We are reporting LIVE from Disney World’s Magic Kingdom today. Though the park will not officially reopen to guests until this Saturday, July 11th, today is the first day of Cast Member previews.
We were invited by a friend, so today we are giving you a sneak peek of all the updates to the park experience in Magic Kingdom. And one of our first priorities of the day was to pay a visit (and our respects) to the 999 Happy Haunts that reside in the Haunted Mansion.
Of course, there are some changes to the experience in light of new health and safety measures around the park (as well as the rest of the Resort), and they begin upon entering the attraction.
You’ll notice distancing markers on the ground as you go through the outdoor portion of the queue.
And speaking of the queue…
At one point while waiting during our next visit to Magic Kingdom for the Annual Passholder preview [this post has been updated to include additional pictures], one of the Haunted Mansion Maids (cast members) came through to inform that they were stopping the attraction to clean the Doom Buggies, and could not load the attraction during that time. So, understandably, the pause added about 10 minutes to the wait (bringing our time in line to about 20 minutes).
Of course, one of the most memorable moments inside the Haunted Mansion is when your Ghost Host welcomes all “Foolish Mortals” into the Stretching Room featuring four iconic portraits of beings as they appeared in their “corruptible, mortal state.”
However, as you most certainly recall if you’ve ever visited the Haunted Mansion, it is in this room that guests are asked to kindly step in and gather together in the “dead center of the room.” Seeing as that one primary measure to promote the safety of both guests and cast members is the encouragement of physical distancing between people…
…guests are now quickly ushered into the moving queue to enter their Doom Buggies (with seating of guests taking place in every other Buggy).
To put it another way, when your Ghost Host inquires: “Is this haunted room actually stretching??”
No, it’s not. Now, since there is no other way into the queue than through the Stretching Room, guests still do get a glimpse of the portraits (though, from our experience, it is a pretty quick walk-through).
Beyond that, however, you’ll be accompanied by all the Grim Grinning Ghosts you’re accustomed to seeing throughout the ride!
From our Tomb Sweet Tomb in Liberty Square…
… we’ll be seeing you from Magic Kingdom throughout the day. We’ll be sure to “Hurry Back… Hurry Back…” In the meantime, you can catch up on all the information regarding the phased reopening of Walt Disney World Resort by visiting any of the links below.
Disney Park Reopening Details and Info
Click HERE for the All Latest Updates
Click HERE To See FULL LISTS of the Rides, Attractions, Shopping, Entertainment, and Restaurants Opening in Disney World!
TUTORIAL: How To Use Disney World's NEW Park Pass Reservation System
ALL Disney World Reopening Procedures
Disney World Hotel and Ticket Booking Information
We’re Visiting ALL the Reopened Disney World Hotels and Have All the Need-to-Know Details
We’re LIVE in Disney World's Magic Kingdom For the FIRST Time Since the Closures
We’re LIVE in Disney’s Animal Kingdom For the FIRST Time Since the Closures
We Got a FIRST LOOK at Disney World’s New Character Cavalcades and Entertainment!
Everything You NEED To Know About Wearing Masks in Disney World
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Is the Haunted Mansion one of your favorite attractions? Please let us know with a comment!
Ken says
It took me several years as a young person to figure out how the stretching rooms worked. It is sad to think that young people will not experience this ground breaking feature as it was originally envisioned. One can only hope that Disney can re-imagine this feature for future guests.
NENolan says
Interesting! They have done this to us in the past before COVID-19. I think because the ride was just so busy at the time. Of course, now it’s because of social distancing and hopefully, this part of the attraction will return eventually.
DeborahP says
Thanks for updating us on this! My daughter LOVES Haunted Mansion and was worried that the Stretching Room was going to be totally avoided.
Deb says
Why cant they keep the stretching room, issue fast passess and only put say 20 people at a time in the room, that would equate to 5 families of 4 and each family stays in their own space/marker on the ground…. it might work….. Thats such a cool feature, hate to think we will may not see it again…. 🙁
Eric says
No thanks. I only go during sleepy September. And After 100+ times on property, I’ll wait until normalcy resumes. If it never does… Well let’s just say I’m glad I saw Disney from 71′ until Covid. Disney is just too costly to go to a 50% experience across the board.
folsen says
Ought to be interesting to see how Disneyland deals with this. Theirs uses an actual elevator, requiring people to congregate in an enclosed space for a period of time.
Seth Mohs says
@folsen,
I thought about that too. WDW’s version is an effect, but not needed. DLC’s is a functional requirement to get past the traintrack.
Sebastian says
So, I wonder what they are doing in Disneyland where the room operates as an elevator and must go down a floor to get you under the railroad tracks to the ride load area?
Donna says
The one positive I see in this change is for very young guest to enjoy haunted mansion. It took 3 years (& when stayed in WDW 7-10 days per trip 2-4 times a year) when she was younger to finally get all the way through to the ride. Every trip she wanted to try but got so scared in stretching room we had to leave. Now the little ones can get to what they’ll realize is a fun ride & when it goes back to normal I think they’ll be able to handle little ball out & scariness of the room to get to ride. Granted, we tried when she was 2, so that was our fault🤪😱.
Pattie says
Our favorite attraction n magic kingdom is the haunted mansion and go n it at not so scary Halloween party is even better we r looking forward to that attraction again among many happy haunting
Ken says
As a DVC member, committed to Disney until 2055, my visits to the parks will surely be less, and now I will spend more time at the resorts. With the free movement of my luggage between resorts, I might find myself staying at 2 resorts and skipping the parks al together. Ticket prices are just too high to be able to visit the parks when not everything is open or works. Bad show Disney… but you are doing it to yourself. A mass exodus of DVC members is just around the corner…