Welcome, foolish mortals! If you’re anything like us, then no trip to Disney World (or Disneyland) is complete without at least one visit to the Haunted Mansion. The Mansion’s 999 happy haunts have been scaring and delighting park guests since 1969.
If you’ve always wanted to take a peek behind the scenes of this classic ride, these terrifying facts are sure to fill you with ghoulish delight. Read on…if you dare!
1. The names on the tombstones are real.
If you’ve always wanted to take a peek behind the scenes of this classic ride, these terrifying facts are sure to fill you with ghoulish delight. Read on…if you dare!
1. The names on the tombstones are real.
Waiting in line isn't anyone's favorite part of a trip to the Disney parks, but the Haunted Mansion is one of the more enjoyable lines to wait in thanks to the entertaining gravestones beside the queue area. The names on these tombstones are those of Disney Imagineers who helped to create the Haunted Mansion.
The dear, departed patriarch "Grandpa Marc" is Marc Davis, a major figure in the design of Disneyland and the Haunted Mansion. Set designer and sculptor of plaster rocks Fred Joerger became "Good Old Fred," appropriately killed when "a great big rock fell on his head." Yale Gracey created most of the Mansion's special effects and became "Master Gracey," after whom the Mansion -- a.k.a. Gracey Manor -- is named.
The animatronic tombstone of "Dear Sweet Leota" is named for the Imagineer who performs the face of Madame Leota. Her full name? Leota Toombs. Really!
2. Going up... or down?
The dear, departed patriarch "Grandpa Marc" is Marc Davis, a major figure in the design of Disneyland and the Haunted Mansion. Set designer and sculptor of plaster rocks Fred Joerger became "Good Old Fred," appropriately killed when "a great big rock fell on his head." Yale Gracey created most of the Mansion's special effects and became "Master Gracey," after whom the Mansion -- a.k.a. Gracey Manor -- is named.
The animatronic tombstone of "Dear Sweet Leota" is named for the Imagineer who performs the face of Madame Leota. Her full name? Leota Toombs. Really!
2. Going up... or down?
In both Disney World and Disneyland, the actual Haunted Mansion ride is preceded by the famous Stretching Room, where portraits of the Mansion's inhabitants stretch to reveal their unfortunate fates. Is the ceiling going up or does the floor go down? As it turns out, it depends on which park you're in.
In Disneyland, the bulk of the ride is below ground level, so the Stretching Room acts as an elevator lowering guests down to the ride. In Disney World, the ride is housed in a hidden building behind the facade you see from the queue area. Since there's no need for an elevator, the ceiling just goes up.
3. Something old, something new.
In Disneyland, the bulk of the ride is below ground level, so the Stretching Room acts as an elevator lowering guests down to the ride. In Disney World, the ride is housed in a hidden building behind the facade you see from the queue area. Since there's no need for an elevator, the ceiling just goes up.
3. Something old, something new.
Next to the Ghost Host, the mysterious Bride is the most iconic character in the Haunted Mansion. The Mansions in Disneyland, Disney World and Tokyo Disneyland all have their own Brides and she is a central character in the Phantom Manor at Disneyland Paris.
Both the Disney World and Disneyland brides started out as an eerie bluish creature with a glowing red heart. They've both been recently updated into a more sinister, hatchet-wielding figure -- named Constance -- uttering grim twists on traditional wedding vows. Portraits around the attic show Constance and her ill-fated husbands, whose heads disappear from the portraits as the Bride gains a new string of pearls.
4. The Hatbox Ghost.
Both the Disney World and Disneyland brides started out as an eerie bluish creature with a glowing red heart. They've both been recently updated into a more sinister, hatchet-wielding figure -- named Constance -- uttering grim twists on traditional wedding vows. Portraits around the attic show Constance and her ill-fated husbands, whose heads disappear from the portraits as the Bride gains a new string of pearls.
4. The Hatbox Ghost.
One of the Mansion's ghosts didn't stay very long. The original Disneyland ride featured a spectre known as the Hatbox Ghost, who stood in the attic not far from the Bride.
As guests rode past, the ghost's head was supposed to disappear, then reappear inside of a hatbox he was holding. Unfortunately, the effect never worked well enough for the ghost's real head to disappear completely. The Hatbox Ghost was quickly removed from the ride and never seen again, though Haunted Mansion fans still hold out hope that he'll return someday.
5. Pepper's Ghost.
As guests rode past, the ghost's head was supposed to disappear, then reappear inside of a hatbox he was holding. Unfortunately, the effect never worked well enough for the ghost's real head to disappear completely. The Hatbox Ghost was quickly removed from the ride and never seen again, though Haunted Mansion fans still hold out hope that he'll return someday.
5. Pepper's Ghost.
The semi-transparent ghosts that disappear and reappear throughout the ride are another example of an old and simple visual trick used extremely well. In this case, it's the effect known as "Pepper's Ghost," which uses strong lighting and glass to create a ghostly reflected image of a brightly lit object or person. It's the same principle that results in colored reflections in a glass window or door. So the ghosts are reflected images of the real animatronics, which are hidden out of sight.
6. Watch out for Hitchhiking ghosts!
6. Watch out for Hitchhiking ghosts!
One of the most popular scenes in the Haunted Mansion comes at the end, when your Doom Buggy gets one of three additional passengers: Ezra the tall skeletal ghost, Gus the short bearded ghost, or Phineas the stocky mid-sized ghost. The original effect was kind of a "Pepper's Ghost" in reverse, since you're seeing the real animatronic figure sitting next to your reflection in the glass. Recently, the sequences has been upgraded -- the ghosts now move around and interact with guests from either inside or atop the Doom Buggies.
7. R.I.P. Mr. Toad
7. R.I.P. Mr. Toad
As you're leaving the Disney World Haunted Mansion, there's a small pet cemetery off to your left. If you look way in the back, you'll notice a newer addition to the gravestones: Mr. Toad. The Disney World version of Mr. Toad's Wild Ride was closed and reworked into The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh, so the repurposed Toad figure is a tribute to a lost ride. Though it's impossible to see, there are rumors of a poem on the base:
Here lies Mr. Toad.
Sad but true.
Far less popular
than Pooh.
8.The singing voice of The Grinch haunts the mansion.
Here lies Mr. Toad.
Sad but true.
Far less popular
than Pooh.
8.The singing voice of The Grinch haunts the mansion.
Many well-known voice actors can be heard throughout the Haunted Mansion. Chief among them is Paul Frees, the voice of the Ghost Host. Frees was also the voice of Ludwig Von Drake, Boris Badenov and others on 'Rocky & Bullwinkle' and countless characters in the Rankin/Bass specials.
Another Disney regular, Eleanor Audley, played Cinderella's wicked stepmother and the fearsome Maleficent from 'Sleeping Beauty' before lending her distinctive voice to the Mansion's resident medium, Madame Leota.
Another voice you may recognize belongs to Thurl Ravenscroft, best known as Tony the Tiger and the singer of 'You're a Mean One, Mister Grinch.' Ravenscroft can be heard and seen as the deep-voiced member of the marble bust quintet that sings 'Grim Grinning Ghosts.' (He's the one who often gets mistaken for Walt Disney.)
9. The Knight in shining armor.
Another Disney regular, Eleanor Audley, played Cinderella's wicked stepmother and the fearsome Maleficent from 'Sleeping Beauty' before lending her distinctive voice to the Mansion's resident medium, Madame Leota.
Another voice you may recognize belongs to Thurl Ravenscroft, best known as Tony the Tiger and the singer of 'You're a Mean One, Mister Grinch.' Ravenscroft can be heard and seen as the deep-voiced member of the marble bust quintet that sings 'Grim Grinning Ghosts.' (He's the one who often gets mistaken for Walt Disney.)
9. The Knight in shining armor.
If you've been on the ride, you probably remember the knight standing all by his lonesome in the hallway. And if you're paranoid, like me, you probably thought, "That would make a great place for a person to hide"¦" and then nervously wonder if it was going to come chasing after you. Well, you wouldn't be too far off the mark. It's not done anymore, but when the Mansion was newer, the Knight really did house a cast member who would run after Doom Buggies. It really freaked people out, and the knight constantly had to stop the ride when he was punched or spit on. One cast member who played the knight for a summer recalls that one of his co-workers had his nose broken.
10. A real final resting place. People dump ashes in the Haunted Mansion all of the time, Which might lends some real credence to those haunting stories I have been hearing about. Ash dumping happens so often that Disneyland had to purchase a special HEPA vacuum that can pick up ashes, but also little tiny bone fragments that are often left behind after a cremation. If you ever hear a Haunted Mansion cast member calling for a "HEPA clean-up," maybe you want to check out another attraction for a while and come back when the crew has tidied up a little.
10. A real final resting place. People dump ashes in the Haunted Mansion all of the time, Which might lends some real credence to those haunting stories I have been hearing about. Ash dumping happens so often that Disneyland had to purchase a special HEPA vacuum that can pick up ashes, but also little tiny bone fragments that are often left behind after a cremation. If you ever hear a Haunted Mansion cast member calling for a "HEPA clean-up," maybe you want to check out another attraction for a while and come back when the crew has tidied up a little.
When the crypt doors creak, and the tombstones quake
Spooks come out for a swinging wake
Happy haunts materialize
And begin to vocalize
Grim Grinning Ghosts come out to socialize
Now don't close your eyes and don't try to hide
Or a silly spook may sit by your side
Shrouded in a daft disguise
They pretend to terrorize
Grim Grinning Ghosts come out to socialize
Mwahahahahahahahaha
If you would like to join our jamboree
There's a simple rule that's compulsory
Mortals pay a token fee
Rest in peace, the haunting's free
So hurry back we would like your company
Hurry back...Hurry back...
Be sure to bring your.... death.... certificate
If you decide to join us
Make final arrangements now
We've been...dying...to have you
Spooks come out for a swinging wake
Happy haunts materialize
And begin to vocalize
Grim Grinning Ghosts come out to socialize
Now don't close your eyes and don't try to hide
Or a silly spook may sit by your side
Shrouded in a daft disguise
They pretend to terrorize
Grim Grinning Ghosts come out to socialize
Mwahahahahahahahaha
If you would like to join our jamboree
There's a simple rule that's compulsory
Mortals pay a token fee
Rest in peace, the haunting's free
So hurry back we would like your company
Hurry back...Hurry back...
Be sure to bring your.... death.... certificate
If you decide to join us
Make final arrangements now
We've been...dying...to have you
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