Haunted Mansion Refurbishment: The Mansion Has Re-Opened/Details of Changes
9/13/07
The Haunted Mansion re-opened at Magic Kingdom Park open today, as scheduled .
The following are the changes as a result of the refurbishment based on reports by the first Guests to experience it. Details of the changes have been put in white, highlight the area to read them. Note that the details may contain mild spoilers, do not highlight if you wish to be completely surprised.8/1/07
- General cosmetic refurbishment of the Mansion Facade
- Replacement of Queue Canopy
- Show & Operational Refurbishment of the Stretching Room.
- New Position Based Sound Effects (ie the origin of the sound changes position)
- New Creaking Sound Effect as the room stretches
- New Sound Effect of Bats Flying During the Darkness
- Show and Cosmetic Refurbishment of the Loading Area
- "Moving Eye Portraits" moved from Portrait Gallery show scene to Loading Area
- General Cosmetic Changes including new carpeting and refreshing of the area's "creepy" touches.
- Operational and Maintenance Refurbishment of the Doombuggies
- Maintenance Refurbishment of the Doombuggy Mechanical Systems
- Operational Refurbishment of the Doombuggy On-Vehicle Audio System
- Show Refurbishment to Portrait Gallery Scene
- New Stormy Window Effect Added with Flashes of Lightning
- "Moving Eye" Portraits replaced with "Transforming Portraits" (in the Style of Disneyland's Hallway to Limbo pre-show area). The Portraits transform in-sync with the Lighting Flash effect.
- Show Refurbishment of the Séance Scene ...
- ... in the Style of Disneyland's Current Séance Scene, featuring the Floating Leota Ball Effect.
- Giant Spider Scene Removed and Two New Show Scenes Added
- New Stairway Scene added reminiscent of MC Escher's Lithograph "Relativity" featuring floating candelabras and ghostly green footsteps.
- New Dark Corridor Scene featuring pairs of blinking, white eyes peering at the passing doombuggies.
- Show Refurbishment of the Attic Scene ...
- ... in the Style of Disneyland's Current Attic Scene, featuring the Constance "axe-wielding" bride show piece and the "groom portrait" show pieces in place of the pop-up ghosts
- Show and Cosmetic Refurbishment of the Graveyard Scene
- "Pop-Up Ghouls" have been drastically reduced in number
- Cosmetic Refreshing to the whole scene
- Enhancement of Little Leota Show Piece
The Walt Disney World Resort has released two sneak peaks at the upcoming changes to the Magic Kingdom's landmark attraction--The Haunted Mansion.
Most of these changes were earlier reported in Tidbits July 2007 as being "internally announced", but they have now been made public (although somewhat more vague than what was internally announced).
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There's No Turning Back Now!
Eerie enhancements are materializing at The Haunted Mansion!
Mickey Monitor
Fall 2007
When The Haunted Mansion reopens this fall, you'll notice that strange things occurred. "We increased the feeling of presence and movement between Guests and ghosts," said Walt Disney Imagineering Creative Show Producer Kathy Rogers.
Digital audio will give our old pal the Ghost Host the power to hop around in the stretch room, and to dart back and forth on your "doom buggy." In the gallery, a lightning storm will cause the portraits to become more and more ghostly!
Even disembodied medium Madame Leota's had a face-lift - literally. Her crystal ball will float in midair! In the attic, look for an extra-creepy bride with a string of grooms, all pictured below her. Each undergoes a change as the bouquet in her hand changes to an... well, we just can't give it all away!
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"Eek"-Streme Makeover
Behind the screams of the creepy new touches at The Haunted Mansion
Backstage Pass: Walt Disney World® Parks and Resorts Monthly Newsletter
August 2007
"When hinges creak in doorless chambers
and strange and frightening sounds echo through the halls,
Whenever candlelights flicker and the air is deathly still,
That is the time ghosts are present,
Practicing their terror with ghoulish delight."
These eerie words of the Ghost Host are like poetry to the millions who consider The Haunted Mansion one of their all-time favorite Walt Disney World® attractions. This fun-and-frightful landmark is a genuine classic with so many clever effects and superb details, it never fails to amaze and mystify. And yet, come this fall, a few strange things will have occurred—wondrous things that only add to the overall magic, always reverently faithful to the original vision.
One of the things that you'll notice will be astonishing new digital audio effects, using some of the newest technology. "We have taken this new technology and incorporated it into The Haunted Mansion, always careful to maintain the integrity of the original show for all its many fans," Walt Disney Imagineering Principle Media Designer Joe Herrington told us. "Everything they've loved is there, but we've added to it to make it an even more incredible show."
"Could it be that these walls are actually stretching?"
"There are certain things that are sacred territory, like the Ghost Host," he continued. "But in the past, his voice just plunked around the room. We've gone a lot further now. Now he has the power to float around you and the other Guests." (Sometimes he can get creepily close!)
"Now once we got our friend the Ghost Host floating around the room just like a real ghost in an extremely believable way, we decided to bring the little gargoyles to life and let them have fun as well," said Joe.
"We put a few bats in there and let them fly around and a few other things too. So now we have more of an ambiance, a texture."
The Imagineers were so dedicated to getting the sound quality perfect, they actually built a full-scale replica of the Stretch Room in their Glendale, California, studios for meticulous testing. Joe assured us that the results were definitely worth the effort. "It's a very noticeable difference, like night and day."
"Wall-to-wall creeps, hot and cold running chills..."
While the Stretch Room is the prime showcase for this new sound technology, a similar effect of a floating Ghost Host is replicated as soon as you climb aboard your "doom buggy" to tour the upstairs hallways, ballroom, attic and graveyard. And as you explore, you may spot some other unnerving sights in addition to the classic scenes. You never know what might materialize! (Look for more in a special video in the October issue of this newsletter.)
Voice actor royalty retain their thrones
The bride adds the only new voice to The Haunted Mansion; all the original ghostly voices will still be there to chill you. The Ghost Host narration—acclaimed as one of the finest vocal performances in any medium—remains the domain of Disney Legend Paul Frees, whose many other roles include Boris on Rocky and Bullwinkle.
And speaking of mediums, continuing as Madame Leota's voice will be Eleanor Audley, who also voiced Lady Tremaine in Cinderella and Malificent in Sleeping Beauty. And thanks to state-of-the-art sound, their voices and all the other atmospheric effects will sound even better—or worse, depending on your point of view—than ever.
We don't know about you, but we're just dying to float over to the Magic Kingdom® Park this fall to see and hear it all!
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