The Haunted Mansion

The Haunted Mansion is a dark ride attraction located at Disneyland Park. The attraction, places riders inside a haunted manor resided in by "999 happy haunts."
The Haunted Mansion features a ride-through tour in Omnimover vehicles called "Doom Buggies", and a walk-through show is displayed to riders waiting in the line queue. The attraction utilizes a range of technology, from centuries-old theatrical effects to modern special effects featuring spectral Audio-Animatronics.
Entering the queuing area through a pair of ornate gates, guests find themselves in the antebellum-era mansion's well-tended gardens and courtyards. The queuing path leads guests past a pet cemetery, a mausoleum with pun names, a cemetery at the top whose tombstones bear the names of the Imagineers who created this attraction, and a white carriage hearse led by an invisible horse which occasionally nickers. Stepping onto the porch, guests are admitted inside the mansion through a doorway on the far right of the house into the Foyer, lit by a large, flickering, cobweb-covered chandelier and surrounding candelabras.
In the Foyer, the deep, resonant voice of an invisible spirit sets the tone of the attraction with a short opening monologue.
A pair of sliding doors open to one of two similar octagonal rooms, which are actually large slow-moving elevators with two sets of walls, the lower of which does not reach the ceiling. The invisible spirit teasingly welcomes the guests (referring to them as "foolish mortals") and introduces himself as their "Ghost Host" who will take them on a tour of The Haunted Mansion. The room contains four paintings, one on every other wall, each depicting a person from the chest up; previous guests "as they appeared in their corruptible mortal state". The portraits are flanked by eight leering, candle-holding gargoyles. The entrance door closes, forming a panel in the wall, during which a Cast Member instructs guests to keep toward the "dead center" of the room. As the Ghost Host delivers his spiel, the room begins to "stretch" vertically. As the floor descends, the visible extent of the upper walls increases and portrait frames (located behind the lower walls) appear to elongate, revealing the grim fates of the previous residents.
The paintings humorously depict macabre situations: a beautiful young girl holding a parasol is shown to be balancing on a fraying tightrope above the jaws of an alligator; a middle-aged bearded man holding a document is shown to be standing atop a barrel of dynamite in his boxer shorts with a candle lighting the fuse; a smiling elderly woman holding a rose is shown to be sitting on the tombstone of her late husband George, who is depicted as a stone bust with an axe in his head; and a confident-looking middle-aged man in a bowler hat is shown to be sitting on the shoulders of a frightened-looking man, who sits on the shoulders of a third man who is waist-deep in quicksand, an expression of terror on his face.
As the Ghost Host challenges guests "to find a way out" of this seemingly windowless and doorless chamber, he concludes his speech with, "Of course, there's always MY way..."
With a sudden thunderclap, the lights go out and the ceiling disappears. A ghastly vision manifests above: the skeletal corpse of the Ghost Host dangling from a taut rope inside an octagonal dome, illuminated by flashes of lightning. Seconds later, the room plunges into darkness, and a bloodcurdling scream is heard - falling from the ceiling to the floor, ending with the sound of the corpse hitting the floor.
As the chamber is re-lit, a wall opens, exposing a Portrait Gallery. As lightning flashes from the windows on the opposite side of the gallery, the portraits transform into images of ghosts and monsters in synchronization with the lightning. At the corridor's far end are two statuary busts depicting a strict-looking man and woman. The statues appear to turn and gaze at guests, following their every move.
Turning a corner, guests enter the Load Area, where a seemingly endless stream of black carriages, known as Doom Buggies, descend one staircase and ascend another. Beyond the track, clouds drift past a limbo of boundless mist and decay. The guests then board the carriages, accompanied by the Ghost Host (who lowers the safety bar and provides a safety spiel).
Once guests ascend the pitch-black staircase to the second floor, they come across a moving suit of armor, and a chair which appears to be embroidered with a hidden abstract face. The Doom Buggies also pass by the end of a seemingly Endless Hallway. Halfway down the hallway is a candelabra, floating eerily.
Turning away from the Endless Hallway, guests travel past a glass Conservatory filled with dead, withered plants and flowers. In the middle of the room is a coffin occupied by a restless "guest", plaintively wailing for someone to "Let me out!'. Perched near the coffin is a black raven with glowing red eyes.
The Doom Buggies continue down a Corridor of Doors. The sounds of pounding, shrieking, calls for help, screams, knocking, and maniacal laughter can be heard from behind the doors. Knockers and handles are moved by unseen hands and some doors appear to be "breathing." The walls, covered in demon-faced wallpaper, are adorned with photographs of screaming and grinning corpses, and a large painting of the Ghost Host with a rope around his neck and holding a hatchet. A demonic grandfather clock chimes 13 as its hands spin counter-clockwise and the shadow of a claw passes over it.
Guests enter a dark Séance Room full of floating objects. Madame Leota, a witch/medium whose disembodied head appears within a misty crystal ball with blue hair, summons the Mansion's spirits, levitating mysteriously above a table littered with tarot cards and a wispy green spirit moves off in a corner of the room. The raven seen moments ago in the Conservatory can now be seen perched on the back of the chair at the table. As she incants,
"Serpents and spiders, tail of a rat... Call in the spirits, wherever they're at.
Rap on a table, it's time to respond... Send us a message from somewhere beyond.
Goblins and ghoulies from last Halloween... Awaken the spirits with your tambourine!
Creepies and crawlies, toads in a pond... Let there be music from regions beyond!
Wizards and witches, wherever you dwell... Give us a hint by ringing a bell."
After leaving the Séance Circle, guests move along a balcony overlooking a birthday party taking place in a Grand Hall, with a number of ghosts dancing and reveling. Ghosts are seen entering the room through a broken door, where a hearse has crashed with its coffin sliding out. Eerie phantoms are seen flying in and out of the windows above. A merry ghost is seen sitting atop the mantle of a fireplace with a mysterious green fire, with his arm wrapped around a bust. An elderly ghost is seen rocking back and forth in a chair, a book in her lap. Many ghosts have gathered around a dinner table, where a ghost is blowing out candles on a birthday cake. A massive chandelier hangs above the table on which a couple is perched and another ghost named Pickwick swings from by his cane. Another balcony is seen across the room, where a curtained doorway is situated between two portraits of dueling gunmen. From time to time, the ghosts of both duelists appear and shoot at each other with their pistols. A number of elegantly dressed couples are seen below, waltzing to a discordant version of the attraction's theme song played on a pipe organ by a ghostly gentleman wearing a top hat, while banshees float out of its pipes.
The Doom Buggies then proceed to the Attic, an irregularly shaped room cluttered with gifts, personal items, mementos and wedding portraits. In each portrait, the same bride is seen with a different groom, whose heads disappear only to reappear a moment later. With each successive photograph, the bride gains another string of pearls. The sound of a beating heart fills the room, and a shadowy spirit plays a grim version of the "Bridal Chorus" on an old harpsichord. Just before the Doom Buggies escape the Attic, the ghost of the bride from the pictures, Constance Hatchaway is encountered, shrouded in cool blue light, and uttering words reciting the traditional wedding vows: "Here comes the bride; As long as we both shall live; For better or for... worse?; I do. I did; In sickness and in... wealth; You may now kiss the bride; We'll live happily ever after; Till death do us part" As she raises her arms, a hatchet appears and disappears in her hands between vows.
The Doom Buggies drift out of an Attic window and onto the balcony, coming face to face with the Hatbox Ghost amidst a starry night sky filled with wispy spirits rising from the Graveyard below. The Doom Buggies turn around, and tip backward surrounded by dark, ghoulish trees with knotted expressions. The red-eyed raven caws at guests from a branch overhead as guests enter the Graveyard. The Doom Buggies then reach the ground and turn towards the gate of the Graveyard. There stands a caretaker and his dog, the attraction's only "living" characters. The caretaker cowers in fright, an expression of terror on his face, while his emaciated dog whines and whimpers.
Around the corner, a ghostly band of minstrels plays a jazzy rendition of "Grim Grinning Ghosts" as a family of cats and a pair of owls join in harmony. Ghouls pop up from behind tombstones, a king and queen balance on a teeter-totter. The Doom Buggies travel down a hill and turn to see five expressive haunted busts singing "Grim Grinning Ghosts" in barbershop harmony.
Next, guests encounter a ghostly tea party surrounding a hearse stuck in the mud. A bony arm protrudes from a crypt with a wine glass in its hand, while banshees ride bicycles in the distance. An Egyptian mummy sits up in his sarcophagus, holding a cup of tea and singing along, while the ghost of a "wise old man" from the Renaissance period holds an ear trumpet to his ear in an attempt to make out the muffled words of the mummy.
The Doom Buggies then turn and pass a group of singing ghosts (an operatic pair, a decapitated knight, a masked executioner, and a prisoner) standing in front of a series of crypts. A bony arm holding a trowel protrudes from a partially walled-up crypt, its occupant attempting to finish the job.
As the Doom Buggies approach the entrance of a large crypt, and the Ghost Host speaks one final time: "Ah, there you are... and just in time. There's a little matter I forgot to mention: beware of HitchHiking Ghosts! They have selected you to fill our quota, and will haunt you until you return... Now I will raise the safety bar, and a ghost will follow you home!"
Entering the Hall of Mirrors, the Doom Buggies pass a group of three ghosts thumbing for a ride. Around the corner, in large, ornately framed mirrors, the guests see that one of the ghosts from the trio is in the carriage with them.
While passing through the Hall of Mirrors, the same Singing Bust spirits from the Graveyard sing a somber tune in the background while guests proceed to the exit. "If you would like to join our jamboree there's a simple rule that's compulsory; mortals pay a token fee; rest in peace, the haunting's free; so hurry back, we would like your company..."
The guests then disembark their Doom Buggies and ascend back to the "living world." The last apparition they see is the tiny Ghost Hostess, also known as "Little Leota," who encourages them to: "hurry back... hurry back! Be sure to bring your death certificate, if you decide to join us. Make final arrangements now. We've been 'dying' to have you."