After "it's a small world", we strolled through Fantasyland to our next attraction, just beyond Peter Pan's Flight. This attraction is also my personal favorite in Fantasyland, and gives an enjoyable experience every time. It's Mickey's PhilharMagic, of course! The attraction, which replaced The Festival of the Lion King in 2003, may very well be the best 3-D show I've ever seen. It's a must hit in Fantasyland, so definitely check it out on your next trip. We came to the entrance and the cast member was waving people in for the next show, which was starting promptly. We all ran through the queue, grabbed a pair of 3-D glasses, and got into the theater before the automatic doors closed. The theater of the show is VERY large, and can accommodate a large amount of people at one time. It's themed to an orchestra hall, as we are going to see Mickey's orchestra perform before Donald comes in and screws everything up...
We were lucky to find seats quickly, the show was just about to begin. The doors closed, the lights dimmed, and we heard Goofy doing his opening spiel. The show starts off with the curtain in front of the screen, and a conversation between Goofy and Mickey. Mickey says don't open the curtain yet, but c'mon, it's Goofy. He does it, the curtain opens, and the orchestra is ready to perform. However, Mickey isn't there to lead them in their musical madness. Mickey's Sorcerer Hat sits upon his podium, just waiting to be put on the head of one so willing to conduct this orchestra through a musical masterpiece. Just aside the podium is Donald, sleeping, but is awoken by the fanatic Mickey who runs on to the stage. He tells everyone that it's showtime...but he's not ready. So Donald, now awoken, eyes the Sorcerer Hat sitting undisturbed on the podium. He lets out a laugh, and places the hat on his head. The orchestra then comes alive, and Donald tries to get control. Well, that doesn't go so well. His conducting skills, aren't the greatest, as a mass racket is produced by one swing of the baton. However, one of the flute doesn't want to stop playing the cheerful Mickey Mouse theme, and Donald tries to throw it right at us! Here's our first glimpse at the 3-D we are about to experience. This doesn't make the flute to happy, so it comes back and hits him square in the head :lol: This creates a mass panic among the instruments, and they come together to plummet Donald into a smoke filled world of musical terror! Donald flies around, trying to escape the instruments grasp. Wind is blowing in our faces and instruments are flying all around us, but it finally comes to an end in the pitch-dark. Here is our first musical encounter, Lumiere from Beauty and the Beast, ready to invite us to "be his guest". He lights up the room through his candlelight and Donald prepares for a great big feast with food flying around everywhere. Ah, the aromas of the the food are real, we can smell and almost taste the food right in front of us! As food flies around the table, Donald discovers the hat, which is what he really desires. The hat moves along with the food, and while Donald tries to find it, Lumiere finishes his song with the explosion of wine bottles...and the corks are headed right at us! You can feel the corks whizzing by our faces, and let me just say that this is one awesome effect. Lumiere ends his song on a high note, and Donald blown away from his hat once again.
Next, we are found in a dark room full of dirty plates ready for washing. And in between the stacks of plates is Donald's coveted Sorcerer Hat! He awakens, but then the brooms come marching in. That's right, the brooms carrying water from Fantasia, along with the classic song. They're here to clean all those dirty plates left behind from dinner, and in doing so, we all get a little wet! Water sprinklings shoot at us while the brooms clean the plates. Donald spots a small little broom who holds his hat, and violently takes it away from him. Not a good idea. Here comes big old mamma broom, who splashes Donald into a world under the sea, and gives us one last spray of water. Here Donald meet Ariel, aka the Little Mermaid. While she sings about "being where the people are", Donald becomes all rapped up in her loveliness. He forgets all about the hat and follows Ariel all about under the sea. So when Ariel finishes up her song, Donald tries to kiss her, and in return, receives the shock of an electric eel making his way through the sea :lol: Ariel and and a shocked Donald climb towards the surface, and out of nowhere, we meet our next musical artist, Simba from the Lion King! He just can't WAIT to be king, and isn't afraid to tell us. He even shows us his roar, as his mouth comes directly at us! Ok, we're safe, but he goes on to sing about being king. We follow Simba and the insightful bird Zazu all around the jungle, until we finally encounter Donald again, who is still just ready to get his hands on that hat. Now Donald's found himself riding on the backs of animals, and his hat seems to have done the same thing. All of the animals are now following Simba on his musical journey through the Savannah, as Donald is. As Simba starts to rap up his song, animal heads, shaped in a circle around a central point, pop out of the screen. They showcase all the animals in the kingdom, giraffes, zebras, you name it, then comes a pop up of Donald and his hat. I really love what they did with this effect, the pop ups just seem to get bigger and bigger with the more animals that are added. After this is done, Simba sings his last "I can't wait to be king" high top of a fountain. Donald and his hat are then blown out of the Savannah, and we soon encounter a whole new world.
First, we receive a first from Tinkerbell and Peter Pan, who are sitting high atop of Big Ben. Donald and the hat come flying out of no where, and each lands on a different hand of the huge clock. Peter Pan jumps off the hat's end of the clock, which sends Donald flying into the air! He can fly, he can fly! Peter Pan and Donald soar through the skies, and even the hat received some pixie-dust of its own. They all float into the clouds, Peter, Donald, and the hat. Next, we get a visit from Aladdin and Jasmine, who are enjoying a magic carpet ride. The wind of the sky blows strongly, as it does into us. The wind just flies into our faces. Aladdin and Jasmine greet us on their magic carpet, and want to discover a whole new world. Donald, who suddenly appears, has a different objective, getting the hat from Aladdin and Jasmine's carpet! Donald struggles to gain control of his carpet, but continued to chase them through the streets of Agrabah. Up, down, left, right, Donald chases them. All around the city they all go, and Donald goes through something more, someone's laundry! He shakes off the extra clothes and continues to follow both of the fellow Agrabah-ites who so unknowingly enjoy a pleasant night. As they finish their singing, Donald finally catches up to them, and tries to grab the hat off the back of the other carpet. He tries, and tries, but he can't get it. It's until Jasmine recognizes him that Donald struggles for the hat. She then takes it and places it on his head, ending his long musical journey at last...or is it?
As the hat sits on Donald's head, he can finally take a break...or not. Iago comes and knocks the hat off his head and toward the ground below, and Donald goes right on after it. This plummets him back into the same whirlwind he encountered below his musical journeys, with all the instruments and the wind effects. Around and around he goes into he's finally sucked in, and finally re-arrives at the concert hall, where Mickey's hat finally returns to its rightful owner. Mickey grabs the hat, puts it on, and conducts a short musical piece with all the instruments, and Donald floating in air. He abruptly stops it, and all of the instruments, and Donald, fall the ground. Donald grabs Mickey's baton, hands it to him, and Donald is then sucked into one of the tubas! Mickey then plays one last piece, his musical theme song. With the pressure building, once Mickey pulls down his baton, Donald shoots into the air and right at you! He doesn't stop there, however, we sails all the way back into the back of the theater. This is where he is suspended in mid-air with his legs sticking out of the hole in the wall (that he made)! And after a few moments, we hear him say "uh oh" and we see and hear him fall with a big crash at the end. Mickey then thanks the crowd, and the philharmagically show finishes.
KKR05's Expert Advice-This attraction is great. It's perfect for the whole family, and is definitely one of the better 3-D shows you'll see. Along with the great 3-D effects, they have the extra surprises, like the water, wind, and smell effects. The show was done perfectly. I can't think of any better way they could've done it. As I said, it's my favorite in Fantasyland, and it is a must-hit in Fantasyland. It'll be a hit with the little ones, the older folk will enjoy it as well.
After the show is all said and done, Goofy comes over the intercom and tells us to have a philharmagically day. Sure will, Goofy. We got up, moved down the aisle, and made our way up the exit. We dropped our glasses in a bin and arrived back out in the Fantasyland midway. Well, what was next? It was time to split up. The others wanted to go see Cinderellabration, so it was time to do want we wanted to do. And, in one word, I'll tell you all...Tomorrowland.
Tuesday, November 21, 2006
Monday, November 06, 2006
Chapter 8:Not for the Faint of Heart
After a not-so-scary ride through the Haunted Mansion, we walked through the portal and into the Fantasyland section of the park. When people think of Fantasyland, they think that this section is only for the kiddies...not true. This section can also be a delight to anyone who tries to enjoy it. Sure, it's geared towards the younger ones, but that doesn't mean people of all ages can't enjoy it. Anyway, Fantasyland is the "Heart" of the Magic Kingdom. This section has a numerous amount of attractions, and I believe the most in the entire Magic Kingdom. Anyway, Fantasyland is the home to our next attraction in our round-trip around the Magic Kingdom, "it's a small world". I know that when some people think of this ride, they say "Skip it, can't stand hearing that song over and over again!" Well, yes, is some cases that's true. The song can get obnoxious, but the ride is a classic from the 64 World's Fair, and has been entertaining ever since. Plus, the point the ride brings across is evident by just going on the ride. For those that think it's just an annoying kiddie ride, they are missing the point the ride brings across. The world is indeed small, and must try to live friendly with one another. For these many reasons, I respect the ride for what it's worth.
OK, so we're heading into Fantasyland and we pass Peter Pan. I'll say something about this now, considering we didn't get on it this trip. The ride is insane. The queue line for this ride is most likely the longest in the park. That is for many reasons, most notably the bad capacity. Along with that, the kiddies love this ride, and it's the perfect ride for them to enjoy with their parents. So, here's a tip about Peter Pan's Flight. If you plan on riding, get a Fast Pass, or get there EARLY. I'd actually go with the ladder, considering what happened to us later on in the trip. That's for later though. Anyway, Peter Pan was a must-skip with the line expanding out of the fairly large queue. The ride across from it was, you guessed it, "it's a small world". The ride was our next hit, and with a very large capacity, we would be on in no time. The line was down the ramp just a little bit, and it was only about 10 minutes until we were in our boat. While in line, I looked around the station, and it looked different to me. Then, out of nowhere, a bell rang and a large grandfather clock on the wall told us it was now 5:30 PM. From what I remember, after that, some dolls came out of the door in the clock and dance around. Then, it hit me. They recently re-did "it's a small world", last year I believe. I could tell the queue area had been re-done...it LOOKED new with a different color scheme and different props, such as the new clock, which was a pretty cool addition. So after a quick wait, we climb in our boat, and it's time for departure. As we pull out of the station, the main operator in the tower above waved to our boat, and everyone waved back :lol: Around the bend, and we approached the portal to "it's a small world".
Just before we recap this classic attraction, I'd like to mention something. One would be rich if they went swimming in "it's a small world's" lagoon...the amount of loose change in the area is ridiculous. I guess people have a lot of loose change to get rid or something, but to me it's pointless. Ok, end rant. Here we go into it's a small world. During the ride, you sail through the following areas of the world-Europe, Asia, Africa, South America, and the South Pacific Islands. Each room of the ride has an amount of the total 289 dolls in the attraction who sing the easily recognized theme song. In the first scene, there are some magic carpets flying from the ceiling. Evidently I was scared of these when I was younger, which was brought up as we went through the attraction. Hey, I was like four, little kids are scared of everything. My favorite scene on the ride is the Africa scene. I love the animal animatronics. The giraffes almost reach the ceiling and the hippos are a surprise as they hide in the water. The area has a great jungle feel to it, and is very colorful.
After we've visited all of the countries, we move on to the finale! This scene is awesome. People (dolls) are brought together from across the world to have a great time together. This scene features dolls from every country we've already visited. The entire area is very white and bright, and features many different props than those we've already seen. There's a ferry boat, a merry-go-round, and even a roller coaster lit up brightly in the background! All of the dolls, again are singing together the ride's theme song. It's a great way to end the ride, and is one of the best done areas on the entire attraction. Anyway, once we pass through this area, we enter one more small area where we get a final good-bye...in many different languages. See how many you can recognize in this scene, it's interesting to see how many you'll know. You'll have time to look at all of the signs and see how many you know because the ride is usually backed up into this area. There are just too many boats on this ride to keep it constantly moving. Unfortunately the waiting time until you finally return to the station can be more than 5 minutes...so try to relax and enjoy the theming. After about 10 minutes, we finally exited, and made our way back into Fantasyland. As for a closing statement on the ride, like I said earlier, it's a classic. The ride can be very enjoyable if you try to enjoy it. Many of the scenes are very well done, and can be very interesting to observe. Along with that, the message of the ride is supreme, and it's more than you would ever think.
KKR05's Expert Advice!-Nothing much to say that I haven't said already. The ride is good for all ages, except be careful with the little ones. I told you the story about me and the magic carpets, so be aware if you're a parent. Other than that, hopefully the song won't stay in your head for that long after the ride!
We returned to the Fantasyland midways, which I must say were very crowded on a summer afternoon. The walkway between Peter Pan and it's a small world is very small, so the area can be very congested. So continued on through Fantasyland and decided what attraction was next on our hit list. It was almost time for some of the others to go see Cinderellabration...some we decided to hit one more ride before they had to go off and see that. And that attraction is many definite favorite in Fantasyland.
OK, so we're heading into Fantasyland and we pass Peter Pan. I'll say something about this now, considering we didn't get on it this trip. The ride is insane. The queue line for this ride is most likely the longest in the park. That is for many reasons, most notably the bad capacity. Along with that, the kiddies love this ride, and it's the perfect ride for them to enjoy with their parents. So, here's a tip about Peter Pan's Flight. If you plan on riding, get a Fast Pass, or get there EARLY. I'd actually go with the ladder, considering what happened to us later on in the trip. That's for later though. Anyway, Peter Pan was a must-skip with the line expanding out of the fairly large queue. The ride across from it was, you guessed it, "it's a small world". The ride was our next hit, and with a very large capacity, we would be on in no time. The line was down the ramp just a little bit, and it was only about 10 minutes until we were in our boat. While in line, I looked around the station, and it looked different to me. Then, out of nowhere, a bell rang and a large grandfather clock on the wall told us it was now 5:30 PM. From what I remember, after that, some dolls came out of the door in the clock and dance around. Then, it hit me. They recently re-did "it's a small world", last year I believe. I could tell the queue area had been re-done...it LOOKED new with a different color scheme and different props, such as the new clock, which was a pretty cool addition. So after a quick wait, we climb in our boat, and it's time for departure. As we pull out of the station, the main operator in the tower above waved to our boat, and everyone waved back :lol: Around the bend, and we approached the portal to "it's a small world".
Just before we recap this classic attraction, I'd like to mention something. One would be rich if they went swimming in "it's a small world's" lagoon...the amount of loose change in the area is ridiculous. I guess people have a lot of loose change to get rid or something, but to me it's pointless. Ok, end rant. Here we go into it's a small world. During the ride, you sail through the following areas of the world-Europe, Asia, Africa, South America, and the South Pacific Islands. Each room of the ride has an amount of the total 289 dolls in the attraction who sing the easily recognized theme song. In the first scene, there are some magic carpets flying from the ceiling. Evidently I was scared of these when I was younger, which was brought up as we went through the attraction. Hey, I was like four, little kids are scared of everything. My favorite scene on the ride is the Africa scene. I love the animal animatronics. The giraffes almost reach the ceiling and the hippos are a surprise as they hide in the water. The area has a great jungle feel to it, and is very colorful.
After we've visited all of the countries, we move on to the finale! This scene is awesome. People (dolls) are brought together from across the world to have a great time together. This scene features dolls from every country we've already visited. The entire area is very white and bright, and features many different props than those we've already seen. There's a ferry boat, a merry-go-round, and even a roller coaster lit up brightly in the background! All of the dolls, again are singing together the ride's theme song. It's a great way to end the ride, and is one of the best done areas on the entire attraction. Anyway, once we pass through this area, we enter one more small area where we get a final good-bye...in many different languages. See how many you can recognize in this scene, it's interesting to see how many you'll know. You'll have time to look at all of the signs and see how many you know because the ride is usually backed up into this area. There are just too many boats on this ride to keep it constantly moving. Unfortunately the waiting time until you finally return to the station can be more than 5 minutes...so try to relax and enjoy the theming. After about 10 minutes, we finally exited, and made our way back into Fantasyland. As for a closing statement on the ride, like I said earlier, it's a classic. The ride can be very enjoyable if you try to enjoy it. Many of the scenes are very well done, and can be very interesting to observe. Along with that, the message of the ride is supreme, and it's more than you would ever think.
KKR05's Expert Advice!-Nothing much to say that I haven't said already. The ride is good for all ages, except be careful with the little ones. I told you the story about me and the magic carpets, so be aware if you're a parent. Other than that, hopefully the song won't stay in your head for that long after the ride!
We returned to the Fantasyland midways, which I must say were very crowded on a summer afternoon. The walkway between Peter Pan and it's a small world is very small, so the area can be very congested. So continued on through Fantasyland and decided what attraction was next on our hit list. It was almost time for some of the others to go see Cinderellabration...some we decided to hit one more ride before they had to go off and see that. And that attraction is many definite favorite in Fantasyland.
Wednesday, November 01, 2006
Chapter 7:Ticket to Terror...NOT!
After a great ride on BTMR, we gave up on Splash Mountain which was still packed and made our way over to the 3rd area of the park. We continued our counter-clockwise expedition around the Magic Kingdom, and soon found ourselves in the small area between two of the Magic Kingdom's biggest "lands". We encountered the entrance to Liberty Square, the section that is sometimes forgotten among the general public. Although the section is quite small, it holds within one of the most popular Magic Kingdom attractions, the Haunted Mansion. Why a ghoulish mansion is in a liberty themed section is beyond me, but I guess there is always something new to learn about WDW. Anyway, Liberty Square to me is a very nice small section. It isn't very congested, which you think it would because of its size. Also, the theming in the area is very, very nice. It's just like a small colonial town, where patriotism is at its best. The theme is carried throughout the square with numerous American Flags, Historical Figures, and many other items in patriotic flare. The section is home to some attractions besides the Haunted Mansion, and these do fit in with the theme set. The Liberty Square Riverboat takes you on a voyage in the Rivers of America (lake surrounding Tom Sawyer Island). Unfortunately it was down for rehab when I was there, but the ride itself is very relaxing, it did it three years ago on our last visit. Definitely check it out if you have the time, it can provide some nice photo opportunities as well. Along with the Riverboat, Liberty Square is home to the Hall of Presidents. Although I haven't experienced this attraction, I know is it a show where you can find all of our Presidents brought to life through the art of Audio-Animatronics. I haven't heard much about the show, but it seems interesting. However, its time to move on for what we were there for, the main attraction, the Haunted Mansion.
When we checked the wait times board earlier, the wait for the Mansion was 20 minutes. Sure enough, when we arrived at the attraction, the wait was still 20 minutes, but that was a bit of an exaggeration. The Mansion in all its creepiness was before us, and we agreed to enter by boarding the queue line. As we joined the queue, I noticed the Fast Pass machines off to the right. Why does this ride of Fast Pass?? It seriously doesn't need it at all, the capacity here is unmatched. They weren't even being used when we were there. Maybe they'll relocate them to the Laugh Floor once that opens, or will that need it at all? Who knows. Anyway, the queue was extremely short. We stopped a little bit after entered the covered green shade. The Haunted Mansion queue is home to a graveyard, which holds the tombstones of many dead people. Unfortunately the grass was a bit long to read some of them, but they always provide a good laugh. Most of them have little funny riddles or poems, and they can keep you quite entertained while waiting to get inside the mansion. I know the long grass is supposed to make it feel deserted, but make it short enough so we can read the tombstones! Anyway, the waiting here was minimal. We waited less than 10 minutes to get inside and to our "chamber". As we entered the building, this guy with lazy eyes stared at you...pretty freaky, but it's perfect for the attraction. We all made our way into the octagon shaped chamber with portraits high on the ceilings. The room was dark and scary looking...perfect for this attraction. Once the max number of people got in the room, the doors closed shut behind us. No turning back now. Soon our Ghost Host came over the intercom and introduced himself...how nice. The room then started to drop...or was the ceiling rising. It seemed pretty obvious that it was the latter. Up they went, once revealing happy pictures of people when we walked in, going on to reveal horrific scenes. Soon, we were bound to end up like them as we made our way into a "doom buggy". The pre-show to the Haunted Mansion is pretty cool, and it definitely surprises all the first timers. Right when the ceilings finally stop rising, the horrific pictures were revealed entirely, but I'm not going to ruin the surprise. Right then and there our Ghost Host spurns us and lets out one great big laugh. We were soon to become his victims on our ride through the Haunted Mansion. Doors on the opposite side of the chamber in which we came in flew open, and everyone scattered into the haunted house.
The mansion was dark and dreary. Dim light bulbs barely lit the dark hallways, and everything is full of cobwebs. All of us formed a line and waited to board our doom buggy, and then our fate would be sealed. The interior of the mansion hallway is extremely detailed and well-done. Just being in there, waiting to ride is freaky. There were quite a few people in our corridor, so it took a while for us to get on, not to mention a short "breakdown". The doom buggies basically stopped going for a while, which caused a delay for us. However, after that, it was all smooth sailing. My brother and I soon boarded a doom buggy, which I'll talk about for a minute. These things are insane. There are NO GAPS between the buggies on this ride. They are in continuous circuit all the time, so if you need to stop one, you stop them all. I find it amazing how these carts can be in continuous motion for such a long time. Anyway, we boarded our buggy, and we were off into the Haunted Mansion, where chills and thrills awaited us.
Inside the Mansion await many thrills and chills. Here's some of the highlights.
The Ballroom Scene-A true classic. You glide in your doom buggies on the balcony of the ballroom, and see many ghosts and ghouls dancing about below you. Through the magic of projected images, the ghosts dance all across the ballroom in circles. Truly a delight to see and always a favorite.
The Graveyard-One of my favorites. It's a big part of the ride, and features the classic song..."Grim Grinning Ghosts come out to socialize". This section is definitely the spookiest, and features many "alive" props, such as moving tombstones and singing statues. There is something to scare you around every turn, so be on the look out. This scene, to me, is the most enjoyable of the entire ride.
Madam Loeta Scene-Crazy woman in a magic ball. She tries to scare and taunt you with her head secluded in a crystal ball. When I was little I always wondered how they got her head in the crystal ball, but now, it just seems obvious. This scene is another classic, and very enjoyable.
All right, so we are going through the mansion and we are coming up to the grand finale, where we will be cursed by the mansion forever. Before us is one big and long mirror, and our doom buggy turns to face it. We look, and a cursed ghoul as suddenly appeared in our cart! A laugh always comes out of we when the ghoul appears. Anyway, after we turn away from the mirrors, the ride is just about over. Our ghost host then dismisses us in a likely fashion, telling us that we've been cursed forever. Then he lets out one big laugh...Bwhahaha. With that, we are left to leave the mansion, for we will be cursed forever after leaving the mansion.
KKR05's Expert Advice-The Mansion is a classic. You think it's going to be one big and scary mansion...but it's just overall a fun ride, and there's nothing scary about it. Even those who are easily spooked can take a trip through the Haunted Mansion. The ride is extremely built up to be scary, but it's all just make believe. When Walt first thought of the idea of the Haunted Mansion, I don't think he meant for it to be scary. I think he meant for it to offer a fun, non-scary ride which was some elements that can put a chill up your spine. Regardless, the Mansion is a great ride, and can be enjoyed all people, expect I suggest no babies on this one, of course. Like I said before, the ride is even laughable at times, like in the final scene. It always squeezes a laugh out of me how your "ghost host" takes things so seriously. Anyway, the Mansion is good old classic fun, and must hit in the Magic Kingdom.
We exited the Mansion and found ourselves back out in Liberty Square. Just beyond us was Fantasyland, the heart of the Magic Kingdom. Fantasyland is where our next attraction has its home. And this attraction my friends is not for the easily annoyed.
When we checked the wait times board earlier, the wait for the Mansion was 20 minutes. Sure enough, when we arrived at the attraction, the wait was still 20 minutes, but that was a bit of an exaggeration. The Mansion in all its creepiness was before us, and we agreed to enter by boarding the queue line. As we joined the queue, I noticed the Fast Pass machines off to the right. Why does this ride of Fast Pass?? It seriously doesn't need it at all, the capacity here is unmatched. They weren't even being used when we were there. Maybe they'll relocate them to the Laugh Floor once that opens, or will that need it at all? Who knows. Anyway, the queue was extremely short. We stopped a little bit after entered the covered green shade. The Haunted Mansion queue is home to a graveyard, which holds the tombstones of many dead people. Unfortunately the grass was a bit long to read some of them, but they always provide a good laugh. Most of them have little funny riddles or poems, and they can keep you quite entertained while waiting to get inside the mansion. I know the long grass is supposed to make it feel deserted, but make it short enough so we can read the tombstones! Anyway, the waiting here was minimal. We waited less than 10 minutes to get inside and to our "chamber". As we entered the building, this guy with lazy eyes stared at you...pretty freaky, but it's perfect for the attraction. We all made our way into the octagon shaped chamber with portraits high on the ceilings. The room was dark and scary looking...perfect for this attraction. Once the max number of people got in the room, the doors closed shut behind us. No turning back now. Soon our Ghost Host came over the intercom and introduced himself...how nice. The room then started to drop...or was the ceiling rising. It seemed pretty obvious that it was the latter. Up they went, once revealing happy pictures of people when we walked in, going on to reveal horrific scenes. Soon, we were bound to end up like them as we made our way into a "doom buggy". The pre-show to the Haunted Mansion is pretty cool, and it definitely surprises all the first timers. Right when the ceilings finally stop rising, the horrific pictures were revealed entirely, but I'm not going to ruin the surprise. Right then and there our Ghost Host spurns us and lets out one great big laugh. We were soon to become his victims on our ride through the Haunted Mansion. Doors on the opposite side of the chamber in which we came in flew open, and everyone scattered into the haunted house.
The mansion was dark and dreary. Dim light bulbs barely lit the dark hallways, and everything is full of cobwebs. All of us formed a line and waited to board our doom buggy, and then our fate would be sealed. The interior of the mansion hallway is extremely detailed and well-done. Just being in there, waiting to ride is freaky. There were quite a few people in our corridor, so it took a while for us to get on, not to mention a short "breakdown". The doom buggies basically stopped going for a while, which caused a delay for us. However, after that, it was all smooth sailing. My brother and I soon boarded a doom buggy, which I'll talk about for a minute. These things are insane. There are NO GAPS between the buggies on this ride. They are in continuous circuit all the time, so if you need to stop one, you stop them all. I find it amazing how these carts can be in continuous motion for such a long time. Anyway, we boarded our buggy, and we were off into the Haunted Mansion, where chills and thrills awaited us.
Inside the Mansion await many thrills and chills. Here's some of the highlights.
The Ballroom Scene-A true classic. You glide in your doom buggies on the balcony of the ballroom, and see many ghosts and ghouls dancing about below you. Through the magic of projected images, the ghosts dance all across the ballroom in circles. Truly a delight to see and always a favorite.
The Graveyard-One of my favorites. It's a big part of the ride, and features the classic song..."Grim Grinning Ghosts come out to socialize". This section is definitely the spookiest, and features many "alive" props, such as moving tombstones and singing statues. There is something to scare you around every turn, so be on the look out. This scene, to me, is the most enjoyable of the entire ride.
Madam Loeta Scene-Crazy woman in a magic ball. She tries to scare and taunt you with her head secluded in a crystal ball. When I was little I always wondered how they got her head in the crystal ball, but now, it just seems obvious. This scene is another classic, and very enjoyable.
All right, so we are going through the mansion and we are coming up to the grand finale, where we will be cursed by the mansion forever. Before us is one big and long mirror, and our doom buggy turns to face it. We look, and a cursed ghoul as suddenly appeared in our cart! A laugh always comes out of we when the ghoul appears. Anyway, after we turn away from the mirrors, the ride is just about over. Our ghost host then dismisses us in a likely fashion, telling us that we've been cursed forever. Then he lets out one big laugh...Bwhahaha. With that, we are left to leave the mansion, for we will be cursed forever after leaving the mansion.
KKR05's Expert Advice-The Mansion is a classic. You think it's going to be one big and scary mansion...but it's just overall a fun ride, and there's nothing scary about it. Even those who are easily spooked can take a trip through the Haunted Mansion. The ride is extremely built up to be scary, but it's all just make believe. When Walt first thought of the idea of the Haunted Mansion, I don't think he meant for it to be scary. I think he meant for it to offer a fun, non-scary ride which was some elements that can put a chill up your spine. Regardless, the Mansion is a great ride, and can be enjoyed all people, expect I suggest no babies on this one, of course. Like I said before, the ride is even laughable at times, like in the final scene. It always squeezes a laugh out of me how your "ghost host" takes things so seriously. Anyway, the Mansion is good old classic fun, and must hit in the Magic Kingdom.
We exited the Mansion and found ourselves back out in Liberty Square. Just beyond us was Fantasyland, the heart of the Magic Kingdom. Fantasyland is where our next attraction has its home. And this attraction my friends is not for the easily annoyed.
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