If there’s one thing I’ve missed since the COVID-19 pandemic, it’s been trips to Disneyland. My family and I were annual pass holders for a number of years before the pandemic hit, and The Disneyland Resort ultimately discontinued the Annual Passholder program. Like many, I haven’t been to the resort since it closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic in March of 2020. As a result, I also haven’t had the opportunity to ride my favorite attraction, The Haunted Mansion, and see all the improvements made during Disneyland’s closure. Thankfully, this week, the Disneyland Magic Key Facebook Page shared an exciting behind-the-scenes look at all of the enhancements made to the mansion since its reopening.
This 12-minute behind-the-scenes look at the mansion features Disney Imagineer Michele Hobbs as your tour guide as she shares some history of the mansion while highlighting several unique updates to this haunted abode.
The tour starts at the front of the mansion, where Hobbs showcases some of the landscaping enhancements made in the pet cemetery. Here, new greenery has been added around the tombstones of the deceased pets to fit with the theme of the animal more closely. In fact, in one instance, they’ve gone as far as choosing plants with an aroma to highlight one putrid pet in particular.
Once inside the mansion, Hobbs speaks about some of the restorative work made throughout, but the tour’s highlight is when she shares the expansion of the portrait hall, which now leads up to the attraction boarding area. The newly enhanced queue section features intricately detailed screens and the return of the April to December changing portrait, which was removed from the mansion in 2005. It features a lovely young woman who quickly ages before your eyes.
The section also includes a new one-eyed cat statue that features a glowing red eye. The figure is an homage to Disney Imagineer X. Atencio, who had created an unused script where a one-eyed black cat would have been the main antagonist in the attraction during the development of The Haunted Mansion.
You can catch this special behind-the-scenes walkthrough of Disneyland’s The Haunted Mansion now on the Magic Key Facebook Page.
