Los Angeles Times - 13.08.2019

E2 TUESDAY, AUGUST 13, 2019 LATIMES.COM/CALENDAR

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THEWAITING GAMEI1:00 PM

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MIKEWALLACEISHEREC

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ONCE UPONATIME...IN

HOLLYWOODE1:00 PM 4:30 PM

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DAVID CROSBY:REMEMBER MY

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ONCE UPONATIME...IN

HOLLYWOODE1:00 PM 4:30 PM

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ANGELS ARE MADE OF LIGHT

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ONCE UPONATIME...IN

HOLLYWOODE1:00 PM 4:30 PM

8:00 PM

THEFAREWELLB1:20 PM

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FAST&FURIOUS PRESENTS:

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ONCE UPONATIME...IN

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THEFAREWELLB1:30 PM

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SHORTFILM PROGRAMIBOSH

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NoHo 7

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MIKEWALLACEISHEREC

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DAVID CROSBY: REMEMBER MY

NAMEE3:20 PM

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SÓCRATESISUB;3:20 PM

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THEFAREWELL

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THE GOLDEN STATE.

DELIVERED.

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Photos: L.A. Times

LATexpeditions.com/explore

INSIGHT

IS ALWAYS ON THE

ITINERARY

Vintage Disney attrac-
tions are loaded with oddi-
ties. Seemingly outlandish
creations — operatic tropi-
cal orchids or rum-hungry
feral cats — are less likely in
today’s modern theme
parks, where referencing the
thing we saw in a movie too
often takes priority.
But even for ’60s-era Dis-
neyland, when weird wasn’t
in short supply, 1969’s long-
in-development Haunted
Mansion stood apart. Here,
the borderline perverse
clashes with the ghoulishly
celebratory. A serial-killing
bride hangs out in the same
manor as a king and queen
on a seesaw, not to mention
mummies, singing busts, a
regal organist, a royal psy-
chic, whatever the Hatbox
Ghost is (or was?)and a
drunk passed out under the
dining table.
Young, old, rich, poor and
even inanimate — all are wel-
come.
Delightfully original and
peppered with timeless
magic tricks, the Haunted
Mansion has endured to be-
come what is arguably Dis-
neyland’s most beloved
attraction. While Disney
doesn’t publicly rank rides
by how much merch each
sells, by observation, it’s
easy to surmise that the
Haunted Mansion would
rankat or near the top.

Nostalgia sells

The release of a Haunted
Manson anything is often
met with fans swarming the
park, waiting seven-plus
hours for a tiki mug or plas-
tic figurine. On this 50th an-
niversary of the ride’s open-
ing day, Aug. 9, 1969, fans
were lugging out three or
four giant bags of new Man-
sion merch at 9 a.m. when
others were simply begin-
ning their day.
And while Disney contin-
ues to perfect the art of sell-
ing nostalgia, plenty of ma-
jor rides have celebrated piv-
otal anniversaries — Pirates
of the Caribbean turned 50
two years ago — without the
fanfare of the Mansion, for
which Disney just staged
two high-priced events
($300!) that allowed fans
early access to commemora-
tive merchandise ($60 jugs
that glow with the Mansion’s
inhabitants admittedly are
pretty neat) and the ability
to experience the ride and
other attractions after hours
until 4 a.m.
Though nominally a
party to buy merchandise or
dine on limited-time food of-
ferings that are never as
good as year-round ones, the
event, held after 11:30 p.m.
Wednesday and Thursday,
also reveled in the Haunted
Mansion’s mysteries. A

bright light shone behind

it, as if its ghosts were break-

ing free to flood the park,

and fog surrounded guests

as everyone cheered for fu-

neral processions and lis-

tened to ghostly characters

serenade us as we rode the

Mark Twain Riverboat at 2

a.m.

Throughout New Orle-

ans Square and the neigh-

boring lands, characters

sprang to life — Madame

Leota spoke in rhyme from a

balcony, spectral dancers

cavorted in front of Pirates

of the Caribbean, tightrope-

walking portrait character

Sally posed for photos and

ghostly projections emerged

on Disneyland’s Rivers of

America. The power of the

Mansion bled to its neigh-

boring lands, as attractions

with supernatural themes

such as Pirates of the Carib-

bean, Indiana Jones Adven-

ture and Big Thunder Moun-

tain stayed up past their

bedtime.

Of course, the star attrac-

tion of the night got some

party-only embellishments.

Live actors dotted the

Haunted Mansion, cleverly

mixing in with illusions and

projections in the ballroom

scene. A knight even pro-

vided a slight jump scare as

guests rode through the

Mansion’s hallway, an addi-

tion Disney once considered

for the attraction’s normal

operations.

The late-night-to-early-

morning soiree tapped into

the idea that the Haunted

Mansion has become some-

thing of a guiding light for its

devoted fans. Such a senti-

ment was just echoed in a re-

cent interview with film-

maker Guillermo del Toro,

who was once associated

with a never-made Haunted

Mansion film. “The Haunted

Mansion is not an attrac-

tion, it’s a way of life,” he told

Moviefone. Of course it is.

The Haunted Mansion is far

from just a simple celebra-

tion of the macabre. Without

a clearly defined plot — early

treatments told of a sea cap-

tain who murdered his wife

and buried her in a brick wall

—the Haunted Mansion has

become a melting pot of life-

styles and misdeeds. It’s a

fete that contains an assort-

ment of humanity’s self-cen-

tered tendencies — our lust

for wealth, our idiocy to en-

gage in gunfight duels — and

tempts us with them.

Isn’t this fun? Isn’t this

what you want? Just wait,

and someday, this will be

yours.

Beyond the scares

It should be noted that

while its sinister side is

draped in humor, it also has

relatively progressive el-

ements. The ax-wielding

bride in the attic who has

murdered one husband af-

ter another can be read as

less of a cruel joke and more

of a course correction for a

male-led world that’s made a

mess of it. No, we don’t en-

dorse manipulative relation-

ships and beheading a fi-

ancé, but today we sympa-

thize with Constance, nick-

named the black widow

bride, for not waiting for her

prince to come and instead

taking matters into her own

hands. In a way, she’s a prin-

cess for the app-dating age

of snap judgments and be-

lieving a better person is a

swipe away.

The Haunted Mansion is

chaos, a dismantling of

power structures, and mer-

cenary in its embrace of our

flaws. No wonder the car-

etaker in the Mansion’s cem-

etery looks so frightened;

this is what humanity might

really look like if we just let

ourselves go and decided to

get along with a bunch of

singing, dancing, drunken

fools where all that divides

us was buried with us.

As a whole, the ride is

both a love letter and a

middle finger to us “foolish

mortals,” arguing that we’re

all doomed and our pen-

chant for sin will, at best,

lead to one hell of a party

in the afterlife. It’s the

Hot Girl Summer of Disney-

land attractions: Everything

stinks, so live it up.

For all the stress, anxi-

eties and downright horrors

of the modern world, there’s

something reassuring in the

Haunted Mansion’s view of

death. We’re all equal, for

one, at this swinging wake,

and the guest list is open

for everyone forevermore

when the velvet rope has no

power.

If only a ghost could truly

follow us home and remind

us that whatever is frighten-

ing us today won’t matter in

the end.

Ghouls and guests celebrate 50 years

A late-night salute to

Disneyland’s classic

Haunted Mansion

brings out all its weird

charms (and merch).

By Todd Martens

BRIGHTlight emanates from Disneyland’s Haunted Mansion during an after-hours bash last week in celebration of the ride’s 50 years.

Photographs byTodd MartensLos Angeles Times

GHOSTLYcharacters were part of the revelry at sites throughout the park.