Let's be clear: there's no question that Disneyland's annual Nightmare Before Christmas takeover of the Haunted Mansion is a clever way to bring a popular IP to the parks, a "McRib" style delight that brings the park's local audience out in droves, and a fantastic showing of Disneyland's unique ability to go big with seasonal specialties. But this E-Ticket Halloween conversion isn't without its detractors. In fact, more and more Disneyland fans seem to be tiring of Haunted Mansion Holiday, and there are a few key reasons...

The CONS of Haunted Mansion Holiday

1. Haunted Mansion Holiday eats up half the year

In 2023, the Haunted Mansion closed on August 14 to begin its transformation to Haunted Mansion Holiday, re-opening with the start of the resort's Halloween Time promotion on September 1. If 2022's version of the ride was any indication, the holiday version could stay open as late as January 31, 2024. Assuming it takes a week to return the traditional ride (re-opening as itself on February 7, 2024), that means that altogether, Haunted Mansion Holiday will have taken 177 days out of the traditional ride's operating calendar – 48.4% of the year! 

Yes, including the three weeks of cumulative time needed to install then de-install the Nightmare Before Christmas version of the ride, Haunted Mansion Holiday eats up about half of the calendar year. Even if you love Haunted Mansion Holiday, that's a really, really long time. To have the ride last from before Labor Day till essentially Groundhog's Day is quite a commitment. It makes sense that Disney wants the most bang for their buck when it comes to the cost to install this elaborate overlay. But six months out of the year is a very long time for even the most expensive and ambitious seasonal schtick. 

2. Haunted Mansion Holiday is more than twenty years old...

And it's not just that Haunted Mansion Holiday lasts a long time within a year. It's also been happening for a very long time in the grand scheme of things! After all, we're talking about this annual overlay originating in 2001. The last time Disneyland guests could ride the classic Haunted Mansion during the spooky season, there was no California Adventure. Think about that. Space Mountain: Ghost Galaxy lasted from 2009 to 2019. The Christmas-themed Jingle Cruise, from 2013 to 2016. Only "it's a small world holiday" has lasted longer (since 1997, though arguably, less intrusive to the original ride). 

Though everyone – especially Disney Parks fans! – loves a tradition, you can understand why – after more than twenty years – even some of Haunted Mansion Holiday's defenders concede that maybe it's time to try something new. And – here's the boldest idea – maybe that "something new" could be letting guests ride Disneyland's built-in Halloween classic on Halloween...! Which brings us to...

3. ... So Disneyland's Haunted Mansion has missed more than twenty Halloweens

Sure, some might argue that the Nightmare Before Christmas version of the ride is actually more Halloween-related and more explicitly celebrational of the holiday than the original version of the ride. But even so, there's no question that it's very, very weird that Disneyland's spookiest ride – a literal haunted house filled with spooky spirits – typically only operates from February through mid-August.

There's not even really a comparison to be made here except to imagine that Disneyland had built the Possibilityland: Enchanted Snow Palace, and then every year at Christmastime, rewrapped it as an Up ride where Carl and Russell journey to the Arctic to celebrate Christmas there. It would work well enough, and be fresh and seasonal and clever... but fans might say, "Uh, the ride was actually already the perfect Christmas ride." And after two dozen Christmasses of not seeing it in its original form, you can understand why they might be ready to retire the overlay.

4. There's compromise to be found

Increasingly, fans are asking Disney to consider a compromise. Sure, Haunted Mansion Holiday is well-done and well-loved. But what if Haunted Mansion got to be itself for Halloween, closing for its two week changeover beginning on November 1st? Wouldn't that allow Haunted Mansion Holiday to be ready by mid-November, serving as an anchor of the resort's Christmas celebration, remaining through mid-January? That way, Haunted Mansion Holiday would still take up a large chunk of the ride's calendar (in this case, about a quarter versus half) but would give fans time to enjoy the true Haunted Mansion during spooky season. (Arguably, Haunted Mansion Holiday is more of a Christmas-themed attraction than a Halloween one.)

Or, what if Haunted Mansion Holiday got its full September-through-January run, but every other  year? Wouldn't that only add to the ride's "specialness" and its "McRib-ocity," creating even more demand on the odd-numbers years when Jack and crew "wreck the halls"? Certainly, compromises like that could both keep Haunted Mansion Holiday alive and beloved while also respecting the original Haunted Mansion, perhaps even plussed with its own extra spooks during its Halloween Time years? This much is certain: there's no easy answer to the Haunted Mansion Holiday debate.

But what are your thoughts on how – or if – Disney should keep its Nightmare Before Christmas overlay alive?