May 19, 2026

NEWS: Why Haunts Are Weaving Food Into The Story

Show Notes
Transcript

Last week I attended IAAPA Honors, and my biggest takeaway was something I saw last year: F&B as narrative. From LA Haunted Hayride's Cider Mill to Scarehouse Windsor's dinner experiences, the expansion of food carts at HHN, and all the haunts with hidden bars, we're seeing more haunts weaving food into the story. Guests are buying experiences from us, and food has to be part of that, not separate from it. Also this week: United Parks posted a rough Q1 while peer parks grew, and the next Sphere is heading to Yas Island.In this issue:

F&B as Narrative: What I Saw at IAAPA Honors
United Parks' Dismal Q1
The Next Sphere Is Going to Yas Island
Derry Halloween to Adopt New Partner-Led Approach
First Look at Midwest Haunters Convention Exhibitor List
Haunters Toolbox: Inhuman Resources Hiring Session

https://mailchi.mp/hauntedattractionnetwork.com/why-haunts-are-weaving-food-into-the-story

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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 recap from Philip Pernandez, publisher of the Haunted

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Attraction Network. After the halfway to Halloween announcements. We had

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another slow news week, though we continue to see plenty

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from the theme park side that could hint at what fall

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will bring. United Parks Q one twenty twenty six earnings

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continue to trend we've seen for several quarters. Attendance and

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revenue were down. Leadership blamed the weather and then proceeded

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to buy back more stock. United Parks continues to underperform

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Six Flags, Disney and Universal, despite existing in many of

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the same markets. Six Flags, meanwhile, continues to double down

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on live entertainment for the fall and winter to entice

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annual pass holders to visit more often. Abu Dhabi is

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reinforcing its commitment to tourism with the announcement that the

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next Sphere will be built on Yas Island, opening in

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twenty twenty nine at a cost of one point seven

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billion dollars. The venue will see twenty thousand guests. Last week,

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I attended AAPPA Honors, and my biggest takeaway was something

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I saw last year. F and B as narrative, from

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La Haunted Hayride's cider Mill to Scarehouse Windsor's dinner experiences,

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and from all the haunts with hidden bars to those

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experimenting with the concept. We're seeing more haunts explore it.

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I expect to see more haunts weaving food into the

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narrative of the simple reason that it works. Guests buying

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experiences from us, and food has to be part of

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that experience, not separate from it. Also this week, Dairy

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Halloween restructures its annual program after the closure of its

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longtime carnival partner. The Midwest Hunters Convention released its initial

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exhibitor or list of nearly one hundred venders and Haunters

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toolboxes hosting a session on legal pitfalls in haunt hiring.

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Here's what you need to know this week. United Parks

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dismal Q one. United Parks and Resorts reported Q one

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twenty twenty six results, with attendance down five percent to

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three point two million guests, revenue down three percent to

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two hundred and seventy eight point three million, and net

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loss widening to thirty four point one million from sixteen

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point one million in Q one twenty twenty five. CEO

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Mark Swanson attributed the shortfall to unfavorable weather in San Diego, Florida,

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and Texas during the peak periods, as well as a

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decline in international visitation. The company repurch which is two

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point six million shares for approximately ninety two point seven

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million dollars in Q one and another one point eight

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million shares for approximately sixty four point eight million dollars

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through May eighth. Pure parks in the same calendar quarter

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showed very different results. Six Flags attendance grew four percent

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and revenue twelve percent. Universal's theme park revenue grew twenty

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four percent, and Disney's domestic per cap was up five percent,

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with experiences hitting Q two records. Follow the links in

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our show Notes to find out about all of this,

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and listen on this week's green tagged as we discuss

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all of the earning. The next Sphere is going to

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Yas Island. Myrol and Sphere Entertainment Company confirmed that the

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next International Sphere will be built in Abu Dhabi. The

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one point seven billion dollars twenty thousand seat venue will

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be located on Yas Island between SeaWorld Abu Dhabi and

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Yas Mall, with construction targeted for completion by the end

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of twenty twenty nine. Of course, this comes at a

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time when many of the industry is questioning whether Appadawi's

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ambitions will be delayed due to the Iranian War. Strategically,

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it seems to be a perfect fit cluster the venue

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with everything else that already draws people in, so the

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underwriting isn't betting on the building alone. Whether the Sphere

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format ports without the Vegas residency economics is a real question,

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but the CN Travelerme write up reads like myral is

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treating it as a flagship attraction, not a concert venue

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with a hospitality side pitch. Dairy Helloween is to adopt

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a new partner led approach as Northwest Carnival Initiative announces

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closure Dairy Helloween from London. Dairy UK will adopt a

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new approach to their annual Halloween festivities after longtime partner

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Northwest Carnival Initiative and WCI has announced that it will

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be unable to fulfill its current service level agreement. In

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a statement, the NWCI cited several issues that factored into

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their decision, including the withdrawal of intellectual property consent for

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props and costumes, the scale, ail and complexity of the

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event's upcoming fortieth anniversary program, and the significant lead in

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time required for delivery. With the termination of the service

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level agreement, the NWCI will enter administration and cease operations.

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Dairy Halloween is reallocated eighty nine thousand pounds of the

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budget towards contingency plans focusing on local partnerships. According to

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a Dairy City and STRABA and District Council spokesperson, the

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new partnership led approach will see the appointment of a

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parade artistic director who will be responsible for leading the

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overall creative direction, the development of the theme and visuals,

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and the coordination of partners and community participation as well

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as overseeing the production. This new approach will allow Council

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to invest in local artists, cultural organizations, and suppliers, ensuring

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that it will benefit the local economy and cultural providers

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to deliver a very high quality event. A first look

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at the Midwest Hunters Convention exhibitor list. The Midwest Hunters

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Convention from Rosemond, Delano has announced that their initial exhibitor

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list of nearly one hundred venditures is available. Be sure

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to check back often as more companies will be added

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in the coming days. Midwest Hunters Convention takes place June

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sixth and seventh at the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center,

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with pre con Haunt tours on June fourth and fifth.

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Open to the public, MHC features a lively show floor,

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educational programming, hands on learning lab, makeup Wars, Zombie Walk,

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costume Party, and more. Tickets are on sale now starting

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from forty to fifty dollars for single day show floor access,

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sixty five dollars for Saturday and Sunday show floor access,

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and two hundred and thirty for the weekend past including

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Friday and Saturday show floor access. All one hour seminars

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and the Saturday Night Party in Education News, Haunters Toolbox

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presents Inhuman Resources, Avoiding Legal Horror and Haunt Hiring. Hunters

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Toolbox is hosting a live Q and A session with

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Dave Fare, Marrie fear School, and Justin Blackburn of syth

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on dot Io on Tuesday, June sixteenth at five point

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thirty pm Pacific daylight time. This session draws on real

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world haunt hiring and training experience to help haunters avoid

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legal or high risk questions on their job applications. Attendees

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must be members of the Haunters Toolbox Facebook group to join.

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Some upcoming events this May through July twenty twenty six

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Scare Con in the UK from May eighteenth to twentieth,

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Monster Palooza in Pasadena, California, May twenty ninth through thirty

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First Midwest Hunters Convention in Rosemont, Illinois June sixth and seventh.

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In the Texas Haunters Convention in Irving, Texas July eighteenth

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and nineteen.

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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 Plunky.

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Post production by David Swope. This Hant News update is

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a production of the Haunted Fraction Network and you can

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sign up to our weekly newsletter at Haunt Attraction Network

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dot com. Support for this episode comes from Gantum Lighty

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and controls. Until next time, Hunters Stay Scary. This is

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a Haunted Attraction Network production.

NEWS: Why Haunts Are Weaving Food Into The Story

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