The Haunted Mansion Parlor Is a True Disney Treasure
Photos by Garrett Martin except for the photo of the room, which is courtesy of Disney
Somewhere along the way Disney became just as good at making bars as it is theme park attractions. The latest proof: the Haunted Mansion Parlor, a new themed lounge found exclusively on the Disney Treasure cruise ship and based on the beloved ride that originally opened in Disneyland in 1969. It’s as close as you’ll ever get to drinking a cocktail while creeping through the Mansion in a Doom Buggy, and the highlight of the brand new boat.
The best Disney bars commit to a clear theme, with a level of detail and execution equal to their most popular attractions, and that’s exactly what you’ll find with the Haunted Mansion Parlor. They could’ve just covered a room in the ride’s distinctive wallpaper, thrown some of its spooky portraits on the wall, and played “Grim Grinning Ghosts” on a loop, and people would’ve been totally happy. Instead they went above and beyond, turning this bar into its own attraction, with all kinds of special effects and unexpected twists capturing the whimsy and atmosphere of the ride. It’s great enough that it should sway Disney parks fans considering a Disney cruise towards the Treasure, whose maiden voyage launches later this month.
The Haunted Mansion Parlor’s show cycle, which lasts for roughly 40 minutes or so, follows the story and flow of the ride. At the start of the cycle, the room looks like a creepy but not overtly haunted bar. Is it old, outdated, weirdly dark and filled with unsettling paintings? Sure. There’s no sign of any ghostly activity, though—not until after the familiar voice of the Haunted Mansion’s ghost host (the original audio of Paul Frees’ timeless narration is used here) welcomes us to the parlor and starts to explain its ghostly history. Paintings come alive—or, I guess, undead—as music starts to play throughout the room. Before long the ghost host calls upon Madame Leota to perform a seance (the bartender gave us a bell to ring upon Leota’s command), with her disembodied, crystal skull-encased head appearing in the mirror behind the bar. She goes through the same ceremony as the ride, after which ghosts from the attraction start to appear behind the bar for the rest of the show. The paintings, once static, dance within their frames while singing the lyrics to “Grim Grinning Ghosts.” The aquarium at the center of the parlor, once filled only with water, becomes home to swimming fish skeletons that look like the bones you’d see in a Heathcliff comic strip. Lights flash, lightning crackles, the ride’s famous song sees a few changes in arrangement and genre, and almost every recognizable ghost from the attraction shows up on the mirror at one point or another.
If you’re a fan of the ride, you’ll no doubt love to see its story retold in a new way like this. It actually evokes the earliest concept for the Haunted Mansion, when it was going to be a walkthrough exhibit instead of a ride—only now, instead of walking, you sit on a barstool or in a comfy couch with a drink in your hand while all this spookiness unfurls around you. The Parlor also explicitly references a separate unbuilt walkthrough attraction that was planned as a kind of sidebar to the Haunted Mansion, the Museum of the Weird. Designed primarily by Imagineer Rolly Crump (who passed away last year at the age of 93), it would have been full of creepy occult artifacts without the overt comedy of the ride; some of Crump’s ideas were later used for the ride itself, and reappear here, along with a melting bust of a character named Brother Roland who is modeled after Crump’s appearance.
The show might be the main draw here, but any bar worth its salt needs good drinks, too—even themed ones. The Haunted Mansion Parlor doesn’t fail on that point; its menu features a diverse lineup of tasty cocktails whose names reference the ride. Among them is the Chilling Challenge, a riff on a blood orange margarita that arrives in a box and is topped with a lime salt air foam; images of ghosts are “hidden” in the foam, and only become visible underneath a black light. The Final Vow is a mezcal sour with a hint of strawberry and a hot sauce kick, and the Last Catch is a tropical whiskey smash, with Old Forester Statesman, rose syrup, mango, lime, and pineapple. Those last two both come in collectible tiki-style mugs based on Haunted Mansion ghosts and only available on the Treasure; the Last Catch mug is a grim mariner, seemingly hewn out of granite, with a small metal harpoon in one hand, while the Final Vow mug features a sultry mermaid bride smiling with devilish intent. Both of these characters can be seen within the ride in the gallery of portraits that grow sinister when lightning strikes; they’re also both on the wall of the Haunted Mansion Parlor, where their portraits sing along to “Grim Grinning Ghosts.” If you want a collectible that’s more affordable, there’s also a plastic sipper of the Hatbox Ghost, complete with a face that jumps from his head to his box and vice versa.
