Prelude to the Doombuggies 10th Event!

The past 24 hours have been one of the best experiences we have ever had! Here are some of the highlights:

*Sang Grim Grinning Ghost with the X Atencio, while standing in line at the Haunted Mansion.
*Saw Blaine Gibson's personal art collection in his home.
*Shared wine and cheese with Harriet Burns at the Napa Rose.



Where are my manners?!?!  I've got to thank Steve for this shot!  This is the only picture we got with both of us with X and it wouldn't have happened if Steve hadn't offered!  Thanks so much!

I will share more just as soon as I float off of cloud 999!

"Haunted Mansion" print by Jim Crouch

One of our most recent additions to our ever growing collection is the Haunted Mansion print by Imagineer Jim Crouch. This print is pretty incredible in that it showcases many of the fans' favorite characters from the mansion. I love how the duelists look more sinister, perhaps in part because they are staring more directly at you, rather than out of the corner of their eyes. The entire print has a darker feeling to it, which I love. The original oil painting is sold, but the print is still available at Disneyland, or was the last time I checked.. and at a very reasonable $35.00. I would pay that much for the double mat alone, with its custom looking design that adds to the overall drama to the piece.




Ghost Relations Dept. shared that Jim Crouch was the face of one Constance's doomed bridegrooms. Don't you just love the perks of being an Imagineer? You get to make a cameo appearance in Disneyland's most haunting attraction scene. Jim also put his work in another favorite Disneyland attraction - the Pirates of the Caribbean, in the pirate portraits that line the queue walls.

Haunted Mansion Collectibles New Look

Wow! Look what I did.

I love Google!

Haunted Mansion reopens 2008

In honor of the mansion opening today, rather than sharing a collectible, I decided to share the latest little upgrade to the mansion itself! It has been over a year since we’ve stepped foot inside our favorite tomb sweet tomb. The Mansion looked and sounded great! As I had suspected, we did find some new additions with the reopening. While not a major upgrade like we saw with the Florida refurb in 2007, sometimes its the little things that can make a big impact. The loading, unloading and upramp conveyor belts have all been given a custom, intricate scroll paint job. Much nicer than the faded directional arrows from the early days. This new walkway keeps more in character with the house, almost like a endless magical carpet inviting you in.




One other interesting note, while Sam was photographing the mansion exterior, he was approached by two young ladies, asking if they could take a picture of his tattooed legs. That's a first!

Haunted Mansion Shadow Box

Greetings Boys and Ghouls and a Haunted New Year to you all!

I've been dying to post for the new year, but was saving my post for something new and really special! Dave Avanzino announced on January 6th the much anticipated release of the Haunted Mansion shadowbox!  The item flew off the shelves at Disneyana and throughout the rest of Disneyland, leaving many Haunted Mansion fans to order theirs thru Deliverears, including yours truly!  I've been anxiously pacing my own haunted corridors for this piece to arrive and today, finally, the package materialized on my doorstep....

and it arrived broken. From what I've been reading on the various message boards, that seems to be the case when shipped.  No problem, though.  I'm just going to ship it back and hope that Disneyland restocks soon, as it is not a limited release (as of yet).  My friend, Guy, just picked one up yesterday, and must have purchased one of the remaining ones.  By the time Sam got there, they were once again temporarily sold out!

The detail is incredible and I have to say it is very quickly becoming my favorite piece.  Each letter represents an iconic piece in the mansion.  And the frame! Oh, the frame depicts the conservatory coffin with the "let me outta here" guy's hands on the four corners. Stunning!

Despite the long wait, increased price (over other Disneyland ride shadowboxes), and breaking in transit, this piece is spooktacular!


Oh, one more thing! In the few short months since this blog started, we've been getting hits from all over! So, Greetings Foolish Mortals, to our fans from the Russian Federation, France, United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, Mexico, Hong Kong, Japan, Germany, Spain, Norway, Brazil, and of course, all our friends here in the US! Thanks so much for stopping by and hurry baaack!

Phineas Head

Greeting Foolish Mortals!
After a short break, I'm glad to be back and with a prize of a collectible! If only it were mine!

My good friend Guy has an amazing Haunted Mansion collection, but the pièce de résistance is this fantastic Phineas head from the Haunted Mansion attraction itself!



Here's how Guy scored this amazing piece...
"About 1990 or so, a man who worked in props in the film industry had acquired a real robot ghost head of Phineas from the Anaheim DL HM. He offered to sell it to me for the unbelievable price of $60.00!! I couldn't believe it! I don't think he realized how special this item was. Fortunately, I did. So it is now one of my most prized pieces in my ever growing collection."


Some people have all the luck! Well, we're lucky enough to have these photos! Thanks Guy! This is the closest to an authentic HHG prop some of us will ever get!





Happy New Year Everyone!

I love fanmade!

Haunted Mansion fans are the best. We love all aspects of the ride, from the music and art, to the details in the furniture, walls, and haunted halls. If there is a way for us to capture a piece of it, or recreate it...we're all over it! For some of us, its not enough to have a few Haunted Mansion trinkets scattered around the house; we have to recreate the house, or rather the mansion!

Do I dare admit, my husband and I are just those kind of people? Our collection started in the living room, with just a few items. In fact, we considered them to be seasonal and only brought them out for Halloween. It was my friend, Nat, who suggested that I leave my collection out all year long. So, yeah... I blame her! LOL In a few short years, the collection has taken the over the house. It was also my dear friend Natalie who painstakingly drew and hand cut several stencils to recreate the Rolly Crump inspired Demon Eyes wallpaper in the Corridor of Doors. And it is my favorite of the fanmades!!



Its a work in progress, but I have made progress and just as soon as its finished, I'll be posting more pics.

**BUT WAIT**

I found two more fanmade items that Natalie made that I also just LOVE!



Haunted Mansion slippers!!! I love how she pays attention to details, down to the little bat on the bow. I'm so glad the weather is getting cooler, so I can pull these out of the closet and wear them!

And here is the other amazing piece she made us for Christmas one year. Its a faux stain glass piece and this picture just doesn't do it justice. Unfortunately I don't have access to all my pictures at the moment, so I had to pull this from my photobucket account.