Haunted House of Mouse

alloween has a long, cold running history in our culture. For centuries – in one ghastly form or another – spooks and ghouls have been plaguing us this time of year, creeping into our neighborhoods, minds, and homes. It’s the time of year when the supernatural are able to frolic into our dimension, wriggling and grooving to the sweet sounds of our screams. Disneyland’s Haunted Mansion is one the ultimate culminations of all macabre aspects of this gothic holiday… but 40 years before this creepy old crypt rose into our world, Mickey Mouse discovered a haunted home of his own. Here, the inhabitants (including a cameo appearance by the stars of The Skeleton Dance, released that same year) dare to dance on Mickey’s would-be grave, forcing him to play spirited sonnets on the piano. Let’s join Mickey now in his historic first encounter with the undead…

The Haunting's Free!

alloween is my favorite time of the year. It’s a time to celebrate and respect all things dark, strange, dead, and… undead. Being the devote fan of Mr. Disney’s park that I am, for me Halloween and Disneyland’s Haunted Mansion (super)naturally go boney hand in boney hand. Woefully, for the past 10+ years visiting said Mansion in October means regaling a certain Tim Burton movie and Christmas more than it means paying homage to All Hallow’s Eve.

During these dismal, Mansionless times, we fans of the truly macabre (and truly Marc Davis) do what we can to – if you’ll pardon the expression – carry on the spirit of the ‘ghostly retreat’ in our own dwellings. I see, read, smell, and hear of people decorating their own homes to resemble the Mansion’s interior quite frequently. Recently a home in Duluth, Georgia went on sale, boasting a remarkable recreation of the original exterior, with a couple of extra goodies on the inside as well. (And note, no sleighs and Christmas wreaths adorning the house…)

The drawing wasn't too paneful.

Back in 2008, I set to bring a little bit of the Haunted Mansion back to my own home, as Paul Frees’ ‘Ghost Host’ had so often suggested. Inspired by a slew of make-your-own window decals that I had seen in magazines, I decided to craft a few aperture aberrations of my own. I have three tall windows facing out from the front of my home; I figured this would be the perfect spot for our beloved hitchhiking ghosts to haunt until their spot in the Mansion was once again available to occupy. Referring to attraction poster art, I quickly sketched the three wayfarers on paper, broken into the pieces that would fit into each window pane. I then re-drew each individual window pane on fitted pieces of black cardboard. The rest was easy as pumpkin pie! I cut out each ghostly feature and slapped on the remaining black cardboard to its respective window pane. The whole process was essentially like carving a giant, flat Jack-o-Lantern. White blinds are enough to “backlight” the figures during the day, but the glow of Halloween lights gives the ghosts an ‘eerie luminescence’ after dark!

Don't be too scared to try this at home.

Quite a few hours of labor were involved, but the pay-off was well worth it. Phineas, Ezra, and Gus have been giving the thumb to my neighbors every Halloween season since, and they never fail to crowd-please! I only wish I could give them a ride to where they’re going. I know they’re dying to get back home...

The Hauntings Three!

For good measure, a complimentary Jack-o-Lantern can't hurt. Or can she?!

June Gloom

ring on the June Gloom and welcome to this special HALLOWEEN Edition of  '...But It Wasn't Always That Way'. I know we haven't been blogging for very long, but I'm sure our very lovely readers are beginning to find a grasp on our antics (and believe you me, you ain't seen nothing yet). Like our love for Disneyland, and almost as fanatical, HALLOWEEN in these parts are something to be celebrated. In fact, we don't stop celebrating. In fact, we've already made our first trip to the HALLOWEEN store this year in the Spring!

  
  And so, when this dusty, cobwebbed holiday begins to creep in and spread its orange and black plague upon the land we know as our second home, it simply brings us to our knees. With that said, it is with great DISpleasure that I present to you a few very chilling, thrilling and downright fulfilling messages. 

  I begin this dreary post with a little reminder that the Haunted Mansion art exhibit I told you about at Halloween Town in Burbank, CA is opening this Saturday. The art will be 'hanging' until July 21st and word on the street is that they’re dying to have you..

  My second bone-rattling announcement is that Disneyland has released the dates for their HALLOWEEEN Season: September 14, 2012 - October 31, 2012. 

Holy Jack-o-Lantern! 

Orange bunting! 

Candy corn! 

Autumnal foliage! 

  First and foremost, for me, this means that Space Mountain’s ‘Ghost Galaxy’ layover- just about the BEST thing Disneyland Imagineers have done in a long time  - is on its way. Being that Dolores, the fire demon that possesses Space Mountain during the HALLOWEEN season, is summoned by what seems like just a flip of a switch (and always taunting us...), you won't have to deal with a closed ride for the changes to go into effect. The wait in line IS something you will be terrified of so make sure to get a FastPass in those gnarly claws of yours, A.S.A.P.. The exterior show for 'Ghost Galaxy' is a nighttime-only experience that I personally recommend you watch in its entirety. Nothing like the ominous sound of a fire demon terrorizing the bejezus out of guests on an intergalactic adventure! Did I mention I love Halloween?

 On a more woeful note and speaking of waiting for closed rides because of a holiday overlay, 'Haunted Mansion Holiday' returns to Disneyland for both HALLOWEEN and Christmas for another tiring two seasons. Beware, HALLOWEEN fiends: I haven't heard any official dates for the downtime our beloved Mansion will need to endure the anarchy of confused elves as they deck the halls with baubles and skulls, but for past 2 years the park's track record has been as follows: 

2010:  Monday, August 30 - Thursday, September 16 
2011:  Monday, August 29 - Thursday, September 15 
And my 2012 guess is:  Monday, August 27 – Thursday, September 13 

  With that said, I implore you to get your hot and cold running chills on right NOW (meaning this Summer) in order to enjoy Mr Disney's self-proclaimed "Halloween ride" – because it will be decorated for Christmas when Halloween rolls around and you won't be able to fully enjoy the experience again until mid January when the 'Holiday' overlay is finally removed. If you are planning on paying a visit to 'Haunted Mansion Holiday' make sure you have your jolly holly FastPass or a lot of extra time; lines will be out of control. I won't be going anywhere near this 'nightmare', but I assure you, I will be pouring some out for my homeboys, Yale Gracey and Marc Davis, every time I have a Mint Julep at the French Market across the way. Perhaps this will appease the creative geniuses after rolling over in their graves for the 11th year in a row. 

  And now for a silver lining to the little black cloud I have bestowed upon you: 'Mickey’s Halloween Party' will also be returning for the HALLOWEEN season! I was able to attend this special event for the first time last year and was quite pleasantly surprised. I got to see some awesome costumes (on both children and adults!) and the treats they give away in the candy trails are the kind that make every trick-or-treaters pillowcase crawl with excitement. It was a great opportunity to experience the park in a whole different way – and we all know I like that – and even though crowds were voluminous, the HALLOWEEN spooks were working their aesthetics in full force. And besides the high-school-musical-centric soundtrack the fireworks show is set to, some of the effects are fantastic and the show does Disneyland’s fireworks reputation proud. I suggest getting your tickets to 'Mickey’s Halloween Party' early because they vanish into thin air very quickly. As an added bonus, parking is included in ticket prices balancing out the cost to a fair price if you consider the gobs of candy you will hoarde and Annual Passholders are able to buy tickets before they are available to the general public. What, Passholder Perks?? Yup, looks like Halloween brings out the ‘spooky’ in everyone. 

  Thank you for joining us for our special HALLOWEEN edition. Upon your departure, I hope you bring with you FastPasses, costume ideas for 'Mickey’s Halloween Party', some oozing goo, and an exciting look forward into the pulsating and hungry belly of All Hallow’s Eve, 2012. The June Gloom is only the beginning...

HAPPY HALLOWEEN !

 

Come out to Socialize!

s it just us, or do we sense it becoming delightfully unlivable over here? 

 Oh, perhaps it's because of this amazing 

HAUNTED MANSION ART EXHIBIT coming to our town! 

And not just any town... Halloween Town. Yes, you read that right. In Mr. Disney's very own Burbank, CA (and the almost-home of Disneyland!) there are two adjacent locations open year-round: one souly dead-icated to costumes, the other specializing in Halloween-only related items for freaks like us... and maybe *YOU*! Oh, my. And at Halloween Town, they are some committed ghouls: this will be their 3rd annual art tribute to The Haunted Mansion! The merging of Disneyland and Halloween simply gives us hot and cold running chills and we very much plan on attending. If you're in the area, we recommend you drag your body front and center. 

In the meanwhile, they're assembling for a swinging wake, and they'll be expecting us. 

We'll see you all a little later... (and with a full review)!