Aug. 16, 2026

Art the Clown Takes Over HHN, Six Flags Opens 2027 Passes

Art the Clown Takes Over HHN, Six Flags Opens 2027 Passes

Key Takeaways

  • Universal Studios Hollywood is bringing Art the Clown back to Halloween Horror Nights in three controlled deployments, featuring a Terror Tram takeover, a dedicated photo opportunity, and a character encounter.
  • Working with independent creators allows theme parks to be nimble and bring hot, bleeding-edge intellectual property into events rapidly, as seen with the inclusion of Nikki from Obsession just two months after the film premiered.
  • Operators should establish event bones and hold flexible budget placeholders so late-breaking pop culture IP can be seamlessly plugged in without disrupting the entire production.
  • Original music, such as Slash's custom ballad for the Killceañera house, serves as a powerful storytelling vehicle that delivers exposition and creates sticky marketing assets that fans demand on platforms like Spotify.
  • Six Flags has opened pass sales for 2027, featuring regional Gold and Prestige passes alongside bundled dining options and all-season Fast Lane pricing ranging from $600 to $2,000.

Universal detailed its Halloween Horror Nights Hollywood plans at Midsummer Scream, and the throughline is small IPs moving fast. Art the Clown returns in three controlled deployments: a Terror Tram takeover built around an original storybook and metal Christmas covers from Ice Nine Kills, a dedicated photo op, and a character encounter. Nikki from Curry Barker's Obsession joins as a character experience two months after the film premiered, the kind of deal that only closes that fast with an independent creator. And Slash scored the Killceañera house with an original song the villain lip-syncs, delivering exposition as a ballad so good fans are already asking for it on Spotify. The takeaway for operators is to build the event bones and hold the budget placeholder, so the hot IP can plug in late.

Elsewhere at Midsummer Scream: Hollywood adds its first Unmasking the Horror daytime tour at $20 for two houses, Winchester Mystery House drops the linear haunt for an open festival format, and Six Flags Magic Mountain adds Final Destination plus a werewolf maze from a Knott's Scary Farm designer, cross-park design work the old corporate structure never allowed.

Meanwhile, Six Flags opened 2027 pass sales one day after earnings, with regional Gold passes, Prestige passes, dining as bundles, and all-season Fast Lane pricing that runs $600 at Knott's and $2,000 at Cedar Point. Entry stays cheap because the strategy is repeat visitation.
Finally, SeaWorld Orlando, Aquatica, and Discovery Cove return to a single president, 23-year company veteran Brad Gilmore, reversing the 2023 split.

Listen to weekly BONUS episodes on our Patreon.

Frequently Asked Questions

How is Art the Clown being integrated into Halloween Horror Nights Hollywood?

Art the Clown returns through three controlled experiences: a Terror Tram takeover featuring a custom storybook and metal Christmas covers, a dedicated photo opportunity, and a character encounter.

Why do theme parks partner with independent horror creators for Halloween events?

Partnering with independent creators reduces red tape and allows parks to rapidly capitalize on fresh, viral intellectual property shortly after a project premieres.

What is the benefit of building event 'bones' with budget placeholders?

Holding budget placeholders for lighting, audio, scenic, and labor ensures parks remain flexible and ready to deploy last-minute popular characters without sacrificing operational quality.

What is the Killceañera house at Halloween Horror Nights?

Killceañera is an original haunted house in Hollywood featuring a custom-composed song and ballad by Slash that delivers story exposition while the villain lip-syncs to the vocals.

WEBVTT

1
00:00:00.880 --> 00:00:01.240
Okay.

2
00:00:01.240 --> 00:00:03.399
This week from our studios in Los Angeles in Tampa,

3
00:00:03.439 --> 00:00:05.839
this is Green Tag Theme Park in thirty I'm Philip

4
00:00:05.879 --> 00:00:08.320
from Ganta Lighting Controls that I'm joined as always by

5
00:00:08.320 --> 00:00:12.039
my delightful co host, Scott Swinson of Scott Swinson Created

6
00:00:12.039 --> 00:00:14.000
a development Here on Green Tad. We look at the

7
00:00:14.039 --> 00:00:15.800
top news each week and we try and pick the

8
00:00:15.839 --> 00:00:19.039
stories we think matter most to industry professionals and discuss

9
00:00:19.079 --> 00:00:21.559
them here on the show. This week, we're going to

10
00:00:21.600 --> 00:00:22.960
try and get through a lot of news. We're going

11
00:00:23.000 --> 00:00:25.480
to start off with the announcements that came out of

12
00:00:25.480 --> 00:00:27.120
Midsommer's Scream, and then we're going to go into some

13
00:00:27.160 --> 00:00:30.399
of the six Flags passes that went on sale, and

14
00:00:30.440 --> 00:00:32.479
maybe we'll wrap up with some news from United Parks

15
00:00:32.479 --> 00:00:35.840
if we get there. So I last weekend we recorded

16
00:00:35.840 --> 00:00:37.920
early because Scott and I were both busy, and I

17
00:00:38.079 --> 00:00:42.119
was busy at Midsommer Scream where I attended some of

18
00:00:42.119 --> 00:00:45.119
the attration panels and wrote up a lot, way too

19
00:00:45.119 --> 00:00:50.359
many articles about some of the announcements and anyway, but

20
00:00:50.399 --> 00:00:52.640
I think there are some interesting nuggets. I'm sure all

21
00:00:52.679 --> 00:00:55.000
of you have already read all of these, not my articles,

22
00:00:55.039 --> 00:00:57.200
I'm sure you've read just in general about the stuff

23
00:00:57.240 --> 00:00:59.320
that came out, but I wanted to highlight some of

24
00:00:59.359 --> 00:01:03.240
the most elements from a I guess a professional standpoint,

25
00:01:04.040 --> 00:01:06.000
and a lot of them have to do with Halloween

26
00:01:06.040 --> 00:01:09.359
Hohrn Nights in Hollywood, where John Murdy was going through

27
00:01:09.400 --> 00:01:11.879
the whole thing the first and I think is like

28
00:01:11.920 --> 00:01:15.239
the flexibility that is allowed when you're working with the

29
00:01:15.319 --> 00:01:20.560
smaller ips because Hollywood will yet again bring Art the

30
00:01:20.560 --> 00:01:24.959
Clown into the park, but this time in multiple ways.

31
00:01:25.480 --> 00:01:29.319
And they're also bringing in Nikki from Obsession as a

32
00:01:29.359 --> 00:01:32.959
character experience, which that part is also very interesting because

33
00:01:33.000 --> 00:01:35.280
of the time time frame on that. But for Art

34
00:01:35.319 --> 00:01:40.439
the Clown, you know, last year was an operational challenge.

35
00:01:40.480 --> 00:01:42.120
We talked about it last year on the show about

36
00:01:42.120 --> 00:01:44.879
the operational challenge for it, but this year it's going

37
00:01:44.959 --> 00:01:50.000
to be even more because he's doing three three experiences.

38
00:01:50.000 --> 00:01:51.480
So one is that Art the Clown is taking over

39
00:01:51.519 --> 00:01:53.280
the Terror Tram and this was the thing that was

40
00:01:53.599 --> 00:01:57.040
most interesting to me for the operator standpoint, because they

41
00:01:57.079 --> 00:02:04.040
are basically they partner with the band and they basically

42
00:02:04.120 --> 00:02:07.799
they've made a old time record book telling the story

43
00:02:07.799 --> 00:02:11.159
about how much Art the clown likes Christmas, but he

44
00:02:11.199 --> 00:02:12.919
has to murder Santa and do some other things along

45
00:02:13.000 --> 00:02:16.639
the way, And they partner with a band to record

46
00:02:16.960 --> 00:02:21.680
covers of like metal versions of Joy to the World

47
00:02:21.800 --> 00:02:23.240
that could play as the backdrop of this. And so

48
00:02:23.240 --> 00:02:24.960
we have a narrator like reading this book. So it's

49
00:02:25.000 --> 00:02:28.879
this whole ecosystem they built around the IP that then

50
00:02:29.199 --> 00:02:31.840
gives you the narrative shell for what you're going through

51
00:02:31.840 --> 00:02:34.800
to experience when you do the Terror Tram. And then

52
00:02:34.840 --> 00:02:38.080
they're adding a dedicated art photo experience at the end

53
00:02:38.159 --> 00:02:40.639
of the Photo Tram to kind of try and phototram

54
00:02:40.639 --> 00:02:43.759
the Tearo Tram, to try and mitigate some of what

55
00:02:43.800 --> 00:02:47.039
you get with the park stuff. And they are bringing

56
00:02:47.280 --> 00:02:50.719
art back as a character encounter. But I think they're

57
00:02:50.759 --> 00:02:52.680
hoping that because he's in the Terror Tram and there's

58
00:02:52.680 --> 00:02:58.599
a dedicated photospot, that it'll be less harassment or there's

59
00:02:58.599 --> 00:03:01.360
just more of him around and maybe less harassed. But

60
00:03:01.560 --> 00:03:04.759
so that's what's going on with Art. What do you think, Scott,

61
00:03:04.800 --> 00:03:07.319
I mean, that's it's a lot of storytelling they're doing.

62
00:03:07.400 --> 00:03:09.560
It's a lot of additive to the brand, but it's

63
00:03:09.719 --> 00:03:12.199
operationally it's a lot. It's it's basically like he's the

64
00:03:12.240 --> 00:03:14.840
mascot of They didn't say that.

65
00:03:14.879 --> 00:03:15.599
I am saying that.

66
00:03:17.400 --> 00:03:19.159
Well, I think that, you know, I think one of

67
00:03:19.159 --> 00:03:20.280
the things that we have to look at, and I

68
00:03:20.280 --> 00:03:23.159
think we're gonna talk about this even more when we

69
00:03:23.199 --> 00:03:28.400
get into the character from Obsession. But the in working

70
00:03:28.439 --> 00:03:33.000
with an independent, there's a lot less red tape because

71
00:03:33.000 --> 00:03:35.240
you can go directly to the creator, so you can

72
00:03:35.280 --> 00:03:37.240
be nimble like this, you can find ways because I

73
00:03:37.240 --> 00:03:39.280
mean Art was, I do not. I would not say

74
00:03:39.319 --> 00:03:44.280
that Art was successful the last time he was incorporated,

75
00:03:46.159 --> 00:03:48.039
not because he wasn't popular. It was actually because he

76
00:03:48.080 --> 00:03:51.240
was too popular and nobody planned for it, so, you know,

77
00:03:51.840 --> 00:03:56.360
basically unfortunately because it was because the planning happened so

78
00:03:56.479 --> 00:04:01.680
quickly and without a whole lot of support structure.

79
00:04:02.080 --> 00:04:02.759
I guess.

80
00:04:04.520 --> 00:04:08.800
Making it making it fast is great because you can

81
00:04:08.800 --> 00:04:11.680
be you know, bleeding edge, but at the same time,

82
00:04:11.840 --> 00:04:15.080
if it's bleeding edge but doesn't work, then it may not.

83
00:04:15.319 --> 00:04:17.360
You have to you have to find that balance. You know,

84
00:04:17.399 --> 00:04:18.959
you have to be nimble, you have to be able

85
00:04:19.000 --> 00:04:24.600
to you have to be able to make last minute

86
00:04:25.000 --> 00:04:28.879
adjustments based on Since IP has now become king. You

87
00:04:28.959 --> 00:04:31.439
have to kind of make last minute adjustments based on

88
00:04:31.480 --> 00:04:32.759
what IP is currently hot.

89
00:04:33.800 --> 00:04:34.519
I've been doing.

90
00:04:35.720 --> 00:04:38.319
Last year, I did some preliminary work on a horror film,

91
00:04:38.319 --> 00:04:41.040
and I told them, I said, while you're doing your film,

92
00:04:41.680 --> 00:04:44.480
figure out how it can be integrated into a theme

93
00:04:44.519 --> 00:04:49.000
park Halloween event. While you're making the film, and if

94
00:04:49.040 --> 00:04:50.519
there's you know, if you can throw a scene in

95
00:04:50.560 --> 00:04:52.360
there that could become a haunted house and become an

96
00:04:52.360 --> 00:04:55.279
expansion of that element of the of the story, do

97
00:04:55.360 --> 00:04:57.920
it so that you have it ready to go the

98
00:04:57.920 --> 00:05:00.120
moment you want to try to sell the character and

99
00:05:00.120 --> 00:05:01.879
get more people to come see the film, or if

100
00:05:01.879 --> 00:05:03.839
the film takes off and they come to you and say,

101
00:05:04.199 --> 00:05:06.639
you know, we would love for you to put x

102
00:05:06.759 --> 00:05:11.040
y Z film into our haunted attraction or our Halloween event,

103
00:05:11.279 --> 00:05:13.759
then you've got something ready to go that is not

104
00:05:14.160 --> 00:05:15.279
just well, what are.

105
00:05:15.160 --> 00:05:15.480
We going to do?

106
00:05:15.519 --> 00:05:17.120
I don't know, Let's have him roam around, Let's him

107
00:05:17.160 --> 00:05:22.639
just magically randomly appear and get beat up. So but

108
00:05:22.759 --> 00:05:24.480
as far as as far as it sounds like they're

109
00:05:24.519 --> 00:05:26.839
taking the right approach, it sounds like they're putting him

110
00:05:26.839 --> 00:05:29.519
into a more controlled environment at least for the first

111
00:05:29.639 --> 00:05:32.759
two of three. You know, if he's got a dedicated

112
00:05:33.000 --> 00:05:37.079
photo op and he's part of the terror Tram, he's

113
00:05:37.160 --> 00:05:42.360
clearly more integrated. People won't have to have that fear

114
00:05:42.360 --> 00:05:44.360
of will we see him, will we not see him?

115
00:05:44.680 --> 00:05:46.560
You know that if you take the tarror Tram, you

116
00:05:46.600 --> 00:05:48.759
will see him, and if you want to go to

117
00:05:48.800 --> 00:05:50.839
the dedicated photo op, you will see him.

118
00:05:51.160 --> 00:05:53.560
So the.

119
00:05:54.399 --> 00:05:57.319
Enthusiasm or the fear of missing out, the fomo of

120
00:05:57.319 --> 00:06:00.560
the whole situation is pretty much eliminated. So I'm hoping

121
00:06:00.600 --> 00:06:05.399
that that will reduce some of the unfortunate situations that

122
00:06:05.439 --> 00:06:10.680
happened last year. And I think, I think, you know,

123
00:06:10.720 --> 00:06:13.160
this is one of the things that I think everyone

124
00:06:13.199 --> 00:06:15.319
can kind of look at. You know, not all, not

125
00:06:15.439 --> 00:06:18.000
all parks can do are at the clown, but if

126
00:06:18.000 --> 00:06:20.680
you've got you know, even if you've got somebody local

127
00:06:20.800 --> 00:06:23.480
or a local film festival. I've known some haunts that

128
00:06:23.519 --> 00:06:30.759
will actually host host horror film competitions. And then what

129
00:06:30.920 --> 00:06:35.240
I and I keep I've judged them twice for two

130
00:06:35.240 --> 00:06:38.839
different organizations, and I kept saying, what you really need

131
00:06:38.879 --> 00:06:41.240
to do is look at take the winner and make

132
00:06:41.279 --> 00:06:43.160
it so the winner doesn't have money. The winner gets

133
00:06:43.399 --> 00:06:47.639
the theme for the following year, so that you're taking

134
00:06:47.759 --> 00:06:51.639
it into control. You know, we've talked about the idea

135
00:06:51.720 --> 00:06:56.680
of doing attractions from films, but we've also talked about

136
00:06:56.720 --> 00:06:58.639
the idea of doing films from attractions.

137
00:06:58.920 --> 00:06:59.360
You know, the.

138
00:06:59.439 --> 00:07:02.680
We'll just call it the Pirates of the Caribbean syndrome.

139
00:07:04.079 --> 00:07:08.360
So I think the more what I would recommend, especially

140
00:07:08.399 --> 00:07:10.839
from like an art the clown situation or an obsession situation,

141
00:07:11.160 --> 00:07:13.959
is start to blur the lines between the two. Start

142
00:07:14.040 --> 00:07:18.800
thinking about those as soon as you can, and keep that,

143
00:07:20.319 --> 00:07:20.800
keep that.

144
00:07:20.959 --> 00:07:21.439
On the.

145
00:07:23.079 --> 00:07:24.800
On the radar so that it doesn't all of a

146
00:07:24.839 --> 00:07:28.120
sudden pop up and you go, oh oh, you know,

147
00:07:28.120 --> 00:07:29.480
it would have been so much cooler if we had

148
00:07:29.480 --> 00:07:31.360
done this, or so much easier to integrate into a

149
00:07:31.360 --> 00:07:33.879
park if we had done that, or so much easier

150
00:07:33.879 --> 00:07:35.759
to translate it into a live experience if we.

151
00:07:35.720 --> 00:07:36.199
Had done this.

152
00:07:37.439 --> 00:07:40.240
Keep that in mind from the get go, because you know,

153
00:07:40.319 --> 00:07:44.240
as we're learning, that is great marketing for a small film,

154
00:07:44.360 --> 00:07:47.600
for an independent film number one and number two. It's

155
00:07:47.639 --> 00:07:51.480
also an additional revenue stream. So it's a revenue stream

156
00:07:51.519 --> 00:07:53.639
you get paid to participate.

157
00:07:53.040 --> 00:07:55.120
In I do think.

158
00:07:55.160 --> 00:07:58.920
I think it's interesting you're bringing that up tangentially. We've

159
00:07:58.959 --> 00:08:02.040
talked about that with Meo Wolf the New La Experience

160
00:08:02.360 --> 00:08:04.319
where they set. They partnered with the film studio from

161
00:08:04.319 --> 00:08:06.399
the beginning and they planned to make an animated series

162
00:08:06.439 --> 00:08:09.120
that runs in tandem, you know, with the with the

163
00:08:09.160 --> 00:08:12.639
debut of the experience, and have unified characters for the

164
00:08:12.639 --> 00:08:16.800
first time, you know, And it also strikes me that,

165
00:08:16.879 --> 00:08:19.120
you know, that's what John Murdy and the team had

166
00:08:19.160 --> 00:08:22.120
to do for this, is that they had to effectively

167
00:08:22.199 --> 00:08:25.759
make new art the clown media that because you know,

168
00:08:25.800 --> 00:08:28.360
the Terror Tram for those of you that haven't been

169
00:08:28.399 --> 00:08:31.240
on it, it is the most unique part of hallowing

170
00:08:31.279 --> 00:08:33.360
rond and Hollywood because it's the thing that nobody else has,

171
00:08:33.519 --> 00:08:35.279
is this tram that goes on the back lot, right

172
00:08:36.159 --> 00:08:38.440
but you're on a tram ride for a significant amount

173
00:08:38.440 --> 00:08:41.240
of time, and that's when you can give them the exposition.

174
00:08:42.159 --> 00:08:43.960
And so I think in the past it hasn't been

175
00:08:44.000 --> 00:08:47.200
as strong because it hasn't been as strong of an exposition.

176
00:08:47.559 --> 00:08:49.080
But in this case, you know, they had to so

177
00:08:49.200 --> 00:08:52.799
basically they it's exactly what Scott's talking about. They started

178
00:08:53.600 --> 00:08:55.679
you know, Terrrifier was a movie. Then they got brought

179
00:08:55.679 --> 00:08:57.919
into the parks. But now they're they're having to make

180
00:08:58.159 --> 00:09:01.519
new film the media that can play while people are

181
00:09:01.559 --> 00:09:05.240
sitting there. So basically new excerpts of a movie that

182
00:09:05.240 --> 00:09:08.879
people can listen to while they are on the trend

183
00:09:08.879 --> 00:09:11.320
that then takes them into a physical experience. So they

184
00:09:11.360 --> 00:09:15.679
are creating new media to give this exposition for this.

185
00:09:15.840 --> 00:09:19.639
And Jemmery talks about the difficulty, like you're saying the

186
00:09:19.639 --> 00:09:22.200
difficulty of a character who doesn't talk at all. So

187
00:09:22.240 --> 00:09:25.240
how can they give exposition, Well, you have to put

188
00:09:25.279 --> 00:09:28.480
a narrative around it as to that's why there's this

189
00:09:28.559 --> 00:09:30.759
book and it's like a story book, and then there's

190
00:09:31.200 --> 00:09:33.600
a different out of body narrator, right, and then there's

191
00:09:34.039 --> 00:09:36.240
music and all this that has to happen around there

192
00:09:36.279 --> 00:09:41.320
because the character can't talk, right. So it's interesting, it's

193
00:09:41.399 --> 00:09:43.399
I think this is also something that probably only Hollywood

194
00:09:43.399 --> 00:09:46.279
can do. I'm also going to say that because you

195
00:09:46.360 --> 00:09:49.639
need the talent, you know, you need the ability to

196
00:09:49.679 --> 00:09:51.919
do all of this, not just the access to the IP.

197
00:09:52.639 --> 00:09:54.919
And I think that's something that would have been harder

198
00:09:54.960 --> 00:09:58.080
to do again in Orlando because the bigger event, and

199
00:09:58.120 --> 00:09:58.559
there's just.

200
00:09:58.559 --> 00:10:01.320
More well, and I think I think, I think that's

201
00:10:01.320 --> 00:10:04.159
something you just have to That's just a really good

202
00:10:04.159 --> 00:10:08.840
point across the board. Access to an IP and the

203
00:10:08.879 --> 00:10:13.399
ability to strongly execute that access are two very very

204
00:10:13.440 --> 00:10:15.519
different things. And I think we've mentioned it a little

205
00:10:15.519 --> 00:10:18.200
bit before in other episodes, where you know, if you

206
00:10:18.240 --> 00:10:20.440
if you have to spend so much on getting the

207
00:10:20.519 --> 00:10:23.720
rights to use the IP, if that takes money out

208
00:10:23.759 --> 00:10:26.799
of the pocket for the implementation, it may not be

209
00:10:26.919 --> 00:10:30.039
money well spent. It may be money well spent from

210
00:10:30.159 --> 00:10:34.000
a marketing standpoint, but from a repeat visitation or a

211
00:10:34.080 --> 00:10:38.080
social media the you know, the the Yelp reviews will

212
00:10:38.080 --> 00:10:40.279
go crashing to the ground if it's not if it's

213
00:10:40.279 --> 00:10:45.519
not executed properly. So finding that balance between yes, okay,

214
00:10:45.559 --> 00:10:49.200
we can get this, we can get this IP, but

215
00:10:49.840 --> 00:10:52.080
do we have a plan that we can afford to

216
00:10:52.200 --> 00:10:56.399
implement it once we have the ability to use these characters.

217
00:10:56.279 --> 00:10:59.279
Right, And that's going into the obsession thing.

218
00:10:59.320 --> 00:10:59.639
I thought.

219
00:10:59.639 --> 00:11:01.600
The thing I thought was interesting most there is about

220
00:11:01.679 --> 00:11:03.679
how quickly they were able to do it, which should

221
00:11:03.759 --> 00:11:06.960
really give a lot of hope, I think, to anyone

222
00:11:07.200 --> 00:11:10.600
in the physical park. Theinged entertainment environment that's trying to

223
00:11:11.759 --> 00:11:16.200
move things pretty fast. So you know, the show didn't

224
00:11:16.200 --> 00:11:20.480
come out until May Obsession, and apparently, if you listen,

225
00:11:20.679 --> 00:11:24.279
according to how John Murdy tells it, he didn't know

226
00:11:25.200 --> 00:11:27.159
the creator or any of that the movie or went

227
00:11:27.159 --> 00:11:28.559
not until he saw it, but he loved the film,

228
00:11:28.559 --> 00:11:31.840
and then somebody else basically send him a tweet where

229
00:11:32.039 --> 00:11:35.080
the creator of the film enjoys going to Halloween horn

230
00:11:35.120 --> 00:11:38.519
Nit's in Hollywood because they come here to Hollywood of course,

231
00:11:38.840 --> 00:11:42.559
because that's where they're based, apparently, and so John May

232
00:11:42.639 --> 00:11:44.320
was able to get in contact with them and make

233
00:11:44.360 --> 00:11:48.000
a deal to bring in Nikki, the one of the main.

234
00:11:47.919 --> 00:11:51.039
Characters who's portrayed I guess as a villain.

235
00:11:51.039 --> 00:11:53.120
But then you get into the question of is the

236
00:11:53.200 --> 00:11:55.120
character going to be a villain or not, because you know,

237
00:11:55.120 --> 00:11:56.399
how is it going to work in the timeline all

238
00:11:56.399 --> 00:11:57.879
that kind of stuff, But you're able to bring he

239
00:11:57.919 --> 00:12:00.759
was able to bring that in from you to now,

240
00:12:00.840 --> 00:12:03.320
so it was like two months we're able to figure

241
00:12:03.320 --> 00:12:06.200
it out. And I will say it seems like in

242
00:12:06.200 --> 00:12:09.279
Hollywood they're moving over to doing what they're calling character

243
00:12:09.360 --> 00:12:12.919
experiences rather than scare zones. So they've kind of only

244
00:12:12.919 --> 00:12:15.480
doing four scare zones, but they have more character experiences,

245
00:12:15.639 --> 00:12:17.360
and this will be a character experience. And I think

246
00:12:17.360 --> 00:12:22.759
it's just because it's faster. I mean, it's easier, it's

247
00:12:22.759 --> 00:12:26.279
more flexible. A character experience can be anything, basically, and

248
00:12:26.320 --> 00:12:29.720
it's a lot easier to bring that in, less props,

249
00:12:29.799 --> 00:12:32.240
less whatever. But it seems to be working really well.

250
00:12:32.600 --> 00:12:36.240
Again to your points got about it works well. I

251
00:12:36.240 --> 00:12:39.000
think when you have good characters, which means having access

252
00:12:39.000 --> 00:12:41.320
to good talent, and you just have a lot of

253
00:12:41.320 --> 00:12:42.960
talent sitting around in Hollywood.

254
00:12:43.000 --> 00:12:44.960
Well, I mean one of the examples, the closest example

255
00:12:44.960 --> 00:12:47.639
that I've worked on personally is not necessarily an IP.

256
00:12:48.279 --> 00:12:52.279
But back at Hollow Scream in Tampa, we would not

257
00:12:52.559 --> 00:12:56.679
know the marketing creative and that was the last thing

258
00:12:56.720 --> 00:12:59.000
we figured out. That was the last thing we heard

259
00:12:59.039 --> 00:13:03.240
from the marketing team. So, because it was very important

260
00:13:03.279 --> 00:13:05.240
to me and and a lot of the team at

261
00:13:05.240 --> 00:13:10.399
the time to have an opportunity for guests to experience

262
00:13:10.600 --> 00:13:13.120
that marketing creative the moment they walked into the event,

263
00:13:14.120 --> 00:13:18.080
we would actually just go ahead and hold a certain

264
00:13:18.159 --> 00:13:21.120
chunk of the budget for the front Gate experience and

265
00:13:21.440 --> 00:13:25.639
we would you know, guestimate that we'll need X amount

266
00:13:25.679 --> 00:13:28.000
for scenic, X amount for lighting, X amount for fog,

267
00:13:28.240 --> 00:13:31.480
X amount for audio, put a put a placeholder in

268
00:13:31.519 --> 00:13:35.519
there for some the creation of some some original music,

269
00:13:35.879 --> 00:13:38.519
that sort of thing, and then of course labor. So

270
00:13:38.720 --> 00:13:41.960
I would know that whatever the experience was, we've got

271
00:13:42.559 --> 00:13:45.679
eight we've got eight characters assigned to that area. So

272
00:13:46.879 --> 00:13:48.279
we don't know what those eight characters are going to

273
00:13:48.320 --> 00:13:51.159
be at. But we had it in the plan from

274
00:13:51.279 --> 00:13:53.960
the get go, so it wasn't oh, gosh, what can

275
00:13:53.960 --> 00:13:55.960
we cut so that we can get this last minute

276
00:13:55.960 --> 00:13:56.600
really hot thing.

277
00:13:58.720 --> 00:14:00.399
So I would I think that's.

278
00:14:00.600 --> 00:14:03.600
As you say, Philip, I think that the the idea

279
00:14:03.759 --> 00:14:08.000
of doing them as character experiences or or glorified photo

280
00:14:08.000 --> 00:14:11.519
ops or whatever you want to call them much simpler

281
00:14:11.559 --> 00:14:13.679
you could. You can plug and play pretty much any

282
00:14:13.759 --> 00:14:16.120
character into those kinds of things. If you know, you

283
00:14:16.159 --> 00:14:18.120
know we're gonna need we're gonna need a backdrop, we're

284
00:14:18.120 --> 00:14:20.879
gonna need lighting, we're gonna need an audio, and we're

285
00:14:20.879 --> 00:14:21.559
gonna need a queue.

286
00:14:22.159 --> 00:14:24.639
And if you know that, and.

287
00:14:24.600 --> 00:14:26.960
You've got all that laid out and ready to go,

288
00:14:27.480 --> 00:14:30.639
the moment you get your character, no matter how bleeding

289
00:14:30.720 --> 00:14:31.240
edge it is.

290
00:14:31.360 --> 00:14:33.600
It's like done, plug and play.

291
00:14:33.720 --> 00:14:34.679
Yep, yep, yeah.

292
00:14:34.679 --> 00:14:36.919
I think that's that's a good takeaway is building the

293
00:14:36.960 --> 00:14:39.960
event bones and then you allow for flexibility because you've

294
00:14:40.000 --> 00:14:42.639
already allocated a budget to do something. It doesn't mean

295
00:14:42.679 --> 00:14:44.480
you have to have the whole event planned in January.

296
00:14:44.559 --> 00:14:46.840
It just means you can be flexible. I think we're

297
00:14:46.840 --> 00:14:47.960
seeing that around the board.

298
00:14:49.240 --> 00:14:51.639
Uh, we're trying. I'll try and speed things up here.

299
00:14:51.639 --> 00:14:55.440
But with kil Sineada, the which is the original Hnehouse

300
00:14:55.480 --> 00:14:57.840
in Hollywood, the interesting thing there is that they have

301
00:14:57.919 --> 00:15:01.440
partnered with Slash to compose an original song which does

302
00:15:01.480 --> 00:15:04.480
include singing, and it's basically the song is giving you

303
00:15:04.559 --> 00:15:07.440
the backstory and the whole thing. It's a full What

304
00:15:07.480 --> 00:15:10.120
I like about it is it's a well composed song

305
00:15:10.799 --> 00:15:14.120
and it gives you the motive and it gives you

306
00:15:14.159 --> 00:15:16.399
all the exposition in the song, but not in a

307
00:15:16.480 --> 00:15:17.080
forced way.

308
00:15:17.159 --> 00:15:17.960
It's like a ballad.

309
00:15:18.279 --> 00:15:18.440
Good.

310
00:15:18.559 --> 00:15:20.759
It's a good, well done song. It sung well, it

311
00:15:20.840 --> 00:15:24.360
sounds incredible, It's really really and it will play in

312
00:15:24.399 --> 00:15:28.000
the house. They're also making the character appear and the

313
00:15:28.039 --> 00:15:31.080
character will be lip syncing to the vocals, so it'll

314
00:15:31.120 --> 00:15:32.919
be tied directly to that and playing at the house.

315
00:15:33.159 --> 00:15:34.919
So I think that's a really good way of making

316
00:15:35.039 --> 00:15:37.279
this stuff sticky. And we talk about like how do

317
00:15:37.320 --> 00:15:40.159
you convey your stories quickly? How do you make things sticky?

318
00:15:40.159 --> 00:15:42.039
How do how do you do all these things? This

319
00:15:42.120 --> 00:15:44.639
is a music is a pretty good way to do it,

320
00:15:44.759 --> 00:15:47.879
especially when you can make it sticky. They played the

321
00:15:47.960 --> 00:15:51.480
music already at the panel Midsummer Scream. I put it

322
00:15:51.559 --> 00:15:54.000
up on my YouTube and the thing I noticed about

323
00:15:54.000 --> 00:15:56.919
people is the comments or discuss that how it's a

324
00:15:56.960 --> 00:15:59.519
really good song and please put it out on Spotify,

325
00:15:59.600 --> 00:16:01.399
and kind of people asking to be able to listen

326
00:16:01.399 --> 00:16:02.679
to this outside of the event.

327
00:16:03.000 --> 00:16:03.960
And that's a good sign.

328
00:16:04.440 --> 00:16:06.320
And I think that's what we would be hoping for

329
00:16:06.360 --> 00:16:08.320
with a story, is that people want it outside of

330
00:16:08.320 --> 00:16:08.679
the event.

331
00:16:09.120 --> 00:16:12.480
And quite honestly, you can these days. And I'm sorry,

332
00:16:12.519 --> 00:16:15.600
I hate to say it, but let's say you can't

333
00:16:15.600 --> 00:16:19.039
afford to hire slash, Well, the next stop is find

334
00:16:19.080 --> 00:16:21.879
a local band, find a local band that's that's looking

335
00:16:21.879 --> 00:16:27.120
for some exposure, or worst case scenario, you can go

336
00:16:27.159 --> 00:16:29.320
to you can. I mean, music can be composed through AI,

337
00:16:29.840 --> 00:16:34.919
including lyrics. So if you want your quote unquote original

338
00:16:35.000 --> 00:16:37.080
and I put that in quotes because nothing from AI

339
00:16:37.200 --> 00:16:41.799
is truly one hundred original. But if you if you

340
00:16:42.320 --> 00:16:45.600
want to do that, you can. You have the ability

341
00:16:45.960 --> 00:16:49.080
to put that together. So I love the idea of

342
00:16:49.120 --> 00:16:50.399
having a theme song.

343
00:16:50.440 --> 00:16:50.960
We've done that.

344
00:16:51.480 --> 00:16:54.480
I've done that several times at several different haunts, and

345
00:16:54.639 --> 00:16:57.919
in fact, I'm doing it for one of the experience.

346
00:16:58.000 --> 00:17:01.519
That's one of the experiences at Zoo Tampa. And although

347
00:17:01.600 --> 00:17:05.640
the song, which does have lyrics, was not will not

348
00:17:05.680 --> 00:17:07.359
be playing throughout the house, it does play throughout the

349
00:17:07.440 --> 00:17:11.599
queue and it tells basically the backstory.

350
00:17:11.759 --> 00:17:15.359
Yep, yep exactly. And I also think it's back to

351
00:17:15.400 --> 00:17:18.599
the marketing thing you mentioned before too. It's it does

352
00:17:18.640 --> 00:17:21.039
give you things to talk about that make it interesting

353
00:17:21.079 --> 00:17:25.200
and differentiated. And I think what I like about these

354
00:17:25.240 --> 00:17:27.160
two is it's something for the super fans to look at,

355
00:17:27.160 --> 00:17:29.079
but it's something for everyone to enjoy.

356
00:17:29.319 --> 00:17:31.519
Like you don't have to write. The song is just

357
00:17:31.519 --> 00:17:33.240
good on its own and you can just enjoy it

358
00:17:33.240 --> 00:17:34.519
while you're waiting in line or whatever.

359
00:17:34.519 --> 00:17:36.359
And it doesn't have to but it so it's the

360
00:17:36.359 --> 00:17:39.799
same method though the Hollywood is doing for the Terror Tram, right,

361
00:17:39.799 --> 00:17:43.000
because they they had a smaller, much smaller band, I

362
00:17:43.119 --> 00:17:47.960
Sline Kills and they are composing all these songs to

363
00:17:48.039 --> 00:17:51.079
be played on the Terror Tram. So like they're doing

364
00:17:51.079 --> 00:17:53.160
that same strategy on a smaller level with a smaller

365
00:17:53.160 --> 00:17:55.319
band for the Terror Tram, and I think that's the

366
00:17:55.359 --> 00:17:57.319
goodt strategy very quickly.

367
00:17:57.319 --> 00:17:59.519
It's important to recognize that anybody can do it. That's

368
00:17:59.519 --> 00:18:02.839
the most of this is this is a cool idea.

369
00:18:03.519 --> 00:18:05.200
This is a takeaway that you don't have to do

370
00:18:05.319 --> 00:18:12.720
with a rockstar Hall of Fame level performer.

371
00:18:12.799 --> 00:18:14.400
You can do it with somebody local, or you can

372
00:18:14.480 --> 00:18:15.000
use a night.

373
00:18:15.680 --> 00:18:19.200
Right For the first time, Hollywood is doing a Unmasking

374
00:18:19.279 --> 00:18:22.079
the Horror tour, which we've talked about before too. I mean,

375
00:18:22.119 --> 00:18:24.079
if you have these assets, as long as the assets

376
00:18:24.160 --> 00:18:26.759
hold up in daylight, which a lot of them sometimes don't,

377
00:18:26.759 --> 00:18:28.599
but as long as the asset holds up in daylight

378
00:18:28.880 --> 00:18:31.640
with house lights on, this is a great idea. I'm

379
00:18:31.640 --> 00:18:34.440
actually surprised it's taken Hollywood this long to do this

380
00:18:34.480 --> 00:18:38.079
because it's an easy thing to do. Like Scott always says,

381
00:18:38.240 --> 00:18:40.519
you you know, you're really just paying for the time

382
00:18:40.559 --> 00:18:42.880
of the human to walk the other humans through, and

383
00:18:42.960 --> 00:18:45.759
so in this case, in this case, the price is interesting.

384
00:18:45.839 --> 00:18:49.279
So it's twenty dollars per person and it's two houses,

385
00:18:49.519 --> 00:18:51.400
which still works out because I think it's a group

386
00:18:51.440 --> 00:18:54.799
of twelve or twenty or something, so you're still paying

387
00:18:54.839 --> 00:19:00.279
more than the person's cost, you know, than the staff cost.

388
00:19:00.480 --> 00:19:03.119
But it's a really accessible price point. And you go

389
00:19:03.200 --> 00:19:06.240
through kil Sinetta and Sinners as the two that you

390
00:19:06.279 --> 00:19:09.000
go through, and it's an hour, so it's a nice

391
00:19:09.039 --> 00:19:12.079
fun up charge thing that just an hour, and they're

392
00:19:12.119 --> 00:19:14.279
firing them every half hour, so they probably have two

393
00:19:14.279 --> 00:19:16.759
groups that are just cycling back and forth. So that's

394
00:19:17.559 --> 00:19:20.960
I think that's I mean in this case that you're

395
00:19:21.000 --> 00:19:23.680
going to have the demand because it's universal, you know,

396
00:19:23.720 --> 00:19:25.880
and so you have the demand there. But I think

397
00:19:25.920 --> 00:19:29.079
that anybody could be thinking about how they could do

398
00:19:29.240 --> 00:19:31.160
tours of this, and well, we're not going to get

399
00:19:31.200 --> 00:19:32.519
a chance to talk about this by one more thing

400
00:19:32.519 --> 00:19:34.519
I'm going to pull in just because I've been writing

401
00:19:34.519 --> 00:19:38.519
about it. At Kenny Wood this year for their Phantom

402
00:19:38.559 --> 00:19:42.440
Fall Fest, they have what they're doing is in the

403
00:19:42.480 --> 00:19:45.720
same ballpark they have that trackless Stark ride there, and

404
00:19:45.759 --> 00:19:49.160
what they're doing is converting that track with Stark Ride into.

405
00:19:48.720 --> 00:19:52.480
A haunted house for their Fantom Fall Knights and two things.

406
00:19:52.519 --> 00:19:56.039
So during the day on the Phantom Fall fast nights,

407
00:19:56.079 --> 00:19:58.559
it's going to be a trick or treat experience with

408
00:19:58.799 --> 00:20:01.640
actors and they'll walk through intric or treat inside inside

409
00:20:01.680 --> 00:20:04.759
the dark ride. At night it'll transform into a hont house.

410
00:20:05.200 --> 00:20:07.240
And so it's the same idea of like, this is

411
00:20:07.279 --> 00:20:10.079
a really good asset that looks good with the lights

412
00:20:10.119 --> 00:20:12.279
on and that you can reutilize. And we see two

413
00:20:12.319 --> 00:20:13.200
different ways of doing it.

414
00:20:13.200 --> 00:20:13.319
You know.

415
00:20:13.400 --> 00:20:15.680
Kenny Wood is like, let's just let kids walk through

416
00:20:15.720 --> 00:20:18.240
and make it not scary and give them candy, which

417
00:20:18.319 --> 00:20:20.440
is a great idea. And then on the flip side,

418
00:20:20.480 --> 00:20:22.480
you know, Hollywood's like, let's just let people walk through

419
00:20:22.480 --> 00:20:25.640
and we'll just tell them how triggers work, right, and

420
00:20:26.359 --> 00:20:28.720
we'll charge them and they'll just be one staff member

421
00:20:28.720 --> 00:20:30.279
they'll take them through and they can take pictures because

422
00:20:30.279 --> 00:20:30.920
it looks so great.

423
00:20:31.440 --> 00:20:32.279
Great ideas.

424
00:20:32.680 --> 00:20:36.519
Yeah, once again, it's all about the execution. I will

425
00:20:36.559 --> 00:20:39.039
say that it's very rare that just turning the lights

426
00:20:39.079 --> 00:20:41.559
on for these kinds of tours is enough.

427
00:20:43.240 --> 00:20:47.920
But candlelight treating experience and candy, Yeah, I mean.

428
00:20:47.880 --> 00:20:51.279
Candy is great and uh and and quite honestly, the

429
00:20:51.359 --> 00:20:56.559
unmasking tours is for for fans anyway, So they're going

430
00:20:56.599 --> 00:20:58.599
to nerd out about being able to see stuff and

431
00:20:58.640 --> 00:21:01.799
take pictures of stuff that they won't normally be able

432
00:21:01.839 --> 00:21:07.160
to get good shots of. So yeah, if you can

433
00:21:07.200 --> 00:21:10.839
generate revenue, we were, we were. I've had I've been

434
00:21:10.839 --> 00:21:14.039
of multiple mindsets on this. There is the side that

435
00:21:14.160 --> 00:21:18.519
if you show too many people lights on tour, then

436
00:21:19.200 --> 00:21:22.200
the magic is shot. So you just have to kind

437
00:21:22.200 --> 00:21:23.960
of make sure what you're showing and what you're not

438
00:21:24.359 --> 00:21:26.640
so that you can still have those unexpected moments throughout

439
00:21:26.680 --> 00:21:26.960
the hunt.

440
00:21:27.680 --> 00:21:28.720
Yeah.

441
00:21:28.720 --> 00:21:31.039
I think a lot that comes from the performers too, right,

442
00:21:31.119 --> 00:21:35.240
because it's a really different experience without performers and without

443
00:21:35.279 --> 00:21:36.680
show lighting, and so.

444
00:21:36.839 --> 00:21:39.359
Absolutely think that's that's that that that's a big of it.

445
00:21:39.400 --> 00:21:40.880
You know, you're still going to be surprised because the

446
00:21:40.920 --> 00:21:44.400
performers bring that that energy to it, even if you know,

447
00:21:44.960 --> 00:21:45.720
like they point out.

448
00:21:47.079 --> 00:21:49.240
As does show lighting and audio, you know, as do

449
00:21:49.319 --> 00:21:52.119
show lighting and audio, it's it's it's you hit the

450
00:21:52.200 --> 00:21:54.079
nail on the head when you say, does it look

451
00:21:54.119 --> 00:21:55.759
good under house lights?

452
00:21:56.200 --> 00:21:57.000
Right? Right?

453
00:21:57.880 --> 00:22:02.960
Okay, let's try and button this up. So the two

454
00:22:03.119 --> 00:22:05.720
other very interesting things that came out of Midsummer' Scream.

455
00:22:05.759 --> 00:22:07.839
One is that Winchester Mystery House is kind of moving

456
00:22:07.880 --> 00:22:10.720
from a linear hont format into a festful format. That's

457
00:22:10.759 --> 00:22:13.400
a trend that we've been seeing multiple places. The Scarehouse

458
00:22:13.440 --> 00:22:15.960
is also doing something like that where they're only opening

459
00:22:16.079 --> 00:22:17.880
a festival event with no haunt at all, but this

460
00:22:17.920 --> 00:22:20.240
one's at least more of a festival type choose your

461
00:22:20.279 --> 00:22:23.440
an adventure experience, which is I think where things are

462
00:22:23.440 --> 00:22:27.000
going again. We're getting more into that free flow less

463
00:22:27.079 --> 00:22:29.480
line experience. The character accounters that we just talked about

464
00:22:29.480 --> 00:22:34.039
another good example of that. And over at six Flags

465
00:22:34.039 --> 00:22:37.039
Magic Mountain they have announced a partnership with Final Destination.

466
00:22:37.640 --> 00:22:40.160
And the more interesting thing though, is that they have

467
00:22:40.200 --> 00:22:43.359
a new Werewolf maze that was designed by one of

468
00:22:43.359 --> 00:22:46.880
the Not Scary Farm designers. Because now that they're the

469
00:22:46.960 --> 00:22:49.599
same umbrella, you can do that you can have Not

470
00:22:49.720 --> 00:22:53.720
Scary Farm designers haunted houses for other parks, and that

471
00:22:53.799 --> 00:22:55.400
is fascinating to me and very smart.

472
00:22:57.039 --> 00:22:59.079
Yeah, there was a time that they really pushed back

473
00:22:59.119 --> 00:22:59.359
on that.

474
00:23:00.079 --> 00:23:01.039
Yep, when I was doing.

475
00:23:00.839 --> 00:23:06.000
Some work for them, they really did not want to

476
00:23:07.400 --> 00:23:13.759
dilute the uh, the the Knots experience by making them

477
00:23:13.799 --> 00:23:14.920
available in other parks.

478
00:23:15.119 --> 00:23:17.519
But I'm glad to see that that is that is

479
00:23:17.559 --> 00:23:18.640
the that is the.

480
00:23:18.960 --> 00:23:23.079
New norm, because again, you know, as we said just

481
00:23:23.119 --> 00:23:25.359
before the show, six Flags is the largest theme park

482
00:23:25.359 --> 00:23:26.440
operator in the country, so.

483
00:23:28.400 --> 00:23:30.079
You might as well, you might as well cross utilize

484
00:23:30.079 --> 00:23:30.640
your assets.

485
00:23:31.119 --> 00:23:31.960
That's right, that's right.

486
00:23:32.039 --> 00:23:35.039
Well, speaking of that, our was trying to talk a

487
00:23:35.079 --> 00:23:37.240
little bit about the season passes.

488
00:23:37.279 --> 00:23:38.160
It fits right into this.

489
00:23:38.279 --> 00:23:41.799
So the we talked last show about the earnest call,

490
00:23:42.519 --> 00:23:45.440
but we recorded before they released the twenty twenty seven

491
00:23:45.559 --> 00:23:49.000
annual pass information, so we have that now. I'm sure

492
00:23:49.039 --> 00:23:50.559
all of you have already seen it too. But it

493
00:23:50.599 --> 00:23:53.359
plays into this where you know, you this is a

494
00:23:53.400 --> 00:23:57.880
great little microcosm of the situation where you have a

495
00:23:58.000 --> 00:24:01.640
not scary farm designer design you know, Haunted House for

496
00:24:02.000 --> 00:24:05.039
six Flags, but also doing work for Knots. But those

497
00:24:05.079 --> 00:24:08.440
are covered under the same gold pass. So people that

498
00:24:08.480 --> 00:24:11.160
have gold passes can actually go to both parks. They

499
00:24:11.160 --> 00:24:14.279
can't go to both Halloween events necessarily, because not scary

500
00:24:14.279 --> 00:24:16.400
farmers a separate ticket charge. But it's kind of that

501
00:24:16.480 --> 00:24:20.519
principle of you're tying these regional parks together, try and

502
00:24:20.519 --> 00:24:24.559
make them a little bit more coherent. So I think

503
00:24:24.400 --> 00:24:31.359
the most interesting things about this pass sale is, you know, it's,

504
00:24:33.519 --> 00:24:37.359
like we said before, the Gold Pass, they've split into

505
00:24:37.359 --> 00:24:41.000
four regions. They have East, West, Midwest, or Texas, and

506
00:24:41.039 --> 00:24:44.119
then they saw the Prestige Pass, which is every six

507
00:24:44.160 --> 00:24:46.359
Flags park in North America. From there, it kind of

508
00:24:46.519 --> 00:24:48.839
all changes a little bit actually, So some of the

509
00:24:48.839 --> 00:24:52.200
Gold passes include parking, some do not. All the Prestige

510
00:24:52.200 --> 00:24:55.480
passes includes parking. It kind of depends on the region,

511
00:24:55.759 --> 00:24:57.519
So they're basically pricing.

512
00:24:57.119 --> 00:24:57.720
It per region.

513
00:24:57.920 --> 00:24:59.599
Is the most interesting part where they're kind of breaking

514
00:24:59.599 --> 00:25:01.920
each region up. Each region's Gold Pass has a little

515
00:25:01.920 --> 00:25:06.920
bit different offerings and prices, and then Prestige just covers everything.

516
00:25:07.559 --> 00:25:10.160
How much you pay depends on your home park as well,

517
00:25:10.440 --> 00:25:15.200
and that's part of the regional pricing. So what I

518
00:25:15.200 --> 00:25:20.240
think the biggest from a zooming out from a macro standpoint,

519
00:25:20.640 --> 00:25:25.200
they kept the prices pretty accessible. These are very very cheap,

520
00:25:25.440 --> 00:25:29.240
accessible prices for the Gold and for the Prestige I

521
00:25:29.240 --> 00:25:33.200
would argue, so it's clear that they're still trying to

522
00:25:33.400 --> 00:25:35.960
carry the strategy of getting guests to come back over

523
00:25:36.000 --> 00:25:38.039
and over. If you make the entry price cheaper, they

524
00:25:38.079 --> 00:25:40.319
come back. Where they did make some adjustments was with

525
00:25:40.400 --> 00:25:45.160
the dining. So previously it was really cheap to add

526
00:25:45.160 --> 00:25:47.039
your dining plan you can eat every time you go

527
00:25:47.119 --> 00:25:49.079
to the park or whatnot. They've changed that now so

528
00:25:49.079 --> 00:25:51.839
they're offering more like bundles, so you can get a

529
00:25:51.960 --> 00:25:54.599
twenty meal bundle, or you can get a thirty meal bundle,

530
00:25:55.079 --> 00:25:58.680
or you can do the classic where you can eat

531
00:25:58.720 --> 00:26:00.240
every time you show up with the park. So that's

532
00:26:00.279 --> 00:26:02.440
kind of how they split everything up. And those prices

533
00:26:02.480 --> 00:26:07.880
are also different depending on which bundle.

534
00:26:07.559 --> 00:26:09.559
You have, like what area you have.

535
00:26:10.839 --> 00:26:12.920
But to give you a range, I looked at them

536
00:26:12.960 --> 00:26:15.759
because my home park is Notts very farm, so for me,

537
00:26:16.319 --> 00:26:19.640
the twenty bundle is one hundred and forty, the thirty

538
00:26:19.680 --> 00:26:22.759
bundle is one hundred and eighty, and then every the

539
00:26:23.039 --> 00:26:27.079
whole season unlimited dining is five hundred, which is still cheap.

540
00:26:27.160 --> 00:26:30.720
It's like seven dollars a meal, like it's still a

541
00:26:30.839 --> 00:26:34.240
very accessible I think price point four families in this

542
00:26:34.359 --> 00:26:37.400
range it's just they changed it a little bit and

543
00:26:37.680 --> 00:26:41.200
they're offering drink passes, and they also offer all season

544
00:26:41.279 --> 00:26:43.079
fast lanes, which I think is where a lot of

545
00:26:43.079 --> 00:26:46.480
the fans kind of went crazy, because, for example, that

546
00:26:46.519 --> 00:26:49.119
all season fastening for Knots is six hundred dollars if

547
00:26:49.119 --> 00:26:51.640
you want to do fastening every time you go to Knots.

548
00:26:51.960 --> 00:26:56.079
But for Cedar Point it's two thousand dollars because it's

549
00:26:56.079 --> 00:26:58.440
Cedar Point, and they had an issue, of course with

550
00:26:58.519 --> 00:27:01.279
everybody from that region going there to fill up the

551
00:27:01.319 --> 00:27:05.799
lines because they have the best coasters there. So, Scott,

552
00:27:05.839 --> 00:27:08.839
what do you think from operational standpoint about these changes.

553
00:27:08.880 --> 00:27:12.799
I think they're kind of necessary in order to have

554
00:27:12.880 --> 00:27:15.880
these models be sustainable, right, I mean, you can't be

555
00:27:15.920 --> 00:27:18.160
giving away so much food, and then you can't be

556
00:27:18.200 --> 00:27:21.400
given away too many fast lanes or you clog up

557
00:27:21.400 --> 00:27:22.079
the experience.

558
00:27:23.640 --> 00:27:27.920
Well, and I'm curious to see how having the fast

559
00:27:28.000 --> 00:27:33.279
lane associated with your pass. I'm curious to see how

560
00:27:33.279 --> 00:27:36.720
that's going to play out operationally. My only concern about

561
00:27:36.759 --> 00:27:37.960
this and looking at all of it, I don't think

562
00:27:38.000 --> 00:27:41.359
there's anything particularly wrong with any of it, and I

563
00:27:41.680 --> 00:27:43.680
do think it's interesting that they're playing with all the

564
00:27:43.759 --> 00:27:46.920
different all the different tinker toys that they have to offer.

565
00:27:47.200 --> 00:27:50.680
There's you know, passes, there's there's fast passes, there's food

566
00:27:50.759 --> 00:27:54.720
that it targets different demographics. Quite honestly, that's right, which

567
00:27:54.759 --> 00:27:56.359
is more important getting to the front of the line

568
00:27:56.440 --> 00:28:00.359
or getting food. So it's it's focusing on different demo graphics,

569
00:28:00.359 --> 00:28:06.319
which I think is smart. I think I personally feel

570
00:28:06.359 --> 00:28:09.400
that it is a little bit too convoluted and is

571
00:28:09.480 --> 00:28:11.559
still going to take some time for the audience to

572
00:28:11.599 --> 00:28:15.759
fully understand. I think they have done a pretty decent

573
00:28:15.880 --> 00:28:19.319
job in explaining the differences between the passes and why

574
00:28:19.359 --> 00:28:21.559
they're different, pricing and this, that and the other thing,

575
00:28:22.160 --> 00:28:25.359
but it is still an awful lot to kind of

576
00:28:25.400 --> 00:28:28.160
wade through to figure out what do I need what

577
00:28:28.559 --> 00:28:30.319
and and and of course the sticker shock of a

578
00:28:30.319 --> 00:28:31.480
two thousand dollars.

579
00:28:31.160 --> 00:28:32.160
Pass is just like.

580
00:28:34.000 --> 00:28:38.480
No, but but it but it is necessary, you know,

581
00:28:38.519 --> 00:28:41.559
as you say, it's you have to it's it's supply

582
00:28:41.640 --> 00:28:43.720
of you know, the laws of supply and demand, so

583
00:28:43.759 --> 00:28:45.799
you have to kind of make sure that you can

584
00:28:45.799 --> 00:28:46.559
control things.

585
00:28:48.519 --> 00:28:50.160
It's almost like.

586
00:28:51.839 --> 00:28:55.440
With the new you know, with the new management structure,

587
00:28:56.039 --> 00:28:59.319
with the merger of the two companies. They're kind of

588
00:28:59.359 --> 00:29:01.039
throwing a bunch of stuff at the wall. I think

589
00:29:01.039 --> 00:29:03.119
it is well planned out stuff. I will say that

590
00:29:03.319 --> 00:29:03.599
it is.

591
00:29:03.759 --> 00:29:04.319
I think it is.

592
00:29:04.359 --> 00:29:06.599
I think it is being done in an organized manner.

593
00:29:06.680 --> 00:29:09.000
But I bet they're going to see what sticks. And

594
00:29:09.319 --> 00:29:13.440
I bet this is going to be simplified over the

595
00:29:13.440 --> 00:29:17.680
next year to two years based on where they are

596
00:29:17.680 --> 00:29:18.440
making the most.

597
00:29:18.240 --> 00:29:20.160
Bang for the buck and where they still.

598
00:29:22.720 --> 00:29:25.279
Where money's being either left on the table or they're

599
00:29:25.319 --> 00:29:27.920
robbing Peter to pay Paul, based on what is included

600
00:29:27.920 --> 00:29:30.200
with different different passes.

601
00:29:31.119 --> 00:29:34.440
Yep, yeah, that's my thoughts. That's my thoughts.

602
00:29:34.480 --> 00:29:36.160
Yeah, well we didn't quite make it to sea World,

603
00:29:36.200 --> 00:29:37.960
did we do? You want to just real quick do

604
00:29:38.039 --> 00:29:39.039
the quick announcement there.

605
00:29:39.920 --> 00:29:44.839
SeaWorld is moving back to putting three parks basically, so SeaWorld,

606
00:29:44.920 --> 00:29:46.960
Orlando Aquatic, un Discovery Cover are going to be one

607
00:29:47.000 --> 00:29:49.559
president again, which is how it was in twenty twenty

608
00:29:49.599 --> 00:29:51.319
three and then how it was previously. So they've just

609
00:29:51.359 --> 00:29:53.720
been ping ponging back and forth. But they're basically just

610
00:29:53.759 --> 00:30:00.079
bringing back the gentleman that led it before. And and

611
00:30:00.240 --> 00:30:02.559
let's see, sorry lost the name here.

612
00:30:04.880 --> 00:30:05.359
Gilmore.

613
00:30:05.400 --> 00:30:08.160
Yeah, he'll be going back. Breg Gilmore, Yeah, brag Gilmore,

614
00:30:08.160 --> 00:30:09.640
he'll be going back. He's a twenty three year old.

615
00:30:10.880 --> 00:30:13.519
He's not twenty three. He's a twenty three year company

616
00:30:13.599 --> 00:30:16.160
veteran who has run this before. He had it in

617
00:30:16.160 --> 00:30:18.680
twenty twenty three, and of course before that, from in

618
00:30:18.720 --> 00:30:25.240
twenty nineteen until twenty twenty three, it was a Kyle

619
00:30:25.279 --> 00:30:27.400
Miller who did the same thing. And I don't know,

620
00:30:27.400 --> 00:30:28.920
it just seems like they're going back and forth on this,

621
00:30:29.160 --> 00:30:31.920
and it's just we have press. Of course, six Flags

622
00:30:31.920 --> 00:30:34.839
tried this and it didn't work with people. I'm not

623
00:30:34.839 --> 00:30:37.559
sure if it'll work with these three, but it seems

624
00:30:37.559 --> 00:30:38.720
like they keep going back and forth.

625
00:30:40.279 --> 00:30:42.759
Yeah, it's sort of like when we started reading about this,

626
00:30:42.799 --> 00:30:46.039
I said everything old is new again, because it's like, oh, well,

627
00:30:46.200 --> 00:30:48.319
we can be much more efficient if we do it

628
00:30:48.359 --> 00:30:50.079
this way, and then in another two to three years

629
00:30:50.079 --> 00:30:51.880
they'll probably say we can be much more efficient if

630
00:30:51.920 --> 00:30:55.559
we split them back up. So again, there's nothing wrong

631
00:30:55.640 --> 00:30:59.200
with reevaluating your leadership structure and just make sure that

632
00:30:59.200 --> 00:31:01.119
the people who are the leaders are not the ones

633
00:31:01.160 --> 00:31:02.960
doing it because they will have a personal interest.

634
00:31:03.720 --> 00:31:07.000
Just say it and it seems like the you know,

635
00:31:07.240 --> 00:31:09.319
these people all worked with each other. So on the

636
00:31:09.359 --> 00:31:12.200
one hand, you could make the same argument that we

637
00:31:12.279 --> 00:31:14.319
kind of talked about with six Flags, where you're like, well,

638
00:31:15.880 --> 00:31:18.400
it's basically leaders picking people they work well with together

639
00:31:18.440 --> 00:31:20.440
and then they know they can they can make a

640
00:31:20.480 --> 00:31:22.240
good team with. So that kind of would make sense.

641
00:31:22.279 --> 00:31:25.039
But you could also make the opposite argument and say

642
00:31:25.039 --> 00:31:27.880
that this is another cost cutting measure that they are

643
00:31:27.920 --> 00:31:32.359
trying to do to really do as much soft buybacks

644
00:31:32.400 --> 00:31:34.480
as they can and then try and sell land. I mean,

645
00:31:34.519 --> 00:31:36.200
you could look look at it with either lens. There's

646
00:31:36.200 --> 00:31:37.440
probably arguments on both sides.

647
00:31:40.079 --> 00:31:42.880
Yeah, And whether it is a cost saving measure or

648
00:31:42.920 --> 00:31:45.599
just an efficiency measure, who knows. We shall see because

649
00:31:45.640 --> 00:31:48.279
they do go hand in hand. All right, there's your

650
00:31:48.279 --> 00:31:51.039
thirty minutes right there. So guys, thank you so much

651
00:31:51.039 --> 00:31:54.680
for being Green Tag fans. It's great to meet people

652
00:31:54.680 --> 00:31:57.799
who listen or watch the show listen to or watch

653
00:31:57.839 --> 00:32:00.000
the show when we're out and about, so please contine

654
00:32:00.079 --> 00:32:02.400
you to come up and say hello. We thoroughly appreciate that.

655
00:32:02.880 --> 00:32:05.599
And on behalf of Philip Bernandez with gantuon blighting and

656
00:32:05.680 --> 00:32:08.720
control and myself Scott Swinson with Scott Swinson Creative Development.

657
00:32:08.720 --> 00:32:10.480
This is green Tag Theme Park in thirty and we

658
00:32:10.519 --> 00:32:12.519
will see all of you next week