Posted by Disney’s Haunted Mansion ride is perfect, one of the Disneyland classics. It had always been part of Uncle Walt’s plans, but didn’t come to fruition until after his death. The first ride opened in 1969 and is a tribute to the imagination and creativity that Disney had cultivated at their film studios and theme park.
Today’s mp3 is taken from an album that I’m guessing was sold as a souvenir or even released so that people who couldn’t make it to the park could have a idea of what the ride entailed. It’s the actually the ride’s complete soundtrack, music, sound FX and tour guide, put together as if you’re sat in one of the doom buggies. In the days before video cameras and the internet this was probably close as some people could get to the Haunted Mansion and all the highlights are there. The endless hallway, the seance room, with floating musical instruments and Madame Leota, a medium’s head that appears within a crystal ball to summon the mansion’s spirits. The huge ballroom where ghosts appear to waltz to the music of a macabre organist while two portraits of men with guns come to life and start shooting each other. The three talking heads in the graveyard and the best bit at the end, when your buggy spins to travel past a huge mirror and….well, I won’t spoil the surprise.
If you’ve never visited the Haunted Mansion, but think it could be a possibility sometime in the future, avoid this post and save yourself for the real thing. If you think the closest you’ll ever get is this audio tour, then with your eyes closed and a good imagination, you might just top the Disney imagineers.
See you tomorrow for a peek into John Shuttleworth’s Open Mind
Head Chef.
I really enjoyed this, just as much as I’ve enjoyed all the entries thus far. Spookiest yet, for me, has been the Tom Baker story, the opening titles of which are still projected on the backs of my eyelids – aieeeeeeee!
I think i’m beginning to develop a genuine appreciation for horror as a result of all this exposure. You may be instrumental in kick-starting a gruesome hobby in the roomybonce household.
Cool. It has been fun and I’m glad that’s been the case for you and not a HTML posting nightmare. Real horror.