One of the most magical things about Disney is its ability to use music to create emotion. Disney makes some of the best songs and soundtracks in the world. This is evident in their movies as well as in their theme parks. Now, Disney is changing The Haunted Mansion Theme Song, which is one of the most popular songs in all of Disney’s history.
“Grim Grinning Ghosts” is the the popular song from The Haunted Mansion. This song has been playing in The Haunted Mansion since it opened in Disneyland in 1969. It has become a fan-favorite song. In fact, The Barenaked Ladies actually performed a version of Grim Grinning Ghosts. It debuted on the Disney’s Music From the Parks album.
Why is Disney Changing The Haunted Mansion Theme Song?
The Haunted Mansion movie is coming out in August 2023. The new song will debut as the feature song of the movie. It will then be used in the attraction, starting the day the Haunted Mansion movie is released. However, that begs the question, why is Disney creating a new song for the movie and not just using “Grim Grinning Ghosts”?
The famous “Grim Grinning Ghosts” song is apparently becoming “stale”. Disney is all about refreshing their parks and their films. This is a great way to get customers to come back so they can experience something they love, but with a fresh approach. In fact, we are seeing this with Living With The Land becoming a lazy river ride, which we reported on here. While that ride track is remaining the same, the way you experience the ride is changing.
This is the same idea for the Haunted Mansion. The ride track and the animatronics will all remain the same. However, the song and soundtrack for the attraction will change. The good news is this change is not due to any problems with the soundtrack, but rather just looking for something fresh and new. After all, the song is over 50 years old.
The music industry is constantly evolving and changing to meet the needs of current music listeners. Disney takes no exception to that. While many of the songs they play in their parks are older, they are always refreshing. We see this most with their fireworks shows, however, those don’t always fare well. As we reported here, Disney intentionally burned the barges for Harmonious because it was so bad.
What Will the Song be?
The new Haunted Mansion theme song replacing “Grim Grinning Ghosts” will be called “A Toast to the Ghost Host”. While we don’t know much about the song yet, we know one line of the chorus. That line is, “I am your host. A ghastly ghost. The one that will haunt you the most”. This teaser was just released. However, we only know the lyrics, we don’t know the rhythm or beat that goes with these lyrics.
According to an internal source, the new Haunted Mansion song, “A Toast to the Ghost Host” focuses on the famous ghost host from the ride. This is the voice that gives you a tour through The Haunted Mansion. They mentioned that the ghost host is critical to The Haunted Mansion’s story and wanted to bring him to the forefront of the new song.
While we question Disney changing the song, from the lyrics we know so far, it appears to be catchy. If Disney can do anything, it’s to create a catchy song. Every song Disney makes is catchy, so we have faith that this is going to be a great song for the Haunted Mansion. While it may not be better than “Grim Grinning Ghosts”, it hopefully won’t be worse.
What do you think of Disney changing the Haunted Mansion theme song? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!
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Is this true? SERIOUSLY?!?!?!? Why in the heck would Disney ever change a beloved theme song to an already popular ride.