Haunted Mansion New Grounds & Store Coming in 2024 to Disneyland
Disney announced that the grounds of Haunted Mansion are expanding with a new immersive outdoor queue and retail store at Disneyland. This post shares closing dates and details, concept art of the gardens and gift shop, and our commentary about the badly-needed and overdue changes to New Orleans Square. (Updated February 27, 2024.)
The ‘spirited metamorphosis’ of the Haunted Mansion is now underway at Disneyland Resort as of Winter 2024, and the additions will build on the story and lore of the Haunted Mansion. The new grounds will immerse guests in “enhanced theming,” as well as a new retail shop adjacent to the attraction’s exit.
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.
But wait, there’s more! In addition to the new queue, there’s a beautification project in New Orleans Square and a new place where Madame Leota will materialize outside Haunted Mansion…
Disneyland felt it was time to continue Madame Leota’s presence beyond the walls of the Haunted Mansion with an all-new retail shop.
The carriage house of the Haunted Mansion in the concept art above belongs to Leota, and will be a standalone shop between the current exit of Haunted Mansion and Tiana’s Bayou Adventure. Disney is just “dying” to tell you more about in the future.
On the opposite site of Haunted Mansion, Disneyland will also make enhancements to the plaza adjacent to Tiana’s Palace Restaurant:
Disney recognizes that this area around the former French Market is one that holds a lot of memories and history, and an elegant new park-like setting will be a place to relax and enjoy the ambiance and live entertainment under the shade of new and historic trees.
Disneyland will take the opportunity to help improve the accessibility of these areas which includes a new elevator exit from the Haunted Mansion for guests with disabilities.
Construction on these additions around Haunted Mansion and New Orleans Square will begin in January 2024 at Disneyland. More about the final arrangements will be shared early next year. For now, consider this dismaying observation: the objects found in Leota’s garden will be inspired by her incantation. Dun dun dun.
February 27, 2024 Update: Haunted Mansion Holiday closed for refurbishment on January 22 and work began on the reimagined grounds, expanded outdoor queue, and new gift shop almost immediately thereafter. Walls are now up around the impacted area of New Orleans Square.
Disneyland has not yet provided a timeline for the work to wrap up outside or inside the Haunted Mansion. However, rumors have been swirling that the normal Haunted Mansion won’t return at all in 2024. I have not heard anything credible from direct sources, but the second I heard this, it instantly struck me as highly plausible.
Installing an elevator and doing work on the queue will take several months, at the absolute minimum. It may seem like a small project–and is in the grand scheme of things–but factors beyond Disneyland’s control will easily necessitate a multi-month closure of Haunted Mansion.
Not only that, but in peeking over the construction walls, this becomes even more apparent. Just check out these fresh photos from Fresh Baked Disney. It’s not just the overflow queue (as expected)–the entire entrance in front of and off to the side of the mansion is torn up, the old queue is virtually gone. Demolition is still ongoing–actual construction hasn’t even begun yet!
It becomes a question of when can Haunted Mansion actually reopen and what value is there in having the attraction available for the summer season. If it’s not realistically able to reopen until July 2024, at what point does Disneyland just punt on this year completely? Is there enough upside to justify the expense of swapping out the overlay for only a few weeks of the OG Haunted Mansion? Given progress as of late February 2024 (and the ongoing radio silence from Disney), I’m increasingly skeptical that Haunted Mansion will reopen by summer.
In fact, it wouldn’t be the least bit surprising to me if this entire project were budgeted and approved on the basis of the operational and maintenance cost-savings. More specifically, the amount that could be saved by not running the ride for ~8 months and also not uninstalling and reinstalling the Haunted Mansion Holiday overlay. (If the regular ride isn’t coming back in 2024, there’s zero reason to remove Zero and co.) So while I have zero insight into what actually will happen or is planned, I’d put reasonable odds on no regular Haunted Mansion until 2025.
In addition to all of the above, the return of Haunted Mansion in 2025 will drive demand as locals make homecoming trips to see their beloved attraction. If Disneyland were really savvy, they’d install a couple of new effects or an Audio Animatronics figure during the downtime, cover it during Haunted Mansion Holiday in 2024, and then unveil it in early 2025 as part of a marketing push for the return of Haunted Mansion.
In terms of commentary about the original announcement and changes, my first thought is how badly this is needed. Moreover, it smartly repurposes space that’s currently underutilized (former FastPass kiosks and stroller parking) or improperly utilized (Magnolia Park).
We won’t be surprised to hear from Disneyland fans who are (naturally) skeptical of any plans to mess with the mansion. We also won’t be shocked if there’s disappointment that New Orleans Square is getting even more attention while Tomorrowland languishes.
These are both totally valid viewpoints, especially given the reverence for both the attraction and its land. If anything in Walt Disney’s original magic kingdom is sacred and should be treated with the utmost care and respect, it’s Haunted Mansion and New Orleans Square.
And in fairness, the changes at Walt Disney World–both ongoing with Hatbox Ghost and previously with the interactive queue–don’t exactly instill a lot of confidence. Thankfully, Imagineering’s infatuation with interactive queues has worn off–there’s a big difference between interactive and immersive, and this is the latter. I’d argue that the current queue is also immersive, so hopefully this will be more of the same, and Imagineers don’t get carried away with “story-ifying” the space to an absurd degree.
However, there are also the practical realities of operations. And I’m guessing some of those who are expressing surprise or skepticism have not experienced New Orleans Square or Haunted Mansion on a busy day or night–particularly between October and December.
During peak season or the heart of Haunted Mansion Holiday’s run, it’s common for the standby queue to spill out into the walkway and overtake the entirety of the Magnolia Park courtyard between the attraction and what will soon be Tiana’s Palace Restaurant. That quaint area and its lovely fountain are impossible to enjoy (and are anything but serene!) when they’re overflow queue.
Obviously it’s not going to be relevant this year, but if you want to see true chaos, try to pass through New Orleans Square towards Critter Country prior to the start of Fantasmic. It’s exceedingly difficult to navigate, as two crowds collide: those for the nighttime spectacular and those for Haunted Mansion.
It’s safe to assume that this will only worsen once the reimagined Fantasmic returns and Tiana’s Bayou Adventure debuts. The nighttime spectacular and attraction will see renewed interest in 2024 and 2025, leading to logistical problems that didn’t exist previously or presently.
As such, from an operational perspective, all of this makes a tremendous amount of sense and is occurring in anticipation of a bad situation getting worse. Frankly, it should have happened back during Project Stardust, which is the project aimed at widening walkways and improving guest flow ahead of Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge.
Speaking of things that should’ve happened, we’re still disappointed that the reimagined Toontown didn’t get a walkway connecting to Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge. Connecting the two lands would’ve been huge from a crowd flow perspective, indirectly lessening the congestion in both New Orleans Square and Fantasyland. Although it would’ve required relocating some backstage facilities, it would’ve been well worth it in the long term. (It’ll have to happen eventually if other expansion occurs in Disneyland and annual attendance continues to increase.) But I digress.
From a thematic perspective, the jury is still out for me and will be until seeing how it materializes. When viewing Disneyland divorced of operational realities, New Orleans Square was pretty much perfect as built, with few opportunities for “plussing.”
I’ll admit that I haven’t been wild about many of the changes to New Orleans Square in the last decade or so, including the transformation of French Market into Tiana’s Palace. (I don’t feel too strongly about that, aside from strongly believing they should’ve spent more time and money to replace Hungry Bear with it.) But I also recognize that sometimes there’s tension between themed design and practical realities of an operational theme park visited by millions of guests each year, as well as their preferences and behavior.
Ultimately, this is all a long-winded way of saying it’s important to view this Haunted Mansion area expansion through the prism of actual theme park operations at Disneyland, and not just in the vacuum of “pure” themed design or how this area used to exist and operate two decades ago. A lot has changed since then, including but not limited to annual attendance levels, queue management, stroller usage, and crowd dynamics.
Suffice to say, the expanded grounds of Haunted Mansion are absolutely needed and the purpose-built queue will be an unequivocal improvement over how things work much of the year, which is total chaos and overtaking the Magnolia Park area. That was and is the practical reality of this portion of the park, and having a dedicated overflow queue for Haunted Mansion should dramatically improve traffic flow through this corridor to Critter Country and Tiana’s Bayou Adventure.
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Your Thoughts
What do you think of Disney expanding the grounds of the Haunted Mansion with a new immersive outdoor queue and retail store at Disneyland in 2024? Think this will improve crowd flow and is needed before Fantasmic returns and Tiana’s Bayou Adventure debuts? Do you agree or disagree with our assessment? Any questions? Hearing your feedback—even when you disagree with us—is both interesting to us and helpful to other readers, so please share your thoughts below in the comments!
I have NEVER liked the movie or the “Nightmare before Christmas” overlay on the Haunted Mansion. Why mess with the original Haunted Mansion….especially in October? Give me the Haunted Mansion I know and love.
So are we thinking that Haunted Mansion Holiday will be in operation Fall 2024? I can’t imagine they would do a RunDisney Halloween with a whole haunted mansion themed run with no version of haunted mansion actually being on the menu.
Yeah, I still think Haunted Mansion Holiday will be good to go. I wouldn’t even be surprised if they open it early. I just think we’re getting to the point where DLR might not have much time–or incentive–to do regular Haunted Mansion before that.
If Haunted Mansion Holiday doesn’t return I will be incredibly disappointed. We are looking to take a Thanksgiving trip to Disneyland this year specifically to experience that and the holiday overlay of “it’s a small world”
I had the same question, Aeryn. After all the problems Disneyland had at its January return of RunDisney, if it disappoints the September event fans, too, our family won’t be the only one sticking with Disneyworld RunDisney. The DL team can’t get this one wrong. They’ve used their mulligan.
It doesn’t make sense to me that Splash Mountain is closed and now Haunted Mansion, two huge attractions like these, both closed at the same time puts too much pressure on all the other rides and takes away the enjoyment of going to Disneyland. It makes the wait time on the other rides that much longer. They need to do a better job of planning these major closures. Timing is everything!
as I’m sadly going to experience for my first visit this summer
Losing both haunted mansion and splash mountain for 2024 is a tough blow. The only entertainment upside is less congestion for the return of Fantasmic. With most of the other major rides suffering so much down time on a daily basis (especially the trackless ones) it makes for a potentially disappointing day for daily ticket holders. And hopefully the imagineers will not repeat the same mistakes as happened in Toon Town when that park was renovated. It was a disappointing mess.
Do you think Haunted Mansion Holiday will be open for next Halloween season?
Based on my experience with them trying to make the NYC subway more accessible, adding elevators takes forever. If it’s not something they can do while still utilizing the current exit, then it very well could necessitate a prolonged closure of the attraction. (Making it more accessible is absolutely worth it in the long run, though.)
I would think the queue expansion is something that could go on while the ride still operates, though. The line could be routed around or they could use a virtual queue to limit the amount of people in the physical line at any one time. I know that probably wouldn’t be super popular but if it’s between that and no Haunted Mansion for most of the year, I feel like the VQ is the obvious choice.
I think at the end of the day, there is a way to make it work and operate Haunted Mansion during these projects. It’s a question whether there’s the desire to do so, and if the logistical hurdles in so doing are deemed “worth it.”
If the workarounds would cost a lot or prolong the project, and the alternative would save Disney a lot of money…I think we all know what the outcome will be. Not blaming them for the (potential) choice or second-guessing it, just trying to be realistic.
Ugh….BUILD MORE RIDES DISNEY. So tired of the overlays, re-themes, “plusses”, etc. Especially when many times those are for the worse.
BUILD MORE RIDES.
Disneyland needs to be able to build more attractions *and* improve the logistics of the park. Just moving the location of the Haunted Mansion gifr shop to the immediate north should improve crowds in what is a ridiculously crowded area for a minimum of 4-6 months of the year. If they can only do the first, they’re Six Flags. (Not even Magic Mountain, more like Six Flags America.)
I do hope this can ease some of the chaos in this area. When I was younger, the back corner of this area between the train station and the back of French Market used to be where my brother and I would sit and decompress in the afternoon on days at Disneyland. It was almost always quiet in the back there, but close to the bustling action of the rest of NOS and perfect for people watching. I wonder though if this will mean the loss of the “other” pet cemetery. That one isn’t guest accessible without asking for a tour from the CMs anyway.
Is it better to visit Disneyland for Halloween or Christmas? I am planning to visit Disneyland for the first time & need to know what is the recommended holiday?
Both are amazing in their own ways 🙂 I will say that I feel DCA goes more all-out with the Halloween vibes, and DLR goes bigger for Christmas. So I guess it depends on which holiday you enjoy more! In either season though, I would recommend going as early as possible (September for Halloween and before Thanksgiving week for Christmas) because the parks get really packed, the closer you get to the actual holidays.
Maybe they can retire the Haunted Mansion Holiday. It really detracts from the ride, especially for how long it’s left up. Let us have the real thing for Halloween!
Nope, nope, nope. It’s nice to have an amazing overlay that is unique to DL. Have enough repeats in domestic parks. It’s longer than the usual overlay because it encompasses both holidays.
Nightmare Before Christmas is my favorite movie of all time. As much as I love the original Haunted Mansion, seeing the HMH overlay every year makes me incredibly happy.
YES! I am not the only one who feels this way!
My big thing is it’s not touching the lobster roll place right? It’s been way too long since I’ve been in Disneyland (2019!!) so my angles from memory are a bit hazy. I think expanding the queue to organize things over there is great. New Orleans square is my favorite spot so hoping it only adds.
while I wholeheartedly agree that this is needed it is still hard to get excited of what is fundamentally a queue and a gift shop. I am hopeful that this may help Tiana’s Bayou Adventure (is that the correct name) feel more included in NOS vs critter county. I agree that they should have made hungry bears Tiana’s and annexed Critter Country into a Bayou sub land of NOS…..I’m curious what they will eventually do with the rest of critter country.
But when will they restore the Treehouse to its rightful theming?
They’re doing something with it, not sure what though. I’d say anything is better than the pathetic Franken-attraction it is now, but I’ve learned that sometimes Disney hears complaints about changes and then says “hold my dole whip” …
Well, there’s zero excuse for why it was ever denigrated from Swiss Family Treehouse to begin with!
A totally random take, but as an artist with a special love of theme park concept art, can I just say that that first piece of concept art is…kinda weird looking? At least as these things go. Looks very Virtual Magic Kingdom online game from back in the day.
Practically, DL really needs this. I’m hoping it’s just a minimalist extension of the grounds, and using that weird dead space area where old fastpass / mint julep bar / NOS railroad station are more efficient. Sad to lose a “tranquil spot” since Magnolia Park is probably a goner, but it’s really needed.
Heck, I’d be fine if they basically built a “parking garage” (multiple stories of switchbacks) for the POTC queue line in order to free up those NOS walkways! That line moves fast enough that I’d be ok with it. I really enjoy the crowds in NOS when I’m by myself, but I’m always at Disneyland with a group of friends, often a stroller, and very often with children under age 10. Navigating that maze with that group is VERY difficult.
And Haunted Mansion getting its own gift shop? I don’t know how this didn’t happen already. It’s gonna get lots of foot traffic with all the people passing through there for the new Bayou adventure, not to mention Rise of the Resistance.
Solid operational change. Next, make the portrait hallway a bit less like packing cattle into a railway car plz! How hard can it be lol
And Haunted Mansion getting its own gift shop? I don’t know how this didn’t happen already.
Isn’t Port Royale (the shop connected to Pieces of Eight) a HM gift shop? At least, it seems to just have HM (and NBC) stuff in it. Maybe it’s official in all but name…
That’s right, the gift shop in New Orleans Square furthest from the Haunted Mansion is basically the Haunted Mansion gift shop! (I think there was also Disney Villains merchandise, but that was over five years ago.)
Do you think the ride itself will shut down while this work is done?
The ride will already be closed for at least part of this time to remove the Haunted Mansion Holiday overlay. (Good question–I should probably add those details to the post!)
Yes please! Selfishly I’ll be there March 30 to April 4 and it would be a big disappointment to miss haunted mansion! my daughter already got her Gracey Mansion sweatshirt with a big G on it. I was already worrying it was too optimistic to expect fantasmic back. We just saw the new fantasmic at wdw for the first time in 20 years and loved it ( cried when steamboat Willie came just around the river bend), and was hoping to also see Disneyland version.
I’m actually pretty ok with this. I understand the need for more queue space, and if this can improve traffic flow and restore some tranquility to the fountain area in NOS it’s a win-win. I also appreciate that they are not removing any of the classic outdoor features like the hearse and the graveyard. I am always impressed how DLR, with its limited space, manages to expand without taking things away.
“…restore some tranquility to the fountain area in NOS it’s a win-win.”
Given the concept art, I think that particular fountain might be a goner. Looks like there might be a different new one off to the far right side, though.
I see what you mean. I would be sorry to see it go. Maybe they feel it obstructs crowd flow and will have the fountain more off to one side.
I’m a little sad to lose some of Magnolia Park (ha, I never knew it had a name) to queue space, but at least it sounds like it’ll be /fun/ queue space. But wait, does this mean demolishing (and hopefully rebuilding) that gorgeous brick wall bordering the Mansion?!
“But wait, does this mean demolishing (and hopefully rebuilding) that gorgeous brick wall bordering the Mansion?!”
My guess is yes.
Piecing the concept art together, I suspect they’re going to expand what’s now the unused FastPass area and convert it to the new gardens/grounds for Haunted Mansion.
I understand your desire for hungry bear to become Tiana’s palace based on size, but for me the thing that kills it is the overlapping cuisine. I already think Blue Bayou, Cafe Orleans, and French market/Tiana’s are too similar for one park to have three restaurants in close proximity, and I think they would have had to drastically change one of those menus had they opted for Hungry bear so I’m happy with their choice to overhaul french market.
This is a fair point, but I think you sidestep that issue by having Tiana’s Palace Restaurant be a character buffet with some Cajun and Creole cuisine, but also plenty of crowd-pleasing options. And I say that as someone who *loves* what they did with the menu at the actual Tiana’s Palace–I just think it’d make more sense to have it be a sit-down restaurant with characters and entertainment.
To each their own, though. (It also doesn’t really matter anymore, since Disney didn’t go that route. What’s done is done.)
I agree with this. There needs to be a restaurant on that side of the park with all the kid-friendly vittles (hamburgers, chicken nuggets etc.) and right now Hungry Bear is the only one throughout Adventureland/New Orleans Square/Critter Country/Galaxy’s Edge that serves those items in a kid’s meal. Otherwise, the closest chicken strips are in Frontierland: Golden Horseshoe/Stage Door. And if your kid needs a burger and nothing else will do, you’d have to travel all the way to Fantasyland (Red Rose Tavern) for the closest location. Not an ideal trek with a hangry five year old! 😉
I am going to remain cautiously optimistic – I have long thought the grounds around the mansion could be more moody and immersive. I also have long thought a greenhouse/conservatory-type structure would provide a little much-needed shade over a portion of the queue. My main hesitation is that in execution it will probably be too heavy-handed for my liking, but I hope I’m proven wrong! (I also really hope this means replacing the astroturf lawn which I think is unforgivable.)
“My main hesitation is that in execution it will probably be too heavy-handed for my liking, but I hope I’m proven wrong!”
Same.
I’d be more worried if this were a decade ago, and at Walt Disney World. I think the Imagineering team at Disneyland “gets” history a little better, and the reverence fans have for the park. We shall see, though!
I agree with the astroturf! When I finally returned and saw the awful green, wrinkled carpet I was horrified. Everything else is so nicely done and looked the same as when I was a child. Please get rid of the astroturf. There is much better greenery to use that is drought tolerant.