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“When the crypt doors creak and the tombstonses quake, spooks come out for a swinging wake. Happy haunts materialize, and begin to socialize. Grim grinning ghosts come out to socialize!”
For 54 years, guests visiting Disneyland Resort have ventured into New Orleans Square so they could ride one of Disneyland Park’s most iconic attractions — the Haunted Mansion. The ride is similar to the one that Walt Disney World guests know and love, but it has its own distinctly Southern feel.
Credit: Disney
Related: Tower of Terror vs. Haunted Mansion: Which is Better?
Unfortunately, for the past seven months, the attraction has been under refurbishment, leaving many guests unable to ride their favorite Disneyland attraction. But that will soon change!
Disney has finally confirmed that the Haunted Mansion will reopen on July 29! However, it won’t be the traditional attraction. It will reopen as the wildly popular Haunted Mansion Holiday!
📢Happy haunts will welcome guests to Haunted Mansion Holiday @Disneyland beginning July 29! 🎃
📢Happy haunts will welcome guests to Haunted Mansion Holiday @Disneyland beginning July 29! 🎃 pic.twitter.com/SjnaxBDetB
— Disney Parks (@DisneyParks) July 25, 2024
For those who don’t know, every year, the Haunted Mansion closes for several weeks in August and gets a Nightmare Before Christmas overlay. Guests can venture into the mansion and find out what happens when Jack Skellington takes over and two holidays collide!
Big Changes to a Classic Attraction
When Haunted Mansion Holiday finally reopens, there will still be a lot of construction going on. Because of this, for a limited time, the ride will utilize Disney’s virtual queue system.
Credit: Disney
Like the virtual queue used for Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance, the virtual queue for Haunted Mansion Holiday will open twice daily — at 7 a.m. and then again at 12 p.m. Guests with a Disney California Adventure Park reservation and a Park Hopper ticket can only join the 12 p.m. virtual queue.
A Brand-New Store is Coming
The Haunted Mansion closed on January 22, 2024, and ever since, crews have been hard at work, making some huge changes to the beloved attraction.
First up, there is the new standby line. According to Disney, the new queue will feature a new fountain, a gazebo, and even a greenhouse!
Local legend suggests the manor known today as the Haunted Mansion was first built by a prosperous sea captain. To this day, the mansion’s staff faithfully maintains the happy haunting grounds. The expanded queue will tie into these stories and more, including new gardens inspired by Master Gracey, Madame Leota and the one-eyed cat.
Each of the gardens will feature unique elements ranging from a water fountain and gazebo to themed statuary and landscaping. In fact, guests will be able to see a new greenhouse where the groundskeepers for the Haunted Mansion grow their plants. The pet cemetery and horse-drawn funeral hearse will continue to reside on the attraction’s grounds.
Credit: Disney
Related: The WORST Thing About Disney’s Virtual Queue
But a newly redesigned queue is not the only thing guests have to look forward to. There will also be a brand-new store, which will house more Haunted Mansion merchandise than you can imagine!
The new store will look like a classic carriage house, and according to legend, it belongs to the psychic Madame Leota. Disney has not really given us much information on the new store, but we imagine that it will be similar to Memento Mori, which is located next to the Haunted Mansion attraction in the Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World.
Are you excited to hear that the Haunted Mansion is finally reopening? How do you feel about the ride using a virtual queue? Let us know in the comments!
