Kicking off a series of blogs diving in depth into some of the attractions at Disneyland Paris, we’re looking at the spookiest of them all. Welcome, curious souls, to Phantom Manor!

Making of the Attraction

The Haunted Mansion attractions around the world have become an icon of Disney parks. As such it’s not surprising that when planning was underway for Disneyland Paris, they wanted to include one here too!

There are a few notable differences to the other Haunted Mansion attractions. First is the location, as this Mansion was to be placed in Frontierland, the first of the haunted attractions to be so. This of course led to differences in its appearance as the house had to fit into its Wild West setting. While it’s often commented that the Manor is very similar to the Bates Motel in Psycho, for its design the Imagineers actually looked back at the sketches made by Harper Goff when planning the first Haunted Mansion in Disneyland, California! A lot of his early sketches were based on 19th Century Mansions, sharing Phantom Manor’s creepy look. Another difference in the appearance is that Phantom Manor actually looks creepy and dilapidated from the outside, something that went against Walt Disney’s original idea that the outside of his parks should look pristine, regardless of what went on inside the buildings! But in this case, the dilapidated appearance was a deliberate choice to better sell the attraction’s story (more on that in a minute).

Of course another obvious difference is the name! Imagineers wanted an American sounding name, to suit the Manor’s Wild West back story, but that also would mean something to French visitors to the park. So Phantom Manor was born!

When Phantom Manor opened in 1992, it had a through storyline of a haunted bride waiting for her lost love, and a mysterious and sinister phantom. Imagineers took inspiration from European stories such as Great Expectations and the Phantom of the Opera – but with a wild west twist! But people wanted to know more about the backstory of the bride – what happened to her fiancé? Who exactly was the Phantom? When the attraction went down for a major refurb in 2018, Imagineers took the opportunity to expand on the storyline, revealing who the Phantom was, and why the Bride is still waiting for any of her 4 (yep, 4!) loves to come and marry her.

The result is a mix of nods to the classic Haunted Mansion attractions around the world, and an attraction that is in itself unique. Many have said that this is the best version of the ride – we’ve not ridden all the versions, but from those we have seen, it is hard to disagree!

The Attraction Story

When you enter Frontierland you enter the settlement of Thunder Mesa. So the story goes, this town was a big part of the gold rush, with a massive gold lode found nearby. A successful mining business was set up by Henry Ravenswood – you really can’t miss the mine, it’s that island with wild looking trains carrying screaming people! (Yup, it’s Big Thunder Mountain). With the profits from the mine Henry Ravenswood was able to build an elaborate mansion on the edge of town, which he moved into with his wife Martha and his daughter Melanie.

Melanie was to be courted by four gentlemen, with her to be married to one. But her father didn’t like any of them! Before he could share his displeasure though an earthquake struck the town, killing both Henry and Martha. All four of Melanie’s loves were also killed in some, well, unpleasant ways (and they all have rather pun worthy names related to their cause of death!) Melanie still waits for them in her wedding gown, and the other wedding guests still remain too, caught in her misery…

The Manor developed a reputation as a fiercely haunted house. It now welcomes new guests to come and discover the story behind the hauntings. Yep, that’s you! During the ride you learn more about Melanie, and the identity of the mysterious Phantom that still haunts her (let’s just say he bears a striking resemblance to Henry Ravenswood – it looks like Daddy got his say on her marriages after all!)

Finding the Attraction

Phantom Manor is located in Frontierland. If you enter the land through its main entrance from Main Street USA, you’ll need to turn left. After that you really can’t miss the creepy house on the hill!

Notes for the Differently-Abled

Aside from the two pre-shows (where you stand) the bulk of the ride is very gentle in a vehicle known as ‘Doom Buggy’. These run on an omni-mover system, so in other words the ride always moving.

To board you’ll step on to a moving walkway that moves at the same speed as the vehicles and then step in. For those with mobility differences, they can slow or even stop the ride to allow extra time for boarding so don’t feel rushed! With a priority pass you might be directed to a different entrance to make this easier for you. Those in wheelchairs do need to transfer out of them and into the ride vehicle to ride – again the ride can be slowed or stopped to allow you to do this, but cast members can’t help with the transfer, you need to be able to do it unaided or with the help of others in your party.

It’s worth noting if you do use the alternative entrance you might miss out on the stretching room pre-show. This is a shame as it has some cool effects and sets up a bit of the story, but you can still enjoy the ride without it!

While the ride is gentle (and there’s no height limit) there are a few circumstances where you might want to skip this ride:

• If anyone in your group is particularly sensitive to creepy or macabre sights. Although nothing is outright petrifying the ride does feature ghosts, moving skeletons and more. (Some of my anti-spooky stuff friends never quite forgave me for taking them on this after I assured them there wouldn’t be moving skeletons. Guess who was wrong about that! I based my assumptions on the US versions but this ride does have some differences)
• If anyone in your group is very sensitive to the dark – some parts of this attraction are very dark
• If anyone does not like enclosed spaces with other people – although you can avoid this by skipping the pre-show.

It might also be worth warning folks in your group that the cast members might be in character at the ride, so rather more creepy than your average cast member! It’s all to help set up the story. You occasionally do also encounter groups of people screaming because they’re pretending to be scared, which does nothing but annoy others and maybe spook little ones! If this happens it’s worth explaining that even ridiculous people can visit the Manor, but it’s nothing to be scared of.

Hidden details and cool facts

There are so many hidden details and cool facts about this ride it could be a blog in and of itself! But below are a few of my favourites:

• Look at the ride plaque – the motif around the edge is made up of snakes! That’s to give this ride an even spookier edge than its Haunted Mansion counterparts. And the face at the top is inspired by a demonic Beethoven!
• If the English narration on the ride sounds familiar that’s because its done by Vincent Price. Yep, THE Vincent Price of horror film fame. He originally recorded the dialogue back in 1990, but it was dropped from the ride for a full French narration when it first opened. But in the 2018 refurbishment some of Price’s work was reinstated, alongside new French narration.
• This ride still features the famous Madame Leota (that’s the fortune-telling head in the crystal ball) scene. But the dialogue has been updated – partly to include French dialogue, and partly to tie in more with the ride’s story line.
• There are over 50 audio-animatronics in Phantom Manor. Anyone fancy counting them?
• The inclusion of moving skeletons was a nod to European catacombs, although the ones in Phantom Manor are a bit more… well, active!
• The final scene in the ride moving through the spectral Thunder Mesa is unique to the Paris attraction, to further show how the ride ties into the overall story of Frontierland
• Any 80s Epcot kids out there? If so take a close look at the Mayor who’s tipping his hat (with head attached) to you as you enter the final scene. He bears a striking similarity to a certain figure who used to hang around with the purple dragon Figment… Yep, it’s the Dreamfinder! He was actually installed in Phantom Manor before the first version of the Journey into Imagination ride that featured Dreamfinder was closed in Epcot, so it seems that the Imagineers just used the same head mould as opposed to this being a rather macabre nod to a former Disney character!
• Check out the cemetery as you exit, it includes some great puns, and nods to the attraction’s story including the graves of Henry and Martha Ravenswood. The cemetery is called Boot Hill, a name used in Western cemeteries because cowboys were buried ‘with their boots on’ (ie died in a firefight or similar!)

When to visit

Phantom Manor is a popular ride but its slightly tucked away location and that very effective Omnimover system means that crowds generally move fast and lines don’t get too long.

Visiting in the first hour or so of the day, or towards the end of the day, will probably mean very short lines. The attraction is part of Premier Access – so if the line is too long you could buy this to skip it and walk right to the front of the line.

Other things to note

• With pre-shows the attraction experience is around 15 minutes. It might be worth a trip to the restroom before getting in line – thankfully there’s one right outside! (These can be very busy in the middle of the day though)
• Try to avoid getting in line just after a Riverboat docks, as a lot of people head from the Riverboat landing right on to this neighbouring ride.
• A gazebo at the front hosts character meet and greets – during Halloween and Christmas this is typically Jack Skellington, at other times it might be Mickey in a suitably spooky outfit!
• Don’t use flash photography in this ride! It’ll ruin the effects and your picture will be rubbish. And it ruins it for other people on the ride too. Make sure the flash on your camera is off before boarding!

So that’s our overview of Phantom Manor! Will you be visiting on your next trip? And what attractions will we cover next on here? Subscribe to our blog to keep up to date!