When hinges creak in doorless chambers and strange and frightening sounds echo through the halls … Whenever candlelights flicker where the air is deathly still… That is the time when ghosts are present, practicing their terror with ghoulish delight! Welcome, foolish mortals, to the history of the Haunted Mansion!
– Ghost Host
The Haunted Mansion has been delivering ghoulish delight to Disney guests for decades, but did you know that the history of the attraction is just as rich as the stories of the many happy haunts who reside inside? Hop in a doom buggy, keep an eye out for hitchhiking ghosts, and ride with us through the history of the Haunted Mansion.
Disneyland’s Original Haunted Mansion
The Haunted Mansion — a spooky house full of silly characters and steeped in the traditions of Americana and Gothic horror — was one of Walt Disney’s oldest ideas. You may have heard the name “Harper Goff” — Harper was one of Disney’s earliest collaborators and a legendary artist in Disney history, and he created the original concept art that ultimately inspired the attraction. The first image depicts a horse and cart at the end of a road next to a graveyard and an austere — though not without that characteristic Walt Disney whimsy — house up on the hill in the background. The image seeps the kind of uniquely American fun and frights that Disney audiences remembered from The Legend of Sleepy Hollow in 1949, and it inspired Walt to gather his best imagineers and get building.
Walt reached out to another Disney legend — Imagineer Ken Anderson — to get working on a story based on the concept art, and the narrative of the Haunted Mansion began to take shape. The “silly spooks” were born! Er… dead?
Then Walt gathered up Imagineers Rolly Crump and Yale Gracy and got them to work innovating optical illusions. He set Marc Davis and Claude Coats loose designing the attraction. Finally, he assigned the great X. Atencio to write the lyrics to Buddy Baker’s music for “Grim Grinning Ghosts.” Together, these Disney all-stars crafted the perfect blend of spooky and silly that would delight audiences when the attraction first opened its doors to guests in 1969.
The original attraction was to be set in New Orleans Square, and as such, the mansion was designed with a Louisiana bayou flair. Paul Frees provided the narration, and with all elements in place, the ride was ready to open. Sadly, by the time the Haunted Mansion welcomed its first guests on August 9, 1969, Walt had already passed away. Nevertheless, Disneyland’s newest attraction was an instant success, and visitors to the park loved the new ride.
Of course, the early days of the attraction were not without hiccups! One of the most famous was the time the custodial staff at Disneyland got an unexpected scare when they went in to clean. Once the Imagineers had left for the night, they left the attraction turned off — or so they thought. It turned out that the whole attraction was set to turn on and start running when someone tripped the motion sensor. When the custodians arrived late at night to tidy up, they got quite the fright when all those grim grinning ghosts suddenly sprang to life! The next day, the Imagineers got a phone call — ”You can clean up in there by yourselves from now on!”
Moving the Mansion: The Florida Opening
By the time Disney’s Imagineers were designing and creating the Haunted Mansion at Disneyland in California, development on the Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World in Florida was well underway. To make recreating the attraction at the Florida park easier, all design elements, set pieces, and props were made in duplicate. Once everything was finalized and in place at Disneyland, rebuilding in the Magic Kingdom would be easy! Florida’s version, however, did receive a few changes and updates on the original.
For one, the Haunted Mansion at Walt Disney World was to be located in Liberty Square, not New Orleans Square. A Southern Louisiana mansion might have felt a little out of place! Instead, the artists leaned even more heavily into the imagery and design elements of New England and the works of authors like Edgar Allen Poe. This is also where the Sleepy Hollow influence is most evident. (Don’t miss Mr. Toad in the pet cemetery just outside the exit!)
Imagineers also added a library of ghost stories complete with marble busts of the great ghostwriters that stare down at guests, additional voiceovers from Paul Frees, and, of course, the famous music room, in which Madam Leota commands music from beyond the grave! (Fun fact: The face model for Madam Leota was Leota “Toombs” Thomas, another Disney Imagineer!)
Just like the original, Walt Disney World’s Haunted Mansion was a smash hit from opening day. Audiences from all over the world have been grinning right alongside those grim ghosts ever since! However, the ride has continued to undergo changes and developments to become even bigger and better.
In 2007, Disney improved the sound system inside the ride in the beloved “stretching room” and added new vocals to some of the ghosts during the “Grim Grinning Ghosts” scene at the end of the ride. Later, in 2011, Walt Disney World expanded the already fascinating queue line. Guests had already found the grave markers with hidden “puns” referencing the names of the Imagineers who designed the ride, but the new update included musical instruments — both familiar and quite other-worldly — Captain Culpepper’s watery tomb, the bride’s lost wedding ring, and the organ, famously labeled a “Ravenscroft,” a reference to Thurl Ravenscroft, who lent his voice to many Disney projects, including “Grim Grinning Ghosts.”
The Lasting Legacy of the Mansion
The Haunted Mansion has always been one of the most beloved Disney attractions. Neither too scary nor too silly, it’s simply a staple of any Disney trip! It’s full of Disney history and cultural folklore, and some of the biggest Disney legends worked hard to make it the joyful reality we get to experience today.
The 999 Happy Haunts of the Haunted Mansion are always happy to welcome their guests — are you ready to join them? After all…
…when the crypt doors creak and the tombstones quake, spooks come out for a swinging wake. Happy haunts materialize and begin to vocalize. Grim grinning ghosts come out to socialize!
Which Haunted Mansion Easter egg is your favorite?