The Haunted Mansion at Magic Kingdom Closing for Refurbishment in August, Possibly for Addition of The Hatbox Ghost

The Haunted Mansion will be closed for refurbishment in August, possibly for the addition of the Hatbox Ghost.

The refurbishment will last from August 7 – 9, with the ride reopening on August 10. The first night of Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party (and the official start of spooky season at Walt Disney World) is August 11.

It has not been confirmed, but the closure is likely for the installation of the Hatbox Ghost animatronic, which was announced for 2023.

The Hatbox Ghost was in the original Disneyland Haunted Mansion on opening day. Technology had not quite caught up to the ghost’s vanishing and appearing head, however, so the ghost only last a few weeks before disappearing for nearly 50 years.

The Hatbox Ghost returned to the Haunted Mansion at Disneyland in 2015. He appears at the end of the attic scene, after the Bride, and we expect he will be in the same place at Magic Kingdom.

Jared Leto will portray the Hatbox Ghost in the upcoming “The Haunted Mansion” film, set to hit theaters on July 27.

New ‘Haunted Mansion’ Movie

The upcoming “Haunted Mansion” film follows a doctor (Rosario Dawson) and her 9-year-old son (Chase Dillon) moving into a haunted abode in New Orleans. Dawson’s character ends up calling in a priest (Owen Wilson) to exorcise the manor. They also get help from a widowed scientist-turned-failed-paranormal expert (LaKeith Stanfield), a French Quarter psychic (Tiffany Haddish), and a historian (Danny DeVito).

Jamie Lee Curtis portrays Madame Leota, and Jared Leto serves as the Hatbox Ghost. Curtis called the film “modern, fresh, old-fashioned, and scary, but not scary like a monster movie. It’s scary, like a Disney ride, and funny. If you go on that ride, there’s a lot of humor as well as the scary, ghost-y stuff.”

Curtis, Wilson, and Stanfield recently worked the Haunted Mansion attraction at Disneyland to promote the film.

During the “Studio Showcase Day 1: Celebrate the Magic of Disney and Pixar” panel at the D23 Expo 2022 in Anaheim, the new film debuted a trailer to fans. Director Justin Simien took to the stage to speak about the project and detail some of the cameos audiences can expect from Winona Ryder, Dan Levy, Hasan Minhaj, and more.

Walt Disney Studios will present a behind-the-scenes look at “Haunted Mansion” during Midsummer Scream — Halloween & Horror Convention in Long Beach, California, this July.

The Haunted Mansion

This classic Disney attraction can now be found at several Disney Parks around the world. The first iteration opened in 1969 at Disneyland as part of the New Orleans Square expansion. Two years later, it was an opening day attraction in Liberty Square at Magic Kingdom, and in 1983, it was an opening day attraction at Tokyo Disneyland, too.

The Disneyland Paris version of Haunted Mansion is named Phantom Manor, while at Hong Kong Disneyland, Mystic Manor is a completely different attraction that draws some inspiration from the original whilst avoiding references to the afterlife out of respect toward traditional Chinese cultural precedent.

The Haunted Mansion is full of famous ghostly characters like Madame Leota, the Bride, the subjects of the stretching room portraits, and the Hatbox Ghost.

Watch our full POV video on the Haunted Mansion at Magic Kingdom below.