The Haunted Mansion movie opened in theaters on Friday and the Disney synergy machine did not miss a beat by taking the opportunity to remind fans of an upcoming Disney World attraction change, that the Hatbox Ghost, a character that is currently only visible at Disneyland’s version of the ride, will be debuting at Walt Disney World's Magic Kingdom’s Haunted Mansion later this year. It was a popular decision when it was first announced, but now that more details have been announced I’m having issues. Because the ghost’s location makes no sense.
The announcement from Disney Parks made on Friday revealed that the Hatbox Ghost will be located in a different spot at Magic Kingdom than he is at Disneyland. At the California park, the character can be found just outside the mansion’s attic, before the ride vehicles descend into the graveyard. At Disney World, however, we’ll find the Hatbox Ghost near the Endless Hallway at the beginning of the attraction. This is a problem, because the Haunted Mansion’s story, specifically explains when you can and can’t see ghosts, and the Endless Hallway is too early.
At the beginning of the Haunted Mansion, we see things that are spooky and unexplained, a suit of armor that moves, and a candelabra floating in an endless hallway, but we don’t actually see any ghosts. It’s Madame Leota’s seance and our own “sympathetic vibrations” that allow them to materialize. So putting the Hatbox Ghost prior to the seance room simply doesn’t work with the story being told.
There are a lot of people who get very upset whenever anything changes at Disneyland or Disney World, just ask Splash Mountain fans, and I’m usually not that guy. I think Disney Park changes are almost always good. The recent decision to drastically increase alcohol sales at Disneyland doesn’t bother me despite the fact that Walt Disney never wanted alcohol sold in the park. Things change, and that’s ok, but making this change that conflicts with the story the attraction is telling makes no sense, especially since there are plenty of places the Hatbox Ghost could go that would work properly.
It’s certainly possible that the Hatbox Ghost’s location will be explained. Perhaps putting the ghost there is part of larger changes to the story of the ride, which could be connected to the release of the Haunted Mansion movie, where the ghost is the film’s primary villain. Still, it doesn’t seem likely that the attraction is going to incorporate aspects of the movie this soon. While that certainly could happen, as it did with Pirates of the Caribbean, we don’t even know how successful the movie will be.
An exact date for the Hatbox Ghost addition was not made, but it will apparently be done as a running change. Rather than shutting down the ride, guests will see temporary barriers going up on the attraction very soon where the Hatbox Ghost will be located
