New animated hitchhiking ghosts in WDW's The Haunted Mansion

[peaches magee]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M8TA2jZF0oo&feature=player_embedded

They look good but I am a sucker for AAs so this makes me a little sad, I like to see them sitting in out doombuggy with us. :(
Though it might be temporary as said here...

From Screamscape:

The big news from the Magic Kingdom today was all about a big change in place at the very end of the ride. I’ve been sent several reports about how the final hallway of mirrors where “The ghosts will follow you home” has been changed. From the description, the normal effect has been replaced with a series of visible projectors shooting images of ghosts onto screens. (
Now before everyone grabs the pitchforks and torches, I’m heard several times that this is just a new temporary effect while they work to install something much better for the ride’s finale. More when we find out…

[mshalloween]

I hope it's temporary!!! I love HHGs following me home!!! :cry:

[stitch1085]

I hate when they follow me home! The last time Gus followed me home he ate all my Lucky Charms and kept leaving his wet towels on the floor! That was just rude!

[nickalew]

I hope its temporary too...talk about such an important part of the whole ride experience.

It's the cherry on top imo

[Disneymama]

I would be devistated if this was changed. My first trip to WDW was in 1981 when I was 3, and my only clear memory was my beloved grandfather beating up the hitchhiking ghosts in the car with us. Since he died in 2005, thats the one memory i go back to all the time. I would be so sad if it were gone.

[Anders Limpar]

Different people who have podcasts, etc. seem to think that it is just temporary.

[jflores]

The change could be fun to check out, but the classics are just that for a reason. Hope its temporary.

[tigger for 4]

well maybe they will leave this part in and at the end one just "jumps in" with you, that would be really different, the best of both worlds.. ha ha ..

[SorcererDonald16]

The people I trust for Disney upgrade/construction rumors all say this is just temporary. They're either altering the old AAs, or making new ones.

The most up-to-date rumbling I read about the "ghosts following you home" part is that it is going to reflect their new NextGen program, where it will somehow be more interactive. One possibility mentioned was that each of the three ghosts will come in different "sizes" so they'll fit better in the ride vehicle. AKA the size of the ghost projected would be determined by the size of the people in the Doombuggy.

[RickP83]

I hope its temporary. I didn't even know about this until I rode the ride this past weekend. I was so disappointed at the end.

Rick

[peaches magee]

According to wdw magic:




Update on the new Haunted Mansion hitchhiking ghosts scene
Mar 12, 2011

We have a small update today on the changes taking place in the hitchhiking ghosts scene at the Haunted Mansion. The black curtain that has covered the mirrors has now been slightly lowered, exposing some interesting imaging electronics. First up are pairs of cameras located along the top of the mirrors, and secondly, a row of what appears to be infra-red illuminators are lining the top of each mirror.

We know that the new scene will use animated characters instead of the physical props, but it was still expected that glass and mirrors would be used to combine the animation with the reflection of the guests. The amount of imaging electronics now in this scene begs the question as to whether the new hitchhiking ghost scene will use the animated ghosts along with guest images captured by camera, rather than the previous mirror effect. If so, this opens up a whole new level of creative effects that could be included in this scene. Hopefully we'll find out soon, as progress appears to be taking place rapidly at the Mansion.

Interesting.

[bizkitty]

For me, I'll be sad if any huge change is made to the HG since it's what I grew up seeing every time I went on that ride. Hopefully, no huge changes will be made (crossing fingers).

[disneyobsessed808]

actually according to weekend update on miceage, the animatronic hitchhiking ghosts have returned


And the Hitchhiking Animatronics are now back, but the final section along the mirror is not done yet:

[Anders Limpar]

insidethemagic.net has a video of the new effects with the hitchhiking ghosts and it looks very cool.

[peaches magee]

Here it is. Looks VERY cool indeed :)


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DxmSGxZPAdk&feature=player_embedded

[jeffztt]

They do look really cool. I was hesitant about the update, but I think Disney did a good job with both updates.

[HitchHikingGhostFangirl]

:clap: I'm happy with how they came out! The old ones were great, but outdated. We didn't know they needed updated until they were! They are so awesome! Can't wait to see them in person :D

[jstras22]

so the update is officially up and running then?

[minniemose35]

I was a little leary of any changes to HM because I love the way it is, but after hearing from everyone here, I'm looking forward to seeing these new changes on my next WDW visit next month.

[HitchHikingGhostFangirl]

so the update is officially up and running then?

Yep...well everything but the first scene according to reports :)

[DizVinyl]

Can't wait to see this new set-up in person! We were there a couple weeks ago and were so disappointed with the temporary screen :(
Glad to see THAT didn't last long! :) :) :)

[Anders Limpar]

so the update is officially up and running then?

I think they are still in the testing stages, so there might be some slight changes before everything is final.

[Brandy714]

I'm so happy to know that the lack of hitchhiking ghosts was temporary. When my friend and I went last month, we were so disappointed! It's good to know the hitchhikers will be back for our next trip!

[Joy_C]

went on the ride on Monday and was pleasantly surprised by the new animated/interactive hitchhiking ghosts!! For mine, a ghost blew my head up like a balloon....thought it was impressive!!!

[MightyBedbug]

I'm torn on how I feel about this.

The animated hitchhiking figures are cool - it's nice to see them with a little "life" but the floating, but the mirror versions are moving around too much for my taste.

Some of the gags - head swap, sitting on the doombuggy top - are cool, but others (is Phineas shooting a laser beam at the guests heads?) are just odd.

[momto3boysillbe]

Looking forward to seeing the updated hitchhiking ghosts. Missed them when we were there in April!

[MikeOMatichead]

The new animations are awesome. My wife and I got our heads popped off by a ghost and then switched them onto the other's body...and then switched them back. Pretty sweet.

[PinkCow]

I'm so glad this turned out to be temporary but I'm still not sure how I feel about changing something this "classic." The hitchhiking ghosts have always been my favorite part of the Magic Kingdom!