As construction walls continue to come down around the Haunted Mansion at Magic Kingdom Park, the changes being revealed in the queue are more significant than a fresh coat of paint. At least one iconic gravestone has disappeared entirely from its longtime home.
The Haunted Mansion Graveyard Rearranged
On Saturday, WDWNT reported that several headstones in the Haunted Mansion queue at Magic Kingdom Park had been rearranged following the removal of construction walls that had been blocking the graveyard area since earlier this year.
Most notably, the headstone for “a man named Martin” — once positioned at the back of the graveyard area behind the iron fence near the entrance to the Haunted Mansion foyer — is no longer visible. It has either been moved to a section still concealed behind construction walls or removed from the queue entirely. Its epitaph, “The lights went out on this old spark,” was one of the more charming puns in a queue full of them.
In its place, the headstone for Uncle Theodore now occupies roughly the same spot where Martin's stone once stood. A tall, round headstone for Cousin Algernon has also appeared in the area — both monuments having been moved up from their former positions earlier in the queue. The shift of those two stones also nudged the monument for “Our Dreamy Dorothea” a few feet closer to the foyer entrance.
Other monuments in the surrounding area — Cousin Huet, Wathel R. Bender, Madame Carlotta, and Madame Renatta — appear unchanged, as does the group of graves to the right side of the queue, which includes Good Old Fred, Brother Claude, and Madame Leota.
Why the Changes Are Happening
The Haunted Mansion's exterior refurbishment has been underway for several months, driven at least in part by the expansion of the Frontierland footprint for Piston Peak National Park. Early planning for the Cars (2006)-inspired land suggests that portions of the Haunted Mansion's backstage area — never previously visible to Magic Kingdom Park guests — will be “on stage” when the new land opens. The ongoing queue and exterior work appear designed to ensure that the full perimeter of the attraction holds up to guest scrutiny from every angle.
Construction continues in some areas. Wooden boards still cover sections of the concrete path leading to the foyer doors, with work continuing beneath them overnight when the park is closed. The Haunted Mansion itself remains open and operating normally throughout.
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