Disney Makes Surprise Update to Haunted Mansion’s Ballroom Scene, Changes Effective Overnight
On Monday, Haunted Mansion Holiday re-opened at Disneyland Park. For the first time, The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993) ride overlay is using a Virtual Queue to better accommodate guests as crews continue reconstructing The Haunted Mansion queue. But the line isn’t the only thing that changed.
Disneyland Park and Tokyo Disneyland are the only two Disney parks that annually transform The Haunted Mansion into Haunted Mansion Holiday. The New Orleans Square and Fantasyland rides shut down early each summer for the Halloween and Christmas overlay, which Imagineers then remove in January. Walt Disney World Resort has never attempted the retheme in Liberty Square at Magic Kingdom Park.
Guests hopping into a holiday Doom Buggy might notice something different in the Ballroom section of Haunted Mansion Holiday: an all-new gingerbread house. Disney Parks shared this sneak peek at the all-new setpiece on TikTok:
@disneyparks Spoilers for the Haunted Mansion Holiday gingerbread house incoming 🚨🏠 #Disney #DisneyParks #DisneylandResort #Disneyland #HauntedMansionHoliday #HauntedMansion #NightmareBeforeChristmas #GingerbreadMan #DrFinkelstein #DisneyEats
“A hot new gingerbread enters the mansion,” the Disney Parks account quipped.
The new display is a Tim Burton-esque tribute to Frankenstein’s monster, crafted from gingerbread and stitched together with frosting. Is this Dr. Finkelstein’s latest creation!?
On July 29, one of the first Disney Park guests to board the seasonal attraction shared footage of the new gingerbread house, viewed from their Doom Buggy. Check out the clip from @fantasmicdarren here:
@fantasmicdarren The NEW Haunted Mansion Gingerbread house this year! #hauntedmansionholiday #disneyland #nightmarebeforechristmas #gingerbreadhouse
Most Disney Parks fans were delighted at the new addition to Haunted Mansion Holiday.
“This is absolutely amazing….as always!” @magicallymcmurray commented. “I can’t wait to see it in person next week!”
“This is the best Halloween gingerbread house I’ve seen yet,” said @poppytheminisch.
Still, some viewers were disappointed that the gingerbread house didn’t explicitly reference Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas.
“Huh? What about nightmare before Christmas?” @heynieghbor wrote.
“Is nightmare before Christmas not gonna be on this year?” @m_c__art asked.
Other Disney Parks fans felt that July 29 was simply too early for Halloween and Christmas to overtake a classic Disneyland Resort attraction.
“Why is it up so early?” @agentdinah commented. “I say this as a fan.”
“Why is holiday so early?” @jedimastermaul99 agreed. “I thought it wouldn’t show, doesn’t show til early-mid September.”
Guests must register for the Virtual Queue on the Disneyland Resort app to experience Haunted Mansion Holiday.
Which version of The Haunted Mansion is better? In the comments, tell us your thoughts on the ride overlay.
