SEE IT: Orlando home transforms into Halloween attraction for charity

ORLANDO, Fla. — One of Orlando’s most unique Halloween displays isn’t in the theme parks.

It’s in the quiet neighborhood College Park at the corner of Winter Park St and Harrison Ave, raising money for animals in need.  This year the house boasts a gigantic two-story pumpkin, witches, dragons, skeletons, spiders, werewolves, and cats.  It’s complete with special effects too including lightning, fog machines, sound machines, and animatronics.

“It’s a labor of love.  I do it for the kids,” said Dr. Daniel LaVene, an emergency physician from Longwood.

“Everyone’s got a passion.  My passion’s Halloween.”

LaVene said he's been doing this since the early 2000s.  He used to build the display in Maitland, Celebration, Poinciana, and now his cousin's home in College Park.  That's where it's been since 2012.

“I’ve collected this stuff over 25 years,” said LaVene.  “We get almost a thousand kids here a year.”

In recent years, LaVene decided to raise money for animals, one of his passions.

“We sponsor and take donations for a charity called RAIN, which stands for Rescuing Animals in Need,” he said.

This year LaVene brought back a popular addition, the “I4 Ultimate” display.  It shows skeletons constructing the road, a skeleton family that never made it to Disney, and a sign showing mayhem ahead.

“It’s a parody,” LaVene said.  “We try to be sensitive to it because it had some deaths associated with it.  But it’s Halloween.”

LaVene also hopes his Halloween home can serve as an attraction for children who’s parents can’t afford to bring them to the theme parks.

“They can come here and see something similar to it.  Not on the detail as the big parks, but our little mini version of animatronics,” he said.

LaVene said he invites everyone in Central Florida to come out to trick-or-treat and see the display.  LaVene said he’ll be giving children light-up toys to help them stay safe on Halloween.