April 7, 2025

NEWS: Herschend's Acquisition: Will Halloween Haunts Survive?

This week: Herschend to Acquire Palace Entertainment's U.S. Attractions; Limos: Immersive Tarot Experience Returns to LA; The John Wick Experience Opens in Las Vegas; The London Dungeon Seeks Haunted Items; Home Depot Teases "Ultra Skelly"...

Show Notes
Transcript

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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 her Shand, owners of Dollywood and other family friendly

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properties and parks Ronidos, have signed a definitive agreement under

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which Hershand will acquire all of Palace Entertainment's US entertainment

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properties from Parks Rondos. This year, we're celebrating seventy five

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years of bringing families closer together and looking ahead to

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the next seventy five, said Andrew Exler, CEO of Hershand.

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Today's announcement marks a natural expansion and continuation of that vision.

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By growing wisely and staying true to our purpose, we

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are building a future where we can continue creating memories

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worth repeating for generations to come. The over twenty properties

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that will transfer to Hrshand include Kenny Wood in West Miffland, Pennsylvania,

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and Castle Park in Riverside, California, both of which host

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scary themed Helloween events. While Hershand has committed that no

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immedia changes to operations or planned for these newly acquired properties,

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the company has been known specifically not to do scary

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events at their parks. How could this merger potentially affect

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the Halloween events and the acquired parks. Philip and Scott

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discuss the implication in this week's episode of the Green

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Tagged podcast. Drowned Out Productions, in partnership with the Immersive

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Art Collective, invites Brave guests to experience Limos, an immersive

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psychic experience, April eighteenth through twentieth in downtown Los ag Angelus, California.

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The fifteen to twenty minute intimate experience, which first ran

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during the twenty twenty four Halloween season, weaves together elements

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of Greek mythology and immersive horror to tell a tale

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of greed and destruction. This is our first time stepping

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out and creating something on our own from our day

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jobs working as theme park designers. We really threw in

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every tip and trick we knew to create both unique

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individual moments and a compelling overall experience for audience members,

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said producer Jackson Mancuso. The show really is our little

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love letter to all of the things horror and immersive.

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Tickets are on sale now, priced at forty dollars per

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private showing for parties of up to five people. Zombie

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Joe's Underground Theater Group presents Modern Myths Awakened. Prepare for

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an unrelenting journey to the darkest corners of folklore as

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

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audiences the Modern Myths Awakened on April sixth, twelfth, and thirteen.

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

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this forty five minutes sit down horror event will twist

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and transform the world's most infamous urban legends such as Laurona,

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the Babysitter and the Man Upstairs, Slender Man, and more

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into modern nightmares designed to unnerve even the bravest horror

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fan due to graphic content, nudity, and extreme scares. This

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experience is for audiences only eighteen and above. Tickets are

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on sale now for twenty dollars in advance and twenty

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five at the door. Follow the links in our show

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notes to get your tickets today. The John Wick Experience

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from Egan Productions has officially opened an Area fifteen at

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the Las Vegas, Nevada, allowing guests to enter into the

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dangerous and captivating world inspired by the hit movie franchise,

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where loyalty is tested, alliances are forged, and danger is

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just a breath away. Explore over a dozen immersive rooms,

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interact with live characters, and make choices that shape your

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path through this cinematic underworld. The twelve thousand square foot

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attraction is also including two themed bars and our retail shop.

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Tickets are on sale now starting at forty nine ninety

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nine for general admission, sixty nine ninety nine for VIP admissions,

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and ninety nine to ninety nine for Ultimate VIP admission.

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The London Dungeon wants to borrow your haunted items from

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possessed dolls to cursed collectibles. The London Dungeon in London,

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United Kingdom placed a nationwide call out for fans to

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submit photos or videos of their eerie objects to potentially

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be included as part of the attraction's Easter Show. A

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grand prize winner will receive two annual passes to the Dungeons,

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and runners up will receive free single entry tickets. The

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new Cursed collection will be on display starting April fifth

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in the London Dungeon's Shadowy and Demonic Cabinet of Curiosity.

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Get your ticket today on the attractions official website. For

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over two decades, Mike Rochester has entertained guests in King's

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Island in Mason, Ohio. A recent article in the Dayton

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Daily News highlighted his career, which includes playing various care

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at both the Halloween Haunt and Winterfest. Most notably, in

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two thousand and eight, Rochester has served as the Undertaker

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the host of Helloween Haunt. This role has led him

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to be featured in the event's promos and commercials, as

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well as received his own show to interact with guests

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on nights of the event. Rochester's profound love for acting

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and truly loves his time with King's Island. I had

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a moment of profound appreciation, said Rochester, referring to the

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recent finale of Helloween Haunt. Just profound emotional appreciation for

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the trust at the park and the company put into

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me into what I've always wanted to do, which is

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entertained but on a grand scale. Home Depot is teasing

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their Ultra Skelly animatronic. At the recent Home Depot Store

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Manager's meeting, attendees were given a sneak preview at certain

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highlights from the twenty twenty five Halloween collection. A new

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member of the Skelley family will be arriving later this year,

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Ultras Skelly. While just over half the size of the

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iconic twelve foot skeleton, Ultraskelley will feature move moving arms,

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LED lights, a Bluetooth speaker, and support for app controlled interaction.

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It will include five preset recordings, as well as the

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ability to create a custom thirty second recording via a

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compatible app. Like its twelve foot counterpart, Ultra Skelley will

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have the recessed LED life eyes that blink and squint.

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Seasonal eye themes such as birthday confetti, Saint Patrick's date, clover, dragons,

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and even the American Flag will allow for year round fun.

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The Home Depot is yet to officially add Ultra Skelly

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to its website or release any pricing Information. Winners have

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been announced for the twenty twenty four Arizona Haunters Awards.

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Categories include Best Costumes, Characters, Best Prop, Best Display, and

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Best Walkthrough. View the award winners and all entries on

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the Arizona Haunters official YouTube playlist. Follow the links in

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our show notes to watch the presentation. Today, Halfway to

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Halloween Expo returns to ann Arbor, Michigan. A hauntingly good

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time awaits the Halfway to Halloween Expo and Anna Arbor,

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taking place at the Washington Off Farm Council Grounds on Saturday,

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May tenth. The Halfway to Halloween Expo offers an array

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of costumes, props, decorations, haunt and horror goods, custom pieces,

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and more. In addition to the vendor floor, the event

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features a walk through Haunt, first car show, and food trucks.

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Costumes are encouraged. Tickets are on sale now for five

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dollars per adult, and children in twelve and under are free.

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The fifth annual It's Alive Designing Sci Fi, horror and

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comic book genre of film and TV panel returns to

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wonder Con in Anaheim, California, on Saturday, March twenty ninth,

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at noon, join industry professionals as they reveal how they

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bring your favorite worlds and characters to life through the

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artistry of editing, music, sound, and more. Panelists include Brent W. Bachmann,

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Ace Companion Art and Is re Recording Mixed, Christina Chewi.

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When What We Do in The Shadows Season six VFX

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supervisor and second unit director Johnny Han and DC's The

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Penguin Editor and director John Takowski, Star Trek Discovery and

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composers Leo Berenberg and Zach Robinson, Cobra Kai and your

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Friendly Neighborhood spider Man. The moderator will be director, actor,

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writer co founder of Not Your Daddy's Films Carly Tammerin

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Wonder con Badges are on sale now at the Offense

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official website. Some upcoming events this March through may include

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the Spooky Swap Meet in Los Angeles, California, April twenty

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fifth and twenty sixth, The East Ghast Haunters Convention in Oaks,

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Pennsylvania April twenty sixth and twenty seven, The Halfway to

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Halloween Expo and Anna Arbert Michigan on May tenth, and

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the Monster Palooza from Pasadena California, May thirtieth to June first.

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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 Hernandez, with reporting by Daryl

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Plunky post production by David Swape. This Haunt News Update

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is a production of the Haunted Fraction Network and you

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can sign up to our weekly newsletter at Haunt Attraction

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Network 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 Network production.

NEWS: Herschend's Acquisition: Will Halloween Haunts Survive?

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