Disney Imagineering “Creative” Lead Kim Irvine has sparked controversy among Disney fans with comments made to the LA Times regarding recent changes to Disneyland’s Haunted Mansion.
The recent update changed the storyline of the attraction’s famed attic bride to fall more in line with the original story of the attraction of a grieving widow. It replaced the previous incarnation, which was a murderous “Black Widow” character. However, instead of describing the decision as some kind of homage to Disney’s storied past, Irvine, a legacy Imagineer and daughter of legendary Haunted Mansion imagineer Leota Toombs—the face and voice of Madame Leota—defended the reimagined scene as a response to modern sensitivities.
Disney imagineering’s Kim Irvine at the Haunted Mansion – YouTube, Los Angeles Times
READ: Trump Hall of Presidents Return in Question as Disney Makes Suspicious Signage Change
“The bride that used to be in there was an axe murderer, and in this day and age we have to be really careful about the sensitivities of people,” Irvine told the LA Times. “We were celebrating someone chopping off her husband’s heads, and it was a weird story. I know the fans — some will like it and some will say, ‘Oh, you changed something again.’ That’s our job. That’s what we’re here for.”
Irvine also revealed that Disney is considering the removal of the hanging man in the Haunted Mansion’s stretching room, citing similar concerns over modern sensibilities.
The head of Madame Leota in the Haunted Mansion at Disneyland – YouTube, Los Angeles Times
Fans quickly seized on Irvine’s comments, viewing them as yet another example of modern Imagineering focusing more on political correctness than creativity.
Joshua Harris, a Disney historian and frequent That Park Place contributor, delivered a scathing rebuke.
It gives me no pleasure to say it’s time for WDI’s “Crown Princess,” Kim Irvine, to retire from public life.
I’ve had many objections to her actions in the last decade, but this is the most egregious outburst.
NO, Kim your job is NOT to change things, but to PLUS THEM.… pic.twitter.com/0tpdpsRfbp
— Joshua L Harris (@JLHomni) January 18, 2025
“It gives me no pleasure to say it’s time for WDI’s ‘Crown Princess,’ Kim Irvine, to retire from public life,” he said on X. “I’ve had many objections to her actions in the last decade, but this is the most egregious outburst. NO, Kim, your job is NOT to change things, but to PLUS THEM.
Perhaps you’ve forgotten the principles that your father (Animator Harvey Toombs), mother (Leota Toombs), and your mentor (John Hench) taught you. OR you’ve just become the mouthpiece for Iger’s post-modernist philosophies, in which case you shouldn’t carry water for his destructive administration any longer.”
Others took to social media to express their frustration.
Kim Irvine said a lot, when she could have just said, “We wanted to restore the attic bride scene to something more inline with what the original Imagineering team envisioned. The fact she didn’t say that makes me worried about what else is getting replaced.
— Brandon Starr (@BrandonStarrArt) January 17, 2025
“Kim Irvine said a lot, when she could have just said, ‘We wanted to restore the attic bride scene to something more in line with what the original Imagineering team envisioned,’” an X user named Brandon Starr, said. “The fact she didn’t say that makes me worried about what else is getting replaced.”
He wasn’t alone in these feelings.
I have always see Kim Irvine as one of the last old style imagineers, following in her mothers legacy but this interview has completely destroyed that https://t.co/Bkn2rX1bze
— stella (@queenie_eye64) January 18, 2025
“I have always seen Kim Irvine as one of the last old-style Imagineers, following in her mother’s legacy,” an X-user named Stella said. “But this interview has completely destroyed that.”
Perhaps most biting was the critique from an X user called That One Guy.
Kim Irvine is bent on sanitizing away every scrap of Disney joy. Someone is always offended. Someone is always triggered. It is literally impossible to have a worthwhile attraction if you are trying to mitigate the risk of offending every single person on earth. pic.twitter.com/kHr0LNmwyO
— That One Guy (@Tommyboy186) January 18, 2025
READ: EXCLUSIVE: WWE’s Wyatt Sicks House at Universal Studios’ Halloween Horror Nights Rumor Confirmed
“Kim Irvine is bent on sanitizing away every scrap of Disney joy,” he said. “Someone is always offended. Someone is always triggered. It is literally impossible to have a worthwhile attraction if you are trying to mitigate the risk of offending every single person on earth.”
The outrage over Irvine’s comments comes amidst growing concern that Imagineering is losing its creative spark. Fans argue that modern Imagineers focus more on virtue signaling and avoiding controversy than enhancing guest experiences. This sentiment was exacerbated by another recent controversy involving the Haunted Mansion Carriage House gift shop, also a Kim Irvine project.
A screenshot showing the exterior of the Haunted Mansion gift shop and Tiana’s Bayou Adventure at Disneyland – YouTube, Best Life and Beyond
Additionally, fans discovered that Mansion’s new queue fountain was an off-the-shelf item purchased online. The Carriage House design itself even seemed to come from a pre-fabricated kit with no original architecture.
Fans exposed the use of AI-generated artwork, prompting Irvine to defensively claim that it was temporary.
“How they can find one thing out of all this cool stuff…” Irvine lamented to the LA Times, referring to fans’ eagle eyed attention.
“They felt like it would be appropriate for a short time until they could put something else in,” Irvine said of the imagineering team. “They never intended to do anything bad, and it is gone now. We’re going to bring something back in that is hand-painted, like all of these other pieces are.”
A photo of the Haunted Mansion in Magic Kingdom via Disney Parks website
While Irvine’s Disney pedigree runs deep, fans argue that this legacy does not excuse recent missteps. Many see her comments as emblematic of a larger issue within Imagineering: the prioritization of modern sensibilities over the bold creativity that built Disney’s reputation.
These changes to the Haunted Mansion have left many fans questioning the direction of Walt Disney Imagineering. As one of the company’s most celebrated attractions, the Haunted Mansion has always balanced eerie charm with playful irreverence. Yet, as Irvine and her contemporaries push to remove elements like the hanging man, fans fear that the attraction—and Imagineering as a whole—is losing its soul.
Rather than pushing boundaries and delivering imaginative experiences, many believe Imagineering has become reactive, more concerned with avoiding backlash than embracing the bold visionaries who defined Disney’s golden age. Whether the Haunted Mansion bride is an improvement or not, Irvine’s comments have cemented the idea for many that Disney’s priorities have shifted—and not for the better.
Do you believe Kim Irvine and the imagineering team at Disney have lost their way? Sound off in the comments below and let us know!
“That’s our job. That’s what we’re here for.”
Well there’s your problem.
Back in the day, you weren’t allowed to say that a noble was doing awful things, and had to say it was really those commoners who were trying to blame the nobility.
Nowadays, only straight white males can be villains.
It’s the same issue. Whatever group has privilege doesn’t want to be seen as even being capable of evil, so they push things onto those who do not have privilege.
Why is it always women at the helm of these myriad of underperformances, at worst/ disasters at best?
star wars
FEMA
Secret Service (my mom worked there growing up so that means a whole lot to me. Her SAiC was Larry Buendorf who wrestled Squeaky From’s gun away after the Ford assassination attempt.)
star wars
LA mayor
LA fire chief
bud light marketing vp
star wars
San Jose states Ad (dude in volleyball team)
That skank episcopalawhat? lesbo ‘clergy’
Ad infinitum
Ad nauseum