June 23, 2026

NEWS: Who Is Still Spending on Attractions?

Show Notes
Transcript

Our job is to entertain people. How they want to be entertained, though, might be changing. New data from PGAV and Integrated Insight show that the audience for paid attractions is shifting, with visits down about 11% year over year, with the steepest declines among lower-income households, women, and families without kids.
This week, we break down who's still spending, what they want, and why Disney's new Oogie Boogie Bash street party might point to where entertainment is heading.
In this issue:
-Madame Leota's Swinging Wake Comes to Oogie Boogie Bash
-Monstropolis Celebrates H.U.M.A.N. Day at Disney's Hollywood Studios
-Six Flags Fiesta Texas Announces Werewolf Gorge Launch Coaster
-Nightmare Wharf Reveals Attraction Themes
-Midsummer Scream Announces Main Stage Theme Park Panels
-C.H.A.O.S. Training to Be Held on June 27th
- Midwest Haunters Convention Returns June 10th-13th, 2027
https://mailchi.mp/hauntedattractionnetwork.com/whos-still-spending-on-attractions

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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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A brief message from our publisher, Philip Hernandez of the

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Haunted Attraction Network. Our job is to entertain people how

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they want to be entertained, though might be changing. In

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the last several weeks, have been asked whether what guests

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want from attractions is changing. It isn't. The core of

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what haunted attractions do is entertain people and likely won't change.

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What's shifting is who's coming to your attraction and how

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they want to be entertained. New data from PGAV and

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Integrated Insight, presented last week show that the audience for

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attractions the who is shifting. Working from a sample of

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two thousand households earning at least thirty five thousand dollars.

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The firms reported that the number of people visiting ten

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or more paid attractions a year is down about eleven

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percent year over year. The steepest declines came from households

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under seventy five thousand dollars, from women across income brackets,

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and from families without children, which audience is the strongest.

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Families with kids, higher income households, and men. Women have

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become more price sensitive as inflation stretches household budgets, shifting

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the decision making to men in many cases. Pgav's takeaways

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for operators include designed for micro visits, build pricing in

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good better in best tiers, treat fifteen percent as the

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floor for a discount that actually moves anyone, and build

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community because the guests who stay are the ones who

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feel a sense of belonging in ownership. Disney's Oogi Boogie

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Bash announcement from last week pulls at the micro visit part,

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although it could be unintentional. Oogi Boogie Bash at Disney

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California Adventure is a separately ticketed event similar to HHN,

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and it's replacing the Frightfully Fun Parade this year with

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Madame Liota's swinging wake a haunted mansion street party. Construction

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on the new Cocoa attraction likely means there's no room

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to stage the parade, so the street party is the workaround,

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but the format could be better. It asks guests to

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take part rather than watch from the curb, and it

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lets them spend as much or as little time as

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their schedules allow. At an event as shortened as expense

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as the Ugi Boogie Bash, Waiting for a parade and

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then watching it eats a big chunk of the night

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a come and go party. Let's guess partisipate in whatever

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level they want. For haunts, this is similar to replacing

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the stage show with a scare zone or party area.

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People will still be upset the show is gone, of course,

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but this entertainment is more flexible and personal. At a show,

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guests are all recording the same thing. With flexible entertainment,

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a guests can have their own moment with a character,

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which feeds the sense of belonging that the data says

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matters most. The audience that's still spending wants flexibility and participation,

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not just to watch. It's less natural for a walk

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through haunt, but it's exactly what The screen park model delivers,

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smaller experiences, room to move at your own pace, and

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moments that feel personal rather than staged for a crowd.

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Also this week, Six Flags Fiesta Texas announced the Werewolf

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Gorge for twenty twenty seven, Disney revealed the story behind

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its Monstropolis land at Hollywood Studios, Nightmare Wharf unveiled an

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attraction lineup in Buffalo, and Midsummer Scream announced its main

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stage theme park panels. Here's what you need to know.

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This week, Madame Liota's Swinging Wake comes to the Ugi

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Boogie Bash. Happy haunts will materialize during Ugi Boogie Bash

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at Disney California Adventure Park in Anaheim, California with Madame

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Liota's Swinging Wake. This new Haunted Mansion Street Party Cavalcade

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replaces the frightfully Fun parade from previous years. The street

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will come alive with spooky music, energetic dancing, and spirited

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character for an irresistible ghost party. The event runs thirty

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three select nights August eighteenth through October thirty First pre

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sale tickets will go on sale on June sixteenth for

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Inspired Key passholders and June seventeenth for Believe Explore, Enchant,

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and Imagine Key passholders. General admission ticket sales will begin

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on June eighteenth, and the waiting room opening at approximately

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eight forty five am Pacific daylight time. Tickets range from

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one hundred and thirty nine to one hundred and ninety

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nine per person. Monstropolis celebrates Human Day at Disney's Hollywood Studios.

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Disney revealed the story behind Monstropolis, a monster's ink land

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coming to Disney's Hollywood Studios in Orlando, Florida. It is

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built around Human Day, Humans Understanding Monsters are Nice is

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the acronym that it stands for a citywide celebrations set

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after the events of the film, once Sully and Mike

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discover that laughter is more powerful than screams. Cast members

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staff the city's new Department of Human Relations welcoming guests

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to Monstropolis. Not every monster is sold on the idea, however,

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and even the Child Detection Agency still has concerns attention

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that will drive the land's interactions Beyond the announced suspended

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Monsters Inc Coaster. Disney detailed a theater show built around

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Human Day that it says uses technology it has never attempted.

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Theme park land Struggle from a lack of exposition time,

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and this framing solves that cleanly while giving Guess a

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solid role in the story. Moreover, it helps cast members

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answer one question about the guest in front of them,

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who is this park goer to me? You can watch

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Philip and Scott's discussion on this week's episode of Green

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Tagged by following our links in the show notes. Six

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Flags Vista Texas announces Werewolf Gorge launch coaster. Six Flags

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Viesta Texas and San Antonio, Texas announced Werewolf Gorge for

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its thirty fifth anniversary season of a coma family launch coaster,

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opening in twenty twenty seven and the longest in park

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history at four one hundred and twenty feet with four

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launches and speeds up to forty five miles an hour.

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Guests are on tour of an abandoned nineteenth century Texas

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silver mine led by Jasper Bunyan, a roadside showman who

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has turned the haunted quarry into a tourist trap. Bunian

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loads visitors into a mining train for what he sells

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as a site seeing run through the George, but the

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tour turns into a high speed escape when a centuries

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old werewolf curse comes back to life around them. The

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Q runs through two themed rooms, the Museum of Cryptids

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and a Werewolf Museum that set up Bunyan's character and

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the local legend before riders board for Six Flags. This

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is a real step up in storytelling. However, the story

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lives almost entirely in the queue line, with no surrounding

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land to reinforce it and no role for the guests

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beyond a tourist on a tour. Midsummer Scream announces the

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main stage theme park panels. Start planning your schedule. Midsummer

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Scream from Long Beach, California has announced their main stage

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theme park presentations for their tenth annual event. Saturday, August

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eighth will feature panels from Knot's Scary Farm and Thirteenth

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Floor Entertainment Group, including announcements for Los Angeles Haunted Hay

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Ride Festival, Fright Nights at Winchester Mystery House, Illusion, and

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Magic of the Jack O' Lanterns. Sunday, August ninth will

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feature panels from Six Flags Freight Fest, Queen Mary's Dark Harbor,

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and Universal Studios Halloween Horror Nights. Midsummer Scream returns to

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the Long Beach Convention Center on August seventh through ninth.

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Tickets are on sale now starting at forty two to

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sixty dollars for single day admission, eighty dollars for weekend passes,

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and one hundred and ninety nine for the Gold Bat passes.

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Midwest Haunters Convention returns June tenth through thirteenth of twenty

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twenty seven. Mark your calendars. The Midwest Hunters Convention will

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return to the Donald E. Stevens Convention Center in Rosemont, Illinois,

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June tenth through thirteenth of twenty twenty seven. The trade

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show floor will be open the twelfth and the thirteenth.

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The Nightmare Wharf reveals attraction themes Nautical Terror is headed

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to the Buffalo and Erie County Naval and Military Park

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in Buffalo, New York, with the all new Nightmare Wharf

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designs pecifically for the Buffalo Naval Park Campus. Nightmare Wharf

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will transform portions of the waterfront and the fleet into

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a cinematic, story driven Halloween experience, blending theatrical environments, live performers,

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immersive effects, and the uniquely atmospheric interiors of the historic

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ships themselves. The events debut attractions and Immersia of environments

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include Project Blackwater, a Cold War era descent into paranoia,

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classified experimentation and Marine Time horror Deep within the USS

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Little Rock infected district, a fog soaked Victorian araw waterfront

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outbreak zone where the Dead Rome beneath gaslight and industrial ruin,

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and the Boneyard, a chaotic midway of twisted sideshow energy,

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roaming monsters, live entertainment themed concessions, and the darker heart

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of Nightmare Wharf. This is about more than Helloween, said

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Brian Lewallan, President and CEO of the Buffalo Naval Park.

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It's about placemaking, audience development and helping ensure the long

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term sustainability of one of Buffalo's most important cultural assets.

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Nightmare Wharf is designed to create an experience that is

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uniquely Buffalo and uniquely tied to the atmosphere, history, and

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authenticity of this waterfront and these historic ships. Revenue generated

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through Nightmare warf will directly support the Buffalo Naval Park's

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broader mission, including preservation initiatives, educational programming, public events, and

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ongoing stewardship of the nationally significant historic fleet. The event

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runs seventeen select nights October second through November one. Tickets

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are on sale now starting in thirty one eighty two

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for general admission, forty seven thirty four for Fast Fright admission,

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and sixty eight oh four for VIP passes. Chaos Training

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to be held on June twenty seventh. Join the Haunted

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Attraction Association for a full day of chaos training that's

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certified Haunted Attraction Operator safety on Saturday, June twenty seventh,

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from ten am to five pm at the Factory of

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Terror in Fall River, Massachusetts, led by Jim Warner of

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Penhurst Asylum in Reaper's Revenge. This course is designed for

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haunt owners, operators, managers, builders, home haunters, and anyone looking

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to expand their safety knowledge in the Haunted attraction industry.

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Participants will earn six hours towards their eight hour Chaos certification.

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The remaining two hours can be completed online. Registration for

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this regional class is available online for thirty five dollars

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per person and includes lunch. Some upcoming events this June

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through August twenty twenty six include the Texas Haunters Convention

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in Irving, Texas July eighteenth and nineteenth Haunters against eight,

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the event in Louisville, Kentucky, August first and second, and

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Midsummer's Cream in Long Beach, California, August seventh through nine.

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

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was produced by me Philip Hernandez, with reporting by Darryl Plunky,

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post production by David Swope. This Haunt 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 Hanta Attractionnetwork dot com.

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Support for this episode comes from Gantum Mighty and controls.

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

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Attraction Network production.

NEWS: Who Is Still Spending on Attractions?

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