Here are all of the Muppets Haunted Mansion Easter eggs I could find, and some can’t-miss moments…
“Welcome, Foolish Muppets….”
The annual Muppets Halloween party is on! But Gonzo isn’t attending. Instead, he is attending a Halloween Challenge. But really, the Muppets break the 4th wall all the time, so I’ll bet they just wanted to make a Haunted Mansion special and this was a good enough reason to get them in the door.
The real reason to watch Muppet’s Haunted Mansion is for the Easter eggs, cameos, and quotable quips. It’s a love letter to both Haunted Mansion AND Muppets fans.
Haunted Mansion references galore! Photo by Brian Shih
Haunted Mansion Easter Eggs
Muppets Haunted Mansion is a true love letter to the attraction, full of direct imagery and references to your favorite ghoulish scenes. If you’re missing the mansion this time of year, watching Muppets Haunted Mansion is like taking a ride with a few felt friends.
The Caretaker and his dog will pull Haunted Mansion fans right in. Photo via Disney/Mitch Haaseth
The Queue and Graveyard
Though the graveyard scene is usually at the end of the ride, the movie blended the scene with the queue. Many of the very same tombstones you’ll see in the queue for Haunted Mansion appear in the opening graveyard scene during the musical number
The Gravedigger and dog are the first Haunted Mansion characters we see first. He introduces not only characters for the queue tombstones, but also ghosts like the opera singer from the graveyard scene. Soon the singing busts roll out and it’s a graveyard extravaganza.
The Anteroom and Stretching Room
As the Ghost Host explains the rules of the Halloween Challenge, listen for the familiar Haunted Mansion dirge ominously filling the background.
Our Ghost Host recites part of the stretching room script and the room, well, it does its thing! Look for your favorite Stretching Room paintings with Muppet depictions. Pepe’s thoughts? “It’s like a fun house!”
Through the Hallways
True to the ride, the portrait hallway is the first place Gonzo and Pepe encounter after the Stretching Room. The knight’s armor takes a swing at Pepe with his axe, and Pepe opens one of the creepy doors we can never reach from our Doom Buggies.
Look closely at the walls: The famous Haunted Mansion wallpaper is a Muppets version of the design!
Gonzo approaches a curious door right next to a very familiar spinning clock, and later, the doors creak and their knockers clack by themselves.
In the library, Bunson and Beeker lament their small cameo as the ghostwriter busts in the library that follow Gonzo’s every move.
The Seance Room
A journey through the halls of Haunted Mansion has to pass through the seance room!
But this is the realm of Madame Pigota, so it’s a bit of a different vibe in here. Her rhymes are less mysterious, but funnier than the original.
After calling the spirits and banging tamborines, this scene has the most touching of references. Kim Irvine, Executive Creative Director, Walt Disney Imagineering is also the daughter of Imagineer Leota Toombs. She appears to daintily shine up Madame Pigota’s crystal ball.
Leota Toombs was the original model for Madame Leota, and Kim took her place when new recordings were needed. Kim is an Imagineer in her own right, and reportedly,
See any hidden Mickey’s on the table? Screenshot via Disney
The Ballroom
The table settings are all the same as in the ride, and the layout of the room appears spot-on. I didn’t catch any hidden Mickey’s on the plates, but maybe you could have a closer look.
Eagle-eyes will note the ghostly heads churning out of the organ pipes, and even more eagly-eyes are on Sam Eagle himself as he emerges from a painting as one of the dueling ghosts.
We go through the plate glass window in the ballroom scene to land in a hallway that looks familiar to guests. This is about where you’d be riding a Doom Buggy and looking down into the scene!
The floating candelabra makes its appearance not in the hallway, but during the ballroom musical number. The Hatbox Ghost reference doesn’t appear in the attic, but rather during the ballroom scene as Gauzy the Hatbox Bear
Doom Buggies
We are well into the ballroom scene before a Doom Buggy makes an appearance. The bar has only been lowered for two worthy Muppets: Statler and Waldorf, as they serve as the audience to everything happening in the Haunted Mansion… just like us guests.
I just about lost it when Statler and Wlador’fs Doom Buggy grinds to a halt. An all-too-familiar voice requests that they remain seated.
Constance is every bit as scary in the film! Photo via Disney/Mitch Haaseth
The Attic
Constance Hatchaway lures Pepe to the Attic, where we can see she’s already wearing five pearl necklaces. In the ride, Constance’s accessories become more opulent as she goes through husbands, and adds a necklace for each dearly departed soul. Sure enough, five husband ghosts appear to warn Pepe.
We see the wedding portraits with each husband around the attic full of baubles true to the attraction, even her infamous axe. Later, Constance’s heart glows red as she cackles!
Hurry Back… Constance calls out the window from a distance, certainly giving Little Leota vibes. And then guess which three ghosts try to follow Gonzo and Pepe home?
Haunted Mansion Character References
- Graveyard Caretaker and Dog – Showes up in the beginning and sings the first song
- Singing Busts – Though cast with more diverse heads, the singing busts ring in the first iteration of Grim Grinning Ghosts
- Ghost Host – Will Arnett who starts off this role with a decidedly LEGO Batman voice
- Madame Leota – Miss Piggy as Madame Pigota has arguably better rhymes
- Ballroom Dancers – Good luck identifying all the Muppets here!
- The Hatbox Ghost – Fozzie takes a lot of the creepy out of this classic
- Constance Hatchaway – The scariest character in the film, by far
John Stamos because Jon Stamos. Screenshot via Disney
Don’t Miss The Celebrity Cast and Cameos
Cast of Ghouls
- Yvette Nicole Brown as the Foreboding Limo Driver
- Darren Criss as the Graveyard Caretaker
- Will Arnett as the Ghost Host
- Taraji Penda Henson as Constance Hatchaway
- John Stamos as himself (because why not)
Gotta-Pause Cameos
- Alfonso Ribeiro as Good Old Fred
- Ed Asner as Brother Claude
- Chrissy Metz as Haunting Harriet
- Jeannie Mai as Cousin Maude
- Danny Trejo as Cousin Huet
- Sasheer Zamata as Mary
- Kim Irvine (Disney Imagineer and daughter of Leota Toombs) as the Maid
- Skai Jackson as a singing Bust
- Geoff Keighley as a singing bust
- Justina Machado as a singing bust
- Craig Robinson as a singing bust
- Pat Sajak as a singing bust
Stay through the credits to see the entire cast cut loose!
So many Muppets along the way….. Photo courtesy of Disney
Muppet Appearances
- Kermit as himself and as showman ghost
- Miss Piggy (as herself, appears in cat lady portrait, and as Madame Pigota)
- Fozzie Bear as Gauzy the Hatbox Bear
- Gonzo as himself
- Pepe the King Prawn as himself
- Scooter as himself and ballroom ghost
- Sal Minella the monkey (notable because Brian Henson played him in the film!)
- Walter as husband ghost
- Lew Zealand as himself and husband ghost
- Janice as a stretching room portrait and band ghost
- Pigs in Space, Other Pig, Miss Poogy, Pigs as a stretching room portrait and ballroom ghosts
- Uncle Deadly as Priest Ghost
- Crazy Harry as a stretching room portrait and ballroom ghost
- The News Man as the skeleton portrait
- Yolanda the Rat as the Medusa portrait
- Bunson as a ghostwriter bust
- Beeker as a ghostwriter bust
- Electric Mayhem (Dr. Teeth, Zoot, Janice, Floyd, Lips, and Animal appear as musical ghosts above a Madame Pigota)
- Rizzo as Husky Rat
- Sweetums as a butler
- Behemoth as a ballroom ghost
- Muppet Show Dancers as ballroom ghosts
- Pops as a ballroom dueling ghost
- Sam Eagle as a ballroom dueling ghost
- Chip as a ballroom ghost
- Rowlf as the organ player
- Marvin Suggs as skull player
- Miscellaneous fuzzy monster Muppets
- Swedish Chef as a chef ghost of course
- Bobo the Bear as ballroom ghost
- Camilla and other chickens as ballroom ghosts
- Party Tomatoes
New Muppets:
- Adorable ghosts
- Gravedigger’s Dog
- Skeleton and Mummy
- Screaming goat
- Squid
- Creepy Old Gonzo
- Man-Eating Plant
Did you recognize these deep Muppet references? Photo courtesy of Disney Parks Blog
The Muppet Show Deep Cuts
There are not only references galore to delight Haunted Mansion fans. As a lifelong fan of The Muppets, I spotted quite a few references to the original Muppet Show characters and skits!
The Dancing Skit: The ballroom scene is a nod to both haunted Mansion and The Muppet Show. Fans of the old series will recognize the format of the opening ballroom scene as a repeat sketch on The Muppet Show where dancers quip jokes as we listen in on their conversations.
The Muppaphone: Marvin Suggs appears for ghostly Kermit’s ballroom number, playing a skull xylophone. This is a reference to his performances on The Muppet Show, banging on the heads of the Muppaphone.
Pigs in Space: You can’t be a fan of The Muppet Show as a kid without chanting PIGS… IN…. SPAAAACE until your parents doubted their life choices. The pigs are all here in the stretching portrait and throughout the film as ghosts, including Miss Poogy. You’ll recognize her as Piggy’s evil counterpart from the 2011 The Muppets film and as Snorty on the short-lived Muppets Tonight series.
The Ballroom Song Finale: As the musical number in the ballroom scene wraps up, the montage of balcony scenes is a callback to The Muppet Show intro.
Dancin’ in the Moonlight: Not really a deep-cut reference, but something about an Electric Mayhem rendition of Dancin’ in the Moonlight really touches my soul! This version of the band has all of the members: Dr. Teeth, Zoot, Floyd, Janice, Animal, and even Lips on the trumpet, which you don’t see too often these days.
Surely the 2021 Halloween Costumes of the Year. Photo via Disney/Mitch Haaseth
Muppets Haunted Mansion Quotes
The hottest couple’s Halloween costume of 2021? Miss Piggy and Kermie dressed as each other.
Some movie moments come back to haunt us. Here are the can’t-miss moments and lines that I think your family will be reliving and quoting for years to come:
Ghost Host: “Si senor. Muy Famousa”, Pepe: “Ohh, Hable Spaniole?”, Ghost Host: “No.” (continues to speak Spanish throughout the film)
Gonzo: “I just realized this room has no windows and no doors…”
Pepe: “If I don’t see some champagne cocktails and horsey derves ASPCA, I’m outta here.”
Pepe: “This place is crazy. With all the smokes and the mirrors and the animal-tronics.” (yes, he said animal-tronics)
Dr. Teeth (as band ghost): “You heard the hog’s head, guys! Time to dematerialize.”
Madame Pigota: “This is my biggest scene in this whole special, and they stick my head in a fishbowl!”
Pepe: Don’t trust free cheese.
Rowlf: Hey, it’s a gig. And I get all the bones I can chew. Uh, until they want ’em back.
Statler and Waldorf: “We’re ghosts. Booing comes with the territory!”
Ghost Host: “We now invite you to sit back and relax as our 999 residents present… your funeral!”
Constance Hatchaway: “So do you believe in love at first sight, or should I float by again?”
Muppet’s Haunted Mansion—Instant Classic
If you’ve got a list of Halloween movies you watch each year, this is one to easily add to the list.
Jot it right under Hocus Pocus, because yep, it’s here to stay. I’ll be watching it every year for both the Haunted Mansion Easter eggs and the references that only Muppets fans will truly appreciate.
Celebrate Muppets Haunted Mansion at Walt Disney World, Disneyland
