10 Dark Details Of Disney’s Phantom Manor

While the 999 Happy Haunts are having the time of their afterlives at the swinging wake in Disney's Haunted Mansions, Disneyland Paris has a mysterious old mansion that's definitely more grim than grinning. It's a terrifying and tragic tale of disaster, murder, and lost love, welcome to Phantom Manor.

When the Disney Imagineers were tasked with creating a Haunted Mansion-styled attraction for what was then EuroDisney, the new generation of creative minds wanted to give guests something completely different than what they'd experienced before. Care to see how far they went in their eerie designs? Here are ten dark details of Disney's Phantom Manor.

10 It Drew From Early Haunted Mansion Concepts

Designs and themes for Disneyland Paris's Phantom Manor can be traced as far back as the 50s when the original Haunted Mansion was still being developed and devised. Many of the original designs for the exterior carried over to the final design of the manor itself, but its the atmosphere that shows the most.

Originally, the Haunted Mansion was to have been a far more dark and scary experience, but Disney was about keeping things family-friendly. Phantom Manor allowed the designers to use early story ideas and sketches to give us a more haunted experience.

9 It References the Original Mansion Several Times

Though Phantom Manor is definitely a newer and darker adaptation of a familiar formula, there are more than a few references and nods to the original Haunted Mansion in Disneyland. Along with various props, illusions, and images, there are entire scenes and sequences that come straight from the original.

There's a stretching room, a portrait gallery, and a ghostly bride in the attic. That's only a handful of original Haunted Mansion concepts sprinkled into the attraction to tie the Phantom Manor to its American cousin. Not only do the references serve as a reminder of the ride's origins, but as Easter-eggs and nods to the audience as well.

8 Definitely Darker

If it's one thing that splits Phantom Manor from either one of its American inspirations, it's the significantly darker tone and chilling atmosphere that practically radiates from its dilapidated facade. The backstory of the curse of the Ravenswood Estate is blatantly more of a gothic tale than the hauntingly humorous one of Gracey Manor.

A beautiful bride's wedding day is met with destruction, disaster, and death at the hands of the fiendish Phantom. Zombies rise and crawl from creepy old crypts instead of a graveyard of grim grinning ghosts. Starting to get the picture? It'll take more than a Sherman Brothers song to lift these spirits.

7 Ghosts Go West

One of the more notable features of Phantom Manor is its unique location. Where the original gothic plantation house sat in the bosom of the Louisiana bayou and its dreary Dutch-Colonial cousin dwells at the edge of Liberty Square, Phantom Manor sits high above the wild-west setting of Big Thunder Mesa.

Wanting to keep with a more American inspired setting for the attraction, Imagineers gave the story and design the theme of a western ghost town. The wild-west influences give the manor a unique appearance and theme not seen in any of its relatives, and it's a very imaginative touch.

6 Big Thunder Connections

We could go into a full and lengthy schpeel about how several of Disney's rides are connected through one impressive narrative, but we'll stick to just these two. If the setting of Thunder Mesa wasn't a clue, Disneyland Paris's Phantom Manor and Big Thunder Mountain share a story connection the sharp-eyed Disney buffs will notice.

Henry Ravenswood/The Phantom built the Big Thunder Mining Company after striking gold in Thunder Mesa. After evoking the wrath of the ancient Thunder Bird, an earthquake struck the town and caused the events that fuel Phantom Manor. It's always interesting to see Disney put worlds together.

5 Nonverbal Storytelling

If ever there was a more prominent example of show-don't-tell, it's this ride. In the early development days of Phantom Manor, the Imagineers were striving to create attractions that would be appealing to both English and non-English speakers. Since making double recordings for English and French narrations takes time and money, they made it so the environment tells the story rather than a narrator.

All of the Haunted Mansions are very visual rides, but Phantom Manor goes further with its use of props, lighting, and effects to pull us into this dark and dismal tale. Looks like sometimes seeing really is believing.

4 Let There Be Music From Somewhere Beyond

One of the biggest details guests will notice about Phantom Manor is its incredible score. Unlike its predecessors in the states, the music of the Phantom Manor isn't the eerie gothic piano and organ melodies we all know and love, but a full swelling orchestral score worthy of a Tim Burton movie.

The score by John Debney sweeps and carries us on haunting melodies into Ravenswood Manor. Easily one of the most strange and mystifying soundtracks ever put to a Disney ride. With its sorrowful strings, supernatural notes, and eerie music-box melody, we'd definitely kill for a Phantom Manor album drop.

3 The Price of Fear

Easily the most famous feature in Phantom Manor is horror film legend, Vincent Price's narration for the English portion of the ride and his evil and chilling portrayal of the Phantom. With Price's fiendish laugh and eerie vocal delivery, it definitely puts Paul Frees in second place.

Though the famous actor passed away long ago, his vocal performance still lives on in bringing Phantom Manor to life, and we couldn't ask for anyone better to assume the role. Though the Phantom is definitely more malicious than the Ghost Host, he's perfect for this dark and beautiful attraction.

2 Meeting at the Manor

The Phantom Manor has one thing that neither of its American counterparts can boast, a Meet and Greet spot right outside its gates. Guests who venture onto the grounds of the manor can find a character or two hiding out at the gazebo in front of the attraction, usually dressed in appropriate spooky attire.

On a normal day, Mickey Mouse has been spotted dressed in a Phantom Ravenswood inspired attire, complete with a top hat, cravat, and cape. On Halloween and Christmas, however, Jack Skellington hits the scene and saunters straight out of Halloween Town. He even dons his Sandy Claws outfit just for the holiday season.

1 Is It the Best?

Though Phantom Manor is completely different from the beloved haunted attraction that inspired it, many fans, both American and international, claim it to be the best interpretation of the Haunted Mansion. Considering it pulls from both old and new concepts of its inspiration, we'd be lying if we said we didn't understand.

Though it lacks some of the more humorous elements that make the original so beloved, it definitely strikes gold with its storytelling, characters, and presentation. Even Michael Eisner was beyond impressed when it first premiered. It may be a different spin on a classic ghost story, but we can understand why Paris's haunted attraction wins so many hearts.

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