Imagineering has filed a building allow for a brand new Haunted Mansion thriller undertaking in Magic Kingdom. This covers main points from the Understand of Graduation, and our hypothesis as to what it might entail in line with Automobiles building, contemporary adjustments at Disneyland’s trip, and feedback made via a lead Imagineer in an interview.
It shouldn’t be an enormous surprise that Haunted Mansion goes to have extra paintings achieved in 2026. Along side Pirates of the Caribbean, that is a type of legacy points of interest with which Walt Disney Imagineering likes to tinker. This shouldn’t be an enormous marvel given evolving generation (which then turns into out of date), amongst different issues.
Now not handiest that, however there’s a cheap likelihood that Haunted Mansion goes to wish paintings across the external someday in 2026 or 2027 to attach the appeal to Giant Thunder Mountain Railroad and Piston Top. We already know there shall be walkways between those spaces; the unknown is whether or not Haunted Mansion will wish to shut for refurbishment to transform the queue or the rest.
The brand new building allow almost definitely relates to the inner of the appeal, even though. The Understand of Graduation lists an deal with of 1600 Magic Kingdom Dr., which is that of the Haunted Mansion in Liberty Sq.. It faucets Mecca Productions because the contractor, and the scope of the paintings is indexed as “Set up set parts.”
Mecca Productions describes itself as a full-service design, fabrication, and set up company in Central Florida. The corporate creates props and surroundings for the arena’s maximum notable themed leisure venues, from theme parks and points of interest to museums and extra. The corporate prides itself on a portfolio of award-winning tasks, in addition to the bone-chilling haunted homes and particular occasions that experience earned Mecca popularity as the rustic’s main Halloween fabricator.
Mecca Productions is a common collaborator with Walt Disney International. Simply in the previous couple of months, they’ve been indexed on lets in relating the high-profile reimaginings of DINOSAUR into an Indiana Jones Journey and Rock ‘n’ Curler Coaster Starring Aerosmith into the Muppets.
What’s notable about this allow is that it’s coming from Walt Disney Imagineering versus an interior arm of Walt Disney International, comparable to Amenities Asset Control. The latter is most often simply regimen upkeep to increase the lifetime of an asset, while an Imagineering-helmed undertaking is most often ingenious on the core, leading to substantive adjustments.
With main points of the allow out of the best way, let’s flip to hypothesis about imaginable spaces of emphasis for the thriller undertaking…
The primary and most blatant is that it’s simply external paintings. The scope of labor being “set up set parts” is ostensibly in war with this, suggesting the undertaking comes to display scenes within the appeal. However it’s price mentioning that there are units within the extra liberal sense of the time period out of doors the appeal.
There’s the entire interactive overflow queue this is now underutilized and arguably out of date, in addition to the graveyards out of doors the doorway and go out, and extra. The interactive queue has been arguable since its set up, and I wouldn’t be stunned if Imagineers need every other crack at adjusting it.
There’s additionally the chance, once more, that the queue would possibly wish to be changed as a part of the Piston Top undertaking. This may well be to house the walkway, as discussed above. It’s additionally imaginable that extra would possibly wish to be added to maintain sightlines and mitigate noise of the vroom vroom vroom Automobiles.
That is the uninteresting clarification, however I’m vulnerable to suspect that this allow is somewhat of a faux out and has not anything to do with the inner of the appeal. That it’s one thing within the external “units” as an alternative.
The largest factor that provides me pause about this chance is that it moves me as untimely for any such allow. Ahead of the rest can occur to the grounds thematically, there’s possibly a good quantity of infrastructure paintings to be achieved to house the brand new trail and landscaping.
It sort of feels like the rest to do with external units could be a past due 2026 undertaking–if no longer 2027–versus early 2026.
Within the Haunted Mansion, every other chance is that it comes to particular Audio Animatronics within the appeal.
The obvious candidate here’s a new bride. This up to date Audio Animatronics determine materialized at Disneyland previous this 12 months, after Haunted Mansion reopened from its Nightmare Ahead of Christmas overlay.
The brand new bride (pictured above) seems great, with each the Audio Animatronics determine and its presentation becoming higher within the Haunted Mansion.
The tech in earlier bride (and present bride at Magic Kingdom) had no longer elderly smartly, and used to be an instance of Imagineering getting forward of itself using tech that hadn’t matured moderately sufficient. Similarly as important, the former bride used to be kind of hokey and tonally inconsistent with the remainder of the Haunted Mansion.
The brand new one leaves extra to the creativeness, providing a scene this is extra unsettling–or haunting, if you’re going to–because of this. It’s, with out query, an improve. Truthfully, I nonetheless desire the OG bride at Tokyo Disneyland (pictured above), however the up to date bride from California no doubt higher than what’s nonetheless within the Florida model of the trip.
Imagineering almost definitely needs this new bride at Magic Kingdom, too. Much less sure is Walt Disney International’s willingness to just accept it. I may see a reluctance to near the appeal for refurbishment simply so as to add this AA. Now, if a closure is needed for the pathway undertaking, regardless, this and different adjustments within the mansion make best possible sense.
My private want checklist right here would contain shifting Hatbox Ghost out of doors the attic. His present spot doesn’t in reality make sense with the tale and lore of Haunted Mansion, and despite the fact that 98% of visitors don’t realize, diehard fanatics–and Imagineers–do.
Going again in and shifting Hatbox Ghost handiest a few years later would possibly appear far-fetched, and almost definitely is. However understand that this undertaking used to be initiated ahead of Bruce Vaughn returned to Imagineering. It took place at a time when the ingenious arm had much less political capital, and it’s our figuring out that Walt Disney International driven for the site that used to be most cost-effective, quickest, and wouldn’t entail further electric paintings.
So much has modified since then in relation to Imagineering’s company clout. Nonetheless, political capital is a foreign money, and WDI doesn’t have an never-ending provide of it. Accordingly, I’d be stunned to look the site of Hatbox Ghost being excessive precedence at this second. I totally be expecting him to transport within the subsequent decade or two; simply no longer presently.
Any other chance, which I view as moderately incredible, is adjustments to the Stretching Room. Again when the Haunted Mansion adjustments at Disneyland had been being promoted, the Los Angeles Instances had an interview with since-retired Imagineer Kim Irvine, she spoke of getting rid of issues that angry visitor sensibilities and Disney no longer short of to “rejoice” the bride being an awl assassin.
Previous to that, Irvine’s crew spoke of probably getting rid of the striking corpse within the Stretching Room in 2021, noting {that a} scene depicting a suicide may well be triggering for some visitors. “We’re nonetheless having a look at that,” Irvine mentioned within the more moderen interview. “That one is sophisticated, structurally. … Something at a time.”
It is a subtle topic (surely extra so than the Haunted Mansion supposedly “celebrating” awl murderers), however I’m nonetheless skeptical it’ll trade anytime quickly. The Stretching Room is in order that iconic and historical, and there’s nonetheless sufficient of the outdated guard at Imagineering to ward off towards this sort of trade.
There’s an excessive amount of reverence for Haunted Mansion at Imagineering and the folks in energy don’t need that modify being related to their legacy. That will not be true in every other 5-10 years, however I simply don’t see it going down anytime quickly. (From the out of doors, it additionally turns out like this sort of factor has fallen out of favor.) And I’d be stunned if that occurs first at Walt Disney International, anyway.
In the end, it’ll be attention-grabbing to look what’s introduced for Haunted Mansion within the coming weeks or months. No refurbishment is these days scheduled. Even supposing iciness is refurbishment season and we’ve been anticipating extra last-minute closures added to the calendar, we don’t wait for Haunted Mansion being amongst them.
It moves us as not likely that Magic Kingdom would take every other iconic appeal offline ahead of Giant Thunder Mountain Railroad and/or Buzz Lightyear’s House Ranger Spin reopen. If Haunted Mansion goes to near for refurbishment in 2026 (and that’s nonetheless an “if” at this level), we strongly suspect it received’t occur till later within the 12 months. There’s already so much (arguably an excessive amount of) going down within the first few months, and park control is cognizant of closures and their affect at the visitor enjoy.
Whilst I don’t be expecting primary adjustments to the substance of the appeal, the rest is imaginable. Imagineers like to tinker with Haunted Mansion and make their mark at the iconic appeal. It’s solely imaginable the crew has cracked the code on a brand new phantasm and needs so as to add that to the appeal. We’ll stay you posted!
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Your Ideas
Ideas on doable adjustments Imagineering may make to the Haunted Mansion? Do you want to look any Audio Animatronics added, modified, or changed? Predictions about what this undertaking if truth be told includes? Agree or disagree with our hypothesis? Any questions? Listening to your comments—even while you disagree with us—is each attention-grabbing to us and useful to different readers, so please percentage your ideas under within the feedback!
