Credit: DisneyDisney chooses to keep a dark and gruesome effect despite rumors of its removal earlier this year.
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Haunted Mansion is undoubtedly not just one of the most popular and beloved rides at the Disney theme parks but one of the most iconic theme park attractions in the world.
Daring guests to climb aboard a creepy, spooky, and cobweb-filled journey through an abandoned house filled with hundreds of “happy haunts,” Haunted Mansion is one of the most treasured and revered rides at Disney and a must-do for most guests who visit the parks.
The ride underwent an extensive refurbishment this year at the Disneyland Resort, reopening to guests on Monday, July 29, as Haunted Mansion Holiday, the limited-time overlay inspired by Disney’s classic stop motion film, The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993).
Haunted Mansion has been offline since it closed this year as work continues on the attraction’s outdoor queue area, a project Disney unveiled last year. It was unspecified what all would be changed when Haunted Mansion finally reopened, though fans theorized a certain gruesome part of the experience would be cut.
However, Haunted Mansion returned intact, seemingly confirming Disney has no intentions of replacing this controversial scene anytime soon.
Disney Keeps Controversial Haunted Mansion Scene
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Before guests even board their doom buggy, they will make their way through Haunted Mansion’s incredibly detailed queue, which features many creepy features and ghoulish decorations.
Haunted Mansion’s queue can be considered part of the overall experience, immersing guests in this wacky yet grisly world. One of the attraction’s most controversial and infamous portions is found deep within the mansion itself. As guests find themselves trapped in the stretching room, they can look up and see a corpse hanging by a rope.
This scene is a common point of debate among Disney Park fans, with some feeling as though it’s a little “too dark” for Disney. The scene has been present in Haunted Mansion for decades, and with Disney recently reopening its California counterpart, the company seemingly has no plans to replace it anytime soon.
Fans were quick to notice the hanging corpse is still there despite Haunted Mansions’ lengthy refurbishment.
A video from Twitter/X user thecalibae shows the corpse still hanging above guests in the stretching room, which was recently outfitted with a new Jack Skellington overlay.
Hanging man is still in Haunted Mansion Holiday currently at Disneyland
Hanging man is still in Haunted Mansion Holiday currently at Disneyland pic.twitter.com/eoEVAo44Zb
— 🔥 FIVE FIRES 🔥 (@thecalibae) July 29, 2024
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While the hanging corpse may still be present inside the Haunted Mansion, it’s possible this scene will eventually be toned down in a future update.
Disney has already made changes to Haunted Mansion over the years, most notably in 2023, when Disneyland Paris removed all nooses from its version of the ride.
Disney is no stranger to changing or modifying scenes in its rides and attractions, with Pirates of the Caribbean seeing some of the biggest changes in Disney theme park history.
Over the years, Disney has tweaked Pirates of the Caribbean in a variety of ways to make the experience more family-friendly, removing or replacing some of the more X-rated segments, like the infamous bride auction scene in 2018.
What are your thoughts on this Haunted Mansion scene? What is your favorite ride at Disneyland?