Orlando, FL — 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.
The Haunt Category
IAAPA describes Most Creative New Haunt Production as an award for “a walk-through production that features exceptional entertainment value with a Halloween or haunt theme.” IAAPA says eligible productions show “creative storytelling, atmospheric immersion, performance quality, technical design, and guest impact.”
- What counts: IAAPA’s examples are haunted houses, mazes, scare zones, hay rides, and “haunting grounds.”
- Live actors: A walk-through “must have at least three (3) live actors.”
- Stage shows and parades: A Halloween stage show or parade goes in a different category, Most Creative New Holiday Production.
In the 2025 awards, the category was Most Creative Halloween Production. Universal Studios Singapore won it with “Once Upon A Time… To Die,” and the other two finalists were Six Flags’ “Conjuring Beyond Fear” and Tokyo Disney Resort’s Villains’ Halloween parade. Nightmare Fuel Wildfire, the fire show at Halloween Horror Nights in Orlando, has also won a Brass Ring Award.
Who Can Enter
- Members: IAAPA checks that the company applying is “an IAAPA member in good standing.”
- Dates: The production must have been created for or active at an IAAPA member facility between November 1, 2025 and October 31, 2026.
- New or half revamped: IAAPA counts a production as revamped “when half or more of its creative, technical, or experiential components have been substantially updated, replaced, or re-imagined.” A new story, new sets or costumes, or new lighting and sound design count toward a revamp. Swapping cast members or adding a single prop does not.
- Admission: The production must be “included in the general admission ticket to the attraction (no separate show fee).”
What to Submit
- A hi-res video of the full production, uploaded or linked.
- A three-minute sizzle reel of the highlights.
- The facility’s signature image and logo, and the production’s logo.
- Any supporting materials.
IAAPA says applicants should be prepared to tell the story of the production and to explain its technical design, including “what not to miss while viewing the show.”
Judging and Winners
Panels of seven IAAPA members judge each group of categories, and judges recuse themselves from any entry where they have a conflict of interest. I’m on this year’s Live Entertainment Excellence panel.
The judges score entries online, then meet on Zoom to pick a winner and two finalists in each category. IAAPA says it announces the Excellence winners in early February and presents the awards at IAAPA Honors. In 2027, IAAPA Honors is part of the IAAPA Leadership Conference, June 8 to 10, at Liseberg in Sweden.
Winners and finalists both get a trophy and a mention in IAAPA’s announcement. Winners also get a feature in Funworld, IAAPA’s magazine, and a place on the winner panels at IAAPA Honors.
Other Awards and Deadlines
- Regional Individual Achievement Awards: October 16.
- Brass Ring Exhibitor Awards, Best Exhibit at IAAPA Expo: November 6. IAAPA Expo runs November 16 to 20, 2026 in Orlando, and Haunting Grounds moves to the West Building this year.
- The OSCARES: The Haunted Attraction Association presented the 2026 OSCARES on March 28 at TransWorld’s Halloween & Attractions Show in St. Louis, and the 2027 awards are self-nomination only.
Applications for the Brass Ring Excellence Awards close October 16 at IAAPA.org/apply.
