SPOILERS BELOW:
The outside queue area now has scrolls with the words of the scarols, Christmas carols with changed words to fit the occasion. A soundtrack is played with the new songs, and this evening, they had some live performers out singing along and entertaining and interacting with the crowd.
The foyer, the stretching room, and the changing portraits hallway are unchanged. The loading room, however, has been changed quite a bit. Instead of the Jack and ghost images from last year with the Mayor to the side, the Merry/Scary Christmas changing sign remains, but there are instead gift-wrapped boxes, each with signs indicating a date when it may be opened. For each of the thirteen weeks that the attraction runs, a new citizen of Halloweentown will appear out of one of the boxes.
There are minor additions to the beginning part of the ride. The first major change I noticed was in the ballroom. The centerpiece gingerbread house on the table has been redesigned (and a duplicate again decorates the queue at the French Market Restaurant), but there is still a hidden Mickey at the table. Happily, the library is back. The attic also contains a few additions. In the early portion of the attic, placed throughout are numerous figures of the wind-up monkey that crashes two symbols together, adding a funny but eerie feeling. In the graveyard, there seemed to be many more bows and ribbons on tombstones and coffins. The ending remains unchanged.
The music isn't that different throughout from last year, except for some of the music in the stretching room and in the changing portraits hallway. I much prefer the music from last year as it was more upbeat and energetic. I found the new music to be a bit too sedate. But the singing plants are back!
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