Happy 50th Birthday Haunted Mansion
Today we celebrate the birthday of one of our favorite Disneyland attractions – the Haunted Mansion which first creaked open its doors to guests back in 1969! Today, an impressive 50 years later the attraction still draws the crowds to New Orleans Square in Disneyland park.
The Haunted Mansion in Disneyland was the first Disneyland attraction to open without the direct supervision of Walt Disney. Though Walt reviewed many of the early concepts he never saw the completed attraction. Construction of the Haunted Mansion first began in 1961 with the exterior not being completed until 1963.
Many fans of the attraction may not know this but from 1963-at least 1965, the Mansion remained unoccupied. The reason being that Disney shifted their attention to the 1964-1965 New York World’s Fair and were hard at work creating the animatronic technology that revolutionized many of Disneyland’s subsequent attractions including the Haunted Mansion.
During the unoccupied Haunted Mansion years, passersby would be greeted by the sign that you see above! It read: “Notice! All Ghosts and Restless Spirits. Post-lifetime leases are now available in this Haunted Mansion!… For reservations, send resume of past experience to: Ghost Relations Dept., Disneyland. Please! Do not apply in person!”
The Haunted Mansion experience begins with a tour of the Portrait Chamber where you’ll find some of the first happy haunts in their “corruptible mortal state.” Suddenly the chamber starts to stretch offering a few nervous frights before visitors are led down a narrow hallway with eerie lighting and transforming portraits. Guests are loaded on to “Doom Buggies” where the Ghost Host preps you for your haunting journey. During your tour of the Mansion, you’ll be offered a unique glimpse into the afterlife including a ghostly party in the Grand Hall, a seance conducted by Madame Leota, a visit to the Attic where a ghost bride has a few secrets to tell and a graveyard where happy haunts materialize everywhere you look!
Take a look back with this awesome video:
Haunted Mansion Fun Facts
Here are some additional frightfully delightful facts to celebrate 50 spooktacular years:
- The idea for a haunted house at Disneyland dates all the way back to a sketch by Harper Goff created in 1952 when Disneyland was still being conceptualized.
- During Haunted Mansion’s opening week, Disneyland celebrated what was then its highest single-day attendance.
- 20 tombstone tributes exist both inside and around the exterior of the attraction. The epitaphs on the tombstones were written to honor several Disney Legends and Walt Disney Imagineers who created and maintain the attraction. Most of them are very tongue-in-cheek and will definitely give you a chuckle.
- The exterior of the house was inspired by the Victorian-era Shipley-Lydecker House in Baltimore, Maryland.
- A bird of a different feather- Thurl Ravenscroft is the voice of “Uncle Theodore” who leads the “Phantom Five” quintet of singing headstones. His voice can also be heard at Walt Disney’s Enchanted Tiki Room as the voice of both Fritz and Tangaroa.
- The pipe organ seen in the ballroom sequence was featured as Captain Nemo’s pipe organ in the Disney film classic, “20,000 Leagues Under the Sea.”
- Leota Toombs, a former Walt Disney Imagineer and Disney Legend, served as the famous face of Madame Leota.
- The infamous Hatbox Ghost was featured in Haunted Mansion when the attraction first opened. Then, he mysteriously vanished, only to reappear in 2015 in time for the 60th anniversary of Disneyland.
So what are you waiting for foolish mortals!? Make your way to Disneyland Resort to experience the delights and frights of the Haunted Mansion for yourself. Disneyland vacation packages are currently available to book through until the end of 2020. Getting started is easy! Simply fill out our form to get your FREE, no-obligation quote from MickeyTravels!
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