Construction Walls Come Down at the Haunted Mansion and Several Gravestones Have Quietly Moved
The residents of the Haunted Mansion have been doing some rearranging. Construction walls have come down from one of the landscaped graveyard plots beside the attraction's queue at Magic Kingdom, and several of the headstones are not where guests left them.
Image: WDW News Today
Who moved where
The plot in question sits near the attraction's foyer doorway, below the brick walls and iron fencing that surround the mansion grounds. According to WDW News Today, the most noticeable change appears to be the repositioning of three graves.
Uncle Theodore has moved up from further back in the queue. Cousin Algernon, whose tall rounded headstone also sat deeper in the line, has come forward too, and now stands near Uncle Theodore and just in front of Dorothea. The tall monument for "Our Dreamy Dorothea" has shifted a few feet closer to the queue and is angled slightly more toward passing guests near the foyer entrance.
And one who has gone missing
The headstone for "a man named Martin," which stood toward the back left of the plot, is no longer visible from the same general angle. Its epitaph read, "The lights went out on this old spark." Uncle Theodore now occupies roughly the spot Martin used to hold. WDW News Today says that suggests it was either moved elsewhere in the landscaping or temporarily removed from the area, so Martin may yet turn up.
Who stayed put
Cousin Huet still holds down the foreground of the plot, epitaph intact: "Rest in peace Cousin Huet, we all know you didn't do it." Wathel R. Bender also remains on the right side of the foreground, his epitaph noting that "he rode to glory on a fender." Both look unchanged in position and appearance.
The pedestal near the center of the family plot belongs to Madame Carlotta and Madame Renatta, two nieces of Master Gracey who appear exclusively during Mickey's Not-So-Scary Halloween Party. Disney moved their gravestone from the front hill to this plot a few years ago, and it has stayed there since.
Image: WDW News Today
The neighboring cluster of graves farther to the right, including Good Old Fred, Brother Claude, and Madame Leota, does not appear to have been part of this rearrangement.
Work is not finished yet
Walls and scrim are starting to come down elsewhere around the ride, though additional work may still be underway out of sight. Long wooden boards currently cover exposed sections of the concrete walkway near the queue doors. The boards are laid in narrow strips across the pavement, which suggests crews may have opened up the concrete to reach utilities beneath the area outside of park hours.
Image: WDW News Today
The Haunted Mansion remains open while the temporary walkway coverings are in place, so you can go count the headstones yourself. Mickey's Not-So-Scary Halloween Party season starts August 7, and Carlotta and Renatta appear only on party nights.
Sources
Walt Disney World, "Mickey's Not-So-Scary Halloween Party" (2026 party dates)
Image credits: All photos by WDW News Today.
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