Halloween is big business in the themed entertainment industry, with theme parks and other visitor attractions transforming into hair-raising destinations with haunted houses, scare zones, elaborate sets, immersive soundscapes, and heavy autumn theming. Often from as early as August.
In recent years, operators in the visitor attractions industry have significantly increased investment in Halloween events, which now draw huge crowds and boost seasonal profits. To drive even more revenue, as well as repeat visits, parks and other sites are increasingly innovating; turning to big brands, highly themed F&B and merchandise, and, more simply, additional dates.
“Halloween has turned October into a month for increased income and profitability,” Martin Goymour, owner of Roarr! and PrimEvil, Norfolk’s award-winning scare attraction, told blooloop.
“It allows us to extend our operating and busy season by attracting a whole new customer base who normally wouldn’t visit the park.”
He added, “People love to be scared; Halloween provides the platform to create worlds that stimulate fear. It allows us as a tourist attraction to break the rules and defy boundaries, creating a fully immersive horror experience with blood, guts, and gore.”
Major UK operator Merlin Entertainments has also reported that Halloween is a key revenue driver. Via the Independent, the month of October now accounts for around a fifth of its yearly profit.
Expanding eerie operating days and nights
In the US, Halloween has been arriving earlier than ever before as operators like Disney, Six Flags and Universal attempt to up spooky season sales. Zoos, too. Namely, ZooAmerica in Hershey, Pennsylvania has added more dates to its Creatures of the Night event this year, which is running for longer than ever before.
Jakob Wahl, IAAPA's chief executive, told Reuters in 2024: "We actually see a growth every year in terms of Halloween events, not only North America, but across the world."
Universal and Disney parks regularly extend their events. At Walt Disney World in Florida, Mickey's Not-So-Scary Halloween Party now starts in early August. In 2024, the Oogie Boogie Bash at Disneyland in California sold out in 11 days, prompting Disney to open the event earlier.
"We've seen from our guests in years past that there's a demand for them to come and enjoy that season with us," Tracy Halas, creative director of Disney Live Entertainment, told the publication.
Over at Universal’s parks, Halloween Horror Nights has evolved over more than 30 years into one of the most influential and innovative seasonal events in the global themed entertainment industry.
Halloween in the US: demand for a longer spooky season
In Orlando, Universal Studios Florida’s Halloween Horror Nights has started earlier for several consecutive years. This year it began on 29 August, last year on 30 August.
The event has grown in multiple ways for 2025, Lora Sauls, Universal Orlando’s assistant director of creative development and show direction for art, design and entertainment, told blooloop:
“You’re never going to feel like you're outside of that Horror Nights vibe. There's more theming, more lighting, different audio, more textures – maybe more characters.”
Another park in the US to add more dates to its event is Kennywood in Pennsylvania, now owned by Herschend. And in addition to its longest Phantom Fall Fest season to date, Kennywood debuted a new haunted house – its most extreme yet.
Via CBS News, Kennywood general manager Ricky Spicuzza said the park is "taking terror to a whole new level in 2025 as we debut our newest and most horrifying haunt ever during Phantom Fall Fest".
He added, "With the longest event run in Kennywood history and the debut of Detached, we're delivering next-level horror and thrills you won't find anywhere else in Pittsburgh."
Wet or dry path: extreme experiences
Speaking of extreme, while some parks are selling No Boo necklaces for scaredy-cats (and children), others are attracting guests by offering the most horrifying scare of their lives.
To illustrate, Art the Clown from Terrifier is new to Universal parks for this year’s Halloween Horror Nights in Orlando and Hollywood. The “twisted funhouse” is inspired by the slasher film franchise created, written, and directed by Damien Leone. It’s "one of the goriest experiences" in the history of Halloween Horror Nights.
Guests are treated to "an unfathomable level of gore" as they avoid becoming Art's next victim, "overwhelmed by the sights, sounds, smells and dread of Art’s grotesque kills, gleefully displayed for all to see".
They can meet characters including Vicky and the Little Pale Girl, and witness hideous scenes from the Terrifier franchise. Other highlights in Universal’s new haunted house include the Clown Café, a revolting bathroom, and a Christmas nightmare.
Terrifier: Art the Clown at Universal parks
Sauls told blooloop: “These films are gore fests. This house might be the wettest, goriest house we've ever done in Horror Nights history. We're supercharging all our water effects, which, obviously, is not real blood, but it's going to look like it. It's Art the Clown’s most disgusting kills in a funhouse environment. He’s everywhere.
“What’s great is that he’s a mime. Doesn’t speak. Just a bag full of tricks. One of my favourite scenes is the Tunnel of Love – he's decapitated everyone and put them on the little floats. And at the end, there’s his Symphony of Blood. You get to choose whether you want the wet path or the dry path.”
In Grave of Flesh, one of Universal Orlando’s original haunted houses for Halloween Horror Nights 2025, guests can go to their own funeral, get buried, and experience the underworld as the Universal Creative team imagines it.
Sauls told us: “In this house, you’re attending your own funeral. You go to the cemetery, get buried, and above you, you see your gravestone, you feel the dirt falling on you, and you smell it. It’s that visceral.”
After the demise and burial of Universal Orlando’s guests, “These flesh-eaters come and rip the dead from their graves, dissecting them, tearing their flesh off,” Sauls said. “The further you go, the deeper underground you get, and they’re just everywhere. It’s intense.”
Little horror movies
Meanwhile, Six Flags has released an actual short horror film to generate buzz around its Fright Fest event for Halloween. The nearly 8-minute film titled Come Out and Play was shot within Six Flags theme parks and introduces a creepy character named Smiley.
“Halloween is a huge cultural moment that just keeps growing,” said Christian Dieckmann, chief commercial officer at Six Flags.
“For us, the time was right to raise the stakes – bigger, better, and scarier. Just as we are ‘serious about fun’ throughout the year, we are also serious about fear when it comes to Halloween. We dare viewers to Come Out and Play.”
Similarly, Universal Studios Hollywood has introduced a short horror film to its physical event this year with Chainsaw Man: The Chaos, based on the hit Japanese manga and anime series. The original film is playing within the park’s DreamWorks Theatre and tells the tale of Denji and the Devil Hunters as they battle the Halloween Horror Nights Devil and his army of zombies, according to the park.
Investing in brand experiences
Besides entertainment giants like Disney and Universal, which have vast libraries of IPs at their disposal, operators such as Six Flags are investing in brand collaborations.
Edithann Ramey, Six Flags' chief marketing officer, told Reuters last year that the company enjoyed attendance gains and increases in guest spending in 2023 when it introduced attractions inspired by Saw and The Conjuring. The experiences were so successful that the theme park company has been investing more in brand-inspired Halloween experiences, Ramey said.
Six Flags keeps upping its game with its Halloween offering. Last year’s event included new haunts inspired by blockbuster horror franchises from Lionsgate and Twisted Pictures, Netflix, Legendary Entertainment, and Warner Bros. Discovery.
These included attractions themed to the Saw franchise, Stranger Things, Army of the Dead, The Conjuring, Annabelle and The Nun, and Trick ‘r Treat.
"It's become this time of the year that's grown in explosive ways," Ramey said. "It's become a billion-dollar industry in the last five years."
For 2025, Six Flags has expanded its IP experiences to legacy Cedar Fair parks, providing The Conjuring: Beyond Fear at Cedar Point and Kings Island in Ohio, Canada's Wonderland in Ontario, and Carowinds in North Carolina.
'Come Out and Play': Six Flags debuts new horror short for Halloween
The new "Screamium" experience is not included with a daily ticket or season pass, instead requiring a separate purchase. In return, guests are plunged “deeper than ever before into The Conjuring universe”, the Carowinds website says, achieved via state-of-the-art effects, "screen-to-scream environments", and various interactive challenges.
The Conjuring, Saw, Trick 'r Treat at Six Flags parks
This year also marks Six Flags’ biggest Halloween season to date, with new experiences themed after The Strangers (2008) and Blumhouse's first original Spanish-language horror film. Additional brands to feature are The Conjuring universe, the Saw franchise, cult horror Trick 'r Treat (2007), Texas Chainsaw Massacre (2022), and Army of the Dead (2021).
"For the first time in history, we're uniting the very best Halloween thrills that our parks have to offer," said Dieckmann.
"It's an unbeatable lineup of innovative, immersive entertainment, including iconic Hollywood horror franchises and original, next-level terror. Our haunted mazes, scare zones, live shows and world-class rides will create unforgettable memories this fall."
On a much smaller scale, but no less ambitious considering, the UK’s only official Texas Chain Saw Massacre experience is featuring at the new Halloween Haunt Fest event at the Hertfordshire Showground from 17 October through 1 November. In this scare maze, fans of the 1964 horror classic can explore a blood-soaked labyrinth where Leatherface and his deranged family are waiting for their next victims.
Halloween Haunt Fest also boasts the first-ever scare maze based on the 2023 British slasher film Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood and Honey, as well as two original concepts. Across the spooky site, there are special acts, street food, and a themed bar, as well as rides and creepy carnival games at the Phantom Funfair.
Remaining in the UK, Alton Towers’ brand collaborations for its Scarefest experience have increased visitor footfall and sales, Larry Roles, marketing director at the resort, told blooloop.
“We’ve seen the benefit of IP and brand partnerships firsthand, adding value, credibility, and appeal to Scarefest,” he said.
“Whilst not a new concept for us, the type of IP partners we have engaged has broadened to help us expand our reach, awareness, and loyalty among our guests. Endorsement from influential brands and media partners is key to increasing our visibility and reputation among our existing and potential guests.”
Themed food, beverage and retail
Themed F&B and retail is another way to drive revenue via Halloween events. Operators like Disney and Universal already provide a wide selection of themed and branded food, drinks and products during the autumn months. Disney parks, for instance, release a range of limited-edition drink sippers, popcorn buckets and more, allowing guests to accessorise their F&B purchases.
Nevertheless, both companies continue to enhance their offerings in a competitive market. This year, Disneyland Paris has added a new F&B experience to its Halloween event with the Unlucky Nugget Saloon, inspired by the iconic Phantom Manor attraction.
Disneyland Paris unveils Phantom Manor-themed F&B experience for Halloween
Thomas Levert, graphic designer at Walt Disney Imagineering Paris, said: "We aimed to reflect the signature style and essence of Phantom Manor through festively haunted décor, an unsettling lighting mood, and a soundtrack inspired by the attraction’s iconic melodies – rearranged specially for the occasion.”
At Universal Studios Hollywood, a new Slash-themed F&B outlet has joined the Halloween Horror Nights lineup. The bar is serving cocktails based on Slash's music, including the Danse of the Dead and Beautiful Dangerous drinks, while the menu includes some of Slash’s favourite foods, plus a cake based on his signature top hat.
In the UK, “demand for limited-edition merchandise can be strong”, Roles told blooloop. “For example, our partnership with [YouTuber] Daz Games last year drove merchandise sales far beyond our expectations. This is a great insight for our future developments,” he added.
Blending trends: fear meets wellness
If extra dates, extreme experiences and brand activations aren’t cutting it, operators might consider a distinctive concept, like SeaWorld Orlando did with its Howl-O-Sprint 5K run.
Now in its second year, Howl-O-Sprint 5K combines two major trends in the attractions industry – enhanced Halloween events and wellness experiences. SeaWorld describes the race as “the only nighttime terror run of its kind… where relentless creatures stalk your every step and whispers of curses hang in the air”.
"Race past roller coasters haunted by unspeakable horrors. Navigate eerie landscapes and harrowing scare zones lurking in the park’s darkest corners," SeaWorld Orlando’s website says.
"Every stride is a fight-or-flight moment... and the finish line may be your only escape."
Helios coaster at Austria's Fantasiana theme park 
