It's that time of year!!!
Damian's Not-So-Haunted House is coming back and I'm determined to make it better than ever! We only have about 5 weeks (YIKES) until opening night, but the good news is that everything we built last year is our starting point this year. Everything we do now is just an enhancement!
In case you are new to our journey or want a refresher, here's last year's walkthrough:
Making Plans
I spent last week cleaning out our garage so we were basically back to what we had last year - all the while keeping a list of what needed some touch-ups and what enhancements I wanted to add. As someone who works in the theme park design industry, this project is SO up my alley and SO fun and fulfilling for me to do (and I'm just so glad that our community is excited to see it return - I've already received emails about it, including from a local news reporter!!)
As far as enhancements go...
Sometimes I'm too ambitious for my own good, and I did have to whittle down my dream list to be more realistic. However, I did start with some basic goals for these additions:
learn a new skill
make better entry and finale moments
With that in mind, let me take you through the plans!
2024 Enhancements!
We're starting off with a BIG addition! Do you see it?
The whole concept behind Damian's Not-So-Haunted House is that this is 0% scary and 100% Halloween fun for all ages but especially catered to the very youngest trick-or-treaters. It's like Disneyland's Haunted Mansion attraction turned into a Mickey Mouse Clubhouse episode!
So is there any better way to liven up the entry space than a massive Mickey Mouse Jack-o-Lantern like they have at Disneyland??? I think not!
Last year's facade was great but we could have done with better lighting and an extra photo op (after all, people spent as much time or longer in the front yard where the bake sale was as they did inside the walkthrough.
I think the right lighting and a nice humongous pumpkin Mickey photo op will do the trick!
My goal is to make it semi-three-dimensional with carved foam attached to plywood - I've always wanted to learn how to make theme park-quality sculptures myself and this will be a perfect first try at doing that. I can't wait to get started!!
Now let's go inside!
Nothing major to be done in the portrait gallery - I was SO happy with how our stretching portrait and Mickey bust turned out last year! I had plans for more portraits in here but just ran out of time. I hope I can add a few more fun things to really fill up the walls and make it feel a little more complete!
I keep thinking the space to the left of the organ would be such a PERFECT place for an animatronic but I have to keep telling myself "that's NEXT year, there's not enough time this year!" Making my own animatronic from scratch has always been on my list of personal goals, but hopefully in the meantime we can find something cool to fill this space out for 2024.
Another easy fix here - the pumpkin hall was a crowd-pleaser for the little kids because it was a whole "room" with glowing black light, and they loved the bead curtain they get to walk through at the end (I've had it tucked out of the way for the year so you can't see it in this photo). Over the past several months some of the paint has faded away (it may actually just be marker haha) so I need to go back in and make these pumpkins look fresh.
Easily my favorite space last year was Madame Minnie! She's still PERFECT as she is, but if I have time I would love to spruce this corner up a little more:
The spaces to the sides of Minnie definitely allow for a little fun to happen and one realization I had while cleaning the garage last week is that nowhere in our walkthrough do we have a black cat! What is Halloween without a black cat!?
I'm hoping I have time to do this, but I think Figaro (the cute and mischievous black kitten from Pinocchio and sometimes portrayed as Minnie's pet in later Disney shorts) would be such a welcome addition to the group of characters we have in here!
Our "Corridor of Doors" (a space inspired by the Haunted Mansion's space with the same name) last year was another fun blacklit area, but it could definitely use some enhancing. I want to beef up the doors lining both sides of the hall so they feel more substantial (and decorated in a more fun way). I also want to add another classic Haunted Mansion prop - a grandfather clock with a couple tiny funny (and familiar) chipmunks appearing to be inside or crawling up it!
And now, for what will surely be the most time-consuming project of them all:
The final room in our walkthrough last year was our ghost room, but rather than having large character cut-outs in motion (powered by my Kitchen-Aid!), this year I want to use a new-to-me software to create a full-fledged video animation of Mickey (as a ghost) to pop up and say some parting words to guests.
Avid Disneyland fans will recognize the "endless hallway" scene from Haunted Mansion where a physical candelabra appears to float in mid-air - that should be a simple project for me to make with a great payoff (just need to get my Kitchen-Aid out again!).
I'll walk you through how I'm going to attempt the Mickey ghost animation - if you aren't following me on Instagram yet, that's where all the play-by-plays will play, so you can stay up-to-date there!
Last, but CERTAINLY not least...
I absolutely loved how this sweet exit moment (our "kiss goodbye" in industry terms) turned out last year. Only a couple notes! To me the rough edges are in need of a crisp frame - something where if someone were to take a photo from this same vantage point, it still feels like a finished photo. I think a handful of 2x4s built into a cool barn-like frame could do the trick.
How to Help!
I have already gotten a bunch of messages from people asking what they can do to help!! THANK YOU SO MUCH for (TRULY) making this possible!!! Last year I made an Amazon registry that lent to much of what we made! I'm making another registry right now and will post it in the next day or so in my Instagram stories, but honestly I think the big purchases to be made this year are going to be from my favorite store: Home Depot! Lots of lumber, foam, and paint will make up the bulk of the load. Other key items, like hay bales, pumpkins, and of course candy (for our trick-or-treat door!) will be purchased at local farming co-ops and Costco.
If you would like to help contribute to these costs, I would be so grateful!! I think the simplest way to do this would be to Venmo me (click here for my profile) or by purchasing an e-gift card to Home Depot, which you can send straight to my email:
PleaseSaveDamian@gmail.com
One note about Venmo: if you would like to contribute to the building of this project, please mention it in the comments somehow, or else I will assume it is strictly a donation to our campaign! Thank you thank you thank you!!!
I cannot WAIT to get started on the big additions this week! I hope seeing these plans is exciting for you too! This Halloween is going to be our best one yet!
<3
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