Walt Disney World Detail (with Aerial Images) *Updated page 20, post #297*

[suzimar57]

this is fantastic!

going to really enjoy this thread!

 

[tomerin]

all i can say is thanks really excellent work

 

[QuirkyButterfly]

I'm hooked, very interesting.

 

[°O°Joe]

I'm glad you all enjoyed the first attraction... I've got another lined up for tomorrow...

See ya!

 

[Blackrose]

This is awesome! Thank you, I am subscribing.

 

[DisneyFan83]

I love it! Thanks!

 

[dreamin in pa]

This is cool. Can't wait to show DD tomorrow. Looking forward to more.

 

[DISNEYFAMILYOFFOUR]

Wow.....great job!!!

 

[kimg826]

Sooo Coooool That is so awesome. I thought I would subscribe.

kimg

 

[mb168]

This guy shot these pics in 2002 from 2000'. Aerial Photos of Disney World and he has tons of other pics of Disney.

 

[DisneyJimbo]

Add me to the crowd of folks who can't wait to see more images and get more background info!!!!

Thank you very much for taking the time to share this with us!

 

[Kerri10]

Great thread, can't wait to see more.

 

[°O°Joe]

The Haunted Mansion

The Haunted Mansion is a dark ride attraction located at the Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World. This attraction combines a walk-through portion with Omnimover vehicles called Doom Buggies, featuring special effects and spectral Audio-Animatronics. During the ride, a ghostly voice can be heard to say: "we have nine hundred and ninety-nine happy haunts here, but there's room for a thousand. Any volunteers?"

Original Concept (Disneyland)

Artist and Disney Legend Harper Goff was commissioned in the mid-1950s to design the attraction, which was originally conceived by Walt Disney as a walk-through ghost house. Walt had hoped to capture the look and feel of two Paramount Pictures movies, The Cat and the Canary and The Ghost Breakers. The house originally had a rural American design and was intended to be at the end of a crooked path that led away from Disneyland's Main Street, U.S.A.

Eventually the decision was made to place it in the New Orleans Square section of the park, and thus the attraction was themed as a haunted antebellum mansion. In 1961, handbills announcing a 1963 opening of the Haunted Mansion were given out at Disneyland's main entrance. Construction began a year later, and the exterior was completed in 1963, but the attraction itself would not open until 1969. The attraction was previewed in a 1965 episode of Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color.

It would be six years before it would open to the public, delayed by Disney's involvement in the New York World's Fair in 1964 and 1965. At one point Disney's concept was to be entirely walk-through and exit at a restaurant with a theme of The Museum of the Weird; this would be similar to other attractions like Pirates of the Caribbean, which is paired with the Blue Bayou Restaurant.

Another Disney Legend, Rolly Crump, was assigned the task of designing the attraction, having just completed the sculptures of the gods statues that appear in the Enchanted Tiki Room.

In what might be considered an odd twist for a supposedly abandoned structure, the exterior appears new and the surrounding grounds meticulously maintained. Designers wanted to make the exterior of The Haunted Mansion look like the stereotypical haunted house, but Disney himself overrode the idea, claiming, "We'll let the ghosts take care of the inside. We'll take care of the outside."

Revised Concept (Disneyland)

After Walt's death in December of 1966, the project was changed significantly. The Museum of the Weird restaurant idea was abandoned, and the walkthrough idea was replaced with Doom Buggies after Imagineers tried for a number of years to solve the problem of capacity, even going as far as suggesting building two identical attractions to get double the number of guests through.

One rumor for the change was that the original attraction had frightened a guest so badly that he died of a heart attack. Since the attraction was never implemented as a walkthrough experience, this rumor is clearly false. No guests have ever died of fright riding the Haunted Mansion.

On August 9, 1969, the Disneyland version of the attraction was completed and had remained essentially unchanged for years. In the early 1970s, the Imagineers gave some semi-serious thought to resurrecting many of the creatures and effects that Rolly Crump had originally created for the Haunted Mansion's pre-show as part of Professor Marvel's Gallery, which was "... a tent show of mysteries and delights, a carousel of magic and wonder". This was to be built as part of Disneyland's Discovery Bay expansion area.

Other Theme Parks

The attraction opened at the Magic Kingdom in 1971, Tokyo Disneyland in 1983, Disneyland Paris as Phantom Manor in 1992. For each of these parks, the Haunted Mansion is an original attraction.

The other incarnations of the ride are very similar, but are not without their differences. The Haunted Mansion is the only attraction to appear in a different location of the park in each of the Disney theme parks. The Disneyland version is located in New Orleans Square and is modeled after a southern plantation home. Walt Disney World's version of the ride is located in Liberty Square and has a Gothic Revival facade. This version of the mansion was modeled after an actual home located in the northeast Pennsylvanian town of Jim Thorpe. Tokyo Disneyland (which does not have a Liberty Square or a New Orleans area) placed the Mansion in Fantasyland. Phantom Manor at Disneyland Paris is in Frontierland, and is designed in a Second Empire architectural style. It also features a full orchestral score, an Old West theme, and a more cohesive storyline than the other three Mansions.

When the Haunted Mansion was transplanted to other Disney parks, space management was much less of a problem. Luckily, the placements of the show buildings have no bearing on the quality of the experience. Most guests give little thought to whether they are actually inside the mansion they saw while in line.

Narration

The foyer, stretching room, and ride's narration was performed by Paul Frees as the Ghost Host. Between the Disneyland and the Magic Kingdom versions of the ride, different recording sessions were used in some places. The Magic Kingdom version of the ride includes the library scene, in which a unique piece of narration is used. At Tokyo Disneyland, whose mansion is a carbon copy of the one in Florida, both inside and out, the narration is provided by Teichiro Hori, a movie producer from Toho Studios (Hori also provides the voice of the talking skull in Tokyo's version of Pirates of the Caribbean). In 2002, an imitation of Paul Frees could be heard in the Disneyland and the Magic Kingdom versions instead of the original safety spiel, giving a more detailed warning in the load area, followed by a Spanish spiel.

Theme Song

Grim Grinning Ghosts was composed by Buddy Baker and the lyrics were written by X Atencio. It can be heard in nearly every area of the ride, with various instrumentations and tempos. Contrary to popular belief, "Grim Grinning Ghosts" is not performed by the Mellomen, but rather by a pickup group. The only member of the Mellomen heard is that of the deep bass voice of Thurl Ravenscroft (best known for voicing Tony the Tiger in television commercials), who sings as part of a quintet of singing busts in the graveyard scene. Ravenscroft's face is used as well, projected onto the bust with a detached head.

Fun Facts

-Grand opening: October 1, 1971 (Opened with the Magic Kingdom)
-Number of ride vehicles (a.k.a.: "Doombuggies"): 160
-Disney actually makes "dust" to scatter throughout this attraction to keep the haunted look!
-The five singing busts in the graveyard scene warble the attraction’s theme song, “Grim Grinning Ghosts.” Though sometimes mistaken for Walt Disney, the face on the bust farthest to the left actually belongs to Thurl Ravenscroft, the song’s soloist. Ravenscroft is known to millions of fans as the voice of Tony the Tiger, the mascot of Kellogg’s Frosted Flakes cereal.
-The witty epitaphs on the tombstones at the attraction’s entrance pay tribute to the designers, developers and artists who originally created The Haunted Mansion. One of the newest tombstones honors the late Walt Disney Imagineer Leota Thomas (her maiden name was Toombs). Periodically, Leota’s tombstone can be spotted slowly opening and closing the eyes on its sculpted head.
-Madame Leota also graces the crystal ball in the attraction’s séance scene. Leota Thomas provided the face for the crystal ball, and voice artist Eleanor Audley provided the voice. Audley is also famous as the voice of the evil Maleficent in Disney’s classic animated feature “Sleeping Beauty.”
-Ghosts aren’t the only ones hiding in The Haunted Mansion. There are several “Hidden Mickeys” to be found as well. The ballroom scene features one of the most famous -- a plate and a pair of saucers on the dining table form Mickey’s familiar silhouette.

We did the KTTK tour last October, trip report, and they said that the plates in the dining scene are not the official hidden Mickey and are actually placed that way by CMs. If you could pick up each plate, there is a picture of what the place setting is supposed to look like and whoever it is that checks that occasionally will return it to its correct position. So if the plates do make a "hidden Mickey" it's because someone has moved them since they were "fixed."

The official hidden Mickey is further back in the ride in the reaper's hand, that is according to the KTTK CM.

 

[MissyDVC]

This thread is GREAT Thank you OP for doing this.

 

[LoveThatMouse!]

WAY TO GO JOE!
I believe you have quite a fan club! ME included! Thank You!

 

[dvcfamily41801]

This is so great!! Thank you for starting (and continuing) this thread!!!

 

[Disneywoz]

Great thread, can't wait for tomorrow!

 

[disgram]

All I can say is WOW!!!!! This is a GREAT thread!!!! I am learning something everyday about my Happy Place! I was really surprised about the Haunted Mansion. I thought the ride was inside the Mansion!!! When I first looked at the picture I was truly lost. Then the light dawned, and I realized what I was seeing. That is really Disney Magic!!!
Thanks so much for this!!!!!

 

[JMD]

Great thread, keep em coming...

 

[dvcfamily41801]

I just read these again and I wish there was a book about each park that discusses the attractions and this kind of details! I just love it!