When will Disneyland's Haunted Mansion Holiday overlay start in 2023?

It’s a time of year again when The Haunted Mansion at Disneyland will soon see closure to make way for a special holiday overlay. But when does that happen this year?

For decades, the Haunted Mansion was a mainstay in Disneyland’s Liberty Square, welcoming guests to the classic ride through a manor filled with 999 ghosts and ghouls. In 2001, Disney decided to do something special by giving the ride an overlay based on Tim Burton’s stop-motion animated film A Nightmare Before Christmas. 

This meant reworking the ride to tell the story of the film with new music and special effects. It was a huge hit and has since become an annual tradition. Interestingly, while Disneyland Tokyo also does it, the overlay has never been used at the Magic Kingdom Mansion in Walt Disney World. 

Disney used to space it out for the overlay to open, fittingly, in October. In recent years, they’ve shifted it to open in September to get a jump on things. Usually, the Mansion would be shut down in the first week of August. However, with a new Haunted Mansion movie opening July 28, Disney seemed set to keep the Mansion open longer in order to tie into the film. 

Now, the dates are confirmed for when the Mansion has its annual change. 

When does the Haunted Mansion change happen?

Disney has confirmed that the Haunted Mansion will be closed beginning August 14. It’s amazing how quickly the Imagineers work as the Nightmare Before Christmas overlay is set to open on September 1. 

This means this version of the Mansion will remain open, likely until after the holidays. Typically, the overlay lasts until just after January 1, although some years it can run through almost all of January. It often depends on how popular it is with crowds. 

So guests have until August 14 to check out the current form of the Haunted Mansion before Jack Skellington and his crew take it over to make for an even wilder and scarier ride through this manor for the holiday season.