Ghoul Tour

I went into this tour with semi-high expectations, simply because
I am very easy to please when it comes to “spooky” and
“behind the scenes” type adventures. I figured I would
get a kick out of whatever they threw at me. Reading the ad on the
Disney Web site that said it would be composed of fictional myths
and legends didn’t deter me—that is right up my alley, as I
enjoy campy fun.

Unfortunately, this tour did not even come close to meeting even
the lowest of those expectations. The biggest letdown was that they
didn’t even attempt to incorporate the stories with our current
surroundings. For example, the back-story of the Haunted Mansion
would have been a bit more effective had we not been staring at
the Nightmare Before Christmas overlay. I understand that they may
end up having this tour year-round and would like to have a more
universal script, but there’s no reason they couldn’t have worked
it around the current conditions of the park.

Even if he had been given something decent to work with, however,
half the time we couldn’t hear what Gracey was saying because he
kept gathering us right next to very loud speakers to tell his tales.
Also, not all of the stories even had anything to do with the Disney
parks, which was quite disappointing, and we’ve heard pretty much
all of them before. They could have at least made up some interesting
new ones.

It wasn’t excruciatingly horrible, and the fact that we were with
a great group of people helped, but the whole thing was mediocre
at best. The highlight for me was that we got the chance to ride
Tower of Terror twice in a row. That certainly wasn’t worth $25,
though! I think the ad is a bit misleading, and although I do allow
that it may have been better with a different host, I doubt it.
The ad claimed we would “explore the underbelly” of the
parks, which wasn’t the feel I got at all, and it also said we would
receive “an exclusive tour tag” along with our “glow
item,” which we did not.

The bottom line: It was boring, the script was poorly written and
delivered, the stories made very little sense contextually or otherwise,
and the places we were taken weren’t exactly thrilling. The only
time I was actually unnerved was when we were left at the Adventureland
entrance and told to “Shoo!” at the end of the tour!

We did get to rejoin the group, and from that point on, the tour
was a rather interesting experience. Each member received a “special”
necklace with a plastic crystal on then end that lights up in a
bright blue color. We had fun with these things, but I thought they
were quite a distraction when riding Indiana Jones Adventure and
the Haunted Mansion Holiday.

The main tour guide, Gracey (an obvious stage name to me), needed
some help on his delivery skills. At one point in the tour I had
to speak up to the group on his behalf to get everyone to move forward
a bit so we could get through the turnstiles of the Indy exit. He
seemed very quiet and held very little animation (part of was attributed
to the character he was portraying). However, the secondary tour
guide was more enjoyable and seems to have more public speaking
skills.

Because of the camaraderie and carefree nature of the group, the
experience was unique and fun. I just wish the script were more
coherent to the attractions we rode. The only coherent tale, told
to us before boarding the train, was the Railroad story with the
moral to keep all your body parts inside the vehicle. I didn’t find
any extra bonus features in this tour that I wouldn’t have obtained
on my own.

The light-up necklace and the trip to the Haunted Mansion pet cemetery
were the only things from this trip that I found to be an added
feature. However, out of consideration of our group the Haunted
Mansion Holiday was slowed down during the Ballroom and S?ance sections
so our ride time could be extended. This was a distraction for others,
but I didn’t have anything against this little consideration.

I am pleased by the way the manager handled the situation with
the three of us who were accidentally left behind at the beginning
of the tour.

Overall, I thought the tour needs more polishing on the script
and the tour guide needs to be more vocal so the group can hear
him better. For the price value, I wish it were a couple dollars
cheaper. At the price I paid for the tour I thought it would be
more polished with some panáche. I would consider it again
if these two things, script polishing and price adjustment, were
considered and fixed before I try a second time around.

For me, this tour was a bit of a let down. The buzz about it had
indicated that there would be some out-of-the-way areas included
in the tour, but that just meant going up to the abandoned Skyway
load area and the non-queue side of the Haunted Mansion to see a
second pet cemetery. I had also heard rumors that we would be given
a special gift of some sort, it turned out to be a light-up crystal
necklace that can be purchased at any local store (in fact, I already
had one at home). It would have been nice to get something special
that was themed to the tour.

There had also been some statements that we would have different
attraction experiences than normal guests and that the “story”
would end with a unique twist, but the only special things I experienced
were going on Tower of Terror twice in a row, and having our Doom
Buggies in the Haunted Mansion run at half speed through two of
the scenes. I completely missed spotting the “unique twist”
at the end, although others in our group did spot it.

The ghost stories were tame, but I was expecting them to be since
this wasn’t Knott’s Berry Farm or Universal Studios. Although it
may not sound like it from my write-up. I did have a pretty good
time—but I wouldn’t recommend the tour in its current incarnation
to anyone who isn’t a huge Disneyland fan.

I wasn’t impressed… but that may have been because of our “Gracey.”
I noticed early on that he seemed quite nervous. The repetitive
use of the word “now” to start most sentences was distracting,
and his volume was too low (I was constantly cupping my ears to
try to pick up more sound).

I honestly was expecting more of the Disney magic, not just generalized
ghost stories, and this left me a bit disappointed. I would not
recommend the tour for some children (even if they meet the height
requirements for the rides) due to mental imagery of death (at least
two mentions of decapitations and a suicide).

If I could ask Disneyland to change only one thing about the tour,
it would be the name. Really! The ghost stories, legends, and tales
were fine unto themselves and themed OK for Halloween, but the Disney
magic wasn’t there for me. I would have liked to hear more about
why Walt and the Imagineers choose such legends for their attractions.
I felt a bit misled about the tour.

Overall tour experience