Yahoo Lifestyle I Visited Disney's New Haunted Mansion Bar — Here's What I Loved And Didn't Love
Recently, I sailed on Disney's new cruise ship, the Disney Treasure, and since I've always lived less than 100 miles from a Disney park, I was super excited to try the new Haunted Mansion-themed lounge on board exclusive to the ship: The Haunted Mansion Parlor.
*BuzzFeed was provided this trip free of charge; however, we were under no obligation to give a positive review.
I was especially excited about the Haunted Mansion Parlor because the Treasure is the same layout as the Wish, the ship Disney launched in 2022. On the Wish, there was no Haunted Mansion Parlor, but that space instead has a Star Wars Hyperspace Lounge, which I didn't love. It felt kind of small and empty, so I was excited to see kitschy macabre fill the space instead.
There was a murmur going around the ship of people quietly sharing the best times to go to the Haunted Mansion Parlor because it only opened at 5, and with assigned dinner times and a Broadway-style show every night, there were very small windows to visit the bar without missing something.
I was told to forgo a show to visit, as the parlor is small, and I'm no fire marshal, but I'm guessing it seats less than 100 people.
It's got a speakeasy kind of vibe because you can easily miss it as you're walking down the hall, but as soon as you see the corridor, you get hit with the Haunted Mansion's iconic purple wallpaper.
Before you open the door of the bar, there are already nods to the parks, including the same door knocker used and the "Tomb Sweet Tomb" cross stitch also hanging on the wall in the hallway.
Inside, the lights flicker, and the parlor is chock-full of little nods and Easter eggs to the Haunted Mansion and the Imagineer instrumental to the development of the ride, Rolly Crump.
Actually, there are a lot of characters from Rolly Crump's initial concept art of the Haunted Mansion, including Candle Man and the Ghost Fish Aquarium.
Disney, Audrey Engvalson / BuzzFeed
The centerpiece of the parlor is said aquarium that skeleton fish swim through intermittently.
On the walls are portraits of characters like a sailor, a mermaid bride, and a ship captain that fluctuate between ghostly apparitions and the figures in their corruptible mortal state.
Behind the bar, spirits are materializing in more ways than one. Apparitions from the Haunted Mansion, like Madame Leota and the Hitchhiking Ghosts, appear behind the bar only to vanish seconds later.
When Madame Leota appears and does her incantation, several items around the Parlor come to life. For example, a statue of a raven starts to move, sheet music starts to play "Grim Grinning Ghosts," and Pandora's box opens and flashes.
There are other great little hidden details like monsters in the design of the carpet and a hidden menu drink being served on a "mansion stanchion" (which was taken from the line separators in the queue of the attraction).
The drinks are equally as fun. I was served one in a fog-filled box with a "hidden message from Madame Leota" that could only be revealed on my drink by a blacklight.
It was similar to an old-fashioned, which isn't my favorite type of drink, but it tasted good, and I really liked the presentation.
They're also inspired by the characters around the bar, like the Last Catch, which is served in a mug of the fisherman from the ghost portrait on the wall. The Final Vow is served in a mug of the mermaid bride.
There's also a special edition of non-alcoholic themed sodas on board that are filled with edible glitter to create a potion-y look.
While the drinks were more expensive than what's served at the pool bars on board (and even in the bar right outside, Skipper Society), I thought they were pretty on par with what Disney parks charge.
Drinks were between $15–$20, and the ones in the souvenir mugs were $50–$60.
At the bottom of the menu, it says, "Tip and turn this book of spells. Your spirit yearns for the secrets it tells." If you turn the menu, you have to solve a li'l Haunted Mansion-themed fill-in-the-blank to access a secret menu.
Audrey Engvalson / BuzzFeed
The menu did feel limited, though. Our waiter mentioned some of the cocktails were pre-mixed, so there wasn't a lot of deviating from the exact selections on the small list.
My only other complaint was that it didn't smell as spooky as I wanted it to??? It sounds weird, but to me it smelled like any busy bar would smell, which kind of took me out of the immersion a little bit. I still really loved the drinks, the vibe, and, of course, the souvenirs.
It was a standout experience on the Treasure and IMO, an essential stop for any fan of Disney Parks.
Would you visit the Haunted Mansion Parlor? Tell us in the comments below!
