The Long-Forgotten Haunted Mansion Effect Thread 7: Further Realms of Fright

[SmellyOrangutan]

Has the regular HM re-opened already?

BTW, false alarm about the movie.

[SmellyOrangutan]

A detailed review of WDW 2011, including the things that happened to the HM:
*Passport to Dreams Old & New: Passport to Dreams Year End Report, 2011

[HBG2]

Foxxy's reports are always worth the read.

Speaking of readers, someone who goes by Volt left a superb observation in the Comments at the ol' blog about this piece of artwork, depicting the gag originally planned for the royal seesaw couple:



He points out that Marc Davis literalized the term "see-saw." At any moment, you "see" one ghost and you "saw" the other.

[SmellyOrangutan]

Probably the clearest photo yet of the new "video game" Hitchhiking Ghosts in the mirrors:
All sizes | Beware... of Hitchhiking Ghosts! | Flickr - Photo Sharing!

A close-up of the organ pipes (with banshees and raven) on the Composer tomb. I remember Carsillo saying in one of the tour videos that the raven was being redone. It looks a little different here, but maybe it's just the angle.
All sizes | Corvus | Flickr - Photo Sharing!

It seems all HM discussion has been moved to your blog now, HBG2. The DB forums are a ghost town, and people barely post on this thread anymore. I guess there isn't much that hasn't already been talked about here...not to mention the 2011 alterations may have killed off some of the fanbase.

[ww12345]

I think it is a couple of things. The first is the killing off of some of the fanbase in WDW. The second is the NBC overlay over here on this coast. I think (hope!) that once the overlay comes off, the discussions will resume.

By the way, the NBC overlay is coming off later this year than it did last year. Bums me out that I won't be able to get my HM fix while I am down at the NAMM show!

[HBG2]

I did notice that things have been unusually quiet on the Thread. If I do say so myself, there's been some new and noteworthy stuff put up on the last few pages: The "SNEVETS NOR" mystery solved, a clever new interpretation of the pun behind a Marc Davis concept sketch, new rumors about the Del Toro HM movie project, a sweet group photo of most of the principal HM Imagineers gathered in one spot, and a possible inspiration for the stretchroom gargoyle design.

Yeah, normally you'd see a little more buzz with stuff like that going up. I'll tell you what has dampened things the most, though: Some of our best and most frequent contributors have fallen into silence because they now work at Disney or aspire to do so, and apparently, being associated with this Thread is now slightly toxic. Not surprisingly, WDI is less than pleased with the response to PLQ and to the CGI HHG's in places like this. Folks who used to post comments at my blog have stopped doing so, and I've gotten personal emails from some, explaining why.

It's a sad thing.

[alphabassetgrrl]

If WDI didn't want negative comments about PLQ and the horrid CGI replacement of a cool and otherwise functional effect, then they shouldn't have made them suck.

[ttintagel]

I'll admit that my fascination for the Mansion has dimmed a little since my recent WDW visit.

[skoolpsyk]

I'll admit that my fascination for the Mansion has dimmed a little since my recent WDW visit.

just returned myself; other than the two new additions it was really quite lovely (and a welcome relief from the HMH). Whenever I ride it there, all the subtle differences really gives the experience a "dream-like" quality for me. I'm just so familiar with ours that it's often a "check-list" kind of ride. But at WDW it can be so....surreal.

The queue ranged from pointless to ridiculous. But it was the HHGs that was most disturbing. The whole rhythm of the gags and their movements was so out of place. Very sad.

[HBG2]

Like I keep saying, what I would realistically hope to see is the word "controversial" tattooed across the forehead of the WDW alterations, which I suspect would be the biggest help in keeping PLQ-type additions away from Anaheim. The CGI HHGs have been better received, and—again, realistically—I think it's more likely than not that they will be put into DL. But possibly, just possibly, "controversial" will manage to get attached to them as well, and when it comes to big $$$ commitments, I think "controversial" is to Disney what garlic is to vampires.

So this is no time to run up the white flag and start a new Thread on the Teacups. You can't let them think, "After their initial negative reaction, the die-hard fans eventually calmed down and learned to accept and even to embrace the new additions..." blah blah blah. That's what they're hoping for. That's how they will interpret what is in reality a loss of interest, a sullen, bitter, disillusioned retreat. And then, when tickets for the 50th anniversary of the HM don't get snapped up nearly as quickly as they did for the 40th, when the merch they thought would sell out within days is instead sitting unbought in boxes, I suppose that only then will they begin to suspect that they have lost the once-legendary HM fanbase.

I expect to keep celebrating and investigating the unique marvel that is the HM. You know, they more or less ruined the load area of the original HM within the first year (lightening it up too much), and it's never been fixed, so I guess I've been used to living with a damaged masterpiece for a long, long time. I don't know. Maybe it's the historian in me, but celebrating the history of something is still...celebrating.

[HMF]

I am temporarily coming out of hiding to share this WDW yearly rating from Passport to Dreams Blogette FoxxFur which addresses the state of WDW this year. In it she suggests that Captain Clyne's Tubsoleum would be absolutely creepy and probably blend in well if it were not squirting, singing and blowing bubbles but have water slowly leaking out. Would you guys think that would be a good idea and/or a fair compromise ? Though I feel that the Musicians Tomb and Prudence need to be re-thought completely.
*Passport to Dreams Old & New: Passport to Dreams Year End Report, 2011
Personally, I would have given PLQ a D+ and Hitchiking Ghosts a B-

[nojarama]

if wdi didn't want negative comments about plq and the horrid cgi replacement of a cool and otherwise functional effect, then they shouldn't have made them suck.

/\ this!

[ttintagel]

Yes, the history will always be interesting, no matter what the future holds.

[HBG2]

I am temporarily coming out of hiding to share this WDW yearly rating from Passport to Dreams Blogette FoxxFur which addresses the state of WDW this year. In it she suggests that Captain Clyne's Tubsoleum would be absolutely creepy and probably blend in well if it were not squirting, singing and blowing bubbles but have water slowly leaking out. Would you guys think that would be a good idea and/or a fair compromise ? Though I feel that the Musicians Tomb and Prudence need to be re-thought completely.
*Passport to Dreams Old & New: Passport to Dreams Year End Report, 2011
Personally, I would have given PLQ a D+ and Hitchiking Ghosts a B-

The Tubsoleum would be improved if those changes were made, but I don't agree that it would be enough. I don't think it would then be creepy. It would still be silly, with a silly epitaph, and a HM pre-show is no place for silliness. That's jumping the gun.

[HBG2]

Fun!

First, Daveland posted this pic from 1964 showing some kind of construction going on in front of TSI, with the HM in the background.



I'm always happy to add new old HM pix to my files, so we're already operating in the black as far as I'm concerned. But there was much befuddlement around Daveland as to what that construction could be. Finally, Outside the Berm identified it, digging up an old pic.



So it turns out it's from 1963, not 1964. [See below] It's a stage for a Big Bands performance on the ROA (and using the rafts, too). The stage and setting are an interesting precursor to Fantasmic!.

But the best thing of all: That stage drawing is almost certainly by Rolly Crump. The whole thing just shouts it. In particular, the lettering style of "Sailor's Rest" is practically a signature, if you ask me.

Call it Crumptasmic!



Take it to the bank. Another piece of forgotten Rolliana from back in the day has been rediscovered.

Pulling up this post from a long way back in this very thread, because there's new info to share. Rolly has himself confirmed that he did indeed do this backdrop. He says that Louis Armstrong said he liked it so much that he wanted to take it home with him! I just got the info from Jeff Heimbuch, who is authoring a biography of Rolly. Put this baby in your file of Crump.