The Ballroom scene has always been a fave; so much to see here that it begs for repeated viewings. This organist is playing “Grim Grinning Ghosts” for the birthday revelers. The organ he plays on is Captain Nemo’s from the Disney movie “20,000 Leagues Under the Sea.”
Through my web crawling one day, I came upon a treasure trove of photos from a former cast member, who has allowed me to post them for all to see. These were all taken in 2002. If you have issues with seeing "behind-the-scenes" photos, then close your eyes (oops....too late).
Although many are familiar with the magical effect of “Pepper’s Ghost” which helps create the ghost-like effect in the ballroom, very few have actually seen the “behind-the-mirror” figures that cast a ghostly-glow into the attraction, such as in this shot of the organist. This is probably the closest you’ll be able to see ol’ Captain Nemo’s former pipe organ.
This shot from the 20K exhibit at Disneyland shows you the organ before it was converted into a Haunted Mansion classic:
Plenty going on up above as well; not all the action is on the dance floor; these drunken revelers are enjoying the Birthday Banquet from the best vantage point: the chandelier hanging overhead.
Here’s one of the revelers with his creator, Yale Gracey:
I also have a few more pics from the Ambigconfab collection, showing more of the Pepper’s Ghost effect in the ballroom. This time it's the looney-tunes sitting and swinging on the chandelier. Here are the actual figures:
And here’s the actual chandelier:
Meld the two together, and this is what you get:
The duelers are fantastic; these two gents, trapped in a painting, launch a perpetual duel for those quick enough to notice it. Here it is, panning from right to left:
See more Haunted Mansion (both recent and vintage) photos at
my website.
