Thirty-One Days O’Horror: The Haunted Mansion (Disney Theme Parks)

“Welcome foolish mortals….”

My first trip to Walt Disney World was way back in 1999. Having been a massive fan of Disney for my entire life and wanting to visit at least one of the company’s theme parks, this was a major moment for me. My wife and I visited all of the parks at Disney World over our week-long honeymoon that year. One of the highlights for me was getting the chance to visit the Haunted Mansion dark ride.

One of the first things that I noticed about the line queue leading up to the mansion was the numerous headstones that littered the path. “Here Lies Good Old Fred, A Great Big Rock Fell On His Head” is just one of the many humorous epitaphs that I read along the way. Once my wife and I were inside the mansion, a “ghost host” welcomed us and the rest of the foolish mortals. Then the walls began to stretch and the lights go out. Above our heads, a person is hanging from the ceiling. Then we enter a corridor that leads us to our “doom buggies.”

The buggy takes us through the rest of the mansion. It features numerous animatronic ghouls and ghosts, projected images (including a breathtaking ballroom full of dancing ghosts), eerie music, and tons of spooky sound and light effects.

The ride eventually ends up in a graveyard where the ghost host warns us to not pick up any hitchhikers. We then see three ghosts hoping to hitch a ride in our doom buggies. As we make the final turn to exit the ride, there’s a special surprise waiting for us in our doom buggies!

This ride is one of my favorites at Disney World. Sure, there are plenty of other horror rides out there that will scare the bejeezus out of you, but the attention to detail, the brilliant effects, and the wonderful music make this my favorite haunted ride. Be aware that there are definitely a few scary moments during this ride that will definitely spook younger audiences, but overall it is a very fun and enjoyable ride.

In 1996, Disney released an album entitled Music From The Park that featured a number of famous artists performing covers of park songs and a few original songs as well. Artists as varied as Tim Curry (he performs a spoken word version of The Ballad of Davy Crockett) and the Pointer Sisters (Yo Ho (A Pirate’s Life For Me)) appear on the album with highlights including the original tune Remember The Magic by Brian McKnight and the hard-to-find Illuminations 25 by the Disney Big Band. My favorite track on the album is a cover of Grim Grinning Ghosts from the Haunted Mansion attraction by the Barenaked Ladies. Copies of the album are available online, but copies that contain Illuminations 25 are difficult to find. I was fortunate enough to get a copy of the rare release from my sister who visited the park in 1996.

Thanks for checking out my post. I hope that you get a chance to visit one of the Disney theme parks and experience the Haunted Mansion. I’ve been to Disney World a total of three times and plan on going again in a few years. If you have visited the mansion, let me know what you think about it in the comments section! More spooky goodness coming up tomorrow!