Boo! The new Haunted Mansion Queue

I've talked about my admiration of the classic Haunted Mansion attraction before, how I love it's mixture of campy fun, great storytelling and Disney magic.

Generally, when I talk about how I love just about anything Disney Parks, I'm talking about the Disneyland version. Well, lucky for me, Liberty Square's Haunted Mansion was built at just about the same time as New Orleans Square's, and the attractions are virtually the same. I may go as far as to say the World's version is slightly better, with it's haunted stair case scene. Now that it has the new hitchhiking ghosts and interactive queue, it's almost definitely the superior of the two manors.



Yesterday, I finally had some time off from my job at the Magic Kingdom, so what did I do? I went back to the Magic Kingdom. They've been getting quite the array of new features, so it made the most sense to go back to the place I spend 40+ hours a week.

First off, I went to visit Magician Mickey. More on that later.

Then, I went over to Liberty Square to visit the Haunted Mansion. Along with half the park.

One of the criticisms of the new interactive queue is that there's hardly anyone ever in the queue for the Mansion, seeing as it has an omnimover system, thus resulting in an extremely high rider capacity. Not the day I went. The stand-by wait time was posted at 50 minutes, which I ignored, because as the future often proves, it was a little exaggerated.

The Captain

Once I got up to the new and exciting features I came to, I was surprised to find that it was an optional part of the line. You could either go through and experience the new features, or go straight into the foyer and then the stretching room. I obviously didn't do the former.

What I found in the interactive queue was great. The touch-and-play instruments, the misty organ, the bookcase and the interactive poetry were great. Also, Madam Leota's living tombstone was very creepy, and thus fantastic.

My only negatives words on the subject would be that it was really more of an area than a queue. It was nice seeing everything in one fell swoop, but it would have been nice to see it while I was actually waiting in line, like "Space Mountain's: and "Soarin's" games. There was a tone of boring, chain-linked queue as a predecessor to the interactive part that could have been livened up.

Then, there was the other part of the Haunted Mansion that I came for, at the exact opposite end of the attraction: the new hitchhiking ghosts. I'll get to the point: they're amazing. I've always pantomimed petting or elbowing the previous, static hitchhiking ghosts, and now they do the same (kind of) thing to me! I went on a tour of the mansion twice, and I was a little annoyed that both times I got the bearded ghost, who both times put his beard on my face. The other ghosts seem to switch the heads of the guests it sits in between, and I don't know what the third one did. But it was cool, whatever it did.

People were raving about both the queue and the new hitchhiking ghosts, both seeming to be a huge hit. I though the imagineers did a great job enhancing a classic without changing it too much and respecting its legacy.

Have you been in the new queue or been in the company of a new hitchhiking ghost? How was your experience?

2011 Pagani Huayra First Promo Videos

It's quite difficult to imagine that the beautiful, spine tingling Pagani Zonda has been around for over ten years. Mr. Horacio Pagani graced our eyes in 1999 with a 7.0 AMG sourced V12 masterpiece with a steampunk style interior. Its beautiful form, angry looks and frightening performance turned it into a modern exotic classic not seen since the earlier years of motoring. But time has come for Pagani to introduce the Zonda's successor in the form of the brand-new Huayra that made its world premiere today at the 2011 Geneva Salon.

When Pagani unleashed the first photos its hypercar named after a South American god of wind, there seemed to be a bit of negative feedback. Many did not enjoy the looks of the wide bottom feeder mouth and oddly set rear tail lights. As with many cases of change, acceptance has seemed to slowly set in. The car looks much better under the radiant spotlights of the Geneva floor.

Pagani has made a move from the gracious styling that graced the previous model and instead has turned to a more aerodynamic inspired shape on the front end and a more wacky styling in the rear that would honestly make Predator a li’l warm under the collar. The Hauurrera-rrura is a case of function over form from the engineering and design departments.

No matter what you think of the design, the figures are far more impressive. How does 700hp, 6.0 twin turbo V12, 2,976 pounds (1,350 kg) weight and a top speed somewhere around 230mph (370km/h) sound? Well it sounds pretty darn good if you ask me. Another sound that is hotly anticipated has to be the engine note. The last model left you screaming for mercy and performing sign language for the rest of your life.

To those that fear the successor will not be as good , trust Mr Pagani...he seems to know very well what he is doing.

Geneva 2011: De Tomaso Deauville Sincerely Flatters BMW's 5 GT [with Video]

De Tomaso's return in Geneva makes me ask two questions: 1) Why do companies think cars like this, the recent Lagonda, and Spyker D12 are necessary?, and 2) Who's buying them? According to the Italian company, they've already got a 1,500 unit backlog.

The production ready Deauville concept (previously known by its SLC and later SLS codenames), revives the name De Tomaso placed on its 1970's attempt at a luxury sedan; sadly, instead of an attractive Ghia saloon, this time around the Italian marque decided to emulate BMW's GT and create a Pininfarina-penned crossover.

Inside is a different story; the plush, handcrafted interior is bathed in leather, Alcantara, and carbon fiber, although I'd like to see what Infiniti's silver flake wood might look like in there.

Once known for cars like the Pantera and Mangusta, it appears that all originality and verve have been sucked from the brand in an attempt to go Teutonic with this humpbacked tourer.

The four-door, 4WD Deauville "sport luxury sedan" will reportedly be available with a turbocharged V6 (300 horsepower), a diesel V6 (250 horsepower) or a V8 (550 horsepower), all imported from "Detroit's Powertrain Integration". Expect more info when deliveries start in September.