Doom buggies. Their appearance has always seemed coffin-like to me. They are the carriages that carry you into the boundless realm of the supernatural, the moldering sanctum of the spirit world within the Haunted Mansion. Once you board, you are at the mercy of your host, your… ghost host.
One of my favorite parts of the experience is the way the doom buggies jerk too and fro as though they have a mind of their own. Challenging for taking pictures. Brilliant for enhancing the haunted part of the Haunted Mansion. It elevates the attraction from something you can observe as a passerby by bridging the gap to make you feel a part of it. Not so different from the way the darts shoot at you in Indiana Jones Adventure or the way errant cannonballs splash water on you in Pirates of the Caribbean.
In The Haunted Mansion, that extra step is what breaks down the barrier of comfort just enough for you to wonder if a hitchhiking ghost will really follow you home…
Tomorrow’s post will be the 13th and last of our Haunted Mansion series celebrating its 45th anniversary. We hope you’ve enjoyed it as much as we have!
