At around 10:35, the doors opened. Stairs, rather than elevators, proved a much more effective way for eager Halloween fans to see what ScareLA had in store this year!
One of the first things you saw, coming in, was this professional showcase by Larry Bones, designer of Universal Studios’ “Halloween Horror Nights” makeup. This was a huge hit at last year’s first ScareLA.
This year’s panel presentations started with something special.
Today was the 45th anniversary–to the day–of the opening of Disney’s “Haunted Mansion”. Jeff Baham, of DoomBuggies, participated in a three-person discussion panel with Disney legends Bob Gurr, and Alice Davis, wife of late Disney artist and animator Marc Davis. They shared a number of the stories behind the creation of the beloved Disney attraction–including Bob Gurr’s explanation of how he’d created the “Doom Buggies” that propel guests through the Haunted Mansion. Can you believe, he came up with the concept when he picked up an apple off a colleague’s desk and used it to illustrate how a vehicle would need to move?
Alice Davis talked about her late husband’s art, some of which is currently on display at the Walt Disney Family Museum in San Francisco’s Presidio. She also shared some great stories about the 1964 World’s Fair in New York–the technology of which would later be used in some of the most cutting-edge Disney attractions. A favorite story was how the Illinois state pavilion had an animated figure of Abraham Lincoln, who would give a speech at the Fair–and how “Mr. Lincoln” would sometimes act up if the then-cutting-edge technology malfunctioned!