Mystic Manor is an Imagineering masterpiece, a seamless blend of storytelling and state-of-the-art technology

Andrea Monti

10 years ago

“Welcome one and all to Mystic Manor!”

This is how Lord Henry Mystic welcomes visitors to his elegant
home during the brief, slide-driven pre-show for this new Hong Kong Disneyland
attraction. During which Mystic tells us a little bit about himself, his
companion Albert (a monkey), his world-class collection of antiquities and
artifacts (which we will soon see as we tour his mansion) as well as his latest
find: a music box.

Mind you, if I’d written the introduction to this new HKDL
attraction, it would been a little different. I would have said something along
the lines of:

“Welcome one and all to the most amazing ride that Walt Disney Imagineering
has built in the past 30 years!”

“Okay, wait,” I can already hear you saying.
” ‘Most amazing ride in 30 years?’ You mean that this attraction is actually
better than DCA‘s Radiator Springs Racers?”

You can bet your burning tires it is.

“Has better effects than Tower
of Terror?”

Drop the comparison.

“Is even more magical than Universal‘s ‘Harry Potter
and the Forbidden Journey?” “

I feel like such a (golden) snitch for saying something like this. But it’s
true. It’s true.

We are talking a genuine theme park masterpiece, people. A
ride of the highest order built around — wonder of wonders — an original IP.
But why the “past-30-years” caveat? Well, I had to put some sort of time limit on this story. But
I could have just as easily said ” … an iconic attraction in the very
same league as Pirates of the Caribbean or The Haunted Mansion.” Seriously. It’s that good, folks. A brand-new classic straight out of the (music)
box.

And I do feel that I’m correct in comparing Mystic Manor to
The Haunted Mansion & Pirates of the Caribbean because — without the
artificial adrenaline rush that you get while riding Radiator Springs Racers,
Tower of Terror or Forbidden Journey (thanks to those attractions’ thrill
element) — Hong Kong Disneyland’s new must-see ride wins you over because it
plunks you down right in the middle of the fully-realized world of Lord Henry
Mystic & his monkey friend Albert and then moves you from room to room as
your eyes get to feast on modern age Imagineering at its very best.

But here. Let me illustrate (with some pictures which —
just in case people are concerned — I took using mostly available light and
very little flash. So that my need to document the real wonders found inside of
this attraction wouldn’t then ruin the enjoyment of the other HKDL Guests who
were experiencing this ride at the exact same time as I was) , why I believe
that this new ride by Imagineer Joe Lanzisero and his team is the very best that
anyone in themed entertainment has done in decades.

A scale model of Mystic Point gives one a general sense of how this recent
addition to Hong Kong Disneyland is laid out. Photo by Andrea Monti

To properly set the stage for this wonderful new attraction,
Mystic Manor is nestled in Hong Kong Disneyland’s Mystic Point. Which is a lush
new green area in this theme park that was added as part of the HKDL expansion
project that brought Grizzly Gulch and Toy Story Land.

Mystic Manor — very much like The Haunted Mansion at WDW‘s Magic
Kingdom — sits at the top of a
hill. And just like you do in Florida,
you enter this structure through an entrance on the lower left-hand side.
Though, in this case, the entrance is marked “Tour Entrance.”

But — just to be clear here — this HDKL attraction isn’t
some reimagined version of The Haunted Mansion. Phantom Manor 2.0, if you will.
No, Mystic Manor is a wholly original creation. Though — if you’re paying
attention — you’ll notice some fun nods to earlier Disney theme park
attractions (More on that later).

Photo by Andrea Monti

So you enter Manor through that “Tour Entrance”
and are immediately find yourself in this grand gallery of paintings and
artifacts. Mind you, the whole purpose of this space is to introduce you to
Lord Henry, his monkey companion Albert, his huge collection of antiquities and
S.E.A. (i.e., The Society of Explorers and Adventurers).

As you move through this space, you’ll see pictures of
various S.E.A. members during one of their more recent gatherings.

As a Disney Geek, one of the things that I most enjoyed
about Mystic Manor’s S.E.A.-related backstory was the all too obvious nods to
the late, great Adventurers Club at WDW’s Pleasure
Island and the Tokyo
DisneySea
version of The Tower of Terror. Which — because the Japanese weren’t all that
familiar with the “Twilight Zone” TV show — was built around a
brand-new character, Harrison Hightower III.

Who — if you’ll look closely — you’ll see is standing in the
left corner of the above painting.

And this is where a tip-of-the-hat has to go to Joe
Lanzisero. You see, Joe started working at Disney back in the 1970s as an
animator. And given that Lanzisero — now the senior vice-president of Walt
Disney Imagineering — wanted to make sure that Hong Kong Disneyland Guests
would immediately bond with Mystic Manor’s characters … Well, that is why —
falling back on his old animation skills — Joe had Lord Henry & Albert
designed with cartoon-like features (i.e., round eyes, big smiles, etc.).

As for the other members of S.E.A. that you can see in this
group portrait. If you’ll look closely, you’ll notice that they’re modeled
after Lanzisero himself and his two lead Imagineers on the Mystic Manor
project.

Photo by Andrea Monti

And given that music — as it always does in the very best
Disney theme park attractions — plays such a huge part in Mystic Manor’s
success … Well, it only made sense that Emmy & Grammy Award-winning
composer Danny Elfman (who is responsible for this ride’s haunting theme) would
wind up with a portrait of his own in this pre-show gallery space.

Now before we get started with talking about the specifics
of this attraction, I’d like to take a moment to discuss the ride system which
powers Mystic Manor. For the trackless vehicle at the very heart of this new
Hong Kong Disneyland attraction is a genuine breakthrough. Those who thought
that Mystic Manor’s ride system would just be a clone of the one which powers Pooh’s
Hunny Hunt at Tokyo Disneyland are in for a shock. For there have been plenty
of advances in the development of trackless vehicle technology over the past 10
years. And the Imagineers have taken full advantage of those advances.

One of the biggest innovations with Mystic Manor’s ride
system that this attraction’s ride vehicle is actually two vehicles in one.
First there’s the bottom-most portion of this vehicle which is where all of the
trackless ride technology is located. But then there’s the top-most portion of
this vehicle. Which has two rows of seats (which can hold a maximum of 3 Guests
each) which spin & move just like the Doombuggies do in The Haunted
Mansion.

And in the Disney tradition of giving every piece of its
theme park attractions a bit of a backstory, the Imagineers have come up with a
mythology to explain the ride system that powers the Mystic Manor attraction.
According to the tale that WDI spins, the Mystic Magneto Electro Carriage (AKA
the trackless vehicle that zooms & spins through this attraction) is
actually an invention of Lord Henry himself. Who took this device to the 1900
Worlds Fair in Paris where it then
won first prize.

The best part of this next generation version of trackless ride technology is
that it allows Lanzisero and his team to use cinematic techniques to tell
Mystic Manor’s story. And just like in those classic Disney theme park rides
Pirates & Mansion, the ride system which powers this attraction — while
it’s ground-breaking and genuinely innovative — is always in service of this
ride’s story. Its main purpose is to tell a story by taking Hong Kong
Disneyland visitors on a journey through Lord Henry’s world.

And speaking of Mystic Manor’s story … It seems that Lord
Henry has just received this mysterious new artifact, a shining golden musical
box which Albert simply can’t keep his hands off of. Which this curious monkey
might be wise to do. For legend has it that — if this musical box is opened —
a magical tune will then begin to play which will then bring inanimate objects
to life.

Photo by Andrea Monti

Though Lord Henry quickly dismisses this tale, claiming the
legend of the music box to be just “superstitious nonsense,” he then
leaves us alone in the artifact cataloguing room. Albert now appears. And since
this curious monkey just can’t help himself, he lifts the lid of this legendary
music box … and as a strange golden light emanates from that box and then
travels through the room, musical magic begins to occur.

From this point on,
our Mystic Magneto Electro Carriages move through the various rooms of
Lord Mystic’s collection.

As our ride vehicles travel through the music room, the
instruments on display here glow with the music box’s mystical light and then
start playing Danny Elfman’s Mystic Manor theme.

Photo by Andrea Monti

Our Mystic Magneto Electro Carriages then move single file
through a Mediterranean-themed corridor full of Roman & Greek paintings and
artifacts. Which — once they also seemed to be touched by the magical golden
light that escaped from that music box — then come to life.

Albert is then trapped in the solarium by a carnivorous plant
which also snatches at us. Our ride vehicles then travel into the Slavic-Nordic
chamber where we see a painting of the sun turn into a snowstorm. Which then
sent the temperature of this room in the attraction tumbling.

Our Mystic Magneto Electro Carriages are then sent into
Mystic Manor’s Medieval Arts room where suits-of-armors come to life and
then wind up trapping poor Albert inside of a cannon.

Photo by Andrea Monti

From the Medieval Arts room, we head into the mansion’s
Egyptian gallery. Where — much in the style of an effect that’s seen in
Universal‘s “Revenge of the Mummy” coaster — we experience what it
must be like to have a sarcophagus full of bugs enter our ride vehicle.

In the next room of this Hong Kong Disneyland attraction …
Well, Lanzisero & his team obviously wanted to pay tribute to that classic
theme park attraction, Walt Disney’s Enchanted Tiki Room. Only this time
around, the Tikis are very, very large and menacing. And some of them even shoot
arrows at poor Albert.

Finally we reach Mystic Manor’s climax. Where — as our
Mystic Magneto Electro Carriages enter the Chinese room — we circle around a
giant statue of the Monkey King whilst the paintings on the walls start coming
to life. And as the music (which has gradually growing in urgency as we move
through this show building) reaches a crescendo, a hurricane-force wind seems to blow
the very walls of this room away. And this is where we see Albert frantically
trying to catch up with that music box.

Photo by Andrea Monti

At the last possible second, Albert finally grabs the magic
box and slams down the lid. The very next moment, we’re back in the artifact cataloguing
room. Where everything seems to be just as it was before our adventure began. Lord
Henry then pops back into the room and asks Albert “You didn’t touch that
music box, did you now?” The curious monkey then dismissively waves his
hand as if to say “No way.” Lord Henry then smiles and says
“Good. Because who knows. That legend may just be true.”

And as we then head back to Mystic Manor’s off-load area, it’s impossible not to
smile. Given that we’ve just experienced an Imagineering masterpiece. A
distinctly Disney story told with great skill & charm in a theme park
setting.

Trust me, folks. Videos and photos really don’t do this
attraction justice. So if you want to experience the magic of Mystic Manor for
yourself, you’re just going to have to go to Hong Kong Disneyland. But don’t
worry. This ride is definitely worth the journey.