Those Wonderful Rides Out There in the Dark...

With apologies to Norma Desmond, I hereby hullabaloo more "unknown magic within Walt Disney World" (from the site of the same name).

This time, Bruce swallows hard and tells us about rides in the dark.

Any ride that occurs in the dark, even if it's Peter Pan's Flight, will frighten some children. (Maybe some adults, too. But they've got other problems.) And a ride that's supposed to be frightening, such as Space Mountain, is even more nerve-shattering with the lights out. You can tell me fifty times that Space Mountain isn't nearly as fast as Test Track, but in the dark, baby, that thing moves.

Bruce discusses other dark rides in all four Disney World theme parks, including perhaps the darkest, Haunted Mansion, since in no other attraction is there a long moment of absolute pitch-blackness. The moment happens at the end of the pre-ride show, accompanied by thunder and a bolt of 'lightning' that reveals a corpse swinging from a noose overhead (affectionately known as 'Jimmy' to guests from New Jersey).

My daughter finally conquered her fear of the Haunted Mansion in May. It's now a favorite ride: after you've gone through the dark once you know there isn't anything in it truly scary. Unless, of course, Jimmy comes back to angry life and you see nothing swinging from that noose but do feel a chill, skeletal hand gripping your arm, tightly...

I can't wait to share this hullabaloo with my daughter!