The Haunted Mansion at the Magic Kingdom in Walt Disney World has to be one of my all-time favorite rides. It is definitely the best “haunted house” I’ve ever been in. Don’t get me wrong, it’s not the scariest but it is great. There are a lot of really funny parts to this ride in addition to things that are supposed to frighten you. My daughter got to ride twice as she rode once with my husband and then once with me (while we took turns staying with the 2 year old who absolutely refused to even get near the haunted houses. The Haunted Mansion is located in the Liberty Square area of the Magic Kingdom and is very easy to find as it stands out quite well based on it’s appearance.

The Best Time to Ride

This ride is often quite crowded as it is one that everyone has to try at least once. We were there around 11AM and found that our wait really was only about 15 minutes. The sign at the entrance read 20 minutes but it really moved quickly and I believe that it was only 15 minutes before we stepped inside. FastPass is not available for this ride so you either have to find a time when there are no lines or just wait it out. I would suggest early morning hours are probably the least crowded.

The Ride

Before you get to the entrance to the mansion, you walk through the graveyard. It is well manicured and maintained but kind of spooky in a funny sort of way. You are then escorted into a parlor by Disney cast members dressed in formal garb. (They must be HOT on those hot days!!) The octagonal room which you are next led into turns out to be an elevator. As you stand in the room, the walls seem to be stretching along with the pictures on them. The lights turn out, thunder sounds and then you are led into another area where it is quite dark. I had a hard time walking through the darkness and had to be led by my 8 year old daughter! It does get a bit brighter at the loading area of the “Doom Buggies,” however.

The Doom Buggies are 2 person vehicles on an always moving track. After you come out of the elevator and wind your way around a few turns, you are able to board the vehicles that will take you on the remainder of the ride.

The ride goes through many different rooms in the mansion. We travel through the the library where we see flying books among other strange goings-ons. We see several sets of staircases that are all going the wrong ways. It’s really crazy looking. We see other rooms such as a Conservatory, a Ballroom, where a meal seems to be taking place in a ghostly sort of way, and the attic to name a few. We see all kinds of “spooky” things when we travel through the rooms. For instance, there are musical instruments floating around and a ghost with a crystal ball. The whole place is covered in dust and spider webs to complete the effect.

In the last room of the mansion, guests ride through a room of mirrors. You look in the mirror and discover that a ghost has been hitchhiking and is in the car with you! This is kind of freaky to young kids but my daughter, age 8, saw right through this trick and knew it wasn’t real.

Our Experiences

While this is supposed to be a scary, creepy place, we found it mostly amusing! Even my 8 year old daughter saw through most of the tricks and found the ride quite amusing. I suspect that younger children may find the ride a bit scary but assuring them this it is all “pretend” or “make believe” should assuage all fears. The areas of darkness and the thunder sounds were the only things that we found slightly scary.

We thought that we were lucky not to have had to wait very long for our turn to enter the attraction as it is very popular, despite the fact that it has been in the Magic Kingdom since the park opened in 1971 Waits of up to an hour are not unusual.

This ride is present in both Disneyland and Disney World as well the parks in Tokyo and Paris. It is located in different “lands” in each park but is very similar in all cases.

Recommendations
You have to ride this ride at least once. It is one of the must-do rides in Disney World! I’d suggest riding twice if time allows and the lines aren’t too long because there is so much to see that it is easy to miss things the first time around.