Memento Mori
Prior to October 1, 2014, if you wanted a Haunted Mansion souvenir in the Magic Kingdom you would have to look for the Mme Leota cart. Seems like a strange name for a cart, I wonder who came up with that?
Here's a couple of pictures of the cart taken in 2000 and 2005.
Haunted Mansion Cart in 1999
The cart at night showing some of the merchandise in 2005.
The cart had very limited stock. There were a couple of shirt designs, some keychains, and pins. The variety on the Disney.com store was much better.
New Memento Mori Store
The Memento Mori store is a significant improvement from the cart store. The store replaced the old Yankee Store which was closed down for few months for a complete refurbishment.
You can see what the area looked like while they were transferring the building to be the new Haunted Mansion Store.
I remember being in the Yankee Store and was never impressed with the merchandise. They did have Colonial Memorabilia, which fit in the land that it was in. I thought the store would be better near the Hall of Presidents.
Special Haunted Mansion Merchandise
There's a lot of exclusive merchandise that Disney added to the store. Merchandise rotate all the time, so it's never the same place. When you go in, simply ask a cast member of any new inventory or popular things.
Exclusive to the Haunted Mansion store is the spirit souvenir photo. This is your chance to transform your face to a skull. Much like the portrait gallery inside the Haunted Mansion. Currently cost $20, for the photo and basic frame. I haven't done this as I don't know where I would hang the picture.
There are a few premium merchandise - desktop and wall accessories which are very cool. You can always have these shipped to your house - that way you don't have to worry about bringing it home. It's worth the extra shipping fee.
I like the coffee mug collection that they have. I am always on the lookout for some updated Haunted Mansion mug design. This is the place to get a Haunted Mansion shirt for the little Haunted Mansion fans too!
Shopping Tip: If you see something interesting, get it. I saw some cool mugs, and I waited until the end of the day to get them - only to find out they sold them all out! I went back to the store a couple of days later and they still didn't have the mugs.
Disney Special Effects
While walking around the store, pay attention to your surroundings. There're all sorts of special effects such as object in mirrors, or special lighting that Disney Imagineers added to make the store special.
It's a fun store to visit before or after going on the Haunted Mansion ride.
Construction of the Memento Mori in early 2014
Merchandise at Other Attractions
The Haunted Mansion is one of the few original attractions that doesn't make you walk through the store at the end of the ride. A great example is the Pirates of the Caribbean or the Pooh Ride.
While the Haunted Mansion store is long overdue, there are many other original 1970 Disney attractions that do not have any stores related to the attraction:
- Small World
- Peter Pan
- Hall of Presidents
- Jungle Cruise
- Tiki Room
- Carousel of Progress
Many of the Fantasyland attractions have merchandise in the "big top." If you're looking for merchandise related to your favorite ride ask a cast member for the ride.