Halloween Horror Nights 27 General Discussion

[s8film40]

Anyone else feel the best way for HHN to be fresh and exciting would be for Aiello to be disposed and a new creative team put in place?

I just feel like we get rehash of concepts and plug and play scenery with different costumes on actors for scares. Yes, there are components to the whole thing that will be reused, but it's been way too long since we've seen something new that was viable for a major items in the event (that last bit is my way of subtly telling you not to cling to the VR as innovative - it's not nor is it practical large scale.)

I want fresh blood.

Maybe I'm missing something. In what way are we getting rehashes? We get new stuff every year and the event is always different. Also VR is not intended to be large scale, it's an upcharge house. I hope they do it a little better next year, but I can't fault them for at least trying something different.

 

[SeventyOne]

Anyone else feel the best way for HHN to be fresh and exciting would be for Aiello to be disposed and a new creative team put in place?

I just feel like we get rehash of concepts and plug and play scenery with different costumes on actors for scares. Yes, there are components to the whole thing that will be reused, but it's been way too long since we've seen something new that was viable for a major items in the event (that last bit is my way of subtly telling you not to cling to the VR as innovative - it's not nor is it practical large scale.)

I want fresh blood.

I think that's more a byproduct of having to put together 9 (realistically 10 with one being doubled) houses rather than, say, 6. Love it or hate it, Exorcist was innovative. But to fill in the rest of the park, we had paint-by-numbers TCM, TWD and half a Halloween house. I don't think the resources are there to make everything new and different, which dulls the brilliance of the things that are new a bit.

 

[shiekra38]

I think that's more a byproduct of having to put together 9 (realistically 10 with one being doubled) houses rather than, say, 6. Love it or hate it, Exorcist was innovative. But to fill in the rest of the park, we had paint-by-numbers TCM, TWD and half a Halloween house. I don't think the resources are there to make everything new and different, which dulls the brilliance of the things that are new a bit.

I see what you mean...the event has taken a turn to what's marketable rather than reinventing itself year after year...If you think about it, in the Icon era, every year was very different from the last..Nowadays, we guess the properties they are going to use, locations are the same, and an icon is tacked on sometimes..

 

[Teebin]

What is Aiello going to be doing now? Working directly for UC?

 

[DanB89]

What is Aiello going to be doing now? Working directly for UC?

He tweeted a while back that he has more involvement in non-HHN projects with UC (for example, I think he played a role in prepping the actors for the Kong queue).

 

[Dr. Raymond Holmes]

The problem isnt Mike and his team (Nor TJ and his team). The problem is marketing has a BIG say now and wont let A&D flex there creative muscles.

Basically A&D get pretty much told what to do for HHN.

 

[DanB89]

The problem isnt Mike and his team (Nor TJ and his team). The problem is marketing has a BIG say now and wont let A&D flex there creative muscles.

Basically A&D get pretty much told what to do for HHN.

I've been kind of curious about that dynamic actually. Does A&D directly report to Marketing, or does Marketing just have greater influence with the higher-ups that control the budget and direction of the event? I realize that the end result is the same either way, but I'm just curious as to whom A&D really answers to anymore.

 

[epcyclopedia]

Aside from that...

We're how many years on and the queues are still masses of weighted stanchions and rope? Areas are closed off with chainlink covered in green tarp? Many of the sets are still basic high school production level scenic flats all painted with the same basic flat black finish - even the same fingerprints and mesh brush strokes barely hiding years past as you'd expect from a community theater production of Hello Dolly!?

Not to mention backstage, where the actors dressing areas are still thrown together and makeup is done under tents like it's triage in the desert.

They've been doing this event for years. There needs to be some basic investment in infrastructure and making it "professional" st this point.

A similar event would be Epcot's food and wine. They've spent some major cash in making the booths into more than just cardboard shanty towns over the years. Guests can pay and queue and get utensils and have seating areas and backstage the cooking areas are better than some real world restaurants.

HHN needs to stop looking like this is the first time they've done this.

 

[s8film40]

Aside from that...

We're how many years on and the queues are still masses of weighted stanchions and rope? Areas are closed off with chainlink covered in green tarp? Many of the sets are still basic high school production level scenic flats all painted with the same basic flat black finish - even the same fingerprints and mesh brush strokes barely hiding years past as you'd expect from a community theater production of Hello Dolly!?

Not to mention backstage, where the actors dressing areas are still thrown together and makeup is done under tents like it's triage in the desert.

They've been doing this event for years. There needs to be some basic investment in infrastructure and making it "professional" st this point.

A similar event would be Epcot's food and wine. They've spent some major cash in making the booths into more than just cardboard shanty towns over the years. Guests can pay and queue and get utensils and have seating areas and backstage the cooking areas are better than some real world restaurants.

HHN needs to stop looking like this is the first time they've done this.

That's not really a great analogy. All the booths at Epcot for F&W combined wouldn't even equal the amount of construction that goes into just one HHN house. Not to mention these booths are reused every single year versus Universal building from the ground up 9 all new walk through attractions. HHN is way beyond the tacky experience of eating stale food from a warming cabinet over a trash can. F&W can be fun but it's no where close to being in the same leaque of event as HHN.

 

[epcyclopedia]

That's not really a great analogy. All the booths at Epcot for F&W combined wouldn't even equal the amount of construction that goes into just one HHN house. Not to mention these booths are reused every single year versus Universal building from the ground up 9 all new walk through attractions. HHN is way beyond the tacky experience of eating stale food from a warming cabinet over a trash can. F&W can be fun but it's no where close to being in the same leaque of event as HHN.

And that's where you're wrong.

The booths aren't always reused and have been changed out and upgraded signifigantly in the last few years while I have personally watched them load the walls used for the mazes into and out of storage for the last 3 years at HHN.

 

[s8film40]

And that's where you're wrong.

The booths aren't always reused and have been changed out and upgraded signifigantly in the last few years while I have personally watched them load the walls used for the mazes into and out of storage for the last 3 years at HHN.

Well I guess those demolition photos Mike Aileo has posted are just an internet hoax then.

I really don't know what to tell you, HHN puts far more money into a haunt event than anyone else. It is what it is and it's far better in many ways than what anyone else is doing. If you don't like it then ok.

 

[WAJAS]

And that's where you're wrong.

The booths aren't always reused and have been changed out and upgraded signifigantly in the last few years while I have personally watched them load the walls used for the mazes into and out of storage for the last 3 years at HHN.

Certain props and expensive stuff gets put into storage, but those wood walls are definitely not put in storage and reused every year. Unless that changed this past year I'm certain,

 

[epcyclopedia]

Certain props and expensive stuff gets put into storage, but those wood walls are definitely not put in storage and reused every year. Unless that changed this past year I'm certain,

I can walk you to the freight containers where they're stored sometime if we're ever in the parks at the same time.

 

[WAJAS]

I can walk you to the freight containers where they're stored sometime if we're ever in the parks at the same time.

Sounds like a plan

 

[Legacy]

It won't last because it's too far away, but I would die if Bill and Ted's storyline for 27 was a massive, pop-cultural Rock Paper Scissors tournament for the title of Janken Queen.

 

[s8film40]

Certain props and expensive stuff gets put into storage, but those wood walls are definitely not put in storage and reused every year. Unless that changed this past year I'm certain,

Yeah, I don't think it's changed. We've discussed this here in other threads and multiple people who know how the construction is done have confirmed it's not made of wall panels and everything is destroyed in the removal process. In fact I think Scare Zone did a podcast with one of the guys from the construction company that is hired every single year to build the houses.

 

[UniversalRBLX]

Aside from that...

We're how many years on and the queues are still masses of weighted stanchions and rope? Areas are closed off with chainlink covered in green tarp? Many of the sets are still basic high school production level scenic flats all painted with the same basic flat black finish - even the same fingerprints and mesh brush strokes barely hiding years past as you'd expect from a community theater production of Hello Dolly!?

Not to mention backstage, where the actors dressing areas are still thrown together and makeup is done under tents like it's triage in the desert.

They've been doing this event for years. There needs to be some basic investment in infrastructure and making it "professional" st this point.

A similar event would be Epcot's food and wine. They've spent some major cash in making the booths into more than just cardboard shanty towns over the years. Guests can pay and queue and get utensils and have seating areas and backstage the cooking areas are better than some real world restaurants.

HHN needs to stop looking like this is the first time they've done this.

Chill man, you expect Universal to build permanent queues and fences for an event that's only 1 1/2 months long? Universal has to build and design these mazes and scarezones in a year. Disney just needs to bring up these booths from backstage and plug them in.

 

[s8film40]

Chill man, you expect Universal to build permanent queues and fences for an event that's only 1 1/2 months long? Universal has to build and design these mazes and scarezones in a year. Disney just needs to bring up these booths from backstage and plug them in.

I can agree that permanent queues would be really nice, but it's very unrealistic. The thing a lot of people just don't consider is the scale of queues for HHN. The vast amount of space that's taken up by queues would not only make them an excessively expensive thing to build but many of these queues have to be broken down and setup every day because they occupy space used during the day.

I do wonder if they may be building Fallon and F&F with an extended queue that can double for HHN.

 

[Dr. Raymond Holmes]

They reused wall peices.. Some were showcased in The Hollow in 2010.. They also used the same old style prison cells to.

 

[shiekra38]

Aside from that...

We're how many years on and the queues are still masses of weighted stanchions and rope? Areas are closed off with chainlink covered in green tarp? Many of the sets are still basic high school production level scenic flats all painted with the same basic flat black finish - even the same fingerprints and mesh brush strokes barely hiding years past as you'd expect from a community theater production of Hello Dolly!?

Not to mention backstage, where the actors dressing areas are still thrown together and makeup is done under tents like it's triage in the desert.

They've been doing this event for years. There needs to be some basic investment in infrastructure and making it "professional" st this point.

A similar event would be Epcot's food and wine. They've spent some major cash in making the booths into more than just cardboard shanty towns over the years. Guests can pay and queue and get utensils and have seating areas and backstage the cooking areas are better than some real world restaurants.

HHN needs to stop looking like this is the first time they've done this.

If HHN isn't professional, I'd like to know what non-permanent haunted attraction you went to that was