Magic Kingdom's Original Hitchhiking Ghosts

So it's no big secret that my favorite theme park ride of all time is, undoubtedly, Disney's Haunted Mansion. First opening at Disneyland in the summer of 1969, this classic dark ride redefined storytelling in attractions, formed an enormous cult following, and would directly influence the future of theme park attractions around the world.

With that said, one of the greatest aspects of the ride is its characters, specifically the ghosts that inhabit the mansion (yes, all 999 of them). The Hitchhiking Ghosts, named Phineas, Ezra, and Gus by fans, are three of the most iconic residents of the mansion, as they "hitch a ride" with you back home to the mortal world upon your departure from the crypt scene.

It should be noted that part of the reason the Haunted Mansion is so famous as an attraction is due to its reliance on practical effects to provide creepy illusions, including floating candelabras, stretching paintings, and realistic see-through ghosts. It's this clever combination of practical effects and creative storytelling that bring the mansion to life (no pun intended).

The Hitchhiking Ghosts serve a key role in the finale of the ride. As your Doom Buggy vehicle exits the graveyard, your Ghost Host narrator warns you that a ghost may follow you home. As you round the corner into the Crypt before the ride's unload, you come face to face with three full-size animatronic figures of Phineas, Ezra, and Gus.

Next, your Doom Buggy rotates toward a wall of mirrors where you can see yourself, the person you're riding with, and one of the three ghosts sitting between the two of you! This clever effect (that still holds up to this day) is accomplished by the pepper's ghost illusion, which incorporates audio animatronic figures, mirrors, and lighting techniques to create "real" transparent ghosts.

Now this effect has always been present in the 1969 Disneyland version of the ride (okay, not always, in the early days of the ride a swarm of flying wraiths could be seen hovering around your vehicle since they were still testing the illusion with guests), but it could also be found in the Magic Kingdom's version of the ride, which opened two years later and was pretty much a straight copy of the Disneyland version, despite the exterior and a few other minor scene changes.

In 2007, Magic Kingdom's Haunted Mansion underwent a major refurbishment, which led to some big changes being made to the ride experience. These changes included the introduction of Constance Hatchaway, the new black widow bride, a new Escher staircase scene that replaced the former spider room, and perhaps the biggest change of all was the removal of the original Hitchhiking Ghost effect at the end of the ride.

This controversial change saw Magic Kingdom's version of the ride switch out the traditional pepper's ghost effect for projected screens where the three ghosts can move more fluently and interact with guests in a number of ways using hidden cameras.

At the time, this change seemed to be a nice addition to help modernize and enhance the experience of the Haunted Mansion. Minor changes to rides, like this one, are often put in place by Imagineers who strive to keep classic attractions relevant and a slightly different experience every time for returning visitors.

In the case of this effect... it cannot be said that it aged well. Computer graphics and animation quality in the Imagineering department has improved immensely since 2007, and over the years, fans of the original version of the mansion have become sour towards the cheap-looking animated ghosts. Many people have demanded a return of the original Hitchhiking Ghosts that can still be found in California and Tokyo, and have high hopes that the Magic Kingdom will restore this effect for Walt Disney World's 50th anniversary in 2021, but there has not yet been any word or confirmation from the park of the original ghosts' return.

What I find most interesting about this whole ordeal is that instead of putting the old animatronics into storage, Disney simply turned the effect off, leaving the original animatronics and rotating platform they are conjoined with to collect dust behind the mirror-screen effect.

Seeing these abandoned figures in such an iconic and famous ride does make me sad, but also provides hope that the effect could simply be turned on again one day, since the mechanism was never dismantled.

So what do you think? Should the original ghosts return to Florida's version of the Haunted Mansion, or should they stick with the unique animated ghosts instead? Be sure to discuss in the comments or forums.

Until next time. -Max