This project feels weird all-around, like a square peg forced into a round hole.
The type of HM superfan who would know the history of the Hatbox Ghost is also the type of person who would care about the scene composition of the endless hallway and/or the Leota Rule (TM). And, unlike other controversial additions (Guardians, Moana, etc), it's not like the general public will book a trip to see it.
Maybe they anticipated that the HM movie would be more popular, and they were too far into the project when the movie's audience failed to materialize?