Halloween Time 2021 at the Disneyland Resort marks the 20th time Jack Skellington has visited the 999 Happy Haunts who dwell in the Haunted Mansion, transforming this attraction into Haunted Mansion Holiday. Each year, Jack dresses up as “Sandy Claws” as he and his ghost dog Zero bring ghoulish delights from Halloween Town to visit Disneyland Park. This year’s Haunted Mansion Holiday beckons guests from Sept. 3-Oct. 31, 2021.
One of Jack’s holiday traditions is leaving a special treat for the ghosts who dance around the Haunted Mansion’s Grand Hall. The annual centerpiece for this “waltz of the weird” is always a huge, creepy gingerbread creation. With each year, Jack delivers new and thrilling surprises.
The Ghost Host of Haunted Mansion Holiday says “even a gingerbread house can be scary,” and this year’s design definitely lives up to that description. For the 2021 mansion, designers went to the graveyard to reincarnate elements from all 19 previous years. An element from each year was stitched together to create the 2021 version, a Dr. Finkelstein-esque mashup.
Frightfully Fun Facts about Haunted Mansion Holiday
- 20th Season “Skellebration” – Tradition continues with the 20th transformation of Haunted Mansion, and also with the 20th creepy creation for the ghosts who dwell there. This year’s Gingerbread Mansion is a “skellebration” 20 years in the baking.
- Supernatural Sweets – Every year, the new ghoulish creation appears in the celebration scene in the Mansion’s Grand Hall. It takes a team of carpenters, storytellers, pastry chefs, bakers, and confectionary and technical wizards to create the Gingerbread Mansion.
- EXXhumed Delight – The 20th Gingerbread Mansion team worked on “eXXhuming” pieces from all 19 previous creations to include a remembrance from each previous year. The 2021 version features some ghoulishly delightful details including double Xs with dual meanings – a nod to the Roman numeral 20 and the common “XX” used to draw cartoon eyes when a character “kicks the bucket.”
- Haunting Gingerbread Smells – The haunting scent of tasty gingerbread wafts throughout the Grand Hall, tempting Happy Haunts and Guests alike.
- Eerie Exterior – More than 400 flickering candles create a ghostly glow on the façade of Haunted Mansion Holiday. Each night, more than 100 jack-o-lanterns shine their ghoulish
- “Memento Merry” Mourning Wreath – “Sandy Claws” has found another way to mark the 20th transformation by adorning the Mansion’s hearse with a special “Memento Merry” wreath. It harkens back to the Victorian period mourning wreaths, with a modern-day reminder to be merry.
- The Haunted Elevator – Jack Skellington and his ghost dog Zero appear in a fully animated sequence on the ceiling of the “stretching” room, which transports guests into the depths of the
- The Portrait Gallery – Ghost dog Zero makes a surprise appearance among the spooky, transforming portraits in the gallery corridor.
- The Graveyard – The graveyard inside Haunted Mansion Holiday is covered with nearly 7,500 square feet of snow. More than 20 gallons of ultra-violet paint is used to enhance the snow’s eerie glow, and nearly 1,000 tiny orange lights decorate the trees, making it a festive place to rest.
- Graveyard Ice Angels – The iconic Graveyard Ice Angels are designed with a jagged, ice-carved look. Their ethereal wings and snow-glow colors shine with a ghoulish luster each year. These iconic figures were inspired by the snowy graveyard scene in “Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before ”
- Deck the Halls – Each season, thousands of feet of “black gnarly” garland is draped and hung inside and outside Haunted Mansion Holiday. Jack’s faithful dog Zero gathered more than 200 bones to use as décor, garland and
- “Come Out to Socialize” – More than two dozen additional animated figures “materialize” inside the mansion whenever Jack brings his Haunted Mansion Holiday around. From man-eating wreaths to vampire teddy bears, they wait all year to join in the holiday
- Home Creepy Home – Creepy cobwebs are artistically kept (not swept!) year-round to make Jack Skellington and the 999 Happy Haunts feel right at home.
- Seasonal Séance Room – Madame Leota’s “13 Days of Christmas” are featured in 13 spinning fortune cards that tell of the Christmas gifts which, as she proclaims, “My ghoul love gave to me…”
- Kim Irvine, daughter of the original Madame Leota – For this seasonal attraction, Disney Imagineer Kim Irvine gives a spirited performance as the Haunted Mansion’s favorite psychic, floating inside the Haunted Mansion’s Crystal Ball in the Séance Room. Her mother Leota Toombs, Disney Legend and long-time Imagineer, first gave life to the floating
- ‘Hurry Back!’ – A more “animated” Sally bids farewell to “Sandy Claws” Jack Skellington as he, and Haunted Mansion Holiday guests, depart!
- 5 New Experiences at the 2025 EPCOT Festival of the Arts - December 18, 2024
- What’s Coming to Disneyland Paris in 2025? - December 16, 2024
- 10 Holiday Activities For $10 or Less at WDW and Disneyland Resort - December 13, 2024