A major Disneyland ride is about to change — and if you aren’t ready for it, it could throw off your next visit.
The dust is finally starting to settle with Disneyland’s 70th Anniversary Celebration. The festivities are in full swing and will continue to be active into the summer of 2026. However, while we’re settled in and enjoying the anniversary transformation, that hardly means changes aren’t on the horizon. In fact, one Disneyland ride is about to undergo an annual change that draws in fans from far and wide.
Over in New Orleans Square, the Haunted Mansion ride is about to undergo a serious refurbishment.
The attraction is set to close on August 9th and will reopen on August 22nd, 2025. However, when it reopens, it will do so as Haunted Mansion Holiday — a The Nightmare Before Christmas-themed version of the ride that celebrates the Halloween and Christmas seasons.
So, there are a couple of things to unpack here and why we’re considering this a warning.
For starters, there’s the simple fact that the ride will be unavailable for nearly 2 weeks as it gets ready for the overlay. If you’re traveling to Disneyland between August 9th and the 22nd, the ride simply won’t be available to you — in any form.
The next warning is that wait times are usually longer for this version of the ride. Whichever version of the ride you prefer is completely up to you, but the demand is pretty hefty for the Holiday overlay, and the result is a more miserable waiting experience.
Last year, we saw Haunted Mansion Holiday debut with a virtual queue, but that was also after a physical queue refurbishment and ongoing construction that dwindled the line down into something that could not hold a large number of guests.
This year, we haven’t received an indication one way or the other. Unlike 2024, the queue is up and running just fine now, and the virtual queue was dropped last year entirely from the attraction. If it comes back, we’ll let you know. Regardless, wait times will be long, and getting on the ride won’t be as easy as it is when it’s in its original, spooky form.
Finally, Haunted Mansion purists aren’t going to be pleased with the duration of this overlay. As both a Halloween and Christmas overlay, the Haunted Mansion Holiday theming sticks around for a while. In fact, it’s up for the rest of 2025.
The overlay will last for the rest of 2025 into early 2025. A date hasn’t been announced yet, but we could see the ride change back to normal sometime between mid-January into February 2026, per historical trends.
If you’re all about the OG Haunted Mansion and want to experience that version of the attraction, you won’t be able to do so until 2026 at the earliest, once the ride closes for the change this August.
If you’re at peace with these stipulations, check out the overlay! We’ve been riding it for years, and it offers a unique and fan-favorite theming that you can’t with any other Haunted Mansion found at other Disney Parks!
Are you excited to ride Haunted Mansion Holiday? How are you feeling about this upcoming change? Let us know in the comments and continue to follow us here at AllEars for all the latest Disneyland updates, reviews, tips, and more!
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Which version of the Haunted Mansion do YOU prefer? Let us know in the comments!
I don’t hate the overlay. I hate that they have it up for so long and for Halloween. Do the overlay in early November after Halloween. Disneyland has one spooky ride and they do a Christmas overlay during Halloween. It makes no sense.
THE ORIGINAL IS SO MUCH BETTER!
The ORIGINAL!