In 2023, we brought news that Disneyland had big plans to update & expand the grounds surrounding it’s iconic Haunted Mansion attraction, including a well-themed exit gift shop, expanded outdoor queue, new theming details, and more. Now, Disney has revealed in-depth details & an opening time frame at exactly what’s in store for us foolish mortals at the brand new Haunted Mansion grounds at Disneyland’s New Orleans Square!
(c) Disney
New Magnolia Park
Perhaps the most exciting enhancement coming to the expanded Haunted Mansion grounds is the newly-renovated Magnolia Park, a lush & elegant area shaded by beautiful oak and Ficus trees in the heart of New Orleans Square. Behind Magnolia Park looms the recently-opened Tiana’s Palace restaurant to the left, the classic & nostalgic New Orleans Square train station behind it, and the foreboding Haunted Mansion itself to the right.
Magnolia Park is a perfect spot for guests & families to relax and take in the amazing sights & sounds of New Orleans Square while sipping on a Mint Julep or snacking on a beignet from the nearby Mint Julep Bar, complete with a newly-renovated stage with live entertainment at Tiana’s Palace Restaurant.
(c) Disney; Magnolia Park
Haunted Mansion Queue
Once guests leave Magnolia Park and stroll towards the mysterious & haunted gates to their right, they will find themselves in the new, cultivated grounds of the Haunted Mansion. These grounds include both the Haunted Mansion extended queue and the Haunted Mansion grounds extending outside of the queue, open for all guests to explore.
(c) Disney
As guests walk under the gates and enter the queue itself, they will notice a familiar Spanish fountain that once sat in the middle of the former, smaller Magnolia Park. As guests adjust their gaze away from the fountain, they will notice a pair of stately ravens – representing a connection between the world of the living and the spirit world – standing watch over the grounds.
(c) Disney; New Orleans Square
Underneath the ravens’ gaze, guests will encounter a crouching cat statue, hiding among the grasses of the garden. Continuing down the path, guests will find a more intimate & personal garden, designed by the Haunted Mansion’s Master Gracey himself. According to Disney, “a fountain against the garden’s wall features the face of a sea maiden with unruly hair and startled eyes, as if she’s caught in a storm. Inside an old, wrought iron gazebo sits a bench, a well-read book, and astrological armillary sphere and a smoking pipe that has been left behind. It’s the perfect place for Master Gracey to rest and ponder his past.”
(c) Disney
After exploring and enjoying Master Gracey’s garden, guests will soon encounter another personal garden; this time, the home of the eccentric Madame Leota. Madame Leota’s personal garden is dripping in mystical energy and even features a statuary of oddities frozen in time from some sort of spell – frogs, lizards, rats, and a monkey. Leota’s garden is highlighted by a large, foreboding oak tree that graces the center of the courtyard, featuring colorful ornaments, chimes and bells ringing out in the wind.
Rounding out the back of the Haunted Mansion garden is the greenhouse, allowing all of the ghost residents of the Mansion a chance to showcase their dead green thumb.
(c) Disney
Madame Leota’s Somewhere Beyond Shop
Not only will New Orleans Square be debuting the new Magnolia Park and extended Mansion grounds, but an all-new retails shop will be joining the land, as well. Located adjacent to the exit of the Haunted Mansion. Madame Leota’s Somewhere Beyond shop will welcome guests from regions afar, both of the living world and the spirit world.
(c) Disney; concept art
Guests indulging in the shop of oddities will be able to shop for gifts themed to both the traditional Haunted Mansion and “Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas.” This isn’t an ordinary gift shop, though – hidden details and newly-materializing treasures will come and go throughout the store throughout the year!
As the story goes, according to Disney, Madame Leota’s Somewhere Beyond Shop “is a carriage house that used to store the same ornate carriage that now remains on the mansion’s front yard. It also contains a boudoir on the mezzanine level. At one point, it was home to the mansion’s head caretaker, but later Madame Leota took up residence. It is filled with her eclectic furniture including a crystal ball, feinting couch and the original parlor chandelier that Leota used in séances at the mansion. When the first floor of the carriage house became a shop, Leota kindly lent her desks, cabinets and chests as antique artifacts to be showcased along with the merchandise. As a powerful medium moving between worlds, Madame Leota comes and goes a lot and is excited to welcome guests to her home, soon.”
(c) Disney; concept art
Opening Timeframe
Both the newly-renovated Magnolia Park and the Haunted Mansion extended queue and grounds are officially open to the public now! The opening of the extended queue also means that the Haunted Mansion will no longer be utilizing a Virtual Queue, as it has been the past few months. As before, the attraction is available via standby or via Lightning Lane Multi or Premier Pass.
(c) Disney; Haunted Mansion Holiday
Madame Leota’s Somewhere Beyond shop is currently set to open in early 2025, although an exact opening date has yet to be released by Disney.
Stay tuned to Theme Park Professor for more ghostly details on this new Disneyland project, as we will continue to update you on everything new coming to New Orleans Square now and in 2025! And if you want to visit this frightfully delightful expansion for yourself, fill out the form below to receive your free, no-obligation quote from a travel agent expert to the Disneyland Resort!
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