How Attractions Can Design For Play
October 24, 2026
Adults want to play, and we should let them. What Asia’s parks already do at Halloween, and three ways to design for play.
Adults want to play, and we should let them. What Asia’s parks already do at Halloween, and three ways to design for play.
Universal’s theme parks made less money this summer than last, and Comcast now expects the slowdown in Orlando to last through Halloween and into the first half of 2027. On its October 22 earnings call, Comcast said competitors adjusted their marketing faster and Epic Universe is still working through ride-capacity problems, and it plans more promotions, including three-park passes, to bring guests back.
Eighty percent of American adults played for their own enjoyment in the past year, from crafting classes to themed bars, according to The Harris Poll’s Rise of Kidulting report, released October 21. Half would rather buy a blind box, build a model or collect toys than talk to a therapist, and the top thing they want brands to offer more of is adult-only nights at theme parks, museums or zoos.
Halloween now brings in more than Christmas at some UK attractions, their operators told the BBC. Avon Valley Adventure Park near Bath takes in about £2 million in October, a third of its year, and 36% of UK shoppers plan to celebrate Halloween this year, up from 27% in 2025, according to the grocery research group IGD.
Fifty-eight percent of American adults say Halloween should be a national holiday, and 53 percent call it a favorite holiday, up from 47 percent last year and the first time Ferrero’s annual Halloween survey has put that figure over half. Halloween is not a federal holiday, and this year it falls on a Saturday. In the same survey, 62 percent said the perfect Halloween night is staying in.
Applications for IAAPA’s Brass Ring Excellence Awards close October 16, and one of the Live Entertainment categories is for walk-through haunts: Most Creative New Haunt Production. Haunted houses, mazes, and scare zones can enter if they have at least three live actors and are new or at least half revamped.
Scream Score, a free app that turns your smartwatch’s heart-rate readings into a fear score, now works for horror movies as well as haunted houses, and friends can compare scores in groups. The new version is out for iPhone and Android.
The Halloween & Costume Association has named 24 finalists for its third annual Spooky Awards, and they range from a $25 Demon Slayer mask to
Americans plan to spend $13.5 billion on Halloween this year, $115.14 a person, according to the National Retail Federation’s annual survey, up from last year’s
TransWorld Trade Shows is launching an Escape Room Summit on Monday, February 22, 2027, in St. Louis: one day of advanced education, hands-on learning, and
The Haunted Attraction Association awarded three $1,000 scholarships for 2026: Edyn Sanders-Alcala, Hannah Augspurger, and Rose Rizzo, all of whom work in haunted attractions while
HauntPay has released its sixth annual Haunt Industry Report, built from more than 1,000 responses from haunt owners, staff, and volunteers. It is one of
HalloweenCostumes.com has released the results of its 2026 Halloween survey, and the top-line finding will not surprise anyone who works in this industry. The retailer
Happy Monday, Back in April, when gas first topped $4 a gallon, I wondered whether guests would keep spending on entertainment into the fall, and
Disney confirmed the story and both attractions for Villains Land, the dark-themed land coming to Magic Kingdom, at its D23 fan-convention showcase Saturday night in
Randy Bates, the longtime owner of The Bates Motel and Haunted Hayride in Glen Mills, Pennsylvania, and a founder of several of the haunted attraction
Long Beach, CA — The original Scream returns to select theaters on October 30, Paramount announced during the film’s 30th anniversary cast reunion at Midsummer
Long Beach, CA — Midsummer Scream, billed as the world’s largest Halloween and horror convention, is leaving its longtime Long Beach home. The event will
Update, October 16, 2026: Spencer Spirit Holdings completed its purchase of Hot Topic, Inc. on September 2, 2026. Since the second week of October, Spirit’s
Update, August 17, 2026: Six Flags has now revealed the four new IPs. They are JASON: Blood Reign, Final Destination: Death’s Playground, Blair Witch: No
New Orleans, LA — Registration is open for Halloween & Party Expo 2027, which runs January 11 through 13 at the Ernest N. Morial Convention
Hershey has a name for the economy we’ve been describing all year: Treatonomics, “a consumer trend in which people prioritize joyful, memorable experiences and generosity
Two weeks ago I asked whether summer had become the new shoulder season. Last week, Universal’s earnings confirmed it: summer is on sale, and the
Hershey has released its Unwrapping Halloween: State of the Season report, built on a Morning Consult survey of 3,026 US adults fielded July 8 through
IT opens on Cosm’s 87-foot LED domes on August 28, playing Los Angeles, Dallas, and Atlanta. It is the first horror title Cosm has programmed,
Update, August 3, 2026: Hershey has published its own State of the Season report reaching the same conclusions from separate data. Our full coverage of
Three of North Carolina’s best-known haunted attractions run on a single ticket this November. The Legendary Haunt Tour visits Lake Hickory Haunts on Thursday, Woods
To get a job at a haunted house, apply directly through the haunt’s website or social pages in August or early September, when most haunts
Last updated: September 24, 2026. The 2027 dates are set. Attendee registration opens March 1, and the prices, hours, and classes below are from the
Most haunted houses opened between September 11 and the first weekend of October 2026. Theme park events started much earlier, with Disneyland’s Halloween season beginning
The six-chamber exhibition explores gothic, psychological, science, slasher, religion, and ghost horror before releasing visitors through the immersive Blood Room. Los Angeles, CA — The
The “Descent Into Darkness” dark zone runs all three days of the convention, August 7 to 9, at the Long Beach Convention Center. For dates,
Halloween is having a moment, and Universal is here for it. Today, Comcast announced it will split into two companies, one focused on connectivity and
Philadelphia, PA — Comcast on June 29 confirmed it will separate into two independent publicly traded companies through a tax-free spin-off of NBCUniversal and Sky,
Update (September 28, 2026): The Resident Evil takeover at Universal Horror Unleashed has ended. It ran July 9 through September 27, 2026, after Universal extended
Orlando, FL — Registration is now open for IAAPA Expo 2026, and the Halloween-themed Haunting Grounds area will move into the Orange County Convention Center’s
Universal Horror Unleashed (Las Vegas, NV) announced its two-year calendar of seasonal events running through 2027 during a panel on May 30, 2026, at Monsterpalooza.
Melton Mowbray, England — The shortlisted nominees for the 2026 SCARE Awards have been announced, with winners set to be revealed at ScareCON on May
The East Coast Haunters Convention returns to the Greater Philadelphia Expo Center in Oaks, Pennsylvania for four days of haunt tours, vendor exhibits, seminars, live entertainment, and after-hours events running April 23-26, 2026. Produced by TransWorld Trade Shows, the convention is co-located with the East Coast Christmas Show and open to the public, drawing haunted attraction owners, operators, home haunters, actors, and Halloween enthusiasts.
TransWorld’s Halloween & Attractions Show returned to the America’s Center March 26 through 29 for four days of new product launches, vendor displays, and industry networking. We spoke with 16 vendors across the show floor to learn what they are bringing to market for the 2026 season. Here is what we found.
The Haunted Attraction Association honored the winners of the 2026 OSCARES Awards at an awards ceremony on Saturday, March 28, during TransWorld’s Halloween & Attractions Show. The OSCARES are the highest honors in the Halloween and haunted attraction industry. All winners are nominated by industry members, making the awards a peer-recognized honor.
The Haunted Attraction Association’s 2026 State of the Industry covered insurance pressures, AI’s role in the industry, and a call for collaboration over competition.
The Haunted Attraction Association elected Benjamin Gagne as its new president, approved a bylaws change opening the board’s 18th seat to non-owner/operators, and seated four new board members at its annual meeting during TransWorld’s Halloween & Attractions Show.
The Haunted Attraction Association is proposing bylaws changes that would allow a non-owner/operator to serve on its Board of Directors for the first time, with guardrails keeping the role out of executive leadership.
Salem, MA — Wicked New England, the Halfway to Halloween festival held at Old Town Hall in Salem, Massachusetts, returns for its second year on
Joliet, IL — The Old Joliet Haunted Prison, a seasonal haunted attraction operated by Thirteenth Floor Entertainment Group inside a former state women’s prison, may
Kalamazoo, MI — Haunters Against Hate: the Event is returning for its fourth year, this time at the Radisson in Kalamazoo, Michigan on August 1-2.
Four Pennsylvania haunted attractions featured on pre-convention tours, with a Saturday night party at Shocktoberfest The East Coast Haunters Convention has announced its lineup of
Winners to be honored at awards ceremony during TransWorld’s Halloween & Attractions Show The Haunted Attraction Association has announced the winners of the 2026 OSCARES
Update, September 2026: HCA has named 24 finalists for the 2026 Spooky Awards, and the winners will be announced January 11, 2027, at the Halloween
CLEVELAND, OH – September 26, 2025 – Gothic horror instrumentalists Midnight Syndicate have released Darkened Corners, an EP compiling previously unreleased and rare material spanning
