Haunted Mansion Question

[jessicaerv]

I think I remember hearing something once a long time ago (in a galaxy far away) ...

When riding HM, can one skip the initial scene in the study and go straight to the buggies? I would like to take my DD (12 month old) on the ride portion when we go in November, but I think being in the dark room at the beginning with the die-hard HM lovers screaming when the lights go out would put her around the bend. It would not be enjoyable trying to calm a hysterical toddler. I would just rather skip that whole segment with her.

TIA!

 

[Disney Dreams]

I don't know of anyway to get to the Doombuggies without going in the elevator.

If anyone does, I would be very interested to hear about it as I cannot think of how it would be possible with the layout of the attraction

Sorry,
Dreams

 

[skiingfast]

I'd agree with Dreams, there isn't an extra exit for handicapped people nor could you go through the exit. I'm not sure there is an alternative.


Also that scene is different for Halloween. It didn't seem as dark to me or as scary, but thier are always screemers.

 

[gippaloo]

As far as I know there isn't any way to skip this area, maybe talk to a HM cast member to see?

I agree w/ skiingfast, the HMH isn't as scary as regular HM, but again there are those who scream. (I admit I do it every once in a while.) LOL

 

[Nala83]

I agree- the stretching room at HMH is really much less scary (no scary soundtrack about finding a way out, no body hanging from the ceiling).

I rode 3 times on the first day it was open this year and I was shocked that no one screamed. Maybe that's because it was the first day, or the first monring No guarantees, of course, that no one will scream when you ride. It does seem like you'll have a better chance at a scream-free experience if you hit a quiet weekday morning (vs. a late Friday night).

It is still dark, though perhaps less so. Your little one may do ok, though. Sometimes kids that young have quite developed all of those fears yet- may be tougher to get them on at age 3 or 4.

Have you thought about distracting with a glow stick?

 

[lilpooh108]

The beginning scene is too loud (w/the thunder) for a 12 month old. I know b/c I took my 16 month old and felt badly about it.

Although I've heard (from a friend that took a 2 year old) that you CAN skip the elevator scene, it depends on the CM. The CM refused to let us down since he said they were understaffed and he could not leave his post. Which was kinda ******** b/c they were letting wheel chair people down the ramp right in front of me. Guess it depends on who you get.

 

[jessicaerv]

Thanks everyone. I think I'll ask, and if the answer is no then no big deal. I'll just leave her outside with the stroller.

Actually, we'll be going with grandparents and an auntie, so there will be plenty of people to swap her around to ride.

Just can't wait. Feels like its been AGES since I've been to DLR, although in reality its probably only been 5 or 6 years.

 

[MrsPinup]

While I don't know the answer to your question - the groups of people that recite the narration in the elevator make the drop down not scary at all

 

[Grim_Grinning_Girl]

At the Magic Kingdom in Flordia, "yes" you can skip the screaming elevator and go directly to the Doombuggies but this is usually reserved for Handicap people as they are taken through an alternate entrance that skips the elevator - we recently experienced this while visiting down there. Actually to be honest - my last trip to WDW prior to this recent one was in 2006 and we also went through the handicap entrance so I can't for sure say there's an elevator there? but I think there is?

However, I really don't think this is possible at Disneyland. As far as I know the elevator is the only way to get down to that area. My mom travels in a mobility scooter and we've always been placed with other guests inside the elevator. Once exiting the elevator there's a pathway to the left for wheelchairs but it's still in the hallway with the changing portraits. And if you have ridden your scooter or wheelchair in, rather than exiting at the end of the tour you get to remain seated and loop around and go back to the loading area. Then you are taken back to the elevator and at that point the elevator is empty and you get to see the stretching portraits scroll back into position.

If your child has special needs and you explain that loud screams would distress her then possibly a castmember may make an exception and maybe use an empty elevator? Not sure but probably not very likely.

Currently the Haunted Mansion is the Jack Skellington Holiday Mansion and I feel the elevator scene's soundtrack is about 10x louder and noisier than the regular Haunted Mansion. But if you decide to go during the regular Haunted Mansion, remember to get ready for the screams when you hear:

"And consider this dismaying observation: this chamber has no windows, and no doors... which offers you this chilling challenge: to find a way out!"

 

[Panonim]

This doesn't really answer your question, but I took my 2yo and my 4yo on HMH last week, and they both did just fine, not scared at all. And my 4yo is kinda wimpy in this regard, she gets scared easily (she really wanted to go on the ride though, that's why we took her - at the end she said "That was not scary AT ALL!")

I didn't know what to expect with the ride, the room part at the beginning was a bit scary, but still, my kids did fine. Maybe your DD will surprise you.

No one in the room was screaming when we went! I didn't know people did that! We did do the ride in the morning though. Maybe the die-hards prefer it at night. Try to do the ride in the morning, and maybe you'll avoid the screams?

 

[lilpooh108]

Just to clarify after reading others' posts---it's not necessarily scary, but OP said she had a 12 month old. The Jack Skellington scene w/the narration is REALLY LOUD and there's some type of crashing/thunder effect at the end which will startle a 12 month old. I think older children are not scared because there is no scary scene (it is actually less scary to see Jack than to see a hanging body up through the screen), but the loud noises will startle a baby.

I was wrong because (having been on HM many times) I had thought that it wouldn't be that big a deal to take my 16 month old...and it was so loud that I felt really bad about making her listen to the crashing/thundering. It's almost like if someone just went up to her ears and slammed a trash can lid--it's that loud.

 

[QueenDoOver]

I know the answer! Yes, you can skip the stretching room. I did this with my 7 year old in August, after having read on here about another person doing this.


I just told the CM at the front that we wanted to skip it, he called another CM over (so I can see where they would need to be well staffed to make this happen), and told her where to get a key. She then came back and led us to the left, past the cemetery and the rest of the line, through a door by the fast pass machines. She then used the key to open a door in the wall, and we went into a utility passage (just cement) but we could hear the attraction. We went down a bunch of stairs and twisting hallways for about 5 minutes and then she opened a door and we rejoined the line near where the 3 statue heads are.

The CM left immedietly, but some of the guests that had screaming children saw us enter and and asked if it was an exit, and then took off before I could explain. Hope she got out, as I am not sure I would have been able to.

I thought it was sort of fun

 

[DahliaRW]

Just to pipe in, 2 years ago I did the halloween version of the HM with my then 15 month old. It didn't bother him at all.

Though it's good to know to ask about skipping it. That son is now 3 and I think it would freak him out (especially since we're going when there won't be the overlay).

 

[Disney Dreams]

I know the answer! Yes, you can skip the stretching room. I did this with my 7 year old in August, after having read on here about another person doing this.


I just told the CM at the front that we wanted to skip it, he called another CM over (so I can see where they would need to be well staffed to make this happen), and told her where to get a key. She then came back and led us to the left, past the cemetery and the rest of the line, through a door by the fast pass machines. She then used the key to open a door in the wall, and we went into a utility passage (just cement) but we could hear the attraction. We went down a bunch of stairs and twisting hallways for about 5 minutes and then she opened a door and we rejoined the line near where the 3 statue heads are.

The CM left immedietly, but some of the guests that had screaming children saw us enter and and asked if it was an exit, and then took off before I could explain. Hope she got out, as I am not sure I would have been able to.

I thought it was sort of fun

VERY interesting. Given the layout of the Mansion itself, the extensive way you explained would seen to be the only possible way they could allow a guest to bypass the elevator and it is fascinating to read that they do this.

Did you have a GAC or did they just do it upon a simple request? Just curious and that seems like quite involved "bypass" route to offer to anyone who asks.

Thanks for sharing,
Dreams

 

[3Minnies1Mickey]

I agree HMH is a LOT less scary than the original. My kids had only experienced the holiday version until this June (and the 5 yr old and 3 yr old hated it). I always cover DS's ears during the elevator and that seems to do the trick. I hold his head against my chest so one ear is against me and put my hand over the other ear.

 

[bumbershoot]

This doesn't really answer your question, but I took my 2yo and my 4yo on HMH last week, and they both did just fine, not scared at all. And my 4yo is kinda wimpy in this regard, she gets scared easily (she really wanted to go on the ride though, that's why we took her - at the end she said "That was not scary AT ALL!")

I didn't know what to expect with the ride, the room part at the beginning was a bit scary, but still, my kids did fine. Maybe your DD will surprise you.

No one in the room was screaming when we went! I didn't know people did that! We did do the ride in the morning though. Maybe the die-hards prefer it at night. Try to do the ride in the morning, and maybe you'll avoid the screams?

You are lucky.

DS was just 2.5, and once people started screaming, he lost it. We had ot take the "chicken exit", and let me state that that exit was scarier than the ride. I was getting nervous (it's very very long, the walls are/were painted black, it's gloomy, and I have a hard time seeing in the gloom) and DS was feeding off of that, along with his fear (if adults are screaming, it's going to be scary!), and we were both in tears by the time we got out of the place.

He wouldln't ride until last year this time, when he was 5 and it was HMH. Skellington makes it "safe" for him, and he liked it. He will not ride normal HM at all.

And he still questions why on earth people talk along with the narration, and why people scream when it's not, actually, scary. (on the other hand, him "yelling" at "Harold" on Matterhorn helped with his fear...but that still doesn't explain why grown people do it!)


It is possible that the morning rides are better, as that is when we rode last year and people were a *bit* more calm.


All that said, I bet a 12 month old will do better than a 24 months old! When we went when DS was 17 months old, he wasn't phased by a thing. We didn't do HM b/c it was closed for the overlay, but nothing else bothered him at all.

 

[jessicaerv]

I really appreciate everyone's responses. I'm glad to hear that I wasn't hallucinating, and that there is a way to skip the first scene, but it sounds like it would be a great inconvenience to the CMs just because I don't want my DD to MAYBE freak out in case someone shrieks. I hate to be THAT PERSON.

Just read that to myself and thought the PP might think I was passing judgment on them - this is not the case at all. I believe you had a legitimate reason, I KNOW I do not.

We will be going to DLR in November, so we would be on HMH. My daughter does not seem to be fazed by loud music or noises... in fact she LOVES music and is always dancing and singing. But in this case, I don't want to take the chance to diminish anyone else's enjoyment on their day at the DLR by risking a fit. If the shoe were on the other foot I'm sure I would be non-plussed if I waited in line and then couldn't enjoy the ride.

So, she'll be skipping this one for a few years. She'll have to make do with Peter Pan, Jungle Cruise, IASW, POTC, Winnie the Pooh, Dumbo, etc., etc., etc.