Phantom Manor

The large, rundown Phantom Manor mansion was supposedly built by one of Thunder Mesa's early settlers who became rich during the gold rush, but tragedy struck on the eve of his daughter's wedding day when she disappeared. Since then the house was left to decay, and has since been occupied by 999 ghosts, looking to fill the house with the 1,000th occupant (or so the theming goes). Now as you approach it's large doors you can hear the wind howling around the manor, and can see how all of the plants in the area have withered and died.

As with the version at Walt Disney World (The Haunted Mansion), the Disneyland Paris version of the attraction is basically a slow ghost-house style ride in which the guests sit in "Doom Buggies" for a journey through the house. The "pre-show" (which takes the form of a short route through the house to the loading area) is quite effective in building the anticipation for the attraction, and the theming of the ride itself is quite staggering, and is amongst Disney's best theming examples.

The Phantom Manor takes approximately 30 guests at a time, and as a consession to those of a nervous disposition doesn't contain any of the sensory special effects that have become common at some of the recent 3-d film style attractions, so there aren't too many suprises in store.

Some of the best special effects throughout the attraction are created using holograms, particularly those used for the wedding feast, where guestsdance and fade out while the apparitions of ghosts and ghouls appear to follow them around the room.

On leaving the ride guests are deposited near the Boot Hill Cemetary, overlooking the Rivers of the Far West, where amusing gravestones mark the passing of various Thunder Mesa patrons.

In reality, as with the Floridian version of the attraction, many of the names mentioned on the gravestones are derived from the names of Disney Cast Members and Imagineers that have made a big contribution to the company in some way.

The full journey through the Phantom Manor takes between 15 and 20 minutes, but since it's a relatively popular attraction there is often a 45 minute or longer queue, particularly late rin the day. The majority of the queueing area is under cover however, so it can eb a good attraction to visit if the weather's not too good.

Children between 4 and 7 years are only admitted to the attraction when accompanied by an adult. Children under 4 years aren't allowed to enter the attraction because they are likely to find it too scary.

The manor is definitely worth a couple of rides, even if only to try and figure out how some of the effects are achieved.