Disney Imagineers explain the history and creation of the Disneyland haunted house attraction

Disney’s Haunted house the film hits theaters this weekend, and in the spirit of the beloved Disneyland attraction on which the film is based, we’ve got a little story about the creation of the ride for you. In a recent interview with /Film, the Disneyland Imagineers explained that Walt Disney always envisioned the inclusion of a haunted house in his park.

In the 1950s, during the early days of Disneyland’s development, Imagineer Harper Goff sketched out a design for what would eventually become the Haunted Mansion. His sketch, which showed a house on a hill overlooking Disneyland’s Main Street, looked like it “really looked like the quintessential haunted house you’d see in movies at the time,” Imagineering executive creative director Kim Irvine told me. , a little worn out and overgrown. manor that appeared to be dilapidated. Irvine is an expert on the Haunted Mansion and has a special connection to it: Her mother, one of Disney’s first female Imagineers, was the model for Madame Leota, the fortune teller character whose head appears in a floating crystal ball during a seance. scene near the center point of the ride.

But Walt Disney thought the idea of ​​a shoddy-looking building ran counter to his vision of a more pristine theme park. He preferred the juxtaposition of the building with a beautiful exterior that contained disturbing elements within. In regards to these unsettling elements, the actual narrative that visitors to the Haunted Mansion would experience changed several times during the planning stages. As Juleen Woods, senior project coordinator at the Imagineering Department explained, some of the early concepts for what the attraction might entail included the Headless Horseman from “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow” or the legend of a sea captain from named Captain Gore who killed his bride after she found out he was a pirate. The ghost of Gore’s wife haunted him to the point that he hung himself from the rafters – a distinctive image that actually made its way into the final version of the attraction.

Walt and Imagineers such as Harper Goff, Ken Anderson, Yale Gracey, Rolly Crump, Marc Davis and Claude Coats set out to create an all-original storyline for the Haunted Mansion. But initially they imagined the experience of visiting it in a totally different way than how it turned out.

“For so long, the attraction was going to be a cakewalk,” Woods told me. “Even at one point, the crow you see throughout the attraction would be your ‘ghost host’ and talk to you as you crossed and walked. But then, luckily, the World’s Fair – even though it put the Haunted Mansion project suspended from 1963 to 1969: one of the most beautiful things to emerge from the World Exposition was the discovery of the Omnimover [ride system], which is what Doom Buggy is. And we were able to take that technology and come up with a different way to tell the story, which is you’re on this Doom Buggy, which is a much better way because it really shows you where to focus your attention.”

One of the biggest benefits of riding the Haunted Mansion is how the attraction goes from being a little creepy to having a more fun and entertaining feel as it progresses through the mansion and into the (still closed) cemetery in its courtyard. But that balance of fear and humor didn’t come easy.

“There was a lot of controversy, frankly, among the Imagineers who were developing the concept at the time, whether it should be scarier [or] more fun,” said Kim Irvine. “I think it went back and forth quite a few times before it got to where it is now. It’s a combination of all their personalities. But the humor definitely comes from Marc [Davis] coming from animation and creating all those wonderful funny cartoon characters. He wanted him to have a sense of humor, and I think the poise of him is really wonderful.”

“I think the original Imagineers had so honed their storytelling skills producing the first Disney films, many of which mixed humor, that they realized how well it would work with Disneyland’s Haunted Mansion, where Walt Disney wanted kids to be able to enjoy your own parents,” said John Gritz, a principal concept designer at Walt Disney Imagineering.

Juleen Woods has pointed to musical transition as a key reason why balance works so well. “It’s this perfect balance of sadness and smile, like the song says,” she joked, referring to “Grim Grinning Ghosts,” a classic song written for attraction. “It’s a celebration of ghosts and music, and I love that the music changes the mood throughout the whole attraction. So whatever scene you’re seeing, it’s the perfect music for that scene. It’s the balance of ghosts and humor .”

The Haunted Mansion is a total blast and a favorite with park-goers for decades. I too can’t wait to see the movie, as it looks like a homage to the attraction filled with easter eggs. Disney’s Haunted house it’s in theaters now.