Disneyland's Haunted Mansion is about to go dark for its most beloved annual disappearing act. The classic attraction is scheduled to close on August 8, 2026, and reopen on August 21, 2026 as Haunted Mansion Holiday — the Nightmare Before Christmas overlay that kicks off Halloween Time at the Disneyland Resort and runs all the way through the winter holidays.

That August 21 reopening is confirmed on Disney's official site, and it lines up exactly with the first day of Halloween Time 2026. If you've been hoping to ride the standard Haunted Mansion before the transformation, the window is closing fast — and once Jack Skellington moves in, the classic version won't be back until early next year.

The closure: what's happening and why

Every late summer, Disney shutters the Haunted Mansion for roughly two weeks to install the elaborate Haunted Mansion Holiday overlay. This isn't a refurbishment in the traditional sense — it's a full seasonal conversion, swapping in hundreds of props, lighting changes, new audio, and animated figures before the ride reopens in its festive form.

The 2026 downtime runs about 13 days, from the August 8 closure through the August 21 reopening, which is right in line with the 10-to-14-day window these overlay installations typically require. As always with Disneyland's calendar, dates can shift on short notice, so it's worth a quick check in the Disneyland app before you build a park day around it.

A mirror-image closure happens every winter, when the mansion goes down again — usually in early-to-mid January — to strip the overlay back out and return to the classic version. Last season, that swap-back ran January 12 through January 22.

What is Haunted Mansion Holiday?

Haunted Mansion Holiday transforms the 999 happy haunts' New Orleans Square estate into a collision of two holidays, inspired by Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas. Jack Skellington, the Pumpkin King, discovers the mansion and decides to give it his own "Sandy Claws" makeover, with Sally, Zero, Oogie Boogie, and the rest of Halloween Town along for the ride.

The overlay reaches into nearly every scene. Zero floats where the candelabra usually drifts down the endless hallway, Madame Leota recites a macabre take on the 13 Days of Christmas, the graveyard is blanketed in roughly 7,500 square feet of "ghostly white snow," and a final showdown with Oogie Boogie caps the journey. More than two dozen additional animated figures materialize as part of the transformation, from man-eating wreaths to a vampire teddy bear.

The exterior is just as photogenic. The facade gets candles, jack-o'-lanterns, garlands, a Sandy Claws Jack perched out front, and a countdown clock — making it one of the most stunning nighttime photo spots anywhere on property.

A 25-year tradition

Haunted Mansion Holiday first opened on October 3, 2001, and was an instant hit — popular enough that what began as a one-season experiment became a permanent annual fixture. That makes the 2026 season the overlay's 25th year, a quarter-century of Jack's takeover of the Haunted Mansion.

It remains a Disneyland exclusive in the United States. Walt Disney World's Magic Kingdom has never received the overlay; the only other version in the world lives at Tokyo Disneyland, where it's known as Haunted Mansion Holiday Nightmare. It's also the only Disney seasonal overlay that spans two holidays, carrying guests from Halloween Time straight through the Christmas season before it comes down in January.

The gingerbread house: a new design every year

The single most-anticipated detail inside the overlay is the gingerbread house in the ballroom. A team of carpenters, storytellers, pastry chefs, bakers, and technical wizards collaborates each year to build a brand-new design — a real, edible gingerbread structure (reinforced with internal supports for the larger creations) that fills the Grand Hall with the scent of fresh gingerbread.

A new design has appeared nearly every season at creator Tim Burton's request, and fans return specifically to see what the team dreams up. Recent years have included a gingerbread guillotine (2022), the "Von Ginger" mausoleum (2023), a Frankenstein's monster strapped to an operating table (2024), and 2025's "A Murder Most Fowl," a 13-foot raven-themed birdhouse complete with glowing red eyes and crows bursting from a pie.

The 2026 gingerbread house design hadn't been revealed as of this writing. We'll update this post once Disney shares it ahead of the season.

Halloween Time 2026 at a glance

The Haunted Mansion Holiday reopening is the centerpiece of a much bigger seasonal rollout. Halloween Time at the Disneyland Resort runs August 21 through October 31, 2026, and it's all included with regular park admission. Highlights this year include:

• Halloween Screams, the fan-favorite nighttime spectacular at Disneyland Park, with fireworks on select nights
• Cars Land's Radiator Screams, where Mater's Junkyard Jamboree becomes Mater's Graveyard JamBOOree and Luigi's Rollickin' Roadsters becomes Luigi's Honkin' Haul-O-Ween
• Guardians of the Galaxy – Monsters After Dark taking over the Collector's Fortress at Avengers Campus each evening
• Plaza de la Familia, the Coco-inspired Día de los Muertos celebration at Disney California Adventure, running August 21 through November 2, 2026
• Hundreds of hand-carved pumpkins along Main Street, U.S.A., the giant Mickey pumpkin, characters in seasonal costumes, and a full lineup of limited-time treats

Oogie Boogie Bash returns on a record 33 nights

The separately ticketed after-hours party, Oogie Boogie Bash – A Disney Halloween Party, returns to Disney California Adventure on select nights from August 18 through October 31, 2026 — a record 33 nights this year, with party hours generally running 6 p.m. to 11 p.m. and event-ticket holders allowed into the park starting at 3 p.m.

The headline addition for 2026 is "Madame Leota's Swinging Wake – A Haunted Mansion Street Party," a new Haunted Mansion-themed street party that brings Madame Leota and the 999 happy haunts into California Adventure's streets. It replaces the long-running Frightfully Fun Parade. Disney is also adding a paid Oogie Boogie Bash Dessert Party with preferred street-party viewing and Nightmare Before Christmas-themed treats.

General admission tickets started at $139 per guest, and these events routinely sell out, so the popular dates go quickly.

What it means for your visit

If you're heading to Disneyland between August 8 and August 20, plan for the classic Haunted Mansion to be unavailable during the overlay installation. From August 21 onward, you'll find Haunted Mansion Holiday up and running — and you can ride it on a standard park ticket without needing to attend Oogie Boogie Bash.

For anyone who prefers the timeless original — Madame Leota, the Grand Ballroom waltz, and all 999 happy haunts in their classic form — the days before August 8 are your last chance until the overlay comes down in January.

Dates and details are subject to change. We'll keep this post updated as Disney confirms additional Halloween Time 2026 details, including the new gingerbread house design.