Phantom Manor of Yesteryear – Phantom and Undertaker Meet & Greet
As the self proclaimed King of Phantom Manor, I like to think I know quite a lot about my favourite Disney attraction. For instance, I could tell you exactly how many times the cloaked Phantom himself appears in the attraction (5), or how much it cost WDI for that legendary Vincent Price laugh ($10,000). Every now and then however, I find something I never knew existed about Ravenswood Manor, and this one is so good I feel I have to share it.
Upon reading Twitter the other day I found a truly fascinating tweet from PixieDust.be. In it, they explain how during Disneyland Paris’ infancy in the 90s, there was actually a Phantom character who would walk the queue of the Manor posing for photographs with guests. At first, this sounds almost too good to be true. A chance to actually meet the Phantom himself? Never in my fiendish nightmares did I expect that to be possible! My research however. has found confirmation in this tweet with several users commenting their recollection of meeting the mysterious, skeletal being who haunts the abandoned manor.
The Phantom wore – as expected – a black outfit of some description along with a black top hat with dark red stripe. His face was very similar to my beloved third Phantom found in the graveyard scene, sporting two gold teeth and a pair of rather menacing eyes. Our favourite ghoul was completed with some large skeleton hands. Judging by the photo below, the Phantom could be found nearby the gazebo section of the queue.
The Phantom wasn’t the only character out and about during this swinging wake either. Around the same time (1990s), an undertaker, dressed in a black suit, top hat and cane, would also pose so enthusiastically for photos as shown below. As Thunder Mesa’s story already talks of an undertaker, this has lead speculation this character is none other than J.Nutterville.
Judging by this, it appears the undertaker would at the very least be found at the pinnacle of the Phantom Manor queue, right by the front door as you enter the foyer. Perhaps business was falling and he hoped to regain his profits by forcing some ghosts into a burial. Is there an opposite for grave robbing?
Brining the limelight back to the Phantom briefly, our man of the moment did actually appear again for photos as recent as 2012! Although for a pin trading event. Much different to how he appeared nearly 2 decades ago in the PM queue, the Phantom still sports his trademark suit and top hat, albeit more purple than black. His eyes appear much darker than before too as well as a disappearance of his gold teeth (but with the rocket in price for gold on the stock market these days, I can hardly blame him).
As of now, this is the only info I have found regarding the Phantom and Undertaker characters but I will certainly continue to search. I feel it’s a real shame this piece of Disneyland Paris and Phantom Manor history is so unknown with fans even in the modern age of the Internet. It makes me beg the question where this Phantom character is now? Has he found a new home in another park? Will he ever make a return to Frontierland? Much like the secrets of Phantom Manor, I fear we will never discover the truth answers to these questions…
Did you ever experience either of this rare character meets? If so I’d love to hear from you in the comments section or on Twitter!
A big thank you to @ED92live and @shawneepatient for their image and further research!
