There are sure to be many small changes at Disneyland when the theme park reopens its gates on April 30. Few are as hotly anticipated as the renovation at Haunted Mansion, one of the park's oldest and most-loved rides.
Riders before the pandemic may recall some spots looking a little worse for wear (by Disney's high standards, at least). In fact, the entire attraction was already shuttered before the March shutdown due to planned upgrades. Now, we've gotten a look at some of them.
Walking up to the estate, guests in the queue will be greeted by new landscaping among the tombstones for "dearly departed pets." Through the air-conditioned entrance and into the elevator, new, freshly cobwebbed curtains drape the rooms, along with new carpet and wallpaper.
The biggest change — and fun callback for long-time fans — is the return of the "April to December" portrait. The painting, which depicts a pretty young woman suddenly aging into a cartoonish hag, was one of the original enchanted portraits hanging in the hallway that connects the elevator to the ride vehicles. She was removed in 2005 amid speculation that her special effect didn't interface well with the digital technology used in Disneyland's modern moving portraits.
Now, she's back with new special effects. You'll have to be more eagle-eyed, though, as she didn't rejoin her compatriots in the Portrait Corridor. Her ghostly visage now graces the doom buggy loading area.
A video released by Disney also teases a new one-eyed cat statue, although its placement isn't revealed. The eye turns laser-beam red in one clip. The video also seems to indicate there may be more changes in the bride's room and the graveyard scene.
All in all, it's a good crop of fixes for a beloved ride in need of a little TLC. And thankfully, nothing about its original spookiness has been removed, unlike the disaster over in Fantasyland that is Snow White's no-longer-scary adventures.
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