First Look: New Haunted Mansion mirror effect with animated Hitchhiking Ghosts at Walt Disney World

Visit http://www.InsideTheMagic.net for a further look at the new animated Hitchhiking Ghosts in The Haunted Mansion.

Debuting today at the Magic Kingdom, Imagineers unveiled their most impressive addition to The Haunted Mansion to date, in the form of Hitchhiking Ghosts that now play pranks on guests riding in Doom Buggies. They no longer simply sit beside guests, but instead mess with them a bit, floating around them and even swapping heads.

Category:

Travel & Events

Tags:

• The Haunted Mansion
• effect
• mirror
• Walt Disney World
• Disney
• Hitchhiking Ghosts
• animated
• finale
• scene

[Dragonrider1227]

I don't see how anyone would prefer the same old limited animatronic effect over and over rather than the high tech, and random effect this offers. this gives guests a new experience every time. How is that a bad thing?

[daveman247]

i liked the more "dead looking" hitchhikers waaaaaay back in the day :)

[equilibrium1736]

2/2 @DisneyMagicDreamer85 The 50th restoration was necessary to rectify this travesty they had committed all those years during the 90's and even today they still pay minimum wage to their employees and treat them terribly behind the scenes. They realized that their legendary status was in jeopardy of becoming irrelevant and this forced the company to respond. They responded well and have gained much of their respect back. They still have a long way to go though.

[equilibrium1736]

1/2 @DisneyMagicDreamer85 The company shredded their founding values by going from a family type business to a corporation where maximizing profit is attained at all costs. During the 90's Disneyland managers were encouraged to cut corners in order to increase revenues for the company. This compromised safety, aesthetics of the park, service quality, project quality, and insulted their devoted fan base.

[equilibrium1736]

@DisneyMagicDreamer85 In order to be successful in the business world, you have to take risks, that's business 101. Walt understood this very well and nearly bankrupted the company for every new project he accomplished including Snow White and Disneyland. He knew that quality would always win out and pay off. Walt never cut corners and this is what made the company possible in the first place. I urge you to look at some documentaries on Walt Disney.

[DisneyMagicDreamer85]

@equilibrium1736

Ok, I shall do that.

Wait, 4 Billion??? Whoa! With that much money they probably could have a ride that sent people to the moon and back! If they dumped that much into a theme park from the onset, then they would have been bankrupt if the project was a failure! Not a very smart buisness move, but it sounds as though it worked. Good for them.

[DisneyMagicDreamer85]

@equilibrium1736

Can you please define what you mean by "shredding founding values" I agree that Disney was lacking a little in the late 90s and that CA did not start out strong. Like every park and every buisness, they have their ups and downs. Are you saying Disneyland should not have had the 50th restoration? I just would like to know where your point is.

[equilibrium1736]

@DisneyMagicDreamer85 If you notice, all of the additions mentioned were in the early 90's; after 1995 the company took a nose dive, creating disasters like Tomorrowland 98. There was a period of 10 years where the company completely shredded their founding values. It wasn't until 2005 when the 50th came around that the company realized that they were losing their customer base. Soon as the restoration came, crowd levels spiked and have never reduced since.

[equilibrium1736]

@DisneyMagicDreamer85 I would like for you to research Tokyo Disney Sea because this is an example of a theme park that exceeded expectations at launch. The reason why this park was amazing from the get go was due to its 4 billion dollar budget, the dedication to detail, quality, and service. The Oriental Land Company owned the rights to Disney and proved that Imagineering was capable of far more than the company allowed with DCA.

[DisneyMagicDreamer85]

@equilibrium1736

And so I don't "sidestep" Disneyland, I will add that there were some improvments in the 90s. 92 saw the addition of Fantasmic, 93 the opening of Toontown, 95 the Indiana Jones ride and 99 the redesign to Tarzan's treehouse. There were also about 4 years of problems, the New Tomorrowland, the Rocket rods, the closure of Electrical parade and the infamous Light Magic dud. So no the 90s was not the best decade for disneyland. I agree.

[DisneyMagicDreamer85]

@equilibrium1736

Hmm, you certainly enjoy typing, or trying to make a point whichever.

Again, CA does have flaws, I am not pleased about the redesign of CA entrance and yes the hours were shorter. There was also a lack of shade, lack of transportation inside the park and fewer thrill rides to attract crowds. These are being addressed and modified.

Every Disney park has gone through the growing phase. It takes time and development to make these parks what they are today.

[equilibrium1736]

@DisneyMagicDreamer85 I also can't believe that you would compare Celebration Florida with Walt Disney's idealized city of the future, they aren't even close in execution or stature.