In this episode of the Stuff You Missed in History Class podcast, there’s an absolutely delightful history of the Disneyland Haunted Mansion (MP3). The hosts explain how the company wrangled and wrangled for more than a decade, trying to find the right design for a Disneyland haunted house, and how the project that emerged is the synthesis of three warring styles that converged brilliantly.
Disneyland was always supposed to have a haunted house, but it took years and years (and many revisions) for the Haunted Mansion as it exists today. This episode – part one of two – is full of Disneyland back story, classic visual effects trickery, and reassurance that even the most convoluted, troublesome projects can eventually reach a successful conclusion.
Missed in History: Haunted Mansion, Part 1
(Thanks, Bennett!)