Tokyo Doombuggy & Scary Teddy Too!

Tokyo Disneyland and Tokyo DisneySea usually have some very nice merchandise for sale. I always end up buying more souvenirs when I visit those two parks, than I do when I visit any of the Disney Parks here in the U.S. This is one of my favorite items from Tokyo. It was sold at Tokyo Disneyland during their 2007 Halloween/Christmas season. It's a wind-up toy of Scary Teddy from "The Nightmare Before Christmas," riding in a Haunted Mansion Doombuggy.

Last year, I posted a complete photo tour of the holiday version of Tokyo Disneyland's Haunted Mansion, which included some additional souvenir items. To view that series, click here: (Link).

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I would like to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas!

Holiday Haunted Mansion Ride-Thru (Part 6)

This is the last post of my Tokyo Holiday Haunted Mansion series! The first two pics are from the graveyard and they look like they could be right out of Anaheim's holiday version. The only difference....the giant pumkin angel in the photo below actually has a blast of air come out of his horn as you pass under it. Anaheim's is lacking the air effect.

Next, we enter the crypt and see Lock, Shock and Barrell popping up out of packages in the spot where the hitchhiking ghosts normally stand. In Anaheim's holiday version, this is where Oogie Boogie stands and spins his wheel. Anaheim originally had a different scene in this spot before Oogie Boogie was added. (That scene can be viewed here over at Davelandweb.com). Remember, Anaheim's Haunted Mansion Holiday attraction has had some changes made to it since that first year that it debuted. Another major difference was that they did not originally use the Danny Elfman music on the soundtrack. I believe that was because in the first year, there was a problem securing the rights to his score.

After seeing Lock, Shock and Barrel, the Doombuggies pass by the mirrors that would normally have the illusion of the hitchhiking ghosts riding with the guests, but for the holiday version, Lock, Shock and Barrell are seen reflected in the mirrors. Beyond that, the Doombuggies continue on and pass beneath "Little Leota" (non-holiday version) or "Little Sally"(holiday version). This is similar to the scene that guests see while exiting up the Speedramp in Anaheim's Mansion. In Tokyo and Florida, the Doombuggies ride through an extended crypt setting and actually ride underneath a ledge containing the miniature scene. After this scene, the Doombuggies then enter the unloading area.

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I hope everyone enjoyed the tour of Tokyo's Holiday Haunted Mansion. Over the next couple weeks, I will continue posting other holiday photos from Tokyo Disneyland and Tokyo DisneySea.

Holiday Haunted Manison Ride-Thru (Part 4)

Today's photos are from the attic scene of "The Haunted Mansion Holiday Nightmare" at Tokyo Disneyland.

Tokyo's attic is almost identical to Anaheim's holiday version. The train on the chewed-up track is included, as well as the toy duck with the bloody bullet holes (sorry, I don't have a photo of him). The exception here would be the "naughty and nice" list that the snake is eating. Tokyo's list includes some Japanese names. I am assuming poor little "Eiichi" won't be getting anything from Santa this year since he has a little skull and crossbones next to his name. Or does that mean he is the only one on the list that WILL be getting a present?

Upon exiting the attic, guests encounter Scary Teddy chewing on a string of Christmas lights. As he bites down on it, sparks fly from his mouth. Anaheim has this same scene, but the placement of Scary Teddy is different....he is sitting on a branch over the Doombuggies, instead of off to the side.

As a side note, Tokyo's non-holiday version does not have the updated bride that Anaheim and Florida have.....fortunately! I say that because, while the idea probably looked good on paper, I don't think it works in the finished product. The effect looks too phony. The projection of Madame Leota in the crystal ball works because her face is projected onto a three dimensional head. I noticed the last time that I saw the new bride, that her face is not three dimensional, it's flat. I think this adds to the lack of realism because there is no "depth" to the features of her face. It's the same thing with her arms, they are just a "flat" projection. They may as well be showing her on a television screen!

In tomorrow's post, we'll head on down into the Graveyard scenes!

Holiday Haunted Mansion Ride-Thru (Part 2)

Continuing with Tokyo Disneyland's Holiday Mansion tour.....after leaving the portrait hallway, the Doombuggies enter the library. This scene is also the same as in Florida's Haunted Mansion. It is here that guests see the busts that turn and watch you. The two familiar busts from Anaheim are here, as well as two additional busts not seen in Anaheim's Mansion. In the holiday version, Jack Skellington's dog Zero is here putting garland onto a tree made up of floating books.

Next comes the music room. In the non-holiday version, the piano plays all by itself, but in the "Nightmare" version, Scary Teddy pounds away on the keys as Sally watches from a nearby chair.

As the Doombuggies leave the music room, they start to ascend a stairway. In Florida, this is where an "endless stairway" scene has recently been added. In Tokyo, this scene still has the three large spiders and webs, but for the holiday version, a projection of Oogie Boogie has been added. His silhouette is seen jumping around in various poses and laughing. In his last pose, he takes on the shape of a Christmas tree. It is a simple projection on a wall, but the effect is done well and it's pretty humorous. Also added to this scene are several cages containing "bugs". The cages have gift tags attached to them that say "For: Oogie Boogie" and the bugs are clinging to the bars of the cages and shaking nervously.

After this scene, the Doombuggies go past the endless hallway, the hands trying to push the lid off of the coffin, the hallway with all the doors (and the man-eating wreath), and the clock that strikes "13". These scenes in Tokyo are all pretty much identical to Anaheim's Holiday version. Tokyo's non-holiday version however, has two things that are different. One of the bulging doors in the hallway is open just slightly with two hands coming out of the top of it and there is a green fog seeping out of the crack. Also, there is a portrait of a man hanging on the wall in this hallway and his flat painted face in the portrait starts to bulge outward into a three-dimensional shape for a few seconds and then goes back to being flat. It is really a great effect....all of the Haunted Mansions should have this effect!

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In the next post, we will venture on into the Seance Room.

Holiday Haunted Mansion Ride-Thru (Part 1 - Continued)

All of the paintings above are framed and hang on the walls on either side of the portrait hallway. The painting below hangs above the doorway at the end of the hallway. The Doombuggies ride underneath it as they exit the hallway and go into the library.

In my next post, we'll take a look at the Mansion's Library and Music Room and see how they are decorated for the holidays.

Holiday Haunted Mansion Ride-Thru (Part 1)

Today we are going to continue our tour of Tokyo Disneyland's "Haunted Mansion Holiday Nightmare" attraction. (To see how the Mansion's exterior get's decorated for the holiday's, click here: Holiday Mansion exterior. And to see the pre-boarding walk-thru portion of the attraction click here: Stretching Room.)

After boarding a Doombuggy, guests immediately ride underneath a stairway with Jack Skellington and Sally above. This is a fully audio-animatronic Jack Skellington figure. As he talks to the guests passing below, Sally turns her head from side to side and Scary Teddy moves up and down out of the package she is holding. (Florida's Mansion has this same stairway and landing, but they don't decorate their mansion for the holidays. In Tokyo's non-holiday version, as well as Florida's Haunted Mansion, a candelabra floats around above the landing at the top of the stairs.)

Next, the Doombuggies turn and go down the portrait hallway....again, very similar to Florida's Mansion, but for the holiday version in Tokyo, the regular portraits are replaced with paintings of characters from "The Nightmare Before Christmas".

A few years back, Tokyo Disneyland sold sets of postcards of all the paintings that hang in the hallway. To view scans of these postcards, please see my next post entitled "Holiday Haunted Mansion Ride-Thru (Part 1 - Continued)" or just click (here.)