Has the Haunted Mansion lost its touch?

[Walt Jr.]

Now Wait, we are all Disney Fans, and Haunted Mansion fans.

There are goth fans who love HM, and others who also do.

However, think back to Pirates before the refurb, even then, the line on peak seasons stretched out to outside the prescribed line.

Go to the HM any day out of the peak summer however, and find that the HM is almost a walk in, with little or no wait. Yes, there are times when the line is more or less large, but even then, the line isn't being all used.

Come to HMH and see the lines overflowing every day during peak.

Has the HM lost its touch in its regular form? Is this why Disney likes keeping it through Halloween and Christmas? Would a POTC like makeover materialize more crowds? Or is the HM doing fine as it is?

[Dustysage]

Mansion is one of the highest capacity attractions at Disneyland and still sees more guests than most other attractions. It remains on the list of "Must See" attractions for nearly everyone. If anything, the Mansion has gotten better since the 50th celebration with new and enhanced effects, and will get better still in the future with even more effects which have been long planned but yet to be installed.

The Mansion isn't anywhere near the end of its haunted life.

[jackskeleton1015]

Personally the POTC Makeover wasn't much of a difference I believe

I liked the orginal better

Plus I'm a huge Nightmare Fan so I love Haunted Mansion Holiday and the regular Haunted Mansion is kind of a dissapointment comparing to that

But I still love it.

What could you do to make it better besides keeping Jack?

[HBG2]

How quickly we forget:

First-Ever National “Golden Ears” Survey Reveals America’s 50-Year Love
Affair with Disneyland and Walt Disney World Resorts

ANAHEIM, Calif., July 11, 2005 – On the eve of the actual 50th anniversary of
Disneyland (July 17, 2005), Disney celebrates 50 years of theme park magic by
announcing the results of a national consumer survey, conducted by independent
research firm, Directive Analytics, that reveals what America loves most about
Disneyland in California and Walt Disney World Resort in Florida.

The “Golden Ears Survey” polled more than 8,000 consumers from all 50
states to gauge opinions about entertainment, attractions, characters, events and
occupations featured at Disney’s flagship parks.

According to the survey, Disney theme parks bring out the kid in all of us
with nearly half of respondents (46 percent) admitting to wearing the park’s iconic
Mickey Mouse Club “Ears.” Nearly 3 out of 4 Americans (72 percent) can sing a
chorus of “It’s a Small World (After All).”

At the “summit” of America’s list of favorite Disney theme park attractions
was Space Mountain (63 percent), followed closely by Pirates of the Caribbean
(62 percent) and the Haunted Mansion (49 percent).

The Haunted Mansion is the third most popular Disney ride of all time.

[Datameister]

No.

[MickeyMousePal]

Datameister Wrote:

No.

What you thought it was number one?
I wonder what number Splash Mountain is.

[Disneyphenom]

Originally Posted by Walt Jr.

Now Wait, we are all Disney Fans, and Haunted Mansion fans.

There are goth fans who love HM, and others who also do.

However, think back to Pirates before the refurb, even then, the line on peak seasons stretched out to outside the prescribed line.

Go to the HM any day out of the peak summer however, and find that the HM is almost a walk in, with little or no wait. Yes, there are times when the line is more or less large, but even then, the line isn't being all used.

Come to HMH and see the lines overflowing every day during peak.

Has the HM lost its touch in its regular form? Is this why Disney likes keeping it through Halloween and Christmas? Would a POTC like makeover materialize more crowds? Or is the HM doing fine as it is?

I don't think the Haunted Mansion has lost its touch -- not by a long shot. The short queue has a lot more to do with it's efficiency than it's unpopularity. HMH does give it a bit longer of a line, but it's also because that variation of the attraction is only running for a quarter of the year -- so, if you want to see it, you have a shorter time frame in which to visit. So, it's now or never... and so you have more interested visitors "cramming in" a trip.

Unlike the rather drastic makeover Pirates of the Caribbean received, which was a big pill to swallow (especially for the purists), Mansion has been getting slight little improvements over a few years. Personally, I think this is a better way to "plus" the attractions -- giving a classic some TLC instead of turning it suddenly into an entirely new ride that occupies the same physical place and is thematically similar to the classic we grew up with. Baby steps work better, even for those of us who "like things as they are."

And little touches like, say, a floating Leota and a new bride* keep even the cobwebbed nooks and crannies of the Haunted Mansion looking fresh and more "cutting edge" to the younger visitors.

(* although they have to do something with Connie -- either her positioning is wrong or her projection. Something just has looked a bit "off" about her lately)

[Dreamer20k]

That ride is always moving. Many people fit into the stretching room, and they all get on quickly. No way is it not popular.

[astrologic]

HM definitely hasn't lost its touch. And the no-wait makes it even better!

[Datameister]

Originally Posted by MickeyMousePal

What you thought it was number one?
I wonder what number Splash Mountain is.

I was answering the question originally posted by Walt Jr., not commenting on the validity of HBG2's statement. As others have said, the Omnimover system is an amazing feat when it comes to capacity. Eats people right up. HM can nevertheless accumulate a respectably long line when the park is busier, which says a lot.

[SeaWolf38]

Originally Posted by Datameister

I was answering the question originally posted by Walt Jr., not commenting on the validity of HBG2's statement. As others have said, the Omnimover system is an amazing feat when it comes to capacity. Eats people right up. HM can nevertheless accumulate a respectably long line when the park is busier, which says a lot.

Not to mention the elevators that moves upteen people out of the outside queue and into the mansion. That gets the wait time outside down as well.

[Datameister]

Originally Posted by SeaWolf38

Not to mention the elevators that moves upteen people out of the outside queue and into the mansion. That gets the wait time outside down as well.

Well, I'm no expert on the dynamics of queueing, but I wouldn't think that'd have any real net effect. All it does is quantize the movement. A big chunk of people enters, and then no one enters, and then another big chunk, and then no one. That might slightly affect whether or not people decide to enter the line in the first place, but that should be about it, methinks. The elevators are there because they're necessary for getting the guests down below the berm in an elegant way.

Think of it this way - if Disney had some magical way to allow each person to experience the stretching room scene without getting stopped outside the mansion or inside the foyer, things would actually move more quickly. The elevators would actually slow things down a bit, I think.

[Aladdin]

What Dusty said

And Pirates has similar lulls. But Pirates is exceptionally high capacity, too.

And thankfully they have done some improvement to HM, and Pirates, to keep both attractions fresh and interesting, and to incorporate new technology, and new effects. For the most part the changes have been good. However, when mentioning what is bad about certain changes, you need to be specific, because both HM and Pirates have had more than just one makeover, several changes have been done in the 40 years they have been operating. And not Everything in any particular makeover has been bad.

HM and HMH are like two attractions in one ~ keeps the attraction interesting interesting. I still miss Madame Leota's "floating table" but the floating crystal ball is a nice update. The updated Bride in the attic and the portraits were a nice change, For HMH I liked the Soundtrack from the 1st year better than the following years. There is so much to like in HMH, especially the man-eating plants. But I really am not fond of the missing "ghost will follow you home" mirrors. Oogies treats are a let down. The gingerbread house is amazing each year.

For Pirates, I HATE that the Pirate still dont chase the women after the auction. I HATE that they removed the "shadow" on the sail of the ship that alternated between the profiles of Mickey, Donald, Pluto, and Goofy.
I wish they would have left the horse in the scene after the Auction.
I like the rest of the animals that they added from the World in Motion.
I like that they added something to long tunnel before the pirate ship.
I wish the pirate sitting on two barrels was still in the last scene.
i don't like Capt Jack on the uphill climb. The story worked better with the pirates trying to take the treasure out, and turning to skeletons.
I do like the movie soundtrack as you enter the battle scene.
I like Jack in the barrel, but i also like the lady hiding too. - can't have both, so I like Jack better.

So, some of the changes do mean Disney has lost touch (especially with removing the scene where the Pirates chase the women) But most of the other changes really mean that Disney is keeping in touch with their guests, And trying to keep things fresh.

[WJNM]

The plussing of the HM is great, and I love the attention it is getting. As far as it "loosing it's touch," I have to agree ... no. If we wanted to worry about attractions, I think we'd have to focus on the east side of the park first!

[SkeletonStockings]

It most certainly is not.