Welcome, foolish mortals, to the ultimate Haunted Mansion Easter eggs roundup. Our resident Disney Parks fanatic has combed through every frame of the new film to bring you a rundown of all the references and hidden details you might have missed. There's a lot to get through, so make sure your safety bar is down and your hands, arms, feet, and legs are inside the ride at all times.
Haunted Mansion is based on the spooktacular ride of the same name, but each Disney Park has its own version of the attraction (besides Shanghai Disney, which doesn't have one at all). That means we've gone the extra mile and dived deep into the differences between the rides below, too.
Before we go any further, though, a note that the following will contain major spoilers for the film. Turn back now if you haven't seen the new Haunted Mansion movie yet!
Now that's out of the way, our tour begins here, in this gallery… er, we mean, head down to the below for all the Disney and ride references you might have missed in Haunted Mansion. We've been dying to have you!
Haunted Mansion Easter eggs
The ride
The mansion
Yes, a haunted mansion in Haunted Mansion isn't strictly an Easter egg. But the spooky setting of the movie is modelled on a specific version of the ride. Travis and Gabbie's new home is near-identical to the version of the Haunted Mansion attraction found in Disneyland California, right down to the New Orleans setting.
We'll give you a whistle stop tour of the Haunted Mansion basics here, to make it easier to dig into the Easter eggs that follow. All the versions of the ride – besides Hong Kong Disney's Mystic Manor – have the same premise: you're a visitor in a very, very haunted house, taken on a tour through the halls and rooms, which are all populated by various eccentric spirits. The Disneyland California version of the ride opened first, while the others followed later.
The Florida and Tokyo versions of the attraction are virtually identical both inside and out (with some minor variations). Their exterior looks very different to California's mansion, though, and while they have a lot in common with Disneyland's version, there are some key differences inside.
Disneyland Paris's take on the ride is named Phantom Manor, and, thanks to its Wild West theme, its exterior is modelled completely differently to the other versions of the Haunted Mansion. Unlike the other three haunted houses, this version has its own, focused storyline, too. The ride follows a bereaved bride named Melanie Ravenswood. She had four suitors, and they all died tragically under mysterious circumstances, so she wanders her home in her wedding dress forevermore. Her father, Henry Ravenswood, is the titular Phantom, who narrates the ride (and seems to have had something to do with those four deaths, too). While it shares a lot of similarities with its cousins in America and Japan, this is actually a fairly different ride – and we'll get into that as we go on.
Hong Kong Disneyland's Mystic Manor, meanwhile, also has an official premise, but is more magic themed than spooky. You take a tour of Lord Henry Mystic's fantastical home, accompanied by adorable monkey Albert. The manor is filled with fascinating artefacts, and a little bit of magic brings them all to chaotic life. This is by far the most drastically different version of the attraction, but it does have a few things in common with its cousins, too. Before we continue, though, we should note that this version of the ride is so different that you can go ahead and assume we're not talking about this one unless we've specifically referenced it.
"Welcome foolish mortals"
The first words in the film are delivered by Jamie Lee Curtis's Madame Leota: "welcome, foolish mortals." If that sounds familiar, it's because it's pretty much the rides' tagline – it's also one of the first things you hear on the attractions. When you step into the stretching portrait room (more on that in a moment) your Ghost Host, AKA the narrator, welcomes you with this particularly sinister line of dialogue – though, in Phantom Manor, your narrator is slightly nicer, and welcomes you as "curious friends" instead. How sweet! (Don't worry, you get called a foolish mortal later on, instead.)
The music
The Haunted Mansion attractions all share distinctive music, and you can hear that creepy theme throughout the score of the movie. It's enough to give you chills.
The stretching room
Ben and Travis get stuck in a stretching room as they try to escape the mansion – they're in pretty serious peril, considering the TNT, quicksand, and alligators from the portraits lining the walls appear in the real world. Luckily, they manage to escape through the ceiling, after some assistance from the paintings themselves.
The four portraits show innocuous situations that turn sinister once the room stretches: a woman holding a parasol turns out to be on a tightrope above water with an alligator beneath her; an elderly lady sitting with a flower turns out to be perched atop her husband's grave; a man standing with his arms folded is actually sitting on the shoulders of another man, part of a human chain slowly sinking into quicksand; a man posing proudly is really standing on top of a barrel of TNT with the fuse lit. Gulp.
This is a very faithful recreation of the stretching room that welcomes you inside the Haunted Mansion in California, Florida, and Tokyo (Paris's Phantom Manor has its own stretching room, but the portraits are different). At first, the room appears to be normal, but as the Ghost Host narrates, the ceiling stretches up and up and the portraits elongate with it, revealing those terrifying situations. When the room is plunged into darkness and lightning flashes, you can spot the Ghost Host through the ceiling in a hidden room – that's the space Ben and Travis escape into.
A ghost will follow you home
On the rides, you're warned that a ghost will follow you home as you come to the end of the attraction – and that's exactly what happens to the characters in the film. They each try to leave the Haunted Mansion behind, only to discover a spooky spirit has accompanied them on their journey.
"You'll be back"
When Gabbie and Travis flee from their new home, the Hatbox Ghost menacingly calls after them: "You'll be baaaaack!" While not a direct quote, you're told something very similar on the rides by a tiny version of Madame Leota (fittingly named Little Leota) who calls "hurry baaaaack" in the same tone as you leave. She also reminds you to bring your death certificate. How sweet!
The suit of armor
When Travis and Gabbie move into their mansion, one of the first spooky things they both notice is a moving suit of armor. It walks up behind Travis while Gabbie is trying to reassure him that the house isn't haunted. In the rides, you can spot the moving armor pretty soon after boarding, next to an endless corridor with a floating candelabra. In Mystic Manor, the suits of armor don't just move, they also sing.
Doom Buggy
When Harriet is unceremoniously ejected from the Séance Room, she goes flying through the mansion in a large, black chair with a particularly distinctive shape. It looks remarkably like a Doom Buggy, AKA the vehicle that transports you around the attractions. In Mystic Manor, you instead board a Magneto-Electric Carriage with an entirely different style.
Eagle eyed viewers might also have spotted that one of the chairs in the Séance Room has a familiar pattern, too; you can spot the armchair (with a design that looks a lot like Donald Duck's face) in all four haunted house rides.
999 haunts (and room for one more)
In the film, exactly 999 ghosts haunt the mansion. That's also how many ghosts haunt the rides. You'll hear from the Ghost Host (or the mayor of the surrounding town in Phantom Manor) that there's "room for 1,000 – any volunteers?" In the movie, the Hatbox Ghost needs one more spirit to complete his ritual; that extra soul needs to be a willing sacrifice (AKA a volunteer), too.
The watching busts
Gabbie tells Ben that two busts in the mansion turn their heads to watch as people walk past, though they're not actually seen doing this in the movie. In Phantom Manor and California's version of the ride, busts appear just before you board your Doom Buggy, and if you look at them as you walk by, they do indeed appear to turn their heads to watch you. Creepy.
In Florida and Tokyo, the busts in the library will turn to watch you as you pass, and in Mystic Manor, two busts do appear, but you don't get a chance to see if they watch you before your vehicle is turning around. Phew…
Floating candelabra and stretching hallway
When Ben is exploring the mansion at midnight, he sees a candelabra floating by itself in the middle of an empty corridor that appears to stretch into infinity. The scene is seen in all three Haunted Mansions, as well as Phantom Manor – though the Paris version of the scene is slightly different, featuring the ghost of Melanie and the Phantom.
Plus, multiple times in the movie, the hallways suddenly begin to stretch, making walking from one end to the other impossible, just like the candelabra's endless hallway.
The ballroom
The ballroom in the film is pretty much identical to the version seen in the rides, right down to the spirits floating up from the organ and the cheerful ghost perched on the chandelier. The major variation in the film is that the duelling portraits are located elsewhere in the mansion, while in the attractions, they have pride of place in the ballroom.
Phantom Manor, though, has a slightly different ballroom set up for Melanie's wedding party – and the duelling portraits are found at the start of the ride instead.
The raven
In the film's Séance Room, there is a raven perched on the back of a chair. The Dream Team at first take it to be fake, but get a fright when it startles to life later in the movie. You can spot a raven throughout the Haunted Mansion and Phantom Manor attractions, perched ominously in various locations.
Staircases
Towards the end of the film, while Ben and Gabbie are trying to save Travis, the Hatbox Ghost uses the mansion itself against them. Gracey helps Ben navigate the shifting corridors, and they end up in a room of staircases going in every direction, including upside down. This room is also taken straight from the ride, though it's found only in the Disney World Florida version.
Saloon dancers
At the end of the movie, all of the haunts are at last happy and are seen celebrating in the ballroom. Some of the ghostly women dancing are decked out like saloon dancers doing the can-can; Phantom Manor features a saloon with a similarly dressed woman inside. This could also explain why Father Kent is dressed like a cowboy at the end of the film, though, either way, we're digging his style.
The bat stanchions
The attention to detail in Haunted Mansion truly is extraordinary – even the line stanchions are represented. In Alistair Crump's mansion, a chain strung between gold bats stops visitors from getting too close to a fireplace. This is exactly what the line barriers and stanchions look like on the rides.
Rhyming graves
In the terrifying basement of Alistair Crump's home, Travis finds countless graves of all the people Crump has killed. Every headstone features a rhyming epitaph – another feature of the rides is rhyming headstones, located in the line area; Phantom Manor has its own cemetery at the end of the attraction.
Many of the fictional dead are named after Disney Imagineers, like Yale Gracey (yes, just like that Gracey). You'll find Master Gracey's gravestone in California and Florida: "Master Gracey laid to rest. No mourning please, at his request. Farewell." In Tokyo, this epitaph instead appears on the grave of one Mister West. Master Gracey is a character in the new movie and has a long history with Haunted Mansion history (more on that later).
In Florida, you'll also pass the headstone of Madame Leota in the line; her grave features a sculpt of her face, with eyes that occasionally open and take a look around.
The clock strikes 13
When Ben enters the ghost realm, a creepy-looking grandfather clock strikes 13 with a resounding gong. You'll find this same clock striking 13 in the rides, just before your Doom Buggy takes you to Madame Leota.
The locked trunk
When Ben ventures up into the attic, he finds a trunk wrapped in chains. There's a mysterious banging sound coming from inside. Ben narrowly escapes the attic with the trunk in tow, and it turns out to be holding the crystal ball that contains Madame Leota. The locked trunk also appears in the 2003 The Haunted Mansion movie, used by the villain to trap children Michael and Megan inside.
"Grim Grinning Ghosts"
This spooky song plays as an instrumental at the start of the film, then again at the end of the film when the Dream Team and the happy haunts are partying together in the ballroom. You can hear this song in all of the rides, performed by the spirits in the cemetery. All together now: when the ghosts come out to socialiiiiize…
Happy haunts
The Hatbox Ghost
Jared Leto's mysterious Hatbox Ghost isn't an all-new character. He's actually a figure from Disneyland California's Haunted Mansion, originally located in the attic (where you'll also find Constance Hatchaway, the hatchet-wielding bride). However, as the special effects that would make the ghost's head disappear and reappear in the hatbox weren't quite up to scratch, he was removed soon after the ride opened in 1969. The Hatbox Ghost was finally returned in 2015, though he's now on the balcony rather than in the attic.
You won't find the Hatbox Ghost on any other version of the attraction, though there are references to him in Disney World's.
Constance Hatchaway
Constance is another infamous character from the Haunted Mansion rides. Much like in the movie, she haunts the attic, where you'll see portraits featuring her headless husbands (their heads disappear and reappear as you pass by). She's also holding her hatchet, which she tries to use against Ben in the film.
Constance appears in Disneyland California and Disney World Florida, and a previously anonymous bride character in Tokyo Disneyland was identified as her in 2023. Disneyland Paris's Phantom Manor, though, has its own bride: the tragic Melanie Ravenswood.
Madame Leota
Jamie Lee Curtis plays a medium trapped in a crystal ball in the movie – and you'll find Madame Leota on every version of the attraction, as well as in the original 2003 movie, played by Jennifer Tilly. Just like the ride, Curtis's Madame Leota also has a penchant for speaking in rhyme, and she can be found in the Séance Room.
Madame Leota gets her name (and face) from Disney Imagineer Leota Toombs, with Eleanor Audley and later Susanne Blakeslee voicing the character – though Oona Lind lent her face and voice to the Disneyland Paris version.
The Ghost Host
The Ghost Host isn't just the narrator of the rides – he also appears in a portrait, with a noose around his neck, a hatchet in hand, a bulging eye, and a sinister grin. In the stretching portrait room, he can also be spotted through the ceiling when lightning strikes at the end of the narration.
While this exact painting doesn't appear in the film, a character who bears a strong resemblance to the Ghost Host does, complete with hatchet and bulging eye. The ghost chases Ben and later tries to possess him in the movie.
Master Gracey
In the film, Master Gracey is the ghost of one of the mansion's previous owners. His wife, Eleanor, died from yellow fever, and he relentlessly searches for her spirit in the afterlife – though don't worry, they do get a happy ending. In a blink and you'll miss it moment, Master Gracey and his wife can be seen seated opposite each other in the ballroom right at the end of the movie.
Master Gracey is a figure with a long Haunted Mansion history. If you've seen the 2003 movie, you'll remember him as the tragic character played by Nathaniel Parker. He was also looking for his missing (murdered) wife, though she was named Elizabeth.
Before that movie, though, his name was found inscribed on a grave outside of the California and Florida versions of the ride – if you enter the attraction via the servants' quarters rather than the stretching room, you'll also see his name written on a bell. The name is a tribute to Disney Imagineer Yale Gracey.
The history of the character gets rather enigmatic, though. Fans have embraced the man as the master of the house (rather than the traditional meaning behind the title of Master, given to boys too young to be called Mister) – at one point, the Florida version of the attraction was even named Gracey Manor, identified as such by a prop crate outside. The crate has since been removed, however.
In California, Florida, and Tokyo, there is also a portrait of a young man that ages, Dorian Gray-style, as you watch (or, in California, when lightning strikes). This mysterious fellow has been identified as Master Gracey in some merchandise. There is also speculation that the young man is the Ghost Host himself, rather than the portrait of the hanged man. As with most things Haunted Mansion, there is no official explanation to clear up all these details, so you're free to choose the version of the story you like best.
The caretaker (and his dog)
One of the ghosts who appears in the spirit realm is that of a caretaker and his dog. You'll see him in the cemetery on the Haunted Mansion rides, looking terrified with a lantern and his trusty hound (Phantom Manor has the titular spirit and a red-eyed, skeletal dog in his place).
Interestingly enough, a barrel addressed to the caretaker found in Walt Disney World apparently revealed his name as Silas Crump – though the barrel has since been removed, leaving his canonical name in question. The movie's Hatbox Ghost is named Alistair Crump… a relation, perhaps? More likely, it's another tribute; this time to Disney Imagineer Rolly Crump.
The opera singer
When Ben goes into the ghost realm, he encounters a huge array of ghosts. One in particular is an opera singer wearing a Viking helmet – you can spot her on the California, Florida, and Tokyo versions of the attraction in the graveyard, singing with her male companion.
The executioner
When Father Kent is being chased by all those ghosts at the end of the film, one of the assembled array is a spirit wearing an executioner's hood. You'll find him in the cemetery scene on the California, Florida, and Tokyo versions of the ride, singing next to a beheaded man. We're sure he had nothing to do with that…
The Roman emperor and Egyptian queen
Amid Father Kent's merry band of spirits is a Roman emperor and an Egyptian queen. They don't have exact counterparts on the ride, but there is a similar duo who can be found sitting together on the ballroom's chandelier in California, Florida, and Tokyo. The man looks like a Roman centurion and his companion an Egyptian lady, bringing some serious Antony and Cleopatra vibes to the occasion.
Interestingly enough, the ghost of Julius Caesar also haunts these three rides, sitting at one end of the table in the ballroom.
The mummy
Another of Kent's group of ghosts is a particularly creepy looking mummy – he's so scary, in fact, that Kent asks him to turn around so he can finish his rousing speech. You can find a mummy ghost in the cemetery scenes of California, Florida, and Tokyo's versions of the ride.
Hitchhiking ghosts
At the end of the rides, you pass in front of a series of mirrors, which show you an unwanted passenger is hitching a ride in your Doom Buggy. There are traditionally three of these hitchhiking ghosts, and they all show up in the movie when Ben enters the spirit realm.
In Phantom Manor, the ghost of Melanie appears in your Doom Buggy and asks you to marry her instead.
The mayor
As Master Gracey's story is being told in a flashback, we see more and more ghosts filling up his home as sèance after sèance is conducted in the hunt for Eleanor. You can briefly spot a ghost who bears a strong resemblance to the mayor seen in Phantom Manor as Master Gracey blows out his birthday candles.
Phantom Manor features a ghostly version of Thunder Mesa – AKA the fictional setting of Disneyland Paris's Western-inspired Frontierland. As you pass the mayor, he takes off his hat in greeting... only his head pops off, too.
He's also the one who warns you to beware of hitchhiking ghosts and informs you of the 999 spirits – requesting volunteers because, as we know, there's always room for one more. Any takers?
Portraits
The duelling men
In the movie, the ghosts of two men jump free of their portraits and shoot each other in a duel at midnight. These duelling men can be found in the Haunted Mansion attractions, too, appearing as portraits in the ballroom – like in the movie, the ghosts escape the paintings to shoot each other at the same time.
In Phantom Manor, the duelling ghosts don't appear. However, there is a portrait of a duel involving Henry Ravenswood, the father of the bride ghost Melanie. A flash of lightning changes the portrait to reveal Henry cheated and shot his opponent in the back.
Werecat portrait
In the film, you can spot a portrait of a woman reclining on a chaise lounge. When Ben enters the ghost realm, she is revealed to be a werecat. This portrait also appears in Disneyland and Walt Disney World, and the subject shifts into a white tiger.
The mariner
Ben is followed home by the belligerent ghost of a mariner, who goes as far as trying to harpoon him. A portrait of a mariner appears in Walt Disney World and Tokyo Disneyland, though it doesn't look the same as the one in the film – in fact, it's a lot creepier.
April-December
In the film, the secret entrance to the Séance Room is concealed behind a large portrait of a woman in a fancy dress with dark hair. While not exactly the same, the portrait bears a strong resemblance to the April-December painting found in California's version of the ride. That portrait shows another young woman in a similar pose who slowly shifts from young and beautiful (April) to a very old woman (December). Her elderly form can be seen in the Florida and Tokyo attractions, too.
Disney
Marvel
Not all the Haunted Mansion Easter eggs are ride related. Travis is apparently a big Marvel fan, considering he has Black Panther, Namor, and Storm action figures in his possession, as well as a Marvel branded Monopoly set.
"It's a Small World"
At Alistair Crump's mansion, a familiar tune can be heard. Dan Levy's murder mystery maestro sits at a piano playing a charming rendition of "It's a Small World," that (in)famous jaunty tune that soundtracks the Disney ride of the same name. We're crossing our fingers for an It's a Small World movie (yes, we mean it).
Ah, there you are! And just in time… Prepare to exit to the living world with our guide to all the upcoming Disney movies. Remember, beware of hitchhiking ghosts before you click off the page – and hurry baaaack…
