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corona
01-31-2011, 01:50 PM
Since I first spotted this in a photo from the same spot over a year ago, I know that the plank has been there at least that long. Any guesses as to how it got there or why Disney won't remove it?

[It doesn't look like much in this small photo, but it's right in the middle, and can be clearly seen to be a plank in the original photo.]

http://i52.tinypic.com/2m3lemw.jpg

Andrew
01-31-2011, 02:04 PM
I've seen that too, and since the entire Mansion is touched up top to bottom during the Haunted Mansion Holiday overlay (and its removal) I have to conclude that the plank is either supposed to be there, or everybody thinks someone else knows about it.

Niwel
01-31-2011, 02:14 PM
I thought it tied in to the story about the house being owned by the Ship Captain (hence the weathervane)

The Evil Queen
01-31-2011, 08:27 PM
uh...what plank? i just don't see it.:confused:

leota's necklace
02-01-2011, 10:29 AM
I believe it's the small 2x4-ish looking thing on the roof of the upper balcony, on the side of the house that faces the Rivers. It's perpendicular to the edge of the roof.

Phil Johnson
02-01-2011, 11:23 AM
I would love it if it was just a plank of wood accidentally left up there. Then Disney can watch us all make up stories about it.

Accidental Disney Magic. :)

Drince88
02-01-2011, 11:28 AM
Is it used to support something during the HMH overlay? If it was really tied into the structure of the building so that it could hold something extra-heavy you woudn't want to remove/reinstall it every year, necessarily.

Bolivar
02-01-2011, 12:29 PM
I've seen that too, and since the entire Mansion is touched up top to bottom during the Haunted Mansion Holiday overlay (and its removal) I have to conclude that the plank is either supposed to be there, or everybody thinks someone else knows about it.

The Church of the Holy Sepulcher is a very old and very venerated church in Jerusalem. Different Christian denominations have claimed it and fought for control of it. For centuries it has been shared in a complicated and acrimonious agreement between several churches: the Roman Catholic and an Armenian church I think and Eastern Orthodox maybe. Anyway they often break out in fights and they can't agree.

Someone wanted to do something to the church and put a ladder there. Then they all started arguing over that and fighting and now no one knows who put the ladder there or which church he belonged to and they can't agree over who should take it away and it has now been there leaning up against the church for over 150 years.

I am picturing the arguments over this plank between the departments at Disney.

GREGOR
02-02-2011, 08:42 AM
I might just be a flat surface for people who are accessing that part of the roof with a ladder. Notice how there is a gap in the railing as well at that spot.

stan4d_steph
02-02-2011, 02:35 PM
Is it used to support something during the HMH overlay? If it was really tied into the structure of the building so that it could hold something extra-heavy you woudn't want to remove/reinstall it every year, necessarily.That would be my guess. There are several elements installed in that area of the roof.

rickosuave1987
02-02-2011, 03:46 PM
I am pretty sure that is where the coffin sleigh is during the HMH overlay. It hangs over the edge of the building, so I would guess that is there to support it?

shna
02-02-2011, 03:56 PM
Could someone circle or highlight it in the photo? I can't see anything that resembles a plank for the life of me. :confused:

PurpleCat284
02-02-2011, 06:32 PM
Could someone circle or highlight it in the photo? I can't see anything that resembles a plank for the life of me. :confused:
I can see it now but it took me a little while to find it in the photo because it indeed "doesn't look like much" in this image. It is as close to the dead center of the photo as you can get. There is a small piece of wood on the small section of green roof (over the porch) near the middle of the picture.

It surely doesn't look intentional but the theory of it attaching to overlay decorations may have merit.

potzbie
02-02-2011, 09:54 PM
Could someone circle or highlight it in the photo? I can't see anything that resembles a plank for the life of me. :confused:

Click on the photo to enlarge it.

See the two windows with green shutters?

If you were to leave the Haunted Mansion by climbing out of either window, you would land on a green roof.
But the green roof isn't all green.
There is a discoloration right in the middle.
The discoloration looks like an over-sized ball-peen hammer.

It is that over-sized ball-peen hammer, lying on the green roof, which the original poster is calling a "plank".

Donald Duck Fan68
02-02-2011, 10:49 PM
Click on the photo to enlarge it.

See the two windows with green shutters?

If you were to leave the Haunted Mansion by climbing out of either window, you would land on a green roof.
But the green roof isn't all green.
There is a discoloration right in the middle.
The discoloration looks like an over-sized ball-peen hammer.

It is that over-sized ball-peen hammer, lying on the green roof, which the original poster is calling a "plank".

Looks like a 2x4 to me. When I hear a term like "plank" I look for a pirate's diving board, which I didn't find.

olegc
02-02-2011, 11:12 PM
I am pretty sure that is where the coffin sleigh is during the HMH overlay. It hangs over the edge of the building, so I would guess that is there to support it?

this sounds about right to me...

Sosai X
02-03-2011, 04:02 AM
Dust, debris, and all other manner of mouldering corruption and filth on the inside of the Haunted Mansion = good

Dust, debris, and all other manner of mouldering corruption and filth on the outside of the Haunted Mansion = bad


:confused::confused::confused::confused:

:D

corona
02-03-2011, 06:25 AM
You really don't understand the scale if you think that is a hammer. If you studied a high-resolution version of that photo, you would see that "plank" is an accurate label. That's one reason why I'm skeptical of any explanation that it's used for supporting or hanging something. It really is as simple as it appears in the smaller photos - no hooks, pulleys, bolts, ropes, or chains suggesting any special functionality.

Given the all the work and care that Disney put in to making this look like a mansion, and maintaining that appearance for decades, why wouldn't this thing (if it's supposed to be there) at least be painted green to blend in with the porch roof it's on?

GREGOR
02-03-2011, 08:38 AM
A-ha! I thought it was the upper roof we were talking about. I see it now on the lower roof. It doesn't look that big even in the high resolution pic. The downspout to the right of it looks wider.

shna
02-03-2011, 09:15 AM
OK -- so I saw that piece of wood (or whatever that is) & figured that couldn't be what people were talking about. It doesn't look anything like what I think of as a "plank."

rickosuave1987
02-03-2011, 09:27 AM
OK -- so I saw that piece of wood (or whatever that is) & figured that couldn't be what people were talking about. It doesn't look anything like what I think of as a "plank."

At first so did I. When I hear "a plank" I think of a diving board type plank. Not a plank of wood laying on the roof.


And I still think it has something to do with the holiday overlay. Most people dont see this angle of the roof of the mansion. The imagineers probably figured it would not be a big deal to leave whatever it is up there.

Grandpa Louie
02-03-2011, 09:38 AM
Slow news day.

Donald Duck Fan68
02-03-2011, 09:58 AM
I am pretty sure that is where the coffin sleigh is during the HMH overlay. It hangs over the edge of the building, so I would guess that is there to support it?

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/145/350143787_fec2656d90.jpg

I think the theory that it supports the coffin sleigh is the best explanation. If it is something that supports this sleigh and is needed every year, there's no point in removing it and reinstalling it each time if it is generally out of view of most guests.

DisVCGeek
02-03-2011, 10:00 AM
Count me in the "Probably supposed to be there for attaching and/or changing out the HMH overlay camp!


why wouldn't this thing (if it's supposed to be there) at least be painted green to blend in with the porch roof it's on?

I wonder if it is painted and that the paint has either discolored or that perhaps shadows created by the object (at the time of day & angle the picture was taken) are causing the color changes...

disneylandgirl
02-04-2011, 10:15 AM
I saw the thing in the middle and thought "all this fuss COULDN'T be about that little tiny thing up on the roof... " LOL. I was also looking for a "diving board" type thing... I hear "plank" and immediately think of pirates. :p

I never in my life would have noticed that piece of whatever on the roof.