Haunted Mansion Parlor Portrait Session on Disney Cruise Line Review | What to Know

What Happens During the Haunted Mansion Parlor Portrait Session?

Ahead of your sailing, you’ll book a 20-minute portrait session on the Disney Cruise website or in your Disney Cruise app. This will give you the time to be ready for your portraits. We arrived a few minutes early to make sure we stayed on time.

You’ll meet one of the Shutters portrait staff to take your photos. They have all of the lighting, cameras, and pose suggestions for your session. My photographer was fantastic and had a great sense for lighting!

Photo 2 from the session: I choose this one because it is incredibly hard to duplicate without the photo session! The photographer added extra lights to get the purple and green glow!

Shutters Portrait sessions have a limit of up to 12 guests at one time. And you can have as few people as one!

Your photographer will give you suggestions on different faces to make during the session. Along with correcting your body angle or face towards the light.

I was able to change clothes quickly during my session as well! Since there are both women’s and men’s bathrooms just a short distance down the hall from The Haunted Mansion Parlor.

Photo 3 from the session: This is one of my favorites! I think it captures a really fun attitude towards The Haunted Mansion and isn’t something I would have thought to do on my own! Always room for one more!

The layout of both the Parlor and the hallway is currently the same on the Disney Treasure and Disney Destiny! So you should have time for one outfit change on either ship!

How Much Does the Haunted Mansion Parlor Portrait Session Cost?

The Haunted Mansion Parlor Portrait Session is an experience through the Shutters onboard photography office. So while this is booked like one of your onboard activities, all of the photos from this session are separate from other photos you take around the ship.

Photo 4 from the session: I brought a fan from Walt Disney World for a prop that I think turned out great! I think there was actually a different photo with the fan that turned out better. And I selected the wrong number… but all well!

The experience starts at $400 for 5 photos. Then if you want all of the photos from the session it is $550. There is also an add-on available if you want any framed canvas photos from the session.

Picking Your Photos from the Haunted Mansion Portrait Session

The interesting thing about this portrait session is that you do not pay for it unless you want to bring home photos for this one! I liked a number of my photos. However I wanted to have the experience at the advertised base rate, so I held myself to choosing only the 5 photos allowed in the $400 rate. And I considered it paying $400 for the experience itself and the photos were a bonus.

Photo 5 from the session: Most of my second outfit photos I ended up not liking, because of the outfit, not the photographer. I actually think I maybe shouldn’t have gotten this one either! But at least you can tell there was enough time for an outfit change!

You’ll have a time selected near the end of your cruise to review your photos in the Shutters Photo office. I did feel a bit rushed when I was choosing photos (my fault, not theirs!) because I needed to get to my dinner. So I think had I had more time to select photos I may have switched a few of the selected ones you’ve seen in this article with different ones. However I am still fine with my decision to stick with the base rate package of $400 and only get the 5 photos.

This may be something to plan around if you are bringing in a larger group that will contain a number of group and individual photos. You’ll likely want more than 5 photos for sure. So you’ll want to plan for the $550, all photos included, rate. Had I liked more of my photos I may have gone for the upsell, but I wasn’t going to use half of them (because of the dress!) so I stayed at the $400 rate.

Do note, that even if you’ve purchased the Pre-Cruise Digital Photo Package for your cruise to get all of your photos on your cruise, Portrait Session photos are not included in that Pre-Cruise Digital Photo Package.

How to Book the Haunted Mansion Parlor Portrait Session

To book the Haunted Mansion Parlor Portrait Session, you want to select it as an Onboard Activity for your sailing when your booking window opens! These sessions go fast, and although there are typically a few different times offered on each cruise, it is only a few opportunities for this experience.

I was able to book our portrait session time on our Lookout Cay day from 8:30am-8:50am, just ahead of our all ashore time of 9am. This meant that right after the photo session, we ran up to our stateroom to change into our beach clothing and then headed out onto the island!

You are not charged for the session at the time of booking. In fact, you aren’t charged at all until you decide whether you want your photos from the session or not!

Also, I didn’t have to tell them how many people would be in the photos ahead of time. So if someone wants to decide close to the day of the photos whether they want to participate, you have that flexibility. I had two friends in my stateroom that wanted to watch the process but didn’t necessarily want to be in the photos. They were able to come and see the space as we completed the session.

What to Wear for Your Portrait Session

Of course, if you’re planning this experience I would recommend some outfits inspired by the Haunted Mansion!

Found in photo: Ears / Dress / Sandals

I personally brought one of my favorite athletic dresses, that I wear to Disney theme parks frequently. It is comfortable to move around in, and looks great in photos.

In addition to my outfits, I brought some of my favorite The Haunted Mansion accessories! A new release bag from Stoney Clover Lane, and Disney Parks ears and fan that I recently picked up at Walt Disney World.

Found in photo: Ears / Bag / Charm / Fan from Momento Mori at WDW

There are so many great outfit ideas, you can even just wear color coordinated clothing! I would let your creativity shine here!

Is The Haunted Mansion Parlor Portrait Session Worth It?

So now the question always comes down to… but was it worth it? That is a bit more complicated answer on this one.

First of all, since this is a niche experience that is best for fans of The Haunted Mansion, I would think that you would either need to love the attraction or it have a special signficance for your family to have photos done here.

I personally think that having themed clothing is a must for this one, if you’re already going to be setting aside the time and funds to do the experience. So I would factor that into your decision a well.

Additionally, even if you have the Pre-Cruise Digital Photo Package, these photos are not included. So you’ll need to gauge this as a stand alone experience weighing the cost, time, and interest for your party.

For myself, I’m glad that I did the experience once but I do not think I would repeat this one again. My photographer was fantastic and got some unique shots that we couldn’t have gotten on our own. On future cruises, I will definitely make a point to stop into the Haunted Mansion Parlor during the open photo times.

Are the Photos Included with Disney Cruise Line Photography Packages?

As previously mentioned, even if you have already purchased a digital photography package to get your photos from your cruise, these portrait session photos are a separate package.

Keeping this in mind, there are photo times inside the Haunted Mansion Parlor open to all cruisers that happen a few times during your sailing on the Disney Destiny and Disney Treasure. Those photo times that are available to everyone would be included with your full cruise digital photo package.

Photo from the Disney Treasure during a regular photo time, July 2026.

If you aren’t interested in paying for a separate photo package for this personalized experience, I would recommend looking at going to one of those times during your cruise. The photo above is actually from one of these sessions on the Disney Treasure! And I was happy with it!

How Do You Receive Your Portrait Session Photos?

After you go to your photo review and select the photos you want to purchase, you get those on a USB drive to bring home!

These come in a nice presentation with the Disney Cruise Line logo on the USB drive. And are in a presentable Shutters box as well!

The Haunted Mansion Parlor Portrait Session Experience

This was a fun experience that is perfect for fans of the Haunted Mansion! I loved hanging out in The Haunted Mansion Parlor on both of my recent cruises, and this extended that connect with this area of the ship even more!

While this won’t be something I would repeat on every sailing, I am glad that I tried it once! I had a fun experience in one of my favorite areas of the ship, and came away with some really cool photos from it too!

Learn more about the Disney Destiny and our experience on this new Disney Cruise Line ship!