Report: HM Opens and Refurb List!

[disneyfanatic101]

I got this from WDW News Today:

It's Back!!!

The Haunted Mansion reopened today, unfortunately we were unable to attain any coverage, but here is the great coverage WDWmagic had about the new additions and re-opening of the Haunted Mansion:

SPOILERS BELOW
Highlights of the Haunted Mansion refurbishment

• The whole of the exterior has been repainted and looks wonderful.

• A new red colored canopy has been installed over the queue line.

• The parlour room with the fireplace and changing portrait appears to be laregely the same as before.

• The stretch room is a MAJOR improvement. It is almost entirely new. The decor has been completely refreshed. The audio sounds terrific, it has deep bass, multi-positional sound. There are also new sound effects, including creaking as the room stretches, and sounds of bats flying around. There is also a piece of new dialog from Phantom Manor - "I didn't mean to frighten you, so prematurely...". Besides the great additions, the actual stretch room mechanism is now silent and very smooth, which really helps with the whole illusion.

• The load area has received a considerable amount of extra theming. The moving eye portraits are now in the load area. The carpeting is new, lots of great cobwebs hanging from the spooky looking light fixtures. There is also a new load console for the cast.

• A note on the Doombuggy, they now run silently, and no signs of any dropped audio. All the of the dialog is crisp and clear.

• There is a new window with lightning flashes on the left hand side, which are opposite the portrait gallery. As the lightning flashes, the portraits change. Its a great new scene.

• The new staircase scene is a very welcome new addition. There is a lot of detail here, and it is the kind of thing you need to see lots of times to take it all in.

• Exiting the staircase room, there is a corridor of eyes.

• The séance room has the much talked about floating Leota head. It really is an amazing special effect, and has to be seen to be appreciated. Videos are not going to do this justice.

• In the ballroom, there are signs of cleanup and enhancements, but nothing significant.

• The attic has had the most attention. It's awesome. All the popup heads have gone from this scene, and been replaced with detailed sets, with portraits, and a sinister background sound track. The ghostly bride is excellent, and is genuinely spooky!

• The graveyard scene now has only 2 or 3 popup ghosts in total. They are used much more effectively, and they no longer scream. The rest of the scene seems unchanged, but has all been cleaned and restored.

• Little Leota looks new and refreshed.

Overall it's a terrific update, and really restores the mansion to it's rightful status as one of the best attractions at Walt Disney World. WDI and the Disney cast did a terrific job of getting this done so quickly, and above all, to such a high quality level.

Just a final word, you really need to see the attraction in person to appreciate it, photos and videos are not going to do this justice.

There is also a video and pictures available at this link: http://wdwmagic.com/hauntedmansion_2007refurb.htm
The preceeding news, video, and images are provided by WDWmagic and are not property of WDW News Today.

In effort to bring you WDW news as quickly as possible, the preceeding has simply been reported from another website. WDW News Today is in no way affiliated with WDWmagic.

Enjoy!!!

UPDATE:
Here is a link to a GREAT video w/ the updated effects and sounds: YouTube - Haunted Mansion Re-Haunting Reopening - New Scenes & Effects

Enjoy!

[tawnilai]

thank u so so much

[Jiminy Cricket]

Thanx for the report!!!

[disneyfanatic101]

You're Welcome!

[tawnilai]

wow ur just 16??? ur very informed

[aph]

Thanks for the report!

[MayBWeRMnt2B]

I'm so excited!!!! I'm going on Saturday!!!

[DisneyGuy87]

I'm pretty excited to see this ride new...I hope i can get over to Orlando soon

[disneyfanatic101]

Here is a link to a GREAT video w/ the updated effects and sounds: YouTube - Haunted Mansion Re-Haunting Reopening - New Scenes & Effects

Enjoy!

[nicks10]

I need to go right now. I need to.

[albino_pygmy]

Thanks for the thread! Saves me from trying to come up with a way to explain the awsomeness in the new mansion. I went yesterday morning right when it opened up, and it was great to see it back up and going. All the new effects go well with the rest of the house (I was worried that it'll be like POTC where johnny depp makes the rest of the pirates look like they came from small world) If you haven't seen it yet, I would wait to see it in person before looking for pictures or videos of it. Now if they give the jungle that much attention, I'd be one happy skipper

[Fishy RocketBoy]

Went on Friday & rode twice - very nice effects! The Escher-like stairs are cool - wish you could see them for a bit longer. The floating crystal ball head effect is great - you have to look REAL hard from just the right angle to see the supports (don't try too hard - just enjoy it!). The attic scene is great also...

I was a happy boy... ;-)

- Andy

[albino_pygmy]

Went on Friday & rode twice - very nice effects! The Escher-like stairs are cool - wish you could see them for a bit longer. The floating crystal ball head effect is great - you have to look REAL hard from just the right angle to see the supports (don't try too hard - just enjoy it!). The attic scene is great also...

I was a happy boy... ;-)

- Andy

I think the 'updated' lighting has a part with this, and I hope they do dim some lights a little more but still visable to make the rest of the set pieces glow, and not other pieces that shouldn't be shown such as those supports, and I'm not just talking about the seance room, but other scenes as well.

[Fishy RocketBoy]

I think the 'updated' lighting has a part with this, and I hope they do dim some lights a little more but still visable to make the rest of the set pieces glow, and not other pieces that shouldn't be shown such as those supports, and I'm not just talking about the seance room, but other scenes as well.

The only time I was able to see the support for the crystal ball was as you were exiting the room and you could just make it out if you looked back - could see it as it went in front of the lighted floating musical instruments, etc across the room - so I guess it was more like seeing the "shadow" of the support...

- Andy

[tawnilai]

at disneyland there is this really creepy face on the wall of that room where leota is in... its so scary and u can only see it if u look back as ur leaving