One of the most endearing images of Haunted Mansion Holiday is the annual gingerbread house that takes center stage at Jack Skellington’s holiday celebration. And with the premiere of the seasonal attraction just weeks away, D23 Gold Members got a first look at this year’s house in “Disney twenty-three” magazine. The two to three foot tall house this year will be attacked by a five foot tall gingerbread spider, grabbing the house off its foundation.
Motion and light are a big part of this year’s house. The house is capable of moving up and down as the spider pulls. The spider itself has moving mandibles, as well as glowing eyes, and a backlit abdomen, showing off the candy glass artwork. The whole house will be lit with flickering Christmas lights, wired from inside the house.
Tim Wollweber, the house’s designer, told the magazine: “The spider is one of those iconic Halloween images—they scare a lot of people…and it also ties into the theme of the Christmas tree in the ballroom that has spiders holding light-up Christmas bulbs. I was trying to get that classic Halloween monster-movie vibe.”
The article also revealed that plans have already been drawn up for the gingerbread houses for the 2019 and 2020 iterations of the attraction. 2020 will mark the attraction’s 20th season.