Location: Disneyland Paris
Area Frontierland Opening date April 12, 1992
Audio-Animatronics 92 Manufacturer Vekoma
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Check out: www.mydisneyclass.com
Gather a little “Pixie Dust” from Tinker
Bell and fly to Disneyland Paris to visit Phantom Manor.
Background:
Based on the original design
of the Haunted Mansion, Disney has four dark ride attractions. There are
three Haunted Mansions (one each in Disneyland, Walt
Disney World's Magic Kingdom, and Tokyo Disneyland), and there is Phantom Manor in
Disneyland Paris, which opened in 1992.
Mystic Manor- Hong Kong Disneyland
Unlike Disneyland's Haunted Mansion attraction and the Disney parks, Mystic Manor has a
lighthearted, fantasy-based theme. It is a dark ride attraction, in the Mystic
Point section of Hong Kong Disneyland. There are no references to departed
spirits or the afterlife, due to differences in traditional Chinese culture
Join Joan and me as we travel
to Disneyland Paris to explore Phantom Manor.
A Darker Premise
The Disneyland Paris
attraction contains material of a darker, more graphic nature than any of the
Haunted Mansions do.
Phantom Manor takes the Disneyland “Haunted Mansion” to another level. It sets the mood with sound and
music in a more dramatic fashion. In the Phantom Manor, the decay of death is
on full display. Examples include: a restless spirit tries to wrestle its way
out of a moldering casket; the Phantom can be seen digging a fresh grave; being
exposed to the Phantom and his corruptible, mortal state when we encounter him
beyond the catacombs; the Phantom as he threatens to pull you into the
afterlife near the end of the ride experience;
Designing Phantom Manor at Disneyland Paris by Alain Littaye
Disneyland Paris from Sketch to Reality Didier
Ghez (Author)
Over the past two months, I have discovered
many articles, web resources and books about “Phantom Manor”. Hours were spent
exploring the great artwork and images. I have included an excerpt of Didier Ghez’s
words. Didier was the one who wrote all of the captions and text of the book, Disneyland Paris from Sketch to Reality.
In Disneyland Paris, the center
of Frontierland is Big Thunder Mountain.
Excerpts from Didier's text:
"...As we continue to follow the story of Thunder Mesa, the town that
surrounds Big Thunder Mountain, we stumble upon a rather frightful
domicile—what might be considered the second scene of this “grand western”—the
terrifying haunted house known as Phantom Manor.
So who is Henry Ravenswood?
Mr. Ravenswood was the
wealthy owner of the Thunder Mesa Mining Company, the company that, so the
story goes, operates the Big Thunder mine. Like many entrepreneurs who made
their fortunes in this era, he built a mansion out West, inspired by the
architecture of San
Francisco—a
style that certainly stood out in this little mining town.
Let’s go behind the story and then
ride the attraction, “Phantom Manor”
I discovered many elements in this
new storyline and uncovered a number of intriguing insights. I have included
the credits and references at the end of the post of those who assisted me.
“Phantom Manor” takes the
"scream, bump, jump 'n' boo", dark ride to the extreme, giving the fun house
concept a facelift to the Nth power. Phantom Manor goes a step in a different
direction, bringing a cohesive storyline to the table with gruesome and graphic
images in the attraction ride.
The Disney Imagineers created the
back story about Frontierland being built from 1849 to 1890. Henry Ravenswood (1795-1860), founded the
Thunder Mesa Mining Company. He was a Western settler who struck gold in Big Thunder Mountain and created the city of Thunder Mesa (Frontierland).
Big Thunder Mountain and the gold mine, happened to be regarded by the “The
Shoshoni's Indians”, as a sacred place.
It was believed, that anyone who would disturb the Thunder Bird
god that protects it, would endure its wrath.
Thanks to the gold mine, Henry Ravenswood became rich and built himself a Victorian manor high on Boot Hill overlooking Big Thunder Mountain. Phantom Manor sits at the edge of Thunder Mesa, in the well-to-do part of town.
In
its heyday, the Manor was a truly wonderful residence. But over the years the house
fell into ruin.
A
dilapidated house inside a Disney park? It
was an idea that Walt Disney had always rejected for Disneyland. The Imagineers designed the exterior of Phantom Manor to send the message
that it has fallen into decay and that something mysterious might be waiting
inside.
Imagineer Jason Surrell said “French
officials, weren't interested in a wholesale reproduction of Disney's American
parks."Henry Ravenswood raised a family and had a daughter, Melanie Ravenswood (born 1842).
Melanie grew into a lovely young
girl despite her brash, overly protective father who forbade her to leave the
Manor or its grounds to venture into town and socialize.
Melanie became engaged to a
train engineer who planned to take her far away from Thunder Mesa, much to the
dismay of Henry. Henry did everything he could to stop the wedding.
In 1860 tragedy struck the
Ravenswood family in 1860 when a terrible earthquake hit Thunder Mesa. Henry
Ravenswood was crushed by falling timbers. One month later, his wife Martha,
also perished due to her weak heart.
The attraction
The Phantoms presence is first made aware just inside the gates of the attraction. "The Phantom Awaits".
A cast member dressed as a ghoulish servant opens the doors and invites guests into the foyer of the mansion.
A chilling voice of the Phantom sounds from around the room, politely welcoming guests, telling them the Legend of this place, and inviting them to explore the Manor further.
Melanie's face fades in and out of the smallest mirror during the commentary.
Guests then enter an octagonal room with four portraits of a young Melanie, pictured in more felicitous times.
The stretching portraits are
quite different from Marc Davis' original concepts seen in the Haunted Mansion
Revealing Melanie is in
some haunting situations including:
· having a picnic with her boyfriend as ants,
along with a rattlesnake, scorpion,
spider
and beetle raid their food,
· riding a boat about to go down a vertical waterfall,
· gripping a small rake in one hand, and wading through
a small stream as an aquatic monster
reaches for her foot.
On Melanie's wedding day, a
mysterious Phantom unknown to anyone appeared at the manor. No one really knows
who the Phantom is and what happened next, so I’ll leave this part of the story
to your imagination.
While Melanie was preparing
in her room, the Phantom lured her suitor up to the attic where he hanged him
by the neck from the rafters.
The floor is lowered and the
ceiling is raised slowly at the same time to provide the stretching illusion.
This serves the double purpose of both dramatic effect and also bringing guests
down from the Manor to where the actual ride begins at real ground level in
a separate warehouse-style show building behind the berm,
Notice as you exit the
elevator, how the lane narrows to form the queue for loading the ride vehicles.
At the end of the hallway
stands a large portrait of Melanie
Ravenswood, wearing her bridal gown.
Guests then turn a corner and
enter the loading area. Look above the
loading area. A large hall with the Grand
Staircase leading to the upper floor. You can see a ghostly, foggy landscape
with flashes and bolts of lightning through the huge window above the stairs
Guests board the carriages,
each accommodating two to three persons, and then move upwards into a dark space…….
,
past a young Melanie bowing to passing
guests while holding a candelabra, singing the entire time.
End part One
Part 2 next post- Dec. 15-2015 - Be sure to “Hurry Back”
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