When Hinges Creak in Doorless Chambers

Ever since Gracey Manor became a "retirement home for ghosts," most Guests daring to pay the place a visit have chosen to avoid using the front doors, taking the more discreet side entrance instead. Sure, it's near the graveyard, but it leads straight to the Foyer.

Of course, the ghosts aren't the only ones here. Among the remaining living residents are the butlers and maids who continue to tend to the place. They come and go via the service entrance at the back of the house.

This door leads to an area few visitors ever see, a mysterious corridor opening into even more mysterious chambers. The space is furnished with antiques and illuminated by wall sconces that would look odd just about anywhere but here. (Note the sculpted arms holding out the torches.)

On one wall of the Servants Quarters is a board on which are hung keys used to access (or secure) various rooms in the Mansion: The Stretching Room, Endless Hallway, Conservatory, Foyer, Grand Hall, Corridor of Doors, Picture Gallery, Seance Circle, Attic, Music Room, Library and Grand Stairs.

Also nearby is a row of bells, each connected by wire to a bedroom of one of the Mansion's residents. When the home was occupied by the living, a tug on the wire would ring the appropriate bell here in the Servants Quarters, letting the staff know who needed their assistance. Although pretty much everyone in the house has crossed over, the bells still ring occasionally. It seems there's never any rest for the help.

Those who pause to read the labels above the bells are rewarded with the discovery of previously unseen rooms in the Mansion, not to mention a bit of Hidden Disney. Each of the residents named here is actually an Imagineer who worked on the original development of the Haunted Mansion. There's Master Gracey's Bedchamber (special effects designer Yale Gracey), Ambassador Xavier's Lounging Lodge (writer Xavier Atencio), Madame Leota's Boudoir (the face of the disembodied medium, Leota Toombs), Grandfather McKim's Resting Room (artist Sam McKim), Uncle Davis' Sleeping Salon (animator and designer Marc Davis), Colonel Coats' Bivouac Berth (background painter and designer Claude Coats) and Professor Wathel's Reposing Lounge ("father" of Audio-Animatronics Wathel Rogers).