Tag Archives: Halloween

Disney Parks’ Holiday Transformation Drives Year-End Success

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Every year, Disney’s theme parks undergo a six-week transformation as they transition from Halloween to the winter holiday season. This change, planned over 12 months, begins about two weeks before Halloween with crews working overnight to maintain the parks’ magical atmosphere during operating hours.

The seasonal shift from autumn-themed decorations to holiday adornments has proven to be a significant revenue driver for Disney. The experiences division, which includes parks, cruises, hotels, and consumer products, reported revenue of $9.13 billion for October – December 2023, which was notably higher than other quarters’ earnings of $7-8.3 billion.

Both Walt Disney World and Disneyland Resort offer unique holiday experiences while maintaining their distinct character. Walt Disney World features Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party and the new Jollywood Nights, while Disneyland is known for its extensive holiday ride overlays, including “it’s a small world” Holiday. Both destinations showcase sparkling ornamented trees, festive character costumes, limited-time food and beverage options, exclusive merchandise, and special entertainment by mid-November.

Over time, the transformation has evolved to include light shows and projection mappings. The parks have also embraced cultural inclusivity through events like EPCOT’s Festival of the Holidays. Disney’s sustainability efforts have intensified in recent years with energy-efficient lighting and eco-friendly decorations. This combination of tradition and innovation has been successful in encouraging visitors to make annual traditions and repeat visits. Particularly from local parkgoers, the holiday season typically sees increased attendance which helps makes it one of Disney’s most successful periods.

From Spooky to Merry: Spirit Halloween’s Festive Transformation into Spirit Christmas

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Spirit Halloween, the seasonal retailer famous for its Halloween pop-up stores, is now moving into the Christmas market with a pilot program of 10 “Spirit Christmas” stores. This strategic expansion aims to capitalize on the lucrative holiday shopping season, which saw an estimated $964 billion in consumer spending last year. The company started with a flagship store in Mays Landing, New Jersey which opened on October 18 and will be opening additional stores in November across New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Connecticut, and Massachusetts.

By transforming vacant storefronts and applying their successful pop-up store model, Spirit aims to create a distinctive holiday shopping destination that stands out in the competitive Christmas market. The company stated, “we’re hopeful it will resonate with our customers. Our goal is to create a festive retail experience that captures the spirit of the season, much like we do for Halloween.”

The new Spirit Christmas stores will offer a wide range of holiday merchandise including decorations, apparel, inflatables, stocking stuffers, and gifts. To enhance the customer experience, the stores will also incorporate unique, immersive elements such as a life-sized gingerbread village, a North Pole letter-writing station, and photo opportunities with Santa Claus.

This venture marks a significant opportunity for Spirit Halloween to diversify its revenue streams and extend its operational calendar beyond the Halloween season. By leveraging its expertise in temporary retail spaces and seasonal merchandising, the company is well-positioned to compete in the crowded holiday market. The success of this pilot program could potentially lead to a broader rollout in future years, marking Spirit Halloween as a major player in the seasonal retail industry.

Halloween Candy Stats Will Spike Your Blood Sugar and Your Dental Bill

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The candy business truly booms for Halloween. It is expected that this year over 160 million Americans will be spending about 2.6 billion dollars just on candy for this arguably bizarre sort of holiday. This story does not consider the other accessories one needs to ‘celebrate’ this day in style, such as: costumes ($3.2 billion), decorations ($2.7 billion), and party paraphernalia.

Trick-or-treating. Photo courtesy of Belinda Hankins Miller


Kids bring home from their “trick-or-treating” adventure an average of between 3,500 and 7,000 calories worth of candy. If they at all that loot, a 100-pound child would need to walk for 44 hours or play full-court basketball for 14.5 hours to work of all those extra calories.
Parents might want to think about the size of the loot bag they send with their little ones. One pillowcase can hold a mind-boggling almost 1,700 pieces of candy. Better off with a sandwich bag.


About half of the US population, or 163 million people, celebrate Halloween, and 95% of the entire population of 327 million go out and buy candy.


Another way to look at all the candy that is purchased during Halloween is to imagine “six Titanics” worth of candy in weight, which would come out to over 300,000 tons. That’s a lot of pillowcases. That is an unbelievable 2 pounds of candy for every American, man, woman and child. In addition to all this candy, which includes candy corn kernels, lollypops, and other sugary treats, 90 million pounds of chocolate are also purchased by consumers during the week of the Halloween sugar storm. An no wonder. Also, chocolate was the favorite Halloween treat among 70% of respondents, followed by candy corn, chewy candy and gummy candy.


As incredible as all this candy consumption sounds during Halloween, even more candy is sold in the US during Easter.

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