The Hatbox Ghost Head Turn

There are quite a few images on the Hatbox Ghost from the front, but have you ever wondered what he looked like from the side? The back? Well, now's your chance!



This is a turnaround using the bust I made of the Hatbox Ghost. The bust uses the exact same "Ezra" head as ol' Hatty originally did, painted to match what few pictures we have of Mr. Box. Enjoy!

The Haunted Mansion Hatbox Ghost Bust

I'm obsessed with Disneyland's Haunted Mansion, and one of my favorite characters in the ride is the Hatbox Ghost. Well, technically he hasn't been in the ride since the first week it opened... so here is some quick back story:

Disney created a character to put in the Haunted Mansion called The Hatbox Ghost. The gimmick was that his head would disappear and reappear in the hatbox he was holding. Here's a picture of the real ghost as seen in 1969:



Long story short, the effect didn't work. He was only in the attraction for the first few weeks in 1969, and then we was taken out, never to be seen again...

Since then, the rumor of a 'missing' ghost has grown, and finally some actual pictures emerged of Hatty as seen in the ride. There was a number of merchandising items that featured him, and he has grown in popularity ever since. There are even rumors of him returning to the ride in the near future.

Well, Disney is always one to save money, so they used the Hatbox Ghost head sculpt in other places throughout the ride. You can see his head in some of the pictures in the hallway, and most famously, one of the hitchhiking ghosts uses the same sculpt. I was actually able to acquire a cast of one of these heads, and painted him up as the infamous Hatbox Ghost!

I still need to give him his collar, and find a better hat. But what do you all think?

If you want to read more about him, check out my website!

www.thehatboxghost.com

Haunted Mansion Crypt Candelabra

"When candle lights flicker where the air is deathly still..."

Designed by Kevin Kidney and Jody Daily for the Haunted Mansion 40th Anniversary. Limited edition of 500.

Captain EO Tribute!!

It's official! Captain EO has returned to Disneyland!



And with it's return comes a ton of sweet merchandise!


They even have the original prelude playing before the show starts!


So what's my verdict? Two thumbs way up!!



It's only for a limited time, so be sure to head to Disneyland ASAP to see the King of Pop as Captain EO one last time!

Can't make it to the park? You can always visit

www.captaineo.net

to see the latest news, and, of course, watch the original show!

The Hatbox Ghost

Dateline: Disneyland 1969. The Haunted Mansion opens it's doors for the first time on August 9th, six years after construction of the facade had been completed in 1963. The Haunted Mansions boasts 999 happy haunts, but were there 1,000 haunts when it first opened?

If you were lucky enough to ride the Haunted Mansion in 1969, you may have seen a ghost whose stay in the mansion was brief: the infamous Hatbox Ghost. Ol' Hatty would have lived in the attic, and stood opposite of the Bride. The effect was that his head would disappear and then re-appear inside of the hatbox he was holding:




As opening day to the Haunted Mansion approached, a number of merchandising materials started to appear. One of which was a story record, with sounds from the mansion and a story of kids going through the mansion.

In the record, the kids encounter the hatbox ghost, whom the narrator describes... "He was a cloaked figure with an evil, grinning face. A hatbox hung from his hand. With each beat of his bride's heart, his head disappeared from his body and appeared in the hatbox."



Upon closer inspection, a famous visage appears on the cover:



He also even had his own page in the included 11 page booklet:



There was also a souvenir kids record that contained a picture of Mr. Box:




So as a kid in the 60's, looking forward to the opening day of the new Haunted Mansion attraction, you would have been familiar with the character of the Hatbox Ghost. Imagineer Marc Davis even drew this mock up of the character:



A number of press photos with Yale Gracey were taken as opening day approached:



Pictures courtesy of doombuggies.com



Here's what the Hatbox Ghost looked like inside the attraction:


Picture courtesy of doombuggies.com

So what happened? Where did this haunted resident go? One rumor circulated that he as so scary, Disney received so many complaints they had to remove him from the attraction. While this makes for a great story, sadly, that was not the case. The real truth was that the disappearing/reappearing head effect just didn't work well enough, and because of this, the Hatbox Ghost was taken out of the mansion for good. But what was his fate?

On a recent article on Jim Hill Media, Imagineer Marc Davis claims the Hatbox Ghost was re-purposed as one of the eagles in the attraction America Sings:



However, I do not believe this is the case. The Hatbox Ghost was not a complex animatronic, and an item that recently went up for sale on eBay proved this theory.

Early in 2009, a Haunted Mansion Reference Manual went up for sale on the auction site eBay. This manual was used by cast members to maintain and repair the effects in the mansion.



The following are the schematic pages for the Hatbox Ghost (click to enlarge):





As you can see, there really wasn't a whole lot to him. The main effect was just a matter of lighting, and the only real moving part was his trembling hand on his cane. I highly doubt he was stripped down and used as the eagle in American Sings, since he was mainly just some metal tubing in the first place.

Since the Hatbox Ghost's now infamous exodus from the Haunted Mansion attraction in Disneyland, his mystery and legend has grown over the years. He became an instant favorite character of doombugs (Haunted Mansion fans, named after the "doombuggy" ride vehicles) everywhere. In the last few years, Disney has noticed the buzz concerning our mansion's favorite ex-resident.

Offical Hatbox Ghost merchandise has been available for the first time since the records in the 60's. A "Big-Fig" was released in 2005, designed by Kevin Kidney and Jody Daily:




He has also been on a number of tombstones:





As well as several pins:





But perhaps the most exciting bit of merchandise was the recently revealed one of a kind full size Hatbox Ghost to be auctioned off at Disney's D23 Event. Designed by Kevin Kidney and Jody Daily:






There are currently rumors circulating that the Hatbox Ghost might make a return to the Haunted Mansion for the 40th Anniversary Event, taking place on 9-9-09. It would make sense, since his merchandising has definitely hit critical mass. The public definitely want to see the return of this famous dearly departed ghost.

Will we see him returned back to his corner of the attic? Only time will tell.

More Captain EO

Here's some more merchandise from Captain EO! Here are 2 pvc figures from a 4 figure set. On the left is Idee & Odee and on the right is the infamous Hooter. Circa 1986.



Now my quest is to find Major Domo and Fuzzball!

Captain EO

So there's no secret I'm a huge Captain EO fan. Sadly though, Captain EO merchandise is few and far between. There's a few buttons, shirts, a comic, and small PVC figures... but the best by far are the plush toys! They made a Hooter, Fuzzball, and Idee and Odee. They're actually pretty cool! I still need to find an Idee/Odee plush, but in the meantime, check out my Hooter and Fuzzball plushes!



And if you're wondering what Captain EO is, first of all, FOR SHAME. And second, behold the spectacle that is Captain EO!



Keep in mind this was meant to be in 3D, so feel free to react when necessary.

Enjoy!

Disneyland 1959 8mm Movies

So while I was home for the holidays, my parents got some of their old 8mm movies transferred to dvd. They had some really neat Disneyland movies circa 1959, and I just had to share them! This was the first year the Matterhorn, Monorail, and Submarine Voyage was open. Keep an eye out for the Rainbow Caverns, Keel Boat, Captain Hook's Ship, and some other great rides that have long since gone.

Star Tours

I recently found a video of Star Tours (the Disneyland ride in Tomorrowland), taken directly from the source on the ol' intertubes. It had timecodes, and the sound was not too great, so I went ahead and made it true widescreen, added the doors opening and closing, and synced it to a new, better soundtrack. Check it out!

1958 Disneyland Map

My newest purchase: A 1958 Disneyland "B" map. This is the 2nd Disneyland map poster made, which you can tell because of the inclusion of the Matterhorn, Monorail, and Submarines. Also, in the "A" map, the water in the Jungle Cruise is green. I was pretty excited about this purchase, because the map was never folded, as the vast majority of these maps were (even the one in the picture), it was rolled. I got a pretty good deal on it, and since there were no creases, I couldn't pass it up.

Some things to note on this map:

• Edison Square and Liberty Street: Two off-shoots of Main Street that never came to be.
• New Orleans Square: The size and scope of it seen here pales in comparison of the final product.
• Wax Museum: This later went on to become Pirates of the Caribbean
• Haunted House: Which was later renamed "Haunted Mansion." Not the location, next to the Jungle Cruise.
• Holidayland: The tent located outside the berm. A short lived idea that was never very popular.

All in all, the map is very cool. It is a very neat history lesson, especially since you can see some projects that WED had planned that nver came to fruition.

For more info on vintage Disneyland maps, check out this awesome website: Disneyland Maps