The Haunted Mansion in Disneyland is a tour of a 15 room creepy haunted estate that has been inhabited by 999 happy haunts. Located in the center of New Orleans Square, Haunted Mansion takes on a whole near appearance during the holidays when Jack Skellington gives it a Nightmare Before Christmas makeover.
Length of Ride: 2.5 minutes in the Stretching Room and 5.5 minutes in the Doom Buggy.
Height Requirement: None
Scare Factor: Dark and haunted, may scare little kids.
Rider Switch (for small kids): No
Weather Procedure: Indoors
Ride Photo: No
Flash Photography: No
Queue: Wind through graveyards.
Open for Magic Mornings: No
Fastpass: During the holidays
When to Ride: In the morning; avoid during Fantasmic showings.
Our Touring Strategy: We rode this one early in the day while the line was still short.
Secrets/Tips and Tricks:
- Ride at night when your eyes are naturally dilated more. You’ll see more details than you will notice during the day.
- There are 2 queues (except for during the Christmas season when Fastpass guests use one of the queues) and you can use either one. Don’t follow the crowds, but go the shortest route.
- There are 2 Pet Cemeteries and only one is accessible by guests. Ask a Cast Member to show you the 2nd cemetery.
- Near the entrance, you will pass a hearse that appears to be pulled by an invisible ghost horse. If you listen closely, you might hear a whinny.
- Handicap entrance is the same as the regular entrance. After going up the ramp, the wheel chair will be moved around the side of the house to go into the elevator.
- Grab your child’s hand as you enter the Stretching Room don’t let go until you get into the Doom Buggy. It is very easy to get separated in the dark.
- The stretching room is an elevator that descends. At the end of the spill, their will be flash of lightning and if you look up, you can see a skeleton dangling from the rafters. This might scare the kids, so you might want to distract them during this scene.
- There is a chicken exit after the Stretching Room if you decide the ride is too overwhelming.
- As your Doom Buggy enters the Grand Hall, be sure to look for the bullet holes camouflaged by spider webs in the left portion of the glass partition. In 1974, a guest fired a bullet at the glass. To replace the entire glass, they would have had to remove the roof of the Haunted Mansion so instead they camouflaged it to make it blend in with the decor.
- A ghost will try to hitchhike home with you. Warn the kids in advance that the ghosts are just playing around and Disney won’t let them leave the mansion.
- During October and through to Christmas the Haunted Mansion becomes a “Nightmare Before Christmas” Mansion and it is re-themed with Jack Skeleton.
- During Christmas season, there is a giant Gingerbread cake that dominates the dining table. It is over 500 pounds of gingerbread and they pump the gingerbread scent into the room.
The kids might enjoy Francis’ Ladybug Boogie in California Adventure.
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