New England Innkeeper: Phantom Manor, Disneyland Paris, October 2022 Gingerbread House

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PHANTOM MANOR! A gingerbread house for Halloween? Why not?

In this world where Lowes and Home Depot put their Christmas decor on the display floor each October 1st... And where Hallmark's Countdown to Christmas begins in mid-October... It was just a matter of time before some holiday-fluidity developed and our Halloween candy started to mingle with our Christmas gingerbread.

It's astounding...Time is fleeting... Welcome to our Nightmare Before Christmas. Where the Pet Semetary is decorated with candy-colored Christmas trees. Where Frosty the Snowman is doing the Monster Mash. Where the Little Drummer Boy is bobbing for apples next to Lucy Van Pelt. Where the Season of the Witch is The Most Wonderful Time of the Year. Located at the corner of Santa Claus Lane and the Highway to Hell.

This is how Charlene and Eric Taubert of New England Innkeeper, at the last minute before Halloween, decided to fill the time between their autumnal scary-movie watching by baking multiple batches of gingerbread, whipping up some royal frosting, and putting their confectionery skills to ample use.

With hours running low before All Hallows Eve, we jump-started the process by using this Phantom Manor gingerbread house template by Haunted Dimensions that we found online: https://newenglandinnkeeper.com/wp-co...

We used our favorite tried-and-true gingerbread recipe from Bill Yosses, the former White House pastry chef.

And before long, the Phantom Manor Gingerbread House started to take shape.

"Phantom Manor is a dark ride attraction in Frontierland at Disneyland Park in Disneyland Paris. Phantom Manor is the park's version of The Haunted Mansion attractions at Disneyland, Magic Kingdom, and Tokyo Disneyland, although it is designed to be darker in tone compared to other Haunted Mansion rides."

"While planning Euro Disneyland, Tony Baxter, executive designer for Walt Disney Imagineering, decided that certain staple Disney attractions would likely have to be modified to fit the altered tastes and preferences of a European audience. "

"Imagineer Marc Davis disliked the derelict aspect of the Phantom Manor building, stating 'Walt would never approve of it.'. However, the designers of the attraction thought that many guests would expect a haunted house attraction to look dilapidated and would likely be confused if the façade had a spotless appearance like the American Haunted Mansions."

A strand of strategically-placed Christmas lights on the inside of the home (to illuminate the hard candy windows), along with some dry ice for a photo-session fog effect on the outside of the home, amplified the spooky factor.

And now we have our glowing Phantom Manor lighting Halloween night right next to our freshly carved pumpkin!

It's almost time to clean up the mess and get started planning our annual New England Innkeeper Christmas Gingerbread House for 2022!

Stay Tuned!

This is a New England Innkeeper (https://newenglandinnkeeper.com) / Barometer Media production.