NEWS: Will Year-Round Scares Succeed Off the Vegas Strip?

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 haunt 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. Universal's Horror Unleashed opens August fourteenth, twenty twenty five, at Area fifteen in Las Vegas, Nevada. This will bring Universal seasonal Halloween Horrorites formula to a year round venue. During a recent tea panel, Universal creative team members expanded on previously announced details, emphasizing continuous immersion. From the moment you walk into the moment you walk out, you were completely immersed in that world of horror. The team revealed some bars will double as scare zones while others offer safe spaces, outlined plans for rotating ips and seasonal overlays within flexible black box spaces, and position the attractions specifically for Vegas' adult market, as show producer Abby Finian noted, Vegas is America's playground. We were able to push some boundaries a little bit more than we can standardly. While acknowledging the challenge of attracting visitors off the strip, Our analysis questions whether Horror Unleashed can overcome fundamental challenges of year round

1:38 haunted attraction. While Area fifteen's three point two three million annual visitors could potentially generate fifteen point eight million dollars in ticket revenue at a seven percent conversion rate, we identified several misconceptions in the panel's approach. The team's emphasis on solving problems like a lack of integrated social spaces overlooks that many successful haunts already offer themed the bars and entertainment venues, Their focus on fear rather than entertainment, and their claim that haunted houses are the original immersive experience reveals gaps in understanding the broader industry, where less than five percent of haunted attractions achieve sustainable profitability. Success will likely depend on Universal's willingness to evolve beyond traditional haunt models, particularly during tourism lulls, when horror appeal naturally wanes Philip and Scott also discuss Horror Unleashed, as well as the other ways Universal has been strategically diversifying their entertainment portfolio in this week's episode of The Green Tagged Podcast.

2:36 Follow the links in the show notes to listen today. This past weekend saw eighteen Haunted attractions open for Saint Patrick's Day across the USA and Canada. The Northeast and South led the market with over seventy percent of all Saint Patrick's events, anchored by Pennsylvania's impressive showing with four attractions. Most haunts operated during the March fourteenth and fifteenth weekend, with one Nightmare Dungeon Haunted attraction extending through Saint Patrick's Day itself. Themes featured evil leprechauns, twisted Irish carnival horrors, cursed shamrock experiences, and some that blended traditional Irish folklore with modern haunted house scares. Looking ahead, haunts are preparing for Halfway to Halloween events in May. If your haunt is opening in April or May, let us know. Wicked New England in Salem, Massachusetts is launching its first ever Halfway to Halloween festival on May third, twenty twenty five at Salem's historic Old Town Hall. This inaugural event brings together live monsters, panels from local haunted attractions and Halloween experts, and a Halloween marketplace packed with spooky vendors. Barrett's Haunted Mansion will provide a custom photo op and bring their professional monsters to interact with guests. Panel presentations throughout the day will feature insights from which city Walking Tours, Halloween New England, and the Horror Squad podcast offering a behind the scenes look at how New England's top haunts create their scares. By working with local haunted attractions. Wicked New England aims to make this festival a must visit event for Halloween fans. General admission tickets are on sale now

4:07 with early bird discounts for a limited time. During this year's Southern Ontario Tourism Conference, Scarehouse Windsor in Windsor, Ontario, Canada was honored with a Prestigious Innovator of the Year Award. This award recognizes businesses, programs, events, or immersive experiences that lead with innovation and ignite transformation within Ontario's Southwest tourism landscape. This is a big deal, said Sean Lippert, co owner of Scarehouse. We were so naive to our impact that Scarehouse has in our area. We do it every day because we love it, but we are now very aware that others love it as much as us and are willing to travel long distances to experience it. One of the key innovations that set Scarehouse apart is its immersive dining experiences, which plant high end hospitality with the thrill of interactive storytelling. Learn more about this unique experience in our Haunted Attraction Network article Dining in Fear. Following enormous demands for four or Halloween time performances in Los Angeles, film and music icon John Carpenter will play a one night only concert at the Knockdown Center in New York, New York, featuring Cody Carpenter and Daniel Davies. The performance will showcase music from many of Carpenter's twenty films and his five albums. As soon as we announced my four night LA residency, the response was incredible, and I wanted to offer my fans on the East Coast a chance to hear our music without having to fly across the country.

5:26 Carpenter said, with a one night show, we'll get to really dig deep into our musical souls, which is something I can't wait to share. Tickets for the concert draw on sale now, starting at seventy nine dollars eighty three cents for general admission, one hundred and eighty one eighty for the Halloween Package including a tour shirt, signed poster, and more, and two hundred and eighty six eighty six for the John Carpenter Meet and Greet Package. The Disney Halloween Festival will return to Disneyland Paris on October first through November two of twenty twenty five. Joined the Disney Villains as well as Mickey and Friends as they conjure a happy haunting of spellbinding decor and exclusive entertainment. Detail of this year's festivities have yet to be announced, but last year's event included meet and greets with Mickey and Friends dawned in their Halloween best, as well as Disney Villains, Mickey's Halloween Celebration, Cavalcade, Autumn decor, and limited edition Helloween treats.

6:16 Hunter's Toolbox is hosting a live Q and A session with Scott and Jewel Simonson of Haunted Media on Tuesday, March eighteenth, at five point thirty pm Pacific daylight time. Haunting Media was founded by experienced Haunted attraction owners who understand the intricacies and importance of delivering a truly detailed and immersive experience. In the live stream, Scott and Jewel will discuss creating killer videos and photos at your Haunt, marketing on a budget, retaining actors, haunt technology, and more. The initial list of exhibitors is now available for this year's East Coast Haunters Convention in Oaks, Pennsylvania. This massive show floor will feature over one hundred and fifty Halloween vendors and over twenty five Christmas vendors. Twenty twenty five floor plan will be released in the coming days. The East Coast Haunters Convention takes place April twenty sixth and twenty seventh at the Greater Philadelphia Expocentre, with pre show tours on April twenty fourth and twenty fifth. Register today on the event's official website. Black Locust Productions is hosting their first annual Midwest Haunt Swap at Forsaken Forest in Richmond, Indiana, on Saturday, April nineteenth, from eleven am to five pm Eastern daylight time. This unique event invites haunters, prop builders, and enthusiasts from all across the Midwest to gather for a day of networking and discovery. Whether you're looking to buy, sell, or trade, this is the perfect opportunity to refresh your haunt with new, used or vintage gear, costuming, makeup, drops, and more. Meet fellow haunt professionals, share tips and tricks, and uncover treasures to bring your scaring game to the

7:46 next level. Some upcoming events this March through May of twenty twenty five include the Spooky Swap Meet in Los Angeles, California, April twenty fifth through twenty seventh, East Coast Haunters Convention in Oaks, Pennsylvania from April twenty sixth and twenty seventh, and Monster Palooza in Pasadena, California from May thirtieth to June first. And that's all for the news this week. Today's episode was produced by me Philip Hernandez with reporting by Daryl Plunky post production by David Swope. This Hant News Update is a production of the Haunted Attraction Network, and you can sign up to our weekly newsletter at Hanta Attractionnetwork dot com. Support for this episode comes from Gantum Lighting and controls. Until next time, Haunters stay Scary. This is a Haunted Attraction Network production.