Friday, November 20, 2009

Marc's Mansion part 2

Welcome Foolish Mortals,

Yet again, there is very little, if any, Mansion news to report.

In website news; I am working on a couple of pages that I hope to have up sometime after Thanksgiving. I am also, again, accepting Fan artwork. I will be adding some of my own sometime soon. If you have any of your own, please feel free to e-mail me at hauntedgracey@yahoo.com.

Onto Today’s Post...

As you saw in two weeks ago, Marc’s fingerprints are all over the mansion we see today. But other than the many icons we recognize now (Opera Ghosts, Hitchhikers, Changing Portraits) Marc’s artwork is hidden in places you would never expect.

When you enter the ballroom the first ghost you see is the man sitting atop the fireplace with his arm around a bust (also one of his pieces).

But if you look closely enough at the fireplace’s molding, you will see that it is the same design as the one Marc had in his concept art.

I did forget to post last week, and I promised to make up for it, so the following is a SECOND POST that I was saving for next week!

Continuing on this “Month of Marc”, the following is another tribute to animator and Imagineer Marc Davis.

Many of Marc’s pieces for the Haunted Mansion were entirely original and didn’t follow any type of storyline; but one character breaks this trend, a woman named... Aunt Lucteria. She appeared in a number of his Mansion concepts in a number of incarnations, most of them being busts even a singing one). Take a look:



And she does appear in the final attraction In the Portrait Hallway (bust), in the Library (bust), in portrait form (above the servant’s staircase at WDW), and in the Ballroom (bust).

Feel free to e-mail me with your fan art, questions, comments, or post Ideas. You can also join my Facebook group, Facebook page, follow me on Twitter, and become a fan of my site on DisFriends (all links are on a column on the right side of this page).

RIP,

Master Gracey

Thursday, November 5, 2009

Marc's Mansion part 1

Welcome Foolish Mortals,

Well, Halloween has ended and the Christmas season has begun. But why say “Goodbye” to Halloween so soon? Lets give it one last “hurrah” with THIS story.

In other news, some pages of my website (about/contact, photography, Fan art) are now open.

Since it is the Holiday season, you should take a look at HAUNTED DIMENSION'S gingerbread creations, where you can download and build your own gingerbread Phantom Manor. I will be creating one for the second year, only this time it will be bigger and better. I will post a picture of it completed, when I finish it. But enough about me...

Onto Today’s Post...

Marc Davis, one of the many geniuses behind the Haunted Mansion. Many of his pieces, whether it was created late in the game or at the very beginning, made it into the mansion we know and adore. Today, I wanted to honor some of his work, and compare it to how resides in the Manse today. Enjoy:


Comments are open to both members and non-members of Blogger.

RIP,
Master Gracey

Saturday, October 31, 2009

Haunted Halloween!

I do hope that everyone has a very Haunted Halloween!




-M. Gracey

Friday, October 30, 2009

Creepy Creeps with Eerie Eyes

Welcome Foolish Mortals,

There, again, is very little official Haunted Mansion news to report. In the Disney Fan world, Mousetalgia, the podcast about Disneyland Disney's California Adventure and everything else Disney, has its annual halloween episode up, featuring an interview with Kat Cressida (the voice of Constance). Also...

Happy belated Anniversary Master Gracey's Haunted Mansion!


One year ago today (Ok, not today, the 28th of October really) my blog first opened. Ah, the memories!

Onto Todays post,

In the late 1990's the Disneyland Haunted Mansion started experiencing some major queue facelifts. The (new) pet cemetery was added and so was the infamous white hearse. But some things never change... even when they were planned to. The new pet cemetery was supposed to receive a, quite interesting, entranceway, and the Hearse was to get a nice hitching area.


Do you notice something peculiar? Your being watched. Take a look at the gate in front of the hearse. Like the Corridor of Doors and many other parts of the mansion, it features a hidden face (one very close to one on the doors in the COD).

Feel free to e-mail me with a question. comment concern, post idea, etc.

RIP and Happy Anniversary,
Master Gracey

Saturday, October 24, 2009

A Preview of Things to Come.

Welcome Foolish Mortals,

Doorless Chambers has Begun! You can start trick or treating by clicking HERE, or you can read up on what this is by clicking HERE. Everything finally seems to be working, so enjoy!
My site has reopened with a whole new look thanks to Trader Sam. Only the "Home", "Wallpapers" (none of which are active yet), "Death Certificate", and "Doorless Chambers" pages are open at the time, the rest are still being worked on. You can also see that I have a couple of new pages ( Tour and Downloads) coming. I hope you enjoy, and Happy Trick Or Treating!





RIP,
Master Gracey

Friday, October 16, 2009

Reginald "Cane"

Welcome Foolish Mortals.

The “Haunted Holidays” Disney website now features some new videos about the Mansion including fans talking about the conservatory, singing busts, attic, and the history of the Haunted Mansion. The site also has some other non-major changes regarding to the layout. Doorless Chambers is going to be launched on October 25, only nine days from today. If you are not familiar with this event you can read all about it HERE.

This years Haunted Mansion Holiday opened to raving reviews. Many Haunted Mansion fans say that the lighting, sounds, and overall appearance looks brand new.

A couple of weeks ago I posted a (crudely drawn) picture of what I was hoping for my re-vamped website to look like. Well, with the help of Trader Sam that dream is now a reality. I am still working on it, but whether it is complete or not, the site will have a soft opening on October 24 (to test if everything is working correctly) and officially be opening on October 25 for the Doorless Chambers event.

Onto Todays post,

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again; The Haunted Mansion Attic is full of surprises.

Constance had 5 husbands, Ambrose Harper, Frank Banks, Marquis de Doom, Reginald Caine, and George Hightower. All of which (with the exception on Ambrose) has very peculiar last names.

I was going through some of the photos I have taken of the husbands Tableaus and came across something quite interesting about Reginald’s. No matter how random something may seem, it almost never is. A couple of feet away from his and Constance’s wedding portrait is a basket holding several canes, no doubt because he uses them.

But wait a minute.

Reginald Caine, canes.

A play on words? And Inside joke between Imagineers perhaps? We May never know.

RIP,

Master Gracey

Sunday, October 11, 2009

Haunting Similarities Part 2


Welcome Foolish Mortals,

Once you think all hope is lost, Blogger Pulled through! Here is Fridays (overdue) post!

There hasn't been much, if any, Haunted Mansion related news in the past week, most likely due to the HMH. NHammack on the Doombuggys.com message boards posted a video of a "Ghost" exiting the Disneyland Haunted Mansion. I, personally, do not know if it is real or not. You can decide for yourself:


Onto Today's post...

There are Hundreds of thousands of Haunted Mansion collectables, but only few are memorable. One of the most sought after pieces is the "Haunted Mansion Halloween Village House" which was sold years ago during the Halloween season. I like this piece in particular because of its great detail and surprising accuracy. What? You don't think it is accurate to the DL Haunted Mansion? Well, It isn't! It is actually more closely related to the cover of "The Story and Song From the Haunted Mansion" album.


Take a look:

Notice that:
  • the Hearse is in the same place
  • The raven is in the same place
  • The Hatbox Ghost is in the same position as he is in the album
  • The guest sipping tea is the same guest featured on the album cover, and sitting on the same portion of the gate.
  • The overall mansion looks the same as the album.
It is a wonderful piece, so I decided to share a couple of pictures I took of it. I hope you enjoy:
Notice this bride is identical to the one featured in the "See, Hear, Read" Album



Notice the Jack Skellington Headstone.

RIP,
Master Gracey