Disney - The Haunted Mansion

The Haunted Mansion is a dark ride located at Disneyland, the Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World, Tokyo Disneyland, and Disneyland Park in Paris (as Phantom Manor). Each incarnation of the attraction features a ride-through tour of a haunted house in Omnimover vehicles called Doom Buggies, preceded by a walk-through show in the queue. The attraction showcases a number of age-old tricks, advanced special effects, and spectral Audio-Animatronics.

The Haunted Mansion was an opening day attraction at Walt Disney World's Magic Kingdom, opening in 1971. This attraction was developed at the same time as the Disneyland version, resulting in a very similar experience to the Disneyland version, though the slightly larger show building allowed the addition of several new scenes. The attraction was placed in Liberty Square, a small land that was a tribute to colonial America, as the Magic Kingdom did not have a New Orleans Square. Thus, the Mansion was given a Dutch Gothic Revival style based on older northeastern mansions, particularly those in older areas of Pennsylvania and in the Hudson River Valley region of New York. The mansion is surrounded by large oak trees donned with spanish moss, red maples, and pines, all of which are native to Florida.

When the Haunted Mansion was transplanted to other Disney parks, space management was much less of a problem. For example, in Walt Disney World's Magic Kingdom, the entire show building is located within the park boundaries. Luckily, the placement of the show building has no bearing on the quality of the experience. Most guests give little thought to whether they are actually inside the mansion they saw while in line.

At Walt Disney World Resort, the Haunted Mansion closed for refurbishment on June 8, 2007 and reopened September 13, 2007.

Changes to this version of the attraction during the refurbishment included the addition of a new audio system for the Ghost Host that makes it seem as if the spirit is circling above visitors' heads, new red, blue, and gold wallpaper (related to the paper at Disneyland but instead of green, it has blue), different and enhanced lighting throughout the attraction, and new stretching sound effects for the stretching room. The gargoyles in the stretching room now whisper with messages of "Stay Together", and emit child like giggles after the stretching room sequence. An exclusive Escher-esque staircase scene has replaced the empty dark banister area covered in cobwebs and the giant orange spiders. After the staircase scene, there are all new ghoulish eyes that glow while monstrous sounds echo through the halls. The foyer music has been changed to a lower key as well as taken out of the corridor hallways. The original attic sequence is now replaced with the new Disneyland attic scene including the five changing husband portraits and featuring the new Constance. The other major Disneyland enhancements were also implemented at Walt Disney World including the floating version of Madame Leota with a much clearer projection, and The Sinister 11 (the portraits with the following eyes) were replaced with the changing portraits from Disneyland's portrait gallery. Seven of the Sinister 11 are now located in the loading area of the ride (These include Jack the Ripper, Arsonist, Mariner, Vampire, Witch of Walpurgis, and the Ghost Host) while the other four are located in various parts of the mansion. The graveyard ghosts minus the deaf old man, the singing busts, and the mummy audio tracks now seem to come from the singer when near them. The once blue/purple ghosts are now green as well. A sharp-eyed guest will also notice that the Hitchhiking Ghosts now have empty sockets for eyes. The Doom Buggies have been fixed to a much more quiet sound than the high squeaking sound before the refurbishment.

In early October 2010, construction walls went up in the queue area of the Haunted Mansion, blocking the view of the small graveyard just outside the entrance. A new effect has also been added to the ride: a hand points to the left on the back of the doombuggies as guests exit.

In 2001, a special Christmas version was introduced which blends the settings and characters of the original Haunted Mansion with those of Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas. The Haunted Mansion typically closes for two and half weeks in September so it can be converted into the Haunted Mansion Holiday. The overlaid attraction is then open to guests from late-September through early-January, before being closed again during January so the overlay can be removed. All Disney parks have this overlay except Disney World in Florida.

Over the years, MP3s of the attraction have surfaced. Here is the collection of all of them.

Original Disneyland Version (22:26)

Alternate Recording Script (14:07)

Updated Disney World Version (23:49)

Haunted Mansion Holiday (16:40)