Welcome, Foolish Mortals. We’re about to talk about Disney World’s Haunted Mansion.
Haunted Mansion
Now, the Haunted Mansion in Magic Kingdom is one of our FAVORITE rides in Disney World, and it doesn’t even have to be spooky season for us to enjoy it. We’ve seen a LOT of changes happening at Haunted Mansion over the past few years. Most recently, Candle Man was added (and only Haunted Mansion EXPERTS understand who and what that is). However, Disney World’s version of the ride also recently got the infamous Hatbox Ghost, an addition that still remains controversial with many fans. Well, something ELSE may have just changed at Haunted Mansion — and we have so many questions.
Okay, so at the end of Haunted Mansion, you see these three guys, Ezra, Phineas, and Gus, the Mansion’s infamous Hitchhiking Ghosts. You’re warned about them because they’ll try to hitch a ride home with you. This is one of the most iconic parts of the ride.
Haunted Mansion
Then the Doom Buggy turns to face some mirrors, and you see how these three are taking a ride home with you. Before, they were kinda dim, and they would sometimes do funny things like swap heads with you. Sometimes, they’ll just mess with you somehow because these three are the ULTIMATE tricksters. However, based on multiple recent visits to the Mansion, they appear to have CHANGED.
First, they are a LOT clearer and brighter. It looks like their projectors (or whatever spooky tech Disney uses) have been updated. Their animation style also seems to have changed — they seem a bit more cartoonish.
They look different!
We noticed that the ghosts did not interact with us or our Doom Buggy. They just sat on the top of the Doom Buggy or sat beside us. (Based on our multiple visits so far this week.) So, for now, you might not get that cool thing where they swap heads with you. It’s hard to say if this is a permanent change or just a “b-mode” situation used when the normal effect isn’t working. According to a Cast Member, there were some syncing issues with the ghosts recently. Here’s to hoping that little bit of macabre humor isn’t gone for good!
A lot brighter and more vibrant
So, yeah, this is a big change, at least for us. We’ll be honest — we like that you can see them better, but we’re missing the funny little tricks! Here’s a comparison video to show you how these guys have changed. As we said, this could just be a quick fix while the effect is unavailable, so don’t panic quite yet.
It looks like the Hitchhiking Ghosts have been updated on Haunted Mansion at Magic Kingdom 👻
The first clip shows the updated Ghosts, and the second clip shows the previous Ghosts! pic.twitter.com/6bqCNBHznY
— Disney Food Blog (@DisneyFoodBlog) November 15, 2024
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People probably complained about the macabre quality of the previous apparitions. It was so fun when they would swap heads with you and the other ways they had of acting up. I’m sure that Disney would defend the changes in the spirit of updates or constant improvements, but this seems like a trade down to me.
HM is one of my most favorite rides too, thanks for the update.
I’m pretty sure I will agree with you and miss their shenanigans, I always hope for the head swap.
So, Disney, once again fixing what isn’t broken…
If I remember correctly, years ago the ghost just sat next to you (or on top of you if there was no space).
I liked the version of them switching heads and such ☹
Since they changed once and everyone complain “Disney fixed what is not broke” and now you are complaining that there is new change and “Disney fixed what is not broke” Why not just enjoy the new. I’ll wait for the next change and hear the same complaints.
This is what they were like in the beginning. Then it was changed to the more animated ghost.