If you’re a Disney fan looking for the perfect gift for a young reader and/or catalogue obsessive in training, have we got a gift for you!
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Next Tuesday sees the first release in a new Disney Publishing series for children. “Disney Parks Presents” will extend the experience of your favorite Disney attractions to the page and your CD player! It’s a series of picture books with new original artwork, packaged with custom CDs that offer a newly-created audio version of the featured ride.
The first in the series is quite literally so good, it’s almost scary: The Haunted Mansion, Disneyland’s unforgettable dark ride featuring a cast of 999 happy haunts (but with plenty of room for another), is the first book, featuring illustrations by London-based artist James Gilleard and set to the lyrics of Buddy Baker and Xavier Atencio’s unforgettable theme song, “Grim Grinning Ghosts.”
The accompanying CD features about five and a half minutes of sounds and scares from the original attraction, including that wonderful original recording anchored by the voice talents of Thurl Ravenscroft, known for his voices throughout the Disney parks as well as singing “You’re a Mean One, Mr. Grinch” in Chuck Jones’ Dr. Seuss’ How The Grinch Stole Christmas! TV special and Frosted Flaked pitchman Tony the Tiger.
Future books in the series will feature the park’s classic Jungle Cruise and Pirates of The Caribbean attractions, each with their own unique style and sounds. Until then, you can pre-order The Haunted Mansion here!
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The original haunted house LP with booklet, if I am not mistaken, also used the voice talents of Ron Howard.
Yes, that’s correct. Ron Howard and Robie Lester played the teenagers who go into the Haunted Mansion in the story. Ron Howard also voiced the son on Disney’s “The Orange Bird” story album.
I would love to see the original Disney Storyteller records reissued on CD. In the modern days of DVD, I’m sure there’s not really a need or market for them, but for those of us of a certain age, those books and records were our version of “home video” and the way many of us first experienced many of the early Disney films.
I couldn’t agree more, Scott!