Construction is underway for the grounds expansion heading to the Haunted Mansion at Disneyland. During a visit today, January 19, we spotted work had begun in the attraction’s queue.

Haunted Mansion Queue Construction

The construction walls begin outside of the start of the queue, with guests’ paths being adjusted for Lightning Lane and the regular line. The ride will remain with its Haunted Mansion Holiday overlay until it closes on January 22 for the grounds expansion. Rumors indicate that guests may not get a chance to ride the attraction in its original form until early 2025.

Within the grounds of the queue, both tarp and construction walls have gone up, blocking guests from the work that has begun.

The former extended queue area bordering the Disneyland Railroad track is in the midst of construction, with a massive dirt pile and a work zone cone spotted behind the construction walls.

If you look closely, you can see that one of the tombstones that decorate the retaining wall in the back has lost a large chunk of it on its upper right side. The rest of the tombstones are below the dirt pile.

Tarp has gone up on the fence of the former FastPass distribution area and larger extended queue. The wait time sign has been removed from the pillar on the left.

We also spotted what appears to be a bulldozer in the construction zone, partially blocked by greenery.

Look Back on The Haunted Mansion Queue

The gravestones of the Haunted Mansion queue’s Family Plot pay tribute to various Disneyland Imagineers, cast, and crew, while the crypts below are generally puns. One of the first gravestones guests encounter in the queue (prior to construction) is for Julia Shrub.

Such a Good Sport When People Would Tease Her for Being So Short

This gravestone is a tribute to Julie Bush, a Disneyland landscaper.

Next to Julia Shrub is the grave of Bradford Clemente, written in Spanish.

Aqui Descansa Bradford Clemente. Demaisiado Beber de la Fuente.

Here Rests Bradford Clemente. He drank too much from the fountain.

The grave is decorated with grapes, implying Clemente indulged in wine, and is a tribute to Brad Clemens, a Disney show designer.

The graves are behind a green wrought iron fence. During the Halloween season, the fence is decorated with dead vines while jack-o’-lanterns are placed among the graves.

The grave of Rolo Rumkin honors Roland “Rolly” Crump. Crump designed the Museum of the Weird, which never came to fruition, but some elements of it were incorporated into The Haunted Mansion. His candleman recently materialized at The Haunted Mansion in Florida. Crump passed away at age 93 in March 2023.

Lived and Died a Friendly Bumpkin

Other graves in the Family Plot are for Master Gracey (tribute to Yale Gracey), Grandpa Marc (for Marc Davis), Brother Claude (for Claude Coats), Francis Xavier (for X Atencio), Cousin Victor (for Vic Greene), Wathel R. Bender (for Wathel Rogers), Cam Irving (for Kim Irvine), M. Dibjib (for Michael Dobrzycki), and Esteban Pine (Steve Pinedo). There’s also a tombstone for Phineas Pock, one of the singing busts in the ride portrayed by Bob Ebright.

The original eight tombstones were removed for the first Haunted Mansion Holiday overlay in 2001. In 2016, they were replaced with replicas. The graves of Cam Irving, M. Dibjib and Esteban Pine (who share a tombstone), Julia Shrub, and Bradford Clemente were also added at that time.

The crypts beneath the graveyard are for characters such as Theo Later, Dustin T. Dust, U.R. Gone, Levi Tation, Ray N. Carnation, and I.M. Mortal. They don’t have epitaphs but each have a special symbol carved beneath their name, such as a flower for Ray N. Carnation. The crypts are crakced as part of the theming.

Other crypts are for I. Trudy Departed, I.L. Beback, Rustin Peece, and M.T. Tomb.

You can also see the queue as it looked until this week in our 2021 video of The Haunted Mansion below.

Haunted Mansion Grounds Expansion

Announced in August 2023, the extended grounds will feature an immersive queue that acts as the mansion’s gardens. Guests can expect a water fountain, a gazebo, and a new greenhouse. The pet cemetery and the horse-drawn funeral hearse will return when the expansion is complete.

In addition to the refreshed grounds, the refurbishment will also include a new retail shop adjacent to the attraction’s exit, owned by Madame Leota. The shop will be designed to look like the mansion’s carriage house.

What do you think about the changes coming to Haunted Mansion? Will you be getting one last ride in before it closes for refurbishment? Let us know in the comments below.

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