I just received the latest issue of "Mickey Monitor" (Fall 2007) in the mail, and there's an article that talks about the enhancements they're working on in the Haunted Mansion:
Digital audio will give our old pal the Ghost Host the power to hop around in the stretch room, and to dart back and forth on your "doom buggy". In the gallery, a lightning storm will cause the portraits to become more and more ghostly!
[Madame Leota's] crystal ball will float in midair! In the attic, look for an extra-creepy bride with a string of grooms, all pictured before her. Each undergoes a change as the bouquet in her hand changes to an...well, we just can't give it all away!
Changes to WDW's Haunted Mansion (SPOILERS!)
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blackcauldron85
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Princess Stitch
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I"m going to be on my trip when the mansion re-opens so I'm going to try and go the first morning (not sure how many people have the same idea though!).
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Super Aurora
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Re: Changes to WDW's Haunted Mansion (SPOILERS!)
As if that part of the WDW ride wasn't creepy enough with moving eyes, now it's going be creepier![/b]blackcauldron85 wrote:I just received the latest issue of "Mickey Monitor" (Fall 2007) in the mail, and there's an article that talks about the enhancements they're working on in the Haunted Mansion:
Digital audio will give our old pal the Ghost Host the power to hop around in the stretch room, and to dart back and forth on your "doom buggy". In the gallery, a lightning storm will cause the portraits to become more and more ghostly!
[Madame Leota's] crystal ball will float in midair! In the attic, look for an extra-creepy bride with a string of grooms, all pictured before her. Each undergoes a change as the bouquet in her hand changes to an...well, we just can't give it all away!
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PeterPanfan
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Fflewduur
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Officially, September 12 (according to WDW's own operational updates page, which can be found <a href="http://disneyworld.disney.go.com/wdw/ca ... e">here</a>).PeterPanfan wrote:When is this supposed to be done?
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PeterPanfan
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Flanger-Hanger
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Plus moving gargoyle statues and bats in the Streching room, new animatronics in the graveyard, the new multiple staircase scene, this is going to be a huge upgrade! (with stuff that's not at Disneyland) Hopefully a better giftshop will be built outside the ride (the construction walls go well beyond the actuall attraction gates). Also the ride's opening may be delayed a few days to a week, but annual passholders can visit the attraction between 9am and 12 pm on the 14, 15 and 16 of September.
I believe only two things that imagineers mentioned were not in Disneyland's already.
Where did you get the info of bats and moving gargoyles? That wasn't even found in the WDI section of the Disney portal that details this project.
Either way, I am happy that MK's Mansion is finally getting some TLC. It pained me to see that they didn't even have digital audio like DL.
Where did you get the info of bats and moving gargoyles? That wasn't even found in the WDI section of the Disney portal that details this project.
Either way, I am happy that MK's Mansion is finally getting some TLC. It pained me to see that they didn't even have digital audio like DL.
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Flanger-Hanger
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From Disneyworld.com, which then posted on another fourm I'm a member of.
"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!
"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!
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Flanger-Hanger
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Fflewduur
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I'm excited. With the Potter park happening over at Universal, WDW needs to up its game. I think sprinkling fresh pixie dust over old classics certainly helps, but what I'd really like to see is a new Iger-Spielberg-Lucas agreement to provide for revamping or replacing the Star Tours & Indiana Jones attractions at the Studios park. (Although I'd be very afraid any Star Tours update would focus on the new trilogy---what in the Star Wars universe is more worth doing than tagging along for the destruction of the Death Star?)
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Flanger-Hanger wrote:Star Tours is being completely upgarded with new simulators, 3D images, new animatronics and a new film. It is expected to debut in 2008.
Aawww, no. I LOVE Star Tours. It's so great, and I think it's perfect now as it is. It's so Episode IV-VI-like which makes it so nostalgic. That'd really suck if they changed it.
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