In 2019, Phantom Manor at Disneyland Paris went through its biggest refurbishment, changing not only several things about the ride itself, but the story. This refurb received a very mixed reaction by PM enthusiasts. Some people liked it for revealing the identity of the phantom and making certain other aspects of the story clearer, some disliked alot of the changes the refurb brought, and they also disliked how the refurb brought new questions in the process.

But its been 5 years since that happened and I wanna know, how have those 5 years affected you and your opinion on the ride both pre and post refurbishment? Do you prefer the version pre or post 2019? Were you disappointed by the refurb? Did you like it better than the og? Overtime have those opinions changed and how? Or heck! If you’re like me and are a fairly new fan of phantom manor, how has that influenced your opinion and experience?

Personally, I didn’t find out about phantom manor until the beginning of this year. I’ve always been a fan of Haunted Mansion (tho I never really interacted with the online fandom until recently) but up until this year, I hadn’t done much to familiarize myself with the parks outside of the US. I found out about Phantom Manor through social media and got super excited about it. Coincidentally, I went to visit my mom in Spain for summer vacation and she decided to bring me to france so we could go to DLP for my birthday.

We rode PM and I honestly liked it quite a bit. After familiarizing myself with the differences between the original and the refurb, I’ve come to the conclusion that they both have their strengths. Theres things I prefer about the ride pre-2019 and things I like about it post-2019. But as it is now, I actually enjoy it alot even with its flaws. Maybe its the fact that my introduction to the ride was the updated version this year, but yeah!

I wanna hear your opinions! Go off!

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With Haunted Mansion having two film adaptations (plus all of the printed media of it), over the years many fans have asked for them to expand by adapting the stories of the other mansions, in this case Phantom Manor. Anyone familiar with PM and its lore is aware that it has a much more specific story whith a darker tone, in contrast to HM’s more lighthearted tone and vauge story. Its a pretty good candidate for a film adaptation, but despite its more explicit story, there are still several routes we could take for the films execution

What do you think would be the best way to go about it. Do you think the film should be just a straight up adaptation of the Manor’s established backstory. Everything from Henry showing up and founding his mining company to Melanie’s tragic story and the house becoming delapadated? Or do you think the movir should be about a living human protagonist who finds their way into the delapadated manor and having to escape the phantom and using the established lore from the ride as a backstory and setup for the plot?

Another thing to take into consideration would be wether to base the film on the ride pre or post refurb. We know if Disney made an official movie, they’d probably base it mostly on the refurb, but I know plenty of people who would rather it be based on the ride before the refurbishment. Me personally, please don’t attack me but I actually don’t mind the refurbishment for the most part. There’s elements I prefer about the refurb at the same time that there are elements I prefer about the ride before 2019. Its complicated but yeah. If it was up to me, the film adaptation would benefit from elements of the ride both pre and post 2019.

Stay with me on this one but I actually think the 2003 Haunted Mansion film has a good amount of elements that would work really well for a Phantom Manor adaptation. Like obviously I’m not including all of the unserious comedy from 2003 HM in order to commit to Phantom Manor’s dark tone, but once you remove that, HM 2003 has lots of things that work in PM’s favor. In a lot of ways, Edward and Elizabeth’s story is very similar to Melanie and Jake’s. Person A is a young wealthy person who is in one way or another the heir of their family estate falls in love with person B, a lower class commoner who works for the family. They get engaged and plan to elope but the person A’s older parental figure doesn’t approve for some reason, so they murder person B, trapping the person A in the manor and their afterlife is tainted by grief, deeming them unable to move on.

Maybe it sounds lazy since it’s already been done, but I would genuinely really like to see a film adaptation where one of the main goals is not only escaping the Phantom but also reuniting Jake and Melanie, lifting the curse from the estate and allowing them to finally move onto the afterlife, similarly to Edward and Elizabeth. It would keep the story’s dark tone, but it would also provide for a well rounded film narrative with a resolution and it would have a happy ending for Melanie and Jake, which they deserve.

What are your thoughts? How would you handle an adaptation for the phantom manor?

I visited Orlando twice in the 70s when Epcot was still Bulldozers and dirt. Before and after Space Mountain.

I am confused by current maps of the ride as I remember some aspects as visible on foot before loading onto the DoomBuggies. The Endless Hall illusion was visible as a background illusion on foot as people were loading. On current maps it appears as visible only once you are on the DoomBuggies. Was it ever visible in the loading area?

There is also a hallway of changing paintings that I remember as a walkthrough, yet I thought the stretch rooms opened immediately into the loading area. I suppose that hall is immediately between stretch rooms and loading.

After a ten year absence, I finally visited WDW last weekend with some family from out of town. I had forgotten just how incredible the Haunted Mansion ride is. I believe it to be the best ride at Magic Kingdom, and possibly one of the best rides ever made.

I am currently reading Jeff Baham's book and catching up on all of the (many) HM episodes of Podcast: The Ride. I want to go back in armed with tons of knowledge, and be able to enjoy all of the tiniest details and hidden treats.

My goal: to visit Magic Kingdom this winter and ride HM the most times possible in a single day.

I am a total Disney newb when it comes to actually going. I love the parks, the history, the magic, the rides and the music, but I generally never visit as I am very crowd-averse and line-averse.

I am a vibes guy...I don't do rollercoasters. I do dark rides and love ambiance-based experiences. After my visit last Saturday, where the crowds were tough, but manageable, and the weather was nice...I am now obsessed with making this happen.

I am seeking ye olde expert advice:

1. the best way to maximize my single day HM ride count.

Can I get more than one lightning pass or select multiples of the same ride? Spending 30 bucks for a single ride on the HM seems a bit much but I will do it.

Looking for any ideas or hacks of the system. 

I understand there maybe nothing to do but simply get right back in line after each ride, and to save my lightning pass for the "peak" period, which I *will* do.

2. The best day of the week, and the best month to go, which have the least crowds.

I assume it would be January or February on a Weds.

(I live in Tampa Bay and plan to just drive over for the rope drop for a single day)

I appreciate it greatly...I will probably find another Disney forum to post this on as well..trying to cast a large net to make my mission as successful as possible.

Side note: I was so deeply affected by the ride I spent an incredible 90 bucks on this souvenir (which is 130 bucks on Amazon!)

It's probably the coolest souvenir I have ever purchased (A Madame Leota diorama box):

https://www.amazon.com/Disney-Parks-Haunted-Anniversary-Olszewski/dp/B07H1H3WDR

Thanks for your time,

A newly inspired HM fan