The Haunted Mansion: 42 Years Old!

On August 9, 1969, The Haunted Mansion opened at Disneyland.  The exterior of the Mansion had been finished for many years and people had been waiting patiently for the creaking doors to open.  When they finally did, no one was let down.  It was and remains one of Disney’s finest attractions.

Over the years, versions of the Haunted Mansion has opened at Walt Disney World, Tokyo Disneyland, Disneyland Paris (As the Phantom Manor), and soon to be Hong Kong Disneyland (As Mystic Manor).

In 2001, Tim Burton’s Nightmare Before Christmas took over the Haunted Mansion to begin a very successful annual Halloween/Christmas overlay.

The Mansion has also been turned into a not so successful movie starring Eddie Murphy and it has also been announced that a new Mansion movie will be made with Guillermo Del Toro at the helm.

Happy Birthday Haunted Mansion!  Enjoy some pictures of our beloved Mansion!

Editor’s Note:  An interesting fact that many people may not realize is that the Haunted Mansion opened the same day as the infamous Charles Manson Murders.

Our First Contest!

Okay everyone! We are proud to announce that we have our first contest FAST approaching! Next Friday, we will, as always, have a ‘Floor Friday’ but it will be our 10th in that series. We want to make it fun for everyone by having a contest but because there is a prize involved, it will be more difficult than the previous entries. CLICK HERE to study up on the previous entries!

How to enter? Just play the game! At midnight on Friday morning (August 12, 2011), we will post the floor for that week and you will have ONE WEEK to answer in the comment section below the post. PLEASE DO NOT POST YOUR ANSWERS TO OUR FACEBOOK OR TWITTER PAGES. Your entry will only be valid if included in the comments of the 10th ‘Floor Fridays’ post. At midnight on the following Friday (August 19, 2011), the contest will end and we will take all of the correct answers and enter those names into a drawing. Robert and I will then conduct a drawing the following week and the winner will be announced with the 12th edition of the ‘Floor Friday’ series on August 26, 2011. We will also send the winner an email with instructions on how to claim the prize.

The prize, you might ask? I happen to be a member of the Magic Castle in Hollywood. If you haven’t heard of it, it’s like Club 33 — with magic! Super exclusive, members-only, and a strict dress code, the Magic Castle was founded in 1963 by Milt Larsen (a huge Walt Disney fan and personal friend and collaborator with the Sherman brothers) and now hosts the world’s best and brightest magicians performing for each other as well as members and their guests. The winner will have a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to take a party of 2 (him or her-self and a guest) to the castle on any evening of their choosing!

The recommendation is to go on a week night as there are less crowds, much like Disneyland, and you have a higher chance of seeing all of the performers of the night (as many as 10) in close and intimate settings. THE MAGIC CASTLE IS A 21+ CLUB SO PLEASE KEEP THAT IN MIND WHEN ENTERING AND CHOOSING A GUEST.

To find out more about the Magic Castle, click here! Again, there is a strict cocktail attire dress code so only enter if you own such attire or plan on purchasing or renting said attire. Men are required to wear jackets and ties and women are required to wear evening cocktail dresses or pant suits with a matching blazer. Formal shoes, as well.

This is very exciting for us here at ‘Remain Seated, Please’ and we look forward to seeing all of the entries as they come in and meeting up with the winner and his or her guest. If you have any questions, feel free to comment below and we will read and answer any and all of your questions as best we can. Let’s make this fun and exciting for everyone!

Thanks and good luck!

*food and drinks will not be included.

Floor Fridays #9

Hey all!

Here’s another in our ongoing series, but first, where was last week’s photo taken?

Main Street, U.S.A.: The Bank of Main Street / Disney Gallery

And now for this week’s floor:

Where Am I?

Another Great Plate!

This one comes from the alley behind my office in Sherman Oaks.  I passed it while it was parking on my way to pick up lunch and snapped this on my way back.

DSNY MOM

Weird thing is: there was a man driving the car.  Still awesome.

Pirates Vinylmation

I’m not the biggest fan of Vinylmation, but I love this set that Disney has just come out with!

Most Pirate merchandise Disney puts out is based on the films these days, so it is really refreshing to see a line of figures based on Pirates from the attraction.  Yes there is a Jack Sparrow, but at least he’s in a barrel to make him unique to the animatronic figure in the ride.  My favorite of these Vinylmation figures has to be the Pooped Pirate.  See below:

source: www.vinylmationworld.com

 

Let’s hope more Attraction based Pirates of the Caribbean collectibles come out in the future!