Guests have concerns about ‘Madame Leota’s Somewhere Beyond’ Haunted Mansion shop in Disneyland, and I have some thoughts on the matter – DePaoli on DeParks
Guests were quick to share their dissatisfaction online as some strange things were noticed in Disneyland’s new Haunted Mansion shop.
Haunted Mansion is undoubtedly one of the most popular theme park attractions of all time. For years, Disneyland guests anticipated its opening as the mansion sat empty before welcoming its first guests on Aug. 9, 1969. Recently, Disneyland guests had to deal with similar anticipation as the attraction was closed for an extended period while work was done on the queue and a new shop.
With such an avid fan base comes strong opinions. Guests were quick to share their dissatisfaction online as some strange things were noticed inside the new Haunted Mansion shop — but not the kind of strange we look forward to at Haunted Mansion.
The new shop, Madame Leota’s Somewhere Beyond, officially opened near the attraction exit on Dec. 23, 2024. The story goes that this carriage house was formerly home to the hearse seen in the queue for Haunted Mansion. The mansion’s caretaker used to live here until Madame Leota’s presence took over.
There are a few complaints I’ve seen repeatedly online. One is that the shop’s exterior is too large in comparison to the mansion and isn’t fitting visually. Another is how some set decorating on display are simply items purchased online and not original creations from Walt Disney Imagineering — and more specifically, some of these purchased items are artificial intelligence (AI) created artwork.
Exterior
Let’s begin with the building’s exterior. There are two key points here: the size and the visual aesthetic. I do agree that the size of the building next to the mansion doesn’t seem to work. It’s a case of being between a rock and a hard place because Haunted Mansion merchandise is a hot commodity, so a larger store is necessary to handle demand. But on the other hand, considering the Haunted Mansion uses forced-perspective techniques to enhance its grandeur, this large shop just a stone’s throw away ruins that effect.
Photo by Joshua Sudock / Disney
Photo by Philip Hernandez
As far as the exterior design of the building is concerned, it certainly looks like a carriage house and therefore fits that backstory, but the color palette and overall exterior décor could certainly lean more into the mansion theming. I can’t say I’m surprised by this, as Disney design overall seems to be regularly less detailed these days unfortunately. We’ve seen it in Disney restaurants, hotels, and in the parks. Die-hard Disney fans notice these things, but my guess is the general public doesn’t notice or doesn’t care. If it was hurting the bottom line, the details we love would return. That’s not worthy reasoning, but it seems to be the case.
Photo by Joshua Sudock / Disney
Artwork courtesy of Disney
Props curated rather than created
I personally am giving them a little bit of leeway with the exterior, as I believe the building is supposed to act as a transition between New Orleans Square and Bayou Country. For it to fit both lands, it can’t lean too heavily into either aesthetic. Why Bayou Country didn’t become an extension of New Orleans Square I will never understand. But that’s another whole point worthy of discussion.
Regarding the complaint about how some of the set-decorating inside the Haunted Mansion shop are simply items which can be purchased on Amazon and beyond, I don’t personally take as much offense to. If the prop fits the theme and story, save the step of needing to build it and most likely save money at the same time. It’s completely normal for TV and movie productions to rent or buy props from a prop house. Why can’t Disney parks do the same (especially if the prop isn’t central to the story and is instead being used as set-dressing filler)?
Of course, there are scenarios where it would be blasphemy. For instance, if you filled a land like Mickey’s Toontown with store-purchased items, those clearly wouldn’t fit the animated world — but if the props chosen exist in the real world and fit the timeline of a story, I have nothing against a purchased item …
AI in Disneyland’s Haunted Mansion shop
… that is, unless the item was created by AI. This is the biggest complaint I’ve seen about the new Haunted Mansion shop, which I wholeheartedly agree with. A company founded on the shoulders of artists should never use artificial intelligence in a way that replaces an artist of any sort. I don’t know if this was a decision-maker with a small budget doing it unbeknownst to others involved, or if it was a known fact that AI art was being placed in this store, but it should be tremendously embarrassing for The Walt Disney Company — not because they were caught, but because it was done in the first place.
The artwork has since been replaced, which feels like an admission of guilt, but it’s a bit too little too late if the folks involved knew what they were doing. AI is a tool we’re still learning how to honorably use. I believe it should be a no-brainer for any creative business to not use it as a way to replace artists.
A detail from Haunted Mansion history
Before I wrap this up, I would like to point out one nice nod to Haunted Mansion inside the shop that I appreciate. A chandelier seen in the shop is the one that used to hang in Madame Leota’s séance room in the attraction before it needed to be removed so she can float. This is a best-of-both-worlds scenario. It’s a prop the company already owned and therefore didn’t cost them anything, yet it pays homage to the beloved attraction the shop is based on. More details like this, please.
Video tour of Madame Leota’s Somewhere Beyond
What do you think? Is there anything about the new shop you have issue with, or are you just happy to have a new, dedicated Haunted Mansion store in Disneyland? Is there anything about the new shop that you absolutely love? Leave a comment below and let me know.
Jeff DePaoli is an event producer and voiceover artist living in Los Angeles. He can be heard as the voice of Disney Trivia on Alexa as well as the host of “Dizney Coast to Coast” podcast, where he and his special guests share honest opinions on all things Disney at DizneyCoastToCoast.com. DePaoli’s opinions are his own and do not necessarily represent Attractions Magazine.
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I’m astonished to read someone who is versed in Disney history and lore give a pass to the company for buying off-the-shelf products and using AI. Bespoke theming has *always* been a Disney hallmark. It’s what made Disney’s name. It’s not your job to give Disney a pass for taking the cheap route to please shareholders–it’s our job to hold the company to a quality product that no one else can deliver. Hold yourself to a higher standard!
Hi ALan. Thanks for reading and leaving a comment. I’m not sure how you’re interpreting that I am giving them a pass for using AI. If you read the column again, you should recognize that I state quite the opposite. I state, “A company founded on the shoulders of artists should never use artificial intelligence in a way that replaces an artist of any sort.” In regard to off-the-shelf products, I believe this would have similarly been done in the early days at WED Enterprises. For example (although admittedly not fact checked), I’m sure certain items in an attraction like Walt Disney’s Carousel of Progress were purchased off-the-shelf. I can’t imagine Disney made every toaster, plate, etc. seen in the attraction. My point is, it’s not unprecedented (even in Walt’s day) to have items purchased and not created from scratch.
However you want to defend it (Carousel of Progress was assembled before many of us were even born, and not for a park), having parks that are increasingly decorated by HomeGoods are NOT a step forward in terms of product quality. We’re going backwards, the quality of the product is deteriorating, and especially in light on increasing prices, we have to call them on it rather than offer justifications for it.