Final thoughts—

It’s a pity the outside is so out-of-scale. I think with some small tweaks, the theming of it works, and I love the interior, but the scale just is a non-starter for me. It think any building there would have that problem, but it didn’t NEED to be so tall.

Swing and a miss, sadly.

Overall, it feels thematically cool, though not spooky at all. Definitely not “worse” than Momento Mori in Magic Kingdom, again, *on the inside*. The outside notwithstanding, I think it’s a good edition, though I wonder how long until the crystal ball gets replaced with more shelving for merch.

It’s decorated with all sorts of magical musical instruments, fitting in with the séance room with Madam Leota in the ride itself.

There’s a cool crystal ball prop with projections on the inside by the door to the main walkway.

Bonus points for have a cat in there, too.

Walking from the exit of Haunted Mansion (or at least simulating it since it was already closed for refurb when I was scoping it out), it’s a lot less jarring. I’d say it almost kinda works.

Now for the interior—I actually kinda like it (mind you, I was there post AI-art controversy).

The scale is also weird when you’re walking toward Bayou Country from New Orleans Square.

HOWEVER—
I don’t inherently hate the stylistic difference between the mention and the gift shop. I think it could be an outbuilding, like a stable or some sort of shed - it’s outside the fence, after all.

I feel like this also partially explains why I haven’t posted in almost a month… heh… sigh…