Haunted Mansion Holiday is a seasonal overlay of Disneyland's Haunted Mansion attraction. (A similar overlay called Haunted Mansion Holiday Nightmare can be found at Tokyo Disneyland.) It blends the settings and characters of the original Haunted Mansion with those of Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas . The Haunted Mansion typically closes for two and half weeks in September so it can be converted into the Haunted Mansion Holiday. The overlaid attraction is then open to guests from late-September through early-January, before being closed again during January so the overlay can be removed.
History
Two similar overlays - Country Bear Christmas Special and It's a Small World Holiday - had already been successful for some time when Haunted Mansion Holiday was developed. Initially, Disney considered doing a retelling of A Christmas Carol , but decided against it due to the attraction's setting in New Orleans Square and the incongruity of bringing Santa Claus into the eerie environment of the Haunted Mansion. Instead, they decided to base it on The Nightmare Before Christmas after considering which Disney character would celebrate Christmas in the Haunted Mansion, should Santa Claus ever land there on his journey. Steve Davison took the idea and worked with Walt Disney Creative Entertainment to develop the overlay.
One issue Disney had to deal with was the fact that three key performers in the original attraction - Paul Frees, Leota Toombs, and Eleanor Audley - had all died years earlier. Paul Frees was replaced in his role as the Ghost Host by Corey Burton, who had done voiceover work with Disney before. Leota Toombs' daughter, Kim Irvine, resembled her mother and was thus chosen to perform in her place as Madame Leota. Susan Blakeslee (whose voice resembles Eleanor Audley) provides the voice of Madame Leota.
Haunted Mansion Holiday opened October 3 2001 and quickly became popular with guests, leading to the attraction's FastPass machines being activated during the overlay (They are normally inactive). The Tokyo version props were intended for Walt Disney World, but when the park abandoned plans to install the attraction, Tokyo (which features a carbon copy of their Haunted Mansion) received all the props.
Storyline
Jack Skellington, usually in charge of the spectacular Halloween celebrations in Halloween Town, grows tired of these annual routines. One day, he accidentally discovers Christmas Town and is inspired by the new ideas and sensations. He then sets out to take over for "Sandy Claws" and run the mansion's Christmas celebrations in his own twisted style, with the help of the citizens of Halloween Town.
The attraction
The outside of the Mansion has been covered in both jack-o-lanterns and Christmas decorations. On the roof is Jack Skellington's coffin sleigh and stretched from the roof to the floor is his comical "Christmas Equation". There is also the countdown clock from Nightmare that tells how many days are left until Christmas. A music box track from Disneyland Paris' Phantom Manor plays in the outdoor areas. (At Tokyo Disneyland, the Mansion does not have a countdown clock or a Christmas Equation hanging from the roof, because of the design differences between the Mansions. Pumpkin-snowmen can be seen and orchestrations from the movie and ride play in the queue area.)
Guests are then ushered into the foyer, which has been decorated with skull wreaths and such. The Ghost Host begins to tell the story of the attraction in rhyme, and guests proceed into one of the two portrait chambers. At Tokyo, a painting of Jack transforming from the Pumpkin King to his Sandy Claws guise replaces the changing portrait of Master Gracey.
The stretching portraits have been replaced with stained-glass pictures depicting innocent Christmas scenes, with wreaths as their frames. When the doors close, the chamber goes dark and begins to stretch. The pictures make sounds, as if bursting into shards, and luminescent portraits of Halloween's Christmas vision emerge, depicting Sandy Claws riding his coffin sleigh, a man-eating wreath, scary toys, Sandy Claws opening a giant sack as ghosts rise up and a giant carnivorous snake. The Ghost Host begins reciting a dark variation of "'Twas the Night Before Christmas" as eerie music plays, extensively featuring a choir. The suspense builds until lightning crashes and Jack's face appears above, cackling, "Happy Holidays, everyone!", to replace the hanging body of the ghost host. His laughter fills the room, a woman screams and everything goes pitch black.
The doors open, leading into the portrait hall. The changing portraits here have also been replaced with ones depicting Jack Skellington, Sally, the Haunted Mansion, a snowman, and Santa Claus in his sleigh. The choir returns as the song "Kidnap the Sandy Claws" begins to play. A snowstorm appears to be taking place outside the windows and the three musicians from the movie are also outside. The staring busts have spider-webs in front of them that glisten with the words "NOEL" and "HO-HO-HO." The loading area is decorated with even more Halloween and Christmas decor, and there is a huge animated Christmas card, with many of the characters from Nightmare celebrating the season. The card is much of a treat to the eyes itself, featuring the words "MERRY CHRISTMAS" at the bottom of the card, whereas the message changes to "SCARY CHRISTMAS" occasionally. Another feature is the Advent Calendar feel of the card, where a new character on the pyramid is revealed weekly on a thirteen-week basis.
At Tokyo, there is no portrait hall like Disneyland's. Instead, immediately after the portrait chamber, the guests enter the loading area, which is decorated with orange Christmas lights and Halloween pumpkins. After boarding, the guests glide underneath a landing from where Jack, Sally and the Vampire Teddy Bear, greet guests. The ride through Portrait Corridor features portraits of the film's characters performing various activities, and watching as the guests go by. Orange Christmas lights wrap around the staring busts in the library as Zero wraps a floating tree made out of books with tinsel garland. In the music room, guests see a life-size audio-animatronic Sally, seeming depressed and sitting in the chair next to the ghostly piano that the Vampire Teddy plays. The doom buggies then move up the stairs, passing terrified green cockroaches in cages, with gift tags that read: "For Oogie." At the top of the stairs, Oogie Boogie's shadow appears and turns into a Christmas tree shape in the full moon above. The original, black-lighted rubber spiders remain.
At Disneyland, upon boarding the doom buggies, guests ascend the staircase. At the top, there are piles of presents with the Vampire Teddy sitting on them, fishing for humans. As the Ghost Host continues explaining the story, Zero is now seen floating in the endless hallway. The moving suit of armor wears a pumpkin mask and has garland wrapped around it. A pile of dog bones are in front of the hallway and a wreath made of dog bones adorns the top of the hall. On one floating bone, a tag reads "To Zero". Presents sit in the chair and poinsettias reside next to the chair. The corpse trapped in the coffin is unchanged, but the Vampire Teddy now sits on it, hammering nails back in. A tag reading "Do Not Open Till X-Mas" hangs from the lid. The dead funeral flowers have sprung to life and now choir the song "Kidnap the Sandy Claus". The corridor of doors is now filled with the same comically vicious flowers, all singing loudly. Guests then pass underneath a large, yellow-eyed wreath with teeth, which all the flowers seem to be connected to. In 2001, the portrait of the man holding a hatchet and a noose was taken down for the overlay and replaced with a portrait of Jack, which never returned in the years that followed. The demonic grandfather clock remains.
Madame Leota now chants "The 13 Days of Christmas." At Disneyland, the Vampire Teddy sits on the back of the chair behind Leota's table, ringing two tiny bells with the seance. In Tokyo, the raven remains in this scene and Leota is covered in candles, with Lock, Shock, and Barrel appearing in the back of the room. A bewitched nutcracker with eyes glowing green moves its mouth in unison with Leota. The floating instruments have been replaced with huge tarot cards, depicting Leota's 13 Christmas gifts, of which she is chanting.
The doom buggies then move into the ballroom. The ghosts here are the same, but the decorations have changed. The table is set for a Christmas party and a huge gingerbread house (which seems to have come alive) sits in the center. An interesting tidbit of information about the house is that it is not only made out of 100% real gingerbread, but it also changes year by year. A smell of gingerbread wafts in the air. An immense dead Christmas tree (with one live branch at the top) covered in candles and spiders with lights now sits in the middle of the dance floor, but the ghosts waltz right through it. Zero floats above the scene near the tree at both parks. At Disneyland, the curtains at the top of the staircase in the back of the hall have opened, revealing the mansion's library, complete with a floating tree made of books. In Tokyo, Jack and Sally's shadows are seen exchanging presents behind that curtain instead. The reason for this is because the Tokyo Disneyland mansion already contains a
Christmas on the Net - Christmas Traditions: Advent Wreaths and ...
Holiday Picture Guide ... In the wreath are four candles -- three purple candles that represent penance and one ...
Holiday Wreaths - easy to make wreaths - Country Living
Bypass traditional colors this holiday, and design a wreath that ... Decor-Friendly Wreath silver, pinecone, wreath, holiday, project, crafts, picture frame, glitter, wall display ...
Holiday Wreath Card Themes - Personalized Christmas Cards and Holiday ...
We offer design choices that picture wreaths of differing winter greenery, with or without Christmas holiday ornaments. Choose a beribboned wreath decorated with berries, stars ...
Plaza Hotel NYC Holiday Wreath Picture - Picture of the Plaza Hotel
Picture of the Plaza Hotel Holiday Wreath in New York, NY.
Holiday Wreath Sale
ORDERING DEADLINE: FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 20 Picture of actual wreath 22" diameter This beautifully decorated, handmade, fresh balsam fir wreath will be shipped directly from ...
Dollar Store Crafts » Blog Archive » Make a Holiday Button Wreath ...
I found this cute button wreath on Better Homes & Gardens’ website and it is a great dollar store craft! Everyone has a stash of buttons (don’t they??).
Holiday Wreath Myspace Comment Picture | MyNiceSpace.com
Here is how to use this Holiday Wreath Myspace Comment Image: Copy the above code by right-clicking on it and selecting "Copy", then paste it where you want it to appear.
Photo Wreath
Holiday Picture Tree ... Pre-stretched canvas (large enough to mount wreath and pictures; found at an art or ...
HERSHEY'S Holidays: Holiday Crafts & Craft Ideas: MERRY KISSES ...
REESE'S Holiday Picture Frame for Kids; HERSHEY'S KISSES Chocolates Wreath ... MERRY KISSES Chocolates Wreath Supplies: 12 to 14-inch ...
Picture Perfect Holiday by: Whitney Wreath - Christmas Wreaths - Fresh ...
Picture Perfect Holiday (PP 12) by Whitney Wreath - A tasteful alternative for holiday decorating, our square holiday wreath mingles the subtle beauty and aromatic appeal of fresh ...