30 years of the Haunted Mansion
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After Walt....
Then, in December of 1966, Walt Disney died. Without Walt there was no singular vision to the Haunted Mansion. But it was clear the time had come to complete this attraction the public had already been waiting 3 years for.
A controversy arose as to whether the Haunted Mansion should be really scary or really funny. With X. Atencio’s lyrics and Buddy Baker’s music the comical elements began to win out. These were ghosts coming out to socialize, not terrorize.
Waiting for the new Tomorrowland proved to be fortuitous. The peoplemover system, which became the omnimover system used in Adventure Through Inner Space, and is known as Doombuggies at the Haunted Mansion, provided the means to direct the attention of the now captive audience. The guest became the camera and each room a scene in a TV show or movie. With this cinematic control the mansion began to take on the form of short vignettes.
Work was divided up into teams, but without Walt around there was no one to provide a cohesive plot. One team developed entertainment, one for the track and movement system, etc. Many of Ken Anderson’s concepts surrounding the plot fell to this unique divided responsibility method in which the Haunted Mansion was finally built. Marc Davis’ sketches and concepts became the focal point of the attraction and each team worked to implement them throughout the attraction.
The Haunted Mansion shortly
after its 1969 opening
Finally, on August 9th, 1969 the 999 creepy ghosts and a plethora of creaky doors and squeaky floors were ready to greet their first guests. The public had waited so long for this event that the weeks following recorded some of the heaviest attendance figures in the history of the park.
Thoughts and feelings about the attraction as we know it today
The Haunted Mansion as we know it today is not the same show that premiered in 1969. As new technologies have come along the ride has been updated. New scenes and music have been added and narration that was considered but removed by the original teams was added back in.
Purists will argue that the changes have made the mansion less frightening, the transitions more jarring. Those who like the changes think the old effects were not effective and the new ones very impressive. Like the original debate about scary or comical, these issues will always exist.
Never the less, the Haunted Mansion ranks as a classic Disney attraction. It stands alone, clean on the outside, a different matter once inside. Each scene is self contained, themselves masterpieces but lacking a central plot. The only thing that carries the guests forward is the cars.
Each switch from interior to exterior, scene to scene, works as a fade or a jump. These are great techniques but they do not make up for a lack of a narrative. In the end, this lack of a narrative works out well. It provides the guest with a disquieting journey. Unnerving and eerie on its own.