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

[Touchdown]

Do you mean when it would sometimes spill over into that 1/5 of Magnolia park closest to the Mansion? That was really no big deal and hardly noticeable. I thought you were talking about the worst of days when guests would be circling the fountain etc.

Yes but it was still out the Mansion gate. Being a WDW kid, and a theme park nerd, you DL people are way to desensitized to lines spilling out into the Midway. That should not happen except for rare circumstances.

 

[mickEblu]

Yes but it was still out the Mansion gate. Being a WDW kid, and a theme park nerd, you DL people are way to desensitized to lines spilling out into the Midway. That should not happen except for rare circumstances.

Ok this is making more sense now. So because the 8 feet of space closest to the Mansion had a switchback or 2 that justifies hacking down historic trees and forever changing one of the most beautiful areas of the park? The Pirates line snakes through all of New Orleans square. Should we just turn it into a giant walled off queue?

Let’s agree to disagree.

 

[Touchdown]

Ok this is making more sense now. So because the 8 feet of space closest to the Mansion had a switchback or 2 that justifies hacking down historic trees and forever changing one of the most beautiful areas of the park? The Pirates line snakes through all of New Orleans square. Should we just turn it into a giant walled off queue?

Let’s agree to disagree.

They need to fix Pirates too, I don’t know how, but they do.

 

[Disney Analyst]

I didn’t visit DL until 2013, since then I’ve visited dozens of times at all times of year. I can’t remember a single day the HM line didn’t take over part of that park. The queue needed to be lengthened, period. This is a necessary change. Now if they could only find a way to lengthen PotCs line…

There was some talk that maybe once they can open this new Haunted Mansion store, they can use the retail space (pieces of eight etc) for new POTC queue.

 

[PiratesMansion]

There was some talk that maybe once they can open this new Haunted Mansion store, they can use the retail space (pieces of eight etc) for new POTC queue.

I was about to write this off as implausible, because in my head the Blue Bayou was between the queue and the rest of the NOS shops. But then I checked, and unfortunately, I was wrong. BB is on the other side of this shop, after the exit to Pirates.

That said, Royal Street Veranda is between the queue and the shop, so they'd have to lose a restaurant in order to make that happen, something I'm not entirely sure they're ready to do.

It also strikes me as a rather tiny area that doesn't seem like it'd fit the necessary queue for an attraction like Pirates. Perhaps it'd be sufficient (or close to it) if Genie indeed turns out to be temporary, but if Pirates never leaves G+, that's only a pittance of what they'd likely need.

So I suppose it could happen, but they'd lose a restaurant, and I'm not sure that it grants them enough added queue space to make the change worthwhile.

 

[Disney Analyst]

I was about to write this off as implausible, because in my head the Blue Bayou was between the queue and the rest of the NOS shops. But then I checked, and unfortunately, I was wrong. BB is on the other side of this shop, after the exit to Pirates.

That said, Royal Street Veranda is between the queue and the shop, so they'd have to lose a restaurant in order to make that happen, something I'm not entirely sure they're ready to do.

It also strikes me as a rather tiny area that doesn't seem like it'd fit the necessary queue for an attraction like Pirates. Perhaps it'd be sufficient (or close to it) if Genie indeed turns out to be temporary, but if Pirates never leaves G+, that's only a pittance of what they'd likely need.

So I suppose it could happen, but they'd lose a restaurant, and I'm not sure that it grants them enough added queue space to make the change worthwhile.

Right, forgot that was a food location.

If they opted to remove it, they could potentially redeveloped that space for queue. I’d take the loss to free up space in the main walkway

 

[Vegas Disney Fan]

Do you mean when it would sometimes spill over into that 1/5 of Magnolia park closest to the Mansion? That was really no big deal and hardly changed the atmosphere of the area. I thought you were talking about the worst of days when guests would be circling the fountain etc.

The new queue expansion does feel like overkill for the queue problems they faced. Running a new, more permanent, queue outside the existing fence, to the old FP machines area, and back likely would have contained the overflow crowd 99% of the time.

I’m sure it’ll look fine when it’s done, likely even better with the removal of the old switchbacks, it’s just sad to see more big trees disappear when it feels like they could have easily worked around them.

 

[RescueTheDay]

Ok this is making more sense now. So because the 8 feet of space closest to the Mansion had a switchback or 2 that justifies hacking down historic trees and forever changing one of the most beautiful areas of the park? The Pirates line snakes through all of New Orleans square. Should we just turn it into a giant walled off queue?

Let’s agree to disagree.

Can I ask what makes these trees historic? If it’s just due to how long they’ve been there, I don’t believe historic would be the proper word choice.

 

[Consumer]

Can I ask what makes these trees historic? If it’s just due to how long they’ve been there, I don’t believe historic would be the proper word choice.

These trees witnessed the Battle of New Orleans. General Andrew Jackson actually hung his hat on one of their limbs after they beat the British.

 

[imagineer97]

General Andrew Jackson actually hung his hat on one of their limbs after they beat the British.

That's why they had to be cut down. He evicted the Indian Village to make room for Bear Country.

 

[Disney Analyst]

The big update is that Christmas was removed, on the outside at least, and they’ve got some fun themed walls with lenticular portraits.

 

[PiratesMansion]

Ok this is making more sense now. So because the 8 feet of space closest to the Mansion had a switchback or 2 that justifies hacking down historic trees and forever changing one of the most beautiful areas of the park? The Pirates line snakes through all of New Orleans square. Should we just turn it into a giant walled off queue?

Let’s agree to disagree.

I missed this the other day, but I'm with @Touchdown on this. While I don't recall the how much of Magnolia Park was taken up by extended Mansion queue, the HM line was regularly bursting into the courtyard when I've been going in July. It's by no means a HMH-specific problem, and seemed relatively constant from ~11 to fireworks.

Perhaps this is just something people don't notice or think about as much if you've been a lifelong Disneylander, but seeing lines spill out onto already tiny walkways or into other areas really make the park feel much more crowded and adds to the sense that there are people everywhere. It's quite unpleasant and claustrophobic to me, and I wouldn't be able to fully relax in Magnolia Park if the HM queue was overflowing right behind me.

It's something I grin and bear about Disneyland, but the fact that much of the park feels like it's constantly bursting at the seams with people is not something I enjoy about the experience.

While other Disney parks also get plenty crowded, none of them really feel like Disneyland in this way, which honestly makes walking around them much more pleasant. Most parks, in fact, have at least a few rides with massive queue areas that are seldom used but kept aroud for this reason, so that the lines don't intermix wth regular pedestrian traffic. I understand that this is not necessarily a problem that may be fixable in every situation because of DL's age, size, and logistics, and that it still wouldn't necessarily be enough on days like NYE, but it would make the walkways a lot more pleasant and navigable during busy parts of the day without sacrificing any of the charm that exists within DL.

As much as I don't want Pirates to be on permanent LL, that is also a queue that needs to be expanded badly. I have no idea how they'd do it, but I'm certain that sooner or later they'll find a solution. The fact is that it's a mess much of the time, and it doesn't make the area charming, it makes it stressful, and I imagine that the park ops team will eventually find a solution. They need to.

This is not me advocating for Magnolia Park to be removed, or for trees to be chopped down, or that the area is done in a perfunctory way just to make it more accessible. This is just me stating that I understand the urge of DL to contain their attraction queues so that they don't spill out onto walkways constantly, because as much as some people may be used to it or excuse it, no one wins in that scenario.

 

[Phroobar]

That's why they had to be cut down. He evicted the Indian Village to make room for Bear Country.

But he did pave the way for the Anaheim Indian tribe to have their own casino in Galaxy's Edge.

 

[Ne'er-Do-Well Cad]

I opposed some aspects of Project Stardust because I felt (and still do feel) they were unnecessary. Redesigning Magnolia Park, however, while painful, is absolutely necessary IMO.

 

[Ne'er-Do-Well Cad]

Speaking of Pirates, I snapped this photo from the treehouse a few weeks ago. It occurred to me that they never use this space for an extended Pirates queue anymore, even on days when the line stretches up onto the bridge. Anyone know why?

 

[Consumer]

Speaking of Pirates, I snapped this photo from the treehouse a few weeks ago. It occurred to me that they never use this space for an extended Pirates queue anymore, even on days when the line stretches up onto the bridge. Anyone know why?

View attachment 765575

Probably because it smells like sewage.

 

[Phroobar]

The problem is the LL is far too cheap that it has become the regular line. It should be more in line with ever other park in the country at $80 or greater. This keeps most people from using it and only those that want to see everything for vacation will use it. If the majority of park guests are using LL, then the stand by line never moves even on lite days. Better customer service would be to increase the price to at least $120 per person/per day. This way they wouldn't have to build extended queues for rides that don't need it.

 

[mickEblu]

I missed this the other day, but I'm with @Touchdown on this. While I don't recall the how much of Magnolia Park was taken up by extended Mansion queue, the HM line was regularly bursting into the courtyard when I've been going in July. It's by no means a HMH-specific problem, and seemed relatively constant from ~11 to fireworks.

Perhaps this is just something people don't notice or think about as much if you've been a lifelong Disneylander, but seeing lines spill out onto already tiny walkways or into other areas really make the park feel much more crowded and adds to the sense that there are people everywhere. It's quite unpleasant and claustrophobic to me, and I wouldn't be able to fully relax in Magnolia Park if the HM queue was overflowing right behind me.

It's something I grin and bear about Disneyland, but the fact that much of the park feels like it's constantly bursting at the seams with people is not something I enjoy about the experience.

While other Disney parks also get plenty crowded, none of them really feel like Disneyland in this way, which honestly makes walking around them much more pleasant. Most parks, in fact, have at least a few rides with massive queue areas that are seldom used but kept aroud for this reason, so that the lines don't intermix wth regular pedestrian traffic. I understand that this is not necessarily a problem that may be fixable in every situation because of DL's age, size, and logistics, and that it still wouldn't necessarily be enough on days like NYE, but it would make the walkways a lot more pleasant and navigable during busy parts of the day without sacrificing any of the charm that exists within DL.

As much as I don't want Pirates to be on permanent LL, that is also a queue that needs to be expanded badly. I have no idea how they'd do it, but I'm certain that sooner or later they'll find a solution. The fact is that it's a mess much of the time, and it doesn't make the area charming, it makes it stressful, and I imagine that the park ops team will eventually find a solution. They need to.

This is not me advocating for Magnolia Park to be removed, or for trees to be chopped down, or that the area is done in a perfunctory way just to make it more accessible. This is just me stating that I understand the urge of DL to contain their attraction queues so that they don't spill out onto walkways constantly, because as much as some people may be used to it or excuse it, no one wins in that scenario.

The queue only bursted into Magnolia Park during HMH. So if this is all because HMH and Genie + I have another reason to hate those two things. Other than that they used that little bit of space to the far right of Magnolia Park next to Mansion for a switchback or two. Of all the overflow queues that spill out in Disneyland this was amongst the least troublesome as Magnolia Park was/is its own little alcove and not on a main thoroughfare impacting guest traffic.

I was ok sacrificing the ambiance of Magnolia Park for 4 months a year to preserve beauty, history and atmosphere. The majority of the year MP was hardly impacted. Now 0 days a year will it have that atmosphere.

 

[SuddenStorm]

The queue only bursted into Magnolia Park during HMH. So if this is all because HMH and Genie + I have another reason to hate those two things. Other than that they used that little bit of space to the far right of Magnolia Park next to Mansion for a switchback or two. Of all the overflow queues that spill out in Disneyland this was amongst the least troublesome as Magnolia Park was/is its own little alcove and not on a main thoroughfare impacting guest traffic.

I was ok sacrificing the ambiance of Magnolia Park for 4 months a year to preserve beauty, history and atmosphere. The majority of the year MP was hardly impacted. Now 0 days a year will it have that atmosphere.

Right- HMH does more harm than good, the original Mansion is a masterclass in themed design. The overlay is like the Mona Lisa with tattoos and a nose ring. Then there's the damage the overlay does to the original show.

Modern Disneyland seems hell bent on destroying the work of the first and second generation of Imagineering. Doesn't Magnolia Park go back to the '60s?

 

[Vegas Disney Fan]

The queue only bursted into Magnolia Park during HMH. So if this is all because HMH and Genie + I have another reason to hate those two things. Other than that they used that little bit of space to the far right of Magnolia Park next to Mansion for a switchback or two. Of all the overflow queues that spill out in Disneyland this was amongst the least troublesome as Magnolia Park was/is its own little alcove and not on a main thoroughfare impacting guest traffic.

I was ok sacrificing the ambiance of Magnolia Park for 4 months a year to preserve beauty, history and atmosphere. The majority of the year MP was hardly impacted. Now 0 days a year will it have that atmosphere.

I was just looking at some photos of the overflow queue in Magnolia park during HMH and there’s no way they will be able to fit all those crowds into this new queue, and with some of Magnolia park now being turned into seating for Tiana’s the only place to put them is going to be the pathway towards Pirates.

This may be helpful for busy days but it’s going to make things even worse on the busiest days.