The WSJ ran an interesting story titled, “Theme Parks Pin Hopes on a Fall Rebound After Summer Flop” where it read, “Parks also seize on the festivities to get a jump on selling next-year season passes. Six Flags recently marketed discounts of up to 70% on 2024 season passes, which also include admission to Fright Fest and its Oktoberfest parties. At the chain’s park in Arlington, Texas, the highest-grade 2024 season pass was on sale for $110 a person, down from $170." The article also noted that, "Financial challenges are weighing on consumers’ willingness to spend. According to a recent survey from the National Retail Federation, about three of every four consumers said their Halloween shopping will be affected by economic challenges. Still, Americans are expected to spend $12.2B on Halloween celebrations, up 15% from last year, according to a separate survey from the trade group.”
Recall our previous story on Universal Studios Hollywood and its Halloween Horror Nights event. This year, the event is running well up from 2019 (+78%) and last year. Compared to last year, visitors are staying late (with over 31% of visits past 10:00 PM), but the length of visit is slightly down with the average at 201 minutes versus 210 minutes last year. This shows that consumers are still in a celebratory mood, and that spending for Halloween is going to be solid (although +15% seems a bit too optimistic in our opinion).
