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Herriman • Call her a "Disney Dork" or the ultimate Disney fanatic, but Lynette Hamblin believes dreams do come true — even if your dream is living in a house inspired by a Disney/Pixar animated film.
A California native who attended Copper Hills High School in West Jordan, Hamblin and her husband, Clint Hamblin, bought the home on her birthday in January and have kept it just as Bangerter Homes, the builders, intended it to be — a life-size replica of the house from the movie "Up."
"We have always been big about Christmas. Even in California, we decorated pretty big … when we bought this house we knew, 'Ah, this is going to be awesome!' " Hamblin said inside her home decorated with snowflakes hanging from the ceiling and a Christmas tree with Tinkerbell on top.
But as part of the family's first Christmas in the home, they are bringing some Disney magic with lots of lights and inflatable animated characters on the front lawn.
"Santa's coming to the 'Up' house, so it is going to be awesome," she said.
The couple — who have two children, ages 5 and 3 — were waffling on the idea of having a Santa visit the house but, after hearing of the recent shooting tragedy in Connecticut, they arranged for St. Nick to greet the public on their porch Saturday from 2 to 4 p.m.
"It is really cool to know that we live in the only 'Up' house in the world," Hamblin said.
When she and her husband visit Disneyland, they like to people-watch on a porch on the park's Main Street. Now she has her own.
"That is kind of my Main Street in Disneyland; I'm in here watching [spectators]," Hamblin said of her guilty pleasure.
And the house has drawn a variety of sight-seers. Residents from assisted-living homes sometimes swing by in buses and its been the destination for marriage proposals.
Hamblin never gets tired of thousands of people visiting her home in droves on the weekends.
"Thanks for coming and appreciating this house," she says, "We love this house and we love that they love this house. I like to reassure people, 'it's OK, take a picture.' "
To maintain the authenticity of the Disney vision, the couple sold off the furniture and many other possessions they had in California, so they could afford to also buy the replica furniture that Bangerter Homes had built for the "Up" house. That was in addition to the $400,000 price tag.
Growing up in California, Hamblin went to the Disney parks often and, as cliché as it sounds, she always dreamed of being a princess, finding her prince, getting married and starting a family. "I kind of feel like I am living out that Disney dream now," Hamblin said. "We dream of Disney."
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Santa visit
Santa Claus will visit the "Up" house in Herriman on Saturday from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. The house at 13215 South Meadowside Drive. Visiting with Santa is free, but the family who owns the house is asking for donations to Sub for Santa.