The Haunted Mansion is a spooky, fun , and educational ride that’s popular among Disney fans of all ages. This creepy ride is hands down Logan’s favorite ride at Magic Kingdom. When we go to the Disney Parks, each kid gets to pick a ride that is their absolute must-do ride that day. The littles usually pick Thunder Mountain, I pick Pirates of the Caribbean, and Logan always picks this one.
In this blog post you’ll get lots of fun things you can use to teach in your home, as rainy day activities, or when you need a dose of pixie dust!
The History of the Haunted Mansion
To be able to study the Haunted Mansion, it’s important to know some basics about the ride. Here are a few tidbits to get you started:
It debuted at Walt Disney World’s Magic Kingdom when the park opened on October 1, 1971. It was inspired by the popularity of the Disneyland attraction, even though the two look very different on the exterior.
The attraction features more than 100 animated figures, including ghosts, dancing plants, singing busts, talking portraits, graveyards, coffins and spider webs. One highlight of the attraction is Madame Leota in the seance room, whose head floats and eyes light up when the magic words are spoken.
The stretching room is one of the ride’s most memorable moments. It features a number of strange images that look like they’re popping out at you as guests are seated in old-fashioned stretch cars and pulled down a long corridor.
The Haunted Mansion also features the hitchhiking ghosts named Ezra, Gus, and Phineas. The attraction is popular all-year round but the Halloween season is extra special for the eerie attraction.
Halloween at the Haunted Mansion
During the fall, cast members may look a little more ghostly as they greet guests dressed in full costume. And unlike other ghosts, they don’t mind a quick selfie.
During the annual after hours Halloween party, you’ll also find Lady Carlotta sitting on the lawn spinning spooky (and hilarious) tales about her days in the mansion. It’s a great time to plan a visit for die-hard (see what I did there?) fans.
Ways To Make Haunted Mansion Educational
- Make up your own silly epitaph like the gravestones at the front entrance. These are fun to do in line while you wait in line.
- Try to decipher how the special effects are done throughout the ride (i.e. Pepper’s Ghosts in the ballroom scene and ultraviolet light).
- Draw or sketch something inside the ride like the dusty chandelier, door with a unique knocker, or the antique clock, or even Madame Leota herself.
- Read Edgar Allen Poe to compare similarities in his poems and the Haunted Mansion ride.
- Time how long the ride takes from entering the line to exiting the attraction. Find out what time the ride opens and closes the day you ride. Use math to calculate how many times you can ride the ride back to back in one day.
- Research why the bride is considered a ‘Black Widow’ and determine if you think the story is true and the title is earned.
- Write a fictional story about the hitchhiking ghosts, where they are going, and what they do once they get there.
- Use the scavenger hunt cards (download below) to find iconic items while you’re in the queue and on the ride. Can you find them all?
- Design your own optical illusion and explain how it could be used in either Disneyland or Disney World’s Haunted Mansion ride.
More ways to learn using the Haunted Mansion
Disney Behind the Attraction on Disney Plus has an episode that takes you behind the scenes at Disneyland’s Haunted Mansion to learn about how Imagineers fill the old manor with 999 happy haunts.
YouTube is also a great resource for interesting videos that explain how technology behind the curtain helps design what you see when you’re on the ride. A few of our favorite Haunted Mansion videos are:
- How It Works: The Haunted Mansion
- How It Works: Disney’s Omnimover Ride System
- The Making of the Haunted Mansion
- Disney’s Haunted Mansion Ballroom – How it’s Done
- DIY Haunted Mansion Tombstone
The Haunted Mansion
Funko Disney The Haunted Mansion – Call of The Spirits: Disneyland Edition GameTales from the Haunted Mansion: Volumes I & II : The Fearsome Foursome and Midnight at Madame Leota’s (Tales from the Haunted Mansion)Tales from the Haunted Mansion: Volumes III & IV: Grim Grinning Ghosts and Memento Mori: The Tales from the Haunted Mansion SeriesDisney Parks Haunted Mansion 50th Anniversary Puzzle
More fun with Haunted Mansion
Of course, learning doesn’t always happen in a classroom environment. So why not try a few of these fun ideas to enhance your family time?
- Watch The Haunted Mansion on Disney Plus or Prime Video
- Play Funko’s Disney The Haunted Mansion – Call of The Spirits Board Game
- Read the Tales from the Haunted Mansion series
- Put together this Disney Parks Exclusive 1000 (or was it 999?) piece Haunted Mansion puzzle
There’s no end to the creative ways Disney Haunted Mansion fans can learn while having a bit of creepy fun! Have you rode the Haunted Mansion? What fun ways of learning would you add to the list of things you can do using this ride? I’d love to hear your thoughts!
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Check out the rest of the series by clicking on the pic!
