The Haunted Mansion Restaurant?

The Haunted Mansion restaurant? There's rumors of one coming someday to Walt Disney World's Magic Kingdom. It may never happen, but something close did come within reach. At least it was once considered. 

The Haunted Mansion as you've never seen it in 3D. In the Fall 2009 edition of D23 magazine,  a piece of concept art which appeared displayed guests doing down to the infamous banquet hall for a bite. Very up close and personal. Your eyes are not deceiving you.  

That really is an Imagineering concept for the once proposed 3D version. Had it been built,  guests would don the glasses to see things in a very different, eerie light. There's no Omnimover, but instead a vehicle chain would looks very similar to what you would have found in EPCOT Center's Horizons attraction.  

Before Phantom Manor made its ghoulish debut in Disneyland Paris' Frontierland  in 1992, the Disney Imagineers created this long abandoned new twist on an old favorite as an idea for Tokyo Disneyland. The Tokyo Mansion was already very strangely placed in Fantasyland, so why not try a brand new idea for the Japanese park or for Paris? In my opinion, thankfully, smarter heads prevailed. They held off until a fresh concept- a Frontierland based Phantom Manor came into view for the French park. And it's a winner!

Instead of throwing 3D glasses on existing rides and calling them new, I would rather advocate we one day have  a version of the Haunted Mansion where the Doombuggies travel into some new rooms, expanding the attraction length and repeatability using a trackless ride system a la Ratatouille or Tokyo's Beauty and the Beast.

Would Hong Kong Disneyland's Mystic Manor go 3D eventually? Probably not- it already has it all. Even the videos of the attraction circulating on the web prove it is a unique and worthy experience all its own. First, there's a great and very original story using the trackless free roaming system we've loved from the beginning when from Pooh's Hunny Hunt debuted. And that Danny Elfman music! Certainly Mystic Manor is the attraction that finally placed that poor little under built Chinese park on the Disney fan map. It doesn't need the 3D at all.

For now, it does not look like the incomplete Shanghai Disneyland resort has a ghost filled attraction on its roster. That doesn't mean something won't happen one day. Strange things always do.

(Concept art copyright The Walt Disney Company.)

Art for the Haunted Mansion in 3D

Here's the Haunted Mansion as you've never seen it... and probably never will! In the Fall 2009 edition of D23 magazine, they shared a piece of concept art which displayed guests doing down to the infamous banquet hall. Very up close and personal. Are your eyes deceiving you? Not at all! That really is an Imagineering concept for a proposed 3D version, where guests don the glasses to see things in a very different light. There's no Omnimover, though, so this may be just a movie screen version replacing the ride through attraction.

Before Phantom Manor made its ghoulish debut in Disneyland Paris' Frontierland  in 1992, the Disney Imagineers created this long abandoned new twist on an old favorite as an idea for Tokyo Disneyland. It was already to be oddly placed in Fantasyland, but this idea would have been a stretch. Thankfully, smarter heads prevailed until a fresh concept came about for the French park years later. I would rather have seen them create a version of the ride where the Doombuggies travel into some new rooms, expanding the attraction length. Maybe we'll see this idea take root as a celebration of the Mansion's 50th Anniversary at Disneyland in California. Or perhaps a journey into a new room then? How hard would it be to extend the track and create a new route?

Would Hong Kong Disneyland's Mystic Manor go 3D eventually? Probably not- it already has it all. There's a great and original story using the trackless freeroaming system from Pooh's Hunny Hunt. It certainly doesn't seem to need the gimmick that 3D tends to be used for. Mystic Manor is the attraction that finally placed the poor little Chinese park on the map. 

Hmmm. I'd like to see the trackless system used for a new trip through the Haunted Mansion as the vehicles freely room into different rooms, making every trip randomly different.

It does not look like Shanghai Disneyland has a spirited attraction on its roster. But something could come their way in the years to come. The mystical always appeals as an attraction. It would be great to see a new version of an old classic come to life. Perhaps an even newer twist on The Tower of Terror?

(Concept art copyright The Walt Disney Company.)