Difference between revisions of "The Haunted Mansion"

Revision as of 20:24, 27 January 2012

The Haunted Mansion is an attraction located in Liberty Square

The exterior of the Haunted Mansion

History

Like many of the original Magic Kingdom attractions, the Haunted Mansion began as an idea for Disneyland. Before the park was even built, Walt Disney and artist Harper Goff were working on an idea for a haunted house type attraction. The original sketch by Goff, was titled "Church Graveyard and Haunted House", and featured a Gothic style mansion on top of a hill. The haunted house was originally envisioned as a walkthrough attraction in which guests would see various haunted scenes. Some of the original ideas for the attraction included a ghostly sea captain who killed his wife, an unfortunate family living in the mansion, and a ghost wedding which would have featured various Disney ghosts and villains including, Captain Hook, the Lonesome Ghosts, and the Headless Horseman.

When the addition of the Haunted Mansion was planned for Disneyland. The Mansion was going to be located off a crooked alley on Mainstreet USA. Soon however the planned Mansion was moved to Frontierland, but plans for the Mansion were eventually put on hold. When Disneyland opened in 1955, The Haunted Mansion was nowhere to be found. The project was brought back however, when Walt decided in 1958 that he wanted to expand Disneyland with a new land called "New Orleans Square".

Construction on the Haunted Mansion took place in 1962, but from the beginning problems plagued the new attraction. Story line problems were a constant for the Haunted Mansion, and in 1964 Disney's attention was turned towards the World Fair instead of Disneyland. Another blow to the struggling project came in 1965 when Walt Disney, the driving force behind the project died. With Walt gone, Imageneers were divided about what tone to give the Haunted Mansion. Imagineer Marc Davis wanted to present the ride in a comical matter, giving the attraction a lighter tone. Another Imagineer, Claude Counts thought the Haunted Mansion should be a real haunted house and wanted to give the ride a darker tone. Eventually, Imagineers decided on a compromise. The beginning of the attraction was given a darker tone, and had scarier ghosts. Later in the attraction the ghosts would become more "silly" and the "swinging wake" would begin. Imagineers also decided to make the Haunted Mansion a dark ride, with "Doom Buggies" as the attractions vehicles. The change from walkthrough to dark ride helped solve the problem of guest capacity.

With the story line and tone finally decided, the attraction opened on August 9, 1969.

Museum of the Weird

When the Haunted Mansion was originally being developed by Walt Disney and the Imagineers, Walt and Imagineer Rolly Grump came up with the idea for a Museum of the Weird. The Museum would have doubled as a restaurant and would have been located near the entrance to the attraction. Rolly Grump came up with various ideas for the museum including coffin clocks, candle men, man-eating plants, tiki busts, a faced mirror and a "living gypsy cart". With the death of Walt Disney and the subsequent uncertainty about the tone of the attraction, the idea for the Museum of the Weird was eventually scrapped.

Although the Museum of the Weird was never built, ideas from the museum can be found within the Haunted Mansion itself. Examples of this include:

• The red chair that appears to have face

• The wallpaper in the "Corridor of Doors" with various faces and eyes.

• The gypsy cart that sells merchandise outside of the Disney World Haunted Mansion {Originally a similar cart would have been located in the Museum of the Weird and would have interacted with guests}.

Disney Imagineers

The main Disney Imageneers that worked on the designing and construction of the Haunted Mansion were:

• Harper Goff (original sketches and design)

• Ken Anderson (storyline)

• Yale Gracy & Rolly Grump (special effects)

• Claude Counts (plot/storyline)

• Marc Davis (character design/storyline)

• Blane Gibson (sculpting-many of the ghosts including the hitchhiking ghosts and the singing busts were sculpted by Blane Gibson)

• X Atencio (Writer of both the Ghost Host narration and the attractions theme song "Grim Grinning Ghosts".

Disney World Construction

During the time the Haunted Mansion was being finalized in Disneyland, plans were made for an identical version in the not yet open Walt Disney World. Props and sets for the Disneyland Haunted Mansion were copied and shipped to Florida. Unlike the Disneyland version however, the Haunted Mansion in Disney World was set in the American Northeast, not New Orleans (due to the fact that Liberty Square replaced New Orleans Square in Walt Disney World). The change in location is evident in the architecture. Unlike the Gothic feel of the Disneyland Haunted Mansion, the version in Walt Disney World is built with a colonial/Hudson River Valley architecture. In fact, the Harry Peacher Mansion in Jim Thorpe, Pennsylvania was the influence for the Disney World Haunted Mansion. The Haunted Mansion opened with the rest of the Magic Kingdom on October 1, 1971.

The Queue

The original queue for the Haunted Mansion featured a hillside graveyard full of humorous tombstones. In 2010 however, the queue was given an overhaul. Now when guests reach a certain point in the line (the former location of the turnstiles), they have the option of going left or right. If they go right, they will go directly into the mansion. But, if they choose to go left, guests can experience what Disney calls the new "graveyard queue".

The Family of Busts

In the graveyard queue one of the first things that guests will see is a family of marble busts. The busts feature both the faces of the family members, but also a small weapon and a humorous epitaph. The family is comprised of

• Bertie - Avid hunter and expert shot, in the end that’s what he got.

• Aunt Florence - Never did a dishonorable deed. Yet was found face down in canary seed.

• Uncle Jacob - Greed was the poison he had swallowed. He went first, the others followed. His killer’s face he surely knew, now try to discover who killed who.

• The Twins, Wellington & Forsythia - Departed life while in their beds, with identical bumps on identical heads.

• Cousin Maude - Our sleeping beauty who never awoke, the night her dreams went up in smoke.

When guests pass by the busts, each bust will whisper a clue as to who killed them. It is up to guests to solve the mystery and find out who killed who.

The family of busts in the new Haunted Mansion queue.

The Composer's Crypt

The first of three crypts that guests will pass is the Composer's Crypt. Here musical instruments are carved into the sides of the crypt. When pushed on, the musical instruments play a portion of the attractions theme song "Grim Grinning Ghosts". One side of the crypt features basic instruments (such as those used by the band in the graveyard scene), while the other side features more ghoulish looking instruments.

The Composers Crypt also features a large pipe organ (identical to the one in the Ballroom scene) which plays Grim Grinning Ghosts when they keys are pushed on. When played, the organ also shoots a blast of mist at guests, often surprising them. The top of the organ features banshee heads and a red-eyed raven.

The organ is engraved with the name "Ravenscroft" who is the lead vocalist of the singing busts in the Graveyard scene.

The Sea Captain's Crypt

The next crypt that guests come upon is the Sea Captain's. An inscription on the crypt reads:

"Here floats Captain Culpepper Clyne, allergic to dirt so he’s pickled in brine. He braved the sea and all her wrath, but drowned on land while taking a bath."

The Sea Captain's arms, leg and hat are all sticking out of his green crypt. The crypt seems to be full of water, as water flows out of cracks in the crypt and squirts guests as they walk by. The Sea Captain can be heard singing a "drunken sailor" song, and from time to time even sneezes, shooting water everywhere. On the more morbid side, the Sea Captain can also be heard drowning as bubbles rush to the top of the crypt.

If guests try to plug a hole in the crypt, another one will begin leaking!

The Sea Captain's crypt

The Library Crypt

The final crypt guests come across in the Haunted Mansion queue is the Library crypt. Two sides of the crypt look like the bookcases found inside the mansion. Like the inside ones, these bookshelves hold haunted books that move in and out by themselves. Guests can also push the books themselves, adding some entertainment for younger guests. The books on the cases are marked with ghostly symbols. These symbols each correlate with a letter, giving guests the task of deciphering the message.

The third side of the crypt features a glowing book surrounded by decaying flowers. In the book, the ghost of the "Poetess Prudence Pock" is working on her poetry. Prudence will usually need guests to help her finish the poems, by giving her rhyming words. A sign above the book says:

"Her plaintive pleas can still be heard: O muse provide the perfect word"

The final side of the crypt has another plaque dedicated to Prudence which reads:

"Here lies Poetess Prudence Pock, she died it's said from writers block

If you want a key, to figure out what the haunted books are trying to tell check out Inside the Magic's below:

http://www.insidethemagic.net/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/haunted-mansion-cryptogram-symbols.jpg

The Tombstones

Main Article: Haunted Mansion Tombstones

The original graveyard in the Haunted Mansion queue is still in place. However, the headstones that paid homage to Marc Davis and X Atencio have been moved from the hillside to the middle of the interactive queue. Likewise, the tombstone marking the resting place of Master Gracey has been moved into the queue. Added to the hillside graveyard were headstones for Gus Erza, and Phineas-the Hitchhiking Ghosts and Neb Nub, one of the singing busts.

For more information about the graveyard including a list of the tombstones and their meaning go to the Haunted Mansion Tombstones page.

Attraction Plot

The Haunted Mansion is a dark ride which takes guests through an aging mansion where 999 ghosts live and roam about.

The Foyer

The first room that guests see when entering the mansion is the Foyer. The Foyer has orange wall paper, wood finish and is dimly lit by candle chandeliers. Although none is seen, guests may notice a organ playing in the background. On the left side of the Foyer is a fireplace with a potrait of a young man hung above it. If guests watch the portrait they will see that the man appears to be aging before their eyes. The potrait of the man changes in a succession of steps from a young man, into a rotting skeletal corps. In the Foyer the Ghost Host greets the guests saying,

"When hinges creak in doorless chambers. When strange and frightening sounds echo through the halls. Whenever candlelights flicker when the air is deathly still... That is the time when ghosts are present, practicing their terror with ghoulish delight."

To hear the Ghost Host speak to guests in the Foyer click play below:

The Stretching Room

After the Ghost Host introduces guests to the Haunted Mansion, guests are ushered into an octagonal gallery known as The Stretching Room. The room features verticly stripped wallpaper and menacing green gargoyles. The room also has four seemingly normal portraits of a unknown people. Inside the room the Ghost Host once again speaks to the guests saying:

"Welcome! Foolish Mortals, to the haunted mansion, I am your host, your ghost host. Hmmmm. Our tour begins here, in this gallery. Here where you see paintings of some of our guests, as they appeared in their corruptible, mortal state. Kindly step all the way in please, and make room for everyone. Theres no turning back now!

As the Ghost Host speaks, the walls begin stretch upwards. The paintings are also elongated to show the true nature of the portraits, a depiction of various Haunted Mansion "residents" deaths. When the room stops stretching the Ghost Host says:

"Your cadaverous pallor betrays an aura of foreboding, almost as though you sense a disquieting metamorphosis. Is this haunted room actually stretching? Or is it your imagination, hmm? And consider this dismaying observation: this chamber has no windows, and no doors. Which offers you this chilling challenge: to find a way out!...Of course, there's always my way!"

The full portraits guests see after the room has "stretched".

At this point lighting flashes above the room to show the corpse of the Ghost Host hanging in the rafters. (having apparently committed suicide).

During the 2007 refurbishment of the Disney World Haunted Mansion, the gargoyles that light the room were given dialog. After the Ghost Host tells guests to "stay together please" the gargoyles whisper "stay together" and then giggle like haunted children.

To hear the Ghost Host's narration in the Stretching Room click play below:

The Loading Area

After leaving the stretching room guests enter the loading area. Here they board their "Doom Buggies" and begin to ride through the Mansion. Having guests ride through the attraction in Doom Buggies, allowed Disney Imagineers to control what scenes guests would see at a particular time.

On the walls inside the loading area are eight of the eleven "Sinister Pictures". The Sinister Pictures are the portraits who's eyes seem to follow guests as they move, however since relocating to the loading area this effect has not been in use.

The Ghost Host gives riders instructions in the Loading Area saying:

"Do not pull down on the safety bar please, I will lower it for you. Heed this warning, the spirits will materialize ONLY if you remain quietly seated, at all times. Oh yes, and no flash pictures please, we spirits are frighfully sensitive, to bright lights."

To hear the loading area narration click play below:

The Library and Music Parlor

Now in their Doom Buggies, guests exit the loading area, go up a stairwell and enter a landing. Here two more of the sinister portraits can be found, and various "changing pictures" can be seen. The changing pictures appear to normal enough at first, but when lightning strikes the pictures become much more ghoulish (an example of this: A portrait of a young lady changes in a portrait of Medusa when the lightning strikes). Guests also can see a floating candelabrum in the room, a sign of things to come.

The first room that guests tour in the mansion is the Library. In the library, books seem to be flying about by themselves. Ghosts are also present in the room as unseen ghosts stand on rocking ladders to reach and move books to and from the shelves. Another ghost is seemingly reading on a rocking chair in the corner of the room. The Ghost host introduces the library to the guests saying:

"Our library is well stocked with priceless first editions, only ghost stories of course, hmhmh. And marble busts, of the greatest ghost writers, the literary world has even known."

The marble busts of the ghost writers seem to turn and follow guests as they move through the library and into the music parlor.

The music parlor is a small room located after the library. In it, a rundown piano plays a somber version of Grim Grinning Ghosts (the attractions theme song). Although guests cannot see the ghostly piano player, his shadow can be seen on the floor. Outside the window, a storm is brewing and guests can see what appears to be a forest outside.

To hear the narration in the library click play below:

The Staircases & Endless Hallway

When the Haunted Mansion was renovated in 2007, a new scene was added to the attraction. Known as the staircase scene, it is seen after guests leave the music parlor and before they see the Endless Hallway. The staircase scene is a space with various staircases and doorways to other dimensions in it. The staircases look like a maze, and some even seem to defy gravity. Some of the staircases twist and turn, and others even go upside down. On the staircases ghostly, glowing footprints appear going up or down the stairs before fading away.

When leaving the music room and entering the staircase scene, the Ghost Hosts makes an offer to guests:

"They have all, retired here to the Haunted Mansion, actually we have 999 happy haunts here, but there's room for one thousand. Any volunteers?? If you should decide to join us, final arrangements, may be made at the end of the tour."

After seeing the staircase scene, the Doom Buggies move past the Endless Hallway. The hallway seems to go on forever, and only a floating single candelabrum populates the hall. Next to the halls entrance is a moving suit of armor, which used to house a cast member who would jump out and scare guests.

To hear the Staircase narration click play below:

Conservatory

As the Doom Buggies move onward, the guests are spun to face backwards. The room they find themselves in is the middle of a conservatory. At one time the room may have housed live plants and flowers, but now the plants are all dead and the flowers have rotted. In the middle of the room a wooden coffin is laid with a banner that says "farewell".A large raven settles on the coffin and squawks as the corpse inside begins to push its way out! The corpse inside begins to yell "let me outta here!", but the Doom Buggies continue on.

The Corridor of Doors

After leaving the conservatory, guests find themselves in the mysterious Corridor of Doors. The wallpaper in the corridor is filled with demon eyes, who seem to be watching the Doom Buggies as they pass. Also on the walls, are various ghoulish family portraits which show different skeletons, ghosts and corpses. A sign next to the portraits reads "Tomb Sweet Tomb". A portrait of note features The Ghost Host wearing a noose around his neck as his shadow lifts a hatchet.

As the Doom Buggies moved down the hall guests will notice they are surrounded by various doors. The doors seem to be holding something inside, and some of the nobs begin to turn. Knocking, moaning, pounding and even begging can be heard, and some of the doors themselves seem to be breathing! The last door guests see has two skeletal hands coming out from behind it, and a strange green light illuminates the doorway.

The Ghost Host once again speaks to guests in the Corridor of Doors saying:

We find it delightfully unlivable here in this ghostly retreat, every room has wall-to-wall creeps, and hot and cold, running chills! Ssshhhh, listen..."

The final thing that guests see before leaving the scene is a glowing grandfather clock. The hour hand of the clock reads 13, and the minute hand is seen spinning out of control. The clock has bones for hands, and a demonic tail as its pendulum. The head of the clock looks like it has horns, and fangs that engulf the face. As guests pass, a shadow of a large claw swings over the face of the clock, giving the allusion that a large beast is swooping over the Doom Buggie.

To hear the Corridor of Doors narration click below:

The Séance Room

After escaping the Corridor of Doors, guests find themselves in quiet parlor. The Doom Buggies encircle a lone table sitting in the middle of the room. Floating above the table is crystal ball holding the disembodied head of Madam Leota. Madam Leota chants from inside the ball, trying to make a connection with the various ghosts in the mansion (One of her chants goes "Rap on a table, it's time to respond, send us a message from far beyond!). As Madame Leota chants her incarnations, glowing objects and other items begin to fly around the room. If guests look closely at Madame Leota's table, they will notice her spell book is open to page 1313. The page shows the Grim Reaper, while page 1312 shows that Hatbox Ghost and one of the Hitchhiking Ghosts.

The Ghost Host then tells guests:

"The happy haunts have received your sympathetic vibrations, and are begining to materialize. They're assembling for a swinging wake, and they'll be expecting me. I'll see you all, a little later."

Before advancing to the Grand Hall, guests may notice that there seems to be a green specter in the corner of the room.

To hear the Séance Room narration click play below:

Madame Leota in the Séance Room

The Grand Hall (Ballroom)

After leaving the Séance Room, guests enter perhaps the most famous scene in the Haunted Mansion, The Grand Hall (also known as the Ballroom). Here ghosts have begun to gather for a "swinging wake" (apparently arriving by hearse). The Doom Buggies actually look down into the Ballroom where guests can see ghostly couples waltzing as they disappear and reappear. An organist plays a crazed version of the attractions theme "Grim Grinning Ghosts", on a large pipe organ. When the organist strikes a note, ghostly banshees come flying out of the pipes and then disappear.

On the right side of the room, various ghosts have gathered around a table to celebrate a birthday party. The cake has 13 candles, and at the ghost sits at the end of the table, is apparently the ghost of honor. Directly across from him sits the ghost of Ceaser himself. Two drunk ghosts (an Egyptian and a solider) are seen swinging on the chandelier, while another ghoul lays under the table. Another ghost can be seen hanging on the chandelier by his cane. Various other specters pepper the room, including one sitting on the mantle of the fireplace, who shoots flames out his mouth and an elderly ghost sitting in the corner of the room knitting. If guests look up above the Ballroom they will see two portraits of duelists. The ghosts of these duelists emerge from their paintings from time to time and shoot pistols at each other. After passing the Ballroom the Doom Buggies head upstairs to the attic.

The Attic

Following the Ballroom scene, the Doom Buggies go up one floor to the attic. Here guests see a crammed, dusty room full of wedding gifts and furniture. As the Buggies progress, guests see five wedding portraits of Constance Hatchaway and her different husbands. Next to each portrait are wedding gifts, which seem to increase in quality after every marriage. The portraits include:

• Ambrose Harper & Constance Hatchaway (1869)

• Frank Barks & Constance Hatchaway (1872) (If guests look closely at the cabinet near this portrait, they will see a female porcelain French aristocrat looking down on a fallen porcelain man, whose head has been removed.)

• Marquis de Doom & Constance Hatchaway (1874)

• Reginal Gaine & Constance (1875)

• George Hightower & Constance (1877)-- (This may be the same George who's tombstone we see in one of the stretching room pictures. In the stretching room a widow sits atop a gravestone reading Beloved George, with a hatchet in it.)

When the Doom Buggies pass each portrait the head of the grooms disappear. The story goes that, Constance married and killed her husbands in order to gain money and social status. In fact, if guests look closely at Constance in the portraits they will notice that she gains a string of pearls after each husband. After passing all 5 portraits, guests come face to face with Constance herself, who is wearing a wedding dress and standing near the window. When the Buggies go by her, she says ominous phrases (Such as: "Tell DEATH do us part"). After passing Constance the Doom Buggies "escape" from the attic and fall below into the graveyard.

A melancholy version of Wagner's Bridal Chorus can be heard in the attic. The only song besides Grim Grinning Ghosts heard in the attraction. It has been suggested by some, that guests actually "die" after falling out of the attic, thus allowing them to see the ghosts celebrating in the graveyard. This has neither been confirmed or denied by the Disney company however.

To hear Constance's ominous vows click play below:

The Graveyard

Following the close encounter with Constance, the Doom Buggies "fall" out the window and turn backwards. When they land on the ground, ghosts appear to be flying all around. Guests now find themselves at the gates to a graveyard located near the mansion. Outside the gates, a caretaker named Dick O’Dell quivers in fear as his dog "Boney" whimpers. After passing some scary looking trees, guests enter the graveyard where the ghosts seem to be having a party. A ghost band known as the Phantom Five is playing a jazzy version of "Grim Grinning Ghosts", as various other paranormal beings enjoy themselves. The band is made up of a drummer (banging on headstones), a flutist, a harpist, a bagpipe player, and a horn player. Various cats and owls harmonize with the band, and demon dogs can be heard howling in the distance. Near the band, a king and queen teeter on see-saw, while a duchess sips tea behind them.

As the Doom Buggies move through the Graveyard, they pass a group of singing marble busts. Located on the guests right hand side, these marble busts sing and express the song "Grim Grinning Ghosts". All around the graveyard, ghosts pop up and try to scare guests, while other specters simply enjoy the party. Those enjoying the party include, a mummy who is drinking tea, and Renascence era oracle, and various ghosts riding bicycles around tombstones.

Further down the graveyard an executioner and his victim (a headless knight) and the prisoner hitchhiking ghost stand singing. Standing next to the executioner are two opera singers. The female is overweight with pig tales and is wearing a viking helmet, while the male is thin and wears a mustache. Near the opera singers, a skeleton is seeing paving a crypt, entrapping himself.

After traveling through the graveyard guests come across another crypt, leading to the attractions fianl scene.

To hear the marble busts singing in Graveyard click below:

The Crypt and Unloading

Upon entering the crypt the Ghost Host once again joins the guests:

"Aaahh, there you are! And just in time, theres a little matter I forgot to mention, beware of hitchhiking ghosts! They have seleced you to fill our quota, and they'll haunt you until you return! hahahaha"

The Three Hitchhiking Ghosts: The Prisoner (left), The Skeleton (center) and the Traveler (right)

While hearing this warning guests pass by the three hitchhiking ghosts (the prisoner, the skeleton, and the traveler) before venturing further into the crypt and encountering a mirror. When guests look into the mirror, they will notice that they are not alone! One of the three hitchhiking ghosts will be seen inside the Doom Buggies, and will interact with the guests (Eg. The ghost will switch two of the riders heads!).

Fan names given to the Hitchhiking Ghosts are Gus (left), Ezra (skeleton), and Phineas (traveler). And during the 2010 refurb of the Haunted Mansion queue, headstones with these names were added.

After exiting the crypt, guests reach the unloading area where a ghostess says she can make "final arrangements for you". Following her speech the Ghost Host tells guests one final thing:

Now, I will raise the safety bar, and a ghost will follow you home!

To Hear the Crypt and Unloading narration click play below:

Post Show: Bluebird

After exiting the Haunted Mansion guests pass a large tomb of Bluebeard himself. The inscription on the tomb says he died in 1440 and reads:

"Six of them were faithful, but the seventh did him in."

Bluebeard's wives were:

• Penelope (Died 1434)

• Abigail (Died 1435)

• Anastasia(Died 1436)

• Prudence (Died 1437)

• Phoebe (Died 1438)

• Eugenia (Died 1439)

• Lucretia (The wife that did him in!)

Post Show: Pun Crypts

Next to the tomb of Bluebird and his wife's a large crypt houses various bodies. Each of the names on the crypt create a pun. The names on the crypt are listed below, with the pun the name creates in quotations.

• Asher T. Ashes (Ashes to ashes) *Bea Witch (Bewitch

Bea Witch (Bewitch) Clare Voince (Clairvoyance) C. U. Later (See you later) Dustin T. Dust (Dust to dust) G. I. Missyou (Gee, I miss you) Hail N. Hardy (Hale and hearty) Hal Lusinashun (Hallucination) Hap A. Rition (Apparition) I. L. Beback (I'll be back) I. Emma Spook (I am a spook) I. M. Mortal (I am mortal) or (immortal) I. M. Ready (I am ready) I. Trudy Departed (I truly departed) I. Trudy Dew (I truly do) Levi Tation (Levitation) Love U. Trudy (Love you truly) Manny Festation (Manifestation) Metta Fisiks (Metaphysics) M. T. Tomb (Empty tomb) Paul Tergyst (Poltergeist) Pearl E. Gates (Pearly gates) Ray. N. Carnation (Reincarnation) Rustin Peece (Rest in peace) Rusty Gates (Rusty gates) Theo Later (See you later) U. R. Gone (You are gone) Wee G. Bord (Ouija board)

The Pet Cemetery

Located on the guests left on the exit path, the pet cemetery houses the deceased animals of the Haunted Mansion. Some of the tombstones feature humorous epitaphs while other are simply just headstones. The animals laid to rest in the pet cemetery are:

The statue of Mr. Toad located in the pet cemetery.

• A duck named Little Waddles. Died in 1928. The epitaph reads, "Little Waddles saw the truck, Little Waddles didn't duck".

• A snake who's epitaph reads "Here lies my snake who's fatal mistake, was frighting a garner who carried a rake".

• A cat named Miss Kitty who epitaph reads " "After losing eight lives you still had no fear. You caught a snake in your mouth and that's why you're here."

• A bird who died July 11, 1864.

• A poodle named Fi Fi.

• A dog with a basket in it's mouth.

• A headstone of Mr. Toad. Added in 2005, this headstone is reference to the fact that Mr. Toad's Wild Ride was closed at Disney World in 2005. There was no official reason given for the addition of the statue.

Cast

Main Article: List of Haunted Mansion Ghosts

The primary cast of the Haunted Mansion is:

• Ghost Host- Paul Frees

• Madame Leota- Leota Toombs (face) and Elanor Audley (voice}

• Coffin Ghost (in the Conservatory)- Xavier Atencio

• Constance Hathaway- Kat Cressida

• Rollo Rumkin (Singing Bust)- Verne Rowe

• Uncle Theodore (Singing Bust)- Thurl Ravenscroft

• Cousin Algernon (Singing Bust)- Chuck Schroeder

• Pineas P. Pock (Singing Bust)- Bob Ebright

• Graveyard Mummy- Akkan Davies

• Renaissance Oracle (Graveyard)- Dal McKennon

• Female Opera Singer (Graveyard)- Loulie Jean Normen

• Male Opera Singer (Graveyard)- Bill Reeve

• Decapitated Knight (Graveyard)- Ernic Newton

• Executioner (Graveyard)- Bill Days

• Ghost Hostess- Leota Tombs

Fun Facts and Trivia

• There are two books on the table at the end of the library in the Haunted Mansion. They are separate volumes from “The National Encyclopedia” and the open book is open to the letter D, so the word "death" is shown.

• The prisoner Hitchhiking ghost can also be seen in the Graveyard scene, near the executioner.

• Before the 2011 refurbishment of the queue a fresh flower would be placed on the tombstone of Master Gracey every day.

• Many of the real books in the library scene are actually law books, including “Modern Legal Forms".

• The organ played by the ghost in the Ballroom scene is an exact replaca of the one in Disneyland. This is important becuase the organ in Disneyland was the same organ that Captain Nemo played in the 1954 film, 20,000 leagues under the sea.

• To keep the Haunted Mansion looking dusty, Disney buys 5 pound bags of theatrical dust known as “Fuller’s Earth”.

For More Information

For more information check out http://www.doombuggies.com/ our favorite Haunted Mansion site on the internet!

References

http://www.doombuggies.com/

http://www.insidethemagic.net/2011/03/exclusive-haunted-mansion-cryptogram-solved-revealing-hidden-message-in-new-interactive-queue/

http://www.wdwradio.com/2007/09/haunted-mansion/

http://disneyworld.disney.go.com/parks/magic-kingdom/attractions/haunted-mansion/