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 Christine Gracey |
Pop-Up Absence a Major Loss? |
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Ballroom Dancer
Posts: 337 (01/08/09 16:34:10) Ballroom Dancer |
What are everyone's opinions about the pop-ups in the attic being taken out to make room for the Constance effects? Sad to see them go? I personally was
very happy when I saw they were taken out. I've been trying to look in the attic since I was five and have not yet been successful. While the Bride was
partly to blame, the pop-ups were also a factor in that, and with them gone, I am closer to my goal.
Christine |
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Jemima947 |
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Popup Ghost
Posts: 501 (01/08/09 16:45:48) Ballroom Dancer |
Funny this should come up. My brother (bobj1) and I are always having debates on whether the pop ups should have stayed or not. Personally, I hate those
things. Ever since I was a kid, I hated things popping up in my face. They were the only thing keeping me off the Mansion. However, my brother loves them and
hated to see them go. He'll probably state his opinion as soon as he finds this topic :P.
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Christine Gracey |
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Ballroom Dancer
Posts: 338 (01/08/09 17:01:38) Ballroom Dancer |
I'm happy to see that there's someone out there who feels the same way about the attic pop ups as I do!
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MasterGracey13 |
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Grim Grinning Ghost
Posts: 83 (01/08/09 18:23:26) |
I dont really know how i feel about them being taken out. I didn't really think they made any sense being in the attic scene, so i guess i am happy they
are gone. http://graceyshauntedmansion.blogspot.com/
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Capt Quirk |
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Grim Grinning Ghost
Posts: 898 (01/08/09 20:01:58) Hitchhiking Ghost |
They took out the pop ups? What a %%%%#!
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gothikrose01 |
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Obviously Didn't Turn Back
Posts: 938 (01/08/09 21:21:21) Ballroom Dancer |
I like the pop up ghosts.
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kreepy Karl B |
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Wall-to-Wall Creep
Posts: 1056 (01/09/09 03:11:14) Silly Spook |
I loved/hated the pop ups because they scared the crap out of me. By the time I got to the bride I was terrified. I don't think she would have been as
special or scary without them. I preferred the pop ups that shrieked as opposed to the ones that shouted "I Do!". Although, the latter ones made
more sense. Since I'm not a child any more (physically at least), they don't scare me (as much). I can also enjoy the ones that remain in the
cemetery. The cemetery ones also have more shock value to new guests who won't have already encountered that particular gag already. The husband's
portraits are also a recycled gag IMHO.
It seems the attic gets the most change. First they remove Hattie, then Smurfette takes over from the original bride. Constance gives her the axe. Now Hattie might return again. There are also numerous times when the props were moved, broken or changed. And weren't those pesky bats also removed at one point? |
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Ghost Relations Dept |
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Dead Center Of Attention
Posts: 5194 (01/09/09 07:09:15) |
I'm glad they are gone from the attic, but I am also glad they are still in the Graveyard. I wish they would add the screams back to them. It makes more
sense that way.
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Dan Olson |
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Obviously Didn't Turn Back
Posts: 2255 (01/09/09 11:33:23) Obviously Didn't Turn Back |
I make a sharp distinction between the stick-head popups (meh) and the blast-up popups (oh yeah). I appreciate the tribute to the HM's spookhouse roots
represented by the stick-heads, but whether they shriek or say "I do" or remain silent, they still come across to me too much like halloween masks on
a stick. The blast-up, on the other hand, is a first-rate effect.
There were three of these at DL; two in the attic, and one in the graveyard. WDW, Tokyo, and PM do not have them, and apparently never did (except for one tantalizing clue that they may have been used for awhile in the early days of the WDW mansion). With the two attic blast-ups gone from DL, that means that there is only one functioning blast-up left in the entire Disney universe: in front of the teaparty in the DL HM. Good ol' Blasty; long may he rave. 
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MasterGracey13 |
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Grim Grinning Ghost
Posts: 86 (01/09/09 12:35:29) |
I wish the WDW still had their blast up head, and Dan, the top shots of the blast up's are great! did you take them?http://graceyshauntedmansion.blogspot.com/
Last Edited By: MasterGracey13
01/09/09 12:55:03.
Edited 1 times.
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Dan Olson |
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Obviously Didn't Turn Back
Posts: 2257 (01/09/09 14:16:01) Obviously Didn't Turn Back |
No, it's a photoshopped concoction from existing pix. If you can do the "Magic Eye" thing, it's 3D.
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Guy the Ghoul |
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Ghost Host
Posts: 531 (01/09/09 17:01:24) Popup Ghost |
Dan,
Thanks for posting photos of the blast-up ghost! Brought back great memories! Even though they scared the hell out of me, I always loved them. I remember audio taping the ride back in 1976 or so and during the attic scene, you can clearly hear the patrons screaming (usually teenage girls) at the top of their lungs! What a great era to be in the mansion that was! |
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Dan Olson |
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Obviously Didn't Turn Back
Posts: 2258 (01/09/09 19:18:41) Obviously Didn't Turn Back |
Guy the Ghoul wrote: Yeah, I love 'em. And here's another thing about the attic blast-ups that has rarely been noticed: Both of them consisted of skull-like heads jumping out of hatboxes! There was a lot more thematic unity in the original attic than it has usually been given credit for. The blast-ups at the beginning of the attic foreshadowed the Hatbox Ghost at the end. All three were milking the same motif: the decapitated head in a hatbox, which is something of a minor horror cliché. (For those who don't know, the first blast-up was at the far right and foreground of what is now the Ambrose tableau; the second blast-up was about where the Reginald portrait is now.) |
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gothikrose01 |
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Obviously Didn't Turn Back
Posts: 958 (01/09/09 22:33:54) Ballroom Dancer |
Good to know and to see, Dan!
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Capt Quirk |
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Grim Grinning Ghost
Posts: 899 (01/10/09 05:30:23) Hitchhiking Ghost |
The Ambrose tableau? Could you be a little more generic for me?
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Dan Olson |
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Obviously Didn't Turn Back
Posts: 2259 (01/10/09 05:41:16) Obviously Didn't Turn Back |
Capt Quirk wrote: Ambrose = first husband. Ambrose tableau = first scene of the attic, on the right. |
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Capt Quirk |
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Grim Grinning Ghost
Posts: 900 (01/10/09 09:32:10) Hitchhiking Ghost |
Thanks Dan! My Brain is in the shop today, so please bear with me
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kreepy Karl B |
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Wall-to-Wall Creep
Posts: 1071 (01/11/09 02:25:05) Silly Spook |
Or is that beer with me?
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rabbi |
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Silly Spook
Posts: 95 (01/14/09 08:28:19) Foolish Mortal |
Dan, you never cease to amaze with your knowledge and pretty pictures. Thank you.
My two cents: like someone said before, as a kid, the pop-up ghosts were the one legitimate scare in the mansion, and I covered my eyes until I was at least 6. I don't miss them per se, but I'd take them over Constance. I've tried and I've tried, but I just can't accept her as a part of my beloved mansion. She doesn't feel right. Bring back the screamers, sure! |
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Dan Olson |
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Obviously Didn't Turn Back
Posts: 2263 (01/17/09 16:34:49) Obviously Didn't Turn Back |
Thanks for the kind words, rabbi. Here are a few more visuals for blast-up fans.
The blast-up used by Disney was developed by Yale Gracey. He called them Rocket Skulls. Here's a drawing from Yale's own notebooks: 
"Rocket Skulls." Is that a cool name, or what? Trivia: Whoever designed the virtual HM walk-thru for the Haunted Mansion movie website included blast-ups in the graveyard scene -- a nice tribute to a groovy special effect: 
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