The Haunted Mansion: From the Magic Kingdom to the Movies -- Updated

Always loved the ride from the first time I heard about it, and got to ride it, as a kid. Love reading about the history about it. This is the version NOT filled with stuff about the movie.

With 4 Haunted Mansions in existance as rides, and another existing on the silver screen, it's hard to find a book that encompasses all of these, let alone one that goes into such great detail as "The Haunted Mansion: From the Magic Kingdom to the Movies"I have been a Mansion Fan ever since the opening of the Disneyland one was broadcast on TV. I have been through the two USA Mansions, but living in Australia, have as yet to see the movie.Jason Surrell has masterfully woven facts, behind-the-scenes tales and even a little fan folklore to come up with this, the definitive Disney Attraction Book.Previous reviews have mentioned many of the delights contained within, however it's wonderful to see so much of the "Blue Sky" phase and the richly detailed imagineering models, maquettes and artwork from the rides and the movie alike. Yes, it's like being able to X-ray the goose that laid the golden eggs, but you don't have to kill the goose to do it - you come away from this book wanting to go on the rides or see the movie again just to check out more of the minutae.At 132 pages long, you get plenty of "bang for buck" with this book, and even when you have finished it from cover to cover, it is the sort of book you can happily take up time and time again, to re-read, and to show others.Mansion Fans - Don't miss this one.Disney Fans - A valuable addition to any Disney book collection.Anyone Else - Read this, and you will be longing to visit a Haunted Mansion near you, I guarantee !!....Hurry back..... Hurry back....

This book is a must have for anyone that loves Disney's Haunted Mansions. This is the most in depth collection of sketches and photos of the inside and outside of the greatest ride ever created. There is a room by room description, a breakdown of the attractions most popular ghosts, a section on Anaheim's Nightmare Before Christmas themed decorations, and even a behind the scenes tour on how the ghostly images are made. Another interesting feature of this book is that it tells of the subtle and even drastic differences between all four of the Haunted Mansions in Anaheim, Orlando, Paris, and Tokyo. And just to wet your appetite, there is a section entirely dedicated to the upcoming movie starring Eddie Murphy, complete with photos from the movie and behind the scenes with Rick Baker, creature maker. Do yourself a favor and order this NOW! You won't regret it.

I haven't been able to put it down since I purchased it. Very easy to read and entertaining. The condition mentioned used, not in new condition. Hogwash! The book looked almost as new as could be with no missing pages, or tears or water marks. Excellent condition

As the only official Disney tome on Disney's most beloved theme park attraction, this is an important book, so it's sad to say that it's rather flawed. Though the book is essential reading for any Disneyland or Walt Disney World afficionado--and is gorgeously illustrated throughout with color photos and reproductions of concept art--the text desperately needed to be proofread by at least one or two more sets of eyes. Word-break hyphens appear in mid-line of text ("attrac- tions" on p. 14, for instance). Other typos are also in evidence: "a computerized camera was programming to perform the same move the same way every time the camera was turned on" (p. 129, emphasis added--should read "programmed"). There is at least one self-contradiction that probably relates to the change of edition: On p. 55, Surrell claims that the Foyer is the only room in the Walt Disney World Mansion to include a changing portrait effect, even though just seven pages later he discusses the changing portrait hall that was added at WDW in 2007. Surrell also misidentifies Bluebeard as a "fictional pirate" (p. 99), though the Bluebeard character is nothing of the sort (Surrell is undoubtedly thinking of Blackbeard; the slightest bit of research and copy editing should have caught that mistake).Having said all that, Surrell's book is still very worth having for the good information it does contain. The historical genesis of the attraction is lovingly described, and the central section of the book gives a nice comparative ride-through of the three different versions of the Mansion (Anaheim, Orlando/Tokyo, and Paris). Almost all of the photos are now available online, sometimes in much higher resolution, but the ones in the book are of unquestionable legality.

For under $15 dollars this was a great purchase and I have no regrets- but I believe the book would be truly perfect if more of the pictures were doubled in size and the text was trimmed of some verbage.There are times in this book when the text refers to a detail of a drawing- but the drawing in question is printed so small on the page that you can hardly make out the line work. The primary appeal of Disney films and rides to me is visual- I would love to just pour over a two page spread of each preliminary sketch of the mansion. I know that I'm one extreme of the fan spectrum but when a beautiful illustration is printed at 2 inches by 1 inch to allow the writer 'beautiful exposition' it gets frustrating.Don't get me wrong, the text is full of information, I just wish it had been more "pop-up video" style.

This book is wonderful. Great for fans of The Haunted Mansion Ride and the movie of the same name starring Eddie Murphy. A must add for your Disneyland books.

If you've ever visited a Disney Theme Park then chances are you've ridden one of the various versions of The Haunted Mansion. It's Disney's classic spin on a haunted-house/ghost train and whilst this attraction was originally designed and built decades ago it's still one of Disney's most-visited and best-loved rides. The reason is simple - it's a clever blend of scares & smiles which makes it appealing to 7 to 70 year olds.This book is a highly detailed ride through the history of this Disney classic from Walt's first ideas as a spooky house on Main Street USA right upto the movie based around it. Featuring enough text and photographs to keep both die-hard Disney fans & kids happy it's the perfect compliment to a perfect ride. The writing of the book will make any Disney fan want to turn page after page and the rare pictures, drawings & diagrams will not fail to make them smile. This really is a brilliantly put-together product. The ride section is far more entertaining than the movie section but a big part of that is down to the simple fact that the attraction is a classic whereby the movie didn't exactly live upto the standards set by it's predecessor "The Pirates of the Carribean".If you enjoy "Behind-the-Scenes" books of any nature and especially if you enjoy Theme Parks then this book should appeal to you. If your a fan of the ride or even just Disney in general then you'll LOVE this book. A Must-have for any Disney fan !!!

This is wonderful, plenty of photos and narrative about all the different versions of the ride throughout the world, with a nice long section for Phantom Manor in Disneyland resort Paris. Then there's a thorough description and interesting facts, about the film. Worth every penny.

I am a big fan of the legends/mythology and creative decisions behind the constructions of all the Disney parks, and this book is a fantastic combination of visual and written looks into the inside world of the ride and movie!A must read for all fans of Imagineering and anyone who loves the ride! theres even a lovely section dedicated to Phantom Manor in Paris.I loved it!

A great book if you like attraction history,or are into how a haunted house is made. This is haunted house 101 !

Phantom Manor est mon attraction préférée de Disneyland avec Pirates des Caraïbes. Et cela tombe bien car Jason Surell a eu la bonne idée d'écrire un livre sur chacune de ses deux attractions. L'avantage de celui-ci est que vous pouvez mieux voir en photo ce que l'on a pas le temps de voir dans l'attraction. Le fameux pendu de l'ascenseur, les fantômes du bal, les tableaux trompe l'oeil. Quel plaisir de découvrir également la version américaine de l'attraction. Un régale !