DISNEYLAND is a destination for the young, but believe me, adults will have enjoy to the last centavo they pay when in Disneyland especially if you are a young soul and lives life with humor.
The latest attraction in Disneyland Hong Kong since 2013 is the Mystic Manor. A take-off from the famed Haunted House, Mystic Manor is not all that scary but cultural and historical in fact.
Mystic Manor is a large Victorian mansion built in an elaborate Queen Anne architectural style.
We entered the front garden and continued into the building. Inside, we see a portrait of Lord Henry Mystic and Albert, Henry's adorable pet. Other pictures in the queue show how Henry met Albert, rescuing him from a large spider; the ribbon-cutting of Mystic Point in 1896; and an 1899 group portrait of the Society of Explorers and Adventurers.
We really did not know what to expect thinking it was a walk-through, however, it is a trackless ride system using RFID or Radio Frequency Identification technology.
We entered the pre-show area where we watched a slide show narrated by Lord Mystic. Mystic Manor is a mansion built of Lord Henry’s love for unusual happenings and is full of his findings. He belongs to a Society of Explorers and Adventurers and the members have likewise showcased their findings here. He gives a short speech about the exhibition rooms and his latest collections, emphasizing an enchanted music box full of rare magic which must be opened with caution.
From time to time, Albert appears in different corners of the pre-show. After the presentation, guests enter the loading area and board Lord Henry's Mystic Magneto-Electric Carriages, the special vehicles he invented took us on a tour of the museum.
In the first room, Lord Mystic's collections are temporarily stored and await placement on shelves. The music box Lord Mystic mentioned is now in front of guests. Lord Mystic appears from a door in the middle of the room, looking for Albert. He greets the guests and acknowledges the music box before leaving to continue his search. The magical music box is in the possession of Albert and heit and magic dust floats in the air bringing life to the Acquisitions and CatalogingRoom.
Next, we are brought to the Music Room where many exotic musical instruments are found. There is a harpsichord in the center of the room. The magic dust gives life to instruments and music begins to play. The music follows the carriage and plays in the background for the remainder of the journey. Albert watches in fascination from atop a large pipe organ, curious to visit the rest of the manor.
The music plays on and we are brought to the Room of Mediterranean Antiquities. We see paintings, ceramics and audio-animatronic statues that start to move under the influence of the magic. Our carriages first pass a painting portraying four people outside with a volcano visible in the background. As the magic affects the painting, the volcano erupts, submerging the people in lava, who then clink their glasses. (This must be the historic Mt. Vesuvius in Pompeii erupting.)
Then our carriages brought us to Ancient Greece with an amphora with Hercules actually fighting the Nemean Lion. As the carriage passes, we spin and rock, and Hercules jumps above the lion and fights; the painting on the amphora is animated. We then pass a large painting of a beautiful Medusa who morphs into a frightening Gorgon, and her eyes flash before turning back to the beautiful woman. A brief snake rattle is heard to foreshadow her transformation into a monster a second before she does.
After all that excitement, we enter the Solarium Room. Albert the Monkey toys around with a Venus fly trap holding a banana to tease when all of a sudden a humongous Venus fly trap opens its large jaws to bite us. Oh, how we screamed! Then the room turns pitch black.
We enter another chamber. This time we are in the Slavic-Nordic area, the Vikings and all. We are positioned in front of a mural of a Nordic God. He comes to life and blows freezing winds to us. We are cold and the room turns to ice. Ice gathers on a large mirror that shatters and what vision do we see in the mirror? Ourselves! We laughed to stitches!
Japan here we come with the Arms and Armour Room. The room is filled with weapons and armor which again come to life sometimes in our direction. A samurai armor wielding a katana tries to hack Albert’s head off. The most surprising scene is when a cannon out of nowhere fires directly at us knocking our carriage and spins away! How very surreal! Apres, we are ushered into a hallway containing three suits of armor with their helmets floating next to their bodies and karaoking with the music. Our carriage moves in front a large catapult which aims at us and we in swift motion knocks us into the next room.
We are now in the Egyptian Antiquities. A sarcophagus shines radiantly with an unearthly green glow as swarms of scarabs emerge from it. This is so reminiscent of the Mummy movies. The scarabs spread throughout all the lights in the room and we are stuck once again riding into iniquity in darkness.
The tunnel of darkness brought us to Tribal Arts. A large tiki figure dominates the room spewing lava from its mouth. There are two tiki poles standing on both sides and many tiki statues. We are surrounded by chanting and the din of tribal drums. We find ourselves under attack as the statues aim darts and arrows at us. The monkey Albert is pinned to the wall by all the ammunition.
We are off to another unpredictable zone and this time to the Chinese Salon where a giant Monkey King Statue uses its staff to create a hurling tornado. Everything in the room spins causing all arts and crafts in the salon to break. We are in the midst of the fury of the tornado and we circle around the room violently.
The Jade Monkey King tries to hit Albert with a lightning bolt. He misses but blows away a part of the wall and Albert is blown away but he manages to cling steadfastly onto a harp. The enchanted box appears and Albert jumps onto the box as our carriages bring us back to the first room, the Acquisitions and Cataloging Room.
The music climaxes as the magic flies back into the magical music box. Albert in haste slams the lid shut breathing a sigh of relief as the lights come back and we are all safe in a perfectly normal room.
Lord Henry Mystic makes an appearance and asks Albert if he touched the music box. Albert of course vehemently denies. Lord Mystic was curious whether the legends are true but Albert was not revealing what occurred in the different rooms. Lord Mystic thanks us for touring his manor and bids us farewell as the carriages brought us back to the loading station.
As said, Mystic Manor is a take-off from Disneyland’s famous Haunted House, however, Mystic Manor did give us many jolts but did not traumatize even our 2-year old Iñigo. The surprise entrances of Albert in different rooms make the ride appealing to children instead frightening.
A ride truly not to be missed! Mystic Manor was an absolute adventure. History and culture is experienced in a nutshell with lights, sounds and special effects which made it informative for the little children at the same time most enjoyable!
Mystic Manor is found in a new area of Disneyland Hong Kong called Mystic Point. Who says Disneyland is only for kids!