Haunted Mansion Holiday facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Haunted Mansion Holiday |
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| Attraction type | Omnimover | ||||||||
| Manufacturers | Arrow Development (Disneyland) | ||||||||
| Designer | Walt Disney Imagineering | ||||||||
| Theme | The Nightmare Before Christmas | ||||||||
| Music | Gordon Goodwin (original) Danny Elfman/John Debney (A Musical History of Disneyland) |
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| Speed | 3 mph (4.8 km/h) | ||||||||
| Vehicle type | Doom Buggies | ||||||||
| Riders per vehicle | 2–3 | ||||||||
| Audio-animatronics | Yes | ||||||||
| Host | Ghost Host (voiced by Corey Burton in Anaheim; Ponta Mitsui in Tokyo) | ||||||||
| Season | September–January | ||||||||
 Disney's Fastpass available |
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 Must transfer from wheelchair |
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Haunted Mansion Holiday is a special version of The Haunted Mansion ride. It appears each year at Disneyland in California and Tokyo Disneyland in Japan. This version mixes the spooky fun of the original Haunted Mansion with characters and ideas from the 1993 movie The Nightmare Before Christmas.
The ride tells a story inspired by "The Night Before Christmas." In this version, Jack Skellington (who tries to be "Sandy Claws") visits the Haunted Mansion on Christmas Eve. He leaves a trail of holiday chaos behind him! The Haunted Mansion usually closes for a few weeks in late August. This allows time to transform it into the Haunted Mansion Holiday. It then opens to guests from September through early January. After that, it closes again to change back to its original form.
Contents
History of the Holiday Mansion
Other Disney rides, like Country Bear Christmas Special and It's a Small World Holiday, had already been successful with seasonal changes. So, Disney decided to create a holiday version for the Haunted Mansion too.
At first, Disney thought about basing the ride on A Christmas Carol. But they decided against it because the ride is in New Orleans Square. Bringing Santa Claus into the spooky mansion also seemed a bit odd. Instead, they chose The Nightmare Before Christmas. This movie fit the spooky-but-fun vibe perfectly. Steve Davison helped develop this exciting idea.
A challenge for Disney was that many of the original voice actors for the ride had passed away. Corey Burton took over as the Ghost Host. Kim Irvine, whose mother was an original performer, played Madame Leota. Susanne Blakeslee provided Madame Leota's voice. The singing busts were given new, animated projections. New voice actors were found for the graveyard ghosts.
Haunted Mansion Holiday first opened on October 3, 2001. It quickly became very popular with guests. In 2013, on Friday the 13th, the ride at Disneyland got new effects and decorations. This celebrated its 13th year of operation.
The Story of the Ride
The story of Haunted Mansion Holiday happens right after the movie The Nightmare Before Christmas. In the movie, Jack Skellington tries to create his own strange Christmas. Now, he finds the Haunted Mansion, which is home to 999 friendly ghosts.
Jack decides to bring some holiday cheer to the mansion's gloomy residents. He and his spooky friends from Halloween Town bring hundreds of Jack's unique Christmas presents and decorations. They deck out the mansion for a thrilling and chilling holiday. This sets the scene for your ride!
What You See on the Ride
Outside the Mansion
The outside of the mansion is covered in jack-o-lanterns and Halloween-style Christmas decorations. On the roof, you can see Jack Skellington's coffin sleigh. His funny "Christmas Equation" stretches from the roof to the ground. There's also a countdown clock from Halloween Town. It shows how many days are left until Christmas.
Inside the Mansion
Guests enter the foyer, which is decorated with skull wreaths. The Ghost Host starts telling the story in rhymes. Then, you move into one of the two portrait chambers.
The stretching portraits are replaced with stained-glass pictures. These show innocent Christmas scenes with wreaths. When the doors close, the room goes dark and stretches. The pictures seem to burst, and glowing images from Halloween Town's Christmas vision appear. You'll see Jack as Santa Claus flying over the Mansion. There's also a man-eating wreath, scary toys, and a giant snake. The Ghost Host recites a dark version of "Twas the Night Before Christmas." The suspense builds until lightning flashes. Jack's face appears in the ceiling, laughing, "Happy Holidays, everyone!"
As the lights come back on, the doors open. You enter the portrait hallway. The changing portraits here show Jack Skellington, Sally, and Santa Claus. A snowstorm seems to be happening outside the windows. The three musicians from the movie stand outside. The staring busts have spider-webs that spell "NOEL" and "HO-HO-HO."
Boarding Your Doom Buggy
The loading area is decorated with even more Halloween and Christmas items. There's a huge animated Christmas card with characters from the movie. The card says "MERRY CHRISTMAS," but it sometimes changes to "SCARY CHRISTMAS."
Once you board your Doom Buggy (called a Black Christmas Sleigh during the overlay), you go up a staircase. At the top, there are piles of presents. The Vampire Teddy sits on them, trying to catch humans. Zero, Jack's ghost dog, floats in the endless hallway. The suit of armor wears a pumpkin mask and garland.
The Corridor of Doors and Madame Leota
The Vampire Teddy sits on a coffin that says "Do Not Open Till Xmas." The dead funeral flowers have come to life and sing "Kidnap the Sandy Claws." The corridor of doors is filled with these comically vicious flowers. You then pass under a large, yellow-eyed man-eating wreath with teeth.
Madame Leota floats with glowing bottles around her. She chants "The 13 Days of Christmas." A bewitched nutcracker moves its mouth with Leota. The floating instruments are replaced with huge tarot cards. These cards show Leota's 13 Christmas gifts.
The Ballroom and Attic
In the ballroom, the ghosts are the same, but the decorations have changed. The table is set for a Christmas party with a huge gingerbread house. A giant dead Christmas tree, covered in candles and spiders, sits in the middle of the dance floor. Zero floats above the scene.
Next, you go to the attic. It's filled with all sorts of creepy toys and presents. A huge snake coils around the room with a "naughty and nice" list in its mouth. Some of the evil toys come to life as you pass. These include jack-in-the-boxes, a duck with bullet holes, and a monstrous train.
The Graveyard and Beyond
As you leave the attic, you see The Hatbox Ghost with a Christmas Skull pin on his hat. Snowflakes fall instead of ghosts rising. In the graveyard, you'll see the Vampire Teddy chewing on Christmas lights. A towering audio-animatronic figure of Jack in his Sandy Claws outfit wishes you a Merry Christmas. Zero is with him.
The graveyard is covered in snow. The spiral hill from Halloween Town is a centerpiece with glowing pumpkins. Pop-up ghosts, now wearing Santa hats, still scare guests. An animatronic Sally was added to the graveyard in 2016. The music here mixes "Grim Grinning Ghosts" with Christmas songs. Skeletal reindeer enjoy the graveyard, some playing tug-of-war.
The Doom Buggies then enter the crypt. An audio-animatronic Oogie Boogie stands next to a roulette wheel. He offers guests a game with strange gifts. If you see a coffin with a question mark, Lock, Shock, and Barrel pop out from behind the mirrors.
The Exit
Finally, you arrive at the unload area, which is also filled with snow and jack-o-lanterns. As you leave, a tiny version of Sally thanks Jack as he flies away in his sleigh. She tells guests to hurry back!
Fun Additions
During the 2003 season, Disneyland had an "Oogie Boogie's Holiday Tricks and Treats" scavenger hunt. Guests could look for hidden appearances of Oogie Boogie throughout the mansion. For example, Oogie could be found in the gardens or as a doll in the attic.
Music of the Mansion
The music for the attraction was first created by Gordon Goodwin. In 2002, John Debney adapted the music, using themes from the movie's soundtrack by Danny Elfman. Since 2003, Goodwin's original music is used in some parts, while Elfman's music is used in others. Some characters in the ride are voiced by the original actors from the film.
Voice Actors
Many talented actors lend their voices to the characters in Haunted Mansion Holiday:
- Chris Sarandon – Jack Skellington
- Ken Page – Oogie Boogie
- Corey Burton – Ghost Host
- Kath Soucie – Sally
- Susanne Blakeslee – Madame Leota (Kim Irvine provides the face)
See also
- Haunted Mansion
- The Nightmare Before Christmas
- Phantom Manor
- Mystic Manor
