NEWS: HHN Orlando Opens to Mixed Reviews

0:07 Coming up your weekly roundup of news from around the haunt industry. Welcome to the show. I'm Philip on the HN Show. We bring you the hant news, information and education you need to prepare for Halloween. On Tuesdays, we bring you a roundup of news from haunts worldwide. Read more about these stories and so much more in our free weekly newsletter. Subscribe at the link in the show notes, and as always for the news roundup, I'm passing it off to Darryl. The Haunted Attraction Networks. Hauntathon has begun. Our Hantathon is the annual sixty one day celebration of haunted attractions from September first through October thirty first. Tune in for the largest celebration of haunted houses anywhere, featuring videos, podcasts, and more.

0:54 Presenting daily content through Halloween, the Haunted Attraction Network and our programming partners will give you unparalleled peaks into haunted attractions worldwide. To listen, you can subscribe on Spotify, iTunes using RSS, or by searching Haunted Attraction Network in any podcast player. You can watch shorts on Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok. For full length content, follow the YouTube channel and subscribe to our newsletter for a full list of content links each week. Just follow the links in our show notes below and you will be able to find everything that we're offering for twenty twenty four. Twenty twenty four's programming partners include Attractions Magazine, Kevin Haymback, The Haunted Attraction Association, and The Scare Factor. While we are closed for submissions for our twenty twenty four Haunted On programming content, all Haunts are still welcome to send us their press releases and news to feature in our weekly newsletters and podcasts.

1:49 Email Philip at the Haunted Attraction Network with your news. Theme parks around the country are opening their Halloween attractions earlier than ever before to boost attendance. Although in general consumers are pulling back on spending and regular season theme park attendants has dropped from the steep post pandemic demand, the Halloween season has still held strong. We actually see a growth every year in terms of Halloween events, not only in North America but across the world, said International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions CEO Jacob Wall last week's twenty twenty three Global Attractions Attendance Report. From the tea slash ae com specifically called out Halloween and its importance to theme parks. Learn more about the report's findings in last week's Green Tagged podcast. Halloween Horror Knights at Universal Orlando Resort opened this past weekend. The events featured ten haunted houses, five scare zones, enter the Blumhouse, Duality of Fear, demon Queens, Swamp of the Undead, and Torture Fair, live entertainment, themed food, and more. Dive deeper into the opening weekend with Philip and Scott on this weekend's Green Tagged podcast. Halloween Horror Nights Orlando runs through November three.

3:00 Tickets are on sale now. Halloween Horror Nights at Universal Studios Hollywood in Universal City, California announced Late Night with Chucky, an all original live talk show located in the DreamWorks Theater. Chucky is your host, and he's ready to roast with his signature self deprecating humor. The interactive attraction will invite guests to submit questions for Chucky to answer via a QR code available in the lobby of the theater. But if this temperamental host doesn't appreciate the question, guests may end up like his production team, who have been eliminated from their position permanently. Halloween Horror Nights run select nights September fifth through November three. Tickets are on sale now.

3:40 Both Halloween Horror Nights Hollywood and Orlando feature mazes based on the popular ips A Quiet Place and Ghostbusters Frozen Empires. Theme Park Insider and Attractions magazines were able to go behind the scenes of these mazes in Hollywood, California, with creative director John Murdy to learn just how designers brought these filmic worlds to life. In a Quiet Place, special attention was paid to the audio design. Instead of using large speakers up high, smaller speakers were hidden close to guests, ears being integrated into the scenic props and dressing. The maze also marks the first time American sign language will be integrated into the HHN maze, from a fully asl pre show video to characters in their maze signing simple phrases to guests. Lastly, the six puppeted monster effects and four fully animated creatures in this maze will be some of the most advanced characters Universal has ever created for an HHN event. Ghostbusters Frozen Empire will embody the comically horrific fun of the film with easter eggs and callbacks from the entire Ghostbusters franchise. Be sure to be on the lookout for dozens of many staypuffed marshmallow men attacking each other in scenes throughout the maze. Six Flags Magic Mountain of Valencia, California, will implement a chaperone policy beginning September seventh for the upcoming fright Fest Extreme. Under the new policy, all guests fifteen years older younger must be accompanied by a chaperone who is at least twenty one years old to be admitted or to remain in the park during FrightFest Extreme. One chaperon may a company up to ten guests. Six Flags said it is implementing this

5:12 policy after an increase of incidence of unruly and inappropriate behavior in the theme park industry and other entertainment venues. A similar policy was enacted by notts Berry Farm in Buena Park, California, in twenty twenty two as a response to similar concerns. The Broadway Helloween Parade in Denver, Colorado is looking for a hero sponsor by September sixth. The parade is currently scheduled for October nineteenth, but an expected twenty six thousand dollars bill for pedestrian barricades is putting this year's event in jeopardy. We need someone to come along and give a big twenty to twenty five thousand dollars sponsorship to really even think about doing this, says Luke Johnson, president of the Broadway Merchants Association, who puts on the annual parade with over thirty thousand attendees in twenty twenty three. The BMA has worked with a Denver police department to create a safety plan for this year's event.

6:01 The barricades were their best solution to keep routs safe. We've run it on a shoe string budget every year, Johnson says. We've tried to keep this absolutely as cheap as possible. Unfortunately, I don't think that can continue because we just don't have the money to cover the basics to keep it going. Fundraising is the only way the BMA will be able to continue this year. Learn more about the event and sponsorship opportunities at their official website. Coffin Creek in Corona, California has canceled their twenty twenty four Halloween event. Due to City and Parks Department restrictions, the Haunt will be unable to operate for this upcoming season. They have made arrangements with the nearby Fear Farm in Chino, California to honor any purchased Coffin Creek tickets during their operating nights. Fear Farm is able to scan any Coffin Creek ticket as is, there is no need for ticket holders to exchange tickets. Coffin Creek looks forward to returning in twenty twenty five. Dinosaur World in Plant City, Florida, will present its first ever Halloween after hours of event Jurassic Haunt The Curse on Earth select nights October eleventh through twenty sixth, with a special preview night October fifth.

7:08 Legends tell of a group of explorers who ventured far from here and unearthed something they shouldn't have. Now, a mysterious curse is spreading, and it's up to you to help break it. Embark on a family friendly journey through themed scare zones, haunted train rides, and festive food and spirits. Costumes in Halloween attire are encouraged, but those aged thirteen plus may not wear masks, face paint or costumes that completely cover their faces, and toy weapons are prohibited regardless of age. Tickets are on sale now for fifteen dollars per person. The Ghost Train is returning to tweet See Railroad in Blowing Rock, North Carolina, September twentieth through October twenty six. By day, tweets See Railroad is wild West, but as the sun sets it changes to a haunted park.

7:53 The Titular Train ride is a twenty minute excursion where surprises weight around every bend. The event also features a haunt House, Freaky Forest walk through indoor Woodland, Spooky Experience, Creepy Carnival, and more. Enjoy trick or treat with costume cloud characters throughout the park, a Spirited street dance party, and Tweetzy Palace spectacular show that combines the magic of puppetry with spooky tunes. Tickets are on sale now, starting at sixty dollars for adult forty dollars for child ages three to twelve. In International haunt and Event News, Alton Towers and Alten UK has unveiled two new Scarefest attractions for the twenty twenty four Halloween season. Compound and Amigos in the Afterlife in a scare Maze compound. Bravely step forward and find yourself as subject of the Phalanx, guarded by their relentless operatives, plunged into a sinister sci fi experiment where your DNA is the next weapon. Can you escape their clutches or will you become the next target for the experiments lurking within? Amigos in the Afterlife is a family scare attraction taking over the previous location of the Alton Towers Dungeon. Step foot into a vibrant word world where the gap between this life and the next is at its thinnest. Be captivated by the Dia delas Muertos celebrations, the bright colors and festive spirits. Guided by friendly spirits, you must find your way back to the world of the living by completing tasks to earn your return passage. These two new attractions will join returning favorites including dazz Games, Panic Reloaded, Altonville Mind Tours, Tiny's Revenge,

9:23 The Attic Terror of the Towers, Tricko treat Town with harrowbo and the Burgial Ground Scare Zone. Scare Fast runs October eleventh through November three. Tickets are on sale now, starting at thirty seven pounds per person. Grab your popcorn and pumpkin spice lattes and get ready to settle in for a month of frightfully fun films with free Forms thirty one Nights of Halloween. From Halloween classics like Hocus Pocas, Halloween Town, and The Adventures of Ichabod and Mister Toad, to recent spooky favorites like twenty twenty three's Haunted Mansion, Ruela and Ghostbusters Afterlife, there is something for everyone in this year's lineup. Binge Session Season one of the Disney Plus hit series Goosebumps will air in its entirety on Friday, October twenty fifth. Thirty one Nights of Helloween starts on October first. Check out Freeform's entire scheduled lineup on their website.

10:14 According to a new Advantage Outlook survey of Helloween shoppers, American consumers are planning on spending more on Halloween candy, food, and costumes and decorations this year, surpassing the twelve point two billion dollar record sales from twenty twenty three. Over the past four years, Helloween like many other holidays, has proven to be a resilient investment for both retailers and consumers, even amid economic uncertainly, says Kelly Ravenstein, Senior vice president of Commerce Intelligence at Advantage Unified Commerce. This trend reflects the broader consumer behavior where individuals are tightening their budgets on everyday expenses, yet remain unwilling to sacrifice their cherished holidays and small luxuries. Half of shoppers plan to spend more than fifty one dollars on candy, and fifty nine percent plan to spend that amount on food for Halloween, up from just twenty one and twenty nine percent, respectively in twenty twenty three. Similar increases are projected for costumes and decoration. Some upcoming events this September through November include creep It Real Nostalgic September fourteenth and fifteenth in Santa Anna, California, creep by e Con September twentieth through twenty second in Ontario, California, Son of Monster Palooza October eleventh through thirteenth in Burbank, California.

11:26 Creep It Real Festive November twenty second through twenty third in Santa Ana California. Other So Cal Halloween advents include The Oogie Boogie Bash in Disney, California, Adventure Halloween Horror Nights and Universal Studios. The Body of Sierra Malloy in North Hollywood, Right Best Extreme Magic Mountain, Valencia, Monsters Exhibition of Horrors in Santa Monica, Not Scary Farm at knotts Berry Farm in Buena Park, The Vampire Circus in Hollywood, Castle Dark and Riverside de Luja, The Red Castle in Los Angeles, Los Angeles. Haunted Hayride in Los Angeles, Magic of the Jacko Lanterns in South El Monte, Queen Mary's Dark Harbor in Long Beach, Fearfarm Ie and Chino Hallo Scream in SeaWorld, San Diego, Reign of Terror in Thousand Domes, Urban Death Tour of Terror in North Hollywood, Boney Island in Los Angeles, The Haunted Car Wash in Anaheim and in Lakewood, Creep La Ghost in Los Angeles, The House of Spirits in Glendale, and sank To Susanna in Los Angeles.

12:35 Remember to listen daily as Haunted on twenty twenty four continues through October thirty. First, and that's all for the news. This week. Today's episode was produced by me Philip Ernandez, with reporting by Daryl Plunky. Post production by David Swope. This haunt News Update is. A production of the Haunted Attraction Network and you can sign up to our weekly newsletter at Haunted Attraction Network dot com. Support for this episode comes from Ghantam Lighting and Controls. Until next time, Haunters, Stay Scary. This is a Haunted Attraction Network production.