Grim Grinning Ghosts Come Out To Socialize...

October 31, 2003 2:17 AM

"Actually, we have 999 happy haunts here, but there's room for a thousand... Any volunteers? Well, if you should decide to join us, final arrangements may be made at the end of the tour. A charming 'ghost'ess will be on hand to take your application."
posted by Katemonkey (7 comments total)

I didn't even have to look at the links to know what this was. Heck, I proposed to my fiance in front of the Haunted Mansion, right where The Bride's wedding rign is embedded in the pavement (you have to know exactly where to look to be able to find it).
posted by Lokheed at 5:01 AM on October 31, 2003

Now, this is what I call a perfect Halloween post! Many thanks, Katemonkey!
posted by MiguelCardoso at 5:32 AM on October 31, 2003

Heck, I proposed to my fiance in front of the Haunted Mansion, right where The Bride's wedding rign is embedded in the pavement (you have to know exactly where to look to be able to find it).

Oh! That is so cool!

I got engaged on Halloween, myself (7 years ago today!), but not at the Haunted Mansion. I did get to visit it on the honeymoon, though.

Several years ago someone on one of the Disney newsgroups went through the Mansion and recorded the entire ride in stereo, then, um, made an mp3 of it available to some of us. Wow, listening to that with headphones on was fun. All the sounds surround you as if you are really there. If you are a geek like me you can visualize the entire thing. I wonder if that sound file is available on P2P somewhere...

Disney did (does?) sell cds of the Haunted Mansion music, and every Halloween I decorate the porch and include the HM music to set the mood. Apparently it works a little too well on some of the kids, because they won't approach the door at all.
posted by litlnemo at 5:45 AM on October 31, 2003

From the "final arrangements" link ("Actual Haunted Mansion hauntings!"):

Though there have been many stories circulated, one person ever actually died in the Haunted Mansion. Each year Disneyworld sponsors "Grad Night", which is for high school seniors. Two teenage boys were riding along in a Doombuggy when one of them decided that he wanted to see the room called "Séance Circle" up close.

The young man stepped out on to the black painted walkway that was next to the tracks. What he did not realize was that there was a gap between the walkway and the platform on which the display sat. He stepped off the walkway and plunged fifteen feet to the floor, breaking his neck.

However, Snopes includes several cases of deaths at Disney parks in its Disney Theme Parks section, but none of the true ones listed in Snopes happened at the haunted mansion. Anyone know anything more about this one? Or is it just another urban legend?
posted by DevilsAdvocate at 6:50 AM on October 31, 2003

My favorite ride of all time, anywhere. Everytime to go to Disney, it's all I can do not to just make a break for it, and stand in line all day at the HM.

Everytime I go there, I show my kids another "secret" about the ride I've either read about on the web, or happened upon myself. This last time, they were old enough to realize that the face on the gravestone right outside the front doors periodically opens her eyes and looks around.

Good stuff.
posted by thanotopsis at 10:22 AM on October 31, 2003

DevilsAdvocate - the snopes entry on deaths only lists the deaths at Disneyland in California. I have looked for a similar list of guest fatalities at Walt Disney World in Florida, but have not found one. My understanding is that the grad night death at the WDW Haunted Mansion really happened, but then again I only base that on having read it from other sources that I would consider to be generally reliable.

Here's some interesting trivia if you've ridden both U.S. versions of the Haunted Mansion -- the stretch room in the original HM at Disneyland is an elevator that lowers you down to the boarding area, but the stretch room at WDW is not. It *seems* like it is, the optical illusion is strong enough that it feels like you are being lowered, but in fact the ceiling is just being raised. They built it that way here in Florida so that the ride wouldn't interfere with the utilidors running underneath the property.
posted by Lokheed at 10:40 AM on October 31, 2003

According to Rotten the worst that's happened at WDW is a scalding of a lap...

Their entry on Walt is interesting reading as well.

(And you thought they were just good for rubbernecking photos of famous rotting corpses and gruesome news...)
posted by togdon at 11:11 AM on October 31, 2003