Ticketing the Fantasy, Selling the Merch: How Ticketmelon Powered Under the Castle Bangkok's Retail Experience

The Ask

Under the Castle (UTC) is an original fantasy IP co-created by Jackson Wang and Henry Cheung, following two earlier runs in Shanghai and Singapore before making its Thailand debut. From October 7 to November 2, 2025, UTC took over EMSPHERE in Bangkok, transforming the mall into an immersive haunted-house journey led by characters Pumpkie and Spookie — paired with a night market, mini bar, experience zones, and a dedicated Merchandise Area selling exclusive apparel, character goods, and themed accessories.

With a nearly month-long run, extended daily hours, and a merchandise line built specifically for the Bangkok chapter, organizers needed a way to sell both tickets and retail products smoothly across a single guest journey — without a checkout experience at the merch counter that felt bolted on or slowed down the flow of guests moving between the night market, haunted house, and gift shop.

The Solution

Ticketmelon supported Under the Castle Bangkok with a combined ticketing and retail solution:

  • Ticketmelon mPOS for Merchandise & Retail Checkout: Staff at the Merchandise Area and gift shop used a single portable device to take payment for apparel and collectibles on the spot, without needing separate card terminals or manual cash handling for a high-turnover retail counter operating across a month-long run.
  • Multi-Tiered Ticketing Across a Month-Long Run: Regular, paired, and group ticket tiers (each bundled with a limited-edition comic book) were sold online via Ticketmelon and validated on-site over nearly four weeks of daily operation.
  • On-Site Sales for Walk-Up Guests: On-site ticket sales and printing accommodated same-day and walk-in visitors throughout the run, alongside the online box office.
  • Timed Entry & Group-Based Access Control: Given the one-way, no-return haunted house format designed for groups of ten, entry was managed to keep guest flow steady through the attraction, night market, and retail zones.

The Results

Under the Castle Bangkok successfully brought an internationally recognized fantasy IP and its retail line to Thailand for the first time, with ticketing and merchandise sales running side-by-side across a five-week engagement.

Key Wins:

  • A single portable mPOS setup let merchandise staff handle apparel and collectible sales at speed, keeping the retail counter from becoming a bottleneck during a high-traffic, month-long run.
  • Early bird tickets sold out quickly, with regular, paired, and group tiers keeping the box office open to new guests through to the final date.
  • The Bangkok chapter extended a fantasy retail and experience franchise previously staged in Shanghai and Singapore, adding Thailand as its third market.

Key Takeaways

For IP-driven pop-up experiences like Under the Castle, ticketing and merchandising aren't separate systems — they're one guest journey. Ticketmelon's mPOS gave Under the Castle Bangkok a retail checkout that could keep pace with a month of daily foot traffic, while the wider platform handled entry, group access, and box office sales for the full run.