This version of the ride has a distinct plot, compared to the largely ambiguous story lines of the other Haunted Mansion attractions in Disney parks.

A major influence for the story of the ride was Gaston Leroux's novel, The Phantom of the Opera, the secondary plot focusing on the abandoned bride Miss Havisham from Charles Dickens' Great Expectations, as well as many European Gothic legends, which were altered for a Western setting.

Inspiration for Paris's Frontierland architecture was provided by historic buildings in Virginia City, Nevada, specifically the Fourth Ward School for Phantom Manor.

After several years, the story of what really happened came out from underneath the rubble: On Melanie's wedding day, a mysterious Phantom unknown to anyone appeared in the house.

The earthquake that killed her parents all those years ago cut a huge gouge in the west half of the property and in the crumbling ghost town of the old Thunder Mesa.

For the 2019 refurbishment, the story was slightly revised in addition to the new effects, these include: Like the Haunted Mansions located in other Disney parks, only the introduction of the ride (the Octagonal Portrait Gallery) takes place in the visible Manor façade.

Upon entering the grounds, guests can see a bat guard box and a plaque on the wall which reads Phantom Manor – Non Omnis Moriar (Latin for "I shall not die completely").

The voice of the Phantom sounds from the ceiling and around the room, politely welcoming guests, telling them the Legend of this place and inviting them to explore the Manor further.

The small mirror was replaced by a painting of Melanie in her wedding gown, looking sad, and her father Henry Ravenswood, looking angry, standing behind her outside the decrepit house with both hands on her shoulders.

Within a few months after the attraction first opened, writer and dub voice actor Gérard Chevalier was brought in to record a French version of Price's narration.

Despite Phantom Manor also not facing these spatial issues, the decision was made to use actual elevators for the stretching show scenes in the ride similarly to California's attraction.

Stepping out of the Stretching Room, guests walk down the Portrait Corridor, which takes them from the Manor visible from within the park into the show building that houses the actual ride.

The three paintings were replaced with: At the end of the hallway stands a large portrait of Melanie Ravenswood, wearing her bridal gown, from which she can be heard singing.

Guests then turn a corner and enter the loading area, a large hall with the Grand Staircase leading to the upper floor.

One can see a ghostly, foggy landscape with flashes and bolts of lightning through the huge window above the stairs, and Melanie standing on the midway landing.

Old furniture lines the walls, and sitting on a shelf is a marble bust of a stern-looking woman, who stares at guests and seems to follow them as they pass by.

During the renovations, Melanie was moved to the loading area and now a twitching suit of armor is in her place (a reference to when California's Haunted Mansion had live actors in a knight costumes scare guests for several weeks after the 1969 opening).

After passing the armor the guests face a seemingly Endless Hallway, with the vision of Melanie and the Phantom appearing and disappearing in the distance while the candelabra that she is holding remains in view.

At first glance, it seems to be playing a minor chord version of "The Wedding March" by itself, but one can notice a ghost pianist's shadow falling on the carpet (this effect is achieved by the use of mechanical keys).

The carriages pass a small hall containing a demonic grandfather clock, with a large "13" on its face (instead of the usual 12) and its hands spinning backward as it chimes.

[5] Join now the Spirits in Nuptial Doom, a ravishing Bride, a vanishing Groom..." The narration in this scene is entirely separate from that of the original attraction, although retaining the ghostly séance aspect.

Elegantly dressed pairs of ghostly dancers twirl around the Ballroom, as a spirit organist sits at a massive organ, playing a haunting waltz as wraiths fly out of its pipes.

Prior to 2019 the scene was largely the same, but the mirror was fogged and damaged to resemble an actual skull, in reference to the Allan Gilbert painting All is Vanity.

The carriages then travel underground to the catacombs (presumably Boot Hill), passing by fissures in the ground as a reference to the earthquake that resulted in the death of Henry Ravenswood.

Great rifts in the earth surrounding the vehicles again convey damage from the previous earthquake, which marked Thunder Mesa's turning point from a prosperous community to a ghost town.

Much of Phantom Canyon was derived from a planned scene of a wild mining town called Dry Gulch in the Western River Expedition at the Magic Kingdom, later retooled into their version of Big Thunder Mountain Railroad.

Another cackling figure of the Phantom and his raven stands by a tree and gestures towards a noose hanging on a branch and an empty coffin for awaiting guests, his eyes glowing red at passing riders.

Prior to 2019, this animatronic version of the Phantom was a skeleton with rotting flesh on his body, showing the guests that he has lost any humanity he's ever had left in him.

Although it is based on Buddy Baker's Grim Grinning Ghosts, it provides the attraction with a cinematic feeling, along with giving it a darker, more romantic tone.

At the FanDaze event at Walt Disney Studios Park on June 2, Imagineer Tom Fitzgerald confirmed that Vincent Price's original English dialogue would return to Phantom Manor following its refurbishment.