Disneyland’s Haunted Mansion receives ghoulish ‘home improvements’
While the mortals have been away, the ghosts have continued to play. The Haunted Mansion at Disneyland has done a bit of spring cleaning and remodeling, and this classic attraction is ready to open with some new looks when guests return on April 30. These updates include changes both inside and out, and a ghoulish new surprise for visitors of the Haunted Mansion.
The Haunted Mansion, a Disney classic, opened in 1969 and wowed visitors from around the world. Its unique music and design style, accompanied with its clever tricks, all worked together to sell this fantasy ghost home.
Outside, pets are pushing daises with a collection of new headstones for lovable furry friends. Puns and jokes are hidden within these tombstones, of course, and new foliage makes for a drop-dead gorgeous new set of surroundings for the mansion. These new “tails” of tragedy will sit in and around the entryway queue for the attraction. In fact, the Los Angeles Times reports, “A tomb for an expired skunk is now accompanied by an ever-so-slight garlic odor courtesy of society garlic.”
Once inside, guests may noticed some smaller design changes. According to Disney, the walkway to the Doom Buggies has new drapes, carpet and wallpaper. Mortal visitors have not been gone this long before, and it allowed the ghoulish hosts to spruce up the place.
Fans of Haunted Mansion history will be excited for the return of the “April to December” portrait, now on display where guests board the attraction.
Guests will have to keep a glowing eye out for this new cat statue. A nod to late Imagineer, Xavier Atencio, has also been added in the form of an elegant cat. According to the Los Angeles Times, “the cat featured elongated, vampire-like fangs and a piercing red eye. In a nod to Edgar Allan Poe’s story, ‘The Black Cat,’ it had just one eyeball, which sat in its socket with all the subtlety of a fire alarm. Sometimes we’d see the cat as simply an eye in the darkness; other times, there would be allusions that this phantom was on the prowl for a spirit to possess. Discarded eventually — a raven essentially fills a similar role — the cat, which will now be represented as an elegant statue, stands as a reminder that the Haunted Mansion was once envisioned more as a walk between the hair-raising and the humorous.”
They continued on, talking specifically about a portion of the ride that has been rumored to change for some time. “Recently, there have been calls for removal of a hanging scene in the Haunted Mansion, noting its association with suicide and lynchings,” reports the Los Angeles Times. “Disney has heard those complaints, but for now, the scene will remain unchanged. ‘It’s been discussed for sure,’ says Disney’s Michele Hobbs, who managed the Haunted Mansion refurbishment. ‘It’s definitely something that we’re thinking about.’”
Disneyland Park is preparing to re-open once again, after a year of closure. The Haunted Mansion joins Snow White’s Enchanted Wish on the list of updated attractions since the park has closed. Now, guests will be dying to see this new update when the resort reopens on April 30.
