The Haunted Mansion – Page 2

PHOTO REPORT: Disney’s Hollywood Studios 1/4/17 (Star Wars Overload, New Shows, New Socks, Etc.)

WDWNT on January 8, 2017

Our latest photo report brings us to Hollywood Studios, where we won’t be looking at Star Wars or Toy Story Land construction because you should just check out the aerial pics and video we recently posted for that. Instead, we will check out all of the other changes and modifications happening around what of the park actually exists now. Welcome to Hollywood!

Hollywood Studios Goes Rogue

Star Wars: A Galaxy Far, Far Away was updated for Rogue One. That being said, the show is still pretty awful.

Death Troopers from Rogue One now come out in a new scene.

We also have a video of the modified show if you are so inclined…

Star Wars, Nothing But Star Wars…

A new bubble blower can be found at Disney’s Hollywood Studios. It is shaped like Darth Vader’s TIE Fighter and it has sound effects and it is awesome…

I just had to have one…

“Fireworks”

Jingle Bell, Jingle BAM! has concluded its run for the season, but Disney has already stated that the show will return in 2017. Oh joy…

Star Wars: A Galactic Spectacular is now back and performing regularly:

Re-Launch Bay

Star Wars Launch Bay’s final gallery was updated with props and models from Rogue One: A Star Wars Story.

The new style customizable name tags are now available at the Launch Bay – Cargo Bay store.

Star Tours: The Adventures Continue

Over at Star Tours, not only are all of the scenes on the ride back in randomized order, they also finally turned open the MagicBand interactive feature in the queue.

Guest animus and where they are from now show up on this screen behind the Goose Droid. Maybe someday a photo will show up as well…

If it can’t read enough MagicBands in the area, some random Star Wars characters show up on the screens.

This and That

The Rogue One MagicBand 2 is now available all around the Walt Disney World Resort if you are interested in it.

The Christmas decorations at Hollywood Studios are my favorite, so I took some pictures. Sorry, no news here.

The Red Car Trolley cart returned recently to the park.

PHOTO REPORT: Disney’s Hollywood Studios 1/4/17 (Star Wars Overload, New Shows, New Socks, Etc.)

WDWNT on January 8, 2017

Hollywood Studios Goes Rogue

Star Wars: A Galaxy Far, Far Away was updated for Rogue One. That being said, the show is still pretty awful.

Death Troopers from Rogue One now come out in a new scene.

We also have a video of the modified show if you are so inclined…

Star Wars, Nothing But Star Wars…

A new bubble blower can be found at Disney’s Hollywood Studios. It is shaped like Darth Vader’s TIE Fighter and it has sound effects and it is awesome…

I just had to have one…

“Fireworks”

Jingle Bell, Jingle BAM! has concluded its run for the season, but Disney has already stated that the show will return in 2017. Oh joy…

Star Wars: A Galactic Spectacular is now back and performing regularly:

Re-Launch Bay

Star Wars Launch Bay’s final gallery was updated with props and models from Rogue One: A Star Wars Story.

The new style customizable name tags are now available at the Launch Bay – Cargo Bay store.

Star Tours: The Adventures Continue

Over at Star Tours, not only are all of the scenes on the ride back in randomized order, they also finally turned open the MagicBand interactive feature in the queue.

Guest animus and where they are from now show up on this screen behind the Goose Droid. Maybe someday a photo will show up as well…

If it can’t read enough MagicBands in the area, some random Star Wars characters show up on the screens.

This and That

The Rogue One MagicBand 2 is now available all around the Walt Disney World Resort if you are interested in it.

The Christmas decorations at Hollywood Studios are my favorite, so I took some pictures. Sorry, no news here.

The Red Car Trolley cart returned recently to the park.

VIDEO: Take a Walkthrough of Walt Disney World’s Haunted Mansion with the Lights-On!

WDWNT on November 18, 2016

We all dream about it: walking through the Haunted Mansion with the lights-on. Some cast members get to do it as a special offering every few months, and no doubt you always hear from them about how amazing their lights-on tour of the Mansion was. Well, the general public does have an opportunity to see this classic attraction as never before, but you can’t plan for it, you just have to get extraordinarily lucky. If the ride breaks down and requires a guest evacuation (known in the industry as an EVAC), the lights will come on and guests are escorted out of the ride. The other night, we were lucky enough to live out this scenario.

When we reached the Seance Room scene featuring Madame Leota, our Doombuggy vehicle came to a stop. We sat there for about 10-15 minutes before the lights eventually came on. This was exciting enough, but then getting let out of the Doombuggy and walking through the entire first portion of the ride, well, it was an experience I’ll never forget.

I did capture what I could of the experience in video, and we are happy to share that with you today:

While we didn’t get to walkthrough the famous graveyard scene, we did get to t=do this during Haunted Mansion Holiday at Disneyland a few years back, and we do have video of that to share with you, in case you have never seen it:

SO, what do you think? Pretty cool, huh?

PHOTO REPORT: Magic Kingdom 11/8/16 (Big Thunder Refurbishment, Christmas Decorations, Space Mountain, ETC.)

WDWNT on November 18, 2016

In our latest photo report, the Magic Kingdom’s mountain range is getting spruced up and more and more holiday decorations are covering the park. Let’s jump right in, shall we?

Space Mountain

Scaffolding is up around Space Mountain as cosmetic changes continue in Tomorrowland.

Welcome to the Magic Kingdom

Decorating at the Magic Kingdom wasn’t quite finished in our last photo report, but every last wreath and tree is up now:

The Magic Kingdom times guide is now separated by land.

The Christmas tree on Main Street U.S.A. was installed.

The wreaths on the Main Street facades are up as well.

Christmas in Fantasyland

Belle’s village has been decorated for the season as well.

Some new Beauty and the Beast art for sale in Bonjour Village Gifts, in both giclee and print form.

Rollin’ on the Rivers of America

It can be unmercifully hot aboard the Liberty Square Riverboat during the summer months, but I often find myself aboard once the weather cools down at this time of year. Also, it offers a great view of the ongoing work on Big Thunder Mountain Railroad.

Big Thunder Mountain Railroad is set to reopen on November 18th.

The questions continue as to if we will be getting the explosive finale scene already featured at Disneyland.

New nighttime lighting has been installed on the mountain as part of the ongoing refurbishment:

Facade work on the Haunted Mansion continues as well.

This and That

Guests still can’t seem to understand signage…

The Enchanted Tiki Room issue #1 is finally available in Adventureland. It is not a park exclusive cover, but it is a variant cover from the normal issues available elsewhere.

Decorations are now up on the back of Cinderella Castle.

I don’t often take artsy pictures, but Storybook Circus is so photogenic at night.

As always, the Magic Kingdom is beautiful in the evening, but it takes on a special glow during the holiday season.

The newly remodeled Uptown Jewelers is decorated for Christmas quite nicely.

The Christmas cups are now available at most counter service eateries.

GOOOOOAAAALLLLLLLLL!

Mickey Mouse Major League Soccer pins are now for sale at the parks, including Orlando’s own Orlando City team.

New limited release MagicBands for sale include Christmas and Twilight Zone Tower of Terror designs.

A seat cushion is now being sold at the parks, perfect for parade and nighttime show viewing according to the tags.

A new Little Green Men castle photo holder for sale.

Of course, Star wars couldn’t get left out…

PHOTO REPORT: Magic Kingdom 10/29/16 (Haunted Mansion, Tomorrowland Entrance Done, ETC.)

WDWNT on October 31, 2016

Our latest photo report brings us to the Magic Kingdom, as Halloween fades into Christmas… even though it isn’t even Halloween yet.

Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort

The lamp from the rooms at the Polynesian is for sale again, JUST $300!!! (He says as he already owns one…)

Moana Mercantile has fittingly been taken over by Moana merchandise.

The Reyn Spooner Moana shirt retails for $118.00, but it’s pretty snazzy.

Welcome to the Magic Kingdom

Christmas and Halloween are fighting for the last few days of October.

Signage for Celebrate the Magic on Main Street will need to be changed as the show is departing on November 3rd.

Tomorrowland Rocks

The painting of the rocks at the entrance to Tomorrowland is finally complete.

Stitch’s Great Escape is closed seasonally through later this month, so for now it is stroller parking…

This and That

A new Dumbo MagicBand can be found in shops around the parks.

Moana phone cases are now available through D-Tech on Demand at the Tomorrowland Light and Power Company.

You can still make a Main Street Electrical Parade MagicBand, even though it is gone now.

The banners taken down for Hurricane Matthew in Storybook Circus are coming back very slowly. Part of that is Disney is also installing new ones currently since the old set was faded from the sun.

There are still Halloween Parties left, but Disney is selling the merchandise any old time now. Kind of frustrating for those who attended, they should at least wait until all of the Parties have happened.

I did find some new ladies shirts inside Big Top Souvenirs as well.

Columbia Harbor House now has a shrimp macaroni and cheese dish.

Yum?

TheÂ HauntedÂ Mansion

Most of the tarps are finally down at the Haunted Mansion.

The attraction exit is missing an awning right now.

The interactive queue is missing a covering as well.

Mousecellaneous

The pot roast and the Pilgrims’ Feast are gone from Liberty Tree Tavern, check out our lunch review for all of the info.

New “it’s a small world” pin, and the clock face actually moves on it which is pretty cool.

Halloween Party exclusive pins readily available on a non-party day.

The refurbishment of Big Thunder Mountain Railroad rolls on…

It was particularly busy on Wednesday, this was the FastPass line for Pirates of the Caribbean.

After seeing this line, Evinrude the dragonfly flew as far away as he could.

The Swiss Family Robinson Treehouse is back from its lengthy refurbishment and it is looking fantastic.

The only thing that seemed new to me was the no-slip flooring on the upper levels. I could be wrong, this sin’t an attraction I do very often.

OK, I think it is time to abolish the bays at Cosmic Rays when most of them are the same.

The BB-8 Souvenir Cup can now be found here as well.

The grilled chicken club is new to the menu.

The Electrical Parade shirts are still around (in select sizes).

There is an awful amount of construction happening down by the Magic Kingdom Ferry Dock.

Looks like a new queue area is being made.

Disney Store Introduces Theme Park Attraction Coin “Park Pack” Subscription Box

WDWNT on October 24, 2016

The Park Pack Disney subscription boxes have been among the most popular items sold by DisneyStore.com. So far, the subscription boxes have been limited to Disney Pins, Ear Hat Ornaments, and a one-time Disneyland 60th anniversary box. Now, the latest Park Pack celebrates Disney theme park attractions with a monthly limited edition coin release.

Disney Park Pack – Coin Edition

The collection has begun with a coin for the Haunted Mansion, celebrating the attraction on both coasts.

The Haunted Mansion Park Pack Coin

The coins are available through either a $29.99 monthly subscription or a $300.00 annual subscription that will basically make two of the coins free with purchase.

All 12 coins in the collection will be inspired by classic Disney attractions, but you won’t find out what they are until that month.

So, will you be subscribing?

UPDATE: Disney Restores Some MagicBand Interactive Features on Some Attractions

WDWNT on October 5, 2016

Last week, we told you about many of the MagicBand interactive features around the parks that had recently been deactivated. Well, since we posted that story, a few of these elements have returned to service at the Magic Kingdom.

The Space Mountain exit ramp once again displays the names of guests

Space Mountain and “it’s a small world”, which boast two of the simpler “name display” effects, were both reactivated over the weekend. These effects had both been turned off for weeks when we ran our story last week (in fairness”it’s a small world” was closed for most of that time, but returned for at least a week with the effect still off). Maybe somebody reads WDWNT.com?

:it’s a small world” says goodbye to guests in various languages at the Magic Kingdom

Perhaps it had simply gone unnoticed, or perhaps Disney was in the progress of updating the technology or fixing the broken readers at the attractions. The truth is, we may never know exactly what happened.

Interestingly enough, the effect in The Haunted Mansion is still turned off. Perhaps the upcoming December refurbishment will be used to fix the effect? Only time will tell.

VIDEO: “The Haunted Mansion” Now Airing on Disney XD

WDWNT on October 5, 2016

What do you get when some of Disney XD’s most popular characters take a trip to The Haunted Mansion? A fun and spooky good time for all as we see Ponyhead and Star kick of a group of stop animated shorts that will appear exclusively on Disney HD this month to celebrate the coming of Halloween.

Ponyhead and Star meet Leota:

Here is a sneak peek at next Monday’s clip that shows Pickle and Peanut bravely venturing into The Haunted Mansion graveyard as they encounter some classic Haunted Mansion ghosts. This will air next Monday, October 10th at 6:30PM on Disney XD:

Pickle and Peanut and Babyboo:

From D23:

For the 999 Happy Haunts of Disneyland Park’s Haunted Mansion, the spooky season is always in high gear. But most of us don’t kick into full ghost-and-goblin mode until October—and Disney XD has given us something to shriek about this morning. They’ve teamed up with Walt Disney Imagineering and the renowned stop-motion studio Stoopid Buddy Studios on a series of four spots that bring favorite characters from Star vs. The Forces of Evil and Pickle and Peanut into the world of the Haunted Mansion attraction.

All of the music and sound effects you’ll hear in the spots come from the original Haunted Mansion at Disneyland Park, and the voices of the Haunted Mansion characters are the actual attraction voices, as well. Disney XD worked closely with Walt Disney Imagineering to feature details fans of the attraction will surely appreciate, from the tombstones seen in the graveyard—which are modeled after those seen at Disneyland—to the original character created just for these spots, Baby Boo. This is Baby Boo’s official debut—or should that be “de-boo”?—and you can only catch him in this spot, but the character was inspired by an original drawing for the attraction by legendary animator (and, of course, one of Walt’s Nine Old Men) Marc Davis.

The Grim Grinning Ghosts will be coming out to socialize on Disney XD throughout October. Ezra the Hitchhiking Ghost makes an appearance in the short that premieres during a Halloween-themed episode of Star vs. The Forces of Evil on October 10 (7:30 p.m. ET/PT); while Pickle and Peanut stumble upon Constance the Bride in the short that can be seen in an all-new episode of Milo Murphy’s Law on October 17 (8 p.m. ET/PT).

Source: D23

Walt Disney World Quietly Disables MagicBand Interactivity on Rides

WDWNT on September 26, 2016

Over the last few years, we have slowly seen Walt Disney World install screens at many of its theme park attractions for new interactive elements that would utilize the technology in a guest’s MagicBand. Many of these effects were eventually turned on, such as the Hitchhiking Ghost scene at the end of the Haunted Mansion, the “it’s a small world” finale where guests would receive a customized farewell, and the Mission Roster at Mission: Space at Epcot. Quietly over the last few weeks, many of these effects were turned off.

The now-retired effect on The Haunted Mansion

Is Disney finally throwing in the towel on these elements? It is uncertain, but all of theme being turned off simultaneously certainly means that they are up to something.

Some of these changes were deemed controversial by fans. The personalized tombstones that the ghosts would carry in the Haunted Mansion finale were called hokey, the “it’s a small world” goodbyes considered forced, and overall many guests felt like Disney was shoving it down their throats that they had the technology to put their name (and where they live) on a screen. Personally, I thought at least a few of them were clever, but agree there was likely too many of them present.

Guest names would show up as “it’s a small world” would say goodbye in various languages to them using RFID technology in the MagicBand

Similar effects were also installed at several other locations but never turned on. For example, screens inside Star Tours and the Hollywood Brown Derby at Hollywood Studios were simply never used. Another set of screens at Cover Story on Hollywood Boulevard were turned on for about 2 weeks before going back to being just static images again.

The Mission Roster at the exit of Mission: Space was turned off for the first time this week since it was installed. A short ISTC video with famous quotes about the exploration of space plays now:

Perhaps Disney will be upgrading these systems and they will be returning soon, but for now (or possibly forever), don’t be surprised if you don’t see your name in lights at your favorite Walt Disney World locale.

PHOTO REPORT: Disneyland Resort 9/7/16 (Tower of Terror Farewell, Star Wars Land, AP Days, New Character Heads)

WDWNT on September 17, 2016

Conner Purzycki brings us a fairly news-heavy photo report from the Disneyland Resort on the first day of its transition from the Diamond Celebration into HalloweenTime. Heavy promotion has started for the Tower of Terror final check-in, Star Wars land continues to rise from the dirt, Mickey and Minnie are getting an entirely new look, and the popular AP Days promotion has returned. See, I told you there was a lot going on! Let’s get started, because there is so much to see:

Tower of Terror Final Check-In

Banners around the resort promote HalloweenTime and the Tower of Terror send off events.

Billboard by the tram station don’t even mention Halloween Time, it’s all Twilight Zone Tower of Terror promotion. Halloween Time is a pretty big deal at the Disneyland Resort, so giving Tower of Terror the headline billing for this season is kind of a big deal.

Star Wars Land Construction

Construction of the Star Wars themed land continues in the back of Disneyland Park.

While it may appear that this project is ahead in schedule compared to Hollywood Studios, this version of the land features more tunnels and an elaborate mountain range to separate the area from Frontierland and Critter Country.

The Tower of Terror off in the distance, making this an interesting snapshot in Disneyland history.

Some of the Paint the Night floats are visible just beyond the Star Wars site. The parade is set to return for the holiday season at the Disneyland Resort before the finale run of the Main Street Electrical Parade begins.

The Diamond Celebration Slowly Vanishes

Promotional signs for AP Days out in force at the Mickey and Friends Parking Structure.

The Diamond Celebration still lingers at the Disneyland Resort, including the Diamond Days promotion, which is still going for some reason.

Halloween Time and the Diamond celebration decorations clash on Main Street.

Some work being done outside of the Disneyland Railroad station.

Some tarps still up on the Market House, but Starbucks remains open through it.

Some other Main Street facades are now also behind tarps.

The hub Jack-O-Lanterns are back.

While the “60” came down overnight, the rest of Sleeping Beauty Castle is still sporting the 60th decorations.

New Mickey & Minnie Costumes Arrive

The heavily discussed new look heads for Mickey and Minnie Mouse debuted at the Disneyland Resort yesterday.

These style heads also appear in Mickey’s Royal Friendship Fair at the Magic Kingdom and at the Shanghai Disney Resort.

Rivers of America

Work continues on the Rivers of America as it prepares for a Summer 2017 reopening, including a newly enhanced Fantasmic show.

The Columbia is being re-rigged for a new segment in Fantasmic, themed to Pirates of the Caribbean.

Haunted Mansion Holiday

The Haunted Mansion is currently closed for its Haunted Mansion Holiday makeover.

A new cemetery has been placed up on the hill in the queue, featuring some fo the more famous tombstones from the attraction lore.

The Halloween Tree

The Halloween Tree honoring Ray Bradbury is back in Frontierland.

Peter Pan Facade Refurbishment

Even though it was worked on extensively in 2015, the Peter Pan’s Flight facade is once again behind tarps in Fantasyland. The attraction is open.

Space Mountain – Ghost Galaxy

Space Mountain Ghost Galaxy will be replacing Hyperspace Mountain until November. Hyperspace Mountain is expected to return and run until the opening of Star Wars land (only bowing our for Ghost Galaxy every year).