A pre-season launch checklist for haunts

Opening night sneaks up. The attractions that have a calm launch aren’t lucky — they front-load the boring stuff. Here’s the sequence we run.

6 weeks out — money & dates

• Connect your Stripe account (payouts go straight to you).
• Lock your calendar: dates, time slots, capacity per slot.
• Decide ticket types: GA, timed entry, fast pass, group.

4 weeks out — the site

• Branded pages live: home, buy, FAQ, directions.
• Test checkout end-to-end with a real card in test mode.
• Set up discount/comp codes for sponsors and press.

3 weeks out — the crew

• Open the staff portal; invite managers first.
• Build the schedule and publish shifts.
• If you run the HR module: post applications, start onboarding.

2 weeks out — operations

• Load equipment and assets into the maintenance log.
• Print nightly open/close checklists.
• Dry-run the gate: scan a real QR ticket on a real phone.

Opening week — go live

• Flip the site public; announce the on-sale.
• Watch the dashboard on night one; adjust slot capacity if needed.
• Keep the box office ready for walk-ups.

Want this as a one-pager you can hand to your team? Grab the launch checklist guide.