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Free Traveling Guides » States » Florida » Walt Disney WorldThe Haunted Mansion
The Haunted Mansion, situated atop a hill overlooking Liberty Square at Magic Kingdom in the Walt Disney World Resort, is one of the most frequented and the best-loved attraction in the theme park. This Magic Kingdom Classic was established on October 1, 1971, when Magic Kingdom was inaugurated. ‘The Haunted Mansion’ is a scary house, which features as many as 999 happy haunts and awaits guests prepared to defy become the 1000th ghost! The Haunted Mansion is themed after the English Tudor style of the lower Hudson River Valley in New York. As the guests make their way up an arduous winding path, they pass through several wrought-iron gates and a small graveyard, featuring a number of tombstones engraved with puns. Some of these tombstones belong to the original designers and developers of the attraction. One of the newest tombstones honors Leota Thomas, the late Walt Disney Imagineer.
As the guests reach the Haunted Mansion, they are invited inside by a darkly attired Cast Member. Inside the mansion, the visitors are greeted by the ‘Ghost Host’, an invisible host voiced by Paul Frees. Everyone is then taken into an octagonal room, featuring wacky paintings encircling the walls. These weird murals seem to grow longer, even though the ceiling and the floor remain stationary. As these paintings stretch, humorous and slightly ghoulish images emerge. From the main room, the guests are led into a dark passageway, where they are invited to board their egg-shaped ‘Doom Buggy’ ride vehicle to tour the mansion.
Each Doom Buggy features synchronized speakers that facilitate the Ghost Host in elucidating the supernatural scenes that unfold during the ride. The vehicle slithers wordlessly through the conservatory, library, ballroom, attic, hallways, and even graveyards. The holographic images that dance and caper around the ballroom, are truly worth noticing. The ghosts that emerge in the ballroom scene are a result of a variation on an illusion called the "Pepper’s Ghost." Also, a fervent ‘hitchhiking’ ghost often appears inside each doom buggy, right in the lap of the riders! The Doom Buggy takes at least seven and a half minutes to make its way along the 96-foot (290-m) track.
The other noteworthy features of this attraction include the old-fashioned hearse drawn by an invisible horse at the entrance; the horseshoe embedded in the pavement; and the pet cemetery near the exit of the Mansion. The Haunted Mansion is an original, and still one of the best attractions in all of the Walt Disney World Resort. The special effects, animatronics, and the attention paid to every detail make this ride special among all. There are no age and height restrictions for this attraction, but this ride is not suitable for young children, who might get scared of darkness and the scary scenes. This attraction is undoubtedly worth visiting more than once, and should be on the ‘must-do’ list of all those who visit the theme park.
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