If there’s one thing rich people love to do with their homes, it’s add weird shit to them: Barbra Streisand has a mall in her basement, and Michael Jackson famously had Neverland Ranch, his own private amusement park that was clearly inspired by Disneyland. One enterprising man, who as far as we know is not famous, has decided to combine those two ambitious ideas and create a recreation of Disneyland in his basement, and his neighbor was kind enough to post footage to TikTok for the world to enjoy.
The basement, which has been a work in progress since 2005, features recreations of the facades of several Fantasyland attractions, including Snow White’s Scary Adventure, Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride and the Village Haus Restaurant, and the attention to detail is seriously impressive. Everything is handmade, from the trash cans to the windows and the signs, and the music used in the parks is played on a loop as you walk around, as well as crowd sounds and different lighting depending on the time of day. His current project involves adding flowers and greenery, a sometimes overlooked but incredibly crucial part of the actual Disneyland experience.
All of this is fascinating and impressive, even if you aren’t remotely into Disney, but it does prompt several questions, primarily why, but also how, and maybe where (how big is this basement exactly? How big is the house?) and also who (because seriously, who is this man and how does he have the time and money to do all of this)?
Many commenters had similar questions, although some were straight up concerned, with several calling it creepy, and suggesting that the man has nefarious intentions behind building Disneyland in his basement that involve luring children back there with the promise of enjoying their own private Disneyland, à la Neverland Ranch and the stories surrounding Michael Jackson and his “friendships” with the children he hosted there.
While he’s not a content creator, the owner of the basement, Travis Larson, does have his own Instagram account with some posts showing various details of the basement, as well as a YouTube video talking viewers through the construction of his basement. None of OP’s other videos or Larson’s own content sheds any light on why Larson has engaged in this massive undertaking — beyond his Instagram bio, which cites a desire to “bring inspiration, happiness and childlike wonder to all” as the motivation — but his social media presence suggests that this simply a man who loves a project, loves Disney and found a way to wed those two things.
Fingers crossed nothing comes out about this guy that forces me to eat my words.
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