Disneyland's Haunted Mansion - 55th Anniversary

Today, Disneyland's Haunted Mansion is celebrating it's 55th anniversary!

In honor of this anniversary, let's take a look at some Haunted Mansion-related articles, which appeared in Disney News Magazine over the years.

From the Summer 1969 issue:

I believe this was the publication's earliest mention of the Haunted Mansion.  As the article states, the attraction was "to be completed in late summer."  It also mentions a new fleet of Disneyland-Alweg Monorail trains, which would also be debuting that summer.  These would have been the Mark III five-car trains.  Oh, and that's Yale Gracey, posing with the original Hat Box Ghost figure!

From the Fall 1969 issue:

This issue's article is entirely about Ciro Rolando Santana y Arrite, a Cuban sculptor who was hired to carve "wooden furniture and ornamentation for Disneyland's Haunted Mansion."  The attraction would have been open at this point, but the caption for the photos below the article states, "Here is a sneak preview of the Haunted Mansion."

The blog, "Long Forgotten" has provided some additional info about the work of Ciro Rolado Santa y Arrite, in a blog post from August of 2010.

From the Winter 1969-1970 issue:

This article includes quotes from a few children who were interviewed prior to entering the Haunted Mansion, and also upon exiting.  The child in the photo is hiding behind a tombstone with an epitaph that reads, "Here Lies Phineas Pock - Laid To Rest Beneath This Rock - R.I.P."  I clearly remember this headstone during my childhood visits to Disneyland.  At that time, it was located on the hillside, or "berm," to the west of the Haunted Mansion, along with other headstones.  I remember returning to the park at some point, and the headstones were noticeably missing.

Once again, the "Long Forgotten" blog has an excellent and thorough post, about the disappearing, reappearing, and relocation of the headstones over the years.

 

From the Fall 1974 issue:

By this time, a second Haunted Mansion had opened at Walt Disney World, in Florida.  This article discusses both versions, including the influence for the two different exteriors.

The article also describes how the dust and cobwebs are applied throughout the attraction.

Happy 55th anniversary, to Disneyland's Haunted Mansion!

The Haunted Mansion's 50th Anniversary!

Today is the 50th Anniversary of Disneyland's Haunted Mansion! We'll celebrate today, by looking at a couple Haunted Mansion souvenirs from my personal collection, as well as a couple of my personal home videos.

The Haunted Mansion Secret Panel Chest was sold exclusively, in the Magic Shop on Main Street and Merlin's Magic Shop in Fantasyland:

The sides and bottom of the box were made up of tiny inlaid wood squares.

There are small sections on the side panels of the box that can be moved in succession. There are seven moves to make altogether. After the first four moves, the top panel can be slid open to reveal a storage compartment below.

A diagram showing the solution to the "puzzle" was included with the box. Sliding that top panel over (Step 5), allows a panel on the side of the box to lift up (Step 6), revealing a drawer in the very bottom of the box, which can be pulled out (Step 7).

These two sets of GAF Pana-Vue Slides were sold at the park, in the seventies and early eighties:

The back of the slide strips listed some other Disneyland Pana-Vue sets, which were available for purchase.

The captions on the Haunted Mansion slides are as follows:

Set One - "Mansion of Mystery"

"Ghostly Hallway"

"Seance with a 'Head' Medium"

"A 'Spirited' Organ Recital"

"Caretaker and Dog"

Set Two - "Singing Statues"

"Spooks Play a Haunting Refrain"

"Old Friends with Grave Problems"

"Phantoms of the Opera"

"Beware of Hitchhiking Ghosts"

In the late 1990's, a friend of mine knew one of the cast members who worked in the Haunted Mansion. She let us stay in the "Stretching Room" after all of the guests had exited, and "ride it" back up to ground level! I shot this video of the experience. Note how it returns to starting position much faster than it moves when it's in "show mode."





And here is footage that I shot in 1997, of the "Changing Portraits." This was before the April/December portrait was removed and replaced with the portrait of "Master Gracey" from Walt Disney World's and Tokyo Disneyland's Haunted Mansions. WHY DID THEY DO THAT? I don't get it! It made about as much sense as taking out the old bride in the attic and replacing her with the current monstrosity of a bride (no pun intended.....and that's not a compliment either!)





Happy 50th anniversary to Disneyland's Haunted Mansion!

The Haunted Mansion Game - 1975

In honor of the 47th anniversary of Disneyland's Haunted Mansion, today we have the Haunted Mansion Game. Lakeside Industries began manufacturing this game in 1975. I'm not sure when they stopped production, but I remember buying mine in 1978 (at a majorly discounted price) from a local drug store that was going out of business .

Even though "Walt Disney World" is above the name, it's Disneyland's Haunted Mansion that is depicted on the front of the box. However, both Disneyland's and Walt Disney World's Haunted Mansions are represented on the sides of the box....

....as well as the sides of the game "board".

Disneyland's Haunted Mansion is used again on the back of the game board backdrop.

Here's the other side of the backdrop, which features several scenes from the famous attraction.

The Stretching Room:

The Ballroom:

The Attic:

The Graveyard:

And the Dungeon. Wait, I don't remember THAT scene from the ride!

Game play on the board proceeds through various other scenes from the attraction.

The "Endless" Hallway:

The Corridor of Doors, the Seance Room and the Conservatory:

More of the Graveyard:

A player's direction on the board can change very suddenly. When someone lands on a space marked "spin", they must move one of the interlocking wheels a quarter turn, which ends up rotating all of the wheels, as well as the pathways.

Rotating the wheels will also move all of the Mansion's "characters" on the board. If the ballroom dancers, opera singers, or hitchhiking ghosts end up touching or knocking over a game piece on one of the paths next to the rotating wheels, then that player must go to The Dungeon where they must stay until they roll a 1 or a 6 on the dice.

When approaching the caretaker, if his lantern is red, a player must make a left turn.

If the lantern is green, a player may proceed in any direction.

The playing pieces are in the shape of Doombuggies! This blue one however, reminds me of an Atomobile from Adventure thru Inner Space!

Here are the full game instructions in case anyone is interested in reading them.

Lakeside also manufactured the "Walt Disney World's 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea" game around the same time as the Haunted Mansion game. I have that game as well and will post photos of it in the future. To see a pic of it now, plus additional pics of the Haunted Mansion Game from a 1975 & 1976 Lakeside Sales Guide, click here for a post from the blog, "And Everything Else Too": Lakeside Sales Guides.

Happy 47th anniversary to a true Disneyland classic!