Hauntingly Historic Mansion Celebrates 55 Years Next Week

In New Orleans Square, there is a home where Southern Magnolia trees with cream-colored blossoms adorn the front lawn, and a weeping mulberry tree bows to greet you into a towering manor. Welcome to the Haunted Mansion at Disneyland Resort, home to 999 happy haunts, but there’s always room for one more.

On the road to Horizons: Disney Experiences Showcase, we’re continuing to celebrate beloved Disney parks attractions over the years. As we prepare for the attraction’s 55^th anniversary on Aug. 9, we’re taking a deep dive into how the Haunted Mansion came to be and the attractions around the world it has inspired since its conception.

The idea for the frightfully fantastic mansion came about in 1957 when Walt Disney asked Imagineer, animator, and future Disney Legend Ken Anderson to come up with a haunted house experience for Disneyland park. Ken took the idea and ran with it, traveling the country for inspiration for the attraction.

During his adventures, Ken came across the Shipley-Lydecker house in Baltimore, Maryland. Combining this and other influential architecture around the country including Stanton Hall in Natchez, Mississippi, and present-day Johns Hopkins University’s Evergreen Museum & Library, he drew a rough pencil sketch of what he envisioned – a decaying historic mansion with overgrown landscape, dark clouds, and bats circling. While Walt was proud of the work Ken had produced, he felt as though the attraction shouldn’t appear dilapidated and broken down in the middle of The Happiest Place on Earth. Walt then famously suggested to his Imagineers, “We’ll take care of the outside and let the ghosts take care of the inside.”

The exterior of the mansion, with its ornate wrought ironwork and gabled roof, as we know it today was built between 1962 and 1963 under Walt’s close supervision with the goal of creating a building with an ominous atmosphere that still felt right at home in New Orleans Square. After Walt passed away in 1966, Walt Disney Imagineering reaffirmed their commitment to see Walt’s dream through to completion, and new questions began to arise, most notably: Should the Haunted Mansion be scary or funny?

Some felt the attraction should be lighthearted and jovial while others thought guests would anticipate something scarier from an attraction called the Haunted Mansion. Through more dedicated discussion, the team found a compromise somewhere in the middle, resulting in a somber and ominous environment inhabited by whimsical and over-the-top ghostly residents.

The comedic and fun element of the attraction also gave way to the beloved tune composed by Disney Legends Buddy Baker and X Atencio, “Grim Grinning Ghosts.” Different iterations of this iconic song are woven throughout the attraction from the slow funeral dirge in the foyer, to an elegant waltz, and finally to an upbeat and jazzy composition towards the end of the attraction.

After excited and chilling anticipation, the attraction opened on Aug. 9, 1969, paving the way for a legacy of more than half a century and inspiring four more attractions around the world. Haunted Mansion captured the hearts of guests in California, and only two years later opened its doors in Florida in 1971.

The Haunted Mansion in Liberty Square at Magic Kingdom Park at Walt Disney World Resort was developed in tandem with the original attraction. Given that the new attraction would be in Liberty Square, the southern-inspired architecture designed for New Orleans Square would have been out of place. Imagineers instead got to work on a red-brick, colonial-style exterior for the Magic Kingdom attraction, inspired by the Harry Packer Mansion in Pennsylvania.

The final design included strong Gothic design elements such as towering archways, large stone foundations, as well as brickwork reminiscent of the English Tudor style of the surrounding architecture – an exterior many believe looks more sinister and haunting compared to its west coast counterpart. Despite these differences, both attractions share many iconic scenes like the Portrait Chamber (The Stretching Room), the Endless Hallway, the Séance Circle with Madame Leota, and of course, the Mausoleum Entrance with the Hitchhiking Ghosts! One thing, however, always remains true no matter what coast you’re on – the ghosts are simply dying to meet you!

Of the Haunted Mansion-style attractions that carry the original story of 999 spectacular specters, the third one can be found in the Fantasyland area at Tokyo Disneyland. Since Tokyo Disneyland was the first international Disney Park, Imagineers knew early on they wanted to integrate many beloved fan-favorite attractions including the Haunted Mansion. In Tokyo, the attraction took on a Dutch gothic style facade, similar to its counterpart in Walt Disney World.  The architecture of the mansion is inspired by the one in Liberty Square, featuring towering brick walls and a colonial-style exterior. Once inside, guests are greeted with an ornately decorated interior with 1800s Victorian flair.

Phantom Manor at Disneyland Paris opened on April 12, 1992 as the first attraction inspired by the original Haunted Mansion but with its own original name and storyline. Influenced by the ghost towns of Virginia City, Nevada – and more specifically the eerily historical Fourth Ward School – Phantom Manor sits right at home in Frontierland at Disneyland Paris. This location reflects the European fascination with western movies that was pervasive then. Its distinctive façade carries this storyline and is a great example of visual literacy, as it gives a self-explanatory taste of the story inside the attraction without using any words; this technique is very useful in a place like Disneyland Paris, where guests don’t necessarily all speak the same language.

The story itself varies from that of the original Haunted Mansion attraction, as it instead follows the phantom of Henry Ravenswood, the founder of Big Thunder Mining Company. Superfans may be enthralled with the eerie western-inspired town that guests ride through at the end of the attraction and instead of a graveyard scene, guests get to see Phantom Canyon and meet the unbelievably undead inhabitants who live there.

Mystic Manor at Hong Kong Disneyland doesn’t include ghosts at all! Rather, it follows the story of the mischievous monkey Albert, his friend and rescuer Lord Henry Mystic and their museum of artifacts, Mystic Manor. All guests are welcome on a tour of the museum, but be warned, some artifacts are known to possess strange powers that may bring Mystic Manor to life! To his amazement the box releases a ribbon of mystical energy that causes major havoc to ensue around the manor.

When the attraction debuted in 2013, fans touted the new sights, sounds, and storyline. Guests ride along as Albert finds himself in perilous situations moving room to room, with each area coming to life with the spirits he just released. As guests move through the attraction, they’ll also notice the Mystic Manor theme, composed by Disney Legend Danny Elfman, that plays throughout the attraction and shifts throughout the ride as it adapts to the geographical inspiration for each room.

Mystic Manor is often described as eclectic given its unusual structure that is an amalgamation of several very different styles. Imagineers found inspiration in the now-demolished Bradbury Mansion in Los Angeles, California. Since the manor belongs to Lord Henry Mystic, a well-traveled explorer, Imagineers wanted his house to reflect his many adventures around the world. The basic architecture has a distinct Victorian influence; however, the towers of Mystic Manor were inspired by the domed churches of Moscow and St. Petersburg, Russia. Architectural allusions to Spain, North Africa, and other locations that Lord Mystic has ventured to can be found throughout the manor.

What started in New Orleans Square at Disneyland park has become so much more, spreading across the globe and continuing to delight visitors every day. And during select seasons at Disneyland Resort, it undergoes a merry makeover inspired by “Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas.” In fact, Haunted Mansion Holiday reopened for guest to enjoy at Disneyland park today!

Can’t wait for your next ride around the mansion? Make sure to stream “The Haunted Mansion” (2003) and “Haunted Mansion” (2023) inspired by the Disney park attractions on Disney+. In true Haunted Mansion fashion: We’re just dying to meet you real soon!

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