Category: Uncategorized

Just yesterday, we took you back to a small element of the Haunted Mansions elaborate past and developed history, but today we’re looking at something you can experience first hand today, tombstones. The tombstones of the Haunted Mansion’s graveyard debut a hidden and elaborate story purposely set by Imagineering that many guests completely overlook. It’s a story of the mansion’s development, and has really turned into one of the greatest details Imagineering has ever hid in their very own work. 

A few months ago, we shared a little hidden gem of Hollywood Studios in what we called “All in the Details: How Imagineers Left Their Mark on the Sci-Fi Dine-In Theatre!” While writing that article, it became one of my favorite posts I had ever written for the site in a few ways. First, it was simply fun to really get the chance to experience the reactions of readers who had never been told about the hidden detail before. Second, and perhaps most importantly, it was great to share an element of the parks that recognized the many incredible Imagineers who bring so many of our Disney experiences and attractions to life. They truly are the ones who amaze us time after time with entirely new ideas, but you’ll rarely find them taking credit for their vast accomplishments. In many cases, they work behind the scenes, and never really get the credit they deserve. 

So, today, we’re diving into another hidden detail of Imagineering hiding in plain site, the Haunted Mansion tombstones. Yes, you read that correctly, certain Imagineers have their own tombstones outside of the mansion. Of course, these aren’t real tombstones, but rather humorous representations and names of many cast members who were iconic in the attractions development. 

For example, in the cemetery, just before you enter the mansion, you’ll see a grassy area and one particular headstone reading “Dear sweet Leota, beloved by all in regions beyond now having a ball.” It’s a catchy little phrase but Leota Tombs was actually an Imagineer for the Disney company and the “face” utilized to create the floating crystal ball illusion in the mansion, known today as Madam Leota. It’s a simple nod to an Imagineer, but one thats certainly worth noting (some people get windows on Main Street… some people get tombstones at the Haunted Mansion… it happens).

Just a few steps away from our first representation, you’ll find another engraving which states, “In memory of our patriarch dear departed grandpa Marc.” In this particular case, “Marc” is referring to the iconic Marc Davis of early Disney animation and many incredibly early Disney attractions. Marc Davis was and is still revered as one of the key pieces of the Disneyland puzzle and one of the most iconic of Walt Disney’s “Nine Old Men.” He was a Disney legend (recognized in 1989) and perhaps one of the most well respected men in Imagineering. Chances are, even if you don’t know his name, you’ve likely heard of/experienced his work at some point through Pirates of the Caribbean, The Jungle Cruise, The Tiki Room, The Country Bear Jamboree, and many others. To me, (while it may not be the case) this particular tombstone is used to pay tribute to the Imagineer rather than simply creating a funny quote with a hidden meaning. He was an iconic part of Imagineering and a true mentor for many aspiring cast members. 

Continuing on, in a rather prominent location, you’ll find one of the most recognizable names in the “story” of the Haunted Mansion, Master Gracey. For those of you who have seen the movie (loosely based on the attraction, which did not intend to have a “story” originally), know all about the fictional Master Gracey, but did you know that Yale Gracey was a real individual with his own incredible story? While the tombstone reads ‘Master grace laid to rest, no mourning please at his request – farewell” (a message printed on many attraction specific t-shirts) the real individual was a crucial piece of the attraction’s build process. While he is often overlooked in favor of recognizing the incredibly talented “project leader” Rolly Crump, Gracey created iconic illusions for the attraction. Beyond the Haunted Mansion, Gracey had a unique role in imagineering where he would create new technologies, designed illusions, and never before seen representations. He was a true inventor and one that pushed Disney attractions a step farther than anything else at the time. 

Perhaps the most ironic of the graveyard representations is Fred Joerger. The tombstone making reference to this animator is a bit simpler than many of the others and states, “Here lies good old Fred, a great big rock fell on his head.” This tombstone was likely the biggest “softball” thrown up to Imagineering to knock out of the park. Fred Joerger was a model maker for Disney early on, but became known as the “rock guy” for Imagineering as result of his unique skillset  While it was an earned title, it’s interesting to note that it was a key portion of his job. Joerger not only designed but also manually created a majority of the “rocks” you see at and around Walt Disney World. It’s a perfect fit to the tombstone description, but one that really required some creativity on the part of Imagineering. It may be one of the simplest backstories but one you may have easily overlooked. 

This is certainly not a retelling of each and everyone one of these incredible Imagineers backstories (and not even a description of all the stones!), but rather a simple glance into an element of the parks that you may have never recognized or taken a brief moment to seek out. 

Disney is full of hidden backstories and little known facts, but did you know that the Haunted Mansion was at one point designed to feature a shipwrecked sea captain? 

In the early years of the development of the original Haunted Mansion attraction, an outrageous amount of different conceptual renderings were developed and then narrowed down one by one until we eventually ended up with the variation of the attraction we get to experience first hand today. Of course, there is a certain level of variation between the U.S. iterations of the iconic Disney attraction, but the history of the attractions story remains largely the same. 

Ken Anderson, the Imagineer responsible for creating and designing not only within the Disney parks, but also for his role in animation developed a story for a walkthrough “haunted mansion” concept that has become perhaps the most interesting undeveloped backstory in all of imagineering. It was a story that was for all intensive purposes unnecessarily violent, and so far fetched by Disney standards that it almost became a reality.   

Anderson created a character named Captain Gideon Gorelieu, which was one of the least “family friendly” stories ever developed for a Disney attraction. Throughout the proposed concept iteration and even through some light engineering work that was developed early on, Captain Gore played the role of a shipwrecked sea captain on a deadly spree, intent on killing his wife Pricilla. To further the concept, Anderson developed a story where Pricilla was essentially murdered and stuffed into the walls of the chimney by Gore at his his seaside estate. Eventually, as the tipping point of the story, his wife came back and haunted Gore to the point that he eventually hung himself. The entire experience was a bit graphic for Disney, but special effects were already being experimented with when the story was all but scrapped. At the time, the “haunted mansion” was really only the same as what we experience today in that it was in fact a mansion and that the mansion was haunted. The story was no where near the same and even at one point had intentions of tying in a pirate theme.  

Today, the only real remnant of Captain Gore can be found in the portrait section of the Haunted Mansion. The captain stands in the image, creepily drenched in water (as was the original animatronic concept) with a harpoon in hand staring into the distance. It’s a very subtle picture in the gallery of “haunts” but one you’ve likely seen or even wondered about as you toured the mansion in your doom buggy. 

Of course, you can see why Walt never did go with this story for the attraction, but all things considered, this would have been a truly outstanding addition to the park. It certainly would not have been entirely family friendly, and at the time, “family” was a huge part of Walt Disney’s design process. He wanted a place where adults and kids could have fun together. Ultimately, that is what the mansion became, and today it has slowly grown to prominence as one of the most iconic Disney attractions ever developed. 

Today, as a slightly different take on our “Departed Disney” series we’re taking a look back at one of the more obscure attractions to ever be a part of the Walt Disney World Experience. Who “Wants To Be A Millionaire – Play It!” was perhaps one of the more unique concepts to ever debut at Hollywood Studios, but one that lasted a very short time. 

In 2001, Disney debuted this seemingly creative attraction at likely the height of the shows many year recording run. As an attraction type show that involved the audience in a way that very few Disney stage shows have really accomplished, guests were pulled from the audience and brought on stage to “the hot seat” to compete in a variation of the hit TV trivia show. 

Of course, guests weren’t chosen completely at random (due to many children being in the audience), but rather selected via fastpass surprise selection, picked out of the attraction queue, or simply by volunteering with a little bit of luck thrown in the mix. The guests which were chosen were seated in a special row of the theatre and then brought on stage if they were the first to answer a “fastest finger” question correctly.  

The seating set up nearly replicate the actual production level set used for the tapping of the show, and really gave the guest in the “hot seat” an incredible iteration of the show without the risk/reward chances of losing and gaining money. Instead, guests won commemorative pins, jackets, shirts, hats, and much more depending on how far they made it through the show. The grand, 1 million dollar, prize alternative was a Disney Cruise given to the winning guest if they made it all the way through the entire show experience by answering trivia questions correctly. 

Of course, the entire attraction had very little to anything to do with Disney directly, but really immersed guests in that “Hollywood” gameshow experience at a time where Hollywood Studios at Disney was still known as MGM studios. While it really wasn’t an active set utilized for the TV production (as some were in the early days of the park), it was still an outstanding experience for guests and even got the audience involved through voting boxes attached to every seat in the theatre so that you could play along with the current contestant and see how you stacked up against other guests. 

Personally, I absolutely loved this show. It felt like the real deal and was an environment that many guests really enjoyed seeing person. Today, after a complete overhaul of the attraction space, Toy Story Mania has taken over the location of this former attraction (which ended shows in 2006). What many guests may not realize is that the attraction actually had a Disney California Adventure iteration as well which operated in a similar fashion (although only for 3 year). Neither of these variations were perfect by any stretch of the imagination, but it’s interesting to see how the space has changed so drastically over time.