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When Yuba plays the Rumba on his Tuba...
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I am looking forward to seeing this in November!
Disney makes its tallest gingerbread house
By SARAH TULLY
2012-08-22 07:27:00
Anaheim At nine-feet tall with a ghost train around it, the upcoming gingerbread structure will stand the tallest and feature the most complex special effects in the Haunted Mansion Holiday's 12-year history.
Disneyland will debut its new, spooky gingerbread house when the seasonal version of the Haunted Mansion ride opens Sept. 14. Disney transforms the Haunted Mansion into the theme of Tim Burton's "The Nightmare before Christmas" during the Halloween and holiday periods.
Each year, a massive gingerbread with a new theme stands as the centerpiece of the ballroom's table. This year, Jack's Gingerbread House will look like movie character Jack Skellington's home on top of a spindly peak.
"For returning guests, this is always the new thing to see," said Brian D. Sandahl, art director for Haunted Mansion Holiday.
Bakers and decorators cover the entire, nine-foot structure a wooden house and hard-foam base with gingerbread and fondant. The house itself is about three feet tall and the base is about six feet tall, Sandahl said. Zero, the ghost dog, will fly around the tower.
Around the house for the first time, riders can watch a see-through ghost train that will appear to travel around the base of the house. For the train, Disney is using the same reflective special effects used for the see-through ghosts in the ballroom scene. One of the ghosts will blow out a candle on a cupcake on the train, which will also chase a gingerbread man on a push car.
The house likely will weigh between 400 and 500 pounds.
About 20 employees work to complete the house. Decorators will start covering the structure after Labor Day and spend a final two days on details after it is moved inside the mansion, Sandahl said.
Sandahl said the gingerbread doesn't rot, mostly because it is in the always-cold mansion. Plus, the bakers don't worry too much about the flavor.
"No one's going to eat it," Sandahl said.
