Welcome foolish mortals…
For Disney theme park fans, those words conjure up many memories. Since 1969, Paul Frees, as the Ghost Host, has welcomed us into this extraordinary attraction. Now you can bring some of that magic home. Disney has released 2 wonderful CDs; The Haunted Mansion and The Story and Song from the Haunted Mansion. I purchased both discs at the D23 Expo.
For those of us at a certain age, The Story and Song from the Haunted Mansion will be step back into a time machine. The original recording was released in 1969 along with the attraction’s opening at Disneyland. You get a 24-minute walk through the Haunted Mansion with Robie Lester and a very young Ron Howard. The story follows roughly the scenes within the attraction but goes places where the attraction couldn’t even imagine.
It certainly sounds like a product of its time and I feel this is a major part of its charm. The story is timeless, just like the attraction. For those in the know, the idea of Ron Howard will evoke immediate images of a young Ritchie Cunningham and to younger children it is a rather mild little Halloween treat. The sound effects sounded out of this world back in the day and will make you chuckle today.
The disc contains only one more track, the official Disneyland Park version of the Grim Grinning Ghosts. Anybody with a souvenir disc from the past few years will already have this track. The packaging is first class with a reproduction of the original storybook. The book features an 11-page booklet with color drawings from Collin Campbell that became the inspiration for the Haunted Mansion we all know. It even includes a rendering of the infamous Hatbox Ghost.
Oh but there is more. Plug the CD into your computer and you get a digital image gallery filled with more (printable) Collin Campbell drawings.
I highly recommend this disc.
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