Haunted Mansion will finally revert to its original style

The Disneyland ride has been in holiday mode or shut down for work since 2023

Much work has taken place near the Haunted Mansion, including the conversion of Splash Mountain to Tiana’s Bayou Adventure, plus other New Orleans Square changes. Jeff Gritchen — Staff Photographer

The Haunted Mansion was out of commission from January 2024 through July for construction of Madame Leota’s Somewhere Beyond gift shop, plus a handicapped-accessible elevator with a mausoleum theme was added. Jeff Gritchen — STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

The Haunted Mansion ride at Disneyland will feature two new scenes and a variety of structural changes when it reopens Jan. 18. Mark Eades — staff photographer

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By Brady MacDonald

bmacdonald@scng.com

The Haunted Mansion, which has been in holiday mode or behind construction walls over the past 16 months, will finally return in its original form at Disneyland and may even surprise patient fans with a few new scenes starring Constance Hatchaway and the Hitchhiking Ghosts.

The Haunted Mansion last operated in classic mode in August 2023 and will return in its original form Jan. 18.

A lot has happened in and around New Orleans Square over the past 16 months: Tiana’s Palace restaurant opened, Magnolia Park was reimagined, Splash Mountain became Tiana’s Bayou Adventure, Madame Leota’s Somewhere Beyond gift shop was built, and the mansion’s grounds were redesigned with a new mausoleum-themed, handicapped-accessible elevator.

The Haunted Mansion closed in August 2023 for its annual “Nightmare Before Christmas” transformation during the holiday season. The attraction was shuttered in January 2024 for an extensive refurbishment and remained in holiday mode when it returned in July. The process of stripping away that holiday overlay began Tuesday and is expected to be completed by Jan. 17.

Expect long lines to fill the redesigned Haunted Mansion queues when the venerable 1969 dark ride returns in its original form. Those first in line may find a few additions.

A new version of the Hitchhiking Ghosts could catch a ride home in your Doom Buggy, and Constance Hatchaway may have redecorated her chilling attic bride scene, according to WDW News Today.

The updated attic will introduce a new rear-projection window behind Hatchaway, according to WDW News Today.

The Black Widow Bride was pushed out a window to her death by Captain Gore on their wedding day, according to an early backstory developed for the Haunted Mansion. The Hitchhiking Ghosts that follow you home in the mirror effect at the end of the ride will become animated projections, according to WDW News Today.

The audio-animatronic Hitchhiking Ghosts just before the mirror finale will remain unchanged.