The Haunted Mansion, 11/70 and 9/71
It's Halloween! The spookiest day of the year. Except for April 15th, am I right? Man, what a hilarious joke, and it just came to me right now. If only I could have worked a mother in-law angle into it. I'll workshop it. Sue B. was kind enough to provide more photos from her dad (Lou Perry, of course), during two visits to Disneyland, when the Haunted Mansion was still a "NEW ATTRACTION".
The first two are from November 1970, 15 months after the Mansion had debuted. It's rather shocking to me to see how mellow and uncrowded it is! The exterior looks very nice, as if a railroad baron or Rubik's Cube champ had lived there. That lantern to the right is pretty impressive, I wonder if it's an antique rescued from the city of Baltimore or some such place? Or it was purchased at "Just Lampz!" on Lankershim. I'm realizing that my life has been severely lacking in wrought iron, and I'm not happy about it.
Here's a lovely shot from late-afternoon; I guess November really was the "off season" back in 1970, what I wouldn't give to be there on a day like that! I like the outfit on the groovy lady to the right, the same sort of chartreuse found on fishing lures. She's with Jack Nicholson's brother Scooter. A ghostly Mickey balloon hovers near the entrance - or am I just seeing things?!? Say, that's an alarming number of strollers, all those parents are taking their tiny tots on that scary ride.
The next three are from September, 1971. This one is almost (but not quite) the same angle as the previous photo, with more people at the park in September. A sweeper is near the entrance cleaning up some protoplasm, no matter what he does it keeps reappearing.
Is that style of trashcan only used right near the Mansion? It's pretty swell. I've always appreciated the beauty of the grounds around this attraction, especially those magnolia trees, which always make me think of my grandma because she loved magnolias.
More strollers! I wonder how many of those young children were traumatized by their first ride on the Haunted Mansion? I'm looking at that little one next to the man with the white shirt, I hope she won't cry.
AND, for one last extra goodie, Sue included this scan (undated) from Virginia City, Nevada, showing the famous Bucket of Blood Saloon (apparently named for a bloody gunfight in 1880). The good news is that I can still call my saloon "The Bag of Entrails". Fun for the whole family.
MANY THANKS to Lou and Sue, and HAPPY HALLOWEEN!
25 comments:
Major-
A CM taking tickets right at the 'fence line'. Boy... those were the days. I'm curious what that 'black wire'-looking thing is that's snaking its way from the upper verandah, intertwining the wrought iron, across the bottom railing and then back up the wrought iron disappearing about 2/3's of the way up...
I almost forgot about those California temporary paper license plates - as seen on that 1954 Ford 'Customline', with Ford-O-Matic automatic transmission (and backup lights, hubba, hubba), probably in Killarney Green-! On its right is a 1954 Super 88, Oldsmobile, probably in Glade Green Metallic; also with backup lights - although less of a big deal on an Oldsmobile, back in 1954-!
Thanks, again, to Lou and Sue. Happy Halloween to all.
In #1, I like the lighting in this photo. It's suitably muted. The guy in the blue shirt needs a haircut. He also has a ticket book (or two) in his shirt pocket.
In #2, Scooter has a handkerchief dangling out of his shirt pocket... or maybe it's a slice of raw beef liver. I think it was a passing fad back then to have either a kerchief or some liver hanging out of one's pocket. So it could be either one. She is wearing a miniskirt with yellow leggings of some sort.
Major, the "ghostly Mickey balloon" is actually Casper. He wanted to be one of the 999 ghosts living in the Mansion, but Disney turned him away... he was too friendly.
In #3, "...cleaning up some protoplasm, no matter what he does it keeps reappearing". Who ya gonna call?... GHOSTBUSTERS!!! I like how the trashcan is themed for the Haunted Mansion.
In #4, dang. I guess I should have read ahead to see your comment on the themed trashcan. What's done is done, and it can't be undone. It's one of the Laws of the Universe. So I'm leaving my comment above, as is; lest I upset the grand scheme of the universe.
In #5, there's a whole passel of young'uns on the left edge of the photo. I guess all the spooky goings-on before you board your Doombuggy are to filter out all the scaredy cats so they don't have to stop the ride to let a screaming kid off.
Bucket of Blood: It would appear that Budweiser paid for that sign. Judging from the cars (Nanook?) the photo looks to be from the early fifties.
Nanook, Ah, 1954. Maybe that black thing is a grounding wire attached to a lightning rod? But I doubt it.
Thanks to Lou & Sue for the photos and scans. And thank you, Major, for posting them, and for your commentary.
I was gonna ask about that black cable running down the mansion’s south facing balcony ….. it’s probably how the Hat Box Ghost escaped the house!!
The green trash can is a Haunted Mansion area exclusive. The same design is used throughout New Orleans Square but in a blue color scheme. The original New Orleans Square area trashcan was suppose to have a specially made decal on both sides without the doors. It was a oval emblem New Orleans insignia with a American flag and the Louisiana State flag , but I haven’t seen any evidence it was ever implemented.
Like most Disneyland trashcans , the Haunted Mansion and New Orleans Square trashcans are the Miller Engineering /Lit-o-guard MODEL C.
H a P p Y H a l L o W e E n
everyone!!
CORRECTION: that New Orleans Square area trashcan decal insignia was to feature THREE flags : UNITED STATES in the center and the Spanish and French flags on the sides .
That black wire is for cable television, of course. Today, there is a satellite dish on the roof of the house, for Direct TV.
I love all of these early views of the Haunted Mansion's exterior. Thank you, Lou, Sue, and Major! And Happy Halloween, to all!
“Bucket of Entrails…” Sorry, Major, but that’s the name of my five-piece chamber orchestra. We don’t get many gigs. Not sure why.
That black wire is actually holding the whole façade up. Clip it and everything falls like a house of cards!
Speaking of the façade, I'm still amazed at how small it really is. The wraparound porches make it look huge! And the ghosts messing with dimensional physics, of course.
Speaking of ghostly manipulated dimensional physics (see how I just worked that right in there?) picture #3 is a good view of how the copula outside doesn't match the copula inside. Hexagons and octagons are NOT the same thing, people!
Thanks to Lou and Sue for the Halloween treat!
Nice pics. Gotta run for now. I think the exception this year for spookiest day might be Nov. 8th.
I spot a cast member doing some cleaning up in the third photo.
Thanks Major.
I love these photos! Thank you Lou and Sue!
The first photos are right around the time of my first Mansion visit, I was so thrilled to finally ride it. We had watched the empty house for several years anticipating the new ride, back when a new thing at Disneyland didn’t mean the removal or ruination of some other thing.
I also love the Mansion trash cans, taking no chances that anyone would have an excuse for bringing trash inside.
Stu, Long-Forgotten has a post on how many parts of the mansion interiors do not correspond to the exteriors, and how this may be purposeful art direction.
Also, I’ve visited the Bucket of Blood Saloon twice, but never had a cocktail. I have some souvenir glasses that are pretty cool. I can share pics if you like, Major. Virginia City is quite a place to visit, every block has something on the order of this saloon, as well as rides on the Virginia & Truckee RR.
JG
I understand the wrought iron railing is actually a standard catalog pattern that can be bought today! (Don't ask me where).
Nanook, yes, who knew that we would someday miss the old ticket books. I have to admit that it IS nice to do whatever you want to do, but as others have pointed out, having those tickets made guests strategize, and perhaps try rides that they would ordinarily have not done. I wondered about that paper number on the bumper of that car, and did not know that it was a temporary license plate. Interesting.
JB, a haircut?? No way man, long hair is where it’s at. I noticed that hankie in Scooter’s pocket, seems like a weird detail. Casper is not allowed on Disney property, he will be shot on sight. Luckily for him, the bullets will go right through. Yes, you should always read ahead in the comments, and take copious and detailed notes, in case you are quizzed about them in three months. It hasn’t happened yet, BUT IT COULD. I honestly could imagine those kids would be terrified; my eight year old nephew walked into the foyer, heard the Ghost Host, and walked right back out. It was sort of funny.
Mike Cozart, I can’t imagine why that black cable snakes right down the front of the building; if they needed some sort of electrical cord that they forgot, why not run it up the back of the building where nobody can see it? So odd. Thanks for the info about the trash cans!
Mike Cozart, it’s too late! As I’ve said before, there are no take-backsies on GDB!
TokyoMagic!, even ghosts like to watch TV. Especially “The X-Files”. I’ll bet that satellite dish is shaped like a tombstone.
Chuck, I guess I’ll have to change the name to “The English Bucket of Entrails”.
Stu29573, thank you for explaining the black cord, now it all makes sense. I kind of like how the Mansion looks small (at least when compared to how big it looks on the inside), it’s disorienting. The “Long Forgotten” blog has pointed out how the cupola doesn’t match the inside, but how many people noticed? Only the true nerds! (I’m one of them).
DrGoat, hey, slow down, have a cup of coffee, paint a watercolor, write a poem! Yes, November 8th is pretty spooky. And yes, the cast member is the one cleaning up the protoplasm.
JG, I think we are so used to the Mansion after all these decades that it is easy to forget just how impressive it looks from the outside. No other park would have had such an amazing and detailed exterior! I admit that I have seen trash inside the Mansion, and wonder how anybody could be such a slob. But then I remember the real world, unfortunately. I remember watching a documentary about “The Shining”, and they pointed out how interior scenes in the movie made no sense in regards to the exterior, and the theory was that Kubrick did that on purpose. Or else he didn’t think anybody would be paying such close attention! I’d love to see your souvenir glasses, but I’m away from my computer today, so I probably won’t be able to add them to today’s post. Sorry about that!
Steve DeGaetano, I’ve heard that too (maybe in “The E-Ticket” magazine? Or the “Long Forgotten” blog? Not sure).
Why would I drink Budweiser when there's a perfectly good bucket of blood sitting right there? Anyway, it's all happening over at the Bottle of Bile. That one car in front has a whole fabric store in the back window.
Major, I just watched that documentary (Room 237) last night. Synchronicity!
The first picture is what it looked like when I finally made it to the California Mansion in 2003. Must've been a slow morning, but there were only a few people there and we just walked in the front door like the kids in the "Story and Song" record. Until then, I didn't realize how much better it was to go in the front door instead of a sort of side door like you do in Florida. It makes the whole thing feel more real.
I would have said that was Scooter in both the first two pictures, but he's wearing different trousers. Of course, brother Jack used two different color typewriters in The Shining, so who knows? Pretty spooky, kids! Owoooo!
Oh boy, my favorite Disneyland attraction! I liked looking for little details in these. Is that an angel at the top of the lantern in photo one? Melissa, you forgot to say “Hello, sailors!” for photo 2. The wait time sign is there in photo 3 and gone in the next, and the bottom part seems to be slightly askew, looking especially hand-lettered. I would go on the ride when I was pretty young and was very scared of the hall of doors (kept my eyes closed during it) but liked the rest of it. Go figure! Thanks Major and Happy Halloween everybody!
The mansion’s lacy wrought iron design is a standard and popular pattern still available today. The manufacturer has a substantial minimum now in order to purchase it …. Because of the information being out over the past few decades they were inundated with requests on Disney fans purchasing small little pieces of it ( the design is comprised of modular segments that must be welded together ) and lite of Disney fans don’t understand that and thought they were getting full railing sections as they look on the mansion and didn’t understand that square tubular metal supports had to be purchased my other metal supplies and assembled and welded together …. Etc etc ..
A similar thing Happened with the manufacturer of the Disneyland railroad conductor caps . They were a fleet supplier /manufacturer not a retailer and selling them individually is not good for business. Now they will no longer deal with small orders.
Mike, thanks for the HM trashcan info.
Major, the guy's hair IS pretty long, for 1970 anyway. If this was 1976, or so, he would fit right in. And I've never seen a colorful hankie stuffed loosely in a shirt pocket like that; just crisply folded ones tucked into suit jacket pockets.
Melissa, a Count Floyd reference!
Kathy!, I can't tell if it's an angel, an eagle, or a gargoyle sitting on a rock.
Nov. 8th; spooky indeed. (I hear that third rail a-hummin'.)
JB: I concur with the long hair. NASA cuts only. Short back and sides (which is what I was compelled to get as a kid, and then when I got older, I rebelled and had hair way longer than this guy...which is odd now that I have become "grumpy uncle" and think all guys should have short hair NO MATTER WHAT. EVEN THE GIRLS! GET THE CLIPPERS! I think it's actually the inability to grow hair on my head now that makes me a bit more grumpy than I need to be. I do like trim and neat however. Girls like those guys with Fabio type manes...I don't get it. I generalize. I also don't get guys working on Storybook Land...but that's for another post. I was OBSESSED with Virginia City as a kid. We went there on a road trip to Lake Tahoe. We also went to Carson City and I REALLY wanted to go to the Ponderosa Ranch, but that cost money so: "NO". The money was spent in slot machines in Virginia City, and the cocktails to go with the gambling. I'm not sure where the parents were. Virginia City was like Main St. and Frontierland all in one. Loved it. Happy Halloween. It's "my" day. BU! Did I scare you? My first trip to the Haunted Mansion was in 1970 and I was almost not allowed on it since my previous visit to the Park was plagued with me crying and screaming on every ride. Since I had seen the Osmond special, I knew what I was getting into. I remember thinking "when does the scary stuff happen?" The Marc Davis ending dispels all the creepiness of the first half of the experience, so all went well and I didn't lose my ...shibbles...It was the only time I went to Disneyland with a friend and my dad. (I think it was from Birthday money.) I don't remember much of that day, only my dad saying that my mother warned him about taking me on "such rides". Speaking of creepy: The Haunted Mansion opened to its first guests on August 9, 1969...the same day as the Manson Cielo murders. An odd coincidence, but true. The wire going up the side of the building if for the institutional lighting for Donny Osmonds school room, which was infamously located inside the Mansion of the Haunted Mansion. Why they randomly chose some random dusty space to educate a kid...who knows. There are so many other attractive spaces on site to have "school". But lets shove Donny into a ride, because that's not distractive to his studies....showbiz...Thanks to Lou and Sue for the Holiday photos! I ate far too much candy today.
Just finished an eight hour drive back home and am sitting under a lantern in my front yard with a bowl full of candy. Getting irritated that costumed kids keep walking up and raiding the bowl. That’s MY candy, you wretched urchins! In between visits from beggars in disguise, I am now able to take a closer look at today’s pictures.
Looks like the Haunted Mansion is stealing cable from Pirates of the Caribbean. Their skeleton crew doesn’t have a ghost of a chance of catching them at it.
Love the bumper sticker on the Olds imploring us to prevent forest fires. Anything with Smoky Bear on it gets an automatic +2 on its saving throw. I wish I knew what that meant.
Thanks again, Lou & Sue, and Happy Hallowe’en, evr’ybody!
Nice Haunted Mansion pics today. Perfect for Halloween. Thanks, Lou & Sue and Major too.
Happy Halloween to all!
Mrs. Chuck has just suggested that might be an ethernet cable. It’s probably for the web connection on the Grand Staircase.
Maybe the cable is for Edison's Spirit Phone, though I'd expect it would lead to the graveyard.
Dean Finder, interesting Edison story. Thanks for the link.
I knew the Jr. Gorillas wouldn't disappoint. Great info and lots more laughs, today - thank you!
"Nanook, yes, who knew that we would someday miss the old ticket books. I have to admit that it IS nice to do whatever you want to do...."
Major, I wish you were right...but, even if you spend several hundred dollars per day, you still really can't squeeze in as much as you could, years ago. I guess if you rented-out the place...
"JB, a haircut?? No way man, long hair is where it’s at."
Major, I'm picturing the flying loaf of bread, again. ;o)
"I admit that I have seen trash inside the Mansion, and wonder how anybody could be such a slob. But then I remember the real world, unfortunately."
Major, I'll be right back regarding your comment...I have to find a picture to post...will do so as soon as I find it...stay tuned...
^ ...I stumbled on THIS, today. Just scroll down a little bit to see the photo taken at WDW.
@ Sue-
What a mess.
Sue and Nanook, What-a-dump! ;-)
I've seen trash cans just like that, at DL. I have also seen Main St. "paved" with layers of garbage, right after a parade. The general public can be quite disgusting.
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