May 20, 2025

NEWS: MHC Returns June 6-8; Theme Park Shifts

Haunted Attraction Industry News for the week of May 19th, 2025.

Show Notes
Transcript

This week:

The Complete Guide to the Midwest Haunters Convention
Decreased Production of Halloween Goods
Disney's Stock Jumps 7% After a Blockbuster Quarter 2
Jack Skellington Gets a Makeover for Disney Halloween 2025
Paint The Night returns to Disneyland
Danny Elfman, John Carpenter, and More to Perform at "Future Ruins" Festival

Read the stories here .

WEBVTT

1
00:00:07.480 --> 00:00:10.279
Coming up your weekly roundup of news from around the

2
00:00:10.279 --> 00:00:17.399
haunt industry. Welcome to the show. I'm Philip on the

3
00:00:17.600 --> 00:00:21.199
HN Show. We bring you the haunt news, information, and

4
00:00:21.399 --> 00:00:24.839
education you need to prepare for Halloween. On Tuesdays, we

5
00:00:24.839 --> 00:00:28.320
bring you a roundup of news from haunts worldwide. Read

6
00:00:28.359 --> 00:00:30.640
more about these stories and so much more in our

7
00:00:30.719 --> 00:00:34.240
free weekly newsletter. Subscribe at the link in the show notes,

8
00:00:34.560 --> 00:00:37.039
and as always for the news roundup, I'm passing it

9
00:00:37.039 --> 00:00:37.640
off to Darryl.

10
00:00:38.280 --> 00:00:41.479
The Midwest Haunters Convention returns to the Donald E. Stevens

11
00:00:41.560 --> 00:00:45.560
Convention Center in Rosemont, Illinois for three action packed days

12
00:00:45.640 --> 00:00:49.119
June sixth through eight. Produced by trans World Trade Shows,

13
00:00:49.399 --> 00:00:53.960
MHC offers an expansive trade show floor, education focused seminars,

14
00:00:54.200 --> 00:00:58.159
and exclusive behind the scenes hant tour contests and makeup wars,

15
00:00:58.359 --> 00:01:01.840
and annual Costume Ball and more. Early bird pricing ends

16
00:01:01.880 --> 00:01:05.480
May twenty ninth, twenty twenty five th Securior spot Now

17
00:01:05.519 --> 00:01:08.840
for the best rates on convention access, exclusive tours, and

18
00:01:09.000 --> 00:01:12.840
educational seminars. To help you prepare, The Haunted Attraction Network

19
00:01:12.879 --> 00:01:16.040
has created a comprehensive guide that you can find by

20
00:01:16.079 --> 00:01:19.319
following the links in our show notes tariffs result in

21
00:01:19.359 --> 00:01:23.519
decreased production on Chinese Helloween goods with a ninety day pause.

22
00:01:23.560 --> 00:01:26.079
In the US China trade war has lowered its tariffs

23
00:01:26.120 --> 00:01:30.000
to thirty percent, that damage to Chinese manufacturers of Halloween

24
00:01:30.079 --> 00:01:32.760
goods may have already been done. I don't think just

25
00:01:32.799 --> 00:01:35.439
because they lowered the tariffs that we should be happy,

26
00:01:35.439 --> 00:01:39.079
says manufacturer lose Ebo. They have already delayed our production time.

27
00:01:39.519 --> 00:01:42.359
For example, in a normal quarter, let's say in these

28
00:01:42.359 --> 00:01:44.879
two months, I can produce about sixty nine thousand dollars

29
00:01:44.920 --> 00:01:47.239
worth of goods, but now I only have twenty eight

30
00:01:47.280 --> 00:01:50.480
thousand dollars, with shipping in the US taking between forty

31
00:01:50.560 --> 00:01:53.799
days to two months. This production delay may mean that products,

32
00:01:53.959 --> 00:01:56.920
especially those that are complex or custom mortars, will be

33
00:01:57.000 --> 00:01:59.519
unable to reach the United States in time for the

34
00:01:59.519 --> 00:02:03.760
Halloween season. Magic Money in the Middle East Disney's record quarter.

35
00:02:04.079 --> 00:02:07.239
In this week's episode of Green Tagged, Philip and Scott

36
00:02:07.280 --> 00:02:11.360
discuss the latest Disney earnings call. Disney stock jumped seven

37
00:02:11.400 --> 00:02:15.439
percent after a blockbuster Q two. It is important to note, however,

38
00:02:15.560 --> 00:02:18.439
that all of this is the previous quarter's earnings. These

39
00:02:18.520 --> 00:02:21.719
leg behind and are from before tariffs, weather and China

40
00:02:21.759 --> 00:02:25.199
headwinds bite, so expectations should be tempered as we head

41
00:02:25.199 --> 00:02:27.639
into the remainder of the year. Streaming gained over a

42
00:02:27.680 --> 00:02:31.360
million subscribers, even amid price increases. Not only is the

43
00:02:31.400 --> 00:02:34.879
engagement up, but churn is down significantly, likely due to

44
00:02:34.879 --> 00:02:39.319
the various bundles now available Disney plus Hulu Max and ESPN.

45
00:02:39.479 --> 00:02:42.800
Thunderbolts open number one worldwide with the most positive reviews

46
00:02:42.840 --> 00:02:45.919
of any recent Marvel film, and Bob Eiker described their

47
00:02:46.000 --> 00:02:48.879
upcoming twenty twenty five slate of films as strong as

48
00:02:48.879 --> 00:02:52.919
twenty nineteen. They are focused on quality over quantity, creating

49
00:02:52.960 --> 00:02:56.000
a smaller number of high quality films and shows instead

50
00:02:56.000 --> 00:02:59.039
of churning out a mass of content for their streaming platforms.

51
00:02:59.120 --> 00:03:01.680
The highlight of the earn call centered on Disney's Park

52
00:03:01.719 --> 00:03:06.319
division domestic parks profit climb thirteen percent. Thirty billion dollars

53
00:03:06.360 --> 00:03:09.960
are earmarked in the Florida and California expansions, and Eiger

54
00:03:10.080 --> 00:03:14.560
unveiled the first authentically Disney distinctly Amiati Disney Park on

55
00:03:14.599 --> 00:03:19.120
Abu Dhabi's Yas Island. This groundbreaking resort destination represents a

56
00:03:19.159 --> 00:03:22.719
new frontier in theme park development, said Josh Tomorrow, Chairman

57
00:03:22.800 --> 00:03:25.879
Disney Experiences. Our resort in Abu Dhabi will be the

58
00:03:25.919 --> 00:03:30.080
most advanced and interactive destination in our portfolio. Location of

59
00:03:30.120 --> 00:03:33.520
our park is incredibly unique, anchored by a beautiful waterfront,

60
00:03:33.560 --> 00:03:36.680
which will allow us to tell stories in completely new ways.

61
00:03:36.800 --> 00:03:39.159
This project will reach guess in a whole new part

62
00:03:39.199 --> 00:03:42.240
of the world, welcoming more families to experience Disney than

63
00:03:42.240 --> 00:03:45.120
ever before. Ultimately, it will be a celebration of what's

64
00:03:45.159 --> 00:03:49.080
possible when creativity and progress come together. Licensing to my role,

65
00:03:49.120 --> 00:03:52.919
let's Disney tap five hundred million potential guests without spending

66
00:03:52.960 --> 00:03:55.680
a dime of Capex. There's been a lot of discussion

67
00:03:55.719 --> 00:03:58.560
from fans online about the chosen location for this new park.

68
00:03:58.680 --> 00:04:02.080
Scott shared his on the ground LGBTQ plus insights from

69
00:04:02.120 --> 00:04:04.560
living in the UAE in the episode, and more in

70
00:04:04.599 --> 00:04:07.840
detail in an article in Our in Park magazine. Disney

71
00:04:07.879 --> 00:04:11.680
Parks is unveiled new Jack Skellington for twenty twenty five.

72
00:04:11.879 --> 00:04:15.039
Jack Skellington from The Nightmare Before Christmas will look a

73
00:04:15.080 --> 00:04:17.879
little different for Halloween in the Disney Parks this year.

74
00:04:17.959 --> 00:04:20.519
On May twelfth, Disney shared a sneak peak of the

75
00:04:20.600 --> 00:04:23.800
character's updated look, now a much closer match to the

76
00:04:23.800 --> 00:04:27.360
stop motion animated film's designs. While the previous design left

77
00:04:27.399 --> 00:04:30.240
an opening for the performer's mouth, the new design covers

78
00:04:30.319 --> 00:04:33.399
the performer's entire face while still allowing for the mobility

79
00:04:33.399 --> 00:04:36.639
of the mouth. Jack Skellington and Sally typically Greek guests

80
00:04:36.720 --> 00:04:39.519
during the Halloween and holiday seasons at Walt disney World

81
00:04:39.519 --> 00:04:43.639
in Orlando, Florida, and Disneyland in Anaheim, California. Walt disney

82
00:04:43.639 --> 00:04:47.319
World's Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party begins on August fifteenth,

83
00:04:47.560 --> 00:04:51.959
and Disneyland's Halloween Time begins on August second. Danny Elfman,

84
00:04:52.199 --> 00:04:55.959
John Carpenter, and Moore are to perform at Future Ruins Festival.

85
00:04:56.279 --> 00:04:58.959
The new Future Ruins Festival will bring together some of

86
00:04:58.959 --> 00:05:02.120
the world's most influen uential film and television composers for

87
00:05:02.160 --> 00:05:05.319
a day long event at the Los Angeles Equestrian Center

88
00:05:05.319 --> 00:05:09.279
in Burbank, California, taking place on Saturday, November eighth, twenty

89
00:05:09.319 --> 00:05:12.800
twenty five. The festival lineup features over a dozen composers,

90
00:05:12.839 --> 00:05:16.959
including some horror fan favorites such as John Carpenter, Danny Elfman,

91
00:05:17.240 --> 00:05:21.839
Cristobal Tapia, de Vere, Claudio Semettes, Goblin, Kyle Dixon, and

92
00:05:21.879 --> 00:05:26.240
Michael Stein, Richard Ak, Aubrey Low and Moore. Tickets will

93
00:05:26.279 --> 00:05:30.120
go on sale Wednesday, May twenty first, at twelve pm

94
00:05:30.199 --> 00:05:34.319
Pacific daylight time. First look that Texas Chainsaw Massacre at

95
00:05:34.480 --> 00:05:38.839
Universal Horror Unleashed. Get ready for the Texas Chainsaw Massacre,

96
00:05:39.000 --> 00:05:42.120
one of the four mases coming to Universal Horror Unleased

97
00:05:42.240 --> 00:05:45.279
at Area fifteen in Las Vegas, Nevada. In a recent

98
00:05:45.319 --> 00:05:47.959
behind the scenes video, the creative team from this year

99
00:05:48.040 --> 00:05:51.519
round horror experience described their vision in this ip driven house.

100
00:05:51.639 --> 00:05:54.720
The Haunt will take guests on a horrifying adventure through

101
00:05:54.720 --> 00:05:57.959
the most iconic scenes from the nineteen seventy four film,

102
00:05:58.000 --> 00:06:01.319
along with some new locations not seen on screen, all

103
00:06:01.439 --> 00:06:05.480
while Leatherface pursues. Universal Horror Unleashed opens on August fourteenth,

104
00:06:05.560 --> 00:06:08.439
twenty twenty five. In addition to the four Haunts, the

105
00:06:08.560 --> 00:06:12.360
attraction will include four themed entertainment areas with live horror

106
00:06:12.399 --> 00:06:16.040
experiences and food and drink offerings. This follows recent industry

107
00:06:16.079 --> 00:06:18.519
trends with haunts around the country who are writing bars

108
00:06:18.839 --> 00:06:22.199
performances and other midway elements to keep guests entertained for

109
00:06:22.279 --> 00:06:24.920
an entire evening instead of just the time it takes

110
00:06:24.959 --> 00:06:27.639
to walk through the Haunt itself. Tickets are on sale now,

111
00:06:27.879 --> 00:06:30.839
starting at sixty nine dollars for one time access general

112
00:06:30.879 --> 00:06:34.600
admission and ninety nine dollars for unlimited general admission. Some

113
00:06:34.720 --> 00:06:39.560
upcoming events this May through July include scare Con in Birmingham, England,

114
00:06:39.879 --> 00:06:44.519
May twentieth through twenty First Monster Palooza in Pasadena, California,

115
00:06:44.959 --> 00:06:49.600
May thirtieth and June, First Midwest Haunters Convention in Rosemont, Illinois,

116
00:06:49.800 --> 00:06:54.120
June sixth through eight, and the Texas Haunters Convention in Dallas, Texas,

117
00:06:54.399 --> 00:06:56.759
July twenty sixth and twenty seventh.

118
00:06:57.279 --> 00:06:59.839
And that's all for the news this week. Today's episode

119
00:06:59.920 --> 00:07:03.680
was produced by me Philip Hernandez, with reporting by Daryl Plunky.

120
00:07:04.199 --> 00:07:07.560
Post production by David Swope. This Haunt News Update is

121
00:07:07.600 --> 00:07:10.360
a production of the Haunted Attraction Network, and you can

122
00:07:10.360 --> 00:07:13.920
sign up to our weekly newsletter at Hanta Attractionnetwork dot com.

123
00:07:14.160 --> 00:07:17.439
Support for this episode comes from Gantum Lighting and Controls.

124
00:07:17.720 --> 00:07:24.680
Until next time, Haunters Stay Scary. This is a haunted attraction,

125
00:07:25.199 --> 00:07:26.600
Network production

NEWS: MHC Returns June 6-8; Theme Park Shifts

Listen On

Featured Episodes

Weekly News Episodes

Recent Episodes