Pirates & Mansion, October 1975
Today's photos come courtesy of a bad, bad person. Someone who flagrantly disobeyed the "no flash photography" rule! This person's criminal record probably continued on and on, with more heinous crimes, until they wound up in Sing Sing for murder. It could happen.
Right after you left the Haunted Mansion's spectacular ballroom scene, you entered the attic scene; and there you would find this ghostly bride waiting for you. In some versions she had a glowing red heart that beat rhythmically - maybe it's just not visible in this picture. Her arms look odd, resembling the arms of the T-1000 (from "Terminator 2") when they morphed into blades. Does anybody know what she was supposed to be doing? Maybe a karate chop? Anyway, there is still a bride in the attic, but the scene has changed dramatically in recent years.
These three minstrels have been performing in The Pirates of the Caribbean for years and years. The guitar player is staring right at us with his robot eyes, and it's freakin' me out, man! All three wear striped socks, so they must be Tim Burton fans. The plump fellow in the middle combines horizontal and vertical stripes, which is a big fashion no-no.
11 comments:
I love these....especially the bride that is no more.....bring back THIS bride, Disney! You gotta love that shower curtain wedding dress!
A question for anyone.
Does anyone know what is on the second floor of the Haunted Mansion building? Not the show building, but the house that the guests see. I assume it would be computers etc..., but I am not sure and I was just curious if anyone knew for sure.
Has anyone ever noticed while waiting in line for the Haunted Mansion that an upper window toward the back and side of the house (where you wait in line) that the curtain moves back slightly revealing a lighted candle and then the curtain closes again?
Major, cool pix. I hate it when people take these when i am on the ride, but they are fun to look at later, so there is some compensation.
I agree that the earlier versions of the bride and the hatbox etc. were better. Any idea why these changed?
Political correctness? I don't get it.
@OC Native. I don't know what is on the second floor, if anything. I did read on another blog, (second hand infor) that the effect you mention, along with others including moving lights, were part of the original HM design and were discontinued due to maintenance issues during the Pressler Reign Of Terror (term coined by Daveland, love it). The effects have recently been restored, although I have not seen them in operation personally for many many years.
If anyone else has better information, please post it, since this is only hearsay on my part.
JG
Awesome photos, even with flash..tsk tsk. Thank you for sharing these Major!
Forgive a rather potentially question...but as a representative of the Mansion online fan community, heh, are these definitively taken at Disneyland or came with others from DL (as opposed to Florida)? Merely asking as the 'corpse' looking bride has only been previously seen in Florida pics, so could be somewhat of a big deal...
OC Native, I believe the upper portions of the two stretching rooms are located on the second floor (everything above the ceiling scrims including the hanging bodies). There must be some additional space up there for employee access to the windows and then maybe a larger space above the foyer. I don't remember the curtains moving, but I kind of remember a light that used to float past one of the upstairs windows every so often. I haven't seen that for many years now.....maybe I just haven't been looking for it.
TM!, yeah I've always wondered why that plastic was considered more desirable than, perhaps, a very light weight gauze (like Little Leota wears). However, it was like that FOREVER, so I kind of love it for its oddness.
OC Native, I'm sure TM correct, but I'd love to believe that there were some "secret" rooms up there. As for the light and the moving curtain, I always thought that was a myth or rumor! But if you saw it, then it must have been there.
JG, I thought you had a cool Haunted Mansion story! Let's hear it!
Regions Beyond, these photos are from the same lot as two exteriors of the Disneyland mansion:
http://tinyurl.com/65cwpur
So I think it's safe to say that the interiors are also from DL. Somewhere, I have another photo of an old version of the bride, but it was blurry so I never shared it. I'm sure it was a different bride though.
Oooooh Major. If you've got a unpublished photo of the old bride, PLEASE find it and post it. Even if one is not a particularly rabid Mansionhead, a pic of the creepy old bride (even if blurry) beats yet another hippo shot (even if wonderfully clear). No?
HBG2, I'll look for it, but keep in mind there are thousands of slides, so I might not find it! And I haven't posted many hippo photos, considering... probably less than a dozen in over 4000 pictures!
Hey Major. I do have a funny HM story, and since you asked, here it is...
Years ago, I worked for an architect who got his start in the trade with Disney. He worked on the Haunted Mansion interiors (exterior was complete already).
They built full size mockups of the interiors to gauge the architecture and the figures. The sculptors created full size figures of all the characters.
In the scene following the attic, where you ride down backward into the graveyard, in the "far" distance is a dog howling at the full moon. The original maquette of this dog was completeD with what the Scots call his "clappers" (i.e. the parts that make a bell ring). This detail could not be seen from the angle of the spectators in the coaches.
My boss said that Walt objected to the anatomically correct dog and asked the sculptor to revise the figure.
The sculptor protested, since the dog figure was supposed to be howling at the moon, and those pendant accessories were "...what made him howl!"
Of course, the figure was revised, but I still laugh every time I see it.
Don't know if it's true, but it's plausible. The comment on Dumbo the other day reminded me. Glad he's not anatomically correct either.
JG
I love how the concertina of the far-right pirate picks up the stripes theme!
The "blade-like" arms you are mistakenly seeing are actually a candle (in her right hand) and the flash reflecting off of a wrinkle in her plastic dress (hanging from her left). If you look, you can clearly make out a hand holding the candle partially obscuring her right half of her face.
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