The Unauthorized Story of Walt Disney's Haunted Mansion: Second Edition

I am a life-long fan of the Haunted Mansion and have been following Doombuggies.com for many years, so I was extremely excited for the release of this book from none other than "Chef Mayhem"! This book is a very intricate look at the Haunted Mansion, through the development and planning, delays and setbacks, and amazing engineering and "imagineering" feats that were accomplished through its creation. For those who may have limited familiarity with the attraction, the descriptions and walk-through of the attractions in California and Florida (as well as some mention of differences in Tokyo and Paris) will help orient you in the discussion. This attraction was designed and influenced by some of Disney's best artists (in my humble opinion) and it's so much fun to read Baham's interviews with them and get their insight -- and even a little gossip! To be fair, you will have to have at least a basic knowledge of the attraction to find the appeal of this book. (I don't mean to frighten you prematurely) But if you've ever ridden it and wondered "how'd they do that?" or "what kind of person came up with the idea of haunted wallpaper?" this book will answer all those questions and more. I'd recommend to any fan of the Disney theme parks - or theme parks in general, as the Haunted Mansion is one of the penultimate "dark rides" found anywhere in the world. Fun reading, excellent material, wonderful insight and anecdotes -- perfect, all the way around!

If, like me, you are fascinated by the story and history of Disneyland's inner workings then this is a book you will enjoy. It covers the story of how Disney's Haunted Mansion ride came to be, how it was planned and developed, and how it has changed over the years. There are several things I did not like about the book. First, there are not enough photographs. Secondly, a plan of how the ride is laid out would have greatly complimented the text which at times can be confusing without something pictorial to refer to. Lastly, I would have liked to have seen more on how the ride differs between the various Disney theme parks. All in all this is an enjoyable and highly informative book. I'm glad I purchased it.

The writing style meanders a lot and overall the book could use tighter prose and organization. Much of the details in the book are things you can learn or hear about the Haunted Mansion by just reading the internet for a half-hour or so. There is very little direct quotes or interviews with the key Imagineers and artists involved. The book has strengths too, it finds interesting tidbits of Walt's life that likely influenced the Mansion's inclusion in the park and it illustrates why and how the ride wound up the way that it did with its unique blend of camp and ghoulish delight. The book makes no attempt to document the fan culture or collectibles associated with the ride and while it provides some technical details on the effects throughout the ride, at times these details are very high level. A very decent book overall, but I'm convinced the more definitive encyclopedia for this ride has yet to be written.

As a Haunted Mansion fan, I must say I enjoyed this book. Most of the information I have learned through other books and various Haunted Mansion websites. Mr. Baham writes in a simple but entertaining manner. While I considered getting the book I was concerned with how factual the information contained in the book was. However all the facts are footnoted with a great index at the back of the book. The book is divided into two parts, the first being the history of the attraction and the second half of the book a walkthrough of the attraction with some behind-the-scenes facts thrown in. I purchased the book mostly for the first part, as I love to learn about the thought process that goes into the Disney attractions, however I must say the second half of the book was just as enjoyable. I learned some things about the mansion I didn't know before. If you're a fan of the attraction you will definitely enjoy this book. A quick, fun and enjoyable tribute to a classic Disney attraction.

I need to go to California to see how different this ride is from the one in Florida! Very good read. Very informative if you are a fan of Disney. Happy reading.

This book while well researched and well written could have been better. It also could have been thicker. There is so much more to the haunted mansion then what this book covered. It seemed to skip around a lot to different timelines and it was sometimes hard to follow. All in all though it was a good book and will more then likely whet the appetites of newcomers to mansion and make them want to know more.

Just finished this book, and the kid in me still LOVES Disney's Haunted Mansion, and also remembers the wide-eyed 10-year old I was in 1975 when I first rode on it and was blown away. That trip to Disney influenced me enough to go to college for engineering and enjoy a 30-year (so far) career in industrial automation. Jeff may go into too much detail or some (devoting entire passages to the architecture of the façade, for example) but I loved the scene-by-scene description of the ride and detailed histories of the illusions, who designed them, how they are maintained. The chapter about the opening night an Disneyland was very interesting, and unknown to me (even though I have studied much about the ride systems and Disney's audio animatronics). If you love the ride I highly recommend this book, UNLESS you prefer to not know about the inner workings and prefer it to remain a mystery. :-)

I love this book, it's full of interesting and funny facts about the Haunted Mansion ( though many of them are featured in Jason Surrell 's book too ). My only complaint is that it doesn't have many pictures and it's a bit overpriced for such a small book.

Bought this as a Christmas gift for my 14 yr old daughter who is a Haunted Mansion fanatic. She can't wait to read it! Great quality book. It looks full of fun information and facts.

This was a great read. Packed with information and written in a clear and easy reading style. If you love Disney and the Haunted Mansion especially I highly recommend, you will not be dissapointed!

Love this book all the way through. Especially the stories of the special events at the haunted mansion. Didn't really need the section describing the attraction because I know it well but i read it anyways :) I would love more books like this on other classic attractions from the Disney parks!

Awesome book