When construction walls came down around the new Disneyland Haunted Mansion gift shop, fans were astounded that one of the best themed attractions in the history of theme parks will have its merchandise sold from a plain ordinary green carriage house with absolutely no external theming.
Walls are down at the Haunted Mansion gift shop.
Ty to @PastyA_ for the 📸! pic.twitter.com/FMe2floy9h
— Fresh Baked! (@FrshBakedDisney) November 12, 2024
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The new merchandise location sits near Tiana’s Bayou Adventure. It’s supposedly themed after Madame Leota, the resident psychic and ghost conjurer of the Haunted Mansion.
The building is an unassuming bland structure that showcases no external character. Truly a baffling decision by Disney imagineering for a location connected to such an iconic and instantly recognizable Disney IP.
Retired imagineer Jim Shull echoed these sentiments on X when he voiced his disappointment at the new Disneyland Haunted Mansion gift shop.
Reminds me of Dorothy’s house in the #Wizardofoz. Dropped from the sky to land where it did unconnected to anything surrounding it. https://t.co/KpnPm562Zp
— Jim Shull (@JimShull) November 12, 2024
“Reminds me of Dorothy’s house in The Wizard of Oz,” the former imagineer, who completed 33 years on the job, said. “Dropped from the sky to land where it did, unconnected to anything surrounding it.
Shull wasn’t the only one disappointed. Disney fans on X ridiculed the new merchandise location for its lack of anything resembling theming.
“It’s just terrible,” X user Seik Jaboote said in a post responding to Shull. “It’s just slightly better than a prefab you might find winding its way along the road in remote areas on the back of a truck. In fact it is reminiscent of a garage or garden shed. It’s definitely out of place, completely messes with scale… I just don’t understand how this even got approved.”
Memento Mori, but worse. pic.twitter.com/f4D5POJrLa
— Kevin Was The Punchline (@WasPunchline) November 12, 2024
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X user Kevin Was The Punchline summed it up nicely, saying that the new location was, “Memento Mori, but worse.”
Memento Mori, Walt Disney World’s Haunted Mansion gift shop, sits near the Haunted Mansion attraction at Liberty Square. It’s also themed to Madame Leota. However, Memento Mori is a unique shade of blue that makes it stand out from the rest of Liberty Square. It also features a themed sign with a large eye, helping it blend in with the mansion’s spooky aesthetic.
A screenshot showing the exterior of the Haunted Mansion gift shop at Disneyland – YouTube, Best Life and Beyond
While it’s possible Disney will add more theming closer to the store’s opening, at the moment, the only theming present at the Disneyland Haunted Mansion gift shop is on the single remaining construction wall, which features concept art of the shop and a note from Madame Leota.
“Soon I shall be returning once more,” the note reads. “With haunting treasures and wonders galore!”
A screenshot showing the exterior of the Haunted Mansion gift shop and Tiana’s Bayou Adventure at Disneyland – YouTube, Best Life and Beyond
It’s almost appropriate that the new gift shop sits beside Tiana’s Bayou Adventure. The new Disneyland attraction just had a disastrous opening day that saw the log flume replacement for Splash Mountain down for seven hours throughout the day.
Do you think there will be more theming added to the new Disneyland Haunted Mansion gift shop? Will it more closely resemble its counterpart in Walt Disney World? Sound off and let us know!
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