Originally Posted By mansioncaribbean I read that originally Walt Disney had an idea that the Haunted Mansion was going to have a spill/queue area (a themed restaurant) (a la the Blue Bayou restaurant for the Pirates of the Caribbean attraction), but the idea failed. I do not think the site mentioned why the idea failed, but does anyone know? The idea could have succeeded very well. Thanks. Mansioncaribbean
Originally Posted By mansioncaribbean Additionally, I apologize if this post is in the incorrect forum, maybe a moderator can move it or something, if it is. Sorry, once again. Mansioncaribbean
Originally Posted By Hans Reinhardt I'm a little fuzzy on this, but I thought that the Museum of the Weird was a completely different attraction that eventually evolved into the Haunted Mansion concept.
Originally Posted By Hans Reinhardt Come to think of it, didn't Walt Disney pass away while the attraction was being designed? That may partially explain why that portion didn't make it into the final version of the attraction.
Originally Posted By mansioncaribbean You are correct about both things. The Haunted Mansion eventually became a two part, a walk through and an attraction. The Museum of the Weird was originally to be one of those parts, but that idea failed after Walt Disney died and the Disney engineers denied the concept. However, the idea of the two part attraction was still a go. Walt Disney did die when the Haunted Mansion was being thought out, but I think many people would have loved the Museum of the Weird. It is true, the Haunted Mansion is great as it already is, but it is not too late to make improvements for the attraction, a spill area/themed restaurant being one of them. Mansioncaribbean
Originally Posted By Hans Reinhardt I think it would be difficult to build a restaurant adjacent to the current building given the limited space nearby. Maybe the restaurant was scrapped because the evolution of New Orleans Square, which wasn't part of the initial plan.
Originally Posted By mansioncaribbean I do not know, Disneyland is very big, it has practically all the rides from all of the Disney theme parks. I am sure there is room for the Blue Bayou restaurant, a restaurant for the Haunted Mansion, and the two attractions themselves in the New Orleans Square section. They can always take down some unnecessary stuff for this improvement, just a suggestion. Mansioncaribbean
Originally Posted By Hans Reinhardt Yeah, I guess you're right. Maybe if they reconfigured the walkways immediately around the attraction. Have you seen Mansion at DLP? The grounds around the attraction are HUGE.
Originally Posted By mansioncaribbean I have seen DLP, the grounds around the attraction are huge. The mansion at DLP is actually my favorite of all the Haunted Mansions, and since the grounds around the Haunted Mansion are huge in DLP, it might be possible if they have a themed restaurant there, since they have one for the Pirates attraction, but Disneyland in California is very huge, too, so a restaurant could be good there, as well. Mansioncaribbean
Originally Posted By gurgitoy2 New Orleans Square came first, so Haunted Mansion had to fit into that, not the other way around. I think, like many things after Walt's death, they lost some focus because they were second guessing themselves. The facade sat for years unused because they couldn't figure out the proper way to tell the story. I think the Museum of the Weird was just one of those casualties of the era.
Originally Posted By mansioncaribbean Well, I still think the Haunted Mansion attraction should have a themed restaurant, since the Pirates of the Caribbean attraction does. I know the Museum of the Weird was just a phrase from the past, but Disneyland is very big, so it is not as if there is not enough room, and who knows maybe Walt Disney would like it if he was still alive, maybe he would have wanted one. I think it is time the Disney company stops acting so greedy and finally consider what Disney would have wanted. Mansioncaribbean
Originally Posted By donnyaz I dont think families want to see that kind of stuff.Go to a county fair if you want to see that.
Originally Posted By mansioncaribbean Well, I think some people might want to see it. I know I would, and who knows it might actually be a good idea. I do not mean to sound cocky, but I suggested this idea before and some people seemed to like it. Mansioncaribbean
Originally Posted By karlg A I have read and watched video on the subject, but not having met Rolly Crump, the Museum of the Weird was Rolly Crump's idea. The story he tells is that the other imagineers didn't think much of the idea, but Walt ended up loving it. Thus the concept was shown on the 10th Anniversary show. I imagine once Walt died, it lost its support. Some of the "weird" things made it into the HM. The ones I think I remember is the candelabra's shaped like human hands, the chair with a face in it and I think he may have inspired the wall paper.
Originally Posted By mansioncaribbean What a surprise, Walt Disney loved an idea, an idea that most possibly would interest many people, and the Disney engineers had to reject the idea. Walt Disney has had many interesting ideas, and the Disney company just had to keep rejecting them. Another example is Mickey Mouse's original personality. Many people preferred his original personality to his new personality, but parents just had to send in letters to make Mickey Mouse a goody two shoes. What a shame. Mickey Mouse is the trademark character of Disney. Anyway, this is my point. Walt Disney loved the idea of the Museum of the Weird, so it should be revisited. It should not be dismissed just because the Disney engineers favor against it. Maybe it is time the Disney company stops being so full of themselves, and finally consider what Walt Disney would have wanted. I am very sure if they do this, there would be an even bigger appreciation for the Disney company, the company that should truly and finally earn its "happily ever after" slogan. Mansioncaribbean
Originally Posted By FerretAfros Wondering what Walt would have done and asking that all the time led to the company being on very shakey ground in the last 70's and early 80's. By that time, they had basically exhaused all of the ideas that still had Walt's influence, and they hadn't done anything original on their own for over 15 years. While I do respect Walt's genius and ability to know what people like, I don't think the company should be run on a "What Would Walt Do?" philosophy. Part of why he was so good was that he was unpredictable. How do you predict that?
Originally Posted By Hans Reinhardt "Anyway, this is my point. Walt Disney loved the idea of the Museum of the Weird, so it should be revisited. It should not be dismissed just because the Disney engineers favor against it." While I don't want to invalidate Walt Disney's personal tastes and preferences, I don't believe that his ideas were always practical or perfect. A good example is the Rock Candy Mountain idea for Fantasyland. Even some of the things that eventually made it into the park like The Phantom Boats, The Mickey Mouse Club Circus, and The Flying Saucers were either, unsafe, duds, or technically unsound. While the Museum of the Weird and the restaurant concepts sound cool, I really don't think resurrecting them would make Disneyland that much better. Perhaps they can be incorporated into a Haunted Mansion at some new Disney park like HKDL or the proposed park in Shanghai.
Originally Posted By crazycroc I don't know what DVD it was, but one of them, maybe the "Imagineering the magic" that is for sale at the park... But, I do remember seeing it talked about somewhere... I believe Tony Baxter talks about how they incorporated parts of the Musuem of the Weird into the ride...basically, the walk up to the doom buggies is the Musuem of the weird part that made it in? And that you can tell what parts of the ride were Rolly's or Marc's, or the other guy whose name I can't remember right now. And then they interview Rolly Crump who shows show pieces for it...I also know that some original Walt footage is on the 10th anniversary special, but this is newer stuff. Or am I just crazy?
Originally Posted By gurgitoy2 Also, just because Walt liked something doesn't mean he didn't listen to sound advice, or if something didn't work out, he tweaked it. For example, he wanted the original version of the Enchanted Tiki Room to be a restaurant, and there were even posters printed up for it. They tested the concept, however, and realized they would never get diners to leave if there was a show going on, so they axed the restaurant part and you know what we ended up with. Same thing with POTC, they started that our as a walkthrough concept, and even dug out the foundation for it, only to scrap it when they realized they could use the technology they developed for the World's Fair and use boats. Anyway, I'm sure even if Walt hadn't died when he did, the concept for the Museum of the Weird would have probably changed from concept to installation.
