Curtains are up by the Endless Hallway of Magic Kingdom’s Haunted Mansion as work begins for the installation of the Hatbox Ghost.

Haunted Mansion Construction

Disney announced a few days ago that the Hatbox Ghost would be located in the Endless Hallway near the beginning of The Haunted Mansion at Magic Kingdom — a different location than his Disneyland counterpart, and a controversial choice. Disney also said temporary barriers would be visible soon, and now black curtains are up next to the start of the Endless Hallway.

The lights in this section of the ride have been turned off and/or dimmed, so the curtains are less noticeable — and it’s harder than usual to get photos.

The “Donald Duck chair” pictured above has been removed or is blocked from view by the curtains (reports indicate it has been removed). The chair gets its name because it features a face design similar to Donald’s face. It was designed by Imagineer Rolly Crump and originally intended to be a moving/talking chair.

It seems the Hatbox Ghost will go where the chair is, although the chair could remain next to the ghost or go to another location in the mansion.

The Haunted Mansion will be closed for refurbishment from August 7 through August 9, a few days before Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party begins on August 11. The Hatbox Ghost is not expected to be installed during this closure, but work will continue on preparing the area for his arrival.

Hatbox Ghost History

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. Disney recently shared a video about the Hatbox Ghost’s history, teasing his future appearance in Magic Kingdom.

Imagineer Daniel Joseph, who worked on the Hatbox Ghost in The Haunted Mansion at Disneyland, is among the 2023 class of inductees for the Florida Inventors Hall of Fame.

See the Hatbox Ghost in our 2021 POV video of the Haunted Mansion at Disneyland below.

The Haunted Mansion

The original Haunted Mansion opened in 1969 as part of the New Orleans Square expansion in Disneyland. Two years later, it was an opening day attraction in Liberty Square at Magic Kingdom. It was also an opening day attraction at Tokyo Disneyland in 1983.

Phantom Manor is a version of the Haunted Mansion with its own original backstory at Disneyland Paris.

In Hong Kong Disneyland, guests can enjoy Mystic Manor. This ride is inspired by Haunted Mansion but is ultimately a completely different attraction that avoids references to the afterlife out of respect to Chinese traditions.

New ‘Haunted Mansion’ Movie

Jared Leto portrays the Hatbox Ghost in the new “Haunted Mansion” film. The cast also includes LaKeith Stanfield, Rosario Dawson, Owen Wilson, Tiffany Haddish, Danny DeVito, and Jamie Lee Curtis. Dawson portrays Gabbie, who moves into the Haunted Mansion with her son, Travis (Chase Dillon). They call in Owen Wilson’s priest, Kent, who contacts LaKeith Stanfield’s Ben to help take care of the ghost problem.

The film also features the “Donald Duck chair” in the seance room.

“Haunted Mansion” is directed by Justin Simien from a screenplay by Katie Dippold. It’s produced by Dan Lin and Jonathan Eirich.

This is the second attempt to adapt the classic ride into a film, following the poorly received 2003 “The Haunted Mansion” directed by Rob Minkoff and starring Eddie Murphy.

Director Guillermo del Toro was also attached to make a new “Haunted Mansion” film and even turned in a script a decade ago, but this never came to fruition.

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