How Disney Transforms the Haunted Mansion for the Holidays

Believe it or not, I think that Haunted Mansion Holiday is a more fun attraction than the original Haunted Mansion.

For the Halloween and Holiday seasons at Disneyland Resort, Haunted Mansion gets taken over by Jack Skellington and the citizens of Halloween Town. This “Haunted Mansion Holiday” overlay has graced Disneyland since 2001, with each year seeing more and more crowds and high wait times.

However, transforming Haunted Mansion into Haunted Mansion Holiday is no simple or easy task. It's arguably one of the most complicated Disney attraction overlays Disney undertakes. We've ridden Haunted Mansion Holiday countless times over the years and look forward to its overlay to commemorate the start of the Halloween season.

Read along to learn what it takes for Disney to create the Haunted Mansion Holiday overlay each year.

Haunted Mansion Holiday Facade

When it's complete, the facade for Haunted Mansion Holiday almost looks unrecognizable to the original attraction.

Each year, the exterior of the mansion receives 400 flickering candles and 100 jack-o'-lanterns, a Santa Jack sleigh on the roof, a countdown to Xmas clock, and a number of additional props. And on both the outside and inside of the attraction, the Imagineers added thousands of feet of “black gnarly” garland.

Recently, Kim Irvine was interviewed by D23: The Official Disney Fan Club, where she revealed that Walt Disney Imagineers decided to make a pet cemetery in the front lawn of the attraction. This was a nod to the original Haunted Mansion's pet cemetery. No detail was left to chance.

Walt Disney Imagineers even thought very carefully about what flowers to put around each animal's grave!

What Goes Into the Inside of the Haunted Mansion Holiday

Walt Disney Imagineers transform Haunted Mansion with thousands of lights, props, and special effects.

They put a significant number of props into the attraction, including:

• Over 200 bones next to Zero
• 2 dozen Halloween Town residents
• A man-eating wreath
• Animatronic versions of Jack, Oogie Boogie, and Sally
• A 10-foot tall gingerbread house
• A graveyard filled with 7,500 square feet of snow, 20 gallons of ultraviolet paint, and trees filled with 1,000 orange lights
• Life-sized Graveyard Ice Angels from the film
• Graveyard busts converted into singing jack-o'-lanterns

This makes it one of the most complicated ride overlays Disney undertakes.

Haunted Mansion Holiday Storyline

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For this Haunted Mansion overlay, the original attraction receives an entirely different storyline – and narration.

Written in the style of the famous poem ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas by Clement Clarke Moore, Haunted Mansion Holiday's narrative starts like this, “Twas a long time ago, longer now than it seems, in a place that perhaps you have seen in your dreams, for the story that you are about to be told, began in the holiday worlds of old.”

By the time Haunted Mansion Holiday came around in 2001, the original voice of the Ghost Host, Paul Frees, had passed away. Walt Disney Imagineers had to find a new Ghost Host voice for the attraction. So instead, actor Corey Burton instead provides an incredible imitation, ensuring that you are still led by the famous Ghost Host on your journey through the Haunted Mansion.

Haunted Mansion Holiday Soundtrack

As you make your way toward the stretching room, you hear an ominously familiar blend of “Making Christmas” and “Deck the Halls.”

Because Haunted Mansion is deemed a classic ride, changing the ride completely for the Holiday season potentially spells major disappointment to guests not visiting the theme park regularly. This is likely why Haunted Mansion Holiday's music is more reminiscent of the original Haunted Mansion than The Nightmare Before Christmas.

As you make your way toward the stretching room, an ominous blend of “Making Christmas” with “Deck the Halls” plays in the background.

Haunted Mansion Holiday Stretching Room

When you walk into the stretching room, you'll find several major differences compared to the normal Haunted Mansion.

In 2013, thanks to projection mapping technology, Disney decided to “plus up” the stretching room. They added a projection mapped Jack Skellington crashing through the ceiling of the stretching room with glass raining down as he leans down toward you, saying “Happy Holidays, everyone!” with his happy-but-sinister laugh. Then, the lights go out as the original stretching room scream and crash sounds are heard.

Haunted Mansion Holiday Seance Room

With a new script for Haunted Mansion Holiday, Madame Leota had to be updated.

The seance sequence itself is narrated like the 12 days of Christmas, but with a Halloween twist. To provide the face and voice of Madame Leota, Kim Irvine was invited by Disney for the Haunted Mansion Holiday overlay. Not only is Kim the Executive Creative Director at Walt Disney Imagineering though. She's also the daughter of Disney Legend and longtime Imagineer Leota Toombs, who originated Madame Leota in the classic attraction. Kim Irvine gives an incredible version of Madame Leota that we all enjoy during the Holiday seasons.

Along with Madame Leota's updated script, you'll find floating Christmas ornaments, Nightmare Before Christmas tarot cards

Haunted Mansion Holiday Ballroom

As you exit the seance room, the classic ballroom scene reveals itself with plenty of Nightmare Before Christmas changes.

You'll find a barren Christmas tree decorated with glowing jack-o'-lanterns and skeleton heads. And you'll even find Zero trying to place another jack-o'-lantern on top of the tree.

However, one of the most unique and exciting props of Haunted Mansion Holiday is its gingerbread house.

Each year, a team of carpenters, storytellers, pastry chefs, bakers, and confectionary and technical wizards work together to create the attraction gingerbread house. And with a perishable piece of magnificent artwork, it can't last from year to year. So each year, a new gingerbread house must be made.

For 2024, just look at the stats of the gingerbread house in Haunted Mansion Holiday:

• 60 pounds of gingerbread
• 50 pounds of powdered sugar
• 10 pounds of egg whites
• 30 pounds of rolled fondant
• 5 pounds of crystal sugar
• 10 pounds of chocolate
• More than 240 hours spent creating
• 2 hidden Mickeys

Haunted Mansion Holiday Graveyard

As you pass the hatbox ghost – complete with mistletoe on his cap – you enter the graveyard which contains countless Holiday details.

This includes a snow-covered spiral hill – which is the same hill that Jack sings from in A Nightmare Before Christmas – complete with glowing jack-o'-lanterns and barren trees with hundreds of red lights illuminating it.

Instead of meeting the graveyard caretaker, you come face-to-face with life-sized Jack Skellington and Zero animatronics. As Zero holds candy cane in his mouth, Jack, dressed in his Sandy Claws outfit and carrying a sack of toys, wishes you a Merry Christmas.

As you continue through the graveyard, you'll see ribbons and bows adorning the tombs and ghosts proudly wearing their Holiday clothing. And instead of the singing busts, you'll find 5 singing jack-o'-lanterns entertaining gusts with classics like “We Wish You a Scary Christmas” and “Grim Grinning Ghosts.”

Haunted Mansion Holiday Final Scene

Instead of meeting the Hitchhiking Ghosts at the end of your ride, you come face to face with Oogie Boogie himself.

Dressed as Santa Claus, Oogie Boogie is about to pull a roulette wheel to reveal our special gift from his Tricks and Treats list. This brings you to a set of 3 opened holiday gifts, each revealing a mirror. As you roll by each mirror, we get to see our Holiday tricks and treats, including items like wrapped dynamite sticks, man-eating candy canes, and zombie gingerbread cookies.

After you exit your Doombuggy, you'll go up the moving walkway. However, instead of passing Little Leota on the way out, you'll see a miniature version of Sally, urging you to hurry back!

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