May 7, 2025

NEWS: Can Universal turn Spring into Second Halloween with Fan Fest Nights?

Show Notes
Transcript

This week: Can Universal turn Spring into Second Halloween with Fan Fest Nights?; Theme Parks Turn to Diversification Amid Uncertainty Epidemic; Busch Gardens Tampa Bay's Howl-O-Scream Mayhem Sale; Midwest Haunters Convention Friday Haunt Tour to Feature Abandoned Haunted House Complex; Fright Nights WV "Fright Nights Final Cut: Summer Slaughter"; Mars releases Tricks, Treats, and Trends Report. Read more here .

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Coming up your weekly roundup of news from around the

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Haunt industry. Welcome to the show. I'm Philip on the

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HN Show. We bring you the Haunt news, information, and

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education you need to prepare for Halloween. On Tuesdays, we

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bring you a roundup of news from haunts worldwide. Read

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more about these stories and so much more in our

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free weekly newsletter. Subscribe at the link in the show notes.

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And as always for the news roundup, I'm passing it

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off to Darryl.

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Universal's Fan Fast Nights bring you twelve evenings of comic

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con meets HHN. Universal Studios Hollywood in Universal City, California,

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has debuted their new hard ticket event, Fan Fast Nights,

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running select days now through May eighteenth, from seven pm

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to two am, blending pop up experiences, immersive LARPing, and

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Haunt style walkthroughs. Fandoms represented in this inaugural event include

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Star Trek, Back to the Future, Dungeons and Dragons, One Piece, Jujitchu, Kaizen,

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Harry Potter, and Supernintendo. Tickets range from seventy four to

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eighty four dollars. The event's crown jewel is the masterfully

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crafted Back to the Future Immersive experience on the actual

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movie courthouse square backlot. The Universal team has created a

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masterfully written, one of a kind, immersive theater experience for

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Back to the Future. Reception has been overwhelmingly positive, proving

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that FanFest format has leg by creating an experience nobody

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else can duplicate. Literally stepping into Hill Valley, they have

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proven experience uniqueness Trump's IP popularity, but the Universal leave

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money on the table by neglecting fandoms with larger followings.

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Will twenty twenty six bring a rebalance of resources towards

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the bigger, younger fandoms that clearly showed up this year,

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or have they permanently hamstring the event's growth. Listened to

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Scott and Philip discuss it in this week's episode of

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The Green Tagged Podcast. According to University of Michigan's Index

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of Consumer Sentiment, consumer confidence has plunged roughly thirty four

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percent lower than last year. With domestic tourism struggling in

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international travel patterns shifting, the theme park industry is facing

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unprecedented challenges to mitigate task in this volatile environment, Industry

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leaders are strategically diversifying to position themselves to better weather

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whatever economic scenario emerges. Universal exemplifies this with their multi

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pronged approach of geographic diversification with a new theme park

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coming in the UK and twenty thirty one Universal Kids

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Resort in Texas and Horror Unleashed in Las Vegas with

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demographic diversification including distinct products for families, horror enthusiasts and

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upscale travelers, and revenue stream diversification theme parks, hotels, entertainment districts,

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and IP licensing. United Airlines mirrors this with a barbell

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strategy preparing by reducing miss tier offerings while expanding both

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premium and budget services and adjusting for supply chain constraints.

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Regional parks have strong opportunity to focus on local audiences.

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Seasonal events like Halloween and Christmas offerings create urgency and

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provide compelling reasons for locals to visit during what might

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otherwise be shoulder seasons. Strong local marketing, membership programs encouraging frequency,

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and strategic community partnerships can provide stability when tourism falters.

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Bush Gardens Tampa Bay unleases the Hello Scream Mayhem Sale.

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It's never too early to start planning your Halloween scares.

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Bush Gardens Tampa Bay and Tampa Bay, Florida has unleased

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its Hallow Scream Mayhem sale now through May eleventh. Guests

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can purchase tickets for just thirty nine to ninety nine

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when buying two or more. Hello Scream will run select

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nights September fifth through November two. The brave souls who

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dare enter will face their fears as they navigate through

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haunted houses, scare zones, and sinister spectacles, crawling with e

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U County life forms, eerie technologies, and other worldly terrors.

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Stay tuned to the coming months for the May's announcements

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and more. The Midwest Haunters Convention Friday Hat Tour of

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Abandoned Haunted House Complex At this year's Midwest Hunters Convention

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Friday Night Haunted House Tour will feature the Abandoned Haunted

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House Complex and Mount Pleasant, Wisconsin. Taking place on Friday,

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June sixth. Tickets include dinner at Bratt Stop and Kenosha,

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admission to Abandoned Haunted House Complex featuring three unique, fully

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immersive haunted houses with live actors and sensory effects, one

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drink ticket and a Q and a session with the

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haunt owners following the tour Tour tickets with bus rides

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started one hundred and five dollars. Self driving tours start

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at eighty. Prices will increase after May twenty ninth. Fright

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Night's West Virginia launch's Fright Night's Final Cut Summer Slaughter.

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This summer, the Screams start early at Fright Nights West

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Virginia and Daniels, West Virginia with the debut of a

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brand new immersive event, Fright Night's Final Cut Summer Slaughter,

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a one night only horror movie survival experience set to

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terrify guests. On Friday, June thirteenth, groups of six guests

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will step into the scenes of a live slasher film

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where a masked killer stalks through four chilling horror sets

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based suspense, field moments, eerie silence, and the constant threat

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of a serial killer lurking in the shadows. Those killed

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during the experience will be marked with a sticker as

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a twisted badge of honor. Summerslaughter is like walking straight

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into a terrifying VHS tape. You're in the movie now,

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and your survival isn't guaranteed, says Ashley Long, creative director

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at Fright Night's WV. We want to give guests something fresh, interactive,

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and terrifying to kick off the summer into fright Night's fashion.

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Tickets are on sale now, starting at thirty dollars for

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general admission and forty two for a double feature ticket,

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allowing brave guests to re enter and face the killer again.

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Zombie Joe's Underground Theater Group presents Mother, an extreme horror experience.

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Zombie Joe's Underground Theater Group from North Hollywood, California, proudly

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announces the return of Mother on May tenth and eleventh.

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Written and directed by Charlotte Cocker and produced by Zombie Joe,

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this darkly twisted tale promises an unforgettable, high intensity journey

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into the darkest corners of maternal love. The story follows

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a mother devastated by the loss of her child, willing

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to defy life, death and reason to bring her back.

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With the audience pulled directly into her desperate ritual, the

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question becomes not just if she can succeed, but at

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what cost. Tickets are on sale now for twenty five

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dollars online thirty dollars at the door. The experience is

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for audiences eighteen plus. As the show features graphic and

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mature themes and light physical contact with persons and objects.

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Mars has released their annual Snackable Summary of Consumer Insights

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for Halloween twenty twenty five. Based on an IPSOS survey

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of over twenty four hundred US adults. They found that

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seventy eight percent of Americans planning to celebrate Halloween this year,

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ninety five percent typically purchase candy. As for what will

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be filling those trick or treat bags, over eighty percent

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of responders said that they'll be purchasing chocolate, and thirty

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seven percent plan to purchase gummies. For some, the spooky

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spirit starts frighteningly early, especially gen Z and Millennials. Nearly

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one in ten gen Z and millennials are already conjuring

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up their celebrations, and these generations are also most likely

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to buy seasonal treats as soon as they see them

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in the store. Gen Z and Millennials also don't wait

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for the leaves to fall to start their Halloween planning.

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On average, they start planning almost two months out. They

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are also fueling the rise of the summer ween trend.

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Mars has released their Complete Halloween twenty twenty five candy lineup.

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Returning seasonal staples includes Eminem's Milk Chocolate Pumpkin Pie, Snickers Pumpkins,

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Twigs and Snickers, Goulish Green, and Skittles Shriekers. M and

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MS will release three new Halloween blends featuring their Milk Chocolate,

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Peanut Milk Chocolate, and Peanut Butter Milk Chocolate varieties. The

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company also plans new seasonal packages for M and m's

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Peanut Butter fun Size giveaway bags and Snickers Pumpkins. New

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variety pack combinations will also allow for fun taste combinations

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for Tricker treaters. Coming up on live streams, Ask the

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Lawyer Matthew Murphy. Hunter's Toolbox is hosting a live Q

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and A session with trial attorney Matthew Murphy on Tuesday,

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May thirteenth at five thirty pm Pacific daylight time. Murphy

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has worked in courtroom since nineteen eighty five and tridcases

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for juries in three states and five federal districts as council.

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During this informative one and a half hour live session,

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Murphy will discuss Legal Roadbox, legal roadblocks, haunts, off and faced,

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including protecting yourself from legal battles, how to deal with

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local codes and laws, insurance and liability, legal guidelines around

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your brand, and advice for home hunters in Hays and more.

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Upcoming events this May through July twenty twenty five include

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the Halfway to Halloween Expo in ann Arbor, Michigan, on

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May tenth, Shutter Cohn in east Ridge, Tennessee, May tenth

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and eleventh, Scare Con in Birmingham, England, May twentieth and

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twenty five First Monster Palooza and Pasadena, California, May thirtieth

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through June first, the Midwest Haunters Convention in Rosemont, Illinois,

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June sixth through eight, and the Texas Haunters Convention in Dallas, Texas,

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July twenty six through twenty seventh.

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And that's all for the news this week.

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Today's episode was produced by me Philip Hernandez, with reporting

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by Daryl Plunky post production by David Swope. This Haunt

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News Update is a production of the Haunted Attraction Network,

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and you can sign up to our weekly newsletter at

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Hantattrastionnetwork dot com. Support for this episode comes from Gantum

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Lighting and Controls. Until next time, Haunters Stay Scary. This

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is a haunted attraction.

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Network production

NEWS: Can Universal turn Spring into Second Halloween with Fan Fest Nights?

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