They aren't actually spreading it out though - Construction on the figure started before August, of course. But remember that the place he's going can't be accessed by the team for 16 hours out of every single work day. Things like this aren't plug and play, they take time to integrate, and once you're working in the ride itself your available hours are limited. It's just not the kind of problem you can throw more people at. Add to that the fact there was a hiccup and it starts to take a bit longer.
But the August to November timeline isn't really what's egregious here. Announcing the figure more than a year in advance is the problem. That's the real variable factor here. This isn't TRON where they spread the costs over multiple fiscal years - they absolutely do that, and it's lame as hell from the guest perspective, but The Hatbox Ghost is not a victim of that. He's a victim of Disney's bad marketing practices more than anything.
They need to learn to keep the lid on things longer, especially projects like this that really should just be a kind of pleasant surprise. Announcing him more than a year out doesn't do the good they seem to think it does.