Its Official: Transworld Halloween and Haunt Show is Moving

[Barry]

Wow, just spent 30 minutes reading through all of these posts. :shock:

First, I want to say thank you for all of the kind comments about MHC. It is great to know that our reputation grows more each year.

Second, MHC is not going to move to Chicago in March :lol: One of the reasons for the success of MHC is the fact that we all live here in Columbus and are able to have a little more control over all aspects of the show.

Now for my thoughts on the move. I think it is great for Transworld even with the dates/days that they chose. It is a well known fact that they have wanted to move back to a more traditional show. That being more high-end buyers and less enthusiasts/lookers. Larry is exaclty right, if you are a larger haunt, you will still go. To this end, Transworld is achieving their goals with this move.

I cannot speak for for the other shows but MHC will continue to welcome all haunters. We do not look to compete with Transworld. We try to compliment their show with something different and with a different target audience. This is why our relationship with Transworld has always been great. We both understand what we are trying to achieve and, where we can, we try to help each other accomplish that.

I wish Gregg and the rest of the staff good luck on the move. I hope to see everyone next month and Vegas in '08!!

[Kevin Dells]

reply

I like Barry just spent a half hour reading and right off the bat i will say myself and Posse will not attend.
Lets get to the point of talking about Posse's the people everybody's trying to weed out first. Have we really hurt bussiness that bad, is your bussiness struggling that bad that a few extra catalogs is going to kill you! Cmon! Give me a non color brochure so i can at least see whats avaiable to me and quit your crying!

Why i attend with my posse which has totalled more than 25 a year.
Because every haunt has different talents, some people design sets, some costumes and characters, some build props, and some do make up.
I don't have one person that can do it all and i run with a 150+ staff so i bring them to see what's available and what we can buy this year.

RJ productions stated that a haunt owner dosen't make a decision of what to buy from their staff or Posse.WRONG! Very wrong! When my haunt owner bought 80 grand worth of props, animatronics and make up in 2004 WE made the decision not just him. He asked what WE thought and We all built it, i just wanted to point that out.
If we hadn't been standing next to our haunt owner in the Scare factory area would he have spent 18,000$ on the Slayer in 2002? I doubt it!

Im sure Kevin at Gore Galore is very happy we talked our owner into buying all three Bone Warrior costumes, if we weren't there to urge our owner into buying them they probably wouldn't have been bought at least not all three. When we saw the costumes we immediatley disscussed how they could be used and a room to use them in. We also bought props for that room from three other sellers as well! So keep in mind when you see us this year we are doing a LOT more than just swipping your literature for bathroom reading!

Nick and Brian from Wolfe Brothers have become very good freinds,why because my teenage posse spends hundreds in their booth every year on their make up paint! Can we afford their classes,NO. But they know us by name and even have a few of us on their website. So why do they know us so well because we buy their product because were haunters and we need their product and love it, do you think they have a problem with us,i don't think so!

How about the Theatrical Contact lense girls? Can't tell you how many pairs we have personally bought. I own 27 pairs myself and i know everybody in my crew owns multiple pairs.

So with that said, and again to bring up the fact that haunt owners do bring their crew with them. Is it really hurting your bussiness to hand us a brochure still?

Whats done is done and in my opinion it will hurt TW the haunters show.

I know for my crew and haunt this will make a huge difference. Scarlett i am going to apologize first before i write this. In my city of Rockford,Illinois we have three halloween stores. Two of them independent and one of them a Spirit. In my opinion our spirit is the worst excuse for a halloween store i have ever seen, it's ALL garbage!
There is NO way a haunt can run on the products they stock! I have been trying in vein to talk our haunt owner to opening our own store for two reasons.
1. To stock products people can actually use.
2. So we can employ people that know how the product they are selling is used!
I walked into one of the larger Spirits in the Chicago area desperatley trying to find Blood Powder, asked one of the minimum wage kids if they had any in stock. The look i got from him resembled this :shock: ! I then asked for the manager of this store, he said they didn't stock it and he had never heard of such a thing.
So i went to the make up area to see what they did have as i was short on Spirit gum. Whats sitting on the peg! You guessed it Blood powder,not one but 30 of them! So i got the manager to ring me up and asked for a drop of water from the water bottle sitting on the counter. Sprinkled a little blood powder on my palm and added a drop of water. The whole line behind me was ohhhing and ahhing, i ended up doing a make up seminar right there and then before i left. The manager asked if i would come work for him, when i explained my shortage of time with running a haunt he was more than happy to hand out my haunts voucher for my help.
The moral of this little story is i need a halloween shop in my town desperatley that knows what they stock, but more importantly is i wouldn't have know what the blood powder was if i hadn't attended TW and grabbed a brochure! So when you see us this year keep in mind we are buying if you are willing to sell and not just turn us away!

I would like to say Thank You to everybody that has been to Dream Reapers and Screamfest(2002) for the open houses. Another reason why i travel with a Posse, to entertain all the haunt owners after the show. It has been a tradition for all of us to book rooms, pack every costume we can dream up, and unload on your butts both nights for the past few years! Thank You again for attending and enjoying the show, your my favorite crowd to scare! Better than the October crowd actually and i will miss it dearly!
To everybody complaining about the money difference of hotels between Chicago and Vegas. Bally's ran my wife and I 220$ a night 10 years ago, im sure it's not that much cheaper than the Crowne who is offering a discount. We payed 130$ a room at the Crowne this year. If myself and teenage posse can afford it im sure everybodyelse can!

All i have to say at this time, except i am going to go put on my parka and enjoy the great outdoors like the whiner I am!
Oh and Barry you won't mind if i bring 25 up to your show will you?:: sarcasm::

[professornightmare]

My opinion

I think this is definately a step back, a big one. I think this will cause alot more separation in the industry than their already is. Chicago was a tradition and had a "magic" about it. It takes alot to establish something as a tradition or anual event. Think about if you moved your haunt every year? Not a good idea? The result..industry suppliers will have to re-evalute their customers, choose the show that works best for them and make use of the internet! I attend Chicago for many reasons, socialize, network, sell, buy and to share info with others in our very unique business.
I look forward to discussing this with many of you.
Professor Nightmare
aka John Denley
Boneyard Productions/SpookyWorld

[drfrightner]

John,

I agree with you basically, however I think all of these things can be recaptured in Vegas as well.

One of the things I pointed out was that TW should make an effort to find ONE hotel to try and book haunters into. This would help a lot! That would be a start, now if you did that I don't think you'd lose a beat in terms of having the opportunties to do what we do/did in Chicago.

On the other hand I think most people would probably be more interested in seeing shows, hitting the town than hanging out in some hotel. I know for myself, I probably would be more interested in doing what you, Rich, and several others use to do...hit the town baby! Have fun!

In Vegas you can do that in Chicago its harder. There are pros and their are cons.

As a professional haunter you will be there with bells on. Change is always hard, and shocking at first.

But let me point this important fact out...

IAAPA which is the BIGGEST of the BIG tradeshows moves all the time, I've been to Dallas, New Orleans, Orlando, Atlanta and in two years IAAPA itself is going to VEGAS.

IAAPA moves around a lot and it doesn't seem to be a problem. Heck I hear people keeping saying this or that about Hauntcon...c'mon now thats a real laugh because Hauntcon moves from city to city each and every year, I hear no gripes about that one. Additionally Hauntcon doesn't have vendors, its not a buyers show, its an enterainment type of thing.

So now that the Halloween show is in Vegas it can now be a PROFESSIONAL show AND an ENTERTAINMENT show.

Don't see the harm in that.

Lastly, let me say the web has basically replaced Chicago anyway. Cell phones are now a dime a dozen, it costs nothing to call your friends a million miles away. People chat and hang out daily and chat on the web. Last but not least you have a million shows for the 'gathering' type feelings. Transworld is first and foremost a business to business show.

I'll be there! You will be there! And anyone really in the business will be there along with I'm SURE hundreds of others who are not! I don't think it will change as much as you think but yes something will.

Larry

[Spookyfinder]

I know that I won't let TW book me into a hotel.. the "Globetrotter traveling" is like the MOST ridiculus agency ever! The prices are WAY too high. I will be making my own travel arrangements; But I'll be there! -Tyler

[damon carson]

Ya forget a hotel I've got relatives. LOL! Not trying to rub it in or anything but thats the one thing about Vegas it would save a butt load on a hotel stay!
Damon

[Ken Spriggs]

Hmm

Well how would everyone feel about a Marchish gathering in Chicago area still?

[Spookyfinder]

This also brings up the HW.com gathering in St. Louis. Is this still happening? -Tyler

[Greg Chrise]

What's an entertainment show? I ain't never seen no show girls or magic acts? No haunted cork face tap dancing or ventriloquist acts?

All I've seen at smaller events are many of the same smaller vendors you see at Transworld or local to the smaller shows trying to make it at smaller venues? With smaller overhead?

All I've seen at smaller events are seminars by people who have a product or service to offer. I guess they are all unprofessional as well.

So there aren't any 20 foot $18,000 peices of latex flopping around in a dark zone. As a small customer I don't feel let down by this at all. I don't think these smaller vendors want to be considered unproffessional when in reality they are spending the money and going in some cases to ALL of the shows because that one Big Pro Show hasn't been the end all to be all for their products? Or they hope to be at the pro show in great demand one day?

So what happens at a pro show again? Guys in suits, really large latex, hookers and lots of big check writing?

Are you really sure what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas?

I would think the top 13 haunts could all go there and write a check in one afternoon then hit the town in maybe two limos tops. It won't have to go on all week, at least tradeshow floor wise. If everyone used debit cards it could be done all in about 15 minutes. The most professional would be electronic transfer of funds directly from everyone's off shore accounts, individually with only proferred customers being invited over an Internet conference. Better yet the next level would be the big vendors flying the prospective buyers to their own show rooms and asked what it would take for them to buy today. Then there are limos and hookers and party favors if they say the right word and their account confirmation number comes up on the big screen. Only the big guys and one body guard each need to attend.

Oh yeah, and Elvis.

[drfrightner]

There are so many gatherings now, I doubt if you had one it would draw many people, but people from your area for sure, but those same people would buy a ticket to your haunt in October...catch 22.

I think people really like gatherings and like when people hold them. Go for it!!!

As for a Hauntworld Gathering, you know I really need to hold one of these things and do it right someday. But yes we can have one again, no problem! Let me get my haunted house finished first, and secondly its VERY COLD here today.

On the subject of Chicago, if it stays as cold as it is now IM REALLY DREADING going to Chicago. It is butt ass cold here in St. Louis today...at or around zero.

Chicago is just as cold, cold, cold. 5's to 20's

Vegas warm, warm, warm. LOL 50's 60's

LOL


Anyway whenever we get close to getting our haunt done I'll announce something. We're trying to get it done before TW.

Larry

[Greg Chrise]

If everyone sent their relatives to Vegas now, one way, they might be settled in enough to have a free place to stay when Transworld is there.

[drfrightner]

Gregg,

Congrads, you posted the 100 reply! I think we broke a record!

Larry

[Greg Chrise]

I don't think I have seen that anywhere.

I would like to thank my mother, all the little people, my dog. Thankyou, I will never forget this.

[ClusterOne]

Wow, quite a little thread going here!

All the big conventions are in Vegas, all the big industries are in Vegas. I think it's time that the halloween/haunted attraction industry starts to get recognized as a substantial player out there. And moving our biggest show to Vegas is a great start!

[SpFXChic]

Wow! So, I cheated, I skimmed all the pages of this thread. I have to agree with Empress, and say that I must be one of the 50% that is excited to see the show move. I might actually get a chance to attend it now. Vegas seems so much more affordable than Chicago, especially during that time of year. And it's much closer to home for me, as well. A one and a half hour flight or a 12 hour drive. Rooms are fairly cheap in Vegas and there are plenty of them.


Wouldn't it be great to have a Zombie Walk down the sidewalks of the strip?!