History
While planning Euro Disneyland, Tony Baxter, executive designer for Walt Disney Imagineering, decided that certain staple Disney attractions would have to be modified for the new park. The Haunted Mansion was among these, and was given a darker tone than the original attraction. Jeff Burke was assigned the role of executive producer for the construction of this park's version of Frontierland and, with help from Imagineer Bob Baranick and show writer Craig Fleming, it was decided that the story related to Phantom Manor would have to be congruent with that of Thunder Mesa, the fictional town portrayed in Frontierland. A similar treatment was given to the Paris version of Big Thunder Mountain Railroad.
A major influence for the story of the ride was Gaston Leroux's novel, The Phantom of the Opera, as well as many European gothic legends, which were altered for a Western setting. The architectural style is Victorian Second Empire, and the Manor bears a strong resemblance to Bates Manor from Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho. Imagineer Marc Davis disliked the derelict aspect of the building, stating "Walt would never approve of it." Like the other Haunted Mansion rides, only the first scene takes place in the mansion structure itself, the remainder of the ride takes place in a building hidden from park guests.
Read more about this topic: Phantom Manor
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