How Disneyland's Haunted Mansion Works and Why It Sat EMPTY for 6 Years

Disneyland's Haunted Mansion was finished on the outside in 1963, then stood locked behind its gate for six more years while a sign invited ghosts to apply for a place to live. This episode follows the house from the first haunted house sketches of the 1950s to its opening in August 1969, then rides through it scene by scene to show how the Imagineers made the stretching room, the Doom Buggies, Madame Leota and the ghosts in the ballroom work. It ends with how the mansion has changed since, from Haunted Mansion Holiday and the return of the Hatbox Ghost to the new bride in 2025 and the gingerbread music box for the holiday overlay's 25th season. 0:00 Cold open 1:08 A Haunted House for Disneyland 2:49 Six Years Empty 5:01 Scary or Funny 7:24 Opening Week 8:35 Into the House 11:34 The Illusions 14:40 Changes Over the Years 17:25 The Mansion Today The 3D animations were made for this video in Blender from Disney's Omnimover patent, published histories and ride footage. Disney has never published the exact sizes of the stretching room, the Doom Buggy mechanism or the ballroom glass, so dimensions and some details in those animations are illustrative. Motion graphics: art by Devon McCabe Narration: jpland FOOTAGE AND PHOTOS Brief excerpts used for commentary and history. All rights belong to their owners. Thank you to: DocumentDisney, Theme Park Steve, Disney Parks Blog, Gorillas Don't Blog, treknician1701, The StoryTeller, D23, Laughing Place, Walt Disney Imagineering, Long-Forgotten Haunted Mansion, Disney Parks, FordHeritage, CinePost, Geographicus Rare Antique Maps, Bayern Kurve Blog, WhereMagicLives95, WaltsApartment.com, MMExplore, MrDisneyfanman, Walt Disney Animation Studios, Disney History Institute, Valley Thrills, Amusement 360 – Archival Library, Share a Dream Come True, Fuzzy Digital Memories, Intermission Society, Jimmy Good, 1954clips, Yensid 55, Disney Kids, ThemeParkHD, Inside the Magic, Hawg Gnarly, Disney125, Los Angeles Times, DisneyMoviesOnDemand, Disney, Disneyland Resort, Wheelchair_World_Traveler and Post Eazy. Licensed photos: - Disneyland aerial, 1963: Robert J. Boser, CC BY 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:6308-AnaheimDisneyLand-NW_to_SE_View.jpg - Haunted Mansion exterior, Haunted Mansion Holiday, Hatbox Ghost and Magic Kingdom mansion: HarshLight, CC BY 2.0 - Madame Leota's Somewhere Beyond: Contributor19, CC BY 4.0 - Magic Kingdom Haunted Mansion, 2011: Mttbme, CC BY-SA 3.0 - Tokyo Disneyland Haunted Mansion: Rob Young, CC BY 2.0 - Phantom Manor Boot Hill: Jeremy Thompson, CC BY 2.0 - Eleanor Audley in The Beverly Hillbillies: CBS, public domain (Wikimedia Commons) - Plaster bust in the projection animation: Poly Haven, CC0 Music: Epidemic Sound ("Waltz of the Dead" by Mike Franklyn; "The Tip-Toe Quest" by Raymond Grouse; "Bats and Rats" by Ludvig Moulin; "The Dark Wizard" by Christoffer Moe Ditlevsen; "Hide and Sneak" by The Fly Guy Five; "The Haunted Concert Hall", "House of Mirrors" and "You Can Never Catch Me" by Luella Gren; "Snow Diamonds in the Sky" by Johan Landqvist; "What Wizards Know" by Josef Bel Habib) #HauntedMansion #Disneyland #DisneylandSecrets