Haunted Mansion - Any Chance?

[Frozen2014]

I know that no one can really answer this but thought I'd post to get thoughts from Disneyland gurus .

Debating between two weeks to visit next summer. One of them is the last week in August, the week leading up to Labor Day. I know there is 99% chance Haunted Mansion will be shut down that week, but I'm looking at the possibility of flying in the Wednesday before. Any chance it would still be open that week, before closing for the Halloween overlay? If it was, then we would do one Disney day (say on Aug 24) , then tour LA and return to Disney the last week for 3 days around Aug 29.

 

[longtimedisneylurker]

Based on the last two years, my own guess would be that Mansion would close on Aug. 21. Unfortunately since Disney doesn't post schedules very far in advance, you probably won't be able to confirm this into 5 or 6 weeks before that date.

 

[Frozen2014]

Darn. So chances pretty slim we could catch it the second last week. :-(. This is the only factor why we are looking at third last week, but not sure one ride should determine our vacation week.

 

[OneThree]

We arrived on the 29th and the HM had closed the week prior. Seems to be pretty consistent that it closes the 2nd to last week in August for the overlay.

 

[Darkbeer1]

Sorry to say, Halloween has become a major revenue source for Theme Parks in general, and seems like the operators keep pushing the starting date earlier each year, so I don't see Disneyland delaying the changeover of Haunted Mansion (It does take a couple of weeks. Disney has got the system down to try and make the changeover faster, but limited staff and the need for testing, plus Disney also does use the period as an opportunity to do needed repairs and maintenance of the attraction.

 

[Frozen2014]

Thanks for the replies. Such as shame as DD and I love that ride from our WDW trip a couple years ago. She will be disappointed when she finds out its not open (but of course there are tons of other cool looking rides). We can back it up by two weeks, but this one fits in better with it being the end of summer and crowds should be better too.

 

[MrsJackSparrow4Life]

In don't know when it closed this year but we were in the parks aug 18-21 this year and it was open every day of our trip.

 

[Frozen2014]

In don't know when it closed this year but we were in the parks aug 18-21 this year and it was open every day of our trip.

You got lucky. I believe it closed on Aug 22nd this past summer.

 

[Geemo]

Crowds. ....
I would go when the rides you are interested in are open.

With the parks so busy most days, it likely won't make much of a difference.

It's nice to have options.

Geemo

 

[Frozen2014]

Crowds. ....
I would go when the rides you are interested in are open.

With the parks so busy most days, it likely won't make much of a difference.

It's nice to have options.

Geemo

If I make a list of pros and cons between the two weeks, crowds is a plus for the last week, but it's not the main deciding factor. In fact, I lean towards the third week to catch Haunted Mansion for DD and I as we just love this ride. How crazy is it to book an entire trip around one ride? The thing is, DH thinks it is silly, and the last week fits better into our summer. (Flight seems to be the same but hotels may also be a bit cheaper last week) If we do the third week, then it means pulling our kids out of camp, then signing them up for the last week (and I think overall cost would be more since the last week is usually the extra week with the first 8 weeks bundled up together in one lump sum). And for DH's work, he prefers to have the end of the summer long weekend tied into our return. (There is also a family birthday on DH's side during the third week which may cause family politics issues if we are not around). If only HM wasn't closed the last week or even 2nd last week, then this wouldn't be such a dilemma.

 

[Butterfly123]

If I make a list of pros and cons between the two weeks, crowds is a plus for the last week, but it's not the main deciding factor. In fact, I lean towards the third week to catch Haunted Mansion for DD and I as we just love this ride. How crazy is it to book an entire trip around one ride? The thing is, DH thinks it is silly, and the last week fits better into our summer. (Flight seems to be the same but hotels may also be a bit cheaper last week) If we do the third week, then it means pulling our kids out of camp, then signing them up for the last week (and I think overall cost would be more since the last week is usually the extra week with the first 8 weeks bundled up together in one lump sum). And for DH's work, he prefers to have the end of the summer long weekend tied into our return. (There is also a family birthday on DH's side during the third week which may cause family politics issues if we are not around). If only HM wasn't closed the last week or even 2nd last week, then this wouldn't be such a dilemma.

I've got to say that when we have planned trips where certain favorite rides were down ( like POTC, my all time favorite, or SM), it felt like a really big deal when we were planning the trip, but usually when we got there we didn't end up missing the ride as much as I thought we would because there were many other things to do. This is not to say that we didn't miss the ride, it's just that we were busy enjoying Disneyland, and it was okay.

It's a tough decision, just thought I'd add my experience!

 

[Frozen2014]

I've got to say that when we have planned trips where certain favorite rides were down ( like POTC, my all time favorite, or SM), it felt like a really big deal when we were planning the trip, but usually when we got there we didn't end up missing the ride as much as I thought we would because there were many other things to do. This is not to say that we didn't miss the ride, it's just that we were busy enjoying Disneyland, and it was okay.

It's a tough decision, just thought I'd add my experience!

Thanks Butterfly. Appreciate you letting me know since sounds like you went through similar dilemma.

 

[BobearQSI]

I'm also looking at a trip around that time.

Haunted Mansion closure has always been 18 days before Halloween time starts - it closes on a Monday, Halloween time starts on a Friday. In 2015 and 2016, Disney moved Halloween time start up to the Friday after Labor Day, in order to add more Halloween party dates. Given that more parties has worked very well for them over the past 2 years, it is very likely Halloween time will start the Friday after Labor Day again next year, September 8th.

Therefore, I would agree with the other posters and say it is extremely likely that Haunted Mansion will close on Monday, August 21st in 2017. That is also the same day that the SoCal AP blockouts end.

Official confirmation from Disney won't come until they announce the dates for Halloween time, which going on past history won't be until July 2017.