As a huge fan of Disney Legacy, take some time to learn the back-story of the Haunted Mansion theme park ride (and it's various incarnations around the world at the different parks). It, like Pirates of the Caribbean, will greatly tie things together for you. There's a website called
Hidden Mickey's that has a ton of info on the parks. Actually, the main basis of the site is to point out "hidden mickey mouse" symbols you can find throughout the parks... if you know where to look and have a keen eye
But to the original question, again, it helps to know the story of the ride before you see the movie...