Linda Mac's Orlando Adventures

What an opening! People lined up at the ropes at Adventureland, the Liberty Square entrance near the hub and at Fantasyland. It was an Extra Magic Hour (EMH) day so guests waiting in Fantasyland were given priority. And there were plenty of them! Notice the first photo. I was coming from Liberty Square at rope drop. Had I known that EHM guests would get priority, I would have arrived earlier. Instead, I was lollygagging over at the Wilderness Lodge after I checked-in. By the time I reached the park at 8:45 am, they were not even checking for resort keys. So it truly wasn't an "hour" of Extra Magic for resort guests only.

The posted wait time when I arrived was 13 minutes. Nice touch that took me a few moments to get. The sign was soon changed to a 30 minute wait and I was still trying to get in the line. The new queue starts out by going through the area where the old FastPass machines were.

Two single pins were released for the opening. Each sold for $12.95 and were limited to 2000 pins. A boxed set of 4 pins that represented the 4 new portraits at the beginning of the attraction were sold for $55 and were limited to 750 sets. These pins change images when you move them just like the portraits change on the attraction.

After several short twisting queues, we reached the main queue area which went up, down and back up to reach the graveyard and mansion entrance. The line moved quickly and we were inside in about 20 minutes.

WARNING: SPOILER ALERT AHEAD. DO NOT LOOK/READ ANY FURTHER IF YOU WANT TO BE SURPRISED AT THE HAUNTED MANSION CHANGES. PHOTOS AND DETAILS OF THE INSIDE OF THE ATTRACTION ARE BELOW THIS WARNING.

WARNING: SPOILER ALERT AHEAD. DO NOT LOOK/READ ANY FURTHER IF YOU WANT TO BE SURPRISED AT THE HAUNTED MANSION CHANGES. PHOTOS AND DETAILS OF THE INSIDE OF THE ATTRACTION ARE BELOW THIS WARNING.

WARNING: SPOILER ALERT AHEAD. DO NOT LOOK/READ ANY FURTHER IF YOU WANT TO BE SURPRISED AT THE HAUNTED MANSION CHANGES. PHOTOS AND DETAILS OF THE INSIDE OF THE ATTRACTION ARE BELOW THIS WARNING.

WARNING: SPOILER ALERT AHEAD. DO NOT LOOK/READ ANY FURTHER IF YOU WANT TO BE SURPRISED AT THE HAUNTED MANSION CHANGES. PHOTOS AND DETAILS OF THE INSIDE OF THE ATTRACTION ARE BELOW THIS WARNING.

WARNING: SPOILER ALERT AHEAD. DO NOT LOOK/READ ANY FURTHER IF YOU WANT TO BE SURPRISED AT THE HAUNTED MANSION CHANGES. PHOTOS AND DETAILS OF THE INSIDE OF THE ATTRACTION ARE BELOW THIS WARNING.

WARNING: SPOILER ALERT AHEAD. DO NOT LOOK/READ ANY FURTHER IF YOU WANT TO BE SURPRISED AT THE HAUNTED MANSION CHANGES. PHOTOS AND DETAILS OF THE INSIDE OF THE ATTRACTION ARE BELOW THIS WARNING.

The first change you will notice is the audio in the stretch room. The voice of our Ghost Host is crisp and the speakers that surround you will make it seem like he is moving around the room. As the room "stretches" you now hear creaking noises. And the best part, you can clearly see the Ghost Host at the top of the room when he says "there's always my way".

Next up, at the very beginning of the ride there are now windows on your left hand side. They give you the impression there is a terrible thunderstorm outside. On your other side, there are four pictures hanging on the wall. As the lightning strikes, the pictures change dramatically. On my second trip through the Mansion, I was so lucky because I rode with Andrea who is better known to most readers as Anita Answer. I had run into Andrea, Jack and CC from AllEars after the my first ride. Anita Answer told me that the same scene is in Disneyland's Haunted Mansion but it is in a walk-thru part of the attraction. One portrait of Master Gracey goes from his human form to a rotting corpse as the lightning strikes.

As we continue on, there are new stairways on both sides and above you as you travel through the Mansion. Footsteps mysteriously appear on the steps as you are passing them. Very cool and a great improvement over the old spiders.

Another scene that seems to new to me are the bats. The eyes of bats are watching you and as you pass them, they blend into the wallpaper.

And finally, the attic scene features a collection of wedding gifts, personal items, and wedding portraits. In each portrait, the bride is featured with a different groom (Ambrose, Frank, Reginald, The Marquis, and George), who’s heads disappear. Just before leaving the attic, the haunted bride is seen floating in the air. As she raises her arms, a hatchet appears in her hands. I did not see the hatchet but was told about it by a Cast Member.

I hope you enjoy your next ride in the Haunted Mansion!

If you're looking for more information on the Haunted Mansion, Jason Surrell has written a great book on this attraction. The Haunted Mansion: From the Magic Kingdom to the Movies fleshes out how the Mansion's 999 grim grinning ghosts were brought to life. Rare early sketches and story concepts, and stunning architectural drawings illustrate the Mansion's evolution as it was constructed at each Magic Kingdom Park around the globe.
The Haunted Mansion: From the Magic Kingdom to the Movies