Haunted Mansion fans eager to hang out with the 999 happy haunts again after seven months of refurbishments will have to navigate a warren of construction walls to get into the haunted house as crews continue to work on the Disneyland attraction.
Construction won’t be complete when the Haunted Mansion returns in time for Halloween with work continuing on the new stand-by queue and surrounding grounds, according to Disneyland.
“Our new stand-by queue experience hasn’t quite materialized yet,” according to the Disneyland website. “Using a virtual queue allows us to welcome back foolish mortals to this eerie estate once again while we continue work on the surrounding area.”
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The Haunted Mansion closed in January for an extended renovation of the outdoor queue area that will add a new accessibility elevator for wheelchair users exiting the ride and a new retail shop themed as Madame Leota’s carriage house at the attraction’s exit.
Disneyland has announced Haunted Mansion Holiday will return by Aug. 23 in time for the Halloween Time season at Anaheim theme park resort. A Virtual Queue will be used to manage crowds.
The Haunted Mansion will likely reopen in late July and well before the 55th anniversary of the dark ride on Aug. 9, according to MiceChat.
“Come hell or high water, they want the attraction to open well before that date,” according to MiceChat. “Unfortunately, the new queue and shop won’t be ready in time.”
Haunted Mansion riders will bypass the construction via entrance and exit pathways, according to MiceChat.
Vertical construction has not yet begun on the Madame Leota-themed gift shop at the ride’s exit, according to MiceChat.
“There’s still many months worth of work to be done,” according to MiceChat.
The Haunted Mansion will be in holiday mode when the ride returns for Halloween Time.
Disneyland’s Haunted Mansion has gotten a “Nightmare Before Christmas” makeover based on the Tim Burton animated film for more than 20 years now. The New Orleans Square attraction closed in January with the holiday overlay still in place.