So what is the story behind this famous "Dark ride?" When Walt started planning his "Mickey Mouse" park, the name he envisioned before Disneyland, he always wanted a Haunted Mansion to be in the park. However once the park was finally built, the Haunted Mansion, though still in the plans, never was started. Part of the problem was the many conceptual designs and ideas the Imagineers had come up with. There were no shortage of ideas and the revisions were numerous.

Despite no firm plan, Walt went ahead and had the exterior of Disneyland's haunted mansion built in 1962. Many of the ideas were built off a design by Disney Legend Harper Goff's original design of the park, with a Main St, a western village and carnival. Included was a sketch of a crooked street winding away from Main St. past a church and graveyard, in the background was a run down Manor house. Walt assigned Ken Anderson, creator of the Fantasyland dark rides to come up with a storyline. He envisioned an old antebellum manor with bats, scary trees and boarded up windows. Walt was not happy with this, he thought it would destroy the appearance of Disneyland, and in his famous quote "We'll take care of the outside and let the ghosts take care of the inside" The special effects for the Mansion were developed by Rolly Crump and Yale Gracy, two of Disney's top imaginers. Although many of the effects were amazing, some even scared the cleaning crew at night to the point they asked for the lights to be left on and the effects off.

Walt decided to place it in New Orleans Square and it was to be a haunted antebellum mansion. In 1961, handbills were given out at the park entrances for a 1963 opening. The exterior was finished in that year. The attraction did not open until 1969 due to other involvements and Walt's untimely death in 1966. After Walt's death, the project began to evolve dramatically. The main designers of the mansion, Marc Davis and Claude Coats had different ideas on the flavor of the attraction. Marc wanted more gags and a comic tone whereas Coats envisioned a darker ride, with a higher scare factor. The final script of the ride had both visions interlaced. The opening of the attraction was on August 9, 1969 and it was an immediate hit, bringing in record crowds.

The attraction was unchanged until 2001 when Disneyland transforms the mansion into the "Haunted Mansion Holiday." This combines the Halloween and Christmas seasons together in a fantastic display of props and characters based on Tim Burton's "The Nightmare Before Christmas." The transformation begins in September until January when it reverts back to the regular Haunted Mansion. The Haunted Mansion is in all of Disney's theme parks worldwide. It opened in Florida at Walt Disney World in Liberty Square at the Magic Kingdom in 1971. Both attractions are similar but Florida's is placed in a larger building. The mansion is patterned after an old gothic style building, similar to older northeastern buildings. In Tokyo Disneyland, the mansion is in Fantasyland and the "Ghost Host" narrates in Japanese. In Disneyland Paris, it is known as "Phantom Manor.

Here are some interesting facts about the Haunted Mansion. The stretching room in Disneyland is a real elevator, taking guests down one floor, making the walls appear, as they are getting longer and longer. Because of space, the show building is actually beyond the parks berm, and the passageway goes under the Disneyland Railroad. The Phantom Manor in Paris uses the same concept. In the Florida and Tokyo rooms the ceiling actually rises. In the early stages, Walt Disney himself recorded the narration, but later changed for today's version. Voice Artist Paul Frees is the Ghost Host. He also voiced the Pillsbury Doughboy and Boris Badenov of Rocky and Bullwinkle. The narration at Tokyo Disneyland is provided by Teichiro Hori, a movie producer. The original narration at the Phantom Manor was recorded by Vincent Price, but a deal with French officials stated, the audio had to be primarily in French. It was replaced with a track by Gerard Chevalier.

Buddy Baker composed the Mansion's theme song, "Grim Grinning Ghosts" and Disney composer Xavier Atencio wrote the lyrics. The song is not performed by the Mellomen, as many believe. Thurl Ravenscroft, who also voiced "Tony the Tiger," is the only member of the Mellomen whose voice is heard. He is part of the five singing busts in the graveyard scene. His face is also projected onto the bust.

The Haunted Mansion is famous for its special effects and illusions. Ever wonder how its done? In the famous Grand Hall banquet scene, ghosts appear to fade in and out and you see through them, just like real ghosts. However, the illusion was developed in 1862 by a Professor John Henry Pepper, called Peppers Ghost effect. All the props and furniture in the room are real, but huge panes of glass from floor to ceiling reflect images of the animatronic characters, which are placed in front of the scene. The hitchhiking ghosts use the same illusion, but the guests are reflected and they are behind the glass. In the séance room, the ball with Madame Leota's head is fairly simple. Inside the ball is a bust of Leota and her face is projected onto it as she speaks. The same effect is used when you leave the attraction and "Little Leota" is reminding you to "bring your Death Certificate"

In May of 2006, the Mansion got an interior facelift in Disneyland. The attic scene was totally revamped. This ties in with the portrait of the women on top of the tombstone in the stretching room. The bride, Constance is younger looking in the attic pictures. You now view her five wedding pictures, as you pass them, the husbands heads disappear, along with the sound of an axe chopping. She had decapitated them to gain their huge fortunes. Their names are: Marquis De Doom, Frank, Reginald, Ambrose and lastly George, the name under the tombstone. The new "Bride" is a mannequin and Constance's picture is projected on it, like Leota's. Walt Disney World's Haunted Mansion closed for rehab on June 7, 2007 and re-opened on September 13, 2007. The attic scene in Disneyland was copied along with a new sound system for the Ghost Host. He now sounds like he is circling the room as he speaks along with some great echo effects. Also added were the "Stairways to Nowhere" in the room that had the spider webs. There are additions to the graveyard scene, better audio and blinking eyes in the hallway scene.

Did you know that the demon head on the grandfather clock with the 13 hours on it is actually trying to eat the clock, notice that the pendulum is a demon tail, and the clock's hands are actually human fingers? The audio portion of the entire ride is much clearer and louder. A bit of trivia, the pipe organ in the banquet scene in Disneyland is the actual prop organ used in the Disney movie, "20,000 Leagues under the sea" The organs in the other parks are replicas. The caretaker you pass by going into the graveyard is the only living person in the attraction, along with his dog. The Hitchhiking ghosts have names. Phineas, the large ghost with the top hat, Ezra, the skeleton ghost and Gus with the ball and chain. Madame Leota was a living person. Leota Toombs (What a perfect last name!) was an Imagineer who helped with the Mansion. It is her face used in the attraction. After she passed away, her daughter Kim Irvine, also an Imagineer was used for additional film footage because of her resemblance to her mother.

The "Gracy" Family in the storyline is to honor Disney Imagineer Yale Gracy who helped develop many of the props and illusions in the manor. Every morning, a cast member places fresh soil on Master Gracey's grave and a fresh rose. Originally, the Mansion was to contain zombies, werewolves, vampires and voodoo, but Walt thought that too much, he wanted a retirement home for ghosts. In 1995, a white hearse pulled by an invisible horse was added to the Disneyland queue, later Walt Disney World received a black hearse, pulled by a different invisible horse. Disney World added a headstone for Madame Leota with a remarkable effect. The face relief of Leota, which appears to be solid bronze, will move forward and her eyes will blink and move back and forth, then return to its original place. Very eerie and well done.

Disneyland's Mansion opened August 9, 1969 with 131 "Doom" buggies. Disney World's opened October 1, 1971 with 160 Doom buggies. Tokyo Disneyland had its opening on April 15, 1983 with 160 buggies. Disneyland Paris Mansion opened on April 12, 1992 with 130 buggies.

Thanks to the brilliant and imaginative minds of the Imagineers and developers, the Haunted Mansion has stood the test of time. It is just as amazing and innovative as is was in 1969. It's combination of humor, macabre and special effects will continue to delight and amuse guests for years to come. It seems that my wife and I have ridden it about "999" times! So, with all the attractions and entertainment that Disney offers, the Haunted Mansion is our Favorite Attraction!