Phantom Manor is a dark ride attraction in Frontierland at Disneyland Park in Disneyland Paris. Phantom Manor is the park's version of The Haunted Mansion attractions at Disneyland, Magic Kingdom and Tokyo Disneyland, although it is designed to be darker in tone compared to other Haunted Mansion rides. It opened with Euro Disneyland on April 12, 1992. The attraction combines a walk-through portion with Omnimover vehicles and features special effects and Audio-Animatronics. This version of the ride has a distinct plot, compared to the largely ambiguous story lines of the other Haunted Mansion attractions in Disney parks. The ride also features a unique orchestral soundtrack, differing from the American and Japanese versions.
History
While planning Euro Disneyland, Tony Baxter, executive designer for Walt Disney Imagineering, decided that certain staple Disney attractions would likely have to be modified to fit the altered tastes and preferences of a European audience. The Haunted Mansion was among these, and the Imagineers saw the new iteration of the ride as an opportunity to expand and build on past ideas. Jeff Burke was assigned the role of executive producer for the construction of this park's version of Frontierland and, with help from Imagineer Bob Baranick and show writer Craig Fleming, it was decided that the story related to Phantom Manor would have to be congruent with that of Thunder Mesa, the fictional town portrayed in Frontierland. A similar treatment was given to the Paris version of Big Thunder Mountain Railroad.
A major influence for the story of the ride was Gaston Leroux's novel, The Phantom of the Opera, the secondary plot focusing on the abandoned bride Miss Havisham from Charles Dickens' Great Expectations, as well as many European Gothic legends, which were altered for a Western setting.
The architecture is in the Second Empire style. Inspiration for Paris's Frontierland architecture was provided by historic buildings in Virginia City, Nevada, specifically the Fourth Ward School for Phantom Manor.
Story
Original version (1992–2018)
Henry Ravenswood (born 1795) was a Western settler who struck gold in Big Thunder Mountain and founded the Thunder Mesa Mining Company, thus creating the city of Thunder Mesa (Frontierland as a whole). Ravenswood became rich and built himself a Victorian manor high on Boot Hill overlooking Big Thunder Mountain, where he lived with his wife Martha (born 1802) and his daughter, Melanie Ravenswood (born 1842).
Big Thunder Mountain was rumored by natives to be home to the Thunder Bird, a powerful spirit possessing a treasure. According to the legend, its wrath could be materialized into a terrible earthquake. However, Ravenswood would not believe such stories. Years went by and the gold in Big Thunder Mountain became scarce, making miners dig deeper into the mountain.
Melanie grew from a young girl into a young woman and became engaged to a train engineer named Jake who planned to take her far away from Thunder Mesa, much to the dismay of Henry. Henry did everything he could to stop this, but his useless attempts to stop Melanie were put to a stop when a terrible earthquake killed him and Martha. It seemed the Thunder Bird had been awakened and the family was never heard of again. After several years, the story of what really happened came out from underneath the rubble:
On Melanie's wedding day, a mysterious Phantom unknown to anyone appeared in the house. While Melanie was preparing in her room, The Phantom lured Jake up to the attic where he hanged him by the neck from the rafters.
In the ballroom, the bride sat alone. Hours went by with no sign of the groom. Guests slowly filed away, leaving Melanie alone in the house with the staff of maids and butlers. And so, having never taken off her wedding dress or dropped her flower bouquet, in preparation for her loved one's return, she wandered the house aimlessly, singing melancholy songs of lost love.
But the phantom was still in the house, laughing at Melanie's human devotion to her intended husband. One after one, he invited his dead, demonic friends from the afterlife to fill the house in an eternal party. A dark curse fell upon the house and the shape of the house was slowly transformed by the evil forces. No one ever set foot in the house ever since.
Inside and outside, the house was decaying with age. Dusty cobwebs covered every inch, the disheartened staff not caring, for it was rumored that Melanie had lost her mind. She wandered the house for years and years, singing softly to her groom, while all around her demons and ghosts reveled and danced. Everywhere she went she was reminded of the wedding. The Phantom’s eternal laughter still carried through the walls of the house. Outside, the once beautiful grounds were falling apart and crumbling. The gilded staircase and structure were dotted with mold and trees and every plant on the grounds died. As if sensing the evil inherent in the house, nothing living ever trod there. Even so, Melanie kept her hopes, waiting for her love's return and never figured why he didn't show up at the wedding.
The earthquake that killed Henry and Martha all those years ago cut a huge gouge in the west half of the property and in the crumbling ghost town of the old Thunder Mesa. The deserted buildings were rumored to be called Phantom Canyon, the dark supernatural version of the town and anyone who entered the ghastly old town at night never came back.
Today, no one knows if Melanie Ravenswood is still alive in that old house on the hill. If she is, then she is well over 100 years old. Her voice still carries over the town at night though, through the walls of the house and night air. And sometimes, people still see lights in the house.
According to local legend, unexplained sounds, including crying, laughter, and the sound of breaking glass, have been associated with the mansion on nights when the moon is full. The story further claims that Melanie's spirit remains at the mansion, where she is said to continue waiting for her groom.
Nobody knows the true identity of the phantom. Some speculate that it is the ghost of Henry Ravenswood trying to prevent Melanie’s wedding and keep her imprisoned for her disobedience. Others say it is the wrath of the Thunder Bird sent to punish Melanie for her father’s sins.
New version (2019–) For the 2019 refurbishment, the story was slightly revised in addition to the new effects which include:
The confirmation that the Phantom was indeed Henry Ravenswood, who vowed that no one would marry his daughter no matter what, using various means, including direct murder. (Previously, the Phantom's identity was left ambiguous pre 2019 refurb, on whether or not it was really him or some evil presence that awakened from the earthquake that killed him and his wife, and collapsed the mines inside of Big Thunder Mountain.) Instead of simply Jake, Melanie had a variety of suitors (Barry Claude, Sawyer Bottom, Captain Rowan D. Falls, and Ignatius "Iggy" Knight), who all were killed in various accidents implied to be staged by the Phantom, just before or after they married his daughter. Melanie becoming aware of the phantom that terrorized and killed all her potential husbands (implied via the changes to the ride post 2019 refurb, although it is still ambiguous if she came to realize if it was her father or if she knew it was her father from the start), before outright being driven mad in the process and resulting in her complete allegiance to the Phantom after her death, with her spirit offering to marry riders at the climax in the new version of the ride.
Attraction Like the Haunted Mansions located in other Disney parks, only the introduction of the ride (the Octagonal Portrait Gallery) takes place in the visible Manor façade. The actual ride itself takes place in a large warehouse-style show building hidden behind the Manor.
Phantom Manor's Omnimover portion is similar to the Disneyland Haunted Mansion's system. The track layouts of both are almost identical, but not completely. The main difference is that Phantom Manor's track is slightly longer, primarily to accommodate the Phantom Canyon scenes that substitute for the graveyard scenes in the other rides. Many scenes from the classic Haunted Mansions - such as the Octagonal Portrait Gallery, the Portrait Corridor, the Endless Hallway, the Conservatory, the Corridor of Doors, Madame Leota's Seance Room, the Ballroom, and even the busts singing Grim Grinning Ghosts - are replicated but altered to incorporate the new Western theme and plot.
Outside queue In the original Haunted Mansions at Disneyland, the Magic Kingdom and Tokyo Disneyland, the mansion was designed to look clean and aesthetically pleasing. Phantom Manor, however, is designed to look clearly derelict and stands at the top of a small hill, looking out onto the southern side of Big Thunder Mountain, with a commanding view of the washed out trestle, the mine elevator, and the second lift hill. The Manor's grounds are untended, overgrown with weeds and scattered with dead vegetation.
Upon entering the grounds, guests can see a bat guard box and a plaque on the wall which reads Phantom Manor – Non Omnis Moriar (Latin for "I shall not die completely"). A derelict gazebo stands on the lawn that has a tea set laid out. At night, the light in the gazebo flickers. The gazebo also contains a music box playing within (since 2001, this music box track is also used in Disneyland's version for use on the annual seasonal overlay). This is also the only mansion in any of the parks that has guests enter the ride through the front door. Shadows and lights can be seen from within the house at nighttime. Melanie can also be seen from a window in the façade.
The Foyer Guests walk up the pathways towards the Manor, along the porch and queue outside the house where they wait for admission. A cast member dressed as a macabre servant opens the doors and invites a small group of them into the foyer.
Original version (1992–2018) The foyer contains a dusty chandelier and two mirrors, and is lined with dark wood panelling. The voice of the Phantom sounds from the ceiling and around the room, politely welcoming guests, telling them the legend of the manor and inviting them to explore the place further. Melanie's face fades in and out of the smallest mirror during the narration.
New version (2019–present) In the 2019 refurbishment, an additional effect was added to the foyer. The small mirror was replaced by a painting of Melanie in her wedding gown, looking sad, and her father Henry Ravenswood, looking angry, standing behind her outside the decrepit house with both hands on her shoulders. A bare tree is also behind them with four hearts crossed out and a noose hanging from one of its branches. As the Phantom begins recounting the legend of the Manor, the painting changes. It now shows a happier Melanie, dressed in summer clothes, while Henry is smiling and resting one hand on Melanie's shoulder. The Manor is in pristine condition, and the tree, now with leaves, has one heart and a swing hanging from its branches. Lighting effects also transform the wallpaper in the room from old and torn to brand-new.
The Phantom was originally voiced by Vincent Price, but legal agreements required the narration to be primarily in French. Within a few months after the attraction first opened, writer and dub voice actor Gérard Chevalier was brought in to record a French version of Price's narration. However, a small piece of Price's recording was kept in use: the Phantom's maniacal laughter.