Awesome photo of the new HM queue

[Ryan Towle]

http://i51.tinypic.com/10qf576.jpg

[Jared]

I don't get it.

[jonahbear2006]

will the slide be staying? or was that just for F & G festival

[Altair]

Once Photoshop came along, no photo can be trusted again.

[Stu29573]

Lol!

[Mfarquar]

I wonder if the line for the new slide will be as long as the one for the actual ride...

[MNNHFLTX]

Lol! I certainly wasn't expecting that!

[indytraveler]

Do you have to dress up in retro clothes to get on the ride now? Or do you come off the ride in retro clothes and hairstyles

[crltkcagle]

LOL!!! That was hilarious! I wonder if everyone gets it?!?!

[garymacd]

LOL!!! That was hilarious! I wonder if everyone gets it?!?!

Nope. Don't get it.

[Imagineer1981]

HA HA HA HA HA...I get it...great pic

[crltkcagle]

Nope. Don't get it.
The interactive que is supposed to keep you and the kids entertained while waiting in line. Well the picture is stating that the kids can play on a good old fashioned playground while waiting in line. Guess it just shows us how much technology has changed our lives! When I was a kid I lived outside playing where as today's kids are stuck to video games all day long.

[grumpyguy]

I think I kinda get it...and I have to say,while I haven't seen the additions in person as of yet,
I sort of agree!!

[cer]

OK, so here is the 'funny' thing about the new queue. They give you a choice as to whether or not you go through the regular direct queue or the interactive queue.

While the additions are clever, if you choose the interactive route on a busy queue-filled day, you are actually in line longer. So your wait time while more entertaining, is extended.

It would have been nice if the enhancements just made the current wait more pleasant and not add to the length of the queue.

For our family, we saw the interactive queue once, and we're good. The second time we were in line it was busy and they had a cast member directing people to the interactive side...."Thank you, but I prefer the direct route."

[Ryan Towle]

Wow, no one got this haha. Literally went over everyone's head.:blush:

[KylesMom]

Since there are oh-so-many who are daft, apparently, why don't you educate us, Ryan on those that didn't get it??? I realize your post was tongue-in-cheek, but actually TONS of thought went into it, and the history of Disney Imagineering is HUGE.

There are many hidden riddles and dedications within the new queue, not only to amuse the kiddies but the Disney Fanatics who have a long history with the HM, starting with the busts (did you figure out the riddles within?) and finishing with a bang. Take a look at the newly revised 40th anniversary book - what I consider a collector edition - from Jason Surrell & you'll see a whole new queue once you read it, as there are many storied items within. Not only is the history of the attraction incredible, so are the items that make the interactive queue.

We gladly bypassed the "quick" line just to figure out all the riddles on our recent 15-day trip. HM has long been a family favorite, but this really adds to the experience, in our opinion once you understand all of the symbolism & figure out all the riddles.

Sorry for the overload of emotion, but we liked the history and dedication that much! And no one in my family can understand the pic.

[DisneyFr33k]

I am among the daft and didn't get it either.....:confused: Having not seen or heard about the new queue, it didn't make sense at first. Thanks to those of you who patiently explained it to those of us in the dark.

[cer]

Since there are oh-so-many who are daft, apparently, why don't you educate us, Ryan on those that didn't get it??? I realize your post was tongue-in-cheek, but actually TONS of thought went into it, and the history of Disney Imagineering is HUGE.

There are many hidden riddles and dedications within the new queue, not only to amuse the kiddies but the Disney Fanatics who have a long history with the HM, starting with the busts (did you figure out the riddles within?) and finishing with a bang. Take a look at the newly revised 40th anniversary book - what I consider a collector edition - from Jason Surrell & you'll see a whole new queue once you read it, as there are many storied items within. Not only is the history of the attraction incredible, so are the items that make the interactive queue.

We gladly bypassed the "quick" line just to figure out all the riddles on our recent 15-day trip. HM has long been a family favorite, but this really adds to the experience, in our opinion once you understand all of the symbolism & figure out all the riddles.

Sorry for the overload of emotion, but we liked the history and dedication that much! And no one in my family can understand the pic.

The line passes the busts too quickly to figure out the riddles. Unless of course you step out of line to figure them out. I understand it is a whole Who-dunnit kind of thing....

Also, can you explain to me the library area and the symbols on the books? I really think there is supposed to be some meaning there, but I don't get it.

Where do people go to get information on the meanings of Disney? I read blogs and stuff and get info there, but where do you find the back story on the attractions? If I had not read a blog, I would have never known or understood about the bride, and how each set of pearls represents one of the husbands she has murdered. I would have completely missed that detail on my own.

And I do appreciate the thought and detail of Disney. Love that one side of the crypt has normal instruments, and one side has crazy spooky ones. But once you have walked through, and put your hands on it, and seen the pickled corpse of the seaman who is allergic to sand (very funny by the way) -is there more to the experience that would encourage me to take the interactive route again - especially since it is longer?

[Stu29573]

Come on everyone, chill out! It was a joke, and a pretty clever one! I really don't think it was meant as a "slam" to anyone. You're not "daft" if you didn't get it. Maybe you just take things a bit too seriously?

[Ryan Towle]

Apparently, I am the only one on "anti-interactive queue island". :confused:

[Aurora]

Ryan, I'm sure you're not the only one, but it's kind of ironic, since there are decades-old Disney queues that have something to do or watch while you're waiting.

And there's nothing wrong with that. It doesn't mean people are impatient or can't stand waiting, or can't talk to each other. It adds to the Disney experience, like discovering the skeleton chess players in the POTC queue for the first time, or noticing that the Muppet Vision 3D menu says a cup of soup costs $2.95, a bowl is $1.50, and "no soup" costs $3.95.

It's all part of those "extras" that make Disney so special. I don't get the aversion (not just by you) to adding those extras to queues that currently have few or none.

[Stu29573]

Ryan, I'm sure you're not the only one, but it's kind of ironic, since there are decades-old Disney queues that have something to do or watch while you're waiting.

And there's nothing wrong with that. It doesn't mean people are impatient or can't stand waiting, or can't talk to each other. It adds to the Disney experience, like discovering the skeleton chess players in the POTC queue for the first time, or noticing that the Muppet Vision 3D menu says a cup of soup costs $2.95, a bowl is $1.50, and "no soup" costs $3.95.

It's all part of those "extras" that make Disney so special. I don't get the aversion (not just by you) to adding those extras to queues that currently have few or none.

I think the issue is that the HM really didnt need the "improvements." The line moves quickly and the first part of the ride is, by design, somber, reserved and spooky. It isnt until halfway through that it gts silly. You say that the old queue had few or no extras, but i beg to differ. It set the mood perfectly.

[LudwigVonDrake]

I love the new queue. I think the Imagineers did a great job with it. However, I wish the tribute to Paul Frees was more visible. I walked past it several times before I realized it was there.

[disneymom2000]

I guess I am one who just doesn't get it either. I really like what they did with the Winnie the Pooh ride queue though. I don't think the HM needed this extra piece to make it appealing.

[Aurora]

You say that the old queue had few or no extras, but i beg to differ. It set the mood perfectly.

Just curious -- how does a queue snaking back and forth between poles and chains under a walkway canopy "set the mood?" If you're talking about the cemetary and hearse, I'll give you those few extras. But the line for the HM has increased since a few years ago, and for us in June, the new queue made the wait (which was 30 minutes in the middle of the day) much more interesting.

As for whether it "needed' it or not, I guess no attraction really "needs" something for guests to enjoy in line. But I sure appreciate the work that goes into trying to edify and entertain us. And I also think the new queue complements the other recent additions to the HM ride.

[Stu29573]

Just curious -- how does a queue snaking back and forth between poles and chains under a walkway canopy "set the mood?" If you're talking about the cemetary and hearse, I'll give you those few extras. But the line for the HM has increased since a few years ago, and for us in June, the new queue made the wait (which was 30 minutes in the middle of the day) much more interesting.

As for whether it "needed' it or not, I guess no attraction really "needs" something for guests to enjoy in line. But I sure appreciate the work that goes into trying to edify and entertain us. And I also think the new queue complements the other recent additions to the HM ride.

Well, I guess if thats all you bothered to see, then you are correct. Also, I agree that 30 minites would be a long line. I have never seen it that long, but I tend to avoid busy times.

That being said, the old buildup was very effective. It was Claude Coates wish that it be atmospheric, with relatively few gags. You could imagine that you really were walking up to an old house in ehich something not quite right might be happening. The howl of the dog, the still of the gardens, the graves by the entrance, at night the light that mysteriously moved past the windows were all very subtle and effective psychological cues. The attraction built on these things, little by little as you entered, and eventually boarded your Doom Buggy. Only in the second half of the ride did Marc Davis' goofy ghosts get to run free. And it worked because of the buildup.

Now, I fear that people are smacked in the face with a parapsychological cream pie before they ever reach the door. Granted, Im sure the effects are clever and fun, but it just isnt what was intended. I would have liked to see the money spent whete it is more needed. I dont say everyone has to agree with me, but that is how I feel.

By the way, all of the other enhancements seem great!

[Ryan Towle]

Stu! You hit the nail on the head! :thumbsup:Thank you! When I walk up to the Haunted Mansion, I want to hear nothing but the silent eerieness, the sloshing of the river, and the howl of the hound every so often. It's all about watching the trees sway and maybe catching a glipse at Madame Leota's tombstone moving. I DO NOT want to hear the random notes played on an organ, or the sound of a man gurgling. The whole area doesn't make sense and completely insults and contradicts the whole storyline and what the mansion is all about.