One of Walt Disney’s quotes about Disneyland was that it would always be changing.
Disneyland will never be completed. It will continue to grow as long as there is imagination left in the world.
Of course, the quote reflects the evolution and adaptation that a theme park, or just about any other entity, needs to have in order to survive. It really should be common sense, but just ask the people in charge of Blockbuster, Kodak and Motorola, among other companies, that refused to change (or to change quickly enough) how their “not keeping up with the times” worked out for them.
The people in charge of Disneyland, as well as those of the other Disney theme parks around the world, have never been afraid of change, be it tweaking a ride or tearing one down and replacing it with a different one. However, the superfans of those parks might not always be in agreement with such changes.
So when a popular and iconic attraction such as Disneyland’s Haunted Mansion gets an update, while there are some who welcome something different, there are also fans who are not happy, simply because “it’s a change.” When it’s a change that reflects an older version of the attraction, the yeas and nays become more varied. And when the change is done in the name of “sensitivities of people,” well, let’s just say words likesanitization, ‘woke’ and ‘snowflakes’ started popping up REALLY fast.
The Evolution of the Haunted Mansion
Walt Disney wanted a haunted house type of attraction since the earliest days of Disneyland, which opened in 1955. However, for a variety of reasons, the attraction didn’t open until 1969.
The Haunted Mansion has had various tweaks, both technologically and in theming, over the years. However, one interesting change it has is a seasonal one – they add a Nightmare Before Christmas (NBC) overlay to the attraction every year, from September through the end of the holiday season.
A Long-Awaited Return, But With Changes
Anyway, this month, the park finally reopened the ride in its original, not-NBC form, after nearly a year and a half. Since the summer of 2023, the iconic attraction has been either closed for construction or presented in its NBC overlay. And although its reopening should have been cause for celebration from all, in the midst of closure, Disneyland execs decided to make a huge change and removed one of the ride’s most-loved storylines.
You see, the Haunted Mansion (and all Disney rides) has a background story. For years, a ghostly bride has resided in the mansion’s attic and, well, since we haven’t seen it in person yet, let’s let AllEars.net explain what happened:
The attic sequence has been altered somewhat considerably, with the backstory of murderous, axe-wielding bride Constance Hatchaway, which was introduced to the attraction’s mythos in the mid-2000s, being altered considerably. The new scene harkens back to the original version of the Bride from the Mansion’s earliest days, complete with a red beating heart and melancholy visage that seems to imply her husbands have either left her or died, without specifying whether she had anything to do with their deaths.
L: Axe-wielding attic bride (PC: Disneyland Resort) // R: New attic bride (PC: Richard Harbaugh, Disneyland Resort)
The fact that the change reflects a previous (and original!) rendition of the attic scene could probably stanch the flow of people who would prefer no changes to the ride. But Kim Irvine, executive creative director of Walt Disney Imagineering’s Anaheim office for the Disneyland Resort, gave more background for the change, saying that the Imagineering department wanted to, “change the story back a little bit to the original story that the Imagineers had about a lost bride in the attic mourning the loss of her husbands. It was a sad thing. It was a story about lost love.”
Irvine continued that another reason why the attic scene was redone was because the projection technology on the prior figure had become very outdated and required regular maintenance. But instead of just updating the technology, Imagineering saw a chance to add a greater contrast with the more festive waltz in the (the ballroom scene, where you see ghosts having a party), as well as embellish the Mansion’s tale.
But, Irvine continued, another reason for the change was because of the “sensitivities of people.” Irvine told the Los Angeles Times:
“The bride that used to be in there was an axe murderer, and in this day and age we have to be really careful about the sensitivities of people. We were celebrating someone chopping off her husband’s heads, and it was a weird story. I know the fans — some will like it and some will say, ‘Oh, you changed something again.’ That’s our job. That’s what we’re here for.”
The Backlash From Fans
That was enough to make some Disney fans practically froth at the mouth. “Being careful about the sensitivities of people” has become less important to some people over the past decade or more, so the change definitely seems to have its fans and its foes.
Speaking of axes, Irvine also hinted at what might be cut next: the hanging corpse in the stretching room. Imagineering understands how it could be seen as a trigger for some people, and they’ve been considering removing it since as far back as 2021.
“We’re still looking at that,” Irvine said. “That one is complicated, structurally. … One thing at a time.”
The hanging corpse has been there since the attraction opened. Let’s see what the superfans say about THAT change…
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