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Sue Kruse writes:

Notice how the wreath doesn't quite devour the Mansion's sign...

Going to a Disneyana Convention is not all "buy this, buy that, get it while you can, it's collectible and going fast!" Sure, there is that, plenty of it to be exact, if that's what you're there for. But for me, the stuff that you couldn't buy was the real treat. And had I been a paying customer instead of an observer, I can tell you I would have been more than pleased to have spent the money to attend the convention, just to have access to the workshops offered to ConventionEars.

Entitled Lillian's Library Seminars and Walt's Workshops, they were held on Thursday and Friday mornings. There was a variety of subjects to select from, something to please every interest. You could learn everything from the magic of resort foods, to what attractions had been planned and never made it into the parks. The workshops were repeated twice each morning so every ConventionEar had ample opportunity to attend.

Adrienne Vincent- Phoenix and I chose the workshops of most interest to us personally and then split up to provide better coverage. On Thursday morning, I set out to discover the wonders of the magic of providing entertainment and costuming to the Disneyland Resort.

The new attraction sign has been trimmed with spooky holiday garland

Behind The Scenes Look at Entertainment - Have you ever been told a secret...? Steve Davison conducted the first workshop I attended. Steve is the Senior Show Director and he is responsible for development and production of some of the terrific things you see at the resort. The stunning Believe! fireworks show and Small World Holiday are examples of his work. He's been around awhile (this year marks his 20th year with Disney), so he knows his stuff. In fact, he's pretty much a show in himself. I thought his presentation was so wonderful and so filled with heart that he could have been talking about hauling garbage and it would have sounded good. I came away with the feeling that this is a man who truly understands Walt's concept of show and I would have loved to have been able to just sit and listen to his stories for hours.

As I went into the Disneyland Hotel and descended the stairs to the workshop rooms, my expectation was that I would hear something about what it took to create the two versions of the Believe! shows (Steve said it was agony to create the holiday show). Imagine my surprise when I saw the logo for the Haunted Mansion Holiday at the front of the room. Surely, they weren't going to spill the beans on that one? I felt like the kid who was going to get to secretly open all the Christmas presents and then wrap them up again without anyone else knowing, and I wasn't disappointed. Steve not only handed us the present, he opened it too. We were treated to a display of all the concept artwork for the attraction makeover and heard all the newly recorded audio (which remains faithful both to Paul Frees and Danny Elfman). It was gleeful.

An earlier shot of the front gate to the Mansion

The concept of transforming the Haunted Mansion into Christmas is something that has taken a long time to bring to fruition. It started years ago in a conversation with Imagineer, Tony Baxter, in a discussion about the desire for Disneyland to "own' the Christmas holidays. Disney felt that Knott's Berry farm had a lock on Halloween and they were seeking a way to draw guests in for the holidays. Eventually that discussion yielded the Small World confection we get treated to every year.

This year's addition to the "owning Christmas" concept is the overlay of Nightmare Before Christmas to the Haunted Mansion. It's a natural blending; Halloween meets Christmas in New Orleans Square at the Haunted Mansion. If you've had the chance to see what has been done to the outside of the mansion so far, whether it be in person or in pictures here on MousePlanet, I think you'll agree it will make one squeal with delight. With the addition of Haunted Mansion Holiday, I have a feeling Disney will have achieved what they set out to do, namely establish the Disneyland Resort as the place to go for Christmas.

The Haunted Mansion has been decked out

To bring this transformation to life, Steve and his crew had to completely shift their way of thinking. Everything has been very specifically designed so that guests will remember certain icons throughout the attraction. An all-new sound system is being installed along with a completely new audio track recorded with a 38 piece orchestra. The scrims will, at long last, be changed out and some old effects will be restored. In keeping with tradition, Leota Toombs' (the original voice of Madame Leota) daughter, Kim Irvine, has recorded the new Leota tracks for the audio. And every day, as dusk falls upon the stately old mansion, a nightly lighting ceremony will be held.

And like that kid opening all the presents before it is time, the rest of the secrets of what the Mansion holds in store is something that I'm just dying to tell everyone. Alas, I've been sworn to secrecy, so you won't hear from my lips what there is to see. Not even my closest friends can pry the information out of me. It's killing me, because what I know is so wonderful that I want to grab people off the street and tell them the secret too. Even those folks who call Walt Disney World home were excited. At the presentation I attended, questions of "What can we do to get this at Walt Disney World?" were repeatedly raised. What I can tell you Dear Readers, is that you will love it. If you live far away, make plans to visit Disneyland now. If you live in the area, make plans to come every day (although be prepared to spend time waiting in line, because I guarantee the queue will be long).

Exactly what is it that has me so whipped into a frenzy? Ask yourself this question, "What if Sandy Claws landed on the wrong house?" I'll admit I'm practically a cheerleader for this project. To be fair, I must say that I am pre-prejudiced toward it. How could it miss when my two favorite things collide, Haunted Mansion and Nightmare Before Christmas? I am in ecstasy.

But the question remains, what are they doing to my beloved old mansion? Will it be sacrilege to uproot the bride? Will they uproot the bride? What about the caretaker and his quivering hound? And what of the three hitchhiking ghosts? Eviction notices? How will Jack and the Halloween town gang move in and take over? Will they take over?

As Jack would say;

What's this? What's this?
There's color everywhere... What's this?
There're white things in the air... What's this?
I can't believe my eyes I must be dreaming,
Wake up Jack, this isn't fair... What's this?

Wouldn't you like to know? And you shall. You can open Disneyland's Christmas package on October 5th. I think I need a new version of the advent calendar. How many days now till October 5th? Do be kind and say hello to me. I will be one of the many standing in line that day to... See What Happens When Holidays Collide.

One of the items offered in the Blind Auction

All this excitement, and it was only noon! We still had several venues to visit Thursday afternoon, before we got ready for the big auction. Our first stop was the Blind Auction, where various items of artwork were offered in a twist on the standard "silent auction. Instead of listing their bids on a sheet of paper, which would then be visible to the next person, bidders at this auction did not know what anyone else had bid.

Each item had a sealed box to place bids in - no peeking!

A minimum price was established for each item, and bidders were required to bid at least that much. Bids were written on slips of paper, and dropped into a box. At the end of the auction, the bids were opened, and the highest bidder won the auction. The proceeds of the auction went to Arts Orange County, a nonprofit countywide arts council.

The newest WDAC piece, the Lilly Belle engine

Right next door was the Company Showcase, where various divisions of the Walt Disney Company came to showcase their latest and greatest to the assembled masses. The opening ceremony for this Showcase included the unveiling of the newest Walt Disney Art Classics piece, a sculpture of the Lilly Belle engine.

The showcase was packed with ConventionEars all day, in part because most booths were giving away collectible pins. The Disney Store booth had samples of new holiday merchandise, and was taking advance orders on site. The new Snow White DVD was playing in one booth, and Disney artist Stacia Martin was sketching in another. The Disneyland Resort booth was trimmed with all sorts of Nightmarish decor, and the eBay booth proudly featured a giant purple cow.

Disneyland Artist Peter Emmerich greets a fan

On our way downstairs, we stopped by the Fantasia Shop for a scheduled appearance by Peter Emmerich, Disneyland's resident artist. He was personalizing prints of his new drawing or Ursula, the villain of Disney's The Little Mermaid.

A local frame shop was offering custom matting and framing of the finished piece

This lithograph was just another surprise item available for sale at the convention. It wasn't listed anywhere-but guests who came for the signing had the opportunity to purchase it and have it signed in person. Picture This Framing had set up shop in the lobby of the convention area, and was doing brisk business in custom framing of artwork bought during the convention.

When ConventionEars purchased all 12 pins, they received the 13th pin for free

Next up, the Pin Marketplace, which was housed alongside Walt's Garage. Twelve Artist Choice pins were available for sale, each individually signed by the artist. A thirteenth pin was offered to guests who bought the whole collection. Pin collectors were also treated to a preview of seventeen new Disneyland Resort pins, due out in the next few months. Each guest was allowed to purchase only one of each pin, making them very collectible.

The 17 preview pins released at the convention

A pin trading area was set up near the Pin Marketplace, but was sparsely attended. Those guests who did come to trade pins were pleased to find that the Cast Member lanyards had been liberally seeded with new "rack" pins, as well as some older and hard to find editions.

As Sue and I made our way back upstairs to get ready for the evening's auction, we realized that we were already exhausted from the day's events. But we both knew that there was no chance that either of us would pass up the opportunity to witness the Official Disneyana Convention Auction. We had been promised quite a show - and that is certainly what we got. You can read all about the events of the auction at this link.

By the way, since the auction, we have caught up again the winner - and the loser - of the rather amazing Matterhorn auction. Be sure to watch for that story in coming weeks - what a pair of happy endings.

Would you believe, there's still two more days of this to tell you about? Check back next week, when Sue and I conclude our coverage of the 2001 Official Disneyana Convention. We'll bring you the Speakers of the Mouse keynote address, more workshops and seminars, the star- studded Final Night Banquet, and the wildly popular Public Day.

Disneyana - the convention lasts a week, but the stories last all year...

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Adrienne Vincent-Phoenix is the super-shopper behind MouseShoppe, your personal and unofficial shopping service for the Disneyland Resort, and the owner of CharmingShoppe, a Disney collectibles store located in Anaheim.

In addition to scouring the park to find you the latest and greatest merchandise, she keeps you updated on all of the merchandise events happening in the parks.

If you want to talk to her about this column, merchandise, or events, contact her here.

Visit our other shopping service, MouseMemories.com.

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