Haunted Mansion Holiday Magic: Fun Facts That Bring This Disneyland Favorite to Life. During the Holidays seasons at the Disneyland Resort, Jack Skellington wrecks the halls of the Haunted Mansion in Disneyland Park with merry and macabre décor inspired by “Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas” – transforming the attraction into Haunted Mansion Holiday. In this collision of Halloween and Christmas, Jack dresses up as “Santa Jack” and brings eerie Halloween Town delights.
One of Jack’s holiday traditions is leaving a giant gingerbread house for the ghosts who dance around the Haunted Mansion’s Grand Hall. This year’s gingerbread house pays homage to the raven in “A Murder So Fowl: A HMH Gingerbread House.” The raven is the Haunted Mansion guide that goes on holiday when Haunted Mansion Holiday opens. The 13-foot-tall structure resembling a house decorated for the holidays hosts a whole murder of black crows with piercing red eyes that glow. At least 13 are on the table at any moment, their eyes ominously watching as guests pass by the ballroom. Four crows flick and move from their perches and on the tower while one attempts to redecorate the Christmas lights on the house – to his electrified chagrin. This intricately designed gingerbread house continues the beloved tradition of bringing a new spooky-sweet surprise to the ballroom each year, making it a must-see feature of the overlay.
Guests can check Disneyland.com or the Disneyland app on the day of their visit for details on how to access the attraction.
Frightfully fun facts about Haunted Mansion Holiday
- More than 400 flickering candles create a ghostly glow on the façade of Haunted Mansion Holiday. Each night, more than 100 jack-o-lanterns shine their ghoulish light.
- Jack Skellington and his ghost dog Zero appear in a fully animated sequence on the ceiling of the “stretching” room, which transports guests into the depths of the mansion. Zero also makes surprise appearances among the transforming portraits in the gallery corridor.
- For Haunted Mansion Holiday, Kim Irvine, former Executive Creative Director at Walt Disney Imagineering, gives a spirited portrayal of Madame Leota, the psychic floating inside the crystal ball. Irvine’s mother, Disney Legend and longtime Imagineer Leota Toombs, originated the role in the classic attraction.
- In the Séance Room, Madame Leota’s “13 Days of Christmas” are featured in 13 spinning fortune cards that tell of the Christmas gifts which, as she proclaims, “My ghoul love gave to me…” Among the gifts depicted in the cards are 11 candles floating, nine magic crystals, five lucky charms and two passion potions.
- A team of carpenters, storytellers, pastry chefs, bakers and confectionary and technical wizards collaborate to construct the mansion’s annual gingerbread house. Featuring a new design each year, the magnificent creation emanates the scent of tasty gingerbread throughout the Grand Hall, tempting Happy Haunts and mortals alike.
- The graveyard is covered with nearly 7,500 square feet of snow, and nearly 1,000 tiny orange lights decorate the trees – making it a festive place to rest in peace.
- From man-eating wreaths to vampire teddy bears, more than two dozen additional animated figures “materialize” as part of the Haunted Mansion Holiday transformation.
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