Here is the Haunted Attraction Industry News for May, 17th.
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Conventions & Mixers
The Midwest Haunters Convention has announced their list of exhibitors for the upcoming 2022 event. This year’s show floor will feature Haunted House Chicago Row 2022, a showcase of some of Chicagoland’s top haunted attractions live and “in person”. Presented by the Midwest Haunters Convention and HauntedHouseChicago.com, Haunted House Chicago Row will host meet and greets with the creepy creators of these eerie events and the actors that bring them to life, demonstrations of how they weave their macabre magic, contests, giveaways, and much more. Participating haunts include: Basement of the Dead, Evil Intentions Haunted House, HellsGate Haunted House, Massacre Haunted House, Midnight Terror Haunted House, Disturbia Haunted House, 13th Floor Chicago, Wisconsin Feargrounds, and Realm of Terror. The Midwest Haunters Convention takes place June 10th – 12th, with the pre-show bus tour on June 10th and trade show floor and seminars on June 11th – 12th. Learn more and purchase your tickets at the MHC official website.
Want to participate in Midwest Haunters Convention stage entertainment? The sign-up form is now available for the Creepy Creative Costume Design Challenge (Saturday, June 11th at 11:15 a.m.), Screamin’ Hot Sauce Challenge (Saturday, June 11th at 3:15 p.m.), and MHC Zombie Walk (Saturday, June 11th at 4:50 p.m.). All potential contestants must be present on the stage 10 minutes prior to the event start time with any needed materials to participate. Register today to join in on the fun.
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Theme Parks
Tickets are now available for SeaWorld San Diego’s Howl-O-Scream. The event will take place select nights September 17th – October 31st, 2022. After a successful “inaugural fear”, Howl-O-Scream will once again arrive to transform the peaceful SeaWorld San Diego park you once knew into something sinister. Guests will tremble with terror as they enter horrifying haunted houses, step upon themed scare zones, and escape large and small roaming hordes. Thrill-seekers can scream with delight on riding coasters in the dark, quench their thirst for fear at multiple interactive bars, and be entertained by live thrilling music and more. Howl-O-Scream will join SeaWorld’s already impressive fall line-up of events including the return of family-friendly Halloween Spooktacular, which boasts daytime trick or treating for kids of all ages. Tickets start as low as $34.99 for single-night admission, $99.99 for Unlimited Admission tickets, and $119.99 for Day & Night combo tickets.
Livestreams
The Chamber of Haunters will host a Facebook Live interview with vendor member Zagone Studios on Thursday, May 19th at 2:30 p.m. CST/3:30 p.m. EST. With over 50 years of innovation, craftsmanship, and creativity, Zagone Studios creates comfortable and entertaining masks, costumes, and more for the haunt industry. Tune in live to learn more about the company and their current products. Also, members of the Chamber of Haunters receive a special discount on Zagone Studio Products.
The next Haunter’s Toolbox Haunt Master Class is “Haunt Insurance: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly”, scheduled for Tuesday, May 17th at 5:30 p.m. – 7:00 p.m. PDT. Sign up for Haunters Toolbox Membership to access each month’s live session, past recordings, and more.
U.S. Haunts & Events
Escape the Asylum (Westland, Michigan), the newest escape room from the creators of Eloise Asylum, is now open. Players will have 60 minutes to escape the asylum “before they become the next victim of someone or something that has moved back into the abandoned asylum.” The interactive experience features projections, fog effects, sound effects, and more. The experience is open Thursday – Sunday from 10:00 a.m. – 10:30 p.m. and accommodates groups of 4-10 people. Tickets can be purchased online starting at $33/person for a public game (minimum of 3 tickets must be purchased) or $250 for a private room for 4-10 players.
The Ohio State Reformatory (Mansfield, Ohio) – known in the haunt industry for their yearly Blood Prison haunted attraction – will be featured in upcoming “Shawshank Redemption” bus tours this summer. The three-hour driving tour will visit all the film’s sites in the Mansfield area, ending with a guided walking tour inside the Shawshank prison itself. Bus tours will begin on Saturday, June 4th and continue throughout the summer. Tickets are $99 each.
Now through June 19th, SugarMynt Gallery (Pasadena, California) is hosting their Spooky Kids Club exhibition. The main gallery will feature actual pieces of Halloween entertainment history and original artwork inspired by by content including It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown, Scooby-Doo, Are You Afraid of the Dark?, Coraline, Goosebumps, Disney’s Haunted Mansion, McDonald’s Halloween Happy Meals, and many other pop culture staples that first sent chills up our spines. The exhibition will also feature special event days each weekend. This week’s upcoming special events are:
Join SugarMynt Gallery as they take a look back at some magical Halloween content from Disney.
Saturday, May 21st: SNICK with “Are You Afraid of the Dark?” co-creator/writer/director D.J. MacHale
Submitted for the approval of the Midnight Society…join SugarMynt Gallery as the co-creator, writer, and director of Nickelodeon’s “Are You Afraid of the Dark?” visits SugarMynt Gallery to discuss the making of this iconic show followed by a screening of multiple classic episodes.
Sunday May 22nd: Spooky Throwback Cartoons
Stay up after dark and spend the night with a retro throwback of animated shows including “Beetlejuice,” “Tales from the Cryptkeeper,” “The Real Ghostbusters,” and “Gravedale High.”
Scare USA (Two Rivers, Wisconsin) hosted a successful “Slasher Weekend” on May 13th &14th. Differing from their traditional Halloween-season show, this interactive experience had guests use flashlights to follow arrows while hunting for prizes.
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Upcoming Haunt Events
Summer Haunts
Paranoia Haunted House (Canton, GA) – July 9
Podcast Episodes You Might Be Interested In
Affordable Media Outreach for Your Haunt (Replay)
Coming up, we’re discussing how affordable ways you can do media outreach for your haunt. You don’t need a large budget, but you need a focus on building allies. It may seem early, but now is the time to lay the groundwork for our season. This episode features John Singh from J2 Communications.
SPECIAL: Spooky Kids Club opens at SugarMynt Gallery
Coming up, we’re visiting the Spooky Kids Club exhibit at SugarMynt Gallery. Open now through June 19th, this exhibit focuses on the Halloween-loving child in all of us. We’ll hear from the co-creators, 2 of the artists, some guests, and even get a guided tour and hear about some of the easter eggs. Featured in this episode: Jeff Depaoli, SaraRose Orlandini, Jimi Martinez, Victor Acuña, The Creepy Cool Kid, and Ted Dougherty.
Haunted Attraction Industry News for May 11th
Read more here.
Mitigating the Rush
Attractions are doing everything they can to mitigate the upcoming rush. This week: The new queueless experience from Disney, SeaWorld, and Cedar Fair are seeing financial recovery (despite still losing millions), Universal staffs up, and performer safety.
It’s Slasher Weekend at Scare USA in Two Rivers Wisconsin
Scare USA in Two Rivers Wisconsin is opening this weekend, May 13th and 14th, for Slasher weekend – an experience where guests use flashlights to follow arrows and find PRIZES! We’ll hear all about it. Today, we’re talking with John Schwarz. He’s the owner of Scare USA.
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