The Haunted Mansion for Halloween, Pt. 3

Next on our Halloween Haunted Mansion tour, your doombuggy has gone uphill and entered the corridor. Any interest in this wallpaper? I thought so.



One of the times that I rode the HM, the doombuggies broke down and we had to walk off the attraction. With the lights on. Don’t think I didn’t go crazy taking pictures as quickly as I could. I would never have noticed these amazing details on the doors.



With the lights off, this is a very difficult area to get decent shots of. Still, I try!



If only they put a real cast member in the suit of armor to scare the crap out of today’s guests. That would be golden. In my early days of going to the Park, I used a flash. Shame shame shame.



One of the original Rolly Crump details that survived the final design was this amazing chair:



One of my favorite tableaus is the coffin slowly rising up and down:



The thirteen hour clock; ever noticed the shadow of the hand/claw that swipes across it?



And then…and then…the seance room with Madame Leota.



That face and that voice; you’d have to smoke a few packs a day to capture the original one just right.



Want to read the spell book? Let me know how it works.



See more Disneyland Haunted Mansion photos at my main website.

April at Disneyland: The Haunted Mansion

Join me as I journey through the Haunted Mansion at Disneyland for approximately the gazillionth time. Give or take a few times. The crowds were still fairly low, so we walked right on to the attraction.



I was positioned to get shots of Alexander Nitrokoff…





and the Tightrope Girl:





Wouldn't you love to be able to see this guy up close?



Our Doombuggy stopped in the Corridor; unfortunately, it wasn't near anything really neat that I could get a good photo of.



Leota was floating again, now that Jack Skellington is gone.



Besides the Cemetery tableaus, the Ballroom is one of the top scenes I would love to walk around in and explore in person.



Up in the attic, Constance's husbands were losing their heads.



Note the animated shadow on the right, playing the piano.



This poorly done faux animatronic really needs to go.



Thematically, it doesn't fit the Claude Coats portions nor the Marc Davis ones.



Looking back as the Doombuggy leaves the attic, this is what you see.



Now here's a properly done projection effect:



Excellent every time!



I swear the Mansion was darker than usual; still, I was able to get some semi-decent shots of the cemetery.





NEXT: PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN!

See more vintage & current Daveland Disneyland Haunted Mansion photos on my main website.

Freaky Fridays @ The Haunted Mansion: Madame Leota

This vintage promotional shot of the Seance Room totally blows out the cool video of Madame Leota, and all that we are able to see in the crystal are the fright wig and the bust that the film is projected onto; definitely not as cool looking without the effect. NOW you see why they say, “No Flash Photography, Please!”



A few “lights on” shots:





I really do enjoy this scene; Leota’s whiskey-soaked voice and corny warnings are fantastic. What a great prelude to the ballroom scene. Here are a few frames from the original film shot for Madame Leota:



A few years ago, a projection semi-resembling the Hatbox Ghost was added to The Seance Room; in addition, a blue orb circled the head. This is a tough one to photograph, and even if it weren’t, I don’t know that I would spend much time trying. The green wall projection on the right with the blue orb that circles it adds nothing to this vignette, and in my humble opinion, actually detracts from it. This photo is pretty blurry, but you get the idea.



As Daveland reader Gavin Elster commented: I think the projection takes the focus away from Leota. The green projection looks exactly like what it is... A projection on a flat surface. While other effects in the room were painstakingly created to take advantage of projected effects this simple projection looks like no creative thought was used. Its as if they saw a blank space in the mansion and needed to fill it. Honestly the area behind Leota should be kept dark to keep the focus on the new(ish) floating ball effect.





I have mixed feelings about the addition of the floating effect for Madame Leota. Even though it is dark, the wires are still visible. Just seeing this headless woman talking in the crystal ball is all I really need to see to be impressed. Adding a cheap parlour trick to the show only detracts. On top of that, it makes her more difficult to photograph. This is one of the reasons that I can still stand to go through this attraction when it has the Nightmare Before Christmas overlay: Leota stays still. MUCH easier to photograph!











Anybody care to see the spellbook on her table?



See more Disneyland Haunted Mansion photos at my website.