Entertainment-focused creatives producing haunted houses and mazes every Halloween call it a success when they’re able to induce terror among even the toughest in a crowd.
Trying to drum up that same kind of panic and horror for people sealed off in the safety of their own cars? Not so easy, but this year’s proving it’s not impossible.
“We wanted to answer the question of why would audiences be in the car in the first place and how can we create something that plays off of those specific fears and environments?” said Josh Randall, the creative lead for the Urban Legends Haunt, an over 400,000-square-foot drive-thru Halloween haunt experience running through Nov. 1 at the OC Fair & Event Center in Costa Mesa.
Randall, who could be called a veteran haunt creator, is one of several area event-focused execs tasked this season with working around COVID restrictions to their operations this Halloween.
Crowds Down, Spending Up
Despite headwinds, the year’s holiday still is expected to be a boon for the event business.
If they succeed, it could bring new scare tactics and ways of generating revenue around the holiday in future years.
The National Retail Federation expects overall Halloween consumer spending—from parties to experiences—to total $8.05 billion this year. That’s an 8.3% drop from the $8.78 billion spent last year, as fewer people participate in the holiday due to public safety concerns, according to the trade group’s annual survey.
For those still participating, money’s not an issue. Average spend per person is projected to be up this year to $92.12, compared to $86.27 last year, the federation’s data shows. That’s more Snickers bars, candy corn, cobweb decorations and even greeting cards factored into shopping carts, as well as trips to venues like the Urban Legends Haunt.
Driving Through
It’s the drive-thrus—much like for restaurants throughout COVID—that have become the star of this year’s Halloween season.
Examples include a drive-thru pumpkin patch experience at Tanaka Farms in Irvine all the way to vehicle-centric tweaks on the haunted house experience. The format makes sense as it keeps people contained in their own bubble, while safely partaking in what event organizers hope are immersive experiences worth the per-vehicle pricing.
In Huntington Beach-based Stardust Entertainment Group LLC’s case, that’s $99.99 per vehicle on prime Saturdays and $69.99 on Wednesdays for its Urban Legends Haunt. The company, as of early last week, said it had attracted more than 130,000 people over the course of 26 nights and employed over 200.
Stardust also sells hot chocolate, cookies, chips and other food, alongside hats, face coverings and totes—all of which are available for purchase ahead of time online.
“It was many months ago when we were all faced with the challenges of the pandemic that our team explored new ways of how we could reinvent how a Halloween event could take place while making sure safety was an absolute top priority,” said Stardust CEO and Urban Legends Executive Producer Mark Entner. “We knew our biggest challenge was how can we create an immersive and scary experience in a drive-thru format keeping it safe.”
Urban Legends’ team created different “theater zones” where drivers pull in and then turn off their engines before the performers come out, avoiding any possible accidents caused by scares.
Stardust also produces Winter Fest OC, which is set to come back to the OC fairgrounds starting Thanksgiving weekend for its 6th year in operation, using learnings from the Urban Legends experience.
Lasting Impacts
But Randall, the creative lead on Urban Legends, sees the industry’s innovation this year as having a more lasting impact on the way Halloween is done.
“I personally think that we are cracking something open right now that will be here for the long haul,” Randall said. “The majority of creators that are putting up Halloween experiences are experimenting with new ways to scare people and new ways to present this really popular form of entertainment. The groups that are able to get it right in 2020 and able to create a successful drive-thru haunted house are going to have a leg up.”
Rebecca Ross, the COO and CFO of San Juan Capistrano-based Balboa Management Group LLC, which operates as SilverLakes, also sees this year as being a potential gamechanger.
SilverLakes, an equestrian and sports complex in Norco owned by OC resident RJ Brandes, is trying its own hand at the drive-thru experience.
“We don’t know how long this transition back to the new normal will be and we want to create safe spaces for the guests who come to SilverLakes,” Ross said. “Many other drive-in events have been popular, including a drive-in movie series, drive-in comedy nights and a business candidates forum that allows guests to stay within the safety of their own cars.”
SilverLakes, through event producer Deed Entertainment, is offering its Fright Farms ($75) and Not So Spooky Farm ($65) experiences for the first time this year, running through Nov. 29.
Ross estimated between 100 and 200 people could be hired across the two attractions by the end of their run.
Theme Parks Adapt for Holiday
The Disneyland Resort in Anaheim added a pop-up shop to accommodate the demand for its Halloween merchandise.
This was done by expanding the Downtown Disney District and adding access to Stage 17 in the Disney California Adventure park to create the Disneyland Resort Backlot Premiere Shop.
A Disneyland Resort spokesperson said the shop would remain open for the “foreseeable future.”
Disneyland and Disney California Adventure have been closed since March, with parent the Walt Disney Co. (NYSE: DIS) saying in late September it was laying off some 28,000 workers companywide due to the prolonged shutdown mandated by the state in response to COVID.
More than 2,500 of those cuts are in Anaheim, according to state regulatory filings.
Knott’s Berry Farm in Buena Park canceled its annual Knott’s Scary Farm, leaving it to also iterate, although with a far less spooky alternative.
It started in the summer with its Taste of Calico food and retail event, which quickly sold out, prompting the amusement park operator to extend the hours and dates. Now, it’s offering Taste of Fall-O-Ween, which runs through Nov. 1.
Tasting cards are sold to guests for menu items like the butternut squash served in a bread bowl or the pumpkin spice churros.
The experience has been sold out for weeks, running Wednesday through Sundays at $35 for adults or $20 for a junior ticket (ages 3 to 11). The amusement park has reportedly kept attendance capped at 10% to 15% of normal levels.
Spokespeople for Knott’s and parent Cedar Fair Entertainment Co. (NYSE: FUN) did not respond to requests for comment.
Knott’s is encouraging attendees to come dressed in costumes adhering to rules outlined on its website—nothing violent and no face masks, among other stipulations. Face coverings are still required.
Costume Party Reworked
Newport Beach-based Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc.’s (NYSE: CMG) popular Boorito giveaway has gone digital, the latest example of the chain’s growing online presence under the watch of Chief Executive Brian Niccol.
The annual promo, which encourages customers to dress in costume on Halloween for discounted menu items, said this year it’s giving away some 500,000 buy-one-get-one codes between Oct. 29-31.
The codes will be posted on Chipotle’s TikTok, Twitter and Instagram accounts.
Chipotle CMO Chris Brandt said “canceling completely was never an option for us,” when it came to the giveaway, now in its 20th year.
It’s also Chipotle’s most popular in-restaurant promotion, a spokesperson said, with sales from Boorito between 2018 and 2019 up 15%.
