News

• Disney might be looking to revive its nighttime offerings at the Animal Kingdom.  There are no current ‘After Hours’ events, and the park hasn’t had regular Evening Extra Magic Hours or Extended Evening Theme Park Hours.  

• But our friends at WDWMagic noticed something interesting with Disney’s park hours data, and I suspect that’s that an Extended Evening Theme Park Hours session was listed in the feed (but not in the app), for 7 pm to 9 pm on Wednesday, November 8.  We should know more about this in about a week, when the regular calendar is released.
  

• Disney’s announced that CM previews for Journey of Water will run through September 22.  That leaves about a week for DVC and AP previews, if Disney was shooting for an October 1 opening.

• Disney Cruise Line delayed its announcements for the Disney Treasure until September 5 because of Hurricane Idalia.
  
• And we’re going to talk about this in our feature story, but Disneyland has announced additions and changed to the Haunted Mansion in New Orleans Square.

Surveys

Our friend Andrew sent in a Disney survey with a handful of either new or re-worded questions:

    (you know, I’d really like to see a survey question along the lines of “...and how did that work out for you?”)

I really liked this question for a number of reasons:

Because:

1. If they have data from before TRON, they can see if TRON is an addition or a swap for another “mountain”.
2. They can use the same info for Tiana’s Bayou Adventure
3. It might indicate whether more thrill rides are needed in the MK

And our friend Blake sent in a Disney survey he got after making a whole bunch of dining reservations for an upcoming trip:

(This is the “How easy was it for you to give us your money?” question)

and

and

Listener Questions

From Shawn:

A friend and I will be at Disney for 1 day on Saturday, January 20th, 2024.

I haven't done TRON yet, and he hasn't visited Galaxy's Edge.

What is the best way to see both attractions? We are staying onsite at POP Century and are fine with super early arrival, using Genie+, buying Individual Lightning Lanes, bribery, trickery, calling upon the spirit of Walt to guide us, or any other means that we can use to do this.

From Carolyn:

My family recently "sailed" aboard the starcruiser Halcyon (along with Ben Lonely on the DVC voyage).

I received the typical post-visit survey, which I thought was odd knowing it's closing. I thought it was comical filling out a survey about a known closure.

Until I got the request below...what does this mean? Why would they be paying to survey Starcruiser guests? Is there hope for re-opening? Or could this be something exploring future opportunities for the site or technology???

A question for Jim, from Greg:

While listening to your recent series about the Spain pavilion that was never built, I couldn't help but wander about the similarities in ride develop between the proposed Gigantic attraction and the Ratatouille attraction.  In addition to similarities in ride technology with the trackless system, they both would have had a very similar theme and gag - that is that you are in a world where you are essentially tiny.  I don't know if the timing works out, but it makes me think that it is possible that the Gigantic attraction had developed the idea of the screen and giant prop combo first, and when it was cancelled, the imagineers switched the overall concept to Ratatouille, and placed it in France.  Any thoughts or insight into that possibility?

And a thought-provoking question from Wes:

You often talk about attractions that are gone now, I'd love the segment every now and then about attractions that are still open but might not be long for this world.

At this point like most of your listeners, my next trip won't be my last trip so if there is something one of you is fond of something that might not be there next year I'd go out of my way to get there.

Love the show and keep up the great work!

Len says: Lowest-rated currently operating attractions in the parks, excluding things like films (which are easy to replace) or high-volume, cheap-to-operate things like Lightning McQueen.  Minimum of 250 reader surveys.  There are 247 attractions in Disney’s domestic parks that meet this criteria.

• Everything in the Imagination pavilion is in the bottom 6 of that list of 247: the ride, the ImageWorks, the pavilion itself. It’s such an obvious choice that I would be shocked if Disney doesn’t have multiple options for this on a shelf somewhere in Glendale.
  
• Mission: Space - Was never the hit it was supposed to be.  Not kid-friendly, and we’re coming up on the 20-year mark for depreciation.  Normally I’d say EPCOT doesn’t need two more construction projects, but like I once said in a honkey-tonk bar outside Amarillo - I can be convinced.
  
• All of Rafiki’s Planet Watch/Conservation Station. Low rated. Low capacity.  Already has some infrastructure. I think transportation would be an issue - it’s about a 1,500 foot walk from Africa to Conservation Station, which is the same as from Na’Vi River Journey to Kilimanjaro Safaris.  But there may be unused land closer than that, just northeast of Maharaja Jungle Trek. Tough to tell on a map:
  
  
  
  
• Both the Tomorrowland Speedway and Disneyland’s Autopia.  Low-rated, huge footprint. Hard to think that Disney doesn’t have a dozen better ideas for that space.
  
  

Research/Patents (use query "disney enterprises".as AND "theme park".ab)

Haunted Mansion feature piece

The Haunted Mansion is having a moment.

How each of the “Mansion” movies did at the box office

The movie version of this beloved theme park attraction (Actually, this was Disney’s second attempt at turning Mansion into a movie. The Studio’s first attempt – which starred Eddie Murphy – arrived in theaters back in November of 2003 and didn’t do all that great at the box office. It only sold $75 million worth of tickets in North America. Which – when your Mansion movie cost $90 million to make – isn’t going to make Disney’s accountants happy.

Anyway … Disney’s second attempt at making a Mansion movie arrived in theaters on July 28th of this year. And – if anything – this film did worse than the first one. It reportedly cost just shy of $160 million to make and has to, to date, only sold $62 million worth of tickets in North America.

If you’re wondering why Walt Disney Company stock is currently trading at a nine month low, Mansion’s under-performance at the box office this past Summer is one of the reasons.

On the other hand, Mansion – the theme park attraction – is having a great year.

Work underway to add Hatbox Ghost to Florida’s Mansion

At the Florida version of this attraction, preparations have been underway for the better part of a month now to install the Hatbox Ghost in the Endless Hallway. Which – as Len has previously stated on this podcast – is a controversial move in some circles.

On the other hand, the folks who run Memento Mori (The Mansion-themed gift shop in Liberty Square at WDW’s Magic Kingdom) are positively giddy when it comes to the amount of Hatbox Ghost-related merch they expect to move in the coming months. So those folks just can’t wait ‘til Hatbox finally arrives in the Endless Hallway and starts spooky Central Florida tourists.

2023 edition of “Haunted Mansion Holiday” opens on Friday, September 1st

Out on the West Coast, Disneyland’s Haunted Mansion closed down back on August 14th so that this New Orleans Square favorite could then undergo its annual transformation into a “Nightmare Before Christmas” -themed celebration of Halloween AND Christmas. “Haunted Mansion Holiday” opened this past Friday, September 1st. And – believe it or not – this is the 21st time the Mansion has been Burtonized.

“Haunted Mansion Holiday” didn’t happen in 2020. That’s because – due to COVID – the entire Disneyland Resort was shut down from mid-March of that year all the way through to April 30, 2021. A total of 412 days.

People out West are normally excited out ahead of the opening of that year’s “Haunted Mansion Holiday.” But this year, the opening of this seasonal overlay was overshadowed by what’s coming in January of 2024 AFTER this edition of “Haunted Mansion Holiday” shutters. And that’s because the Disneyland Resort just announced an ambitious expansion of the Mansion’s grounds.

Expansion plans for grounds at West Coast version of Mansion

Here’s what Disney Parks shared earlier this week (which gets underway in early 2024 and is expected to take the better part of next year to complete), these additions to this attraction …

… will build on the story and already established lore of Disney’s Haunted Mansion and will include an expanded outdoor queue to immerse guests in enhanced theming, as well as a new retail shop adjacent to the attraction’s exit.

The Mansion’s newly expanded queue space will soon take Guests through gardens which will then celebrate three of this attraction’s more infamous residents:

• Master Gracey
• Madam Leota
• and the one-eyed cat

The Imagineers will stage these new spaces in such a way that they will look like they have always been part of the Mansion’s grounds at Disneyland. Expect to encounter fountains, gazebos and even a greenhouse as you gradually wind your way up to this attraction’s entrance.

Note to Len: I’m told that this newly expanded queue space at Disneyland’s Haunted Mansion will have space to contain an additional 600 people as they wait in for this attraction.

Len says: This makes me think this is a crowd-control measure for when Tiana’s Bayou Adventure opens in 2024 and crowds throng to it.  Especially if that opening happens in the fall, when they switch to Haunted Mansion Holiday.

Carriage house retail shop really excites Disneyland managers

Mind you, the thing that most excites Disneyland managers about this expansion of the Haunted Mansion’s grounds is that – when it’s complete – for the first time in 55 years, this New Orleans Square favorite will have its own dedicated retail shop right next to the Mansion’s exit.

Previously (for decades now), Anaheim’s Mansion has had a retail cart just a few steps away from the Mausoleum that Guests exit out of. But what’s coming soon – the carriage house – is so much more ambitious. This will be a stand-alone structure …

Just to be clear here: The carriage house for Disneyland’s version of the Haunted Mansion will be positioned in such a way that Guests won’t exit directly into this gift shop. But – rather – will have the option AFTER they exit that attraction to then go explore this shop. There’ll be a clear wide walkway right next to the carriage house. So – if Guests choose – they can, after they exit the Mausoleum at the Mansion, quickly stride down this walkway going right past this gift shop.

And once they get back to the waterfront … Well, Guests can either go to their right. Which will take them to “Pirates of the Caribbean” or New Orleans Square’s newest eatery, Tiana’s Palace. Or – if they go to the left – they’ll eventually arrive at Tiana’s Bayou Adventure and “The Many Adventures of Winnie-the-Pooh.” Also “Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge.”

New Mansion retail shop may create new pinch point / Guest traffic issue in New Orleans Square

Given how popular all of that “Haunted Mansion Holiday” merch is every year … Friend-of-the-show Jim Shull (after eyeballing the concept art that Disney Parks released for the carriage house project) suggested that – in the not-so-distant future – there may come a time, when Guests arrive at Disneyland Park where …

Well, when you get to the Hub and you ask a Cast Member there what’s the easiest way to get to Tiana’s Bayou Adventure … They may suggest – rather than walking around the Rivers of America as they pass through Frontierland, New Orleans Square and (eventually) Critter Country – Guests may be told to go instead to make their way through Fantasyland to Big Thunder Trail. Where – after finding one of the two portals there that allows Disneyland visitors access to the Anaheim version of “Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge” – they’ll then be advised to pass through the marketplace at Black Spire Outpost. Which will then bring them in the back way to Critter Country. Thus avoiding all of the congestion that’s now found around the carriage shop at the Mansion.

People forget that Pelican Landing – the new seating area for Harbour Galley – opened in this section of New Orleans Square back in November of 2021. Which brings a lot more Disneyland Guests to this part of the waterfront of the Rivers of America. Which will eventually be right across the way for the Haunted Mansion’s new dedicated retail shop, the carriage house.

Project Stardust was supposed to have cleared up this issue. Didn’t take construction of Tiana’s Palace, Pelican Landing, the expanded queue at the Mansion along with that attraction’s new post-show retail as well as Tiana’s Bayou Adventure into account

Irony here is that – between January & June of 2019 (out ahead of the opening of Anaheim’s version of “Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge” that very same year) – Disneyland spent millions on Project Stardust. Which widened walkways all around this theme park in order to make it far easier for Guests to get back to Black Spire Outpost

Potential new pinch point in the Park in the making, Len. Might want to sic Guy Selga on this now and maybe get a new touring plan for Disneyland in the works.

Pinch point or not, Disneyland Park is really looking forward to the carriage house gift ship coming online FYI: The backstory of this establishment is that this is where Madam Leota had been living on the grounds of the Mansion prior to then becoming one of the 999 happy haunts currently in residence.

Actress from first “Mansion” movie almost replaced Leota Tombs as official voice / face of character

Side note: WDI’s original plan here was to decorate Disneyland’s carriage shop with many of wild outfits & props that Jaime Lee Curtis wore / used in the new “Haunted Mansion” movie that came out this past Summer. But given how poorly that film performed at the box office, that plan is now somewhat in doubt.

Just so you know: When the first “Haunted Mansion” movie came out in November of 2003 (And that film had quite the Disney pedigree. It was directed by Rob Minkoff, the co-director of the hand-drawn version of “The Lion King,” and it was produced by Don Hahn, the producer of Disney’s original animated version of “Beauty and the Beast.”

And – back then – the Imagineers was so certain that this Eddie Murphy movie was going to be a huge hit at the box office that they began making plans to add elements from that film to the actual Haunted Mansion attraction in the Parks. In much the same way that animatronic versions of Jack Sparrow & Barbossa were eventually added to the “Pirates of the Caribbean” ride in the Fall of 2006.

One of the changes that was seriously considered for both the Mansion at Walt Disney World as well as the original out in Anaheim was replacing Imagineering legend Leota Tomb as the official face of Madam Leota and – in her place – bring in Jennifer Tilly (the actress who’d played Madam Leota in the Eddie Murphy) to re-record the classic spiel that Guests here as their Doombuggy floats through this attraction’s séance scene.

I’ve been told that – just prior to the theatrical release of the first “Haunted Mansion” movie – Tilly’s agent had been reached out to by Disney Legal. They were in the process of negotiating the deal which would have then resulted in Jennifer officially becoming the new voice & face of Madam Leota at the Disney Parks (Things supposedly got far enough along that that a recording session had tentatively been set up for January of 2004).

But when that first film version of “Mansion” tanked at the box office, the plan to replace Leota Tombs as the official face of Madam Leota was quietly scuttled.

Success of East Coast Mansion retail inspired creation of West Coast Mansion retail

Back to the carriage house … Disneyland management is really excited about their Haunted Mansion getting its own dedicated retail shop close to the exit of this New Orleans attraction because they know how well Memento Mori has been doing at WDW’s Magic Kingdom.

That Liberty Square attraction was previously known as the Yankee Trader. Shut down on July 28, 2014. Re-opened on October 1st as a Mansion exclusive store and has been doing gangbusters business ever since.

Columbia Harbor House was once supposed to become Haunted Harbor Galley

Mind you, the Imagineers didn’t want to stop there. There was serious talk about extending the Mansion’s overall footprint across the street to Columbia Harbor House. With the idea that this counter service location would then be rethemed to become the Haunted Harbor Galley.

Actually came across some images that were done for this project by Marcelo Vignali (He’s the Imagineer who did much of the early concept work on “Roger Rabbit’s Car Toon Spin” ride at Disneyland). They were (and still are) part of Vignali’s online portfolio. Len, do you want to describe the two images of Haunted Harbour Galley that I shared with you.

Len describes revised exterior of counter service restaurant (i.e., run-down, tattered sails). Interior of restaurant tricked out with all sorts of ghostly gags (EX: Deep diving suit with skeleton inside).

Nighttime show themed around Mansion proposed for Disneyland’s Rivers of America

Disneyland had a similar plan in place in the mid-to-late 1980s for expanding the foot0print of its version of the Haunted Mansion. But on a much grander scale.

Picture this: A new bit of mythology would be introduced for the West Coast version of Mansion. To be specific: After dark, those 999 happy haunts could actually leave the grounds of the Mansion and then wander about in New Orleans Square.

Well, not all of New Orleans Square. Just the part around the southern end of Tom Sawyer Island at the bend of the Rivers of America.

Yep. Right where “Fantasmic!” is (Well, was. After that fire back on April 22nd of this year, performances of this twice-nightly show have been suspended through the Spring of 2024), a Mansion-themed show entitled “River Haunt” was to have been staged.

Shares 8 concept paintings that were done in-house for this proposed nighttime show with Len. What do you think of what Disneyland Entertainment was trying to do here?

Len describes how many classic characters & scenes from this New Orleans Square attraction were to have been replicated out on the end of Tom Sawyer Island. Including Madam Leota’s séance as well as the ghostly organist in the Grand Ballroom.

Great looking show. Why didn’t it go into production? Thinking at the time at Disneyland is that a new nighttime show at the Parks should represent the theme park as a whole, not just celebrate a single attraction. So the “River Haunt” concept was discarded in favor of the Disneyland Imagination River Show. Which eventually became known as “Fantasmic!” Which opened at that theme park on May 13, 1992.

Disneyland searches for new climax for West Coast version of “Fantasmic!”

Final note: On the heels of the dragon animatronic (which used to provide the climax for this nighttime show going up in flames), Disneyland Entertainment is reportedly looking for a new & exciting way to bring the West Coast version of “Fantasmic!” to a close. If they pulled these “River Haunt” concept paintings out of their files, I bet that Disneyland Entertainment could come up with some pretty wild ideas: