suggestion on new $130,000 haunt

[disasterpieceprosthetics]

complete Haunted House package plan Through haunted supplies.com YAY or NAY
Thank you, The new guy

[BrotherMysterio]

Well, you came to the right place.

To begin with, what did yo have in mind, and what is your experience in haunting, either pro or home. That will have a lot of bearing on how you proceed from here.

Btw, did you mean a haunt that either grosses or nets $150K a year, or one that costs $150K in initial start-up costs?

C.

[Jim Warfield]

Know the "secret" send us the money, we will tell you the secret.

[Greg Chrise]

New York is a big place, if you look around, do you see grape fields or lots of concrete going into the sky? This information might help with the kind of vibe to proceed with.

[BrotherMysterio]

New York is a big place, if you look around, do you see grape fields or lots of concrete going into the sky? This information might help with the kind of vibe to proceed with.

Also, with a name like disaster piece prosthetics, it sounds like he would already be part of the haunt industry and not a newbie looking to "invest" $130K in the haunt industry. I wonder if he does any prosthetic work with sock puppets.

Either way, I'm sure this will be interesting if we ever do hear back from him again.

C.

[tech1669]

Select a different biz, cause if you can't come up with any ideas for your first haunt
Your going too struggle even more in the future

[disasterpieceprosthetics]

I understand what you are telling me, thank you for your responses. I was hoping to join this hauntworld site to talk to Haunted attraction owners about where would be the best place to get some supplies, I have done much, much, research of where to get the products I’m looking for, but I have notice many of the sites do have reviews on their products and services from their buyers. I have a 50,000+ square foot building and a lot of props, animatronics, lighting and sound products. To start with I am in search of a maze design walk thru construction. Just looking for some positive reviews.

[Greg Chrise]

There is no one stop maze shop. Haunted houses are custom designed based on your building and zoning requirements. Who would be intrested in servicing your area and type of town with that kind of budget or less is more the request to answer where are you located. There is no single review site for haunt builders and designers. No company that is mass producing haunted houses as a sole business.

[Spikerip]

Hey New Guy,
Welcome aboard the Hauntworld Forum. Unfortunately your question doesn’t provide enough information for a really good answer.
The haunt industry is a very unique business for a variety of reasons. Being seasonal creates a lot of challenges and there are fire codes and state regulations that need to guide your planning. Many suppliers are out there willing to assist you and you can find opinions and references on suppliers in this forum.
I’d be happy to provide some information and try to answer your questions, probably easiest if you could call me or send me an e-mail. I don’t visit this forum daily, but try to get caught up at least once a week.
Time is on your side, but you need to make some decisions soon if planning to open in 2013. Best of luck, call me when you have time to talk.

Kelly Collins
The ScareAtorium
Columbus, Oh
Days 614-559-2647
Kelly@Funhousefaces.com

[Capt.Chaos]

Posting that you have $130,000 to throw at someone is like jumping in a shark infested pond wearing a meat suit. Just kidding. This forum is a wealth of information and there are a lot of members that are willing to help you out. I am not even close to an expert on the haunt industry. However, I own a few successful business and my haunt should be profitable in the next 2 years.
I remember being where you are. Lots of questions and desire to start building. Here is my advice to you;

1. Study your population base and pay attention to your numbers regarding target demographic. My target is 14-35
2. Take into account the number of haunts that you will compete with in a 100 mile radius. ( work on cross marketing with them instead of trying to be " scariest haunt in NY".
3. Talk to your city entities about code. Including fire, and building inspections. Do not walk in saying " What do I have to do to open a haunted house?" Why? Most city depts have no idea but they will make you jump through every hoop in the book and that could burn your 130k up pretty quick. Instead have all your research done before going to them and provide them a plan. Google NFPA amusement codes. The more informed you are, the better you will be. Trust me on this one. This could decide whether or not you can even open a haunt in your market. That 50,000 sqft could be an issue if it is more then 1 story.
4. Decide on a theme and create a back story. Once you have this done, now you can start designing your attraction. This is important because if you have an idea what your trying to achieve, it will save you money. Not " that whatever I saw on a website is so sweet" and now you have to try and fit it into your story.
5. If you are not comfortable designing your own haunt then work on hiring someone to design it for you. I think the majority of people on here only do this stuff to release creative energy. So the most fun is designing and building their haunt. That is why I do it. I love the whole creative process. If you are planning on paying someone to do it all for you, that's fine. But make sure you have the numbers figured out on how this is all going to pencil out.
6. This is not a get rich business. Do some people make money? Yes. But, in my humble opinion, they are good business people first. Haunters second. My plan when I opened my haunt was 5 years. 2013 will be season 4. I am on track to be profitable by year 5. Please understand that I am still in the hole. I have busted my ass for 4 years and not made a dime. I have worked for free. But I knew that going in.

There are alot of really talented and cool people in this industry. I look forward to my haunt business trips more then my family vacation. Lol. On the flip side I have been burned in this industry as have many on here. You need to be careful who you hire. I do not want any of your money. But I remember being eager and it cost me a little money. Do your homework first ( yeah that's boring ) and then work on the rest. If you don't follow the business steps please remit $250 to me for the 1/2 hour I just took writing this. Why? Because then you just will be throwing your money away anyway and if that's the case, I might as well catch some.

Best of luck
Buck