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Disneyland In October: The Haunted Mansion Holiday

Beatrix Whipple
Feb 21 4 minutes read

Disneyland in October

The Haunted Mansion





Disneyland in October happens like magic, transforming itself in a single night to a spooktacular version of its very best self. Almost immediately you’re greeted by the Mickey jack o’ lantern on Main Street smiling at you as you enter the park. Fun fact: he winks at you on your way out. The park is set for fall with more than 8,000 pounds of leaves and more than 4,000 pumpkins throughout. It’s easy to feel like you’ve teleported to Halloweentown. 


The magic doesn’t end there, each attraction is adorned with their own spooky touch in celebration. Aside from the themed parades, the can’t-miss attraction is The Haunted Mansion, which is specially called The Haunted Mansion Holiday during October. In this collision between Halloween and Christmas, The Nightmare Before Christmas’ Jack Skellington dresses up as “Sandy Claws” and brings ghoulish delights from Halloween Town. This year, Haunted Mansion Holiday beckons guests from Sept. 2, 2022, through Jan. 8, 2023. 

More than 400 flickering candles create a ghostly glow on the façade of Haunted Mansion Holiday which can be quite entertaining while waiting in the sometimes 120-minute line to ride the attraction.

Jack Skellington and his ghost dog Zero appear in a fully animated sequence on the ceiling of the “stretching” room, which transports guests into the depths of the mansion. One of Jack’s holiday traditions is leaving a special treat for the ghosts who dance around the Haunted Mansion’s Grand Hall. The annual centerpiece for this “waltz of the weird” is always a huge, creepy gingerbread house. 

This year’s creation is a “cut above the rest” as mischievous gingerbread cookies of Lock, Shock and Barrel use a guillotine and long spears to slice up holiday cakes and treats for the ghosts and ghouls in the mansion. Zero also makes surprise appearances among the transforming portraits in the gallery corridor




In the Séance Room, Madame Leota’s “13 Days of Christmas” are featured in 13 spinning fortune cards that tell of the Christmas gifts which, as she proclaims, “My ghoul love gave to me…”



In the graveyard scene, the rag doll Sally can be found resting against a tombstone, admiring Jack from a distance. The graveyard is covered with nearly 7,500 square feet of snow, and nearly 1,000 tiny orange lights decorate the trees – making it a festive place to rest. 


One of the most popular games for Disneyphiles is finding the “hidden Mickey’s” scattered throughout rides, merchandise, food, and buildings. There's at least one inside the Haunted Mansion (hint: look very closely at the plates in the ballroom scene).









Can you spot the Mickey on the left hand corner of the image above?

The Black Sleigh ride isn't over without an even spookier surprise. As you enter the crypt, you’re confronted by Oogie Boogie standing next to a roulette wheel under a black light ready to spin off some strange gifts.











Guests see those bizarre presents instead of the Hitchhiking Ghosts when they go by the mirrors. If the present is a coffin imprinted with a question mark, Lock, Shock and Barrel will pop out from behind each of the three mirrors.

Guests then arrive at the unload area, which is also filled with snow and jack-o-lanterns. As they travel up the speed ramp to the exit, a tiny version of Sally (taking the place of Little Leota) is seen thanking Jack as he flies away in his sleigh and tells them to hurry back.

The Haunted Mansion Holiday is a for sure, cannot miss attraction.


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