Welcome to TPMvids Disney Beat where we talk
about all things Disney! If you’re new to the channel, hit that subscribe
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find us @TPMvideos. {Ghost Host} Welcome, foolish Mortals, to
the Haunted Mansion. I am your host, your TPM host. Our tour begins here at Magic Kingdom in Walt
Disney World where the Haunted Mansion opened in October of 1971. Home to 999 happy haunts, countless stories- {Sound Engineer} Uhh the Ghost Host can stop
there. {TPMvids} Yea but don’t you think it’ll
fit in better with me mentioning the countless stories have echoed through the halls, from
legends, to secrets and even some hidden details you’ve probably never even noticed. I mean did you know that these benches at
the exit have snakes painted on them? {Sound Engineer} Hmm I never noticed that. {TPMvids} Well then lets tour the mansion
from top to bottom as we count down the Top 10 Spooky Secrets of The Haunted Mansion. Number 10
The original Haunted Mansion opened at Disneyland in August of 1969 but did you know that everything
inside the attraction at Walt Disney World is the exact same age as Disneyland? When the Haunted Mansion was being conceived
they already knew Florida would be getting their own version of the ride. Since both attractions were scheduled to open
within two years of each other, Imagineers ordered duplicates of everything from the
ride system right down to the sets and animatronics. Once everything had been built one set went
directly into the attraction at Disneyland and then the other went into a warehouse for
storage. When Magic Kingdom began construction, the
haunted Mansion was said to be the easiest attraction to instal and it was completed
by April of 1971- 6 months before Magic Kingdom opened. Number 9
With the Haunted Mansion placed in Liberty Square, the building’s architecture takes
on the Dutch Gothic Revival Style. From the mid to late 1800’s, this style
was used a lot for houses in rural areas and the Haunted Mansion was actually inspired
by two real mansions. One is the Harry Packer Mansion in Jim Thorpe,
Pennsylvania. It was built in 1874 and it still stands today. You can see some similarities on the facade
but when it comes to the layout, the Haunted Mansion was based off the Rathbone Estate
in Albany, New York. It was built between 1842 to 1845 and although
the building is no longer around today, the layout is almost identical. Imagineers gave the Mansion in Florida more
of a cartoony-like appearance and there’s a legend that the stone turrets on top of
the building are actually oversized chess pieces. This secret is mentioned in the Keys to the
Kingdom Tour at Magic Kingdom but according to this book, written by Imagineer Jason Surrell
this isn’t true. He goes on to say that it’s just merely
a coincidence that the turrets resemble some chess pieces since these designs were part
of the architectural period and style. So I guess this little secret and legend is
pretty much busted but next time you’re at the mansion, see how many different chess
pieces the turrets resemble. Number 8
If you don’t use standby at the Haunted Mansion, you’re missing some fun hidden
details in the interactive queue. Much like how the windows on Main Street feature
tributes to imagineers, the Tombstones in the queue at the Haunted Mansion do the same
thing bit for the Haunted Mansion. Here’s a few prominent Imagineers you you
can spot. When you first enter, on the right hand side
you’ll see Grandpa Marc the Patriarch named after the one and only Marc Davis. Marc was responsible for creating many of
the comical characters in the attraction including the portraits in the stretching room. Next to Grandpa Marc you can find Francis
Xavier named after Francis Xavier Atencio. Better known as X Atencio, he was the imagineer
who wrote the iconic Ghost Host dialogue as well as the lyrics to Grim Grinning Ghosts. In the centre you’ll find Master Gracey
laid to rest who’s named after Yale Gracy, the imagineer responsible for creating a lot
of the special effects in the attraction. There are so many other tributes on the tombstones
so next time you walk through the queue keep your eyes peeled; you never know who you might
see. Number 7
Disney puts a lot of detail in the pavement. In the Haunted Mansion queue you may notice
the caretakers footprints along with some dog prints but a the real secret here we’re
talking about here is the hidden wedding ring. It’s really small so you’re gonna have
to look extra hard to find it but it’s right next to the captain’s crypt and it’s only
visible from the standby queue. The ring is that little silver thing in the
pavement. The right side here is facing the front of
the organ and to left is where standby merges with Fastpass. Now this wedding ring is said to belong to
the bride Constance who threw it out of the window, but this secret and story actually
began as a fan legend. This here is the original wedding ring. It had a past life as a pole in the queue
that was cut to free up space. After a maintenance cast member tried removing
the leftover metal and broke the tip of their screwdriver, the wedding ring was born. Around 2006 Disney did pave over the original
ring and it didn’t return until the interactive queue was built in 2011. Imagineers remembered this fan legend and
placed a wedding ring in the pavement to tell this story and officially make it part of
the Haunted Mansion canon. Number 6
The dialogue spoken by the Ghost Host is iconic. He’s voiced by the legendary Paul Frees
but did you know that the original host for the attraction was supposed to be a Raven? It’s actually the very same raven that can
be seen in the Conservatory or in the Seance room on the chair. He actually appears 4 times on ride at Magic
Kingdom but during the development Imagineers began to realize that since the Raven was
so small, it was getting lost in all the chaos happening around it. It was difficult to draw attention to this
little bird. Since the black Raven fits the motif of this
sinister story, they kept it as a silent character but then switched gears to create the disembodied
Ghost Host. When designing the new interactive queue in
2011, Imagineers also added the Raven onto the organ to get you familiar with the character
before you even enter the ride. Number 5
Now it isn’t the Haunted Mansion without ghostly spirits. Visiting the Haunted Mansion during the day
is one thing but at night this certain spooky energy fills the attraction. The windows are all illuminated and in some
of them you’ll see the flicker of candlelight but if you keep a watchful eye you may spot
some ghosts lurking in the distance. Silhouettes of some of the 999 happy haunts
walk by the windows from time to time like right here. There’s four different windows on the mansion
where these ghosts are visible so next time you’re at the Haunted Mansion, try and take
about 5 minutes to see how many times these Silhouettes show up in the windows. Number 4
One of the 999 Happy haunts is Madame Leotta. Now before entertaining the mansion, be sure
to keep a watchful eye on her tombstone. She’s keeping a watchful eye on you before
she sends those sympathetic vibrations your way. Madame Leotta the floating physic medium is
a pretty famous Disney parks character and she was actually modelled after an Imagineer. Yale Gracey, the Imagineer we mentioned earlier,
needed a model to a pose as a head to test an effect so he asked fellow Imagineer Leotta
Toombs to step in. Leotta looked so great that she became the
official face of the character and they even went on and named it after her as well. Now Leotta was a very soft spoken woman so
they brought in Elanor Audley to dub her voice. You may recognize Audley’s voice as Lady
Termaine in Cinderella and Maleficent in Sleeping Beauty, {Madame Leotta} Wizards, and witches, wherever
you dwell. Give us a hint by ringing a bell but you can however hear Leotta’s voice
asking you to hurry back. {Baby Leotta} Hurrry back! Number 3
One of the most commonly used illusions found on Disney rides is the Pepper’s Ghost effect. The ballroom scene of the Haunted Mansion
is the most commonly talked about example and it’s actually one of the largest Pepper’s
ghost set ups there is. The simple yet effective illusion has been
around since 1862. It was commonly used in stage set ups and
it’s all about using a piece of glass and reflection. The easiest way to understand how the illusion
works is to look at any window. In these display windows you see the reflection
of the guests walking around and this pretty much the same concept as Pepper’s Ghost
used in the Haunted Mansion. As your doom buggy travels along the ride
track, there’s a large pane of glass that extends 30 by 90 feet in front of this scene. Hidden above and below you there are physical
ghost animatronic figures painted with exaggerated colours and they’re all placed against black
backdrops. When they are illuminated their image is reflected
onto the glass and creates a composite of ghostly spirits in the physical room in front
of you. Number 2
Did you know that some familiar faces from other Disney attractions can be found in the
Haunted Mansion? Disney recycles animatronic molds to create
new characters so they turned the auctioneer from Pirates of the Caribbean into the Ship
Captain spinning in a circle right here. In the iconic Pirates of the Caribbean jail
scene, the tall slender pirate in the middle was recycled into the ghost with the crown
at the dining table in the ballroom scene. In this promotional footage from Disneyland’s
Haunted Mansion it’s really easy to see the resemblance. Also that whistling pirate, well he can be
found a few times in the Haunted Mansion. He was recycled as the ghost blowing out her
candles on the table, and as you make your way into the graveyard scene, a few of the
instrument playing ghosts on the left hand side were also recycled from the same mold. Another character that can be found in the
Haunted Mansion is the Grandma from Carrousel of Progress. She can be seen right here in the ballroom
scene. Now Pirates of the Caribbean and Carousel
of Progress were not opening day attractions at Magic Kingdom, but The Haunted Mansion
was. So this means that these characters were in
the park before their attractions. Pirates of the Caribbean didn’t open until
1973 and Carousel of Progress opened in 1975. Number 1
As you exit the Haunted Mansion its easy rush out to catch your next fastpass but if you’re
guilty of this, you might be missing out on another hidden Haunted Mansion secret. On the left hand side there’s a pet cemetery
where many animals have been laid to rest, but if you take a look at the the top of the
hill you’ll spot Mr. Toad. From 1971 until 1998, Mr. Toad’s wild ride
was able to be found in Fantasyland. It’s where the Many Adventures of Winnie
the Pooh is today. 8 years after the ride closed, Mr. Toad was
placed in the pet cemetery in 2006. He’s had a couple spots in the graveyard
but now is more prominently featured. You’ll notice the other animals have epitaphs
written on the stone and there’s a myth among cast members that Mr. Toads says Here
lies Toad, It’s sad but true, not nearly as marketable as Winnie the Pooh. When you zoom right in, you can see there’s
nothing on the stone, but next time you’re exiting the Haunted Mansion, don’t forget
to say hi to Mr. Toad who resides in this deadly new humble abode. So what's your favorite detail or secret in
the Haunted Mansion? I’d love to know! Leave a comment down below to start a conversation
and don’t forget to hit that like button if you enjoyed the video. Oh and be sure to out check some of these
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