The Disneyland version employs an elevator to create the effect that the room stretches; in Disney World, the ceiling goes up instead. The room goes dark and a lightning flash reveals your Ghost Host hanging overhead.

No, unlike the original Disneyland version in California, the Haunted Mansion's "Stretching Room" at Walt Disney World is not an elevator. In Florida, the floor remains stationary while the ceiling and the portraits rise upward, creating the optical illusion that the room is descending into the ground. This design choice was made because Walt Disney World has significantly more space and was built above the local water table, so there was no need to physically lower guests into an underground loading area. In contrast, the Disneyland version is a functional elevator that lowers guests to a basement level so they can walk through a tunnel underneath the park's railroad tracks to reach the main show building. Both versions effectively "set the stage," but the mechanics are entirely different.