New Orleans Square Haunted Mansion

Fun Facts

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You can download The Story of the Haunted Mansion in MPEG 3 format. And checkout more great information at Foxx's Haunted Mansion. See the Haunted Mansion Ghost List

Orig Art
Original Art

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  1. There are other Hidden Characters here.
  2. See Nightmare Before Christmas Fun Facts
  3. I was at Disneyland about a week ago, and there is now a sign outside the Haunted Mansion similar to wait time signs around the rest of the park. However, in this one the wait time number is permanently stuck on "13 Minutes".
    REPORTED: Nathan B. 20 JAN 06 Attic Bride
  4. The Haunted Mansion will be changed to present the Bride as a Husband killing murderous fiend with a bouquet that vanishes & becomes a Bloody Axe... Portraits will be changed to resemble men dying grisly deaths... The Hitchikers will become more animated & move. REPORTED: RavenLenore13 10 MAR 06
    This has not been offically announced by the Disney Company, and should be regarded as a rumor. Although, several objects have apperared in the attic within the last few days covered by sheets, these may very well be said frames.
    UPDATE: Iframedroger r 16 APR 06
    Well, there's really a Haunted Mansion story and its about the portrait of the lady and the alligators and Master gracey.
    UPDATE: Candy 16 APR 06
    The hatbox ghost is rumored to return, and WDI has made a prototype that is still in Glendale.
    UPDATE: Anon 26 APR 06
    All the new effects are in, and will be opening hopefully soon. ÊThe opening has been pushed back due to technical difficulties.
    UPDATE: Anon 30 APR 06
    I was recently at Disneyland's Haunted Mansion and as of Wednesday May 3rd '06 the story of the Bride in the attic is now clear. The room has changed so that instead of popping heads, you pass by portraits of the bride with one of her husbands. As you get closer to the portrait, it shifts to show the husband now being headless. There are about 5 of these. The bride herself has changed as well. The mechanical bride on the right side is now gone and replaced with a more interactive bride on the left side that uses the same effect used on Madame Liotta, except it's her entire body. As you pass by her she will utter different phrases like "Til death do us... part." and when she gets to the emphasis point you notice the axe in her hands starts to shine. I've heard her say a multitude of things, but my favorite is "I do... and I did." I've added a picture of the new bride to this report.
    REPORTED: Sadako 08 MAY 06
  5. Well actually the story based on the Haunted Mansion it is about Mistress Lilian (the lady with the alligators stretching portrait) and Master Gracey. I think Mistress Lilian was from Frontierland and she moved to the Mansion when she married with Master Gracey and later she died in the jaws of an Alligator and after her death Master Garcey became vicious with the money and later he married Emily the bride in the Attic (actually she was removed and the new bride's name is Constance).
    REPORTED: Candy 17 MAY 06
  6. The Haunted Mansion is the only attraction that is at all 4 Magic Kingdoms, but is in a different land in each park (Disneyland-New Orlean's Square, WDW-Liberty Square, Tokyo-Fantasyland, Paris-Frontierland). Does anyone know where it will be located at in Hong Kong?
    REPORTED: Jim 14 NOV 01
  7. For all the Haunted Mansion enthusiasts, on the 75th anniversary music CD set, the track which contains the 'Grim Grinning Ghost' song, also includes Paul Frees's welcome to the Haunted Mansion, and the organ music from the ballroom scene. The 'Grim Grinning Ghost' song includes the Mellow Men version, and the British Couple (a man and woman's voice), along with Little Leota's goodbye. The whole track is over 5 minutes long.
    REPORTED: Paul Hight 19 MAR 99
  8. The tall Italian cypresses located between the Haunted Mansion and Splash Mountain had previously lined the entrance of Tomorrowland. They were moved in 1967, when the old New Tommorrowland was unveiled. Bill Evans, Disneyland's head landscape architect for many years, thought that they would suit the Mansion 'scaping. His notion was perfect, for cypresses often symbolize death.
    REPORTED: AprilDecember 14 JUN 99
  9. Many of the props in the Haunted Mansion were originally used in Disney films.
  10. The Haunted Mansion is the only place in all of Disney where the cast members do not smile.
    REPORTED: Allen Stone 08 DEC 99
    It is definitely not true that the cast members of the Haunted Mansion do not smile. Being a passholder and going at least twice a week, the Elevator operator was one of the head haunchos of the park. He gave us all a good laugh with his witty humor, and laughed with us.
    Wishful Thinking: Alex 26 DEC 99
    The CM's at the Haunted Mansion do indeed smile. I once saw a CM with the name tag "RIP" and I asked him if that was his real name. My mom responded by saying, "Yes and he has a brother named Tear." The CM bent over smiling by her quick wit.
    WISHFUL THINKING: Christopher A. Cook 22 JUL 00
  11. When approaching the porch of the Haunted Mansion at Disneyland, check out the wrought-iron railing.... while most of the decoration is composed of leafy curlicues, the bottom-most curlicue is actually a dragon! The things you notice while waiting in line...
    REPORTED: Nachtwulf 11 AUG 01
  12. I've visted the Disneyland park frequently for my whole life, and one of my all time favorites is the Haunted Mansion. Through the years, I've always noticed strange, large holes in the high cieling of the room where you board your "Doom Buggy." I've always wondered if the holes are there intentionally or not, does anyone know anything about the subject?
    REPORTED: Chris Buttars 18 APR 01
  13. In the attic, the piano is playing a depressing version of the wedding march. Now, also, when the heads pop up they cry out two simple words - "I do...." - the spirts are taunting the bride with the words she never got to say, the song she never got to hear.
    REPORTED: DORENDAN 07 APR 98
    Also, take note that in the Haunted Mansion, there is a shadow playing the depressing wedding march on the piano
    UPDATE: Tiffany 25 MAY 98
    Your buggy passes in front of a piano in front of a large window with moon light streaming in and casting a shadow of window panes on the floor nobody can be seen sitting at the piano but cords can be heard and the player's shadow can be seen on the floor.
    CONFIRMED: carl 26 MAY 99
    As to how did they do that, the piano player is off stage and the lighting also comes from off stage. By placing the player in the right location with regard to the lighting and the actual piano you get the effect.
    UPDATE: TR Shaw 27 MAY 99
    In the "piano attic" of the Haunted Mansion heads do indeed pop up in various places. However they are not taunting the bride by the entrance to the graveyard but merely being polite and asking the visiting guests "How do?" It is more obvious with the larger, slower moving, full bodied spirts that pop up as well. They tend to speak clearer and in fact say "how do you do?"
    UPDATE: Mickey'sDaughter 24 JUN 01
    In the Haunted Mansion bridal scene, the heads are definitely saying "I do", not "How do". It is in keeping with the wedding theme.
    CONFIRMED: Frakers 08 AUG 01
  14. In the attic, there's a portrait of George Washington on the floor. It's to the left hand side just past the piano, near the exit to the graveyard. It's directly across from the bride.
    REPORTED: Ice 27 JUL 99
    There is a portrait on the floor in the attic area across from the bride ( on the left side of your Doombuggy as you pass it ) but I recognized it as being of James Madison and not George Washington.
    UPDATE: Dave T. 24 APR 00
    CONFIRMED: Kathy Debow 22 MAY 00
    On the Haunted Mansion when you are almost leaving the attic, across the way from the bride there is a sketch of George Washington the one that is on the dollar bill. Its kind of in the corner but not hard to see.
    UPDATE: Mary Galileah 12 MAR 01
    I would like to correct the statement "Just as you are leaving the attic, look to your left, on the floor is a portrait that appears to be George Washington... Because Disneyland in Anaheim on the Haunted Mansion has recently been updated in the attic. That portrait dose not exists anymore. To all who saw it remember it, to all who havenât seen it I'm very sorry you did not get to experience that picture.
    REPORTED: Sarah Albee 05 JUN 06
  15. I was just in Disneyland last Saturday and I found out something really cool about the Haunted Mansion. I had just about left the attic area (just in front of the bride,) when the ride stopped. After sitting there about five minutes, we started seeing cast members running back and forth with flashlights. Finally after a few more minutes they turned on the lights! This gave me a great chance to look around and frind out some pretty interesting things. Behind the Haunted Trunk (on the left side as you enter the attic) there is a huge door that is like the kind you find in the back of a supermarket. In front of the jumping ghost across from the piano player, there is a small still-life painting by Chardin... Still life with a knife. On the left hand side (below the bats) there is a painting which can only be seen with the lights on, and it's a picture of a child praying! Overall, I thought that was pretty cool.
    REPORTED: Chernabog 23 MAY 99
  16. The development of the Haunted Mansion goes all the way back to 1959 and Ken Anderson. There were a number of reasons it took so long, mainly that it was handed to four different development teams. They also pulled all they're people to work on the '64 World's Fair project. The Haunted Mansion never opened before the official opening day, which was some 6 years after it was built!
    REPORTED: Chuck Prince 31 OCT 95
  17. In the Haunted Mantion where all the doors are knocking the wallpaper is patterned with monster faces. Above all the doors is stained glass which if you look closely have faces of monsters with mustaches.
    REPORTED: Lestat Bodnoir 27 MAY 90
  18. The original Haunted Mansion was so be a walk through ride, but was deemed too scary.
    REPORTED: anon 09 MAY 99
    This is the ride history to end all ride histories: back when the park first opened, Walt approached an Imagineer with an idea for a Haunted House. The project was quickly handed over to Imagineer legend Ken Anderson, who devloped a series of sets and scenes that followed guests through a guided walkthrough of a "historical landmark" haunted house that was haunted by the spirits of the Blood family, who were violentley murdered and seek revenge. the tour would climax with an experience with the Headless Horseman in the graveyard. Then came the great pause. with the 1964 World's Fair looming closer and closer, the Imagineers had to work to come up with rides. of these were the classics Walt Disney's Carrousel of Progress and It's A Small World. the huge sucess of IASW made Imagineers stop and rethink their ideas with the two current attractions in progress - Pirates of the Caribbean and The Haunted Mansion. durning the world's fair, devolpment of the Mansion had slowed to a snail's pace. the exterior was constructed, with nothing inside. for almost a decade the structure just sat there and rotted. then Pirates went into full swing, as they had no clue what to do with the HM. half of the Imagineers wanted it to be scary, half wanted it to be funny. early concept sceteches from Ken Anderson had the whole attraction as a walkthrough, as evidenced by an early drawing of a proposed room, where a lone organ sat in a room below guests, apparentley playing itself, with a set of footprints leading from an open doorway to the organ stool. the scene was viewed via balcony. meanwhile, curiosity grew about the HM. fliers for the park listed the attraction as a coming attraction as early as 1962. the gates tightley locked, the facade beakoned guests to enter. WED had already established itself as the leading theme park devolpment company in the world, as evidenced by the then-open Pirates of the Caribbean. expectations were high. rumors began circulating. rumors that this new attraction would be the best, most amazing, most elaborate dark ride ever. the rumors were right. in the mid-60's, WED posted a sign outside, in the shape of a tombstone, that read.... Almost Sold Out! 999 Ghosts and restless spirits have chosen active retirment in this HAUNTED MANSION should you decide to become number 1000 visiting privliges begin LATE SUMMMER 1969 don't be left out in the sunshine! reaturn soon and vist these happy haunting ground --- our ghosts can hardly wait to scare the daylights out of you. Someone had wisely handed the project over to Marc Davis, who had worked largley on POTC. most of the scenes were dreamed up by him. soon, the mansion began to take shape - not as a walkthrough attraction, but as a ridethrough. the sucess that IASW had with moving crowds through quickly and easily influenced the way guests would get around in this attraction and countless others (why do you think you go through POTC in a boat?). every prop would be placed at least 4 feet away from the guests, so they could not reach then sitting down. the Omnimovers were called in from the sucessful Adventure through Inner Space attraction to get guests from point A to point B without letting them see the unnecessary details. This allowed the designers to let the vehicle act as a movie camera - each guest is provided with a narrow point of view directed in predetermended points, so each guest sees more or less the same thing no matter where they try to look. Buddy Baker was pinned down to compose the music. I would elaborate, but's that's for another post. Finally, after nearly a decade of construction, the HM opened it's creaking doors to the public on August 9th, 1969. Park attendance records show that the amount of people to fill the park on that day is unriviled expect for the final run of the MSEP. the atttraction turns 30 this August.
    CORRECTION: Foxx 15 MAY 99
  19. I wrote to Disney in August 1997, asking about the Haunted Mansion decor. I'd read once that, while most DL attractions are kept sparkling clean, the Haunted Mansion was not and, in fact, dust was purchased regularly from a dust supplier so that the attraction would look dusty. A few days later, I got this reply from Michelle Lynne, Guest Communications:- "We appreciate your interest in the Haunted Mansion. The decor for this attraction is created by Disneyland. There is extensive nightly maintenance of this attraction to make sure that every cobweb looks perfect! However, the cobwebs are created by the Disneyland Decorating team with materials similar to those sold in Halloween novelty merchandise stores."
    REPORTED: Dave Andrew 18 FEB 98
    The information on the Haunted Mansion is somewhat correct however here is the complete information on the decor in the mansion. First the "Dust" that is referred to is called Fullers Earth and it can be found at any Stage Equipment type store, and as for the Cobweb effect this is achieved by using a device called a cobweb spinner, the type used by Disney Imagineers is made by Mole-Richardson out of California. It is a Rubber Cement type based chemical that apears to be extreemly real when sprayed with the Fullers Earth to give it that Dusty Effect.
    UPDATE: David B 01 JUN 98
    The cobwebs used in the Haunted Mansion actually come in liquid form, and then are spun, like someone else mentioned, with a special web spinner.
    CONFIRMED: Stacee 07 MAY 00
    Of course, Disney doesn't use real dust in their cobwebs, it would trigger allergies of guests. They use a product called Fuller's Earth which is sprinkled onto strands of dried rubber cement to attain the effect.
    UPDATE: DisneyGuy 10 JAN 02
    Backyard Imagineering
    Backyard
    Imagineering
    Fireflies
  20. The Wathel R. Bender grave outside is a tribute to Wathel Rogers, an Imagineer.
    REPORTED: Rachel and Elizabeth 12 JUL 97
  21. If you look up when you enter your Doom Buggy, you can see the ceiling tiles.
    REPORTED: Rachel and Elizabeth 12 JUL 97
  22. The control room for the Mansion is located between the loading area and the disembarkment Crypt. After dropping of the bodies in the Crypt, the Doombuggies make a U-Turn and proceed down to the loading area for fresh souls. Just before coming down the stairs under the giant cob web, they pass the ride control room that is shielded by a set of large black velour curtains. You might be able to catch a peek if you are riding on the left side with a disabled guest who needs to get out from the loading area. The curtains were drawn back a few times when we rode the Haunted Mansion 5K a few years back. It's quite small with a console of the security video displays and an audio board to check the sound system and emergency shut offs.
    REPORTED: Jim O'Connor 15 APR 97
    My wife and I where allowed into the control room about a year ago as part of a back stage tour (which is no longer available). The control room does have two very large plate glass windows that are indeed covered by thick black curtains. Interestingly, the control room is very sparse. There are only a few buttons on the control panel; Emergency Stop, work lights, pause, ect. There are a couple of TV screens that flip through the different scenes from the infrared cameras spaced through the ride and a couple of rows of buttons let you view one scene for an extended period of time if you want. There is also a microphone for yelling at guests that get out of hand. The walls are adorned with various work-safety and OSHA posters and there are several binders on a shelf. Interestingly, the cast-member in the control room is required to where the standard Haunted Mansion costume.
    CONFIRMED: James Sutherland 12 MAY 97
  23. There was only one instance in Haunted Mansion where the workers actually stopped the ride, turned on the lights, and said "can so-and-so in car number ___ please stop that!!" when the two lovebirds were actually... well, um. You know! The workers have seen people doing just about everything on the Haunted Mansion.
    REPORTED: Joseph Guisti 23 FEB 98
  24. Check out the wrought iron outside of the house in the queue, it's got vulure heads designed into it.
    REPORTED: Glasses Crow 03 DEC 97
  25. When you come out of Haunted Mansion if you look to the left there is a iron gate. Just beyond the gate is a small locker area for cast-members. There is also a passage that leads down under the berm and under the track for Haunted Mansion (you have to duck) and into the control room.
    REPORTED: James Sutherland 12 MAY 97
  26. The changing portrait in the foyer is a rear projection, unlike the ones at Walt Disney World, which are projected from the front.
    REPORTED: William E. Nolte, Jr. 08 MAY 98
  27. If you make a left just before you enter the outer gate of the mansion and go towards the train station you will come to a point where you can see the side of the mansion. There are three windows there and at about every few seconds you can see a mysterious glow from inside the house. The light cycles between all three windows.
    REPORTED: Matt Ford 05 SEP 96
    I also saw the the mysterious orange light in the windows. It was really cool!
    CONFIRMED: Kurt Norby 29 MAR 97
    There are many stories about what this flame is supposed to be, and I actually know one of them. The bride inside with the broken heart is searching for her "husband." As she walks through the house she passes these windows, and the candle she carries to guide her is what causes the moving flame in the windows!
    CONFIRMED: Brittany S. 30 MAR 97
  28. I remember in the Haunted Mansion that the paintings that are after the stretching room did not simply fade from a "normal" painting to a "spooky" version. They changed to coincide with the lightning flashes that came through the windows. I really miss that effect as it really added to the atmosphere.
    REPORTED: Greg 08 OCT 98
  29. The strikingly realistic birthday cake candles in the ballroom scene are made by Candle-Light Unlimited in San Diego, CA, and are available for the public to buy. These are not the chandelier candles that just flicker, but real flame-effect illusions.
    REPORTED: Rick 30 MAR 98 Aging Portrait
  30. The Imagineers had many different concepts of what the story behind the Haunted Mansion should be, ranging from a bloodthirsty sea pirate's murdering his new wife to a wedding gone awry when a ghost steps in and kills off the groom. Every time a new idea surfaced, the question was asked: is this too scary? Not scary enough? That, and the 6-year gap from conception to opening day, caused the Mansion's many legends and myths to blend into one another and become impossible to distinguish from each other. In any case, the bride is consistent with most of the stories; she symbolizes a wedding that met with a tragic end. The man hanging from the ceiling in the attic is named Phinneas Pock; in some tales he is the bride's husband, but in some stories they are of no relation. The people in the stretching paintings, Madame Leota, the birthday party, and all the other unrelated scenes are representative of the multitude of other ideas that the Imagineers came up with. So the Haunted Mansion does not have any one story or theme.

    Kind of disappointing, isn't it? It would be so much more fun if the Mansion really did have a story. I guess it would be possible to tie all the stories together somehow, to make them relate to one another.
    REPORTED: Meg 29 JUL 96
    CONFIRMED: Jed 31 JUL 96
    Was there a Mr. Gracey? A ghost that was deemed too scary and removed because little old ladies had heart attacks? Yes and no. If you look at the 1969 Haunted Mansion LP as well as the early 80's hardbacked Disneyland guide and the Winter 1994 issue of the Disney Magazine, you will see Mr. Gracey aka the Groom aka the hatbox ghost. He is a skeletal figure in a cloak and top hat and holds a hatbox. (He slightly resembles skeletal hitchhiker. Is Mr. Gracey beating it from his bride?) As the record says, "With each beat of his bride's heart, the Groom's head disappeared from his body and appeared in the hatbox." The Hatbox ghost has been confirmed to me by David Mumford, Imagineer and fellow Haunted Mansion fanatic. But was he deemed too scary? No. Actually, the effect of the disappearing/reappearing head never worked to the Imagineer's satisfaction, so he was removed from the attraction. (If he was ever in it at all... I'm not sure on this point...) I'd personally love to see the groom finally re-united with his bride after all these years...
    UPDATE: Scott A. Rogers 31 AUG 96
    I can confirm the existence of the "Hatbox Ghost", at least in planning and development. There's a book at my library called "Disneyland, the First Quarter Century". It includes a picture of a skelton-like ghoul, holding a hatbox. Floating inside the hatbox was a skull, which a technician was adjusting. The ghost appeared to be a reflection like the ones in the ballroom, as the tech's arm is right "through" him. On the floor by the technician was a rectangular board, which corresponded with the ghosts feet, which, from where the tech was, he needed so he could tell where the feet of the ghost "seemed" to be.
    CONFIRMED: Rob Steere 15 MAY 97
    The "Mr.Gracey" some of the stories referred to as the Groom Ghost was obviously a tribute to Yale Gracey, the Imagineer in charge of the project.
    UPDATE: Rachel and Elizabeth 12 JUL 97
    Regarding the background story of the Haunted Mansion, the Imagineers had three main characters in the Haunted Mansion: The Bride, the Groom, and the Phantom. The Phantom killed the Groom and the Bride committed suicide, which explains the Bride in the attic and the hanged man in the stretch room. This story was later revived and used in Disneyland Paris.
    UPDATE: GraveyardGirls 14 JUL 97
    The specific, true story behind the Haunted Mansion is that a sea captain built an antebullum mansion for his new bride. But after they were married, the well-off young woman found out her new husband was a blood thirsty pirate. He killed her in a jealous rage, but her ghost returned to haunt him. It got to the point where he couldn't take it any longer, so he hung himself in the attic rafters, which is where he is seen now. :)
    UPDATE: Brittany S. 14 JUL 97
    The article is from the Spring 1992 Disney News (now called The Disney Magazine). The article refers specifically to the Disneyland park. Even though there are many variations of the Haunted Mansion story, I've always heard that Disneyland and Walt Disney World share the same plot. As far as I understand it, it wasn't until Phantom Manor that the plot was rearranged.

    1. Article Page 1
    2. Article Page 2
    3. Article Page 3
    As you will see the story presented in the Disney news is pretty short and to the point. This may be because of limited printing space, but what if the actual original story really isn't as detailed and complex as some of the versions floating around. I just think that it would be pretty funny is there is an imagineer sitting back at his desk chuckling in awe at how Disney fans have evolved what may have begun as a simple, straightforward plot. I know what your thinking. Imagineering is famous for their attention to detail. However, I sometimes wonder how many of those details are actually conjured up by park cast members and Disney fans.
    UPDATE: Jorge Hernandez 21 NOV 97 Raven
    Just writing to confirm, we got the inside info on the REAL story of the Haunted Mansion from several cast members. A "merchant" bought the mansion and decorated it in "ship-style" (notice the weather-vane, the telescope, and other ship equipment on the second floor outside). He got engaged, then had to leave on business. The girl found a trunk (remember that haunted trunk in the ride?) and discovered he was, in fact, a pirate. She confronted him with this when he returned, and he axe-murdered her to keep her quiet. (Hence, the bride and the mocking wedding march). She haunted him, and in his remorse, he hung himself (that ghost you see in the "stretching room"). The two haunted the mansion, and several other ghosts saw it as a haven and joined them. The raven was supposed to be the narrator, but if you'll notice, the "ghost host" only speaks when there is a raven present. (Only exception - when you're going backwards in the buggy, the raven crows). Walt ditched the idea when he realized it was too scary for children.
    UPDATE: Beauty and the Beast 23 JUN 98
    The raven seen so often in the Haunted Mansion is there for a reason. It was planned that he would narrate the story as you proceed through the house. This idea fell through, but the raven still remains.
    UPDATE: Amy Vickery 24 JAN 99
    Walt Disney wanted the story to be told by the ravens in the attraction, although a few of the imagenieers decided and convinced Walt thayt children would remember a story rather than than objects popping up at them., and it would scare them too much. So then story starts out.....There was once a pirate who long ago in his era it was not to be heard or know of it you were a pirate and consquenses would follow if anyone had found out. So being this fact the pirate had met this young woman and they eventually fell in love. All along the woman did not know he was a pirate she belived that he was a sales merchant because that was what she was told. Now tragidy strikes when on their wedding night the woman finds out that her love is truly a pirate after all. The pirate knowing that she had to face the consiquence of knowing the truth... the pirate kills his love with a knife. He then in saddness could not live with the pain of killing her true love and so the ONLY WAY OUT was to hang himself. Now throughout the attraction you will see ravens scattered throughtout and as you go down the hallway of the knocking doors on the left hand side you will see a small table with a book on it and above the table is a full length potrait of the pirate. He is holding a bloody knife in one hand and a noose in anouther! Now the bride in the attic is his bride to be. As you exit the attraction look up at the house and you shall he a pirate ship on top resembling that this was the pirates house and you were just through his haunted house!
    UPDATE: anon 28 FEB 99
    The Haunted Mansion was originally had a plot. The plot was that a sailor built the house for his soon to be wife. But he murdered her. This is obvousily un-disneylike and the plot was killed (No pun intended). But you can still see the props, the weather vein is a ship a top the house, the bride with the glowing heart, and the heads that pop up in the graveyard and attic say "I do" taunting the otherwise would be bride.
    UPDATE: Joey (Future imagineer) 14 MAR 99 pict from hiddenmickeys.org
    One of the actual blueprints of the Disneyland Haunted Mansion confirms the existence of the infamous HatBox Ghost.
    UPDATE: Foxx 16 JAN 00
    The story of the Haunted Mansion is supposedly a true story. Here it is as I've heard it from a couple of Cast Members: The ghost host fell in love with a women, who then moved into his house, which is now the haunted mansion. They were to be married the day after the man was to return from a 12 month trading expedition. The woman was instructed to prepare the house for the wedding (it was a bit run down for the man was never into cleaning) and when she finished, to wait for him to return. He also told her that she could anywhere in the house except in the attic, because that was his own private area. So the wife did clean the house, which took 11 1/2 months to do, and then her curiousity got the better of her and she went up into the attic, where her fiance forbid her to go. When she got up there, she found trunks full of gold, silver, jewelry and other treasures, and finally came to the assumption that he was not a merchant, as he had said, but he was a pirate. She was so distraut that she threw herself out of the window, and landed approximately where the graveyard in the queue is today. When the pirate returned home, he found his wife lying, dead in the garden. He went into the house and went up to the attic, and found his treasure strewn around the room and the glass broken in one of the windows. After many months, he started to go crazy. He was so mad at what he had done to her, that he started to have many mood swings, and kept to himself for many months in his home. He eventually hung himself in the attic. That is why on the ride, in the stretching room, he says that there are no windows or doors and there is not was to escape, which is true of him when he went crazy; there was no way to escape. That is also why we see his skeleton hanging in the top part of the room after he says that you can always escape my way, which is to hang yourself.
    UPDATE: Brandon 22 OCT 01
    The Ghost Host in the elevator is Master Gracey, who is said to have hung himself. I can prove that if the stories are true. They say he hung himself because he wanted to get out of problems in his life, and when you hear "Of course, there's always my way.", it shows somebody being hung. Which I think is Master Gracey.
    UPDATE: Haunted Mansion Freak 15 MAY 02
    To add to the "Raven narrates the ride" theory: If you buy the Haunted Mansion CD from the Disneyland or Disney World stores, you will hear the recording track for Madame Leota. In her recording session, she reads a piece saying "The coward's way! He chose the coward's way! Lived in forevermore! Forevermore! Forevermore! Beware the raven evermore! Beware of hitchhikers, beware of hitchhikers! Forevermore! Forevermore! Beware the raven evermore!!" So yes, it appears that the raven was our original host.
    CONFIRMED: Jeremy Wilcox 10 JUN 02
    I've heard a lot of speculation as to who Phinneas Pock is. I don't think that Phinneas Pock & Willie the Wisp are actually in the Haunted Mansion. They were characters created for the old radio ads Disney used to promote the Haunted Mansion back in the 60's!
    UPDATE: Jaycub 11 JUN 02
  31. On the Haunted Masion ride you will pass through a corridor where ghosts are trying to get out ( or through the doors). When I went past the door with a hand/claw-shaddow I stood up and saw the funniest thing. A wheel with hand/claws on it in front of a flashlight.
    REPORTED: ScottY 22 MAY 00
    There is a claw wheel in front of a bright light behind your Doombuggy in the hall of knocking doors.
    CONFIRMED: Christopher A. Cook 22 JUL 00
    If you turn around when you reach the door you should see a light with four of the hands spinning around.
    CONFIRMED: Justin Beheshti 14 AUG 00
    Where all the doors are knocking, if you look up above one of the doors you can see a shaddow of a hand coming at you. The ride stopped while my sister and I were on it and we looked behind us to see if we could see where the hand was coming from and we saw a wheel with four different hands turning on it and there was a light shining through, which made it look like a shaddow coming at you. We thought this was pretty cool!
    CONFIRMED: Amber 16 DEC 00
  32. You can buy miniature pictures of all the stretch paintings at the Art Gallery in New Orleans Square.
    REPORTED: Dizneelover 16 JAN 00
  33. The Cast Members at the Haunted Mansion enjoy speculating about the past lives of the Mansion's residents. One butler in particular, Anthony, managed to make some sense out of the new attic scene. The Bride was Master Gracey's second wife (the girl on the tightrope in the gallery was to be his first, until she was given wrong directions to the party by the Bride and ended up in the swamps....) She married into the Gracey klan just to inherit the fortune and wound up faking her own death. When Gracey learned of this, he locked her in the attic, forcing her to spend eternity in sorrow - she had to renew her wedding vows to her previous husbands upon which she had pulled similar stunts. Anthony's stories were far more accurate and fitting than the ones created by the WDW cast members. Anthony said that despite all the rejected storylines (pirate, etc.) the final result of the Mansion was that it was a retirement home for ghosts with nowhere to go. The servants are there to give tours in the hopes that the 1000th guest will be found among the crowds. Another butler, Eli, gives personalities to all the residents as well. For instance, the Ghost Horse at the hearse had been named "Penny."
    REPORTED: Jed 01 APR 99
  34. In the Haunted Mansion stretch rooms, there is a diffrence between every portrait. In quicksand, the background isn't black and the man on the top and all the men on the bottom have diffrent faces and hair. In tombstone, the women has gray hair in one, and the bust of her "George" (who I beleive was killed by her), is a bit fatter. In the dynamite protrait, the man is thinner, in another, the man is fatter, in another, the candle, dynamite barrel, and curtain are thinner too. My legend has it that the tombstone lady married the dynamite guy but killed him when he was always too busy. She sat on his tombstone one day but fell and broke her neck. Her daughter was the lady in the crocodile portrait who was going to the funeral but was given the wrong direction and was eaten by the crocodile. Her brother was the man in the quicksand portrait who never came to her funeral. He explored the woods with his friends and they ran into a photographer. He wanted to see the 3 men pose on top of eachother. The three men died when they realized they were in quicksand. The middle guy jumped out, but the other two never made it.
    REPORTED: Jeremy Fassler 31 MAR 00
  35. The Cast Members at Disneyland's Haunted Mansion converse with the Cast Members at Walt Disney World's Haunted Mansion on a regular basis. The conversations are usually the same standard stuff (i.e. "What's your wait time?")
    REPORTED: Jed 01 APR 99
  36. There is a Haunted Mansion's Ghost Gallery Book, that has stories for many of the residents but unfortunately it is for cast members only. But, there is a similar web page that is maintained by a cast member for Walt Disney World. This page is very unique and has lots of interesting stories. This was introduced from a reader of Disney Magazine in the Spring 1999 issue. This page also has a Haunted Mansion Death Certificate (for the Haunted Mansion of Walt Disney World) complete with your name and today's date
    REPORTED: Rudo 10 JUL 99
  37. As a former Cast Member, there is a story regarding the hanging man in the foyer of the Haunted Mansion. He was the captain of the Columbia, which is conveniently anchored just outside the mansion. He was to be married to a beautiful young lady with blonde hair. On the night of their marriage, he heard a rumor of her being untrue to him. He killed her, while wearing her wedding gown, in a fit of jealous rage. It is said she still haunts the attic of the mansion echoing the words "I Do" for all eternity. He was so struck with grief when he discovered the rumors untrue, he hung himself in the foyer and haunts that part of the mansion to this day. Or something like that
    REPORTED: Kurt Anderson 26 AUG 98
  38. Disney once issued a record album titled "The Haunted Mansion", and it's worth hunting down if you're a fan. It tells the story of two teenagers who stumble into the house on a rainy night, and they more or less go through the mansion as the ride does. There's no mention of the legends of thrown rings, broken hearts, or trapped spirits. Notable points: the teenage boy is voiced by Ron Howard, and the narrator/head ghost is not Paul Frees. The album includes a few bars of the organ theme, the full-length version of the crystal-ball head, and the full-length version of "Grim-Grinning Ghosts", and Thurl Ravenscroft is credited on the album.
    REPORTED: Brian Siano 01 DEC 97
    The voices on the Haunted Mansion LP were:
    1. Thurl Ravenscroft: Narrator
    2. "Ronny" Howard: Mike Robie
    3. Lester: Karen
    4. Ghost Host: Pete Renoudet
    5. Madame Leota: Elenor Audley
    Only Thurl and Elenor provided voices for the Haunted Mansion attraction (Thurl was the "Broken Bust" in the Graveyard, and Elenor provided the voice of Madame Leota. The tracks with Mme. Leota on the album are taken directly from the attraction's soundtrack). This album is out of print and VERY difficult to find, and is a much-sought-after collector's item.
    CONFIRMED: Tim McKenny 03 FEB 98
    For those of you with a MPEG 3 (MP3) player, you can download the The Story of the Haunted Mansion. Yes, its the one with Ron Howard. You can find it at Chefmayhem's or your can read the soundtrack at the Haunted Mansion CD Campain
    CONFIRMED: Dave Susnock 22 FEB 98
    For more information see Thurl Ravenscroft's life's work
    CONFIRMED: Brian Jacob 26 JUL 98
    The voice of Mdm. Leota is Eleanor Audley, also the voice of Malificent of Disney's Sleeping Beauty.
    CONFIRMED: Kurt Anderson 26 AUG 98
    The old haunted mansion record (with Ron Howard and Thurl Ravenscroft) that everyone has referred to has been made available again. The Disney Stores (and certainly stores in Disneyland) have just gotten shipments of it. At the moment its only available as a tape but CDs should probably come in soon. Look for them with other Halloween merchandise at the Disney store. The cover has a picture of DL's Haunted Mansion (tinted blue) with pictures of the Medusa portrait, the Skeletal Horseback Knight, and the frightened caretaker hovering over the house as a sort of montage of the Mansion's residents. It sports the name: A Spooky Night in Disney's Haunted Mansion. Could this mean the rerelease of other vintage Disneyland albums?
    UPDATE: Kurt Anderson 26 AUG 98
    Thurl Ravenscroft also sings "Never Smile at a Crocodile", a bonus track on the Peter Pan soundtrack.
    UPDATE: Becky Richards 06 SEP 00
    Backyard Imagineering
    Backyard
    Imagineering
    Eyes

    About the record, A Night in the Haunted Mansion, it mentions the Hatbox ghost while the two kids are in the attic.
    CONFIRMED: cwmm 25 OCT 00
  39. I just wanted to add that the poor soul who's seen hanging at the top of the ceiling after the Haunted Mansion host says, " Well, there's always my way," is indeed the bride's unfortunate groom.
    REPORTED: Brittany S. 27 APR 97
  40. With all those entries on the Haunted Mansion, nobody's posted how the disappearing ceiling is done. The effect looks like this: When they kill the lights, the ceiling disappears, allowing you to see into the attic, where the ship's captain hung himself. The ceiling is actually a scrim curtain, painted to look like a molded ceiling. Scrim takes paint just as well as a hard surface. They just bring the lights up in the attic set, and you see right through the cieling. Scrim is one of the theatrical profession's most open secrets, and it surprises me that more people don't know about it. Because it's so little known and so effective (not to mention expensive!), Disney uses it extensively. In addition to Indy and the Haunted Mansion, scrim is also used in the Carrousel of Progress at WDW.
    REPORTED: Masselin D'Isigny 18 MAY 98 Haunted Mansion
  41. With all those entries on the Haunted Mansion, nobody's posted how the disappearing ceiling is done. The effect looks like this: When they kill the lights, the ceiling disappears, allowing you to see into the attic, where the ship's captain hung himself. The ceiling is actually a scrim curtain, painted to look like a molded ceiling. Scrim takes paint just as well as a hard surface. They just bring the lights up in the attic set, and you see right through the cieling. Scrim is one of the theatrical profession's most open secrets, and it surprises me that more people don't know about it. Because it's so little known and so effective (not to mention expensive!), Disney uses it extensively. In addition to Indy and the Haunted Mansion, scrim is also used in the Carrousel of Progress at Magic Kingdom.
    REPORTED: Masselin D'Isigny 18 MAY 98
    The whole hanging man effect in the stretch room of the Haunted Mansion is indeed a painted scrim. I am a theater avid and this is indeed a trick of the theater trade. When the lights go out, the scrim becomes "transparent", so you can see right through the "ceiling" into the hanging man's rafter. But if you look closely (being a theater man, I did) you can actually see that it is a scrim screen.
    CONFIRMED: Bryan 19 AUG 99
    CONFIRMED: BChampli 12 MAR 01
  42. Many people that I know believe that the Doom Buggies are painted black; this is not true! I was fortunate enough to see a set of Doom Buggies out in daylight at the Paint Shop backstage. There, I saw that the Buggies are actually painted a chocolate brown.
    REPORTED: JK Grence 11 NOV 98
    The doombuggies are neither black or chocolate brown. They are actually a bluish charcoal gray. I have worked backstage before. The chocolate brown may have been primer. Also regarding doombuggies, they are attached in sets of two. There are 3 foot platforms placed in between each buggy so that a person may walk in between them when they are on the track. In the shop there are extras hanging on the wall. Backstage is a maze of hallways, and there is one hallway in which you walk right under the track, and can see the bottoms of the doombuggies pass by!
    UPDATE: Dana Frees 03 JUN 00
  43. I'm sure that everyone has been on the ride when a slow or disabled guest boarded or left a doom buggy. All the cars stop as you are told to remain seated. As the announcement comes on, all audio stops. Everywhere (except lobby, stretch rooms, etc.). The funny thing is that everything else keeps going. Madame Leota continues talking with no voice, the shadow plays muted notes on the piano, etc. When the ride is stopped, you have more time to look around and realize just how the effects are done. On the floor by the bride are a few power strips, you can turn around and look up and see four monster hands rotating in front of a light shining on the clock, and you can hear the "tsst" sound made by all the animatronics. You can also figure out how a ghost got into your doom buggy if you stop there. The cars stop, but the ghosts keep going for a few feet. There they are from the shoulders up floating between cars. When you start up again, they don't move until they reach the center of your car.
    REPORTED: Jed 14 SEP 96
    The shadow is not that of an invisible ghost at the piano. It is being cast onto the piano (notice how the shadow's fingers are hitting the keys) from elswere in the attic. Incidentally, careful listeners will be able to recognize the song he is playing (and no, it is NOT Grim Grinning Ghosts.)
    UPDATE: Jed 15 FEB 97
    They must have fixed the problem with the hitchiking ghosts when the ride stops moving - the ghosts stop when the doombuggy stops.
    UPDATE: Amanda P. 25 MAR 98
  44. The ride is stopped for disabled guests (and emergency) using a device very much like a garage door opener. The Cast Members at the loading area and the one at unload have the devices and use them (hopefully sparingly) at their discretion.
    REPORTED: Don Duwelius 21 JAN 97 pict from hiddenmickeys.org
    The doom buggies are indeed stopped by a remote control. The cool thing is that the man who controls this has complete control of the loading station. If you look, when you have boarded your "buggie" there is a gargoyle to the left before the move up the hill into darkness. The gargoyle's head holds his flashlight, and his hands hold the remote control!
    UPDATE: Rosario 03 MAR 01
  45. Something fun to do is to go to the Haunted House with a disabled person. If the person has a wheelchair, then you cut the line, and go through the side to the elevator. When you get on your doom buggy, they ask you to leave your wheel chair behind and stay on the doom buggy after everyone else gets off. You then go through a series of tunnels where you can see the cast members working away at the controls, until you get to the beginning where you left your wheel chair, and new people are getting on the ride. It is really fun!
    REPORTED: Ali 10 SEP 01
    You do not go through a "series" of tunnels when exiting with a disabled guest. You go around one corner, past the control room, and down the ramp to the loading area. I'm a disabled annual passholder, and I can tell you that other than the occasional Maynard sighting (creeping up on us in the passage) it's really not that exciting.
    UPDATE: anon 30 DEC 01
  46. When you go into one of the stretch rooms, the easiest way to find which wall will open is to look at the place where the floor meets the wall; only one wall does not connect with the floor. That wall opens!
    REPORTED: Kyle Bodshaug 23 MAR 99 pict from hiddenmickeys.org
  47. How come no one has ever once mentioned that, underneath the hearse in the waiting area, there are two names written on the crossbeam underneath ("1995 Rick Godin &Jay Gayton")? Is it because I am the only idiot who gets down on their hands and knees? These two guys are the curators of the museum from where the hearse was obtained, in Salt Lake City, Utah. C'mon, folks, lighten up and get down.
    REPORTED: Ed Johnston 24 MAY 96
    CONFIRMED: Josh Booth 25 SEP 96
    Its the same hearse that took Brigham Young to his final resting place.
    CONFIRMED: David Koc 27 SEP 96
    CONFIRMED: TR Shaw 20 APR 97
    CONFIRMED: Tiffany 07 JUL 98
    The hearse is white because of Brigham Young's stature in the community. Common folks get a black hearse.
    UPDATE: Ed Johnston 21 AUG 98
    They repaired it with a type of paint that will keep it from dry rotting.
    UPDATE: Kurt Norby 30 DEC 98
    CONFIRMED: ghosthost 04 JAN 99
    The hearse has returned in horrifying sight AND sound (for the first time, guests can hear the whinneys of the ghost horse!)
    UPDATE: Flora 08 FEB 99
    What people have reported about the hearse in front of the Haunted Mansion having anything to do with Brigham Young is wrong, in my opinion. I saw an old Wonderful World of Disney show last night called "Disneyland Showtime" from the late 60s that was hosted by Kurt Russel and the Osmond brothers. In it they show footage behind the scenes at WED of people making props for the mansion. In one scene two guys roll the hearse by and it looks like it has just been built and is completely UNPAINTED. The wheels are way too clean to have ever been used outside. I've got the video to prove it. Also, it looks like a date of 1995(?) next to the two guys names marked on the bottom of the hearse. I don't think they had anything to do with the museum the hearse was supposed to have been from and according to the TV program, it didn't come from a museum at all.
    WISHFUL THINKING: Mike Remmel 10 FEB 99 pict from hiddenmickeys.org
    The hearse has indeed returned, complete with horse sounds. If look real close at the halter, you can see the speakers. And there are four horse shoe imprints on the ground directly beneath the horse harness.
    CONFIRMED: John Hamilton 14 FEB 99
    Wishful thinking regarding the post saying the Haunted Mansion's hearse isn't Brigham Young's because they saw it unpainted on the Osmond special. That hearse is the hearse in the graveyard (notice the ghost on top,) not the one from the queue. Thus, Disney did not fabricate the exterior hearse in the 60s.
    CONFIRMED: Jed 19 JUN 99
    I visited Disneyland last summer and during a long wait for the Haunted Mansion the line stopped right next to the Herse with the "ghost horse". I noticed that every minute or so the horse "neighed".
    CONFIRMED: Mandy H. 24 OCT 99
    First of all folks, that hearse you see as you watch the Osmonds Haunted Mansion special is NOT the one that appears outside! As you are in the Graveyard Jamboree, right after the singing busts, there are several ghosts gathered around a hearse that's crashed and stuck in the mud. THIS is the hearse that you see being wheeled by, see the animatronic atop it in, coincidentally, the exact same position that she's in on the ride? The hearse outside was only there starting in 1995. it's a totally diffrent colour. It's a totally diffrent design. It isn't the same hearse! And it's KURT Russel!
    UPDATE: Foxx 09 JAN 00
    I took the "Walk in Walt's Footsteps Tour" on July 22, 1999 and was told by our Tour Guide, a Disneyland CM, that the hearse is indeed that of Brigham Young. Disneyland had it in storage when the papers on it came in verifying the it's origin.
    UPDATE: Jennifer Martin 08 FEB 00
    It took Brigham Young from the church to the cemetary.
    CONFIRMED: anon 02 JUN 00
    RE: Haunted Mansion Fun Fact 38 (Brigham Young's hearse?) On Sunday, 11 February 2001, a report aired on KUTV television's local 10:00 news (in Salt Lake City) in which a news reporter investigated the claim that the hearse on display outside the HM had carried Brigham Young to the grave. The reporter stated that, although many photographs of Brigham Young's funeral exist, none show the hearse; a fact which Utah historians are at a loss to explain. The reporter interviewed a collector of western memorabilia on camera who claimed he sold the hearse (valued at $25,000) to Disneyland after the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints declined his offer to sell it to them for display in their historical museum. (A Church history museum spokesman was interviewed on camera and said that the hearse, even if authentic, holds no significant historical value to the museum.) The collector claimed that Disneyland was interested in it because of the excellent condition of its original white paint. He claimed that le to locate any photograph of Brigham Young's hearse or funeral procession, although pictures of the Tabernacle decorated for the funeral are common.
    UPDATE: Sean Catherall 14 FEB 01
    From DESERET NEWS: ANAHEIM, Calif.â "There's always room for one more" is the unofficial slogan for Disneyland's popular Haunted Mansion attraction. That phrase could also apply to the growing population of urban legends, including the incorrect belief that the white, horse-drawn hearse in front of the Haunted Mansion is the same one that carried Brigham Young's body from his funeral to his burial place in 1877. Glen M. Leonard, director of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints' Museum of Church History and Art, said historical records are conclusive that the hearse couldn't possibly have been used for Young. "Historical evidence shows no hearse was used," he said. However, Leonard agrees that it's possible the hearse may have gone to California from Utah, where it could have been used in Salt Lake City, though probably after President Young's time. Dozens of Internet sites claim the Haunted Mansion hearse was used for Young. Some Disneyland visitors even report that tour guides occasionally tell guests the hearse carried Young. Other Web sites debate the issue. All it takes is a "haunted mansion and hearse" subject search on the Web to find these sites. A KUTV-Ch. 2 special report on Feb. 11 featured the Haunted Mansion hearse and included extensive research on the vehicle's history. However, the report upset Leonard because he felt it perpetuated the mystery about the hearse. The KUTV report was done with a tongue-in-cheek style and concluded with some uncertainty on the issue when Leonard said there is none. He prefers to view this widespread, incorrect belief as the result of "poor research," rather than an urban myth. Leonard said Young's will was explicit about his funeral and burial. President Young died in the Lion House on Aug. 29, 1877, and his body was carried on a platform by clerks and employees, as prescribed in the will, to the Tabernacle for the funeral. Afterward, the same pall bearers hand-carried the casket up South Temple, through Eagle Gate and to the small private cemetery at First Avenue. No wheeled vehicle was used in the transport of the body for the few blocks it needed to be transported. Disneyland sources also expressed some doubt about the hearse's Brigham Young connection. "It is documented to the extent that it can be documented," said John McClintock, a regional publicity manager for Disneyland. "It is at least a widespread belief that the hearse carried Brigham Young. . . . However, the proof is hardly indisputable." Disneyland acquired the hearse from a Malibu collector, Dale Rickards, who had nothing to trace the ancestry of the wagon. Apparently there were once some documents of authenticity, but when the previous owner of the hearse, Robert "Dobie Doc" Cottle of Las Vegas, died, the papers apparently disappeared. There are also rumors of a Young family from the Salt Lake area owning the hearse before Cottle got it, but no one's been able to verify that either. That possible "Young" connection could be the source of the Brigham Young link. The Disney Archives had no additional information available on the hearse. The KUTV report included extensive research on horse-drawn hearses and discovered the hearse could be an 1890s vintage, too recent to have been associated with Brigham Young. And there is some evidence in old Utah historical photographs that the hearse could have actually been used in Utah in the 1890s and thereafter until motorized hearses became available. That's the only mystery left with the hearse: Did it come from Utah? To Disneyland, the hearse is a prop, and there is no official sign that connects it to Brigham Young. In fact, the manufacturer's plate on the hearse is missing, so its origin cannot be verified. McClintock said the Haunted Mansion continues to be one of the park's more popular attractions, and since many Utahns frequent Disneyland, the hearse and a possible Brigham Young connection are discussed frequently.
    WISHFUL THINKING: anon 27 FEB 01
    This has to do with the Hearse in front of the DL Haunted Mansion I just got back from the park yesterday, with a die cast model of the hearse that they were selling. the last line of text describing the product is as follows "both the hearse's are authentic, original carriages. the one in disneyland has a unique place in history. it carried utah pioneer brigham young to his grave in 1877' now, if the disney corporation is putting that on their products, that must be the authentic hearse, yes?
    UPDATE: Robert Church 12 APR 01
    In regards to the hearse in front of the Haunted Mansion, the guests were correct in assuming it was that of Brigham Young's. Being a cast member who works there, I can confirm that both guests are correct. The original hearse belonged to Brigham Young. However after a few years, the wear and tear caused the people at Disney to decided to donate the original to BYU and build a replica. Hence, both parties were correct.
    UPDATE: anon 16 JUN 02
    WISHFUL THINKING: anon 17 JUN 02
  48. A Cast Member, who called a more experienced Cast Member for me, said that the guy hanging in the elevator "attic" was a ship captain and that there was a whole story about him.
    REPORTED: Cara Witte 24 APR 97
  49. As you exit the Stretching Room, you'll notice a row of bats linked together by red rope on both the left and right sides leading down the hallway. If you look very closely, you'll find the one that looks a little different from the rest... ....his wing is missing! It is located on the right hand side and is the very first bat you'll see after you exit the Stretching Room. The reason? Cast Members walking into the hallway from either the Tower, the Stretching Room, or door #2, would walk directly into it, stomach first! After many complaints and reports, it was finally determined that the wing be removed.
    REPORTED: Gay Lynn Duel 30 DEC 97 pict from hiddenmickeys.org
  50. As you walk out of the Haunted Mansion, you may notice a gate. A lot of people think that it is for Cast Members only but it is actually a pet cemetary. I once went back there with my friend who works there. There are big statues of dogs, cats, and other animals to. Next time you go on Splash Mountain try to peek over and see the pet cemetary.
    REPORTED: Christian Goodman 28 APR 96
    All the animals have been moved out of the pet cemetary and into the "front yard" of the mansion. The pet cemetary is no longer hidden.
    UPDATE: Andrea Harabedian 05 JUL 96
    I just have to correct this one, about the pet cemetery in New Orleans Square: both people are correct. There is a pet cemetery in front of the mansion, which is clearly not hidden. But there is a second cemetery behind the gate. The one behind the gate is the original, and when they decided to put it in plain sight, they copied the first one using molds. So there are two cemeteries, one hidden, one not. PETsMART.com Specials
    CONFIRMED: Meg 29 JUL 96
    Regarding the two cemeteries. The second, hidden cemetery behind the gate does exist, but there are only four headstones in it (or left in it). Andrea Harabedian ditched our group and followed a wheelchair into the area to check it out. The gate she went through was next to the entrance, not the exit, so perhaps there are others behind the exit gate.
    CONFIRMED: Jeff Shepherd 04 SEP 96
    Backyard Imagineering
    Backyard
    Imagineering

    Pet cemetary is there and does contain similar headstones as the one out front but the new ones aren't taken from the molds of the originals. One example is that the squirrel in the front is standing, holding a nut while the original squirrel is on all fours and his two front paws are missing. The inscriptions on the originals are so faded and chipped that they are illegible.
    UPDATE: David Enertson 23 MAR 98
    Near the front of the mansion there is an area where a horse drawn carriage used to be (they took that out temporarily for repairs, I asked a cast member) walk past that to the corner of the mansion (you might need to wait until a cast members back is turned) you should see a gate that the handicapped people enter the area through, follow the handicap walkway until you are at the side of the mansion where nobody can really see you. To your right there is a hidden pet cemetary with a couple dozen tombstones it isn't that big but its big enough to go check out.
    UPDATE: ghosthost 04 JAN 99
    Recently I was let into the back pet cemetary by a cast member...while back there, she had told us that there are cats that live back there, and that the cast members actually feed the cats themselves. I could even see some food bowls sitting out for them towards the back.
    CONFIRMED: FantasmicJ 23 FEB 99 bowls sitting out for them towards the back.
    That the pet cemetery is well known and often visited by a lot guests. The "new pet cemetery" is just that.
    CONFIRMED: anon 09 MAY 99
  51. There is a spelling problem on the snake grave in the pet cemetery. It says "who's fatal mistake" instead of "whose".
    REPORTED: Rachel and Elizabeth 12 JUL 97
    The inscription does read "Here lies my snake / Who's fatal mistake / Was frightening the gardener / Who carried a rake". Obviously, it should read "whose".
    CONFIRMED: Dave Andrew 05 AUG 97
    I keep meaning to share this response I got last August from Michelle Lynne of Disney's Guest Relations. "The "typo" you have referred to was made when the attraction opened many years ago. Nostalgia has allowed it to remain that way. Please be assured that we have shared your letter with the Attractions Division so that all concerned will be aware that you have pointed out this mistake."
    CONFIRMED: Dave Andrew 18 FEB 98
    The spelling problem on the snake's grave has been corrected. It now reads "whose", the proper spelling, instead of the former "who's."
    REPORTED: Ghost Host 05 AUG 98
  52. There are two cemeteries at the Haunted Mansion - the one in the queue area, and one behind the ride itself, which is similar to the pet cemetery. It has at least four tombstones, including a dog holding a basket, a cat, and a toad with a spiked back. It's really no secret, and if you ask a Cast Member when it's not too busy they'll let you go back and take a look. When you first walk into the room that takes you to both stretch rooms, you'll see a door in the far right corner. It leads directly to the cemetery. On a related note, it's rumored that there really is a dog buried under the dog tombstone, who had belonged to a Disneyland employee.
    REPORTED: Graveyard Girls 15 JUL 97
  53. The headstones in the second animal graveyard are not made from the molds of the original ones. The original headstones are in very poor condition with most of the inscriptions missing or illegible. They do contain the same sorts of animals i.e. frog, dog, squirrel. One difference is that the original squirrel is on all fours with his two front feet broken off while the new one is standing. Side note: someone has allready stolen one of the baby bird headstones.
    REPORTED: David Enertson 23 MAR 98 pict from hiddenmickeys.org
  54. Next time you go to the Haunted Mansion, check out the woodwork in the passageway between the Stretching Room and the Doombuggy loading area. The decorative moulding is trimmed with square wooden accents that are unmistakeably stylized skulls.
    REPORTED: Dan Schoen 28 OCT 98
    The square wooden accents in the hallway of the Haunted Mansion do look very much like skulls.
    CONFIRMED: Josh Kalla 16 FEB 99
  55. In the Changing Pictures hallway the woman doesn't die, she is turned into a Gorgon, a Greek monster with snakes for hair. There's one in "Hercules".
    REPORTED: Tangaroa Jr. 12 JUL 97
  56. Want to know something funny? The moving busts in the hallway of the Haunted Mansion are actually inverted, with lots of light shining on them, to give the effect that they follow you wherever you move. However, I've discovered that some people-- myself included!-- are unable to see the effect as it's meant to be! In fact, I can ONLY see the inverted shapes-- and when people exclaim how cool the effect is, I can only shrug.
    REPORTED: Meg 04 AUG 00 pict from hiddenmickeys.org
  57. In the passageway between the Stretching Room and the Doombuggy loading area if you turn around and look back towards the elevators, you will see a camera and IR floodlight. When I was there last week a friend and I were lingering behind the crowd in this corridor when a loud crashing sound came from behind the last windows towards the rotating busts that startled the heck out of us. We hurried towards the Doombuggies. This is the first time we'd ever heard this, even though we often hang back to check out the great decorating. Later that day, the same thing happened to some other people that lingered behind us in the corridor...is some CM watching people on the camera and triggering the effect to keep the traffic flow moving?
    REPORTED: Dan Schoen 28 OCT 98
  58. Most of the chair backs have a hidden character on them. In the Ballroom sequence there is an old lady sittng in a rocking chair (from the HM tape I quote "when she rocked forward, she disappeared, when she rocked back, she too reappeared.") Look at the design on the back of the chair, it's a demon. I think that I'll go as far as to say that there's a hidden Chernabog in the Haunted Mansion. There may be more than one.
    REPORTED: chernabog 05 OCT 98
  59. Haunted Mansion has five Ravens:
    1. "Rooftop" overhead just after exiting attic (graveyard entrance)
    2. "Conservatory" on coffin
    3. "Seance" on the back of the chair
    4. "Ballroom" on the balcony against the rear wall
    5. "Graveyard" (exit) overhead just before entering crypt

    REPORTED: HighBison 30 JAN 96
    CONFIRMED: HighBison 02 FEB 96
    The reason you see a raven in the biggest, best scenes is, the raven was originally supposed to be the tour guide; hence, he was placed in strategic locations. Then plans changed, and the Ghost Host (voice by Paul Frees, also famous for the voice of Boris Badanov from Rocky and Bullwinkle) was added, but the raven remains throughout the ride.
    UPDATE: Meg 31 JUL 96
    CONFIRMED: Kristina Hart 08 DEC 97
    The raven seen so often in the Haunted Mansion is there for a reason. It was planned that he would narrate the story as you proceed through the house. This idea fell through, but the raven still remains.
    UPDATE: Amy Vickery 24 JAN 99
  60. In addition to Paul Frees eerie narration in the Haunted Mansion, Frees was to Disney as Mel Blanc was to Warner Bros. He virtually voiced every character in Great Moments With Mr. Lincoln (except Lincoln), Is numerous characters in The Pirates Of The Caribbean attraction, and basically was the narrator in the old Adventure Thru Inner Space ride. In addition, Frees narrated many Disney T.V. shows and record albums.
    REPORTED: Brian 28 MAY 98
    Paul Frees was also the voice of Ludwig von Drake in the TV Series Disneyland, the voice of the Psychiatrist/Narrator in The Shaggy Dog, the voice Dirty Dawson in One Hundred and One Dalmatians, and the voice of the Radio Announcer in the Absent Minded Professor.
    CONFIRMED: TR Shaw 02 JAN 98
    Yes, Alan Young provides the voice for Scrooge McDuck. Paul Frees did the voice for Ludwig von Drake.
    CONFIRMED: Eric Gilliland 20 JUL 98
    Paul Frees has been mentioned many times as the host of the Haunted Mansion, pirate voices, etc. Strangely, no one has mentioned his most famous character, the infamous Boris Badenov from the Rocky and Bullwinkle show! He also had a bit part as a radio reporter in the movie "War of the Worlds." An amazingly talented guy.
    UPDATE: Steve Dawson 08 JUN 99
    You can see Paul Frees in Force of Evil (1948) as an elevator operator, in Red Light (1949) as the first bell hop, as Packy Collins in Hunt the Man Down (1950), as Dr. Vorhees in Thing From Another World, The (1951), as Morrison in Place in the Sun, A (1951), as Corley in His Kind of Woman (1951), as the Band Leader in Million Dollar Mermaid (1952), as MacMasters in Big Sky, The (1952), in an unnamed part in Assignment: Paris (1952), as the District Attorney in Las Vegas Story, The (1952), as an unnamed character in Star, The (1952), as Monroe in Riot in Cell Block 11 (1954), as Benny Conklin in Suddenly (1954), as Sundar in Rains of Ranchipur, The (1955), as Colin in Sword and the Dragon, The (1960), as the Priest in Harder They Fall, The (1956), as Lt. Tiompkin in Jet Pilot (1957), as Ward Mason in 27th Day, The (1957), and as Dr. Charles T Pommer in Space Master X-7 (1958)
    UPDATE: TR Shaw
    Paul Frees, in addition to his many Disney voices, was the voice of John Lennon on the Beatles' ABC Saturday morning cartoon show, from 1965-1968.
    UPDATE: Jeff Davis 14 SEP 01
    Some people know this and others don't. But as well as the Ghost Host, Pirate Auctioneer, Captain of the Jolly Roger and a score of others, Paul Frees was also the one and only Boris Badinov. As well as the Bass singer in many disney attractions, most noticable in the Haunted Manion (Grim Grinning Ghosts), Thurl Ravencroft of the disney singing group of yesteryear. Is also the infamous Tony The Tiger. Not to mention the one who sang the Wholiday classic, "You're a Mean One Mr. Grinch.
    UPDATE: Paul Welling 27 JAN 02
  61. On one of the doors that the ghosts are pounding on in the beginning of The Haunted Mansion, on the inside one of the workers wrote REDRUM, just as a joke to the Cast Members.
    REPORTED: Veronica Platt 18 JUN 97
    I did not see whether one of the hallway doors had the word REDRUM written on the inside, however I did see that one of the doors that leads from the ballroom to the backstage hallway has the word REDRUM on it. Most likely it was written in with a finger in the dust. The door next to that has the words "NO WAY" spray painted on it in silver.
    UPDATE: Dana Frees 03 JUN 00
    It does exist. But take the word, R E D R U M.....now, spell it backwards...M U R D E R.... REDRUM is MURDER spelt backwards!
    UPDATE: Shannon Paul 06 FEB 02
  62. When you go on Haunted Mansion you can sometimes get a helpful employee to scare the occupants of the Doom Buggy behind (or ahead) you. Several times when I went to Disneyland I have asked the Cast Member who checks the lap bars to "scare" my excitable friend sitting in the car behind us. Often times they will and they've done everything from screaming, shining their flashlights into the buggies, or simply laughing evilly and saying something sinister. They only do this sometimes but it's worth it when you hear you best bud scream.
    REPORTED: Stacy Hartman 08 APR 97
    It is true that a cast member will scare someone in a car ahead of you, but sometimes you don't have to ask them. One time me and my friend were riding and myfriend said that the guy doing the safety bars scared her after a few seconds the guy came on the opposite side and scared her.
    UPDATE: brian malcolm 11 JUL 01
  63. When the elevator clunks to a stop and as soon as the sentence "...there's always MY way" ends and the lights go out, SHRIEK as loud as you can, that gets everyone else going (the more teens in there with you, the better)! Of course, I'm always polite and shriek with my head thrown back (looking straight up), so I don't break anyone's eardrums!
    REPORTED: anon 05 JUL 02 pict from hiddenmickeys.org
  64. The pipe organ in the grand hall is the same organ that was used in the movie "20,000 Leagues Under the Sea." Many of the props in the Haunted Mansion were originally used in Disney films.
    REPORTED: M C Jones 12 JUN 96
    CONFIRMED: Meg 29 JUL 96
    CONFIRMED: Eric Basaker 22 AUG 96
    CONFIRMED: anon 01 AUG 97
    CONFIRMED: AliceInWonderland 18 JAN 00
    True, Disney probably reuses many props but, to whomever said the "20,000 Leagues Under The Sea" pipe organ is the one in the Haunted Mansion Ballroom... Sorry, doesn't look the same. The ballroom organ looks like a church organ, with a vertical stand of pipes. Captain Nemo's pipe organ (watch the movie) looks somewhat like a Theatre organ, with a curved row of stop knobs and multiple keyboards, and the pipes are in a big "fan" or array, with a curved metal band arched across the middle like a support, with a scrolled metal crest in the center containing a capital "N" (for Nemo, I suppose. It looks very important, with a stand of velvet "theater ropes" on posts and a plush seat... It would look a LOT nicer in the Ballroom scene.
    WISHFUL THINKING: Jonas Clark-Elliott 25 NOV 00
    Update on the note about the pipe organ in the Disneyland Haunted Mansion's Ballroom being the same as the organ from "20,000 Leagues under the Sea". I've looked into this... The console (where the player sits... keyboards, pedals, etc.) is most definately the same. In the movie it was surrounded by fancy carved woodwork, from the floor up the sides and across the top, with an oval mirror in the center above. This has all been removed. The pipes in the huge impressive fan as in the movie have been scrapped in excange for a very plain set of vertical pipes. Though more like REAL organ pipes (pipes are made mostly from lead... Captain Nemo's fan of pipes would have bent and tilted had they been real... as well as that his didn't look real anyway) they seem to have a bit more of an austere castle/mansion look. Someone on a pipe organs message board reported that they worked for Disney in the 1960s. He says he inquired about the organ, they confirmed the rumor of it having been in the movie, and it (the console) had been pieced together from the remains of another old organ.
    UPDATE: Jonas Clark-Elliott 25 NOV 00
    CONFIRMED: cindy sundes 07 MAR 01
    The organ in the ballroom scene was used in the movie "20,000 Leauges".
    CONFIRMED: Tammy 14 AUG 01
  65. Among the dozens of transparent ghosts in the ballroom is a surprise. You need to lean forward a little until you can see the floor in front of the table (where the spilled wine is). A ghost has apparently passed out drunk under the table, for a pair of legs appears and disappears along with the sober spirits.
    REPORTED: Jed 09 APR 97
    CONFIRMED: Cathy Mckeown 25 FEB 98
    CONFIRMED: Tim Amick 12 JUN 98
  66. The Ghosts are a projection onto a large sheet of glass. The glass is used as a "half mirror" allowing the ghosts reflection to be seen along with the room. All the ghosts in that scene are either above or below you. When you are meant to see them, lights are turned on and you see their reflection. This is quite apparent when you look at the dancers on the left side. They are all reversed. Some Imagineer forgot that reflections are reversed and the couples are embraced using the wrong hands as if the women are leading. The Spider on the glass is to cover a BB hole. The reason the glass hasn't been replaced is that Disney would have to remove the roof to do it since it is so large and heavy. Disney put a spider and web over the hole so you can't see the hole. By the way, the glass now has plexi-glass in front of it for protection.
    REPORTED: E Ben Violette 10 JUN 96
    CONFIRMED: Ray J. Parker 30 JUN 96
    CONFIRMED: Eric Basaker 22 AUG 96
    CONFIRMED: Scott A. Rogers 31 AUG 96 pict from hiddenmickeys.org
    On the Haunted House ride where all the ghosts are dancing in the ballroom, there is a spider web in front of you at one point. There is a huge pane of glass located about 5 feet in front of you. The spider web is originally formed by a crack in the glass because of a small boy who slipped a sling shot onto the ride past the ride operators. He aimed it at one of the ghosts thinking it would hit it. But to his surprise, the shot was stopped by the glass in front of him. The glass cracked when the shot hit resembling a spider web. Instead of replacing the glass, which was much too expensive and time consuming, Disney Imagineers fixed it up, and made it look like a spider web.
    CONFIRMED: Jordan Wasyliw 11 JAN 97
    CONFIRMED: Maeve C. 16 FEB 97
    With regard to the spider on the glass in the banquet scene, at a Cast Member/family open house,they told us that the reason they could not replace the broken glass was not only because the glass was 3 (or was it 5?) stories tall, but also because the glass was lowered in by crane befoe the roof was put on. Thus, to replace the glass, they would have to remove the roof!!!
    CONFIRMED: Shari London 15 MAR 97
    CONFIRMED: CHAR BERTEAUX IV 05 MAY 97
    CONFIRMED: Robert Fox 17 FEB 98
    CONFIRMED: anon 13 APR 98
    CONFIRMED: Kelly 07 SEP 98
    Do you know the reason there is a spider web and giant spider hanging from the fourth column from the right in the grand ballroom of the Haunted Mansion? Here is the reason. I was on my last day of work as a ride operator before leaving Disneyland to become an apprentice electrician, in 1973. I was working at the Haunted Mansion, in the position called utility. This position requires one to stand in the back area of the attrraction and watch for people throwing things, getting out of the Ghostmobile, spitting, etc. I was walking around watching things when one of the other operators came running back and asked me if I saw the guy with the gun. I replied no. It seems somebody had taken a pot shot at one of the giant panes of glass that allows the ghosts reflection to be seen. The park had an artist from the Studios come down and draw the spiderweb on the glass to hide the bullet hole, and I am told, he was dispatched to Disneyworld to draw an identical web at the Haunted Mansion there. Look for the web, it was still there on my last trip three years ago.
    UPDATE: Larry R. Patterson 17 MAY 99
    In the Haunted Mansion, while looking down into the ballroom scene, there is a spider on a web about four windows from the start of that scene. A boy brought in a BB gun and shot the glass. The glass is about the size of the whole room so instead of taking the huge window out, a spider and web were placed as a cover up. It is on a window behind the front windows so it is a little hard to see. A tour guide told me this and my whole family said they saw it too.
    CONFIRMED: KCook 19 DEC 99
    CONFIRMED: Jordan Harmon 09 AUG 00
    As for the "bb" hole in the dinsosaur diorama glass, some sources say that the hole was actually caused by a .22 caliber bullet, back in 1974. It is said that the bullet was shot by the same guy who shot the hole in the Haunted Mansion's Ballroom glass (now hidden by a spiderweb).
    UPDATE: AprilDecember 06 OCT 00
    CONFIRMED: Erik 06 OCT 00
    The spiderweb in the glass was indeed a person that shot the glass, when I just went I was also told by a cast member that they covered the bullet hole with a spider. While on the ride I did see this.
    UPDATE: meghan 12 APR 01
    On the Haunted Mansion, when you pass by the dinning room where the ghosts are dancing, if you look realy closley at the bottom of the wall kind of past the middle of the left side, you will see 2 small spiderwebs. Those spiderwebs are actually covering 2 bullet holes from 1997, when somone shot a gun.
    UPDATE: Timmy Classon 23 MAY 06
  67. Though the ghosts in the Haunted Mansion would appear to be holograms, they actually are not. There are 3 methods used to make the ghosts appear to be holographic. First, as seen in the banquet scene where ghosts dance and eat dinner and up top two ghosts come out of the pictures and shoot each other, is actually a reflection of audio-animatronics on glass. Notice how your cars are elevated above the "action" just as the two gunners are above your cars (or hearses). This is because above and below the tracks, hidden from view, are the audio-animatronics. Slanted glass provides for a transparent effect when the audio-animatronics are lit up! Listen carefully at the banquet scene, you can hear the audio-animatronics clunking around below and above! The second method is a wire mesh (like cheese cloth) fabric painted with fluorescent paints. The tiny holes provide transparency and the paints provide a glowing effect. Finally, the third method, is a modification of that wire mesh fabric. By placing a flat sheet of the wire mesh fabric in front of the "ghosts", it provides for a foggy or hazy effect. If you focus in front of the "ghosts" you can see this mesh.
    REPORTED: Peter Bleickardt 27 JAN 97
    Yes, it is true that there are rising ghosts (as most know), but they are not holograms exactly. In actuality, it is a pojection on a black scrim (thin mesh) that surrounds the entire room as can be seen right now (Winter 2001) during the special Nightmare Before Christmas "collision;" the movie has thrown up on the Mansion. This is because they have added many new decorations that need lighing which refelcts off the scrim. The best way to find it is to look from the ceiling and find the place where it hangs from and follow it down. If you look behind you as you enter the room, you can see the gap where the doom buggies come in.
    UPDATE: Ryan Brodkin 19 OCT 01
    In the Ball Room Birthday Party scene, there are also no holograms used. Look closely at the columns in the center of the room. The room is devided by huge pieces of glass between each column. This allows the reflection of the animated ghost manaquins found above and below the Doom Buggie track. Fading light on the hidden manaquins gives the affect of dissappearing and reappearing ghosts. These manaquins are perfectly lined up with the objects that they appear to be interacting with (i.e. rocking chair, chairs, table).
    CONFIRMED: Chuck Keeler 31 NOV 01 pict from hiddenmickeys.org
  68. It appears that the Cast Members who work at the Haunted Mansion felt the need to honor the late Marc Davis, and rightly so. I noticed a small photograph just to the right of the Bride in the attic which mysteriously appeared over the Martin Luther King, Jr. weekend. It took me several trips through the Mansion to make out the text printed below the photograph: "DAVIS." I asked a Cast Member, and was told that it is indeed a photograph of Marc Davis, accompanied by some text . Featured is the text which was insribed on his Mansion Tombstone ("In memory of our Patriarch...") The CM wasn't sure who put it there, but he feels it belongs there. However, the Cast Members aren't supposed to tamper with the "show," so it may eventually be removed, he said. I advise all of you to hurry to the park to witness this wonderful tribute while you can.
    REPORTED: Jed 18 JAN 00
    Sadly, Marc Davis's little tribute has been removed from the Mansion's Attic. However, there is a possiblility that it may return, so don't give up hope!
    UPDATE: Jed 08 FEB 00
  69. In the attic scene (the bride with the broken heart) in the Haunted Mansion you can see the shadow of the invisible ghost playing piano.
    REPORTED: Brian Curran 31 DEC 96
    CONFIRMED: Jennifer Cernosek 12 FEB 97
  70. The place setting in the Ballroom was placed there by a Cast Member. This was confirmed by a Cast Member who knows the woman who did the rearranging. It is very definitely intentional. In fact, because the dressers removed it more than once, the plates are now glued down!
    REPORTED: M. Scott Garner 20 NOV 95
    CONFIRMED: David Koc 09 JUL 96
    The Hidden Mickey with the plates/dishes on the dinner table in the ballroom scene. Well, I talked to this really cool cast member there, and she told me a ton of stuff. But one of the things she told me was that the engineers that clean up the Haunted Mansion before everything opens "fix" the hidden Mickey. The whole hidden Mickey really isn't supposed to be there. She said that the cast members usually wait for the engineers to change the setup of the hidden Mickey then after they leave they put the Mickey back into place, I thought that was pretty cool. And the cast members have to fix it EVERY morning!
    UPDATE: Chris and Katy 10 JUL 97
    On the side of the table closest to the cars, there are plates. Second plate set from the right the plates have ben poly-bonded to each other in the shape of a Mickey head. Yes, I really do know that they were bonded together, they had to be because the decorators kept moving them and so they were adhered to each other to prevent further confusion
    UPDATE: cseriena 24 MAY 01
  71. Maintenance has to know what to clean and what to leave for effect. New dust is added by the five pound bag. And cobwebs, which come in a convenient liquid form, are thrown in for that extra "unlived-in" look.
  72. There is a rumor that the place setting Hidden Mickeys at Disneyland and Walt Disney World, were initially done at one park and copied at the other I have corresponded with the two Cast Members who originally did the place settings at both parks and verified that they were done independently.
    REPORTED: TR Shaw 20 NOV 95
  73. I recently did a walk-through tour of the Haunted Mansion and came upon some cool stuff. In the ballroom scene at the table on the side facing closest to your doombuggy, there are three plates put together in the shape of a Mickey head as you all know. To the immediate left of these plates at the last table setting there is a picture underneath the plate, one of the people in the picture died in 1997. The other person is his wife. On the back the words "Gavin Mcaffey 1976-1997 - I always told you we'd come to Disneyland" are written in the dead man's hand writting. Cool huh?
    REPORTED: operaghost 12 SEP 00
  74. Take a close look at the small tables beneath the balcony on the far wall of the Ballroom. There's one about midway through the room which has a small oil lamp on it. I was informed that this lamp was taken from Aladdin's Oasis (from when it was a restaurant, remember the lamps on the tables?) and placed in the Mansion.
    REPORTED: Jed 18 JAN 00
  75. The spilt bottle of champagne in the ballroom of the Haunted Mansion at Disneyland is Korbel. This bottle is also relatively new.
    REPORTED: anon 13 JUL 99
  76. We asked an elevator operator why the weathervane of the Haunted Mansion was a boat, as opposed to something scary (it's a bat in Disney World). Though she admitted to not being quite sure, she said that the Ghost Host was a ship captain, and that the picture of the dude with the noose and axe in the Hall of Doors is him. She said that he went mad during his last voyage and killed his wife. We think that she was not actually his wife but his fiancee and was preparing for the wedding, hence the attic scene. Probably, Phineas Pock (if that indeed is his real name) killed her with the axe and then hung himself in the elevator. Maybe, "to find a way out" actually has a double meaning and he meant a way out of life.
    REPORTED: Rachel and Elizabeth 12 JUL 97
  77. There is a difference between the stretch rooms in the Haunted Mansions at Disneyland and Walt Disney World. In Walt Disney World, the ceiling goes up and in Disneyland the floor goes down. It is an Otis elevator, and it goes down about 20 feet. The ceiling stays where it is, as do the upper part of the walls. This is because Disney had to build a warehouse to house the ride on the other side of the railroad tracks and needed a way to get people down to the loading area. The hall with the paintings is what takes you under the tracks. When the ride goes up the first hall it is actually going up on the other side of the tracks. At Walt Disney World, the foor remains at the same level and the ceiling rises to maintain the same illusion. The reason, of course, is that no level change is necessary, as the attraction is on the same level as the entrance.
    REPORTED: Missy Wigley 07 OCT 95
    CONFIRMED: Loren Wilton 10 NOV 95
    CONFIRMED: Dave Andrew 14 FEB 97
    There is a difference between the two stretch rooms at Disneyland. The difference is in the order of the portraits. In the left stretch room, the order from the left of the door is Crocodile, Tombstone, Dynamite, Quicksand. In the right stretch room, the order from the left of the door is Quicksand, Tombstone, Dynamite, Crocodile. The crocodile portraits are not quite the same in either room. In one, the lady is slightly larger, in the other, her hair is different, etc.
    CONFIRMED: Jed 06 JUL 97
    CONFIRMED: anon 29 OCT 97
    CONFIRMED: anon 22 MAY 98
    You can hear a slight "boom" as the upper chamber hits the stoppers on the lower chamber. I can't say if this sound is still heard, but for a while the music and spiel got a little louder to muffle the noise.
    CONFIRMED: William E. Nolte, Jr. 16 JUN 98
    CONFIRMED: Ellisha Rapier 16 JUN 98
    When the Haunted Mansion building in DL was first built it was intended to be a walk-through attraction. But then after many years of not being worked on Disney decided to use their Omi-Mover system and make it a ride through. Disney made the actual ride in a larger building concealed by trees behind the mansion. But they had a problem, how would they get the guests from the original building to the ride building? In the end they came up with a clever idea. In the original building they built 3 rooms, a foyer and 2 "stretching rooms." The stretching rooms were actually elevators that went down to the basement. Once guest got to the basement they walked through the "hallway to limbo," which actually is a underground tunnel to the ride building. Now in 1971 Disney World built their mansion, but there was no need for a stretch room because the ride building is within the park, but the effect was so popular that the imagineers copied the effect by making the ceiling rise.
    CONFIRMED: Nick 27 JAN 01
    CONFIRMED: anon 21 JAN 02
  78. Like all elevators, the stretching rooms in the mansion are required to post their elevator permits, or evidence of them. In the room that is straight back from the front door, there is a plaque just to the left of the door, on the inside, right under the gargoyle ledge. It informs us that the elevator permit for the stretching room is on file at the Disneyland main office. It does not stand out in the dark, since they didn't want to spoil the effect.
    REPORTED: Alan S. 25 MAR 98
  79. No one's ever given a full discription of how the streach room works, so I'll give it a go. When you first enter the streach room, it is divided into three pieces: When you first enter, not only is the majority of the upper chamber hidden below you, it is also ABOVE the molding in the ceiling and attic, wich is firmly attached to the top of the show building. Once the room begins to streach, the floor is lowering down to basement pict from hiddenmickeys.org level. This is accomplished because the pictures and their frames unroll on pulleys behind the part of the lower chamber that extends upwards. Now, after 4 or so feet of unrolling, all of the poratrits are used up, and we are out of wall space in the upper chamber, and we still have 6 or more feet to go to get down to basement level. So then the upper chamber hits stoppers on the lower chamber that effectivly makes the upper and lower chambers one big room. This huge chamber is lowering as one piece. At that point, since the attic is stuck to the ceiling, the wall space above the attic starts to be revealed. the lights cut and the skeleton is seen, to distract you while the floor reaches basement level. Notice the wallpaper is veritcally striped because it's harder to see the floor is going down, as well as camoflage the part of the lower chamber that extends upward, and the doors you enter through.
    REPORTED: William E. Nolte, Jr. 04 JUN 98
    The pictures and their frames unroll in the stretching gallery of the Haunted Mansion. Look at the bottom of the frames. there is very clearly a curve as the pictures go behind the bottom frames and behind the wall. You need to know how the stretch rooms work. Due to the stretching process, does it come as an earth-shattering shock to you that the paintings have to be replaced every so often? They're replaced every so often by a diffent artist. Every time, they have a new guy design such favorates as "woman on tightrope" and "man on dynamite". In fact, the person who paints them is allowed to actually change them slightly... nothing major, mind you., but you will notice some suble diffrences. Can you pick them out? Somtimes the alligator Hidden Mickey is there, sometimes it isn't.
    CONFIRMED: Foxx 27 SEP 98
  80. I just went to the Mansion on Monday and this was my first trip back since they reopened it after The Nightmare before Christmas. After you get into the Doom Buggies the safety message comes on about not putting the lap restraints down without some "ghostly" help. Right after that they repeat the same message in Spanish!
    REPORTED: Big Joe 17 APR 02
  81. The Haunted Mansion has a large variety of "animals." They range from "real" animals (spiders, ravens, bats, dogs, cats, owls) to the pets in the queue cemetery, to the ghost horse at the hearse, to several "painted animals" (crocodiles, snakes, panthers, horses).
    REPORTED: Jed 06 JUL 97
  82. In the graveyard scene, after you go backwards and see the trees, there is a grave yard keeper shaking and his poor hungry dog scared. I heared a rumor that at the end of the scene, were the old man is trying to hear the mummy, the mummy is that grave yard keeper and that is the same exact dog right there at the grave.
    REPORTED: Erik Scanlon 21 AUG 99
    Although intresting, is untrue. Yes, it is just a rumor, but it has little foundation in the reality of the attraction. Granted, the dog next to the watchman and the dog next to the sarcophicus are very similar; so are the cats and owls in the same scene. They used the same molds. In addition, the mummy is sitting in a recently opened coffin; in back of him is an egyptian tomb, the mummy is too thin to be the watchman, and at one point the mummy says something in some other language (sounds vaugley arabic, but then again, the voice actor was probley just saying gibberish). There's too much evidence against this.
    WISHFUL THINKING: Foxx 05 SEP 99
  83. On the ride Haunted Mansion right after you pass the caretaker and Bony his skinny dog you come to a few gosts on your left playing musical instruments. The one playing the flute is playing it wrong. His right hand should be facing the opposite way. The flute player in Pirates of the Caribbean is playing it correctly as well as one of the two little kids playing the flute correctly (the first one is but second one is not) in It's A Small World.
    REPORTED: Sarah Sahutske 08 JAN 01
  84. In the Graveyard scene going by the singing busts, as you're doom buggie rides past the last of the busts and begins to turn around, if you lean forward and look to you're right just as you pass the last bust you'll be able to catch a glimse of the mashine that projects the faces on the busts.
    REPORTED: Fulton Maletic 30 DEC 98
    pict from hiddenmickeys.org
    pict from hiddenmickeys.org
    pict from hiddenmickeys.org
  85. Here are the names of the five singing busts in the Haunted Mansion:
    1. Thurl Ravenscroft (voice of Tony the Tiger),
    2. Jay Meyer,
    3. Verne Rowe,
    4. Bob Ebright, and
    5. Chuck Schroeder.
    Unfortunately I wasn't able to find out their relationship with Walt or the company. One of these guys does resemble Walt so it is easy to understand why people think he is one of these busts.
    CONFIRMED: Terry Coopers 25 OCT 95
    I worked with Jay Meyer, one of the singing busts in the Haunted Mansion during the early 1980s. Jay was a regular performer at the Golden Horseshoe Revue and elsewhere in the park I presume. He was an "Irish Tenor" who sometimes worked as a replacement for Fulton Burley, a Horseshoe headliner whom I believed was hired by Walt in 1955