Haunted Mansion Lighting (Am I Imagining Things?)

[Christin82]

Today it seemed like the lighting in HM was much darker than it used to be. In parts, it was very, very dark, and we felt like it was harder to see some of the effects. Is this a known phenomenon? Have other people noticed this, or am I just imagining things? I have been on the ride tons of times, and I swear it has gotten darker.

 

[smercerdiemont]

No, you aren’t imagining it. My family and I all though the same. We were hoping maybe it was just the day we went, but after riding it multiple times, the lighting never changed to be less dark.

 

[WonkaKid]

Question: what time of day did you ride/notice this? I ask because I’ve sort of thought the same thing myself. But only in the morning — that is, when it’s sunny. When I’ve gone in the evening, it’s seemed to be less true. I later attributed the seeming difference to my eyes being less dilated in the morning/daytime due to the sun. In the evening, it merely appeared to be less dark inside. But I could be wrong.

 

[Christin82]

Question: what time of day did you ride/notice this? I ask because I’ve sort of thought the same thing myself. But only in the morning — that is, when it’s sunny. When I’ve gone in the evening, it’s seemed to be less true. I later attributed the seeming difference to my eyes being less dilated in the morning/daytime due to the sun. In the evening, it merely appeared to be less dark inside. But I could be wrong.

We rode it at 9 am, so it could be related to what you’re saying.

 

[Gophers]

We were there in Dec for the first time. We go to disneyworld all the time but after our trip to Disneyland it will now be a regular for us. One of the things we notice is that all the dark rides or rides like HM just had better lighting then WDW rides. If they have lowered the lighting that would be disappointing.

 

[bethwc101]

Question: what time of day did you ride/notice this? I ask because I’ve sort of thought the same thing myself. But only in the morning — that is, when it’s sunny. When I’ve gone in the evening, it’s seemed to be less true. I later attributed the seeming difference to my eyes being less dilated in the morning/daytime due to the sun. In the evening, it merely appeared to be less dark inside. But I could be wrong.

I have noticed this too. Especially in the Madame Leota scene. It always seems so much better and notice more details in the evening time.

 

[Elk Grove Chris]

Time of day and season. I fee like many of the Nightmare before Xmas scenes are noticeably brighter than normal HM.

 

[Skyegirl1999]

We rode it at 9 am, so it could be related to what you’re saying.

By the time you’re in the actual ride portion, your eyes would have more than adjusted, though...

I haven’t ridden HM lately but will have to check it out when we’re there next week and see if it seems different.

I do agree with a PP that the Nightmare Before Christmas version has always seemed MUCH brighter to me than the regular version.

I hope you’re having a great trip after all of your planning!

 

[dieumeye]

I'm not sure. It has always seemed pretty dark in there to me (which I like), except that the holiday version seems brighter.

There's always the fact that the older you get, the worse your ability to see in the dark gets??

 

[WonkaKid]

By the time you’re in the actual ride portion, your eyes would have more than adjusted, though...

Actually, that's not nearly enough time for eyes to adjust. Typically, it takes 30-45 minutes to reach maximum sensitivity. To put this in practical terms, I've always noticed that I can't see the cat on the wall with a fish in its mouth on POTC when I ride it in the daytime. When it's dark outside, I can see it easily.

 

[B3rlingirl]

Actually, that's not nearly enough time for eyes to adjust. Typically, it takes 30-45 minutes to reach maximum sensitivity. To put this in practical terms, I've always noticed that I can't see the cat on the wall with a fish in its mouth on POTC when I ride it in the daytime. When it's dark outside, I can see it easily.

Now you got me...
Where is that cat?
I don’t think I have seen it... but I might just not remember or realize it...

 

[WonkaKid]

Now you got me...
Where is that cat?

I haven't seen it in a while myself (because I rarely ride Pirates after dark... or even stay at the park after dark much these days), but as I recall, it's on the shore opposite the three pirates as they sing with the dog and donkey.

 

[B3rlingirl]

I haven't seen it in a while myself (because I rarely ride Pirates after dark... or even stay at the park after dark much these days), but as I recall, it's on the shore opposite the three pirates as they sing with the dog and donkey.

Ok that explains it. I always stare at the donkey...

 

[theluckyrabbit]

... I've always noticed that I can't see the cat on the wall with a fish in its mouth on POTC when I ride it in the daytime. When it's dark outside, I can see it easily.

We love that cat! And we love the donkey. I always have to remind myself to look both ways at that point so I don't miss either animal.

 

[DizMe]

I thought it was me getting older. I used to be able to see pretty well in the seance room, but now I can't make out details too well. For instance, I know that I liked the Christmas tree made out of chains, but now I can't even tell that's what it is. Whether it's a change in lighting, the time of day, or my old eyes I can't say, but I don't like it

 

[Christin82]

Yeah... I’m pushing 40 and have to squint a little while reading descriptions of programs on my tv, so the perceived difference in lighting may very well be my aging eyes!

 

[mummabear]

I said the same thing to my husband, both HM and pirates seemed much darker.
I can no longer make out much in the attic portion on HM or the ship part woth the cannonballs in pirates.

 

[lsumatt72]

We rode several times over the past few days. Late last week and over the weekend, the ride was very dark (or so it seemed). The seance room was so dark you couldn’t make out any of the floating objects and the graveyard scene was very similar

However, we rode again yesterday and it seemed much more well-lit and easier to make things out

 

[Christin82]

We rode several times over the past few days. Late last week and over the weekend, the ride was very dark (or so it seemed). The seance room was so dark you couldn’t make out any of the floating objects and the graveyard scene was very similar

However, we rode again yesterday and it seemed much more well-lit and easier to make things out

Agreed! We rode again yesterday, and it was perfect!

 

[tarheelalum]

Now that you mention it the last time I was on HM I experienced the same thing. The hallway you walk from the stretching room to the omni movers did seem a lot darker than normal. Maybe it was my eyes but I did notice it as well.