Haunted Mansion - Too Dark?

I have not been able to see well on the haunted mansion since I started having migraines/light sensitivity three years ago. I just seem not to adjust even wearing dark sunglasses outside and closing my eyes for extended durations.

that said I can usually make out some details and our last trip in March I could barely see anything.
 
That is an interesting point, but I even noticed it being dark in the graveyard, where my eyes should have adjusted. I don't doubt that there my be something to what you're saying, but it seems to linger a bit longer.

If wikipedia is to be believed. "The eye takes approximately 20–30 minutes to fully adapt from bright sunlight to complete darkness and becomes 10,000 to 1,000,000 times more sensitive than at full daylight. "

The HM ride is 9 minutes. Not sure what portion of the ride that includes, but clearly not enough time for your eyes to fully adapt. Point being, every minute that you were in the pre-show made your eye up to 1,000 times more sensitive. That's very significant.
 
DH and I said the same thing last week. I noticed that it seemed like less light up foot prints this time. DH noticed it the second time we rode it. He also noticed that the hidden Mickey on the dining room table was different. The Mickey ears were replaced with bowls.
 


DH and I said the same thing last week. I noticed that it seemed like less light up foot prints this time. DH noticed it the second time we rode it. He also noticed that the hidden Mickey on the dining room table was different. The Mickey ears were replaced with bowls.
DH noticed the table also. I thought it was darker when we rode in April. I thought a few other things were different but maybe I just notice different things each time I ride :teleport:
 
DH and I said the same thing last week. I noticed that it seemed like less light up foot prints this time. DH noticed it the second time we rode it. He also noticed that the hidden Mickey on the dining room table was different. The Mickey ears were replaced with bowls.

In my Keys to the Kingdom tour, our guide told us that the CM's play with those dishes from time to time. They have a very specific setup, but some CM's like to change it. Then the imagineers set it back. She said you can always tell who did the last walk through based on the table settings.
 
In my Keys to the Kingdom tour, our guide told us that the CM's play with those dishes from time to time. They have a very specific setup, but some CM's like to change it. Then the imagineers set it back. She said you can always tell who did the last walk through based on the table settings.
Thats what I had read as well. The CM's change it and others put it back so the hidden Mickey seems to appear and vanish.
 


In my Keys to the Kingdom tour, our guide told us that the CM's play with those dishes from time to time. They have a very specific setup, but some CM's like to change it. Then the imagineers set it back. She said you can always tell who did the last walk through based on the table settings.
That is so cool! Yet another new detail of the Haunted Mansion I didn't know before!
 
That is so cool! Yet another new detail of the Haunted Mansion I didn't know before!

When I took my KttK tour, I was the odd person out on that ride, so I shared my doombuggy with the guide. Between her knowledge, and my Asperger's son who was obsessed with Haunted Mansion, I know more about that ride than I ever cared to. :rotfl2:

I do not know a lick of Japanese, but I can recite the haunted mansion ghost host at the beginning of the ride in Japanese. Why? Because my son memorized it and used to say it ALL THE TIME. He doesn't k now Japanese either, BTW. That one and Tower of Terror were his main obsessions.
 
Your perception is likely due to the lack of the time spent in the foyer and Stretching Room scenes, which help your eyes adjust to the darkness within the attraction. Walking straight through those rooms doesn't give your eyes time to adjust.
Definitely this. I rode twice on my March trip, once at about 9 am, and once at about 9 pm. I saw so much more on the night ride!
 
Rode in August last year and again last week. Both in daytime. No question; it was darker this time. First thing my family said once we were off the ride.
 
Your perception is likely due to the lack of the time spent in the foyer and Stretching Room scenes, which help your eyes adjust to the darkness within the attraction. Walking straight through those rooms doesn't give your eyes time to adjust.
Yes, and the older you get, the more slowly your eyes adjust. 😔 So you might see some of us more mature types wearing sunglasses all the way to the entrance door! Don’t want to run over someone because we can’t see ‘em in the dark!
 
Yes, and the older you get, the more slowly your eyes adjust. 😔 So you might see some of us more mature types wearing sunglasses all the way to the entrance door! Don’t want to run over someone because we can’t see ‘em in the dark!
My DW just came back from a trip and said that she did exactly that, and the ride worked out great.
 
Rode it twice back in August and October of 2020 and noticed how dark it was. Just rode it today (12/22/21), and even with the stretching room back, it’s still unusually dark. Maybe Bob Chapek is cutting electricity budgets on rides! 😂
 
We noticed a definite difference in April when the 1st rooms were walk through compared to October when they were functioning. Still seemed darker than usual, but much better than April.
 
Not only is HM dark (and has been since at least 2018 IMO) but so is Spaceship Earth. You almost can't see the cavemen and the mastodon at all anymore.
 
Not only is HM dark (and has been since at least 2018 IMO) but so is Spaceship Earth. You almost can't see the cavemen and the mastodon at all anymore.
We've noticed the first scene being really dark and hard to see for a few years.
 
Definitely much darker than it used to be. Agree about SE and Pirates is darker too. The scenes themselves are fine, but the more ambient light (e.g. sky effects in Pirates) wasn't there which reduced the overall light level. Particularly noticed it on Pirates because I love the ambient lights, oddly my favourite part of the attraction as they were very well done.

Can see it in recent POV videos compared to ones filmed a few years ago too. So I think it's intentional, probably some sneaky cost cutting.
 

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