this video is sponsored by squarespace whilst many are aware that disneyland paris has its own
haunted mansion few realize that the attraction is almost entirely unique from its us counterpart
it's a dark grisly and sometimes even gory journey into the story of a broken family
that's interwoven with the overarching narrative of frontierland whilst originally this story was
mostly told through hints in the ride in 2019 the phantom mena received an overhaul that would
see it embrace this story even further exploring a phantom seeking vengeance from beyond the grave we
invite you to join us as we step into the world of thunder mesa and explore a tale of love and murder
as we reveal the history story secrets and behind the scenes magic that makes this one of disney's
darkest attractions welcome to your virtual guided tour presented by review time my name
is dom and i will be your host today as we explore phantom manor at disneyland paris
the haunted mansion at disneyland in california opened its doors to guests on august 4th 1969
whilst it opened a few years after his death walt disney had personal influences on the attraction
and brought together differing ideas from imagineers to create a unique attraction that
successfully challenged the idea of the ghost train the attraction was a unique blend of grim
and quirky ideas that provided a personality that accompanied the haunted mansion into its success
as the disneyland haunted mansion was being constructed a similar version was being planned
for the magic kingdom at walt disney world with this in mind when the props and animatronics were
being created duplicates of almost everything were being made for the future ride the haunted
mansion at the magic kingdom opened in 1971 and was incredibly similar to the original iteration
with one of the biggest and most obvious changes being the gothic revival style mansion facade
which blended more with liberty square the land in which the ride was situated in 1983 an additional
version of the haunted mansion opened at tokyo disneyland which took further inspiration from
the magic kingdom iteration it wasn't until the late 1980s when planning was underway for the
upcoming euro disneyland that the haunted mansion concept would experience its first major change
euro disneyland was an entirely new endeavor pursued by a new wave of imagineers inspired
by the greats that came before them instead of just creating disneyland again executive designer
of imaginarian tony baxter felt it was necessary to provide their own unique twist on attractions
which had become staples of the disney lineup with previous work designing big thunder mountain
at both disneyland and the magic kingdom baxter had ambitious plans for the european version of
frontierland being redesigned from the ground up baxter's version would romanticize the idea
of the west with a more cinematic and grand approach to its design instead of a faithful
representation of history instead of just serving as a backdrop frontierland at euro disneyland
would create an overarching story for the many attractions contained within its borders
centralized around henry ravenswood and his town of thunder mesa with big thunder mountain playing
an integral role in this narrative it received a more prominent position at the center of the
rivers of the far west effectively replacing what would usually contain tom sawyer island
the haunted mansion at euro disneyland would be located within this newly designed frontierland
overlooking the town of thunder mesa the facade for the attraction differed greatly from the other
iterations taking inspiration from victorian second empire architectural stylings to blend
more appropriately with frontierland it was also the first to appear derelict and abandoned with
imagineer mark davis commenting on its appearance saying that walt would never approve of it
whilst it's true that walt disney wanted his parks to remain pristine thematically cinematically and
with language barriers the change made sense to elevate the attraction into a more cinematic story
focused experience imagineers took inspiration from novels such as gaston larose 1909 novel
the phantom of the opera with this cinematic approach a darker and deeper haunted mansion felt
far more thematically appropriate than the cheery quirks that would be inherited from the original
attraction euro disneyland presented new cultural challenges for the buddy and imaginarian team
firstly the haunted mansion name was changed to the phantom manor as it appeared relatively
similar in both english and french being within short travel distance of many countries
with different languages the importance of compelling visual storytelling to convey the
narratives of the phantom manner was stronger than ever many of the original effects were
given visual overhauls with representations of melanie and the residents of the manor
to help convey the story of the attraction to help push the cinematic approach the attraction is
underscored with an original soundtrack composed by john debney derived from the haunted mansion's
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the backstory of phantom manor is integrally weaved into the in-depth narrative for the
entire land of thunder mesa henry ravenswood was a saddler who found gold in big thunder mountain and
founded the thunder mesa mining company becoming extremely wealthy from his business he built a
victorian manner for himself and his only daughter melanie high on boot hill overlooking the town
that his mind helped build this mine however was rumored by the natives of the area to be the home
of the spirit of the thunderbird whose wrath could be materialized in a devastating earthquake
melanie grew from a young girl into a beautiful young woman and became engaged to a train engineer
who planned to take her far away from thunder mesa much to the dismay of henry he did everything he
could to stop the wedding but on their planned wedding day he was put to an eternal end
when a sudden earthquake killed him it seemed the thunderbird had awakened the house went quiet for
many years when rumors started to circulate about what really happened that fateful day
on melanie's wedding day a mysterious ghostly phantom appeared in the manor luring melanie's
potential groom to his death hanging him from the rafters to this day melanie is said to live inside
the house decaying around her having lost her mind from that fateful day with citizens hearing
her voice and the phantom's laughter drip from the manor down to the town of thunder mesa each night
perched atop a hill overlooking the entirety of thunder mesa is phantom manor itself like in
derelict and decrepit enter in the grounds you are welcomed by a plaque reading phantom manor
non omnis moriah which is latin for i shall not die completely giving you the first hint as to
the character of the phantom weaving through the elaborate overgrown gardens you work your
way towards the front door of the manor as the booming sounds of the western frontier begin to
fade to the eerie echo of a music box and a tiny radio-like depiction of the traditional haunted
mansion theme ring through the area combined with the sound of wind and emptiness before entering
the mana you're treated to the impressive vista of thunder mesa it should be noted as well that
there is nothing behind the mana it's just empty space this was done on purpose as the mana is
elevated giving the sense the ride you're going to partake in has an impossible scale once you step
inside the manor you hear the ethereal voice of the phantom welcoming you and telling you the
legend of this cursed house and town originally the narration here was said to be solely voiced by
famed horror actor vincent price but legal agreements with the french government required
for the rights narration to originally be only in french which means for a long time
his voice went unused in a large 2019 overhaul vincent price's incredible narration finally
got to be heard as sections of the attraction are now presented as a bilingual experience
the phantom then invites you inside a familiar feeling octagonal room featuring four portraits
of a young melanie and her previous potential suitors as the room starts to stretch around you
melanie slowly disappears from these portraits and the four men's grisly fates are revealed to guess
the phantom has ensured melanie's suitors could not take her away from thunder mesa
sending these four men to their deaths in distinctly unique ways the phantom notes
that the chamber has no windows and no doors offering you a chilling challenge
to find a way out of course there's always his way flashes of lightning direct your attention upwards
revealing the phantom to guests for the first time standing high above them in the rafters
taunting them with a noose the stretching room here similarly to disneyland in california is an
actual elevator designed to take you down to the level of the show building where the rest of the
ride is constructed it's why there is nothing behind the phantom manor after walking down
a long portrait corridor guests board their black carriage as they see the bride is still
waiting in the manor staring out of the window watching an ever brewing storm throughout the
attraction most of the expected haunted mansion scenes are present with their own macabre twist
starred in the attraction as our carriage rounds the corner we are greeted to an endless hallway
down the hallway though is not just a floating candelabra but also the phantom and his daughter
melanie still wearing her wedding gown and it's the first time we see the two main characters
together a symbolic representation of the control that the phantom excludes
over melanie we then enter the conservatory giving us another view into the raging storm outside
inside is a collection of slowly decaying wreaths and memorial portraits from melanie's deceased
suitors with a creepy rendition of the wedding march being played on the piano by the invisible
phantom weaving your way through the corridor of doors you're welcomed into the seance room
madame leota's disembodied head summons all of the phantom's ghostly friends and creatures to a
mysterious ball goblins and ghoulies creatures of fright we summon you now to dance through
the night as we exit we are given a clue as to why these ghouls have been summoned
join now the spirits in nuptial doom a ravishing bride a vanishing groom you are invited to observe
this ghostly wedding as you emerge into the manna's grand hall spirits of the residents
of thunder mesa are seen bringing in gifts dining and dancing while high above stands the groomless
bride taunted by the mysterious phantom this scene thematically is incredibly similar to the haunted
mansion but through the creepy undertones and backstory of the attraction it has a completely
different feel truly adding to the constant sense of unease set by guests throughout the attraction
similarly to the haunted mansion many of these effects are achieved through peppa's ghost guests
are then teleported forward in time from that farewell wedding day to the present melanie is
still alive but has since retreated to her boudoir a dying fire crackles quietly as a now elderly
melanie has given up hope and the search for her long-lost groom weeping away at a giant mirror
even today though the ghostly spirit of the phantom still haunts her appearing in the mirror
in a scene very reminiscent of the phantom of the opera on which this attraction is loosely based
exiting melanie's boudoir and the manor itself we are now face to face with the
very phantom that has been taunting melanie he is dug an open grave which it appears perhaps
it's intended for you as a callback to the only way out being his way passing by a zombified
dog you slowly make your way into the catacombs surrounded by skeletal ex-citizens of thunder mesa
as you descend the singing bus come into view sing in a jazzier grim grinning ghost
surrounded by dancing dead skeletons guests are then transported into phantom canyon a ghoulified
version of thunder mesa rifts surround the vehicle suggesting that an earthquake has taken place
perhaps the same summoned by the thunderbird which took the lives of the ravenswood elders
guests passed by a ruined town hall with the mayor of phantom canyon who warns the travellers
of hitchhiking ghosts and invites them to become the manor's 1000th guest the voice snippets used
for this animatronic are from paul freeze the original ghost host from the haunted mansion
and the face is the same mold used for the dream finder in epcot's journey into imagination with
figment which tony baxter worked on guests are then greeted to the many citizens of the canyon
including a cowboy shootout and a saloon much of this area is inspired by a scene featuring
in the cancelled attraction called western river expedition this ride was going to feature at the
magic kingdom in place of pirates of the caribbean but was cancelled at the last minute due to guests
complaining that there were no pirates at walt disney world in true imaginarian fashion
many aspects of western river expedition were then recycled for other experiences
the phantom is seen one final time gesturing guests into a coffin as they slip away into
the manor's crypt containing the remains of melanie's deceased suitors the ride concludes
with the famous hitchhiking ghost mirror scene but when guests look into their carriage they can see
melanie joining them begging for them to wed her guests exit the attraction through the mena's wine
cellar to the sound of the phantom's laughter and melanie's voice telling them to hurry back
once they've left the manor they enter into boot hill a cemetery containing gravestones
for the ravenswoods and many others melanie's tomb can be found on boot hill with the sound
of her heart beating echoing through the concrete and if one turns around towards the mansion from
the cemetery they can often catch a glimpse of the phantom looking over them from the manor before
he quickly closes the curtains escaping from sight phantom mena is the epitome of what disney
was trying to do with disneyland paris take the disney park formula and plus one everything about
it this mansion is reminiscent of the very first plans for a haunted walk through for disneyland
where a ghostly sea captain and his bride would become welcome guests into their haunted abode
some nights when the moon is full and the sky is clear of clouds one can still hear the lonely
morning of the bride the maniacal laughter of the phantom and the faint tinkle of glass and
the laughter of party gas whether she is alive or not what is well known is that poor melanie
will never really leave that crumbling mansion she waits for her groom until judgment day
for the home of all things theme parks i'm john from review time thanks for watching
you