The spookiest time of the year is once again approaching, and Disney parks seem to be giving the Halloween Holiday some serious merchandising love this year. As I strolled down Main Street USA at Walt Disney World’s Magic Kingdom yesterday, a purple and orange display inside the Emporium caught my eye, and my steps seemed to just naturally turn toward the dim display. Arriving in the air conditioning, I found a display piled high with the newest Halloween merchandise – complete with a gaggle of blue-shirted Disney middle management evaluating the newly revealed merchandise….and, thinking of you, I immediately started snapping photos.
A number of items are new this year…
I had already seen the Disney Food Blog’s post on the Madam Leota lollipops in the parks, but a new set of sweet treats was on display. The set of lollipops features all 3 of the Haunted Mansion’s Hitchhiking Ghosts. I did not get a price on the sweet treats, but they certainly were charming!
Also new were a variety of home decoration items, all focused on the Haunted Mansion rather than the more typical fab-5 in costume I had seen in earlier years. These items were immediate must-buys for me:
 Haunted Mansion Tombstone set: 3 tombstones, each 4″high, $22.95 |
 Halloween Countdown Calendar featuring Minnie & Mickey $29.95 |
And, of course, there are the new tee shirts. This Halloween has brought a number of charming new designs, all visible in the gallery below, but again, the Haunted Mansion focus has brought a show-stopping tee shirt for 2012:
 Halloween 2012 tee, featuring the Hatbox Ghost in the foreground $28.95 |
 Rear of the Tee – with a great Haunted Mansion scene featuring Madame Leota & the singing busts |
Featuring the Hatbox ghost is an interesting choice for Disney Halloween merchandise, since the character, beloved on Haunted Mansion fans, isn’t well known by many. The Hatbox Ghost, a figure removed from the Haunted Mansion attic shortly after its debut, was supposed to have its head disappear and then re-appear inside a hatbox in its hand with each beat of the Bride’s heart. The effect was impossible to time with the omnimover system and lighting, but the vanished figure became legendary.
That figure is rumored to be the center of Guillermo Del Toro’s promised Haunted Mansion film, revealed at 2010′s Comic Con, and since the film announcement has been appearing here and there, perhaps as a nod to the fans, perhaps as a promise of the film.
For those less interested in the mansion, however, there are many other delightful designs! Take a look at the stylish hidden-Mickey spiderweb in the gallery below – it’s one of my favorites!
-
- Haunted Mansion Tombstone set: 3 tombstones, each 4″high, $22.95
-
- Halloween Countdown Calendar featuring Minnie & Mickey $29.95
-
- Halloween 2012 tee, featuring the Hatbox Ghost in the foreground $28.95
-
- Rear of the Tee – with a great Haunted Mansion scene featuring Madame Leota & the singing busts
