This Coastal Connection is sponsored by Baths by Spicer Bros.
REHOBOTH BEACH, Del. - Ghouls, spiders, skeletons, skulls and jump scares have greeted generations of visitors inside Funland’s Haunted Mansion. After more than 45 years, the Rehoboth Beach attraction is preparing to give its final scares before undergoing a major renovation. The current Haunted Mansion will close after Sept. 13, marking the end of an attraction that has become a tradition for generations of families visiting the Rehoboth Beach Boardwalk.
Funland says the current Haunted Mansion will remain open through Sunday, Sept. 13.
Chris Darr, a fourth-generation member of the family operating Funland, has experienced the attraction from nearly every perspective. He rode it as a child with his parents, worked at Funland as a summer employee and has spent more than 25 years involved with the family business. “It’s one of the few things that you can do as a kid, and then provide that same experience to your kids or your grandkids, and our own family has experienced that,” Darr said. The Haunted Mansion has maintained much of the character and design that visitors have known for decades. Its hanging cars carry riders through a series of dark rooms filled with classic scares built around surprise and misdirection.
The Haunted Mansion has maintained much of the character and design that visitors have known for decades.
For some visitors, those scares have become part of the Funland tradition. Callahan Clifton was first in line to ride during a recent visit. Asked how long he had been coming to Funland, Clifton said, “Since I could walk.” “I wanted to get on it really bad,” Clifton said. His favorite scare comes when a figure suddenly emerges from a coffin. “When the guy jumped out of the coffin,” Clifton said. Those familiar scares will soon make way for a major rebuilding project.
The park will then begin the process of turning one of its most recognizable attractions into its next generation, with the reimagined Haunted Mansion expected to open during the summer of 2028.
Darr said demolition of the current attraction is expected to begin in early October. Funland initially hoped to complete the project during a single offseason, but the scope of the work required a longer timeline. “We will have no Haunted Mansion, unfortunately, for the summer of 2027, but the new, very exciting version will be back for the summer of 2028,” Darr said. Arcade machines are expected to occupy the space during the 2027 season while work on the new attraction continues.
Funland is working again with JMM Studios and Jim Melonic, the original creative mind behind the theming of the current Haunted Mansion. Melonic will help reimagine the attraction using decades of experience and newer technology while maintaining the character that made the original ride popular.
“The current ride is so unique. It’s a classic, and we want to honor that,” Darr said. Visitors should still recognize the Haunted Mansion when it returns. Darr said the exterior facade will have a similar appearance, while familiar elements including the organ, bat and Frankenstein character are expected to return in updated forms.
Funland’s Haunted Mansion is nearing its final scares, with its last day set for Sept. 13 before a major renovation. A reimagined version of the ride is planned for summer 2028.
The attraction also will remain focused on the type of scares that have defined Funland’s Haunted Mansion rather than blood, gore or more intense horror. The renovation involves more than replacing the scenes riders see. Darr said the project includes builders, fire suppression systems and work needed to meet current life safety codes.
“This is going to be a new version that will allow us to do this for another 45 years, and that was really what drove our family to making this decision,” Darr said. The age of the existing attraction was a major factor in deciding it was time for a new version.
“It’s had 45 great years, but think about a car or anything. You’re a person at 45. Their knees start hurting. Their back starts bothering them,” Darr said. “And we just know that this ride was getting to that point where we need to think about what’s the next chapter for the ride.”
The decision has still been emotional for the family behind Funland.
Darr said the attraction has connected generations, including his own family. He remembers riding it with his parents and later watching his own children experience it. He said one of his children is still too scared to ride, while his other children have collected ride photos with friends over the years.
“We’ve already had some tearful family members when we’re talking about how close we are to the end, and this ride means so much to our family,” Darr said. The emotion has also extended to visitors trying to experience the current Haunted Mansion one last time. Darr said lines were especially long throughout August and encouraged people planning a final ride to arrive early and be prepared to wait.
Funland says the current Haunted Mansion will remain open through Sunday, Sept. 13. The park will then begin the process of turning one of its most recognizable attractions into its next generation, with the reimagined Haunted Mansion expected to open during the summer of 2028.
