Disney Cruise Line has shared more details from the first-ever Haunted Mansion-themed bar onboard the new Disney Treasure ship, which sets sail later this year. The themed F&B experience will celebrate over fifty years of the classic Disneyland attraction, the Haunted Mansion, and introduce the world to the saga’s next chapter.
Together with a fresh nautical story, Disney Cruise Line and Disney Imagineers will use design to capture the nostalgia of the original attraction. The location will be like a luxurious ship parlour that used to belong to a cheerful sea captain and his strange but intriguing fiancé before their abrupt and unexplained disappearance.
New ghostly aquarium
During the early stages of the development of Disneyland’s original Haunted Mansion attraction, iconic Disney Imagineer Rolly Crump put forth an innovative idea for a “Museum of the Weird” display. Many of his original concepts were used throughout the attraction as the final design came to be, and other ideas survived in the vault.
One such idea was a ghost fish-filled, enigmatic aquarium. A new generation of Disney Imagineers used Crump’s sketch, which he had created more than fifty years earlier, as inspiration to build a contemporary “Aquarium with Ghost Fish” for the Haunted Mansion Parlour.
The aquarium will weave nostalgia and history with the former sea captain’s mysterious past, telling the story of how he was last seen going to his parlour for a special meal prepared by his betrothed. Only his hat was found floating in the aquarium tank after The Captain and his bride disappeared.
According to a Disney blog post, the Haunted Mansion Parlor’s creepy picture display will feature some of the wandering souls that have taken up residence onboard. They will resemble Disney Imagineers’ 1969 Haunted Mansion murals and use modern technology to entertain guests in new ways.
Characters include The Mariner, the concept of which was created by renowned Disney animator Marc Davis, and The Captain’s enigmatic bride-to-be, who takes cues from Davis’ iconic “cat lady” concept in the original attraction.
The portraits will also inspire a Disney Cruise Line-exclusive commemorative mug collection on the Disney Treasure. The ceramic cups will look like ghost ship planks. The Haunted Mansion Parlor will begin welcoming visitors when the Disney Treasure sets sail on 21 December.
Disney Cruise Line recently showed a glimpse of a new sculpture for the Haunted Mansion Parlor. The sculpture, modelled after Disney legend Crump, is being crafted at a dedicated Walt Disney Imagineering workshop at Disney World.
The Disney Treasure will house new attractions and reimagined experiences themed to films such as Aladdin, Coco, and Zootopia. It is similar to the Disney Wish, which started sailing last year.
