Photo of the Week: The Haunted Mansion

The Haunted Mansion is one of those attractions that is a great photo no matter what angle you shoot it from.  One of the reasons this is the attention to detail.  I honestly believe that no other attraction has as much attention to detail as the Haunted Mansion does.

Everyone talks about the details you can find inside the Mansion but what about outside?  The outside is so detailed that you could easily overlook things for years until someone points them out to you.  Not only that the look changes greatly at night.

Go ahead and blow this photo up.  I'm sure there is a detail or two you've never seen before.

Photo of the Week - The Haunted Mansion at Night

The Haunted Mansion at night is creepy but how can you make it creepier?  First - DO NOT switch your camera to black and white.  You can always convert a photo to black and white but you can't convert a black and white to color. 

Next - bust out the tripod.  Your going to put your camera on the dial that says "S." This is the shutter priority mode.  What this means is you can tell your camera how long to expose the shot and it will do the rest of the work. 

Now set your exposure to at least 1 second.  The reason for this is simple. Anyone who walks into the shot is going to show up as a ghostly blur. 

Now there is another way to pull this off but it requires a very high end camera.  When you set a long exposure the camera compensates by by using a lower ISO.  A low ISO like 100 has little to no noise.  When you speed up the ISO you see more and more noise.  The better the camera the higher you can push the ISO without noise.

If you have a mid range SLR camera you could pull off to 1600 ISO with low noise.  This means you can set your camera to a "multiple exposure" mode.  This means your camera will take two shots and combine them.  If you time it right everyone will be in focus but see through. 

Anyways no matter how you do it the effect is a cool photo.

Photo of the Week - Grim Grinning Ghosts

The angle isn't great but this is one of the iconic parts of the Haunted Mansion.  Who hasn't passed this section and wondered how the Imagineers did this?  I was only able to capture this photo because the ride had stopped. 

If you want to capture a picture like this here is what you have to do:

1 - Wait for the ride to stop.

2 - Turn off your flash. (this is the most important tip)

3 - Do not use a zoom.  Using a  zoom makes it much harder to keep the shot steady.

4 - Lean the camera on a solid surface to add stability.

5 - Only attempt if you camera can do a high ISO.


This picture was captured with the following camera:

Time for another Reboot

Rebooting or remaking a film or turning a ride or video game into a film seems like the in thing to do. My guess is most of the movie studios are too lazy or too scared to come up with something new.

Look at Disney. I think they almost pioneered the idea. We had three movies based off of Pirates of the Caribbean, one movie based on the Haunted Mansion, a movie based on the Price of Persia video game, a new Tron movie, a remake of A Christmas Carroll and a recently announced reboot of the failed Haunted Mansion movie.

If you are going to do something, do something different. Let’s step it up a notch. Here are some rides, movies, and games that would be fun to see:

Swiss Family Robinson: Look how popular Lost was. Now imagine if it didn’t have a crappy ending and it took place a in the 1800’s so you could have pirates too. You already have an attraction in the Magic Kingdom to support it too. Can you say GOLD MINE?

Tom Sawyer: When was the last time someone did a fun Tom Sawyer movie? That’s right you can’t remember can you. That means it’s a good time to do one. Like the Swiss Family Robinson, you already have an attraction for it.

Epic Mickey: If the game is a success don’t wait - bang out an animated film. Who doesn’t want to see Mickey Mouse in a movie?

Space Mountain: You think I’m nuts? Think again. You could easily do a fun movie based around the day to day operations of a large space port.

The Jungle Cruise: Make this a comedy and throw some references to the ride in there and you have a great low budget movie.

The Pioneer Players: With the success of Red Dead Redemption and Glee (yes I just mentioned them in the same sentence) the time is great for a western comedy loaded with music.

The Country Bear Jamboree: Somehow you managed to make a Country Bears movie that was just awful. I didn’t think that was possible but you did it. Why not actually do a good story this time?

Expedition Everest: Do I need to say more? Maybe we could actually see the Yeti move in the movie.

Kilimanjaro Safaris – The Hunt for Big Red: The story didn’t work for a ride because we didn’t want a ride we wanted to look at animals. However a movie could work.

That’s just a few ideas. I’m sure there are a ton of others. Just don’t do a Tiki Room movie. That would be awful.

Break the Mold

There are a couple of times when Disney broke the mold when they made something. They are attractions that really can’t be improved very easily. In some cases it’s only a scene in a ride.

I think the biggest example of breaking the mold was the Haunted Mansion. Throughout this ride there are some amazing special effects that you’d assume are pulled off by means of computers and other advanced technology. The wild part is none of the original special effects use computers. All of them are parlor tricks and old magic tricks that have been around for hundred years.

Most of the classic scenes in the Haunted Mansion can’t be improved. Just think of some of the classic scenes. The faces that follow you, the decaying painting, the ballroom scene, the dueling paintings, the hitch hiking ghosts, and others scenes are simply amazing.

Another ride that they broke the mold on is Peter Pan’s flight. Peter Pan’s Flight is the bench mark for all other dark rides. The Haunted Mansion and Pirates don’t really count as dark rides in my book. One’s a boat ride and the other is just unique even if they call it a dark ride. Peter Pan’s flight has amazing detail, great scenes, and it makes you feel like you are really flying. For a classic style dark ride you can’t beat it.

Splash Mountain is the bench mark for all other flume rides. The music, the scenes, the drops, the colors, and the photo makes this a near perfect flume ride. When I stop and think about it I can’t see how they could improve this ride other than a clean and a repaint.

Mourners Expelled from the Magic Kingdom for Trespassing

A group of crying toads were expelled from the Magic Kingdom last Sunday. The reason given at the time was trespassing.

The toads entered the park through the main entrance around 11am. They were carrying flowers which security did not question or confiscate. They proceeded to the exit of the Haunted Mansion, jumped the fence for the pet cemetery, and placed the flowers on Mr. Toad’s grave.

Cast members who saw the toads jump the fence called security. Security arrived, took the toads into custody, and confiscated their flowers. After a brief interview the toads were expelled from the park.

“I think this is a total travesty,” stated a Mr. Toad fan. “They were just trying to pay their respects to their dear friend.”

“I don’t understand why we were expelled. Mr. Toad was our friend. We were just trying to pay tribute to him. When he was “removed” to make way for that stupid, overweight, bucket of fluff, it was a very painful time for us. Pooh’s ride isn’t even that good,” stated Hornswaggle Toad.

Disney could not be contacted for comment on the matter (for obvious reasons).

Top Ten Disney Music

Everyone real Disney fan owns at least one Disney theme park music CD. Some people own a few. Some people even have multiple versions of the same song, one from before an overhaul and one after.

The key to the music is its tie to a memory. Chances are when you hear that track you can see yourself there. If you played a lot of the Disney music for someone that has never been to Disney Would they’d think it was trash or at least have a lesser reaction.

I thought it would be fun to come up with my top ten. Remember, this is my top ten. It’s not in order of historical importance or anything like that. No hate mail please (not that I’ve ever gotten an email from this blog).

10 – Golden Dream from the American Adventure Pavilion in Epcot

9 – O’Canada from the Canada Pavilion in Epcot (original - no longer played)

8 – Epcot Entrance Medley from Future World in Epcot (no longer played)

7 – Tiki Room (the original) – The Enchanted Tiki Room – Adventure Land – Magic Kingdom (no longer played)

6 – One Little Spark – Journey Into Imagination – Imagination Pavilion – Epcot (no longer played)

5 – Listen to the Land (original) – Listen to the Land – Land Pavilion – Epcot (no longer played)

4 – Impressions de France – Impressions de France – France Pavilion - Epcot

3 – Grim Grinning Ghosts – The Haunted Mansion – Liberty Square – Magic Kingdom

2 – Theme from Soarin – Soarin – The Land Pavilion- Epcot

1 – How Do You Do? – Splash Mountain – Frontier Land – Magic Kingdom

Honorable Mention

Yo Ho a Pirates Life for Me – Pirates of the Caribbean – Adventure Land – Magic Kingdom

Swisskapolka – Swiss Family Tree House – Adventure Land – Magic Kingdom

There’s a Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow – Carousal of Progress – Tomorrow Land – Magic Kingdom

The Tree of Life Theme – Discovery Island – Animal Kingdom

Theme to Honey I Shrunk the Audience – Honey I Shrunk the Audience - Imagination Pavilion – Epcot

Spaceship Earth Medley – Spaceship Earth – Furture World – Epcot

It’s Fun To Be Free – World of Motion – Future World – Epcot (no longer played)

Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah – Splash Mountain – Frontier Land – Magic Kingdom

Universe of Energy – Universe of Energy – Future World – Epcot (no longer played)

Electric Water Pageant – Electric Water Pageant – Bay Lake – Magic Kingdom Resort Area

You will notice that some famous tracks are missing. That’s because it’s my list. I think I’d rather listen to a dog bark than listen to “It’s a Small World.” There are also some other oldies that just didn’t make it. Anyone remember – Veggie, Veggie, Fruit, Fruit, Veggie, Fruit…

Things That Amaze Me Volume One: The Omni Mover System

The Omni Mover System is a ride mechanic that a number of Disney World rides employ. Chances are if you’ve gotten into a line at Disney that actually moves, you’re in a line for a ride that uses the Omni Mover System.

Some of the rides that employ this system are:

The Haunted Mansion

Peter Pan’s Flight

The Seas with Nemo and Friends

Spaceship Earth

There are some others too.

This system was revolutionary when it was developed. Before the Omni, all rides had a vehicle that stopped, unloaded, reloaded and then took off. The Omni on the other hand, does not stop. Well it can stop if someone is being an idiot or if someone needs help getting on the ride but that’s beside the point. To board the ride you have to step onto a moving platform and then on to a vehicle going the same speed.

By loading without stopping you can move an enormous number of people in a short period of time. It’s so efficient that Spaceship Earth is the most ridden ride in the world. Spaceship Earth doesn’t move hundreds of people an hour; it moves thousands of people an hour.

When I was a kid the Omni System scared me a little. I was always afraid that I wouldn’t be able to get on the ride before I ran out of space. I thought I’d be left behind. It never occurred to me that the cast member would just stop the ride for a minute.

The other thing that amazes me about the Omni System is the people who work them. I’m thinking about the poor person who is assigned to platform duty. They can’t just stand there. If they did they’d fall right off the ride. They have to walk in place. How many miles do you think they walk in a shift? They must have legs of steel after working a ride like that after a few months.

It’s a good thing I’m not a supervisor at Disney. I’d get fired faster than you could blink. I’d be walking around the parks and reassigning over weight cast members to the Omni rides. I know that’s just wrong. How can I say that when I’m over weight? Easy! I’d love to do that for a job. I’d lose a ton of weight. Wouldn’t be pleasant but it would be worth it!

How to get Banned for Life and Possibly Arrested in Disney World

All of us have had that little voice go off in our heads. The voice that tries to get you to do so something you shouldn’t. Almost everyone is able to control that voice. What if you didn’t? What if you listened to that voice? There are many things that kids and adults alike would try if they let the voice rule. Here are just a few:

1 – Dress like a pirate, pretend to be an audioanimatronic, hide in Pirates, and moon the boats as they go by. Results: This one would get you kicked out faster then you can blink. You’d probably get banned from the parks. I don’t think you’d get arrested but I could be wrong.

2 – Dine with the ghosts in the Haunted Mansion. Lou Mongello would take a life to be able to do this. I always thought it would be funny to sit in one of the chairs with my feet on the table while eating a big sandwich. Results: Absolutely kicked out, maybe banned, maybe arrested.

3 – Kiss a face character. You’d have to have some gall to attempt this one. I feel bad for the face characters to begin with. They have to work so much harder than the normal characters. Normal characters can make faces, stick their tongue out, and maybe mutter softly if someone annoys them. Face characters have no such luxury. Most guys (and probably some women) have thought about this briefly. Results: Kicked out, most likely banned, arrested, and possibly a restraining order. However, if you are attractive, none of the above, you might end up with a phone number (I do not condone attempting this even if you are good looking).

4 – Go swimming in the Rivers of America. What could be better on a hot day? It’s very tempting. Results: Kicked out, maybe banned, and possible serious illness. Why is the last one in there? Do you know how nasty that water probably is? My wife has a term for it. It’s called chucky water.

5 – Hide out and try to stay in the parks after closing. Who hasn’t thought about this ever since Mike Scopa wrote his factious article about falling asleep and waking up after the park has closed, tons of people have tried to figure out how to pull it off. Results: Removed from the parks. My guess is that’s it.

6 – Steal a costume and run around the parks. Ok this would be fun on a cool day. You could really mess with people in a fun way. I wouldn’t be mean or anything but I’d have some fun. Results: Kicked Out, Banned for Life, most likely arrested.

7 – Take a nap on the bed in the Swiss Family Tree House. Other than all of the people staring at you this would be great. What a perfect place to take a nap, great view, breezy, pleasant surroundings. Results: Maybe kicked out unless the cast member was nice.

8 – Sneak into the castle and ride down the zip line. How fun would that be? I guess it’s a mix up considering I don’t know where it ends. Results: Kicked out, banned for life, and chance of serious injury or death. The person who plays Tinker Bell has to weigh under 100 pounds to do the zip line. I’m guessing when you are over 200 the results could be bad.

9 – Start a food fight at one of the buffets. There’s nothing like a good old food fight. Imagine a few hundred people at the Crystal Palace going nuts. Results: If no one knows who started it – nothing. If you get caught you’ll get kicked out but I don’t think you’d get banned for life.

10 – Ride the Tower of Terror, skip the line for every ride, and claim it’s for a medical condition. Then throw a massive, profanity filled, fit when confronted. Results: Banned for Life. I know this because someone tried it.

The Wow Factor

Disney has tried to incorporate a main symbol that is supposed to wow people in every park. In the Magic Kingdom it is the castle, in Epcot it is Spaceship Earth, in Animal Kingdom it is the Tree of Life, and in Disney Hollywood Studios it is the Wizard Hat.

Disney also incorporates attractions it hopes will do the same thing. Expedition Everest, Splash Mountain, and the Tower of Terror are good examples of those.

Some times Disney achieves their goal. Sometimes they fall flat on their face. Most people say that the castle provides the wow factor. Some people even break down and cry when they see it. I really wish I was kidding. Walk down Main Street USA and you’ll see them. The castle isn’t bad but I wouldn’t put it on top.

I thought I’d break down some of the wow factors in Disney World just for Kicks.

1 - Spaceship Earth at Night. This one easily tops my list. The way they light up Spaceship Earth is just amazing. This is the only one that really gives me chills.

2 - The Cinderella’s Castle an night during the Christmas season. Ok let me just say that I am not a fan of Christmas decorations. The main reason is that they tend to get in the way and they are EVERYWHERE! The only exception of when Disney doesn’t overdo it is with Cinderella’s Castle.

3 - The standard Cinderella’s Castle. This one is a classic. Most people who visit Disney take a picture of it every time they go to the Magic Kingdom.

4 - Spaceship Earth during the day. It’s big, it’s white, and it’s cool looking. To get the best wow factor ride the monorail for the TTC to Epcot.

5 - The Haunted Mansion – The attention to detail that went into the Haunted Mansion is mind boggling. You hear this attraction before you see it. The howling dog is a classic sound. The outside is a perfect fit for what should be a haunted mansion.

6 - Splash Mountain – By itself it shouldn’t rank this high. What really makes Splash Mountain a “wow” is how it’s built into the park. The two bridges from which you can view the shoot are places you could sit and just watch people scream their brains out. It doesn’t really get old.

7 - The Tree of Life – The Tree of Life is a unique “wow.” I think it’s the only one that gets more amazing the closer you get. From a distance it’s cool looking. As you get closer the details start to come out. You get a sense for its size and you start to make out the shape of the animals. When you’re on top of it you see the stunning detail of every animal. You could blow rolls of film just on the carvings. Well I guess you could if you have a film camera. Wow, who still owns a film camera?

8 - The Tower of Terror – The Tower of Terror isn’t really an awe inspiring building by itself. However, Take that building and put it at the end of a long flat street and add the sound of people screaming as you walk towards it…now you have something. I’ve taken some good pictures of the Tower. The best one was from the queue. There is a great spot that you can shoot the sign through the trees. To really push a picture of this over the edge, convert it to black and white. This and the Haunted Mansion look amazing in Black and White.

Those are just a few. However, you may notice that I did not mention the wizard hat. That’s because it’s never amazed me. I think the Chinese Theater was far more impressive than the hat. The hat has too much stuff around it. You can never get a good picture of it. Even if you did it really lacks what the other symbols have. Don’t ask me what “it” is. I just know it doesn’t have “it.”