Death & Disney Part 2: All Aboard the Dark Ride!
Added 2019-11-14 17:00:56 +0000 UTCHello Deathlings!
Welcome to round two of IT'S A DARK WORLD AFTER ALL.
There were so many things that didn’t make it into the final scripts, and one of them is this fascinating bit of Disney lore about the Haunted Mansion and a family of Disney Imagineers.
In Part 2 of our Death and Disney series, you’ll get a glimpse of the pet cemetery that can be seen from the line outside leading up to the Haunted Mansion--but wasn’t always there. The pet cemetery was started in another area on the grounds by Disney imagineer Kim Irvine, who has a very special connection to the mansion.
Irvine is the daughter of two imagineers, her mother Leota Toombs, was part of the team that worked on both Pirates of the Caribbean and the Haunted Mansion.
Toombs became the model for none other than Madame Leota whose head appears inside the crystal ball, summoning spirits in the seance room. Although Toombs voice was not used in conjunction with her own likeness, you can hear her almost childlike voice bidding you goodbye at the very end of the ride in the guise of a little ghostess.
Check out this clip of Toombs performing Little Leota.
In recent years, he séance room got a holiday update that required a new Madame Leota model, allowing Irvine to step into her mother’s role and provide the new face for this legendary character.
The pet cemetery Irvine created became so popular that it was relocated to the waiting line area, and expanded.
We hope you enjoy our second installment in the Wonderful World of #DisneyDeathWeek.
To quote Little Leota, "Hurry baaaaack! Hurry baaaaack!" on Saturday the 16th for our final video in this series!
Dead men tell no tells – BUT I DO,
Caitlin
