Florida Guide > Disney Parks
The Haunted Mansion - Magic Kingdom
This ride is reminiscent of the old fashioned “Ghost Train” rides I used to frequent during my youth but much, much more sophisticated.
As you wait in line, just before you enter the mansion, read the amusing inscriptions on the headstones in the graveyard, one example being “Here lies poor old Fred, a great big rock fell on his head”. Look up at the architecture of the 19th century mansion, there appears to be ornaments of chess pieces on the roof. Apparently if you take a close look all the pieces are present except for the knight. When we took “The Keys to the Kingdom” tour a few years ago our tour guide explained that there were two possible reasons for this, although he did not know which was the correct one. The first being that it is always “night” inside the mansion and the other is that the “knight” is inside the mansion wearing the suit of armour!
As the doors to the mansion slowly open you will be greeted by a very morose looking cast member who will ask you to “Step this way” and inform you “People are dying to get in here!” You will be lead into the library where you are asked to “Move into the dead centre of the room”. You must now decide whether the ceiling goes up or the floor goes down, as the room begins to stretch.
Another door then opens and you walk down a corridor to board your “Doom Buggy”. There are 999 ghosts in here but there is “always room for one more” you are informed by a creepy sounding voice. Eight minutes of hilarity ensues as you weave your way round inside the mansion in your black buggy encountering dancing ghosts, cobwebs galore and wonderful special effects.
Look out for the “Hidden Mickeys”, the most noticeable one being on the far left of the table in the ballroom scene in the banquet hall. There are three plates that make up a Mickey’s head and ears.
There is a rumour that when a new cast member was assigned to the ride they started to clean the rooms thinking that they needed a good tidy up. When their superior found out what the new cast member had done, they were ordered to put all the cobwebs back as they were a major part of the ambience.
Small children may be frightened due the darkness of this ride but kids of five years or over will love it. It is especially good if you have tired feet as it gives you a chance to put your feet up for a whole eight minutes, even longer if the ride breaks down, which it does seem prone to doing.
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