tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4444762441887107389.post410714101762495877..comments2024-03-07T09:25:09.142-08:00Comments on Long-Forgotten: How the Haunted Mansion Changed the GameHBG2http://www.blogger.com/profile/05073387557562504315noreply@blogger.comBlogger17125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4444762441887107389.post-51772000402625729482014-01-21T08:36:25.668-08:002014-01-21T08:36:25.668-08:00It's often forgotten that it's not just a ...It's often forgotten that it's not just a matter of creating a wondrous effect, but creating a wondrous effect that's tough as nails, running 16 hours a day or more, six or seven days a week, and relatively quick and easy to repair.HBG2https://www.blogger.com/profile/05073387557562504315noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4444762441887107389.post-79882627459094224752014-01-21T06:36:16.094-08:002014-01-21T06:36:16.094-08:00There was a clip of an animatronic face in the Dis...There was a clip of an animatronic face in the Disneyland TV special that showed the use of something spring-like to make the mouth shape change -- something I don't think we saw until the Mr. Potato Head figure. Early film footage of the Jungle Cruise shows some amazing animations with the mechanical animals back then, including an animal that seemed to stand up and run around in a circle. There were many mechanical things from that era I expect just wouldn' "last" repeated use -- and it took decades for them to greenlight new ways to do them. I think this is an indication of what could have been with someone like Walt "hey, brother, go on a trip and I'll go ahead and greenlight a few high dollar expansions when you aren't here to stop me" Disney at the helm.Allen Huffmanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06785680934278190478noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4444762441887107389.post-28016655314799171172013-07-23T23:16:45.875-07:002013-07-23T23:16:45.875-07:00Still...they move in an 'otherwordly' way....Still...they move in an 'otherwordly' way...they SHOULDN'T 'seem alive' as the POTC characters do...I truly think the way the HM figures move benefits the 'creep factor'...I just love them to death...;)Kevin Karstenshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00256575834955440406noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4444762441887107389.post-92110023650735769672013-03-07T02:19:03.285-08:002013-03-07T02:19:03.285-08:00Well, actually - these are not supposed to be corp...Well, actually - these are not supposed to be corpses, for the most part. They're spirits.Grinning Ghosthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09431989275349314467noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4444762441887107389.post-4495978574714376682013-03-06T19:46:26.811-08:002013-03-06T19:46:26.811-08:00"—and the AA figures were no more sophisticat..."—and the AA figures were no more sophisticated—in fact, they were less. Not that the show wasn't amusing, it's just that we had come to expect . . . more."<br /><br />You know, it's kinda funny, but I have always thought that the limited (and somewhat 'stiff') movements of the ghosts in the HM were a massive ASSET in creating a creepy, unnatural feel to the whole thing...I mean, these are CORPSES, after all...the fact that they move in an unusual manner ADDS to the effect for me...the pirates in POTC are SUPPOSED to be 'people', (and they NEVER really came off that way for me), but these are UNEARTHLY residents.<br /><br />For me, the animations of the HM ghosts and ghouls has always been PERFECT...I wouldn't 'upgrade' or change them for the world...Kevin Karstenshttp://www.karcreat.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4444762441887107389.post-77629398203267324762010-12-04T05:49:32.383-08:002010-12-04T05:49:32.383-08:00They were indeed. And the shiny golden look didn&...They were indeed. And the shiny golden look didn't last even one year before they began to brown (and eventually green). I'll probably do a post on the plaques at some point. Meanwhile, here's a nice color side-by-side:<br /><br />http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y32/danolson/old%20disneyland%20bride/plaques69and10.jpgHBG2https://www.blogger.com/profile/05073387557562504315noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4444762441887107389.post-55153143504137329772010-12-03T23:23:28.611-08:002010-12-03T23:23:28.611-08:00I noticed in the crowd scene that the two cameo pl...I noticed in the crowd scene that the two cameo plaques at the entry gate were polished brass, I had forgotten how beautiful they were back then.Dr Bitzhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15292579927503536511noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4444762441887107389.post-64137045904148663382010-12-01T20:23:02.617-08:002010-12-01T20:23:02.617-08:00It would be interesting to see a "six degrees...It would be interesting to see a "six degrees of separation" matrix of an AA figure into all the different shows. Like the Auctioneer head, etc.Dr Bitzhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15292579927503536511noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4444762441887107389.post-6221397792831048392010-12-01T17:30:35.442-08:002010-12-01T17:30:35.442-08:00Lincoln's face made it into the Mansion twice,...Lincoln's face made it into the Mansion twice, re-sculpted into "Aunt Lucretia". First as one of the staring busts, and again on the Ballroom mantle as an actual bust.Grinning Ghosthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09431989275349314467noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4444762441887107389.post-64540812173051451092010-11-30T21:19:59.653-08:002010-11-30T21:19:59.653-08:00August 1963 issue of National Geographic. That...August 1963 issue of National Geographic. That's Lincoln's head.HBG2https://www.blogger.com/profile/05073387557562504315noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4444762441887107389.post-59211867879148946032010-11-30T20:54:07.045-08:002010-11-30T20:54:07.045-08:00Where was that picture of the animatronic head fro...Where was that picture of the animatronic head from?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4444762441887107389.post-6552723932888888742010-11-30T09:54:24.501-08:002010-11-30T09:54:24.501-08:00Hey, thanks for confirming what the mood of the da...Hey, thanks for confirming what the mood of the day was back then. A lot of people hereabouts might have a hard time believing the once upon a time the HM was thought by many to be a dud.HBG2https://www.blogger.com/profile/05073387557562504315noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4444762441887107389.post-80827879380138180762010-11-30T08:34:42.588-08:002010-11-30T08:34:42.588-08:00This post brings back foggy memories of an 11 year...This post brings back foggy memories of an 11 year old being a bit let down by the HM. The anticipation was huge and so was the hype. I had read that Disney News Mag you posted many times over. I too had seen the facade 3 years earlier and was heartbroken that it was not open yet. This left too much time to imagine what was inside. Part of the problem is that people have expectations of what a "Spook House" should be with big scares and Disney can't go there. Instead, we got an effects driven musical comedy. <br /><br />As a kid, I did not like the whole "Omnimover" thing as I wanted to explore the house, not ride through plastic figures. I thought it was gonna be a full on walk through. I had Disney's "Chilling, Thrilling sounds of the Haunted House" record and played it over and over. I thought the HM was going to be some kind of extension of that. The ride was good, but not great, in my 11 year old imagination, expectations were not met, it was depressing. Pirates was so over the top jaw dropping nothing could top that. They slid downhill from there till Space Mountain. Bear Country as a new "land" was even worse. CBJ was a show that made me think imagination was dead and WED was bankrupt. If you grew up with new "lands" being the 67 T'land, or POTC being a "new ride", then all else is a "fail". Why were they not breaking any more new ground? Walt WAS dead after all. But, in the end, like the Peoplemover and ATIS, they all grow on you into classics over time ;-) Eleven was a pretty good year. <br /><br />Thanks for reviving those old memories of 11 year old skepticism.Dr Bitzhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15292579927503536511noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4444762441887107389.post-43686231506685668772010-11-27T08:02:08.907-08:002010-11-27T08:02:08.907-08:00One thing we know is that Walt was enthusiastic ab...One thing we know is that Walt was enthusiastic about Rolly's take on the project. The "Museum of the Weird" was Walt's own idea. To judge by the 1965 TV special, he saw no essential disharmony between Rolly's approach and Marc Davis's, although he apparently <i>did</i> understood that Rolly's stuff would have to have its own venue. It's difficult to know how involved he was in the HM project after the World's Fair was over and done. It appears that he gave the assignment to the various Imagineering teams and then let them loose, only checking in occasionally. It's obvious that a lot of big, fundamental issues were still unresolved at the time of his death.HBG2https://www.blogger.com/profile/05073387557562504315noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4444762441887107389.post-52730541826656440652010-11-27T06:22:58.636-08:002010-11-27T06:22:58.636-08:00If Walt had lived, it *might* have been even bette...If Walt had lived, it *might* have been even better. Much of what's there now had been developed and approved by Walt during the last few years of his life. It's difficult to speculate what changes Walt would have made to the final product, but one could always hope that any changes he might have made would have only made it better.Grinning Ghosthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09431989275349314467noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4444762441887107389.post-66406640275181082952010-11-26T21:01:22.126-08:002010-11-26T21:01:22.126-08:00Ah yes, but in light of the fact that many people ...Ah yes, but in light of the fact that many people consider the Mansion to be the best of the best (and even those who don't rank it that high still put it somewhere in the top tier), one has to wonder how Walt could have produced something better. Back then, what the Imagineers thought was its chief defect (lack of a unified vision) is thought by many today to be its greatest strength. The tension and interplay between conflicting concepts is endlessly interesting and somehow works to advantage with a haunted house. I don't think that was obvious to anyone at first. It may be heresy, but I have to ask: would the HM have been quite so good if Walt had lived?HBG2https://www.blogger.com/profile/05073387557562504315noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4444762441887107389.post-64503455723712319712010-11-26T18:07:58.965-08:002010-11-26T18:07:58.965-08:00As I think we all know, the anticipation of an eve...As I think we all know, the anticipation of an event is more often than not more exciting than the event itself. Short of something absolutely amazing, I don't think there was any way the HM was going to live up to the hype of 7 years. Actually, I do believe there would have been one way and that would have been if Walt had been alive. He would have given the HM direction, focus, and the singular vision that would have been his. Plus I think he would have challenged the Imagineers to give the HM the wow factor everyone was expecting.Capt. Tomorrowhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03382606555081631383noreply@blogger.com