LPWire: Disney-MGM Studios Exhibit Takes Guests Behind the 'Screams' of The Haunted Mansion movie

WELCOME, FOOLISH MORTALS -- Producer Don Hahn strikes a spooky pose on the set of "The Haunted Mansion" motion picture Oct. 7, 2003, at the Disney-MGM Studios.

New 'Making of The Haunted Mansion Movie' Attraction Takes Theme Park Guests Behind the 'Screams'
Walt Disney Imagineering has joined with Walt Disney Pictures to present the newest behind-the-"screams" adventure at Disney-MGM Studios: "The Making of 'The Haunted Mansion' Movie."

Presented on Soundstage 4 at the Walt Disney World theme park, the multi-media experience features massive props including the mansion's grand staircase set, pipe organ and ornate fireplace. Displays also feature costuming, photographs and diagrams from the film. In addition, the attraction showcases the film's eye-popping special effects with commentary by members of the production team and crew.

Walt Disney Pictures' "The Haunted Mansion," which opens in movie theaters across the country Nov. 26, stars Eddie Murphy and Jennifer Tilly in a fun-filled comedy-adventure tale based on the beloved Disney theme park attraction. To celebrate the film's opening, the behind-the-scenes experience will be presented to Disney-MGM Studios guests through March of 2004.

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BEHIND THE 'SCREAMS' -- Disney-MGM Studios guests can step into stately Gracey Mansion from Walt Disney Pictures' "The Haunted Mansion" film in a new behind-the-scenes attraction at the theme park.

For more than one year, Walt Disney Imagineers Theron Skees and Jason Surrell worked with Walt Disney Pictures to bring the attraction-turned-motion picture to life at Disney-MGM Studios. It was a labor of love for the pair, as they were guided by the original concept of The Haunted Mansion theme park attraction.

The attraction is featured in all four of Disney's Magic Kingdom parks around the globe. It made its debut at Disneyland in 1969 and was one of the opening-day attractions at Walt Disney World Resort on Oct. 1, 1971.

"The Walt Disney Imagineers that originally created The Haunted Mansion at Disneyland were all filmmakers from The Walt Disney Studios, so turning the attraction into a film really brings The Haunted Mansion full-circle, said Surrell, who served as the show writer for the new behind-the-scenes attraction. "It's a story that has worked very well as an attraction in the Magic Kingdoms around the world, and we believe that story will work just as well as a feature film."

In addition to his duties as the show writer for Walt Disney Imagineering, Surrell is an expert on The Haunted Mansion who penned the newly published book by Disney Editions, The Haunted Mansion: From the Magic Kingdom to the Movies.

"We want guests to leave with a behind-the-scenes experience and a feeling that it's not just special effects and wizardry of the film -- that it's also a great story," said Skees, the Walt Disney Imagineering show producer for Disney-MGM Studios. "(The film) brings a story to the screen that many have enjoyed in the theme parks. It's a new way to express that great storyline to a new generation," said Skees."

Skees and Surrell worked with filmmakers to bring authenticity and detail to the attraction, as well as show guests a bit of the magic that went into helping "The Haunted Mansion" haunt the silver screen.

The pair visited the Burbank-area film location to view set designs and meet with director Rob Minkoff (who also directed Disney's "The Lion King"), producer Don Hahn (who produced Disney's "The Lion King," "Hunchback of Notre Dame" and "Beauty and the Beast"), production designer John Myhre (who won an Academy Award for his work in the 2003 hit film "Chicago") and make-up effects guru Rick Baker (a six-time Academy Award winner who has worked on "Star Wars," "The Nutty Professor," "Coming to America," "An American Werewolf in London," "Planet of the Apes" and Michael Jackson's "Thriller" music video).

The film's stately Gracey Mansion, inhabited by "999 Happy Haunts," provided Skees and Surrell a treasure trove of petrifying props, costumes and special effects pieces. One-by-one, trucks rolled into the Disney-MGM Studios backlot from California carrying the film's set. The pair then led the reconstruction and duplication of the Burbank sets inside Soundstage 4.

While the Disney-MGM Studios theme park has been home to several behind the scenes experiences before, this is the first to open to guests before the featured film debuts in theaters.

--Posted October 22, 2003
Source: Walt Disney World Resort