Disney park superfan Ricky Brigante (he of the Inside the Magic podcast) won a slot in the Disney Dream Job Experience contest, and got the incredible opportunity to work at the Disneyland Haunted Mansion for a day. Seriously, I would kill for this.
He produced a great write-up of the experience, with links to video, pics, and a long narrative describing his experience.
He also has this link to a site specializing in photos of top-s33kr1t piccies of the backstage mechanisms at Disneyland. Control-room porn at its finest!
Disneyland's Haunted Mansion Cast Members occasionally have a chance to perform what are called magical moments. These are moments in which the guest experience is enhanced by Cast Members performing in ways that are not regularly seen. The ghost dog walking is one such magical moment. Inside the Mansion, there are two others, both taking place in the changing portrait hallway.
The first was a pair of feather dusters that Mansion Cast Members use up and down the portrait hallway, dusting the walls, portraits, and most importantly, the chains and bat stanchions along the sides of the room.
This proved to be one of the most fun moments of the entire weekend. Guests regularly rest their hands on the stanchions or run their hands along the metal chains. Allison told me that her favorite bit is to walk up to the guests and give them a sinister look, making it clear that you want them to stop touching the chains and stanchions. I took her recommendation and once they got the message, I would quickly dust whatever areas they had touched. I got a lot of laughs with this routine.
(Thanks, Ricky!)
See also: Video tryouts for a job at Disney's Haunted Mansion
