Attention All Haunted Mansion Fans

[WDWHound]

I have just finished reading a book called “The Haunted Mansion: From the Magic Kingdom to the Movies” by Jason Surrell. This book came out at the same time as the Haunted Mansion movie and I didn’t really have high hopes for it, but since I collect books on imagineering and this book was written by an imagineer, I went ahead and bought it. I'm glad I did.

THIS IS A GREAT BOOK! It goes into the incredible detail about the 15 year long design process of the original Disneyland Haunted Mansion (including all of the many story ideas for the attraction that they kicked around over the years, which were very different from the final version). It also discusses the building of each of the 4 Mansions (DL, WDW, DLP and TDL) in detail and discusses changes that needed to be made for each site. It then does a highly detailed walk through of all the mansions, discussing each scene in detail and comparing each ride to the other 3 (DLP’s version is very different).

The last chapters of the book discuss the movie. While these chapters are also very well done, I didn't enjoy the movie much, so I found them a little less interesting.

This book is filled with inside stories, little known facts, original design artwork (lots of very cool Marc Davis drawings and paintings) and gorgeous color photos from the exteriors as well as literally every scene from each the mansions. I have studied imagineering as a hobby for a long time now, but I learned a ton of things from this book that I never knew before. Best of all, its cheap. Amazon wants just under $14 for it.

If you like to learn about how the imagineers designed your favorite attractions, of if you are just a big Haunted mansion fan (and who isn't?), I highly recommend this book to you.

 

[DukeStreetKing]

I agree. I read that book a little while ago. It was pretty cool to read and see how the Mansion was conceived. I still don't completely understand the "Peppers Effect" for the ghosts, though.

 

[minniecarousel]

I remember tht the Mansion stood in Disneyland long before the attraction opened. I'd be interested in what that was all about. It was a "coming attraction" for a looong time!

 

[WDWHound]

Originally posted by minniecarousel
I remember tht the Mansion stood in Disneyland long before the attraction opened. I'd be interested in what that was all about. It was a "coming attraction" for a looong time!

The book goes into great detail about this. First they couldn't really decide on what they wanted to do with the mansion. Rolly Crump and Yale Gracy came up with some wonderful special effect in the late 50's, but there was no way to make it work as a walk through attraction and they didnt have omnimovers yet, so it got postponed. Then it got postponed while they dealt with the 64/65 Worlds fair in New York. Then Pirates of the Carribean took priority, which casued another delay. Then Walt died, postponing things even further. Finally a team was assembled to finish the job and the ride opened in the late 60's.

 

[WDWHound]

Originally posted by DukeStreetKing
I agree. I read that book a little while ago. It was pretty cool to read and see how the Mansion was conceived. I still don't completely understand the "Peppers Effect" for the ghosts, though.

Warning, SPOILER:
The Peppers Ghost effect is actually very simple. Stand in front of a sliding glass door (about 5 feet from the door) looking out into the night from a lit room. You will see youself (actually your relection) apearing to stand outside about 5 feet from the other side of door. This is what is happening at the mansion. Below your Doom buggy track, on the first floor of the ballroom, are a bunch of animatronic figures. Between you and the ballroom is a huge (and I do mean huge) sheet of glass. The glass is very clean, so you can't see it in the dark, but you can see things reflected off of it. You see the entire ballroom through the glass. The ghosts you see are actually the reflections of the animatronic figures in the glass. When the animatronic figures are lit up, they "appear" in the ballroom. When the light is taken off the figure, they "disappear" again. Since the figures are below you, you never see the actual figures, only their reflections.

Its an easy effect that I have actually used in various haunted house projects that I have volunteered on locally ( a side note: I met my wife Mandy while volunteering on one of these projects called Britania Manor). I once designed and built a very nice floating head illusion which featured the floating head of a ghost that could actually converse with you. We used an actress, dressed in black with clown white makeup on her face, so that only her face reflected off the plexiglass in low light, thus creating the floating head illusion. The actress stood on one side of a dividing wall, with the guests on the other side. A sheet of plexiglass beyond the end of the dividing wall and concealed by the darkness of the room, reflected the actors image back to the guests. It worked really well.

 

[minniepumpernickel]

Cool, I might check out that book!

 

[MAGICinMYHEART]

WDWHound,

Thanks for the information...sounds like just the thing I would love.