Just like the Disney theme parks, Disney Cruise Line knows how little details go a long way in creating the perfect ambiance. But a new sculpture designed for the Haunted Mansion Parlor onboard the soon-to-debut Disney Treasure has a deeper meaning that makes it more than just another accent piece.
Disney Cruise Line Honors The Life Of Disney Legend With New Sculpture
When Disney Treasure sets sail on her maiden voyage at the end of 2024, she will do so with an extra special sculpture on board.
The sculpture, which will live in the Haunted Mansion Parlor, might look like another decoration to create a spooky atmosphere for the untrained eye. But in reality, it’s a memorial honoring the legacy of Disney Legend, Roland “Rolly” Crump.
Crump, who died on March 12, 2023 at the age of 93, had an extensive career with the Walt Disney Company as an animator and an imagineer. He is particularly famous for his work on the Haunted Mansion ride, as well as It’s a Small World, Walt Disney’s Enchanted Tiki Room, and the Adventureland Bazaar found in the theme parks.
In honor of his contributions to the company, and his time working side-by-side with Walt Disney himself, Disney Cruise Line will be displaying a bust of Crump in the spookiest bar on Disney Treasure.
“The Haunted Mansion Parlor will unlock the next chapter of the Haunted Mansion saga for Disney Cruise Line guests. The venue will be imbued with Crump’s unique brand of humor and is a proud continuation of his legacy, celebrating the weird and the fantastical,” read an update from Disney.
In an early imagining of the Haunted Mansion ride, well before it opened in Disneyland in 1969, Crump had imagined a walk-through attraction called the “Museum of the Weird” where guests would go for a haunted stroll through a scary wax museum. Part of the imagineer’s vision for the ride was a character who appeared to be melting like a candle.
While Crump’s initial vision never came to pass, it laid the groundwork for the ride Disney fans know and love today, which takes guests on a spirited mansion tour to visit the 999 ghosts who “live” there. But his original idea is being honored on Disney’s newest ship, as the sculpture of the Disney icon will appear to be melting.
“It was only fitting for the design for Rolly’s memorial bust to stem from his own ideas, which led to the sculpted drips on the side of his face and a memorial plaque that reads, “BROTHER ROLAND- FOREVER REVERED FOR EMBRACING THE WEIRD,” said the Disney update.
The sculpture is currently being brought to life at a dedicated Walt Disney Imagineering workshop within the Walt Disney World Resort in Florida, while the 4,000-passenger cruise ship continues to undergo construction at the Meyer Werft in Papenburg, Germany.
All About Disney Treasure’s Haunted Mansion Parlor
Disney’s newest cruise ship will feature a new, ‘haunted’ lounge inspired by the Haunted Mansion attraction located at Disneyland in California, Disney’s Magic Kingdom in Florida, and Tokyo Disneyland.
Like the beloved ride, the Haunted Mansion Parlor will offer a ghostly twist to the typical bar experience. For starters, it will look like a first-class drawing room on a classic cruise liner from the Golden Age, with nostalgic tributes to the ride through the use of the iconic wallpaper and a familiar purple arm chair tucked in a corner.
The lounge will also include touches like a Haunted Mansion Parlor music box, which is said to only open if malevolent spirits are around, and a Haunted Mansion Parlor clock, meant to resemble the old grandfather clock from the Disney Parks’ attraction – both of which are for sale for guests looking to take home some extra special Disney Cruise Line merchandise.
Perhaps most excitingly, guests will see a mirror behind the bar where they may catch a glimpse of the not-so-scary ghosts who call the 144,000 gross-ton ship home. Just like the hitchhiking ghosts on the famous ride, a ghost might follow cruisers home if they aren’t careful!
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And of course, it wouldn’t be the perfect spirited night out without some spirits to sip on. Bartenders will be serving a menu of themed drinks, some of which even come with flavored smoke and secret messages from the Great Beyond.
The Haunted Mansion Parlor, along with many other onboard attractions, will be up and running when Disney Treasure sets sail on her maiden voyage on December 21, 2024.
The ship’s initial voyage will embark from Florida’s Port Canaveral on a 7-night sailing, with stops in Tortola (British Virgin Islands), St. Thomas (US Virgin Islands), and the cruise line’s private island of Castaway Cay in the Bahamas before returning to Florida on December 28, 2024.
