Laughing Place contributors Benji and Alex have been enjoying the first few days of their Disney Parks Around the World adventure, but they’re also picking up little tidbits of news as they go along. For example, during this morning’s presentation at Disneyland’s Golden Horseshoe Saloon, Imagineer Kim Irvine dropped by to talk about the retheming of the Adventureland Treehouse and also tease the addition of new magic to The Haunted Mansion.
What’s happening:
- During the Disney Parks Around the World event at Disneyland, Walt Disney Imagineering’s Director of Concept Design Kim Irvine spoke about her history with The Haunted Mansion, and teased the addition of new magic to the attraction.
- Kim Irvine is the daughter of Disney animator Harvey Toombs (Sleeping Beauty, Lady and the Tramp, Dumbo, and others) and Imagineer Leota Toombs, who played the face of fortune-teller Madame Leota in The Haunted Mansion, as well as the voice of “Little Leota” at the end of the attraction. Kim filled in for her mother in the role for the Haunted Mansion Holiday overlay.
What they’re saying:
- Kim Irvine: “Haunted Mansion is my favorite attraction, and I think you all know why– because being the daughter of the famous Madame Leota, and being able to fill in for her for The Nightmare Before Christmas makes it special. But it’s also special to me because I just think it’s the best attraction that we have ever designed. It is so amazing, and so full of ideas that when we look back in our archives– the ideas of Rolly Crump and Marc Davis and Claude Coates, and that amazing dream team that Walt put together– we find all of these things that we can still add to the Mansion. It’s just this wealth of opportunities, and technology finally caught up with the brilliance of Yale Gracey installing the Hatbox Ghost. We’re always looking for new things for Haunted Mansion, so I hope you look forward to some of those, as well.”
The Haunted Mansion is currently open at Disneyland Resort, and it’s also getting a new feature-length movie which arrives in theaters on Friday, July 28th.