Haunted Mansion
Opened: October 1, 1971
Location: Liberty Square
Extra Magic Hours: Evening
FASTPASS: No
Type: Dark ride
Similar To: Spaceship Earth
Requirements: None
Scary Factor: Medium. The Haunted Mansion is intended to be a fun and goofy ride, not a frightening experience. You won’t see anything gruesome or disgusting and there aren’t any sudden drops or surprises that will pop up unexpectedly. Still, it is a haunted house full of ghouls and the ride is almost entirely in the dark, which may be enough to make youngsters apprehensive about riding. Chances are they won’t be frightened by anything they see during the ride, but they may be too scared from the thought of a haunted house to enjoy the ride.
What to Expect: The queue for the Haunted Mansion is outdoors under a large canopy. It protects from the rain, but won’t do much to keep the afternoon heat out. The canopy is surrounded by gravestones with humorous epitaphs paying homage to the original designers of the ride. Reading these may soften the wait times a bit, but don’t expect to be enthralled by anything you see. Once it’s your turn to enter the Mansion, you’ll be greeted and led in by two caretakers. After a neat room-expanding pre-show, you will enter another short queue where you will wait to enter your two to three person “doom buggy,” which is a small ride vehicle similar to those found at Buzz Lightyear Space Ranger Spin and Spaceship Earth. The vehicles move on a conveyer belt and will occasionally turn 180 degrees automatically so your buggy is facing the correct direction. Your slow ride through the Haunted Mansion will take about eight minutes to complete and features some of the best, most detailed scenes and animatronics in all of Disney World. For a detailed explanation of the story and the different scenes, visit http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Haunted_Mansion
When To Go: Visit the Haunted Mansion after you’ve completed the headlining rides in the morning or after 7pm. Also be aware that the Liberty Square Riverboat and Hall of Presidents let out about 750 people every 20 minutes. Many of those people head here, so try to find something else to do (ice cream sounds good) while the line dies down if you see a horde of people descending on the Mansion. Also, The Haunted Mansion is usually a walk-on during evening Extra Magic Hours so be sure to check back then as well. Like most haunted houses, it’s even better after dark.
Expect to Wait: Waits are usually in the 30 minute range by lunch and around 40 minutes in the afternoon. Expect waits to return to the 20 minute or less range in the late evening. The ride continuously loads and there is a pre-show and second queue inside, so your outdoor wait shouldn’t be too long.
Length: 9 minutes
Rating: 9/10
10 Years Plus in the Making: During planning and construction, Disney Imagineers couldn’t agree on the theme or scope of the Haunted Mansion. At one point, the building was to be surrounded by overgrown weeds, decaying trees, boarded windows, and hundreds of bats. Walt Disney didn’t like the idea of an ugly building in an otherwise beautiful Park, so the building’s design changed to what you see today. For a complete background story, make sure to read the Wikipedia article linked above.
Commentary: Although riders expecting a frightening experience will be disappointed, the Haunted Mansion is great fun and one of Disney’s best and most enduring rides. This is a must-ride for all guests, although youngsters may be too nervous to ride or enjoy the Mansion. This is also one you’ll probably want to ride at least twice because there’s a lot to see. This will also give young riders a chance to see that the ride isn’t “scary” the first time and actually enjoy it the second time.
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Can’t wait to see the new changes at the end of HM. My sister was there in May and said they are really cool. I’m hoping they’ll do something here at HM in DLR. But maybe not with the Halloween/Christmas overlay?