News New Haunted Mansion Grounds Expansion, Retail Shop Coming to Disneyland Resort in 2024

[Mickey's Pal]

Thinking more about how ridiculously out of scale and stupid that hulking "carriage house" looks...

Instead of building a full scale two-story carriage house sized for multiple carriages and a half dozen horse stalls, why not build a smaller facade that is the "Caretaker's Cottage" just beyond the gates and exit crypt of the ride itself?

This ride's lone human animatronic and his scared dog have been an iconic set piece since the ride opened 55 years ago.

The exit gift shop should have been the small cottage where this man and his dog live. Talk about REAL storytelling! Instead of making up ridiculous garbage like Time-Traveling Latinas of Fabulous Wealth to run the Christmas shop on Main Street USA, or forcing statistically non-existent Filipinos of 1920's New Orleans into the story of Tiana's Bayou Adventure, they could have plussed up and given more depth to the backstory of this poor guy and his dog!...

Sell some Caretaker merchandise along with the usual Haunted Mansion stuff. Can you just imagine the line of Scared Sam Dog Treats they could sell here?!? In a small and humble caretaker's cottage just beyond the Mansion's gates.

I just came up with that cutesy little idea in 2 minutes on my patio. It didn't take a single Immersion Trip to the New Orleans Ritz Carlton, and it required no reserved parking space in Glendale with a Tesla charging port.

The people running Disney's theme parks right now are idiots, I'm convinced of that.

God I love this idea. So much. Its sad that people on this forum are more creative than the current imagineering department combined.

 

[Mickey's Pal]

I just found a photo taken this past weekend of this construction, from the latest Micechat update.

Yup, it's still huge. And it's getting bigger and less see-through.

What an eyesore.

 

[SuddenStorm]

Being fair - we should wait for the finished product. It might be hidden or tucked away nicely when all is said and done. The only issue is, if it's too big it'll hurt the sale of the Haunted Mansion. It's already kinda a small building, we don't need something making it feel even smaller.

It's far less egregious than what they've done to Splash Mountain's façade.

 

[Epcot81Fan]

Like the Poly expansion, if you just turn your head to face the river as you walk by it looks great!

Problem solved.

 

[Too Many Hats]

The Italian Cypress trees are iconic. Please tell me they will return.

 

[mickEblu]

@Ne'er-Do-Well Cad I could be wrong but it appears they have planted two young Cypress trees circled below in red. So by the time you re a great grandpa it should look like how you remember.

 

[Disney Irish]

If we just base things on the concept art, which I know isn't always accurate to execution, there are several what look to be Cypress trees -

The two closest to the Mansion in the concept, I believe are what @mickEblu just posted as already being on-site.

 

[Too Many Hats]

@Ne'er-Do-Well Cad I could be wrong but it appears they have planted two young Cypress trees circled below in red. So by the time you re a great grandpa it should look like how you remember.

View attachment 818844

Well that sucks.

 

[mickEblu]

Well that sucks.

For reference I believe the old cypress trees were planted when Splash Mountain was built so that’s how long it took them to get to the size they were before they were removed. Of course I’m not sure how mature they were when they were planted and they may be big enough to accomplish most of the intended goal within 10 years I’d imagine. Not sure how fast Italian Cypress trees grow.

 

[Disney Irish]

For reference I believe the old cypress trees were planted when Splash Mountain was built so that’s how long it took them to get to the size they were before they were removed. Of course I’m not sure how mature they were when they were planted and they may be big enough to accomplish most of the intended goal within 10 years I’d imagine. Not sure how fast Italian Cypress trees grow.

I have 3 in my yard, they grow 3 feet a year. So its likely not going to take a decade to get back to a height that you guys think is "normal" for the Mansion.

 

[mickEblu]

I have 3 in my yard, they grow 3 feet a year. So its likely not going to take a decade to get back to a height that you guys think is "normal" for the Mansion.

Three feet a year is not bad. How about to widen?

 

[Disney Irish]

Three feet a year is not bad. How about to widen?

They can get up to 20 ft wide, but it can take awhile to get to that size. But I don't recall the ones at Mansion being all that wide, so assume the Horticulture team kept them trimmed.

 

[mickEblu]

They can get up to 20 ft wide, but it can take awhile to get to that size. But I don't recall the ones at Mansion being all that wide, so assume the Horticulture team kept them trimmed.

20 feet wide!? That won’t be necessary. Just a few feet wide should do.

 

[Disney Irish]

20 feet wide!? That won’t be necessary. Just a few feet wide should do.

Then they are likely already that size you're expecting when planted (or fairly close), just not as tall. As I recall Mansions weren't that wide to begin with.

 

[mickEblu]

Then they are likely already the size you're expecting when planted, just not as tall. As I recall Mansions weren't that wide to begin with.

The ones I circled in the picture? Are we looking at the same trees? The old ones I’m guessing were about 4 feet wide and taller than the Mansion.

 

[Disney Irish]

The ones I circled in the picture? Are we looking at the same trees? The old ones I’m guessing were about 4 feet wide and taller than the Mansion.

Yes the ones in the picture you circled just show the tips, that is not necessarily actually how wide they are. We aren't seeing the base, the base can be wider than the tips.

4 ft wide is nothing, these things grow fast. As I said I'm guessing they are already that wide if not will be not long after planting, ie a couple years.

So morale of the story, its not going to take long to get back to the original "expected" size both tall and wide.

 

[mickEblu]

Yes the ones in the picture you circled just show the tips, that is not necessarily actually how wide they are. We aren't seeing the base, the base can be wider than the tips.

4 ft wide is nothing, these things grow fast. As I said I'm guessing they are already that wide if not will be not long after planting, ie a couple years.

So morale of the story, its not going to take long to get back to the original "expected" size both tall and wide.

I know it’s just the tips but based on the picture I don’t imagine they really all that wide yet. Anyway hopefully they’ll grow fast like you say. I’ve been asking for them to plant some trees back in between the shop and Mansion and it appears they may have been there this whole time.

 

[Disney Irish]

I know it’s just the tips but based on the picture I don’t imagine they really all that wide yet. Anyway hopefully they’ll grow fast like you say. I’ve been asking for them to plant some trees back in between the shop and Mansion and it appears they may have been there this whole time.

Here is an example of what I imagine they look like now, given the size of the building and the tips we see -

Notice all the bases are larger than their tips, and appear to be at least 2-4ft wide depending on which one you're looking at.

 

[chadwpalm]

I know it’s just the tips but based on the picture I don’t imagine they really all that wide yet. Anyway hopefully they’ll grow fast like you say. I’ve been asking for them to plant some trees back in between the shop and Mansion and it appears they may have been there this whole time.

You're seeing these:

From FB 09-23-24 video

From FB 08-26-24 video

Pretty sure they were always there, just obscured by the large cypress' that were previously there.

 

[mickEblu]

You're seeing these:

From FB 09-23-24 video
View attachment 818877

From FB 08-26-24 video
View attachment 818878

Pretty sure they were always there, just obscured by the large cypress' that were previously there.

Thanks for sharing. That’s what I thought they’d look like. Definitely not 4 feet wide.

And look at that, there’s a three!