Expansion and Enhancements coming to Disneyland's Haunted Mansion

Aug 29, 2023 in "Disneyland Resort"

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Haunted Mansion ground expansion concept art at Disneyland

Posted: Tuesday August 29, 2023 1:!1pm ET by WDWMAGIC Staff

Disneyland Resort has revealed plans for a major expansion and update to one of its most beloved attractions—the Haunted Mansion. Slated to begin in 2024, these updates promise to delve deeper into the lore of the mansion while adding new features to enhance the visitor experience.

An Expanded Story

According to local legend, the Haunted Mansion was originally built by a wealthy sea captain. Over the years, the mansion's staff has dutifully maintained its spooktacular appeal. With the forthcoming expansion, visitors can look forward to an extended outdoor queue that promises to immerse them in the mansion's tales and legends. This includes stories of Master Gracey, Madame Leota, and a mysterious one-eyed cat.

Haunted Mansion ground expansion concept art at Disneyland

Beyond The Haunted Grounds

Each of the mansion's new gardens will showcase unique elements that range from water fountains and gazebos to themed statuary and landscaping. Guests will also have a chance to explore a new greenhouse that serves as the growing space for the Haunted Mansion's groundskeepers. Fans of the attraction will be pleased to know that existing features like the pet cemetery and the horse-drawn funeral hearse will remain.

New Retail Space

But that's not all. Madame Leota, a prominent figure in the Haunted Mansion, will extend her ethereal presence to a new retail shop located next to the attraction's exit. Housed in Leota's carriage house, the standalone shop promises to offer goods that will leave visitors "dying" to know more.

Haunted Mansion ground expansion concept art at Disneyland

More Updates Around the Corner

Besides the Haunted Mansion expansion, Disneyland also plans to spruce up the plaza adjacent to Tiana's Palace. The new design aims to create a serene, park-like setting that honors the area's historical significance while offering a tranquil space for relaxation and live entertainment.

Haunted Mansion ground expansion concept art at Disneyland

Improved Accessibility

Finally, the project aims to improve accessibility for all. A new elevator exit specifically designed for guests with disabilities will be added to the Haunted Mansion.

Construction Timelines

Construction for these enhancements is set to begin in January 2024.

Discuss on the Forums

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Disney Analyst6 hours ago

I think they'll need more, smaller groups. They can't have much of a line outside the gates due to space, so I assume it'll be smaller bursts.

VicariousCorpse10 hours ago

When they constructed Disneyland's elevators they used the pre-existing layout and foundation of the walk-thru attraction. There were dual walk-thrus with one entrance and 3 exits for each side. You would have a split pathway with 3 choices that led you to come up through up open graves in the enclosed courtyard on either side. The current day chicken exit would have been one of these.

NobodyElse10 hours ago

When was the last time you walked straight from the stretching room to doom buggy boarding. Were they releasing empty vehicles ahead of you? That could possibly happen if they're only running one stretching room, but even then it's unlikely. It's more likely that at any given time Haunted Mansion is more popular than Spaceship Earth, and thus has a longer line.

PiratesMansion10 hours ago

That was a fascinating video. I had no idea the Paris stretching rooms had an emergency exit that could be reached that way. I'm going to assume that they didn't think of that when they put DL's elevators together in the 60s?

zipadee99910 hours ago

I’m not saying it drastically impacts the wait time, but you no longer have a continuous flow of people constantly boarding. It instead splits people into batches. When one batch is about to finish boarding, I’m sure another batch is ready to enter the portrait hallway, so I wouldn’t say they drastically impact the wait time, but they prevent a continuous flow of people from boarding continuously moving vehicles like Spaceship Earth

WaluigiTime10 hours ago

We were not skipping it and the wait time was nothing, it was amazing.

VicariousCorpse10 hours ago

Yes it does. California and Paris have real elevators. Orlando and Tokyo don't. Here's what it would look like if you tried to walk back through the stretching room from the portrait hall.

PiratesMansion10 hours ago

That is incorrect, Phantom Manor uses a real elevator like Disneyland's mansion. The ones that DO NOT feature real elevators are the mansions at Magic Kingdom and Tokyo Disneyland.

Phroobar10 hours ago

Phantom Manor doesn't have an elevator. They could just let people skip the stretching room entirely. It would be bad show though.

WaluigiTime11 hours ago

I was at Disneyland Paris a few weeks ago and Phantom Manor has two preshow rooms. There was never a wait longer than 10 minutes and usually the wait was how ever long the first preshow was so they could open the doors again. I have no idea how thier version moves people so fast.

VicariousCorpse11 hours ago

The stretching rooms capacity does not effect the wait time. It can handle as many guests as the omni-mover allows.

NobodyElse11 hours ago

Eh, I want to say I disagree with this. (I'll try to elaborate after some coffee.)

Phroobar12 hours ago

Except that means you have to be in the park within 15 minutes of opening. The park doesn't start to fill up until couple of hours after rope drop. The AP crowd won't get there in time and most show up after work. The majority of people have no chance of riding it. That ride is so popular there were massive lines for HMH. I think the window of opportunity will be far less. Finally, because of poor maintenance, it has become the norm that reliable rides are now unreliable. That ride will be in creep mode most of the time as cast members figure out how to operate it.