This Is Halloween

Happy Halloween to all the dear readers of DF'82!
I hope you've enjoyed your trip around Phantom Manor in Disneyland Paris, and your introduction to Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party over at Walt Disney World.

Have a safe and fun Halloween, and if you can't be good, be careful! Watch out for the ghouls and goblins - they might put a spell on you, but this is Halloween so try not to have Nightmares (before Christmas, that is!). It's really not so scary, and thank you for letting me be your Ghost Host.

Did you get those references to some favourite Halloween-themed movies and songs?

More Around Boot Hill

Carrying on with our brief Halloween look at the Boot Hill Cemetery at Phantom Manor, we are introduced to several new tombstones...


One of my favourite sets of tombstones ever (?!), these introduce us to the infamous humour of the Imagineers. Can you get the running joke amongst these graves?

These ones tie in nicely to the Frontierland setting of the Manor:

HERE LIES LEADFOOT FRED

"DANCED TOO SLOW

AND NOW HE'S DEAD"

1802 -1866

Complete with his Cowboy Boots.

BARROOM BENNY

"SEEMS HE TOOK

ONE DRINK TOO MANY"

Buried with a very apt item - some bar-room doors.

Our final graves for this trip show Mary Murphy and Frank Ballard. Now, with every Haunted Mansion there are hundreds of stories attached to the attraction, but only the Imagineers know the real answers. I have heard that Mary Murphy Ravenswood is actually the daughter of Henry and Martha, not Melanie as in my previous post.


I may need a research trip to figure this out more, but I personally think Melanie is Henry's daughter, and that the sole unmarked grave on Boot Hill could be her resting place. But as I said, that's a story for another time.

Not Quite Boot-Strap Bill...

In the approach to Halloween, where better to be than the Boot Hill Cemetery at the Phantom Manor in Disneyland Paris?

The Graveyard is one of my favourite places in Frontierland, and the resort itself. It's so full of detail and descriptions, that it really puts you in the right frame of mind for the Manor. Tying up to the Big Thunder Mountain Railroad across the river, the entrance to the Cemetery shows the following motif:

No. 39

THESE MINERS WERE TOLD

ABOUT DIGGING TOO FAST

THEY LOST ALL THEIR GOLD

IN A DYNAMITE BLAST

And if you look carefully, you can still see some sticks of dynamite that have been left behind amongst the rocks.

Of course, don't get too comfortable with the area - we are in a Cemetery attached to the Phantom Manor. Things are bound to get spooky sooner or later...

If you enter into the Boot Hill area, you will be met with a large mausoleum for Martha Ravenswood and Henry Ravenswood. The plaque below stating:

QUARRLED AND FOUGHT

AS MAN AND WIFE

NOW SILENT TOGETHER

BEYOND THIS LIFE

Those of you Disney geeks will recognise those names as being integral characters in the Phantom Manor legend. Henry struck gold in the town and bought himself a large Victorian Mansion - Phantom Manor - but both he and his wife were killed in a devastating earthquake that shook the town of Thunder Mesa. They had a daughter, Melanie, who's story is also a very interesting one - but I'll leave that for another day.



So, it is here that Henry and Martha have been buried. That means they're dead, right? Well you would think so - but at night you can hear some very strange noises indeed coming from inside the graves. It couldn't be someone knocking, could it?

Something Spooky This Way Comes...

The general area around the Phantom Manor is really what makes this Haunted Mansion stand out from all the rest. The fact that it is set in Frontierland, also, plays a role in the spookiness and eeriness of the Manor.

Just past the Manor itself, and the nearby Boot Hill Cemetery - which I will be discussing tomorrow - is Geyser Plateau. This Plateau is best viewed from the Thunder Mesa Riverboat, where you can experience the hot springs and steam that rises from the Geyser and the mud puddles. The landscape is very similar to that of the Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming - tying in nicely with the Frontierland theme of the area.

Of course, I don't think Yellowstone has quite the same boneyard that we have here. It really is an eerily silent place...

Even though it's right next door, sometimes it's very hard to see the Phantom Manor through the steam and the spray. It's almost as if it's trying to hide itself from us... But it's just a building, and these are just special effects - right?

The Garden Pavilion

To enter the Phantom Manor, you must first go through the Garden, which intensifies the mystery of the manor through whispering winds, laughter and jovial voices heard in the distance, with the faint sound of clinking glasses and folks enjoying a banquet.

One of my favourite parts of the Garden is the Garden Pavilion, an area in which I'm sure the inhabitants of the manor enjoyed afternoon tea several times. Of course, what makes it all the stranger is that the Pavilion has been left untouched since the last tea party was held. With all the dust and the strange noises, it looks as though that last tea party was a long time ago...



By seeing the Pavilion in the night rain, you can see another reason why Phantom Manor in Disneyland Resort, Paris, is one of the most haunting of them all.



The Manor itself houses 92 Audio-Animatronic characters, 58 special effects and 54 animated props. You access the ride in the Manor through Doom Buggies - similar to other Haunted Mansions throughout the world.



Without going into too much detail, the attraction starts in the Foyer, which then moves onto the Doorless Chamber. Following the bride and the spooks, you travel through the Music Room, the Wedding Reception area, the Bride's Boudoir, the Graveyard, a Western town called Phantom Canyon featuring a Saloon and an Apothecary, finally travelling through the Manor's Garden and into the Wine Cellar.

The Phantom Awaits

To coincide with Halloween, I thought it would be interesting to have a little look at the Phantom Manor - the Haunted Mansion of Disneyland Paris. Over the next few days, I'd like to introduce you to some of the interesting aspects of the Phantom Manor, inside and outside the building. Hopefully it won't get too scary for all of us!



The Phantom Manor opened with the park back in 1992, and is situated high up on a hill in Frontierland, overlooking the Rivers of the West. Of course, similar to its brothers in the other Disney parks, the Manor is home to 999 happy haunts - with room for a thousand, of course.

Here is what the Berlitz Guide to Euro Disney tells you about the story of Phantom Manor:
Home of one of Thunder Mesa's founding families during the gold rush, it fell into decay after the patriarch's daughter was jilted on her wedding day and never seen alive again. [p50]
As you travel throughout the manor, you are introduced to the woes of the bride-to-be and the wicked Phantom that torments her (who, interestingly enough, is played by Vincent Price).



The Ghost Host and the commentary are all in French, which can make it a little hard to follow for all non-French speakers. But, in a way, that can make it all the spookier...

Of course - the perfect time to visit the Phantom Manor is at night. Enter, if you dare. The Phantom awaits.

Halloweenisms

Just because it's Halloween in Walt Disney World doesn't mean it's not Halloween in any of the other Disney parks around the globe.

Disneyland Paris, my 'home' park, if you can call it that, celebrates this season with just as much effort as its sibling. Here you can see a leaflet that helps us all get ready for Halloween - and Halloweenisms. I thought this would be helpful with only one week to go until the day itself!

Please, don't have nightmares.