Oct. 28, 2024

Halloween 2024: Costume Trends and Haunt Highlights (Green Tagged)

Halloween 2024: Costume Trends and Haunt Highlights (Green Tagged)

We're sharing this special from our sister podcast: Green Tagged. Get Weekly bonus episodes of Green Tagged https://www.patreon.com/GreenTagged. We dive into Fun.com’s costume data to see how IP-driven favorites like Ghostbusters, Beetlejuice, and...

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We're sharing this special from our sister podcast: Green Tagged. Get Weekly bonus episodes of Green Tagged on our Patreon. We dive into Fun.com’s costume data to see how IP-driven favorites like Ghostbusters, Beetlejuice, and Inside Out define the season, showing Halloween’s unique synergy across homes, media, and theme parks. We then delve into recent haunt visits: Scott’s behind-the-scenes look at Netherworld’s stellar operations and Philip’s trip to Dark at Fort Edmonton, exploring how the event has expanded.

WEBVTT

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From our studios this year in well, this week in

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Detroit and Tampa.

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I don't even know what's going on.

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This year, this time whatever. Whenever you're listening, we're in

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Detroit and Tampa. Yes, here we are.

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It is the week of Halloween is hell week, as

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known in the hid trashion industry. Some high houses are

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actually opened every day, including the one I'm working at

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this season. Hush, and so we thought we would bring

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some Halloween flavor. We have a lot of Halloween flavor normally,

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but you know it's Halloween, so give us this, give

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us this episode.

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This is our Halloween episode. I mean, I look even

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wore a Halloween shirt. For those who are watching it

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on video, this is I actually wore a Halloween shirt,

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which those of you who know me go, duh.

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But anyway, yeah, yes, so Scott, you know what I thought,

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maybe we go a little have a little fun. So

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fun dot Com sent over some research. They released this

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research about what costumes and decorations that their online center

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has been selling, and they kind of like tabulate everything together,

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and I thought this was fascinating. So what they said

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is that Ghostbusters costumes have surged eighty percent Beetlejuice sales

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are up one hundred and five percent inside out, eight

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times what they were last year with twenty two new costumes.

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Descendants up two hundred and thirty percent since adding Red

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and Chloe and Despicable Me has doubled sales since twenty

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twenty three, also mentioning Deadpool versus Wolverine with those So

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I was looking at this. They sent this over to

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me to look at for like a Halloween inclusion, and

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what I thought was interesting is if you'd.

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Kind of look on this one.

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Obviously, it tracks almost in line with the media that

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has been put out to the general public. So you know,

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there's the Ghostbusters fro as an Empire, there's Beelders Fiel

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Juice inside out. You know, there's these Descendants. The Rise

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of Red was a big one this year. But it

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also tags with physical experiences that we have seen. So

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we have the Ghostbusters houses and both you know, on

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both coasts. Of course, we have the Beetle Juice, Beetlejuice experience.

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There's several Beatle Juice experiences that were some sanctioned and

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some not sanctioned, you know, some real license and some

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not licensed. Of course, around the country, and then Descendants,

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you know, Mickey's Scary Halloween Party did a new Descendants

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dance area this year that we talked about.

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I haven't a man off.

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I've seen the inside Out experience except for it being

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it's part of the parade. Inside Out is part of

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the parade at Magic Kingdom. And then of course the

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stiftical me. You know, every time you go into Universal

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you have the Minion land, and Miniland is still you know,

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pieces of it are still open during the Halloween season

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of course, so uh. And in Japan, minions have their

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own line of like spooky characters that you can actually

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do a meet and greet with the spooky versions of

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them and their Halloween costumes. So it's interesting to me

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because we've talked previously about Halloween being an ecosystem and

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how you know, the reality is much more people will

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watch something or play a game, you know, then they

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will go to a theme park or a Halloween event,

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you know, because just because the reality of where they're

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okay what not. But it's just again this Disney model,

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but we're seeing it, you know, duplicated in other areas

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and it's kind of like one hand feeing the other. Right,

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So you know, it's like what is trending what costumes

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people want to buy, right, being directly correlated to what

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physical live entertainment exists in the world, which then like

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reinforces you know, interest in those characters and going re

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dressing as them to some of these Halloween parties, especially

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the Disney parties, because you could dress as Red and

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go to the Descendants dance area, right. So, I don't know,

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it's just an interesting, really interesting how the data actually

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does bear it out quite explicitly, like here are the trends,

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and the trends directly relate to what you could go

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do in person.

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Well, and we.

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Also, you know, have said that that film and video

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and television is losing its grasp as far as the

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leader when it comes to these kinds of trends. However,

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all of these are film and video based, and I

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think what's I think what's unique though, is I don't

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think it's quite the the the Duck's Mike the Duck

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migration point, where it's like the media is at the

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beginning and then everything follows.

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Suit.

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I think it's it's much more of a give and take.

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I think it's much more of an ecosystem as you've

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described it, where one fuels the other fuels back and forth.

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I also think it's interesting that since this is based

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on costuming, I want to make this is a little

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bit anecdotal, but I want to I want to share

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it as well. So last night this was this is

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being recorded, excuse me, this is being recorded on Sunday,

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the twenty seventh of October. And last night, which was

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the Saturday night before Halloween, I was involved in a

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project which we'll talk about later, but I was involved

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in a project that was in Ebor City here in Tampa,

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which is the party the Party Street. I mean, it's

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the big old party Street. It's it's like Bourbon Street.

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It's Tampa's version of Bourbon Street, all right. And since

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it was the Saturday before Halloween, everybody was showing up

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to the clubs in costume. And I think the interesting thing,

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you know a factor that I think, because we're talking

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about costumes, there is a factor that I think we

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have to include when it comes to this costume data,

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and that is, and you're gonna laugh at me when

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I say this, but can it be sexy for women?

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And is it comfortable for guys, because guys don't want

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costumes that have to that require gigantic things. They want

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to wear clothes. They want to wear clothes that they're

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comfortable in. And I will tell you, beetlejuice was effin everywhere.

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I mean it was, there was so much beetlejuice. Because again,

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guys can throw on a stripe jacket, a green wig

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and life is good, you know. And when it comes

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to descendants, descendants can be as as provocative as you

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want to make them.

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And I'm thinking this.

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Is this is obviously adult costuming and Ghostbusters same thing.

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Guys and gals can put on a coverall with a

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name plate and get some sort of toy that they

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picked up, a Ghostbuster's toy that they pick up, and

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they're good to go. So I think a lot of

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this has to do with comfort. I would guess that

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Inside Out and Despicable Me trends higher with younger guests.

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I would also guess that Deadpool and Wolverine also trend

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better with adults than with kids, although I really.

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Don't know that this is this is kind of anecdotal,

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but it was.

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It was just very interesting for me to walk down

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the main party Drag in Tampa and not see a

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whole lot of traditional costuming, but Beetlejuice a go go,

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and again because of the release of the film, there's

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no there's no question about that. And and Ghostbusters I

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think is just because of pure comfort. So I think

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if we're looking at this from a costuming standpoint, I

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think we have to take that into consideration, that it

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is what are people willing to wear. You know, we

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can come up with the if they came up with

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a Laylu costume from Fifth Element, that's great, except only

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about eight people can wear it because they have the

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body for it. So this is one of those situations

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where it can be ramped up and ramped down for adults.

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And I will say, you know, the adult costume market

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is just as as vibrant as the children's market, and

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I think at times even more so, especially with the

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twenty somethings, because they're you know, all going out to party.

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And if they're going out to party, based on what

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I saw last night, I would say seventy five percent

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of the people who are going out to clubs, and

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these are clubs that have you know, an hour to

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an hour and a half Q to just get into

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the club. And I would say roughly, I would say

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seventy to seventy five percent of the people who were

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there were in costume and were in an ip costume

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and like I said, Beetlejuice, Ghostbusters, Yep, we're just rave,

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I mean. And there's also the cosplay thing of gender swapping. Yeah,

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so there was a lot of there was a lot

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of female Beetle.

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Juice as well, which was interesting.

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Well, it all timees back to I think what we've

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talked about before, but just I think the takeaway is

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for people listening understanding that it's all part of an ecosystem, right,

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and that like coming to your attraction for Halloween is

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only one piece of their you know, Halloween holiday experience

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as these families, and that don't underestimate how people do

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like to get into costume. They like to wear at

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least more than once if they're going to purchase one

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and go somewhere and you know, tapping into you know,

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we talked about this before, but really I think on

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a Bones episode actually we talked about it. But the

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idea of like allowing guests to participate a little bit

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and using the costumes where you can and that was

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the biggest thing I took took away from Asia going

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to the haunts there is that, you know, all the

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theme parks and all the independent haunts, everyone allows costumes,

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and people do show up in costume a lot. And

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like you said, I remember being an ocean park in

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Hong Kong and there was a group of guys all

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dresses ghostbusters, you know, and I was like, Okay, you know,

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which is fun because they get do it together and

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they you know, get to take a picture. I think

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that's why they do it, because you all get to

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take a group picture and you know, you're in your costumes,

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and it's more fun than just showing up in like

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a regular T shirt or something, you know, which which

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is I think what happens here in America. Most times

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we don't like.

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This is my costume?

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Yeah yeah, so you just show It's kind of boring.

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But and speaking of what people will wear and sexy,

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I thought it was funny in Hong Kong there was

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a trend I noticed at multiple locations with young men

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dressing up as sexy maids. So they had like made

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out if it's on and and uh, you know, posing

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around the haunt and I was like, this is interesting.

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Yeah, it's it's it's very Yes, it is very unique.

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And it's funny because in the US when you're doing

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family friendly events, because I'm doing you know, I'm doing

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several of those this year. When you're doing family and

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friendly events, costuming and dressing up is just a thing,

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and parents with children, I think, use their kids as

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an excuse to dress up as well. And what I found,

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specifically in the Midwest more than anywhere else, is the

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trend that those eye rolling tweens who don't really like

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to participate in anything will dress up in costume if

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they're going with their friends, ye, or if they're going

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with their friends or their families. So it's a unique,

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it's unique situation. I do understand the logistic challenges in

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doing costuming in the United States in more adult themed

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like a Halloween hornetes or a hollow scream or that

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sort of thing. But yeah, I just think, yes, I

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agree with you, Philip. I think the takeaway is to

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recognize that although the films themselves may not necessarily be

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the point of the driving force, the ip behind the

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films and the ecosystem that surrounds them, whether that is gaming, costuming,

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live experiences, et cetera. Is It's what Disney started doing

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years and years ago, and it has become I think

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the norm now in driving what is popular during the

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Halloween season.

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Well, speaking now, I think we can talk about the

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Halloween season. Let's talk about some places we have visited

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this last few week. And you just got back from

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nether World.

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That's right. So I was in Atlanta doing working on

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a Christmas event for Stone Mountain and I got the

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chance to go and visit my very dear friends Ben

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Armstrong and Billie Messina at Netherworld. And whoa it is.

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For those of you who have never experienced the nether

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World Haunt, it is one of the most grand haunted

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experiences I think I've ever been through. And this is

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something that Ben has always has always been very very

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passionate about, and that is to create a sense of

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grandeur in the haunts. And you know, I have a

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tendency to be minimalist and Ben has a tendency to

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be whoo Giant monsters and you know, two and three

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stories tall and one of the things that I wanted

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to first of all, it's a great experience. Let me

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just start right there. It is a great experience. It's

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it's one gigantic haunt and one good size haunt, and

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then a midway in between which has food, no alcohol,

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but food and beverage, games, a ton of additional photo ops,

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a ton of additional photo ops, a casket ride, and

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a really robust gift shop. So it's it's getting closer

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and closer to that theme park idea. Plus, there are

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escape rooms which are open year around it in other

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world that are also open as part of the Halloween event.

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So it is it is a it can be a

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full night of fun and experience. But the thing I

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wanted to share with with the audiences here because not

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only did I get a chance to experience the Haunt,

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but I also got a chance Ben gave me a

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tour of their whole backstage area and how robust that is.

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So there's really two takeaways that I want to share

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that I think will be beneficial for anybody who does

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anything Halloween or anything immersive. Number One, it is the

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approach that he takes to getting people creating a linear

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pathway through his space. Now he doesn't have a he

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doesn't have a concern about space. It's gigantic building that

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he owns or that the company owns. But it's interesting

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because in talking to Ben afterwards, I said, I love

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the fact that you have built such a massive and

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long haunted experience without using hardly any walls. Everything is

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created by prop placement, by giant scenic that stands in

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the way. And he says, oh, yeah, if I've got

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a room, I'll wind you through it four or five times,

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which is true. You get to see these he's and

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he has a passion for giant animations, and they are

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amazing because he'll either build them himself or have a

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team build them specifically for him, or he'll get something

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off the shelf and alter it so that it creates

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something that is uniquely his. And it's it's you. You

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see everything from all sides, and when you wind through

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the same room, it also gives the actors an opportunity

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to startle you multiple times, so it's kind of like

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doubling your labor force. It's it's really I could go

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back again and see things that I completely miss the

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first time. It's it's layer upon layer upon layer, and

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and the thing that I'm that I'm most I personally

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am most impressed about is not only are you visually

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impacted on this level, on the level of your eyes,

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but also the level of your feet and two stories

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above you. It's it is truly one of the most

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incredible independent haunts that I've been through. Actually, it rivals

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a lot of the sorry surpasses a lot of the

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theme park CONTs as well. The other thing that he

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does that I just love and this is just my

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own personal vibe. He changes the surface that you walk

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on multiple multiple times throughout the entire haunt, and sometimes

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it's squishy, and sometimes it moves, and sometimes it's like

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a bridge, a swinging bridge. I'm not giving away too

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many secrets, trust me, because there are far, far, far

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more for you to discover on your own. But if

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you happen to be it's in the Stone Mountain area

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in Georgia, just outside of Atlanta. If you have the

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opportunity and you can still get tickets, they are open

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every day now through I believe it's next weekend, but

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it's definitely through Halloween. It's every single night. So it is.

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It could not come with a higher recommendation from me.

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And then the other takeaway I think that's important is

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not only has he invested tons of time in the

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Haunt itself, but I also got a tour of not

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only his actor backstage area where they have all their

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costuming makeup. The process and procedure of their staff is

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like clockwork.

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It is.

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It is just so incredibly organized. So if you're ever

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doing anything, whether it's a Haunt or whether it's any

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sort of immersive experience that involves performers, make sure that

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you refine your process and keep trying to improve it.

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Because obviously Another World's been around for a while and

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they have refined it to the point where it is

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remarkably smooth. Their storage facilities are incredibly organized and accurate

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and detailed, and so I think that that's the other

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takeaway I want everybody who listens to the show to

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think about is don't just invest all of your money

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and what the guests see. Invest your money and time

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and effort into what your staff sees. Because the more

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organized and put together and procedural you can be backstage,

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it supports your performers so that the guest view, in

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the guest view they are they are able to do

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what they do without any challenges or concerns. So thumbs

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up to Another World. Both from a guest experience and

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from an operational experience, it was really sharp.

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I really think now the World has managed to kind of,

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using those techniques, differentiate itself quite quite significantly, I think

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from other haunted attractions. And also it kind of what

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I tell people that have never been and don't have

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any concept of it is it's I you know, there's

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because a lot of people that have only obviously their

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only experiences a theme parkon for good reason, because the

331
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theme parkhans have the largest capacity and they have the

332
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wiset audience. We've talked about that before. But I usually

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tell them it's like it is a better version of

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Universal because it still has that cinematic quality because you know,

335
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Ben's background is in cinema. He has a great cinematic eye,

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So the scenes are cinematic in nature. They do feel

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like movies, and you have these giant creatures, you have

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the budget. I mean, it really is kind of just

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a better version of Universal because it's there's so much

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more time and investment in it, you know, per square

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foot than Universal Attraction.

342
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I agree, I agree, And the unique thing is it

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doesn't have a single intellectual property in it. It's it's

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all unique. It is all created specifically for them by them,

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which once again goes to to Ben's dark and demented creativity.

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He can create these characters that are whacked out and

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are often combinations of mythology and standard fear, things that

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people are afraid of, and then just he adds his

349
00:18:27.640 --> 00:18:31.039
own little quirkiness to it to create things that are

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uniquely nether world that you will never see anywhere else.

351
00:18:34.759 --> 00:18:38.799
Yeah, it's excellent, It's excellent. So, uh so I went

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to I don't even know I was in Canada and

353
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then Los Angeles and that I'm in now I'm in Detroit.

354
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So it was, yeah, I kind of when I woke

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up this morning, I actually had forgotten that I had

356
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done these things.

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And that's like, oh, yes, that's it's been a a time.

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You were you were, you were at a haunt that

359
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is very near and dear to my heart, and that's

360
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Dark and for Dead Minton.

361
00:19:00.920 --> 00:19:03.599
Yes, I was at Dark. I spent two days there

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with the team and it's just it's year seven for them,

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and it is I think pretty astounding to me how

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the event has fleshed out so much, because I remember

365
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pretty early on because Scott had worked on some of

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the initial years with the event, and it started off good.

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I mean, they didn't come out swinging. You know.

368
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The quality was always good of the mazes, but the

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footprint of the event was not as much for a

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lot of reasons. It's a historic property, you know, I

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mean Scott knows more than I mean, Scott was there

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at the beginning, but you know, it's his stork. Property

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was difficult to secure the footprint, as these things are

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with historic properties. But where we are now is they

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do have four haunted houses now, and they have three

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kind of scare areas where they have actors that roam around.

377
00:19:54.839 --> 00:19:57.839
They have a hidden bar, they have a food truck

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alley kind of a space, they have a few regular bars,

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and then they have kind of just eating ways and

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entertainment zones. So it is a fleshed out event. I

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would say, like a fully fleshed out event. They're using,

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you know, a pretty large footprint and activating it as

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best they can. The Capital Theater there is also open

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for folks to warm up and to watch clips of

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old movies.

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So there's I mean, there's there's a lot. I mean,

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for I think for Edmonton, for the area.

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You know, this to me would feel like, you know,

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the regional park experience. You know, it's kind of I

390
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think it sits at that level. And the new Haunt

391
00:20:39.400 --> 00:20:45.039
this year is much more classic Haunt in my opinion.

392
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They are you know, again, they're being smart about it.

393
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They're utilizing their assets. So they have a giant train,

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you know, like a real train, kind of like what

395
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k Notts has, so you you know, you're it's in

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00:20:56.440 --> 00:20:59.200
there as a prop. And they have cars that they

397
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have old cars, old cable cars, but you know, old

398
00:21:02.200 --> 00:21:04.519
like train cars, so you can walk through the train cars.

399
00:21:05.079 --> 00:21:07.200
And they've designed it in a way where it's a

400
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good design you know, that doesn't need as many actors

401
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because they have multiple scare points throughout it and they

402
00:21:13.359 --> 00:21:16.880
come from different angles. You have multiple elevations, you're going

403
00:21:16.960 --> 00:21:20.119
up and down, you know, tight scenes, large scenes, it's

404
00:21:20.160 --> 00:21:24.039
all there. It's a good, well rounded scary Haunt and

405
00:21:24.079 --> 00:21:26.359
I think that was kind of what they were missing

406
00:21:26.759 --> 00:21:30.079
in terms of their portfolio because Scott, as you knows,

407
00:21:30.200 --> 00:21:33.400
the other Haunts were not we're you know, our story base,

408
00:21:33.440 --> 00:21:35.799
but they're not necessarily as scary, you know, they kind

409
00:21:35.799 --> 00:21:41.319
of have multiple levels. The different attractions hit well. The

410
00:21:41.319 --> 00:21:44.640
different attractions all feel very different because narratively they're very different,

411
00:21:44.920 --> 00:21:46.880
but they also have all different vibes. So you have

412
00:21:47.000 --> 00:21:49.720
like the three AM, which is the I think more

413
00:21:49.720 --> 00:21:52.920
of the aesthetic creepy, you have the clowns you know

414
00:21:52.960 --> 00:21:55.519
you have, and then you have this one, which is scary.

415
00:21:55.960 --> 00:21:59.039
So I think they're all kind of hitting a different demographic,

416
00:21:59.640 --> 00:22:01.799
which is I think what an event like that needs

417
00:22:01.839 --> 00:22:06.759
to do to grow in interest. So I just think

418
00:22:06.799 --> 00:22:09.319
it's an e It's always surprising to me. I'm like,

419
00:22:09.359 --> 00:22:11.400
it's only year seven. I mean, the team has made

420
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a lot of progress.

421
00:22:12.880 --> 00:22:14.160
Well and I will see, what do you think?

422
00:22:14.519 --> 00:22:16.400
So I will say that I can't speak to this year,

423
00:22:16.400 --> 00:22:19.440
but going back to the beginning, all the things you're

424
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saying have been present since the beginning. They wanted to

425
00:22:22.119 --> 00:22:24.920
come out swinging. They wanted to That's the whole reason

426
00:22:24.960 --> 00:22:25.559
they brought me in.

427
00:22:25.799 --> 00:22:26.000
You know.

428
00:22:26.039 --> 00:22:29.359
I spent quite a bit of time up there, not

429
00:22:29.519 --> 00:22:32.000
only learning about the space, because what they wanted to

430
00:22:32.000 --> 00:22:34.160
do originally was to utilize as much of the historic

431
00:22:34.160 --> 00:22:37.200
properties as possible, or even some of them are actual

432
00:22:37.279 --> 00:22:39.559
historic buildings that have been moved to the site. The ford,

433
00:22:39.599 --> 00:22:43.319
of course, is as accurate as it can be, but

434
00:22:43.359 --> 00:22:47.240
there are some actual buildings that have been recreated as well.

435
00:22:47.480 --> 00:22:50.200
But they wanted to utilize their assets, which again what

436
00:22:50.240 --> 00:22:52.079
have we talked about over and over again is to

437
00:22:52.160 --> 00:22:54.920
utilize what they had to make them unique. And so

438
00:22:54.960 --> 00:22:57.839
they have continued to do that. And yes, I have

439
00:22:58.079 --> 00:23:00.000
kind of followed them to make sure I've been stocked

440
00:23:00.119 --> 00:23:02.640
them to make sure they're still doing cool stuff. But

441
00:23:02.720 --> 00:23:04.240
they wanted to come out swing, and they wanted to

442
00:23:04.240 --> 00:23:06.960
come out right. And the team there is amazing to

443
00:23:07.000 --> 00:23:09.319
work with. They are The thing that impresses me the

444
00:23:09.319 --> 00:23:14.119
most about that team is they are so guest centric.

445
00:23:14.519 --> 00:23:16.240
They want to make sure they really pay attention to

446
00:23:16.279 --> 00:23:19.039
what their guests want and they really deliver it. You

447
00:23:19.039 --> 00:23:20.880
also have to recognize, you know, for those of you

448
00:23:20.920 --> 00:23:25.359
who are listening from warm climates, it is bitterly cold

449
00:23:25.440 --> 00:23:28.480
up there in October, and you know it's there, but

450
00:23:28.519 --> 00:23:31.079
there is something very exciting about all the getting all

451
00:23:31.079 --> 00:23:34.200
the guests to gather around a fire pit and make

452
00:23:34.240 --> 00:23:36.559
smores and talk about the scary things that have happened

453
00:23:36.599 --> 00:23:38.319
to them. And then of course you have some creepy

454
00:23:38.359 --> 00:23:43.000
character wander up behind you. It's it's so plays into

455
00:23:43.000 --> 00:23:45.920
what I love to do, which is the taking actual

456
00:23:45.960 --> 00:23:49.880
locations and especially historic locations, and finding ways to haunt them.

457
00:23:50.000 --> 00:23:53.559
So kudos to Dark. I'm so glad it's still continuing

458
00:23:53.559 --> 00:23:56.359
to grow, but I'm not at all surprised because it's

459
00:23:56.359 --> 00:23:57.559
such a lovely team.

460
00:23:57.880 --> 00:23:58.200
Yeah.

461
00:23:58.279 --> 00:24:00.640
The last thing I want to mention you're talking. It

462
00:24:00.680 --> 00:24:03.960
reminded me is they have done an excellent job of

463
00:24:04.079 --> 00:24:08.039
curating the atmosphere and also providing like pockets, and so

464
00:24:08.400 --> 00:24:11.480
two things you're fighting against, right is one in a

465
00:24:11.519 --> 00:24:14.839
cold climate, that space almost works against them because it's outdoors,

466
00:24:14.920 --> 00:24:18.839
as you just mentioned, and when it's really cold, you know,

467
00:24:19.160 --> 00:24:21.440
just a big space you're walking. I mean, it's all,

468
00:24:21.559 --> 00:24:23.519
like I said, like a think like a regional park,

469
00:24:23.559 --> 00:24:26.680
like a regional theme park. So it's not a single building,

470
00:24:26.839 --> 00:24:30.119
so it's you're walking a lot, and they've done a

471
00:24:30.160 --> 00:24:32.920
good job of making like pockets where they can warm

472
00:24:32.960 --> 00:24:35.039
those pockets, and then you have like stretches where you

473
00:24:35.119 --> 00:24:39.680
walk between. But what's fun is that the stretches are

474
00:24:39.720 --> 00:24:42.599
not bare, which you know universal goold learner thing or

475
00:24:42.559 --> 00:24:45.920
two honestly, because they've done a great job of even

476
00:24:45.960 --> 00:24:48.480
if it's just a walkway like you're just walking from

477
00:24:48.480 --> 00:24:51.440
one way to the other, they've lit it, They've put

478
00:24:51.519 --> 00:24:55.759
up gobos and projections, and you're the atmosphere. I think

479
00:24:55.799 --> 00:24:58.359
anywhere you are in the event and the atmosphere is maintained.

480
00:24:58.400 --> 00:25:01.480
And that is incredibly difficult to do in a historic property,

481
00:25:01.480 --> 00:25:05.359
but also one that is so cold because outdoor lighting

482
00:25:05.440 --> 00:25:06.960
is difficult, especially in the cold.

483
00:25:07.519 --> 00:25:08.559
So I mean there's a lot of things.

484
00:25:08.599 --> 00:25:10.640
I think the guests show up and they just feel

485
00:25:10.640 --> 00:25:13.559
like it's the Halloween event, but nobody realizes the amount

486
00:25:13.599 --> 00:25:14.640
of work.

487
00:25:14.400 --> 00:25:16.240
That it takes to maintain that atmosphere.

488
00:25:16.519 --> 00:25:19.160
Sure, sure, well the next one we're going to talk about.

489
00:25:19.359 --> 00:25:21.440
This is very unique for me because I don't usually

490
00:25:21.559 --> 00:25:26.640
get to perform in Halloween events anymore. But there is

491
00:25:26.759 --> 00:25:30.640
an event here in Tampa that is being used to

492
00:25:31.640 --> 00:25:34.599
It's a benefit event for the Tampa Fringe Theater. And

493
00:25:34.720 --> 00:25:37.119
I won't get into the politics of it, but suffice

494
00:25:37.160 --> 00:25:39.319
to say that in Florida, a great deal of the

495
00:25:39.359 --> 00:25:43.839
government support was pulled because of fringe festivals and the

496
00:25:43.839 --> 00:25:46.160
governor being concerned that money was going to things that

497
00:25:46.200 --> 00:25:53.680
were risque or push the norm. Well, so we decided no, sorry,

498
00:25:53.759 --> 00:25:56.240
I did not decide. I did not write this, but

499
00:25:56.880 --> 00:26:01.039
my friend Jessica Jacobs who decided to write this wonderful

500
00:26:02.440 --> 00:26:07.400
improvised LARP called the All Hollow All Hollows Eve t

501
00:26:08.400 --> 00:26:12.960
And it is a four hour experience that is a

502
00:26:13.039 --> 00:26:17.519
four course meal, and everyone who buys a ticket is

503
00:26:17.599 --> 00:26:20.440
very limited ticketing, but everybody who buys a ticket is

504
00:26:20.440 --> 00:26:22.920
assigned a character or is allowed to pick a character

505
00:26:22.960 --> 00:26:25.880
that they are playing. Some of them are very active

506
00:26:26.440 --> 00:26:29.880
and participatory in the story and some are less, so

507
00:26:30.000 --> 00:26:33.759
guests can choose how much they want to play. But

508
00:26:33.839 --> 00:26:35.839
we did our first performance last night, and we'll do

509
00:26:35.920 --> 00:26:39.519
we will do our last performance tonight. But the idea

510
00:26:39.720 --> 00:26:42.720
is it is about the signing of a treaty between

511
00:26:42.920 --> 00:26:45.640
the four factions of creatures of the Night, which is

512
00:26:45.920 --> 00:26:50.400
the witches, the spirits, the vampires, and the monsters. And

513
00:26:50.559 --> 00:26:54.599
it is very dark humor, it is very tongue in cheek,

514
00:26:54.720 --> 00:27:00.960
it is very adult. I play Babisios's sangue, which is

515
00:27:01.160 --> 00:27:05.160
the patriarch of all vampires, so I'm the progenitor of

516
00:27:05.200 --> 00:27:09.319
all vampire clans. And throughout the course of the evening,

517
00:27:09.359 --> 00:27:11.839
we discover that the treaty between all these factions has

518
00:27:11.839 --> 00:27:15.039
been destroyed, and then the guests by the end of

519
00:27:15.119 --> 00:27:17.640
the by the end of the experience, have to rewrite

520
00:27:17.680 --> 00:27:19.759
the treaty and we all have to sign it, and

521
00:27:19.799 --> 00:27:20.319
then there's.

522
00:27:20.119 --> 00:27:20.799
A big toast.

523
00:27:21.480 --> 00:27:26.319
So but it is very improvisationally based. At different key

524
00:27:26.359 --> 00:27:30.880
points throughout the night, all of the guests have action

525
00:27:31.039 --> 00:27:35.200
cards where and they are based specifically on their character.

526
00:27:35.599 --> 00:27:38.640
So as the evening progresses, they will open up their

527
00:27:38.759 --> 00:27:41.720
their action item and they will be required to make

528
00:27:42.119 --> 00:27:45.119
to elevate the story in that regard. And what's really

529
00:27:45.119 --> 00:27:47.720
interesting is those of us who are playing the four leaders.

530
00:27:47.720 --> 00:27:51.359
The only actors involved are the four leaders of the factions,

531
00:27:51.640 --> 00:27:54.680
and then we have some volunteer servers who also get

532
00:27:54.720 --> 00:27:57.480
into the fun and play one of the other one

533
00:27:57.480 --> 00:27:59.480
of the other character a member of one of the

534
00:27:59.480 --> 00:28:04.039
other factions. So so that's really neat, but it is.

535
00:28:04.119 --> 00:28:07.440
It is the fundraiser for the Tampa Fringe, and because

536
00:28:07.440 --> 00:28:12.200
of its its low capacity, the ticket price is steep.

537
00:28:12.559 --> 00:28:15.440
It's it's around one hundred dollars, but it includes a

538
00:28:15.480 --> 00:28:19.279
meal and is four hours long, so and you get

539
00:28:19.319 --> 00:28:22.799
to play now it's not for everyone, but it is it.

540
00:28:22.880 --> 00:28:26.279
I was incredibly impressed last night with the level to which,

541
00:28:26.480 --> 00:28:28.680
you know, we talked to earlier about grown ups wanting

542
00:28:28.680 --> 00:28:32.000
to dress up, the level to which people took their

543
00:28:32.039 --> 00:28:36.960
characters to heart and really threw on the the costuming,

544
00:28:37.039 --> 00:28:38.839
you know, the whole which faction. You could look at

545
00:28:38.839 --> 00:28:41.599
the four tables where all of the faction sat and

546
00:28:41.640 --> 00:28:44.440
you know exactly which faction was which. It wasn't somebody

547
00:28:44.480 --> 00:28:47.359
just showing up in a T shirt. People were showing up,

548
00:28:47.680 --> 00:28:52.279
you know, in full full which regalia. My the the

549
00:28:52.279 --> 00:28:56.359
the werewolf of the Monster Clan was hysterical because like

550
00:28:56.440 --> 00:28:58.720
you look over and you see all these ears and

551
00:28:59.039 --> 00:29:02.119
fangs and and then the vampires were all the entire

552
00:29:02.160 --> 00:29:05.319
table was in black and red without being told. So

553
00:29:05.640 --> 00:29:08.400
you know, it's a lovely opportunity for those people who

554
00:29:08.440 --> 00:29:11.880
want to be creative, who want to play. And I

555
00:29:11.920 --> 00:29:14.240
can hardly wait to go back tonight because it was

556
00:29:15.440 --> 00:29:17.839
as an actor, it was just such a wonderful four

557
00:29:17.880 --> 00:29:21.319
hour improvisational challenge. Yeah, to live in that character for

558
00:29:21.359 --> 00:29:23.359
four hours so and.

559
00:29:23.680 --> 00:29:26.799
To kind of coach people into getting along into I mean,

560
00:29:26.799 --> 00:29:28.559
that's such an interesting it's.

561
00:29:28.400 --> 00:29:30.680
Like and to steer the story if we felt we

562
00:29:30.720 --> 00:29:33.519
needed to. And there were times that I would throw

563
00:29:33.559 --> 00:29:35.160
red herrings in. You know, there were times that I

564
00:29:35.160 --> 00:29:37.799
would throw things in just to just to keep things,

565
00:29:37.920 --> 00:29:40.400
keep people on their toes. And I won't tell you

566
00:29:40.440 --> 00:29:43.319
what the outcome is, so we'll we'll just go from that.

567
00:29:43.599 --> 00:29:46.960
But I think the takeaway is there are a lot

568
00:29:47.039 --> 00:29:50.960
of unique, different kinds of Halloween events. Now, could you

569
00:29:51.039 --> 00:29:54.759
do a LARP like this across a giant theme park?

570
00:29:55.319 --> 00:29:59.920
I doubt it, but it might be an upcharge opportunity,

571
00:30:00.200 --> 00:30:01.640
or it might be something that you can do in

572
00:30:01.680 --> 00:30:05.480
the afternoon before your event to expand the hours of

573
00:30:05.519 --> 00:30:08.400
your event. It might be something to generate additional revenue

574
00:30:08.440 --> 00:30:11.359
for your event. I this is the first time I've

575
00:30:11.359 --> 00:30:14.880
ever really participated in a larp of this level, and

576
00:30:15.200 --> 00:30:17.640
I well, and I take rest of what Jessica's done.

577
00:30:17.480 --> 00:30:19.799
So you know, it only takes four actors, but they're

578
00:30:19.839 --> 00:30:22.240
highly trained. But I mean that could be you know,

579
00:30:22.319 --> 00:30:24.640
a thing that's the whole thing with the FanFest right

580
00:30:24.720 --> 00:30:28.319
or at the comic con concept, where when you invite

581
00:30:28.480 --> 00:30:31.480
your guests to bring the entertainment, then you know you

582
00:30:32.359 --> 00:30:34.279
really don't have to buy as much because the guests

583
00:30:34.279 --> 00:30:36.039
are bringing part of it with them.

584
00:30:36.480 --> 00:30:38.640
And they become and they become the other actors, you know.

585
00:30:38.880 --> 00:30:40.519
And the other thing that I want to say, the

586
00:30:40.559 --> 00:30:43.839
biggest takeaway from an operational standpoint is if you're going

587
00:30:43.880 --> 00:30:47.440
to do something like this, make sure you have quality food.

588
00:30:47.640 --> 00:30:50.559
The catering for this event is stellar and it's quality

589
00:30:50.599 --> 00:30:53.680
and it's unique. It's not it's not you know, go

590
00:30:53.759 --> 00:30:56.599
up to the go up to the Everything was hand served,

591
00:30:57.359 --> 00:31:00.480
it was served to the table. The only thing that

592
00:31:00.680 --> 00:31:05.960
was done in a buffet style was dessert. So if

593
00:31:05.960 --> 00:31:07.920
people are going to pay what you need them to

594
00:31:07.960 --> 00:31:11.079
pay to make this profitable, you're going to have to

595
00:31:11.680 --> 00:31:14.480
make certain that the quality level is there based on

596
00:31:14.519 --> 00:31:15.920
the dollars.

597
00:31:17.720 --> 00:31:18.799
So that's it.

598
00:31:19.200 --> 00:31:22.200
Oh my gosh, we're out of time. Why are you

599
00:31:22.200 --> 00:31:23.079
in Detroit, Philip.

600
00:31:24.000 --> 00:31:25.559
Oh I'm here at hush Yees.

601
00:31:25.680 --> 00:31:27.599
Okay, So how's hush going? Everything going well?

602
00:31:28.200 --> 00:31:29.599
It? Well, you know what, we can talk about it

603
00:31:29.640 --> 00:31:30.440
in the bonus episode.

604
00:31:30.640 --> 00:31:33.400
Okay, Well we'll do just that. So for those of

605
00:31:33.400 --> 00:31:35.839
you who we won't be talking to in the bonus episode,

606
00:31:35.839 --> 00:31:38.440
thank you once again for tuning in. We really appreciate

607
00:31:38.440 --> 00:31:40.440
you spending a half hour with us each week and

608
00:31:40.599 --> 00:31:43.400
on behalf of Philipernandez and myself Scott Swinson. This is

609
00:31:43.480 --> 00:31:45.759
green tagged theme park in thirty and we will see

610
00:31:45.759 --> 00:31:47.559
you next week. Happy Halloween,