Disneyland axes the axe on its Haunted Mansion

January 17, 2025, 1:10 PM · Disneyland's Haunted Mansion returns tomorrow. The non-holiday version of the New Orleans Square dark ride has not been available for more than a year, and Disney's Imagineers have made some changes since fans last saw this version of the ride.

The big change is with what now passes for the ride's protagonist - the bride in the attic. "Constance" is no longer an axe murderer in this latest version of the Haunted Mansion. Walt Disney Imagineering has replaced the bride with a new version that loses her axe in favor of a return of her bleeding, beating heart.

The axe appeared when Disneyland changed the Mansion in the mid-2000s, also adding a projection effect to the bride's face. Disney also added effects that depicted the heads of the bride's many husbands disappearing from their portraits in the attic. The implication was that the bride was whacking all those husbands for... I don't know, their money?

Or, more likely, for your money. The Haunted Mansion remains one of the more popular attractions at Disneyland, driving ticket sales for more than 50 years.

Haunted Mansion might be the most retconned attraction at Disneyland over that half century. From its origin as Rolly Crump's Museum of the Weird, the Mansion long has offered more of a vibe than a narrative. But fans demand stories, and Disney has obliged by tweaking the ride over the years to support various narratives.

The killer bride was the latest, before this switch back to a mourning one. Update: Here is our new on-ride POV from Haunted Mansion, including the revamped attic scene with the bride.

In other Disneyland Resort news, Lunar New Year starts today across the esplanade at Disney California Adventure. Stay tuned for more about that later tonight.

In the meantime, if you are thinking about a visit, our ticket partner is offering a variety of deals on daily tickets, including a three-day ticket for Southern California residents that starts at $65 a day. You can get those deals - at prices lower than on Disney's own website - here: Disneyland theme park tickets.

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Replies (3)

January 17, 2025 at 4:53 PM

I'm fine with this as never a fan of the "hatchet" version. A little too sinister for the Mansion, odd as that sounds.

January 17, 2025 at 8:28 PM

It's only a matter of time before the stretching portrait room is altered to remove the hanging body.

January 22, 2025 at 1:04 PM

It may be true that most visitors don’t notice all the stories in a Disney park.

But you sure do notice the lack of it at operators like six flags and recent Merlin additions.

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