09.18.03 – Mansion Status Update
Welcome to the new feature at GrimGhosts.Com! We’re hoping to now offer fairly
regular Mansion updates (every few months, or just when there’s stuff to
report). Visits are not regular, and we’ll only update things that are of
interest to fans – hopefully avoiding things too minimal.
Exterior – construction work continues on the façade of the house,
as the stone rail that encloses the mansion has been removed and is being
painted, according to management. Although it’s subtle, the entrance crypt
through which the line passes has been heavily aged and it now a better match
for the house. However, all of the façade lights are out, probably
due to the construction work going on outside. Only the candle lights in
the window and the back light on the spire was on, giving the house a very
sinister appearance at night.
Work has gone on in the family plot and pet cemetery, and for the better.
Now, for example, the pets appear to be raised slightly to make them easier
to read, and may have been given an additional coat of paint for age. More
notably, the family plot tombstones have been shuffled slightly. Good Friend
Gordon, who was previously perched far back on the hill and was in the process
of slowly doing a face plant into the earth, has been relocated to directly
next to Master Gracey. This is not a great spot, but an improvement. Also,
Wathel R. Bender has been moved to become the very first tombstone encountered,
a little bit before Grandpa Marc. Brother Claude may have been moved as well,
but its’ difficult to tell.
Foyer – the portrait is properly aligned for the first time in what seems
like forever.
Load – major changes here. The expanded Ghost Host safety dialogue (“Remain
safely seated with your hands, arms, feet, and legs inside – and watch your
children, please!”), and its’ Spanish counterpart, is fully operational,
and actually a positive addition. Rather than try to fit the entire spiel
into the doom buggies as they move through the house, it is a looping announcement
in the load area, in the portion of the wall that runs opposite the buggies.
New fixtures have been installed that appear to be extensions of the skull
paneling, sloping forward to form a small ledge, on which rests a vase. The
dialogue emanates from here, and is not as intrusive as that description
may suggest.
That said, the area looks better than it has in years. The new sconces (from
last September) are fully webbed. More importantly, the blue lights are more
or less gone – the candlelight is allowed to carry the show. A new, nicely
patterned bit or carpet has been added to the ramp up to the load belt, and
all of the bat stanchions have been replaced with larger versions, not cast
in bronze but what appears to be a sort of resin. Yes, that’s right – the
“smoothed over” bat has been retired after nearly 33 years of service.
Elsewhere – a new flood light has been added to the library, thus making
it possible to see the books – and to see the edge of the painted matte.
Score one, subtract one. The furniture in the music room has again been moved
around a bit, and the ‘new’ giant spider near the entrance of the corridor
of doors is starting to look a bit grimy. Is that a ‘peace’ sign on his back?!?!?
A red edge light has been added to the suit of armor, giving him a bit more
definition, and subtly. Although the first clanking door knocker appears
to be broken, some of the “ghostly moans” now come from this door.
Lights have been dimmed in the conservatory, making this whole area a much
more vivid red – it’s quite cool. Although it’s difficult to tell weather
it’s accidental or not, there appears to be lightening outside the conservatory
now! The blue lights for the ‘fog’ effect outside the windows are either
blown out or dimmed, as the fog is now a sickly gray.
Leota especially, and all of the projections, are on the fritz. On Saturday
night right before closing, her projection wasn’t even on. The singing busts
are a rather strange purple, and some are horribly misaligned. Little Leota
seems to ‘jump’, and her face is streaky.
On a positive note, all of the pop-ups in the attic now move VERY fast and
are quite startling. They have been repainted and lack the colorful red and
orange touches they once had, now a more appropriate and “dead looking” blue-green.
The flickering red light inside the graveyard hearse is back on, which is
quite cool as it shines through the figures quite clearly. Finally, all of
the figures appear to have been reprogrammed – they move quite fluidly and
a lot, especially the graveyard band.
A new gold plaque has been installed at the exit of the attraction announcing
the coming film. This is a much more tasteful and appropriate ad than the
“tattered canvas” poster that used to grace the exit of Pirates of the Caribbean,
although it doesn’t outdo the simple window display Disneyland installed
at the exit of their version in New Orleans Square prior to the film’s release.
There seems to be a lot of miscellaneous repainting going on around the park,
which is always a good sign. Let’s hope they can get the façade up
and running in time for the Happy Haunts Event!
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