Nov. 12, 2025

NEWS: From Halloween to Holidays: What’s Next for Haunts

Show Notes
Transcript

Halloween may be behind us, but the industry is already shifting into its next phase.
In this week’s newsletter, we look at a few insightful stories from this last season, then look ahead to the growing wave of post-Halloween events—from Krampus offerings to holiday-themed haunts—and what this expansion means as the industry heads into IAAPA Expo.
This week: Insights from Dark Nights at Hersheypark; Hera's Nightmare eyes year-round expansions; Celebrating Halloween in Burbank; Coaster Nation's Top Haunts; Creep It Real Festive Returns November 21st - 23rd; Krampus Comes to Universal Horror Unleashed; Field of Screams Unleashes Extreme Blackout Night; Six Flags Plans More Park Closures - Here's Why It Makes Sense. 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.

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Darryl with Helloween and the legendary Haunt Tour behind us.

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Take a listen to some of the final highlights of

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this past Haunts season, new Haunts at Hershey Park Halloween

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and Dark Knight's twenty twenty five Dark Knights celebrated its

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fourth year as part of Hershey Park Halloween in Hershey, Pennsylvania,

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with a new kill and Film maze and Path of

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Shadow Covens Curse Scare Zone. The Haunted Attraction Network went

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behind the scenes as some of the creative team to

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learn about the continued evolution of their Haunted experience and

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what sets Hershey Park apart as a must visit seasonal event.

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Follow the links in our show notes to watch the

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video or follow us on YouTube. The Burbank Home Haunt

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Tour in Burbank, California, is a hotbed of Halloween home

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haunt activity. These homeowners go above and beyond to create

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memorable displays and walk through attractions for the so Cal community.

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Join the Haunted Attraction Network as we tour some of

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these amazing home haunts, including Beware the Dark Realm, Buena

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Vista Haunt, Circus of Nightmares and more, and Harra's Haunts

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Haunted Nightmare Attraction. After an award winning first season, Hara's

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Nightmare in Westminster, Maryland added two new experiences for its

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return in twenty twenty five, Bite Fright and Horror Vault

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selfie experience. In this exclusive interview, owner Carlos Rivus discusses

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these new additions to his creative process. Follow the links

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in our show notes to find them all hunters Elevate

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your scenes. Gantum Lighting's Juni, a non DMX compact Gobo projector,

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is on a flash sale at two hundred and thirty

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dollars per unit that's fifty percent off. Choose Cool White

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with the standard Lends, Warm White Standard Lands or Cool

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White with a wide Leans to add crisp features and

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pinpoint accents anywhere in your haunt. At less than one

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hundred and thirty millimeters or five inches in length, Juni

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is the smallest framing projector on the market. Judy runs

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on twelve old DC only and works with the same

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LED dimmers you use in your LED tape for smooth

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intensity control. It accepts metal or glass gobos but not film,

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and Rosco can make them to the required size. Please

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contact sales at gantum dot com. Coasternation names the Top

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thirty one haunts as voted by fans. Coasternation has once

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again released their top thirty one haunts from around the

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US and Canada as voted by fans. Halloween enthusiasts nominated

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professional haunted attractions earlier this fall, then had the chance

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to visit these attractions throughout October. Over fifty thousand votes

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were tallied to create this year's ranking. The top five

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honred for twenty twenty five are Woods of Terror in Greensboro,

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North Carolina, Hellsgate Haunted House in Lockport, Illinois, Cutting Edge

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in Fort Worth, Texas, nether World in Stone Mountain, Georgia,

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and Thirteenth Gate in Baton Rouge Louisiana. You can view

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the list of all thirty one Haunts on Coaster Nations website.

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IAPPA Expo twenty twenty five begins next week in Orlando, Florida,

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with education taking place November seventeenth through twentieth and the

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show floor open November eighteenth through twenty first. Come with

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industry professionals worldwide to learn and experience what's new, innovative,

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and next in the global attraction industry. The event features

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an expansive trade show floor, industry mixers, educational programming, and

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behind the scenes tours of area attractions. At the special

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Haunt themed area, IAPPA Hunting Grounds explore innovative exhibitors showcasing

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frightfully fun products and spine tingling solutions designed to boost

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revenue and keep guests coming back for more. New for

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twenty twenty five, the Haunt focused education sessions have added

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to spark ideas and sharpen your spooky strategy. A highlight

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of these new sessions is Marketing the Monsters, a class

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top by the Haunted Attraction Networks owned Philippernandez and Scott's

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Wentz and from Scott's Wentzon Creative Design and Green Tag

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podcast taking place on Tuesday, November eighteenth, at noon to

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one pm. This class will discuss how marketing a Halloween

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event is different from marketing and attractions core product. Whether

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you're looking to boost attendance, enhance storytelling, or maximize ROI

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during the Halloween season, this session will give you actionable

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insights to make your event unforgettable. The Hunting Grounds is

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located in the North Concourse on Level two in Room

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N two two zero ABCD. Learn more about the entire

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IAPA Expo and register on the event's official website. Creep

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It Real fest of returns November twenty first through twenty third.

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Awaken from your Halloween hangover for some jolly, creepy festive fun.

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Next week is creep It Real Festive returns to the

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Heritage Museum of Orange County in Santa Ana, California, from

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November twenty first through twenty third. Find the perfect holiday

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gift for that spooky someone at the Cryptmas Marketplace with

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over one hundred vendors showcasing horror inspired seasonal artwork, craft treats,

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and merch. Enjoy live music from the Scallars, Kitty Antics

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and Silk Monsters, and meet some truly chilling characters, including

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the one and only Creep Kringle, who's checking his naughty

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list for your name. This year's celebrity guests include three

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actors known for the Twilight franchise, Kellen Lutz, Ashley Green

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and Peter Fassenelli. Tickets are on sale now, starting at

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twenty dollars for single day admission, fifty dollars for weekend admission,

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and sixty five for single day VIIC Very Important Creep tickets.

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The Crampis Comes to Universal Horror Unleashed come face to

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face with nightmarish winter legends from November fifteenth through January thirty.

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Universal Horror Unleashed in Las Vegas, Nevada. Germanic punisher Crampis,

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Icelandic troll Grila and the calacanceroid Greek goblins descend in

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a haunting, lantern lit possession of winter nightmares happening throughout

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the night. Capture icy terras with wicked photo ops next

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to Crampus's skull and trusted throne and Griilla's cauldron as

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you hide under a rotting tree. From this Phoenish calikanceroy devour.

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Seasonal food and drinks available for purchase, including a Crampus

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themed dessert, Crampas, snow Globe, Gorilla's char Chicken, Souf watchcoes,

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and more. This sinister holiday experience is included in admission

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to Universal Horror. Unleased tickets are on sale now starting

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at fifty nine dollars for a one time general admission

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access and eighty nine dollars for unlimited general admission access.

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View a full tour of all four Universal Horror Unleashed

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mazes by following the links in our show notes. The

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Freakling Brothers Horror Shows announce The Nest for twenty twenty six.

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Freakling Brothers Horror shows from Las Vegas, Nevada will return

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in twenty twenty six with three Haunt experiences, including the

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all new experience. The Nest, known for offering three immersive

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haunted attractions each year. Freakling Brothers announced a temporary pause

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for the twenty twenty five season for the development and

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construction of an all new Haunt experience, which is set

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to replace the classic Castle Vampire in twenty twenty six.

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After more than three decades of screams, we made the

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difficult decision to take a year off not to rest,

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but to evolve said JT. Muelner, co owner and creative

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director of Freakling Brothers horror shows. We've been preparing to

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replace Castle Vampire, our most iconic and long running haunt,

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and we want to do it right. Our fans deserve

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nothing less than the full Freakling Brothers experience, and we're

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excited to deliver a show that is truly horrifying and spectacular.

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In twenty twenty six, The Nest marks the first time

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in over a decade that the company will unveil an

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entirely new horror experience, Introducing a reimagined layout, cutting edge

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special effects, and chilling new themes. Fans can expect the

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twisted evolution of signature Freakling Brother's Terror that is as

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disturbingly immersive as it is thrilling. Our recent press release

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described the new theme. It is feeding time, and all

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of Las Vegas will be the food. They burrow, they chew,

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they infect, and finally they replicate. There is no exterminator

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who can save you. One year year from now, prepare

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to submit to the Nest. Fumigation is only the beginning.

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Stay tuned for more updates in the coming months on

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the attractions official website. Field of Screams unleashes an extreme

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blackout event. Backed by popular demand. Field of Screams in Mountville, Pennsylvania,

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will host its eighth annual Extreme Blackout event on Friday,

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November fourteenth. Extreme Blackout offers guests the chance to explore

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all four of the venues's haunted attractions, the Haunted hay Ride,

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Den of Darkness, fright Mare Asylum, and Nocturnal Wasteland with

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the lights turned down and intensity turned off. Visitors should

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prepare for hands on scares, sensory overload, psychological challenges, and

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physical interaction from trained actors. New for twenty twenty five,

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attendees may be restrained, separated from their group, and plunged

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into total darkness as they navigate the attractions. This is

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by far our most intense event of the year, said

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Jim Shop, owner of Field of Screams. It's not for

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the faint of heart, and it's exactly what makes it

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such a thrilling way to end the season. Tickets are

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on sale now, starting at sixty dollars per person. All

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guests will be required to sign a waiver to participate.

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Six flags plans, more park closures. Here's why it makes

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sense three companies one economic reality and three very different responses.

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Six Flags is doubling down on a smaller and more

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nimble plan, prioritizing core parks and openly confirming that more

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closures or sales are on the way. United Parks and Resorts,

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SeaWorld and Bush Gardens is battling brand confusion after a

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twenty five percent drop in profits, citing weather and marketing challenges. Meanwhile,

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Disneyland Resort announced one hundred layoffs as part of an

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organizational recalibration, even as its parks remained packed and profitable.

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In this week's episode of Green Tag, Philip and Scott

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unpack how each company's move reflects the different playbook for survival, consolidation, rebranding,

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and recalibration. The big question whose strategy will actually work.

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Some upcoming events this November through January include Ayappa in Orlando, Florida,

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November seventeenth to twenty eth, Creep at Real Festive in

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Santa Ana, California, November twenty one through twenty third, and

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Halloween and Party Expo in Las Vegas, Nevada, January twelfth

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through fourteenth of twenty twenty six.

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And that's all for the news this week. Today's episode

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was produced by me Philip Ernandez, with reporting by Darryl Plunky.

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Post production by David Swope. This HANT News update is

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a production of the Haunted Attraction Network and you can

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sign up to our weekly newsletter at hantattractionnetwork dot com.

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Support for this episode comes from Gantum Lighting and Controls.

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Until next time, Haunters Stay Scary. This is a Haunted

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Attraction twel production.