For Haunted Mansion Holiday’s 13th Year, Gingerbread House Reveals 13 Faces of Jack Skellington

Disneyland Resort Halloween Time 2013 marks the ominous 13th time that Jack Skellington has visited the 999 Happy Haunts who dwell in the Haunted Mansion.  Each year, Jack dresses up as “Sandy Claws” as he and his ghost dog Zero bring ghoulish delights from Halloween Town to Disneyland Park, transforming this attraction into Haunted Mansion Holiday.

One of Jack’s holiday traditions is leaving a special treat for the ghosts who dance around the Haunted Mansion’s Grand Hall.  The annual centerpiece for this “waltz of the weird” is always a huge, creepy gingerbread creation. With each year, Jack delivers new and thrilling surprises.

This year’s confection, a Gingerbread Mansion, resembles a confectionary Advent Calendar. Every week throughout its run, a different door will reveal one of the 13 faces of Jack Skellington.

In addition to the 13 doors, the Gingerbread Mansion features other moving parts: Ginger-dead Zombie Cookies and Ginger-goyles perched on its ledges. The piece stands more than 13 feet tall and weighs more than 500 pounds. It required nearly 240 pounds of gingerbread, 160 pounds of fondant and 150 pounds of royal icing.

A team of five pastry chefs created the Gingerbread Mansion. Three of them have been part of the Haunted Mansion Gingerbread House team since the annual holiday transformation began 13 years ago.

More Frightfully Fun Facts about Haunted Mansion Holiday

• Supernatural Sweets — Every year, a new ghoulish concept for the Haunted Mansion Holiday gingerbread house is created for the celebration scene in the Mansion’s Grand Hall. The strange and wonderful treats are almost always “supernatural.”
  
  
• The Eerie Exterior – More than 400 flickering candles create a ghostly glow on the façade of the Haunted Mansion.  Each night, more than 100 jack-o-lanterns shine their ghoulish light.

• The Haunted Elevator – New for 2013, Jack Skellington and his ghost dog Zero  appear in a fully animated sequence on the ceiling of the “stretching” room, which transports guests into the depths of the Mansion.
  
  
• The Portrait Gallery – Ghost dog Zero now makes a surprise appearance among the spooky, transforming portraits in the gallery corridor.
  
  
• The Graveyard – The graveyard inside Haunted Mansion Holiday is covered with nearly 7,500 square feet of snow. More than 20 gallons of UV (ultra-violet) paint is used to enhance the snow’s eerie glow.  Nearly 1,000 tiny, orange lights decorate the trees.
  
  
• Graveyard Ice Angels – The iconic Graveyard Ice Angels are designed with a jagged, ice-carved look. Their ethereal wings and snow-glow colors shine with a more ghoulish luster than ever this year.

• Deck the Halls — Each season, thousands of feet of “Black Gnarly” garland is draped and hung inside and outside Haunted Mansion Holiday.  Jack’s faithful dog Zero gathered more than 200 bones to use as décor, garland and presents.
  
  
• “Come Out to Socialize” - More than two dozen additional animated figures “materialize” inside the Mansion whenever Jack brings his Haunted Mansion Holiday around.  From man-eating wreaths to vampire teddy bears, they wait all year to join in the holiday spirit.

• Home Creepy Home - Creepy cobwebs are artistically kept (not swept!) year-round to make Jack Skellington and the 999 Happy Haunts feel right at home.

• Seasonal Séance Room - Madame Leota’s “13 Days of Christmas” are featured in 13 spinning Fortune Cards that tell of the Christmas gifts which, as she proclaims, “My ghoul love gave to me…”
• Kim Irvine, daughter of the original Madame Leota – For this seasonal attraction, Imagineer Kim Irvine makes a spirited performance as the Haunted Mansion’s favorite psychic, floating inside the Haunted Mansion’s Crystal Ball in the Séance Room. Leota Toombs, Disney Legend and long-time Imagineer, first gave life to the floating head.

• Haunting Gingerbread Smells - The haunting scent of tasty gingerbread wafts throughout the Grand Hall, tempting Happy Haunts and guests alike.