Is this haunted room actually stretching? Or is it your imagination?
Disney World fans are ready for the Haunted Mansion to bring back its iconic pre-show experience — The stretching room!
Related: Is the Haunted Mansion Stretching Room Really an Elevator?
Disney World’s health and safety protocols
When Walt Disney World reopened to the public last summer, the theme parks had to make several adjustments and introduce new protocols in order to keep Guests and Cast Members safe as they operate during the ongoing pandemic. One of those changes included suspending pre-shows from several rides as pre-shows cause Guests to stand in a single space for several minutes, which is not pandemic friendly.
Additionally, with social distancing, the number of Guests that could be in the pre-show rooms would have been drastically cut down, making wait times even longer.
Related: Disney Comments on Possible Changes to Haunted Mansion Scene
Pre-shows at Disney World attractions
With all of this being said, as Disney World continues to adjust the safety protocols — including no longer requiring temperature checks, reducing social distancing, and reevaluating the face mask rules — many fans are hoping that Disney World will soon bring back pre-shows.
One Disney World pre-show, in particular, that Guests want to see return is the stretching room in Haunted Mansion.
Related: Should Disney Remove Hanging Body Scene From Haunted Mansion?
Reddit user OrlandoMB started a thread on the social media platform asking fellow Reddit users if they are ready for the stretching room to come back to the Haunted Mansion, which has gotten several comments within just a few days!
Sweetbeans2001 commented on the post explaining how the stretching room isn’t just an incredible pre-show experience, but it also helps Guests’ eyes adjust from being in the bright Florida sun into a dark mansion:
The stretch room helps your eyes adjust to the darkness. Last weekend, HM was practically a walk-on much of the time. This is great if you can see the ride. Going from bright sunshine to extreme low light takes a few minutes to adjust (at least for my middle aged eyes). I couldn’t see anything until at least the ballroom.
And GelComb agreed, explaining that they, too, noticed that the stretching room helped their eyes adjust and without this pre-show active, it felt as though the ride itself was darker:
It’s so funny that all of us thought the same thing. I noticed it pretty quickly when in the library scene that things seemed way darker and I was like “There was no stretching room time to adjust!”
And when I got off, there were two old guys and one said to the other “Wow, that was a lot darker than normal… It looks like they turned down the lights.”
Later that day I went on it again but I did it at night and I purposely kept my eyes covered for as long as possible, and then it looked very clear.
Another Reddit user, Skyab23, commented explaining how the pre-shows are so important to the story and experience and they hope to see pre-shows return soon:
Absolutely. Some of the pre-shows are vital to the ride’s theming. I hope Disney doesn’t forgo these great pre-shows moving forward in an effort to avoid close mass gatherings.
Pre-shows in Mickey and Minnie’s, Tower of Terror, Rise of the Resistance, Haunted Mansion, and more are incredibly important to the atmosphere of the rides.
This is something that nan_adams agreed with as they explained:
They’re important for immersion into the narrative the ride is telling. Since storytelling has always been a key component of imagineering, I really think it would be against the very foundations and values of Disney to get rid of the pre-show queue. Also, from a practical standpoint it really helps with wait times and load times for rides.
It is important to note that Walt Disney World has not announced when pre-shows will return to theme park attractions but Inside the Magic will update you as we get information.
You can check out the full Reddit post here:
Who else is ready for the stretch room to go back to being active? from WaltDisneyWorld
More on Haunted Mansion
The Haunted Mansion is a popular attraction located in Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World. The popular dark ride takes Guests through a mansion of haunted characters while riding aboard a Doom Buggy.
The spirited Haunted Mansion adventure will be guided by the “disembodied voice of the Ghost Host” as he is your private tour guide “through the cadaverous realm of an eerie haunted estate, home to ghosts, ghouls and supernatural surprises.” Beware of hitchhiking ghosts!
Disney World describes this attraction as:
The disembodied voice of the Ghost Host is your private guide through the cadaverous realm of an eerie haunted estate, home to ghosts, ghouls and supernatural surprises.
Glide past a casket-filled conservatory, Madame Leota’s chilling séance room and a ghostly graveyard of singing specters as you attempt to find your way out. Beware of hitchhikers—these phantom pranksters may follow you home.
Happy haunting!
Related: OpEd: Disney Needs to Build a Haunted Mansion Resort
Are you ready for pre-shows to return to Disney World? Specifically the stretching room at Haunted Mansion? Let us know in the comments below.
If you want to visit Walt Disney World on your next family vacation, but aren’t sure where to begin planning, then don’t hesitate to reach out to our friends over at the Authorized Disney Vacation Planners at Academy Travel for a free quote.
The post Should Haunted Mansion’s Stretching Room Return? Fans Speak Out appeared first on Inside the Magic.
