful of upgrades have been made over the years, but the voice of the Ghost Host has been the same since Opening Day.
The Haunted Mansion may not be my favorite ride in Disney, but it is pretty high up there. It's always a must do on any trip I take to a Disney park, and whenever I'm on the ride, it's easy to remember that I am in Disney World. And yes, I love it. It's a quaint ride that harkens back to the days of old school amusement parks. Most importantly, it shows that a great ride at Disney does not have to involve movies to make an enjoyable experience for people of all ages. The Disney Imagineers have done some great work over the years, but the Haunted Mansion's tiniest details make the ride a great experience. That's what makes the ride special. The smallest of details result in the biggest of smiles, laughs, or screams.
Now one question remains: on Halloween night, will you be Happy Haunt 1,000?
Link to SoCal Attraction's Haunted Mansion ride through: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZKVd-xwxgJs
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