There's an extremely subtle motion in the Haunted Mansion Stretch Room, but it really is the secret to making the whole stretching effect come together. We mentioned earlier that the lower part of the stretch room is a cage. At Walt Disney World, only the ceiling moves.

Whether the "floor goes down" in the Haunted Mansion depends entirely on which Disney park you are visiting. At Disneyland in California, the Stretching Room is a functioning elevator. Because the attraction was built within the limited space of New Orleans Square, the ride tracks are actually located outside the park's railroad tracks in a separate warehouse. The elevator "stretches" to lower guests down to an underground tunnel that leads to the loading area. In contrast, at Walt Disney World’s Magic Kingdom in Florida, the floor does not move. Because Florida has a very high water table, building deep underground was not feasible. Instead, the ceiling goes up. The "Stretching Room" in Florida uses clever mechanical effects to lift the roof and the paintings, creating the illusion of descent while the guests remain at ground level. Both versions use identical audio and visual cues to maintain the "ghostly" atmosphere, but if you look closely at the gap between the wall and the floor, you can tell if you are actually moving (Disneyland) or if the architecture is simply expanding above you (Magic Kingdom).