Haunted Attraction Network

This week on Green Tagged we explore trends and new experiences in the theme park and themed entertainment industries. Universal Hollywood launches a drive-in experience; Star Wars Galactic Starcruiser; Own The Park at Great Wolf Lodge; IAAPA went virtual; PortAventura World is carbon neutral; The Hyperloop test was successful; 3 bid opening announcements.
Full show notes: www.greentaggedshow.com

Patrick Konopelski from Shocktoberfest Scream Park gives a postmortem on his 2020 Halloween season. Shocktoberfest had a great year, but that took a lot of pivoting. Patrick discusses what his team did beyond the basic safety measures, including shifting their advertising spend and transition the hayride to a walkthrough. A must-listen for any haunter or haunted attraction.

I had the delight of going on-site to interview Scott Swenson, the Creative Director for The Garden of Spirits at CW’s Gin Joint in Tampa, FL. Scott discusses the event and how critical both contingency planning and scaling are for events of all sizes. In the news: ScareTour is making a Christmas Gift Guide; The ScareFactor’s Monster Bash was canceled due to local restrictions; ScareTrack released a video of their Top 10 UK Scare Attractions; Japanese town deploys growling "Monster Wolf" robots to scare away wild bears; a reminder about HAuNTcon.

With the 2020 haunt season coming to a close haunts everywhere are shutting down, evaluating how the season went and starting planning for the new year.

But, while a LOT happens in the off-season for haunts one key thing does: Earning money.

For most haunts, not being opens means no money at all coming in. However, that doesn't make any sense. Sure, haunt season is only 4-8 weeks long but there are many ways that haunts can make money year-round if they are just willing to try.

To that end, we're exploring just seven ways that haunts can earn money in the offseason.

Best of all, we're exploring easy, low-cost things that are pandemic-friendly and can be started today!

More Info: https://www.hauntweekly.com/

This week on Green Tagged: How does a vaccine change planning at your attraction? While Buena Vista Street plans to open on November 19th, Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk closed after only one weekend. The Pandemic has inspired a cornucopia of new tech, including AI Bag Scanners, UVC light fixtures, disinfection robots, socially distanced roller coasters, and wearables. Planning for a post-pandemic future, MAD System has registered a patent for facial recognition technology they hope will personalize visitor attractions.
Full Show Notes: greentaggedshow.com

Today is our 2nd 2020 Haunt Season Port Mortem and this time we’re going to Sir Henry’s Haunted Trail in Plant City, FL. Zach Glaros previews his plans for 2021 and discusses some of the things he hopes to keep. We also take a rewind to 2015 to get a better sense of how Zach’s team has progressed and how Sir Henry came to be.

Kaia Gondron from A Petrified Forest in Altamonte Springs, FL discusses recaps their season The Scare Factor’s Monster Bash is set for November 21st. Hershey Candy sales are up despite less trick or treating. A Home Haunter in Dallas set up a gruesome scene that got police called. A New report describes “how fear and enjoyment can coexist in recreational horror.” “Must Do” Halloween traditions from Haunters in the Haunter’s Toolbox group.

To say 2020 was an unprecedented season is a cliche at this point, but it is also a grand truth. That said, getting through tough times can carry with it lessons for the better times and that's what we're on a mission to find.

The question is simple, what lessons from 2020 can haunts take with them to 2021 and beyond? It turns out there's a lot and we're going to discuss just five of them this week.

This Week's Episode Includes:

Topic Intro
Need for Improved Security
Need for Better Financial Stability
Getting Back to Prop Building
Improving Variety of Acting
Preventing Disease
Conclusions

This week in Green Tagged: We discuss how different countries are recovering their tourism sectors amid the pandemic. The through line is, of course, how well local governments are containing the virus to ease consumer distress. Western countries continue with broad approaches which Eastern countries experiment with targeted approaches. In Europe, attractions are shutting back down. Demand is suffering in the UAE despite attractions remaining open. Indonesia and South Korea are experimenting with more targeted recovery plans. In the US, Universal is down 81% and yet Comcast reaffirms commitment to park development. Six Flags is surveying guests about mandating COVID testing for park entry.
Read full show notes at: www.greentaggedshow.com

HAuNTcon is accepting speaker applications through Nov 20th here: https://info.urban-expo.com/CallForPapers2021 . Haunters Against Hate is officially a nonprofit. Max from the Ohio Haunters Association comes on to discuss who is opening this weekend.