That's no fun. I hope the script is not full of stupid jokes, jokes related to popular culture, or non-scary things.

<<"So what you folks think? Does it bother you that you'll soon no longer be told to " ... drag your wretched bodies to the dead center of the room"?">>

Yes, it bothers me!  Part of the fun of the Haunted Mansion is the cast members- I mean, things like that quote above are icing on the cake.  Hopefully the cast members will still act the same way- I love it when I say "Hi!" to a Haunted Mansion cast member (usually the person at the door), and they just look at me- that's awesome!  How could people complain about those sayings, when [spoiler alert for people who've never been to the Haunted Mansion]

there's a corpse hanging from the ceiling?!?  You'd think that they'd be complaining about that.

[end spoiler]

Without having heard the new script, though, I shouldn't be too negative- heck, it could be a good script.  Who are the people complaining, and why all of a sudden?  Get a sense of humor, people- it's not like they're going to kill you...unless you want to be the 1,000th member of the Haunted Mansion family...

At first I was a little torn on this issue, but I say well done to the Imagineers.  I'm sorry but I'm a little tired of the "I don't have to care" look and attitude some of the mansions butlers and maids have cause they work at the mansion and that "they're in character" excuse.  Now maybe those College Program kids will get their act together and have some fun with it.  Now I will say it's only been a handful of times that a cast member has really gotten into their role, at least down in Orlando so maybe a script and some acting lessons are in order.

This just ticks me off because it's another case of people in corporate thinking they know better than the cast members on the front lines.  A lot of the lines they say have been battle tested over YEARS of working there so there's almost no way the new script will be better.  Plus it means getting rid of the magical moment where they have kids help open the mansion.  Very sad and just pathetic that they would allow a little complaining out weigh all the fans who have a sense of humor genuinely enjoying themselves.

Now bringing every cast member at the resort to acting classes...  THAT'S a good idea...

What's next?  Making the Tower of Terror PC?  Instead of the floating eyeball, we'll have a puppy that floats by?  Or in addition to the puppy, a kitten and a meerkat as well?  

I swear, Disney if you use my idea, I expect some money.  

The improvised dialogue is what helps make the mansion so cool.  This is a shame.  

But, according to Jim's guy at WDI, it's not about responding to complaints, it's about plussing, so is it lame complaints, or is it plussing?

CBarry...I'm with you. It doesn't sound like these complaints are confirmed. So are you just assuming that it's some "PC" respone (by the way, I hate that term. There is nothing "political" about changing the script. It's not as if they were making racial jokes...but whatever). It seems to me that if it was some PC response they would be changing the hanging corpse scene, which is by far the most frightening and most un-PC thing at Disney.

I'll wait to see the changes before passing judgement. I have always had a "hit or miss" experieince entering WDW's HM. Sometimes the cast member are great, other times, the tombstones have a higher energy level than the cast members.

Let's see if the scripted entrance works. It should still leave room for some individual enhancements by the cast members who want to put in the extra.

I would like to reserve judgement until we see the finished product. Much like the Jungle Cruise, I've seen some great butlers/maids and many that were just going through the paces. My hope is that it adds to the story, but still leaves room for CMs to add their own touches.

http://jimhillmedia.com/blogs/jim_hill/archive/2008/01/03/a-pc-haunted-mansio...

Sounds like Jim is spinning the story to me. It is possible that some CMs are going over the top. It is possible guests might be offended. It is also possible some CMs are ust going through the motions and not acting the part making the HM experience less than it could be. I believe the poor CM performances are the issue. Disney wants each guest to have a similar experience. I know I enjoy the mansion much better when the CMs are in character and not just waving you in, shutting the door, and YELLING to get to the center of the room away from the walls. Not very magical or spookey.

If this is true it is simply pathetic

ARRGH!!!

Of course I'm angry! Whether the new script is entertaining or not, they're still taking away from the Cast Members AND Guests one of the VERY few unscripted, spontaneous parts of the theme park experience. I'm so sick of these dumb suburban wimps - Disneyland/World is wasted on those people.

Anyone who complains about being called a "wretched body" only proves that they deserve it.

I am not going to pass judgement on the new script until I hear it -- it may be great for all we know! BUT, if this is being done because of people complaining that the cast member's dialog is not PC, GIVE ME A BREAK!!!!

I am so tired of people or groups complaining that something "Disney" is not pc! Because of this,  the POTC chase scene now has women holding trays of food inwhich the pirates are chasing. This is bull$#@& because historically, pirates did not "lust" over food, it was women (being at sea for months at a time made them quite frisky). Why didn't Disney change the auction scene--it is sporting the idea of white slavery, pimping out prostitutes and women being treated as property?

Some groups have complained that releasing "Song of the South" in the U.S. will cause racial tension. Again bull$#@&. I have seen Song of the South and nothing is degrading to blacks. This is part of their history and Disney wants to act as though it did not exsist. What..., are groups going to start complaining about "Gone with the Wind"?

What about the whip that was replaced by a red feather that Timothy holds in his hand on top of Dumbo and when Disney stopped the skippers from shooting the (mechanical) hippos on the Jungle Cruise? People need to get a life!!

Pokey!

Nut and bolts, people.  The CM's are NOT the attraction.  They are there to add to the attraction.  This is the same as the Jungle Cruise, admittedly, on a smaller basis.  And, trust me, the JC goes through the regiments as much as anything else.  It gets loose, it gets tight on the cast members.  It will swing and vary. But, if it goes TOO far...and it has happened on the JC too often and on the Mansion as wel, then, the cast member becomes the focal point and takes it off the attraction.  This ias exactly what happened with Maynard in California.  I'm not knocking his talents, I am stating he went way too overboard and made himself the star...forgetting that the star of the experience is the given park and the atractions.  

In the last few years, the Jungle Cruise was put through the paces with a new script that was law. But, the "battlet ested" material that the cast members ahd been using was also implemented into the new script, and, a script advisory board was formed for cast members (at Disneyland, at least) to submit new jokes for implementation consideration on ar egular basis was established.  And, those jokes - once going past Imagineering script team and legal, were used.  

AGain, it is directly stated in the JC training guide that the Skipper is only a part of the show, there to introduce the guests travelling the river to the scenes and experiences along the way.  And, the "Tried and true" material of over 40 years still is constant today.  I figure this is the same for the Mansion.  The Butlers and Maids are there only to introduce you to the wonders inside the creaky old doors.  Going over  and beyond it...can lead to problems.  

The thing that grieves me about this is - that if Jungle Cruise Skippers and Haunted Mansion Cast members are being "taught to act and how to portray roles", then, this confirms that those attraction hosts are, indeed, entertainers, and, equally deserve the lower ring of entertainer pay offered at their given resort union contracts for their duties when in those roles on those attractions.  (In California, this would be an Innoventions Ring 1, I believe - not the folks who do the show, but, those who host the games and such.)  It's about a two dollar plus to the basic hourly rate going for CM's otherwise.

And, if the CM's on Mansion and Jungle can be written up for not being funny enough (I've seen it), then, they are already expected to be entertaining...and, even more so deserve the income that should go to an entertainer as well.  

The public is a rare bird.  They react to the slightest statement that may be taken wrong.  And, in the theme park industry, the CM's have got to be aware of that with a high level of perception.  Family Market. and, it means just that.   Knowing how the family is going to perceive something....

Example.  A "friendly monster" working Knott's 'Camp Spooky' one Hallowen season.  A show for the kids during the day.  This family goes by with a youngster drinking an icee out of a Snoopy shaped container.  It's Halloween.  Monster shuffles by and interacts with kid.  Everyone laughs.  Monster adlibs," Oohhh...drinking Snoopy's brains....coool!  Me like the purple ones....."

Kid laughs.  Dad laughs.  Family goes on the way.  

End of the day.  Monster gets hauled before the day manager and taken to task for the line of improv dialouge.  The mom had a hissy on this.  Both managers are laughing themselves over the silliness of it, and, monster is dismissed with a warning not to suck brains in the vicinity again.

That's a harmless joke.  Animation shows on Nik show and reference worse things in some of their "kiddie spooky" cartoons.  A big friendly monster is funny to dad and son.  But, the mom?  Who knew what was going to set her off?

It's the same with Mansion, Cruise, Tower...anywhere a CM can add a touch of character to their role and bring another depth to an attraction.  It's a highly touchy business, and, somehow, seems to get more and more that way.  So - this happens.  Big deal.  I saw JC Skippers grouse like hell when they were told about the new strict regulations, the loss of the "personally chosen hat", the  heavily guarded scriptiing and managerial watching of performances...

But, you know something?  It went on being the Jungle Cruise.  And, the personalities that made the best skippers still made them the best and the funniest skippers out there.  And, they wound up being just as happy with the changes as they were before.  It will be the same, I am fairly certain, with the Mansion.  The best CM's will remain the best CM's.  It's about the attraction, not the individual.  If a CM is, "to the manor born", then, that is their love.  Same with the good skippers.  It wasn't about them.  It was about the Jungle.

Just some thoughts this mourn.

Pssh.  This is nothing new.  When I worked at Great Movie Ride in the early '90s, we were regularly taken to task by the Show Quality Police for not delivering the script word-for-word.  I even got into a friendly argument with him because he objected to where I hung a verbal comma in my word-for-word correct delivery of one particular line.

Hope it's not Surrell. That guy killed the Great Movie Ride.

I don't know about this. If it's a good script then lets see if it works. I have a few puns of my own that I have stated to cast members over the years such as: "Is Master Gracey still...hanging around?"

Now if guests are really offended by various thing cast members say, well lets try this change to the Paul Frees recording: "Where hinges creak in doorless chambers, and strange and frightening odors waft through the halls, whenever candle light flickers where the air is deathly still, that is the time when farts are present...get the idea?

Disney makes changes based on the mainstream consumer climate. The customer may be wrong in complaining about something, but they don't have to be going into a park and spending their money. Disney is a business, first and foremost, and they've never been about doing things that would discourage attendance. I mean, is it too pc of CMers to point with 2 fingers instead of 1?

Ugh...

I am torn. I am a themed phrasing nut and while I put effort into making every Guest's experience memorable I fully understand that this is not the same for a majority of the CMs working at the Park these days. Hopefully the changes will drive the lazy CMs to putting on a better show without constricting the great maids and butlers that the mansion already has. And it sounds like this is only for the show script itself, so the CMs can still put their own spin on answering questions etc.

In regards to guest complaints... a majority of guests do not realize that Disneyland is a heavily orchestrated system of shows and rides where every employee is playing a part, thats why their called CAST MEMBERS. The first thing that popped into my head when I read todays article was an experience I had last week. A Lead and I were flipping through guest comments for the previous few days and got to a concern (complaint) about the Mansion.

It read, "Not a single employee was happy."

They are servants at a mansion that's haunted, would you be happy?

On the note of PC...

Were going to hell in a handbasket if Political Correctness begins to dictate all our actions. Disneyland is dedicated to the ideals , the dreams and the hard facts that have created America. Last time I checked most American guests point with one finger, the middle one, and upwards. "Yes, Mam, thats where the fireworks are tonight at 9:25, have a great day..." serves as my standard reply to their finger pointing habbits.

Once those spiels get in your head, they don't go away, after saying them 16 times a day.  I was a Disney tour guide 17 years ago, and every time I drive past the Disney Studios, I find myself saying, "Take a look off to your left and you'll notice the Earful Tower, which is capped off by a set of mouse ears in a size 342 3/8"...

Who do I want making decisions as to what happens at any Disney Park? In order: 1) Imagineers  2) Customers  3) Cast Members  4) the Suits in Team Disney or Burbank

Once upon a time, when only one out of ten applicants were hired as cast members and they got some hardcore training, higher standards, and constant inspections, I might have been persuaded to rank cast members higher on the list. Today? Just can't do it.

I see this as a matter of providing consistently good guest experiences. If the rumor was that a cranky guest complained - great - as with any service company, I want them listening to the paying customers. Isn't that why a lot of us complain/suggest/implore anyway, hoping against hope someone with power will actually be able to do something about it? (hey, slow down mission space; do something with dca, mr gorbechev tear down that wand)

Last few years, both in Orlando and Anaheim, Mansion cast member performance has been hit-or-miss, with an extra helping of miss. I was always amazed in Tokyo that a Cinderella Castle Mystery Tour was even attempted, being a walk-through attraction. The fact that the cast members could give such a consistent presentation visit to visit was mind blowing.

My guess is that someone with connections actually (fingers crossed) walked the park (gasp) and observed cast member/guest interactions (faint). Managing by walking the park and listening to guests...hmmmm...now who was it that started that?

Melanie sez, "Apparently some guests of Walt Disney World's Haunted Mansion have been complaining about the "offensive" ad-libbed lines spoken by the interactive staff in the foyer of the building so someone has decided that the staff will now undergo

Wouldn't a PC Haunted Mansion experience involvea "Living Impaired"-type term being used instead of ghost? :P

I honestly think this is a good thing. I go to the Haunted Mansion in Disneyland several times a year. While there is occasionally a cast member who delivers a good performance in character, many times they are delivering cheesy lines in a poorly acted voice which just makes the experience feel cheap. I think this is encouraging cast members who want to make an enjoyable experience for guests by providing them with acting lessons, and it provides a crutch for cast members who are not as outgoing and creative as the other cast members.

I, too, remember the Jungle Cruise "1930's-only" fiasco.  In time, they relaxed the requirements for the attraction, but for a while, it was pretty "dead on the water".

But yeah, mandatory acting lessons for all CMs would be an excellent thing.

Wonder what Maynard would have done?

"Please move to the dead center of the room, squeezing in like a haunted bowl of mashed potatos...Squishy, Squishy, Squishy!"

one of many adlibs I will miss thanks to Disney, once again bending over and taking it from the vocal minority of the world. I think one good thing of the adlibing both here and at JC is that every time you come you are almost assured something new.

It's silly that the quoted Imagineer thinks the new script will top all future complaints.

But isn't it also silly to pass judgment on the changes before you actually hear them?

Oh my gosh I'm going to miss how the cast members used to ad-lib. Some of them were mediocre at it, but some of them were hilarious! (Especially the ones working the queue to the doom buggies.) It was the difference in each experience that gave it that "Jungle Cruise"-y charm. For example, one time when the line was getting blocked up with large groups talking and not moving, one of the maids said -- in a really bad English accent:

"Please continue moving. If the person in front of you stops, assume they are dead and walk around them." Like that'll get in to the new lamo script.

I, too, am of the opinion that if the CM's are to be subjected to acting classes, learn blocking, and can be written up for not being funny (What the H*#$ is that!!?!?) they should be paid a higher rate...also, there's not much "show" left at Disney, since you can see the JC skipper or HM CM in full uniform pumping gas at the local Chevron, or smoking a cigarette outside the local supermarket.  Yes, I said uniform, and not costume...you don't see the guy playing Simba walking home through Times Square wearing his Simba costume...little by little, things are eroding at WDW, and probably at DL, and it's sad to me.  As a part-time CM there (WDW) I still try to keep the same magic alive as there seemed to be when I started in 1990.

I'll definitely miss the ad libbing. I love the "please drag your wretched bodies to the dead center of the room" remark. I laugh every time.

I just hope they don't ruin the mansion too much. It won't be the same if the maids and butlers weren't scary.

One of my favorite memories was in the stretching room. I was watching the pictures move, and I was standing in front of one of the maids. When the lights went out she poisiontioned herself so she was right next to my face, just starring at me. When I noticed her, I shrieked, causing everyone to stare at me.

I do think that mandatory acting lessons for the CMs is a good idea though. I'll just miss the adlibs that always made going to the mansion exciting and new.

*sigh*

Do they feel it's necessary to change the script (as in, standardize it) for Jungle Cruise?  That's one that's had just as much freedom over the last *52* years as Haunted Mansion has had for the last 38, and it's changes over time have been organic and timely and appropriate because the cast is able to react to the time.  Some years more contemporary references are   there, others it's pure "jungle" and nothing anachronistic, depending on who you get and what their mood is and what the mood of the time is.

So too, Haunted Mansion and any other person-managed attraction - the freedom and variety is KEY to getting repeat visitors and rides and keeping that attention span over decades.

and besides, how rapidly a cast member can rattle through a script has little to do with how fast the stretching room actually fills up in order for the ride to begin.  people move as fast as they move and no faster, and no script change is going to affect that.

I don't buy the premise of the article: people are offended by the Haunted Mansion spiel? Please, someone: find me a single person, anywhere, who claims to be offended by the Haunted Mansion spiel. I don't believe it.

With regards to the new script and acting classes: I welcome it, given the relatively poor delivery of most HM cast members. And for those who will miss ad-libbing...I suspect you won't miss it, because those cast members so inclined will likely continue to do it, though less often than now.

Well, I was at WDW this past week, and rode the Mansion  a few more times than normal to catch the additions, and I must say most of the CM's seemed bored.

Not that they were unproffesional, but they were "going through the motions" as it were. Honestly, I'd rather see the CM's adlib, but if it's getting harder to find good adlibers I would rather a script.

Yeah, like the Enchanted Tiki Room was improved and "plussed" so much when it was changed at WDW to be "Under New Management"... NOT!!

I worked many a summer shift between the Mansion some days and the Keel Boats others days during 80's - the two attraction entrances almost faced each other opposite the large pedestrian path.  The best part of being on Keel Boats was everything  --  being outside, driving a double deck boat everyday in summer,  [NOT on a track!], being near girls, conversing with guests, using the mic, going home at sunset everyday, & SPIELING with the best attraction schick in the park second only to Jungle Cruise!!

I know the Mansion is an institution, but working all summer HM was akin to doing time in the BIG HOUSE for some CM's.  Without a tightened spiel many CM's leaned against the wall & did nothing once guests were inside.  Having a specific script for show is apparently what this issue is all about - nothing more.

BUT, remember - even with drama training - theme & variation is what performances are all about.  "Please drag your wretched bodies to the dead center of the room is a modern line" - we didn't hear that 20 years ago.'ll  Step to the dead center is all that was said  ....  I think the line is funny - but I'll bet hinds teeth it'll never really go completely away.  Been on JC lately - no two performances are ever the same.  =)  ... which is good.

SO  .... to end my comments I remember a JC line used in 80's & still kicking.  This is the most dangerous part of our journey " as my mother told me the day I was born - GET OUT!!"     HECK, if they haven't complained about that - every other camplaint about HM is fake.

From what the article is saying, it has nothing to do with a "corporate" decision, but an Imagineering decision, which isn't something you would hear in recent years. I mean, Imagineering is actually allowed to make a decision to plus something? Who'd a thunk it?

Plus, the insinuation from Imagineering is that customer complaints were, less the catalyst, but more an excuse to do something that they may have already been considering. I'll reserve judgement for when I hear it. Honestly, while it may be "less fun" for the cast members, the notion that Disney is actually shelling out more money, not only to manufacture a script, but also pay to get cast members acting lessons, is extremely encouraging to me. All this extra effort is very a-typical of the Disney that we'd come to know in the last two decades.

It sounds like this change is not about political correctness, but rather about creating a consistent and improved experience for all the guests.

I mean how do we know the "wretched body" line (or similar things) won't be in the official script for all guests to receive?

I think it is good that Disney is trying to improve and enhance the experience in a more controlled and uniform manner. I've felt that sometimes the improvised performance you get from a cast member is, at times, hit-or-miss (and it sucks when you get a "miss"). I think creating a quality script is not necessarily a bad thing. I just hope the script keeps the spirit and charm that some of those classic “unofficial” lines and inprovisations had.

I would think, if anything, the proposed acting classes would go a long way towards improving improvisation.

Political Correctness and coddling squeamish visitors to the Haunted Mansion at both Disneyland and Disney World's Magic Kingdom? How fiendish. Reportedly in response to guest complaints about goofy but...

Anyone see the Jim Hill blog about Haunted Mansion Cast Member scripts? ht...

I worked in the Mansion at WDW for 5 years. After that, I couldn't take it anymore and now continue to work elsewhere in the Magic Kingdom. I also saw big shakeups like this at Jungle Cruise and can tell you that this is ultimately a good thing. Now it's one thing to be an enthusiastic cast member and "get into" the role of Butler or Maid, but it's entirely different when the CM decides that they have "ultimate control of destiny" at the job. I've seen CMs BADLY mistreat guests all in the guise of being "in character". There's a gigantically wide line between being somber to a fault and being outwardly rude to a guest and I saw many many CMs sprint across that line with glee. "We get to be MEAN to the guests!" No we DON'T. Our role is to add to the light eeriness of the attraction and convey the people safely through the queue and on and off the ride vehicles. CMs who are worried about acting coaches telling them what to do will have to get over it for one simple reason. If that's what is in store, there's nothing you can do about it except transfer or quit. When Jungle Cruise dictated a strict policy of Stick to the Script, people groaned and complained. The reason for the policy was simple. Many CMs were totally out of control and had turned the ride into their own personal show. This is very different from being able to inject your own personality and flair into the presentation. That aspect will never die as long as there are actual living people running the attractions. Even with a script and basic blocking (where you stand when you say what you say), each Maid or Butler's performance will continue to be unique. If you are a CM at the Mansion and you think that the experience will suck without your particular brand of dark frowny wide-eyed glare at the guests, you are dead wrong.