1. The pirate ship upon entering the main room.
While on the ride, the pirate ship looks rather big and impressive, as it shoots canons at you. But, as you can see from the photo on the right (taken before the ride's 2006 remodel), the ship is really just hiding the less impressive machinery that runs the animatronics.
2. The auction scene.
In the photo on the right, a Disneyland cast member gets up close to an (horrifying) animatronic without its skin -- it sorta looks like a C-3PO gimp outfit.
3. The barrel scene.
The photo on the right (taken before the ride's 2006 remodel) shows off all the gears that run the animatronic.
4. The jail scene.
Arguably the most iconic scene in the entire ride, the photo on the right shows off what the view looks like inside the cell.
The Haunted Mansion:
5. The hanging corpse in The Stretching Room.
One of the creepiest elements in the entire ride is also, indeed, rather creepy looking up close; as the photo on the right proves.
6. The ballroom scene.
The spooky ghosts in the ballroom don't look quite as spooky up close (maybe just a tad psychedelic). The photo on the right is actually taken below the track the doom buggy rides on; the ghosts are lit up by lights and reflected onto mirrors in an old illusion trick called Pepper's ghost.
7. The view from atop The Haunted Mansion.
Yes, the steeple atop the mansion is real. The views look onto Splash Mountain (center) and Frontierland (right).
8. The elephant bathing pool scene.
As the photo on the right shows, when the water is drained out of the ride we can see that the elephants aren't really sitting all the way in the water, but instead on their own stools.
9. The hippopotamus attack scene.
As the photo on the right shows, with all the water drained out, the hippo is much more terrifying than we could've ever imagined.
10. The return to the boathouse.
The photo on the right is a cool look at what the attraction looks like when the water has been emptied.
Matterhorn Bobsleds:
11. The red eyes of the yeti.
The photo on the right shows that the eyes of the yeti are not so scary with the lights on.
12. Harold the Yeti.
While riding the Matterhorn, the yeti looks rather tall and intimidating, but as you can see from the photo on the right, he is actually not that big.
13. And finally, a view from on top of the Matterhorn.
The views in the center look onto Fantasyland, while the view on the right looks onto the circular hub at the end of Main Street. Of course, this is a view very few people get to see.