No fricking way. Today I was able to have a walking tour of the original Haunted Mansion at Disneyland! I got to walk through everything and see how they do all the Disney magic. It's amazing how most of the effects are old school theatre tricks. The best part was the way they did the ballroom scene. If you have never rode the attractions watch the video around the 6:25 mark:
The effect was done with something called Pepper's Ghost. I was not able to take pictures of the tour, but here is a website that kind of explains it: Click Here!
Another random fun fact is at about 5:19 there is an end table between the doors (you can't really see it on this video.) Well on that table there are some dead flowers and an open book. Of course I was interested to see what book it was, but the cover was glued down. So I remembered some of the names on the page so I could Google them later. 'Brother Wingo' and 'Ben Thigpen' where characters in The Gauntlet by James Howell Street, copyright 1945. Why did WDI (Walt Disney Imagineering) include The Gauntlet in the Haunted Mansion? No idea. According to Amazon.com it's about a peaceful period in the American past. It's a story about a young Baptist minister in the south, his family life and struggles with church politics. So I guess it fits with the southern theme of the house. It's a fun detail no one would ever have the chance to notice unless they were able to have full lights on and lean over the tiny end table that most people miss.
