Utah Man Turns Home Basement into Disney-Inspired ‘Fantasyland’: ’12 Years in the Making’
‘It’s been a lot of work, but I think it’s pretty fun,’ Travis Larson said of his Riverdale home transformation
Travis Larson doesn’t have a regular basement.
The Riverdale, Utah resident has designed his downstairs living space around the ‘Happiest Place on Earth,’ previously revealing his Disney-inspired ‘Fantasyland’ basement on YouTube in 2018.
On May 10, Larson provided an update on the project, which has been ’12 years in the making,’ to FOX 13 News,
‘It’s been a lot of work, but I think it’s pretty fun,’ he added in a video shot by the outlet.
The basement — which reportedly cost Larson over $5,000 to create — features nods to Disney theme park attractions including Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride and Snow White’s Scary Adventure, as well as a Peter Pan’s Flight-style hidden door.
Per the outlet, Larson said of the transformation, ‘What people assume is that it’s pictures and knickknacks. And then when they see what this is they’re like, that’s totally not what they expected. That was the reaction I wanted.’
He added that the ‘vast majority’ of items included in the basement are handmade and a lot of the materials recycled.
Prior to landing on the Disney theme, Larson told the outlet he also ‘went through a couple of ideas.’
‘One I wanted was to be like a pirate theme, there was like an old west cowboy theme, like a 1920s type feel,’ he revealed.
He then came to a conclusion after a few trips to Disneyland. ‘I started taking some photographs, or going through some photographs, [and] noticed that some of the things that I had taken when I was at Disneyland lined up with things that I had already drawn, and I don’t know if it was coincidence or not,’ Larson continued.
‘I liked Disneyland a lot, the way they do their styles,’ Larson went on, per the outlet. ‘Their aesthetic is just unique, and I really liked the fantasy, German-esque feel, if you will. So that’s kind of how I landed upon this theme.’
The basement can switch from day to night mode, and includes actual rooms behind the small doors. One of these is Larson’s workshop, and another is his daughter Alyse’s room.
‘I remember hanging out here when there was just plain wood,’ Alyse said, per FOX 13. ‘I like coming down here, and it feels different than being in a house, it feels like I’m outside.’
As for what else he’s planning with the basement, Larson continued, ‘There are some plants and stuff that I still want to do.’
‘I’m working on the flower beds. There’s a little bit of painting left. But other than that primarily for the for the most part, this is finished,’ he added.
‘To see that someone has got a little bit of excitement from what I created. That’s the reward,’ Larson insisted.
Larson’s latest interview comes after he revealed more details about his basement transformation while speaking to local media outlet the Standard-Examiner last month.
‘My kids were kind of too little to know. My wife just kind of rolled her eyes,’ he told the outlet of mainly working on the project by himself. ‘She was like, ‘Don’t.’ Because what she initially wanted was an area to entertain and something that you could decorate for various seasons.’
‘Surprisingly, a lot of this, actually, is just recycled stuff,’ the former railroad conductor added of recreating some of the park’s features. ‘Like, stuff that I just had laying around, or some of this material came from a friend of mine who was a contractor.’
While talking about following in the footsteps of those who created the attraction, Larson told the newspaper, ‘There are so many different methods. It was interesting, as you’re going along, to kind of relive what they would have done, because it’s similar.’
‘There was a lot of time when you could step back and say, ‘Whoa, this is actually kind of cool,” he added.
