Haunted Mansion Update

[hillo]

Straight from disneyworld.com....


"Eek"-Streme Makeover
Behind the screams of the creepy new touches at The Haunted Mansion

"When hinges creak in doorless chambers
and strange and frightening sounds echo through the halls,
Whenever candlelights flicker and the air is deathly still,
That is the time ghosts are present,
Practicing their terror with ghoulish delight."

These eerie words of the Ghost Host are like poetry to the millions who consider The Haunted Mansion one of their all-time favorite Walt Disney World® attractions. This fun-and-frightful landmark is a genuine classic with so many clever effects and superb details, it never fails to amaze and mystify. And yet, come this fall, a few strange things will have occurred—wondrous things that only add to the overall magic, always reverently faithful to the original vision.
One of the things that you'll notice will be astonishing new digital audio effects, using some of the newest technology. "We have taken this new technology and incorporated it into The Haunted Mansion, always careful to maintain the integrity of the original show for all its many fans," Walt Disney Imagineering Principle Media Designer Joe Herrington told us. "Everything they've loved is there, but we've added to it to make it an even more incredible show."


"Could it be that these walls are actually stretching?"

"There are certain things that are sacred territory, like the Ghost Host," he continued. "But in the past, his voice just plunked around the room. We've gone a lot further now. Now he has the power to float around you and the other Guests." (Sometimes he can get creepily close!)
"Now once we got our friend the Ghost Host floating around the room just like a real ghost in an extremely believable way, we decided to bring the little gargoyles to life and let them have fun as well," said Joe. "We put a few bats in there and let them fly around and a few other things too. So now we have more of an ambiance, a texture."
The Imagineers were so dedicated to getting the sound quality perfect, they actually built a full-scale replica of the Stretch Room in their Glendale, California, studios for meticulous testing. Joe assured us that the results were definitely worth the effort. "It's a very noticeable difference, like night and day."


"Wall-to-wall creeps, hot and cold running chills..."

While the Stretch Room is the prime showcase for this new sound technology, a similar effect of a floating Ghost Host is replicated as soon as you climb aboard your "doom buggy" to tour the upstairs hallways, ballroom, attic and graveyard. And as you explore, you may spot some other unnerving sights in addition to the classic scenes. You never know what might materialize! (Look for more in a special video in the October issue of this newsletter.)


Voice actor royalty retain their thrones

The bride adds the only new voice to The Haunted Mansion; all the original ghostly voices will still be there to chill you. The Ghost Host narration—acclaimed as one of the finest vocal performances in any medium—remains the domain of Disney Legend Paul Frees, whose many other roles include Boris on Rocky and Bullwinkle.

And speaking of mediums, continuing as Madame Leota's voice will be Eleanor Audley, who also voiced Lady Tremaine in Cinderella and Malificent in Sleeping Beauty. And thanks to state-of-the-art sound, their voices and all the other atmospheric effects will sound even better—or worse, depending on your point of view—than ever.

We don't know about you, but we're just dying to float over to the Magic Kingdom® Park this fall to see and hear it all!

[Hakuna Matata]

sounds great!! I would have been really upset if they had changed the ghost host's voice

[bucknut20]

I can not wait to ride this.

[MayBWeRMnt2B]

Okay... I'm SO going the first day it opens!

[nicks10]

Wow, now I'm gonna have the uncontrolable urge to drive 18 hours to see this...

[MissSparrow]

I am so excited to ride this!!

[hillo]

It reopens the day after we leave. I would be mad, but I know that it will just give me another reason to go back (like I needed one). I'm hoping for soft openings while I'm at WDW.

[DisneyGuy87]

That all sounds really cool...I'm sure as tiome goes by we will hear more and get even more excited! Gotta be there to see it open :0)

[disneydreamer98]

I can't wait! I am just hoping that they either finish before the scheduled date and open early....or that they will at least be doing soft openings by September 1st!!!!!