A new rumor from WDWNT indicates that there is chatter that Disney is making more changes than simply adding a store to the Haunted Mansion. Currently, the attraction is closed for updates, which include new gardens and store. Now, there are rumors of more possible changes coming.
The rumors center around two changes: one involves Constance Hatchaway, aka “The Bride,” and one involves the Hitchhiking Ghosts.
The Bride
The first rumor is about Constance, the attic bride. According to WDWNT, they hear that the attraction will get a new Bride and a “window behind her made of projections.”
It would fit in with the other elements in this scene, like the lenticular portraits that show her with her husbands before and after their heads were cut off.
The Hitchhiking Ghosts
The second rumor involves the famous Hitchhiking Ghosts, Gus, Phineas, and Ezra. According to their sources, the ghost effect at the end, when they follow you home in the Doom Buggy, will be replaced with projections.
Currently, the effect is achieved with Pepper’s Ghost trick, which is used in the ballroom to make the ghosts appear, disappear, and seem transparent. Now, the rumor is that the Hitchhiking Ghosts effect will be achieved by using projections. This is more like what is done at Walt Disney World.
You can actually see how it is done the old-school way in this Imagineering Disney article!
Of course, all of this is just a rumor, and nothing has been confirmed by Disney. As WDWNT mentions, things do change all the time, and it could have simply been an early idea that was scrapped. We don’t know.
What we do know is that the Haunted Mansion grounds are being expanded, and Disney is adding a gift shop and garden area.
The gardens will be inspired by Master Gracey, Madame Leota, and the one-eyed cat.
Each section will have elements like a fountain, gazebo, or statuary. Disney said that guests will also “…be able to see a new greenhouse where the groundskeepers for the Haunted Mansion grow their plants.”
Disneyland is also getting a new Haunted Mansion store that looks like the carriage house for the mansion and belongs to Madame Leota. Think Momento Mori at Walt Disney World.
What do you think about the rumors and confirmed updates?
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Source: WDWNT
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