- Well, it looks as though everyone
wants to go see The Haunted Mansion.
And that's good because it's such a great ride.
But while everyone's on their way over there,
I thought you might like to see a film on how it was built
and how some of the tricks were done.
I'll show you that film
and then take you on a trip through The Haunted Mansion.
When word got out of Walt Disney's plans
for a haunted mansion, the ghost relations department
at WED Enterprises was deluged
with inquiries from assorted ghosts and haunts
who were dying to get a look at it.
An expert staff of master Illusioneers
worked for more than 10 years
planning everything down to the minutest detail.
(spooky music)
This is the endless hallway.
A misty passage beckoning you to enter
but offering no end.
Of course, a model had to be made for the ghosts approval.
Come along and follow us.
Who knows, someday you may want to live here yourself.
No haunted mansion would be complete without a seance room.
This one was designed as a cozy gathering place
where the spirits could practice chain rattling,
screeching, and the ever popular horn blowing.
The Imagineers at WED Enterprises,
many of whom were formerly animators at the Disney Studio,
worked overtime to make these tiny real figures
arrive at The Haunted Mansion as ghosts.
Seems to work well enough, doesn't it?
Suitable sleeping quarters had to be prepared,
you might call this a model apartment.
As the ghosts began to arrive,
individual problems began to pop up.
A skeleton crew of technicians was kept busy full time
attending to the peculiar needs of the future inhabitants.
No stone was left unturned.
(machines clanging)
Some of the ethereal inhabitants were much too shy
to be seen by mortals and mechanical substitutes
had to be devised to make them visible.
What you are seeing is a man operating a machine
that activated the mechanical features
of this head.
(keys clacking)
Or is it the other way around?
Well, whatever it is, it seems to work.
At least I think that's what this fellow
is trying to tell us.
With the aid of these banks of electronic equipment,
even the household pets were animated.
(cat yowling)
Including these two friendly creatures.
(bird cawing)
A system was developed by the people at Disney
to control the movements
of the ghostly inhabitants of The Haunted Mansion
through the use of scallop-edged discs.
Roller cams followed the depressions and shoulders
producing realistic movements
that helped to bring our spooky tenants to life,
if you'll excuse the pun.
This system was called, "Audio-Animatronics"
which combined three-dimensional animation
and sound through the use of electronics.
By stacking these discs,
a number of functions could be controlled at the same time.
As a matter of fact,
every movement and sound
of all the tenants of The Haunted Mansion
is directed in this manner.
Is it any wonder that it took
more than 10 years to complete the job?
An interesting phenomenon
that we seem to have no control over
is this old gentleman
who just can't seem to keep his eyes off of you
no matter where you go.
Probably the single most difficult problem faced
by the Illusioneers at WED was that posed
by some of the more bashful boarders
who refused to show their faces.
Some of the busts even appeared to be unfinished.
The head was there but the face was missing.
Ah, but you know how it is,
at Disney's there's always a couple of faces
left lying around on the floor.
- As the moon climbs high o' the dead oak tree.
Creepy creeps with eerie eyes.
Grim grinning ghosts come out to socialize.
- Finally, everyone was brought together.
They all seem to be in good order
and capable of taking care of themselves.
Although, some needed a hand.
Or the latest in haunting hairdos.
Everything was finally ready.
Musicians were recruited.
A cast party was held.
And some last minute repairs were made.
It was so exciting that this poor fellow lost his head.
The Haunted Mansion was an idea of Walt Disney's.
You see, he began to worry
where ghosts were gonna live
after all the old houses were torn down
to make room for freeways.
He decided that if someone
didn't give them a house to live in,
why, they'd just disappear,
so Mr. Disney built a Haunted Mansion.