21. What was upgraded during the Sept 1995 rehab? (Disney's Haunted Mansion)
Description
This article is from the Disney's Haunted Mansion FAQ, by Don Bertino bertino@netcom.com with numerous contributions by others.
21. What was upgraded during the Sept 1995 rehab? (Disney's Haunted Mansion)
Loren Wilton (lwilton@BIX.com) wrote:
The seance table was changed to float about 2 (or maybe more) years ago
when the head was changed from a front film projection to an internal video
projector. That was the same time Little Leota turned very green, when
they replaced her film projector with a video projector too. However, I
think the table has been broken for at least a year now.
Thankfully they have redone the LL video to change her face back to more
natural colors, which really does play better in that scene. As others
have mentioned, they also added long while hair, that practically forms
a bridal veil for her.
A non-inclusive list of the things I noticed being changed (and NOT changed)
when I went thru once a few days ago:
The new old hearse on the walkway outside. (Which according to
the CM newletter, carried Brigham Young)
The bunny graveyard is the same from the previous refurb.
A missing light fixture by the East door of the house.
Possibly new (and more appropriate!) wallpaper in the foyer.
(Much better than the last wallpaper, but still not as good as the
original custom flocked wallpaper.)
The scrim at the top of the elevator has been repainted. Not as good
as the original scrim; VASTLY better done than the previous attempt.
Newly done streching paintings on the walls.
The obvious sound system improvements.
Possibly a new wig on the corpse?
I did not see any sign that the corpse *physically* starts to fall just
before the lights cut, but since I was right under it I could have
missed this.
The screens for the paintings in the hall have been redone. I wish
though they would go back to the original effect where the paintings
*flashed* from new to old each time the lightning struck outside the
windows!
The path right at the enterance to the loading belt has been redone
slightly to make it wider and possibly easier for people to get on.
The collector rails and brushes for the doombuggy audio have been
refurbished, and the tracks have probably been moved to digital
repeaters from the old carts. I couldn't tell if the amps had been
replaced or not.
Not all of the cars have been sufficiently refurbished; of the three
speakers in the car I had, the right one was dead.
The audio tracks for the first segments up to the ballroom have been
remastered and probably moved to digital repeaters. I suspect that
the speakers in the doors have also been replaced.
There are no substantive changes up to the start of the ballroom.
Everything you see in those sequences was there before from the last
refurb; it has just been made to work again.
The audio in the seance room has been rebalanced slightly in favor of
some of the instruments. Probably new speakers and remastered tracks.
The first major change is the audio in the ballroom. I don't know if
the low voices at the start of the scene were there before, and have
now been turned up to the place where thay can be heard; or if they
have been added. Certainly I never remember hearing them before, and
many of the tracks have been rebalanced.
I don't recall any changed animation in the ballroom other than the
outfit on the organist.
Most of the attic animation is the same as it was. Added is the piano
(or is it a harpsichord? I forget) with the phantom player, and the
bride is finally an impressive and appropriate character. (I had
always before felt that she was totally inapproprate and out of place,
ever since they added her in 15 years back or so).
The popups have been redressed slightly, as has much of the attic itself.
The attic audio has been completely redone. *Very* *well*.
Nothing changed on the exit to the graveyard.
The dog still doesn't shivver like it used to, nor did I hear it whining.
The gravedigger's knees are knocking again. I don't recall if he was
following the cars with a startled expression as he originally did.
Only one owl on the branch over the jazz group.
More wigs; more veils.
Rebalanced (possibly *un*balanced) audio on the quartet.
Many audio levels changed and the sound cleaned up. I couldn't recall
if there were any added or changed tracks.
Nothing different on the playoff.
Little Leota now has long white hair and isn't green anymore!
From: stevez@rhythm.com (Steve Ziolkowski)
Just returned from a routine trip to Disneyland and I was amazed
by what I saw. It's only been two weeks since the last time
I was there, and the folks at Disney have truly outdone
themselves.
There is an old hearse out front which has a harness that appears to
be on a horse, but you can't see the horse. Neat.
In the gallery, (the stretching room) they have put up a new ceiling
that looks really great. It doesn't sag, or bunch like it
used to, and the paintjob on it is really convincing. (A tad
light in value, compared to the rest of the ceiling, but hey.
it's ok!) They also replaced the sound system, and used the
descent dialog from the Mansion in Florida. When the lightning
and thunder go off, you can feel it in your guts, and the
falling body screams so she gets louder as she falls. WOW!
The queue has been expanded where you walk on to the moving platform to
board your vehicles, there is now enough space for two to walk
abreast, instead of one, like it was before. This is great
as well.
They now use the *entire* recorded dialogue, instead of the abridged
version, including the quip about Madame Leota having a
remarkable head for materialising the disembodied... COOL!
But the best thing, better than anything else, is the attic scene.
They got rid of all those annoying and cheesey heads and
bodies popping out of various bric-a-brac in there (don't worry,
there are some left) and replaced it with an amazing scene
of a shadow playing a depressing wedding march on an old,
semi-destroyed piano. Unlike the shadows in Phantom Manor
and Florida, however, which uses a silly looking cardboard cutout
placed directly over the piano, they used what appears to be
a video projector that shows a live action person dressed up
who actually hits the notes correctly! It's a three quarter
view which adds to the realism! UNBELIEVABLE! AND that's
not all! The bride now looks really scarey. Her hair is white
and she looks really unhappy and dead, and there is
wind blowing and every now and then this voice intones...
"I DO".
Continue to:
My Books
