Haunt 'O Ween - Activation - Installation - Experiential Supply Co - Family Friendly - Los Angeles CA

Haunt O Ween is a Family Friendly Celebration of Halloween

Kids giggle as they zip between hay bales stacked three high, providing a modest-sized maze for them to navigate. One laughs and darts back into the maze, rushing forward without thinking. A family of ravens looks on from above, perched atop taller bales; a nest hidden between them. I pop a piece of bubble gum in my mouth, a prize well-earned by playing carnival games; my friends already enjoying a flight of wine purchased nearby. Instead of joining them, I rush off, darting through the hay bales, towards the façade of a large manor in the distance, the Addams Family theme song emanating from within. I’m at Haunt O Ween a family friendly Halloween event.

Haunt O Ween is a Halloween themed pop-up event aimed for kids and families, produced by Experiential Supply Company. You may recognize Experiential Supply Co as the company that produced Sugar Rush in April of this year, and Haunt O Ween occupies the same space with beautiful facades and impressive lighting displays all occupying the mall parking lot in Woodland Hills, CA. Sharing some of the same sets as last year’s Drive-Through Experience and Sugar Rush, this event is an hour or so walk-through experience that feels like a mash-up between a carnival, a trick-or-treating experience, and an advertisement. This is a family friendly event, and thus, kids will likely love this, and there’s even a few bars to keep adults occupied.

 

Haunt O Ween - Activation - Installation - Experiential Supply Co - Family Friendly - Los Angeles CA

 

A Variety of Halloween Celebrations

Haunt O Ween itself has no narrative through line, but rather divides itself into multiple different zones, which you cannot return to once you have moved on. Listed out, these are the following: a day-of-the-dead celebration of a macabre marriage; a Wild West zone complete with stocks, wagons, and a ghost town façade; a large scale carnival, complete with games and a small roller coaster and carousel; a hay bale maze; The Addams Family manor with a single photo op for the movie; A trick-or-treat section in which you move through a candy-land-esque town of Hauntoween where various staff hand out candy; and and a rest area in which you may enjoy your candy, eat any food you’ve ordered, and carve pumpkins (for an upcharge).

It’s clear to see here that the zones are distinct and unique. Yes, that can feel jarring and confusing, especially at the start. For example, walking into a Wild West town after a Day of the Dead themed wedding feels odd; there’s no way around that. Yet, as you progress, the parts seem to be larger than the whole. Each zone is uniquely themed because it offers a different aspect to interact with. We would have liked a more cohesive feel throughout, but we will say, this works, and kids will appreciate the variety and change.

 

Haunt O Ween - Activation - Installation - Experiential Supply Co - Family Friendly - Los Angeles CA

 

Activities for the Kids

To set expectations, Haunt O Ween will be a blast for kids, with plenty to do for all ages, from babies to grade-school kids. The sets feel larger-than-life and are all brightly colored; enough to awe any kid. In terms of activities, in the Wild West zone, kids could get their face painted as spooky or as friendly as they’d like. The carnival offered games such as Plinko, Smack the Frog, Tic-Tac-Toe, Bean Bag Toss, and a handful of others. Some games gave you a small prize of candy when you won too. There was a small roller-coaster that was kid-friendly, and a carousel too. However, the highlight was trick-or-treating in the candy town, as the staff was heavy-handed in giving out candy. While not all of the candy was equal, there were some great treats hidden among the smarties and bubble gum, you were bound to get more than you need here.

 

Not Meant for Teens

Yet, for older kids—like teens—there isn’t much here beyond the visuals—and stuffing your pockets with candy. The carnival games are fun but are a bit too easy. Most of the events and areas are aimed at children younger than ten.  There’s nothing spooky or scary, so if you have teens, invite them to something like the LA Haunted Hayride instead.

 

Haunt O Ween - Activation - Installation - Experiential Supply Co - Family Friendly - Los Angeles CA

Adult Entertainment

As for adults, whether you have kids or you don’t, you will get one or two things out of this experience: the joy of seeing your kids have fun, and enjoying some great wines as well as some craft beer. Haunt O Ween has partnered with Malibu Wines to offer wine flights at multiple areas throughout the experience. These wine flights are $24 for a flight of three different wines. Just remember, especially if you have kids there, to drink responsibly.

There are also numerous areas where you can buy drinks, pre-order food from Umami burger and other establishments (to be picked up in the final area), or purchase pumpkin carving kits and trick-or-treat buckets. These are all additions to the base ticket but can elevate the experience from a walk-through to something a bit more engaging and involved. I saw many families bringing all their kids together and making a day of this.

 

Haunt O Ween - Activation - Installation - Experiential Supply Co - Family Friendly - Los Angeles CA

 

Set Décor

While the sets are beautiful, they are best enjoyed at night. We recommend knowing your kids—if they are scaredy-cats, bring them during the day. It’s bright and friendly. If your kids can tolerate the macabre, then bring them at night. While there’s nothing overtly scary at night, the neon lights and massive skeletons may be frightening to young kids.

Yet, it’s at night when the Haunt O Ween sets come alive and their true beauty shines. The neon lights of the trick-or-treating candy town look gorgeous and make it feel more like Halloween Town than anything else. The Addams Family home is a beautiful façade that rises into the skyline and provides some great photo opportunities. And the carnival is wonderfully decorated and has fake elephants and plenty of areas to play. Seriously, look up the night vs day pictures—it’s like two entirely different events. We highly recommend the night experience.

Further, I understand brand-partnerships and recognize they are needed to bring events of this size to life, but I must comment that it is a little odd to see a formal living room in the middle of the carnival, dedicated to Umami Burger and Happy Dad, a new hard seltzer. All of the food inside this display was fake and inedible. This only served to break the immersion I had of moving through Haunt O Ween. I am fine with ads like The Addams Family being included because it fit naturally within this world (and the house was beautiful)—just the Umami and Happy Dad ad’s placement felt very out-of-place and glaringly obvious. I urge creators and advertisers alike to try to make ads feel in universe and cohesive—and try to connect the audiences into the brand with some sort of experience.

 

Haunt O Ween - Activation - Installation - Experiential Supply Co - Family Friendly - Los Angeles CA

 

Constructive Criticism

While it is difficult to cater to all, I would have loved to see more of an effort in adding in some elements that appeal to older kids, or even to adults—without using alcohol. Creating an event wide scavenger hunt with a prize at the end would work perfectly without doing any overhauling of the current event. Or if they want to go further, creating a narrative through-line with lore or characters to interact and engage with will elevate the experience, offering adults and teens more to do.

Moreover, the implementation of a narrative may help incorporate the trick-or-treating section further into the rest of the experience. While this was one of my favorite parts, namely due to the candy as well as the gorgeous set, the workers handing out the candy felt more like staff doing a job compared to actual townsfolk of the candy/Halloween town. It would be great to see these staff in full costume, incorporated into the lore of Haunt O Ween, and engaging more with audiences. This is what creates a connection with the experience and leaves audiences wanting to return.

Finally, as mentioned above, more integration of the advertisements into the experience (or including them into the scavenger hunt with a character to connect audiences) would further improve brand associations and immersion. Adding a Wednesday Addams to pose for pictures, much like Freeform’s Halloween Road, would have fit in perfect with this experience.

 

Haunt O Ween - Activation - Installation - Experiential Supply Co - Family Friendly - Los Angeles CA

 

Final Thoughts on Haunt O Ween

As I mentioned above, Haunt O Ween is perfect for children. It is a celebration of what makes Halloween great, ranging from a celebration of Day of the Dead to a festive Autumn carnival to trick-or-treating in an otherworldly town. This is a great way to create positive associations for young children and Halloween, preparing them to embrace new events and experiences as they grow older.

While Haunt O Ween does come off feeling a bit more corporate than other events that we’ve attended this Halloween (mainly due to some odd advertisement placements and up-charges throughout), the event feels large, beautiful (especially at night), and well-produced, with numerous areas for kids to enjoy themselves. Connect in with other families and plan a weekend trip. If your kids are older, come at night and enjoy the sights; and if they’re younger, make it a day-time trip, play carnival games and carve a pumpkin. This event is as great as you make it—so let Haunt O Ween help you celebrate Halloween!

 

Haunt O Ween - Activation - Installation - Experiential Supply Co - Family Friendly - Los Angeles CA

 

For more information about Haunt O Ween, checkout their website, Facebook and Instagram. For more immersive events, check out our Event Calendar.

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About The Author

Taylor Winters
Taylor has loved immersive theater since his first experience at ALONE in 2013. Since then, he has written, produced, & directed immersive theater, consulted for numerous immersive companies, acted in others, and attended even more. He has his PhD in Bioengineering, an MBA in Organization Leadership, and currently works fixing broken hearts.

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