Every Halloween fan has imagined it: what if the animatronic in your haunt could have been something you dreamed up? HalloweenCostumes.com is making that fantasy real in 2026, opening their Fan Design Program to let the horror community design an actual animatronic that will hit shelves in 2027. If you have a concept and a deadline of April 30, this is your shot.

What Is the HalloweenCostumes.com Fan Design Program?

HalloweenCostumes.com, one of the country’s top Halloween retailers, launched the Fan Design Program alongside their Wave 1 animatronics debut for 2026. The concept is simple but unprecedented at this scale: haunt enthusiasts, prop artists, home haunters, and Halloween obsessives are invited to submit original animatronic concepts. The public votes. Two winning designs get manufactured and released as real, purchasable animatronics in 2027.

You can submit your concept and browse existing entries at designprogram.halloweencostumes.com. Submissions close April 30, 2026, so the window is tight for anyone reading this close to the deadline.

The Wave 1 Animatronics That Set the Bar

The Fan Design Program launched alongside HalloweenCostumes.com’s Wave 1 of 2026 animatronics — eight limited-edition variant props that signal the retailer’s ambition this season. These aren’t budget shelf-fillers. According to Halloween Daily News, the 2026 Wave 1 lineup demonstrates an elevated production standard — the kind of craftsmanship that makes winning the Fan Design Program genuinely meaningful. Your concept won’t be cheaply executed.

For those interested in exploring the full range of 2026 Halloween animatronics, this wave represents only the beginning. The company’s CEO has publicly teased a “biggest launch you’ve ever seen” for July 2026 — a follow-up wave that could dwarf even this strong start.

How to Enter: What Winners Get

The mechanics of the Fan Design Program are genuinely generous. Here’s what the two winners receive:

• Full creative involvement — from initial sketch through completion, winners are part of the production process
• 10 finished animatronics of the prop they designed, to keep, haunt with, or sell
• 5% of all revenue generated by their animatronic — a real royalty arrangement for a Halloween product
• Recognition as the creative force behind a nationally distributed Halloween prop

The entry portal at designprogram.halloweencostumes.com accepts concept submissions, and the public voting process means community support matters. Spreading your entry across haunt forums, Reddit, and social media isn’t just self-promotion — it’s part of the game.

What Makes a Winning Concept?

HalloweenCostumes.com hasn’t published a rigid rubric, but the haunt community’s experience with what sells suggests a few directions that stand out:

• Originality over license — the retailer has licensed IP covered (Freddy Fazbear, Pennywise, etc.). The Fan Design Program seems built for original creations
• Motion and mechanics — animatronics that do something unique (spinning elements, reactive sensors, detachable parts) generate stronger consumer excitement than static figures
• Clear character identity — props with a name, backstory, and visual coherence outperform generic “scary figure” concepts
• Home-haunt scalability — designs that work in a front yard or indoor setup tend to reach a wider audience than professional-grade-only concepts

If you’ve spent time browsing home haunt community builds, you’ll have a strong intuition for what excites the market.

Why This Matters for the Haunted House Community

The Fan Design Program isn’t just a clever marketing activation — it’s a signal that the major retailers are paying attention to the haunt enthusiast audience as a creative force, not just a consumer base. For years, the home haunt and professional haunt worlds have influenced retail Halloween through forums, TikTok builds, and YouTube reviews. HalloweenCostumes.com is formalizing that relationship.

For the haunted house industry more broadly, this kind of community-driven design could surface prop concepts that would never emerge from internal product teams. The people who build and visit haunted houses every season understand scares in a way no corporate design department fully captures. That’s a competitive advantage if you put it to work.

The July 2026 Launch: What’s Coming Next

The Fan Design Program sits within a larger HalloweenCostumes.com strategy for 2026 that CEO Tom Fallenstein has publicly teased as their “biggest launch ever.” The July 2026 animatronics wave is expected to be the flagship moment — a major expansion of the Wave 1 lineup that could include larger props, more licensed characters, and expanded distribution. If the Fan Design Program winners are fast-tracked, there’s a possibility (though not confirmed) that community-designed props could debut alongside or near that launch.

For haunt fans and home haunters monitoring the affiliate landscape, establishing a relationship with HalloweenCostumes.com now — through their CJ Affiliate program — positions you ahead of what could be a significant product moment this summer.

The window is closing fast on one of the most exciting community programs the Halloween industry has ever run. Whether you’re entering or just following along, the Fan Design Program is reshaping how retailers and haunt fans interact. Browse our full 2026 animatronics coverage to see what’s already confirmed for this season — and find a haunted house near you to get inspired for next year’s builds.