Halloween Horror Nights 29 General Discussion

[DannyPowers]

Twin Peaks would make me shake my head in disbelief.

Bro, I might straight-up lose my mind if I ever get to walk down an HHN hallway with the Evolution of the Arm screaming "Nonexiiiisteeeent" in my face.

 

[Darko]

I am kinda curious to see if the vamp series will get turned into a house at some point like Saws N' Steam and Trick 'r Treat.

 

[truejonas]

Did anything come from the stranger things day? Clearly was a test for a daytime walkthrough attraction (similar to TWD in Hollywood).

I'm not so sure if it was really a test, or if Universal and Netflix worked out an agreement because of how close the "anniversary" date was.

I am kinda curious to see if the vamp series will get turned into a house at some point like Saws N' Steam and Trick 'r Treat.

If it did, it would most likely end up being more of a comedy house. The whole appeal of Vamp is the interactions. Once you contain that in a house, it loses that special connection.

 

[Darko]

Kinda what I thought. They make great zones, but yeah, a house wouldn't really work. I am curious about the scarezones this year. I wonder if they're gonna stick to the 5 zones formula they have had since 25.

 

[DannyPowers]

Well. Looks like the Hagrid coaster announcement is out of the way. That was one of the big ones HHN was going to have to try and dodge around. So, we should star getting houses pretty soon.

 

[Legacy]

Did anything come from the stranger things day? Clearly was a test for a daytime walkthrough attraction (similar to TWD in Hollywood).

From my understanding, there was no “test” aspect to it. It was a marketing opportunity that drew StrTh fans to the park and introduced HHN to a broader audience. Sometimes, you take advantage of those things when you can.

I am kinda curious to see if the vamp series will get turned into a house at some point like Saws N' Steam and Trick 'r Treat.

There’s no need to convert it to a house. One - they already have house vampire franchise (Vampyr). Two - the interaction that drive the zones isn’t really feasible in a house.

 

[Drummanmatt]

From my understanding, there was no “test” aspect to it. It was a marketing opportunity that drew StrTh fans to the park and introduced HHN to a broader audience. Sometimes, you take advantage of those things when you can.

Gotcha. That makes sense. I just remember there being a lot of hype/rumours around the day being universal Orlando seeing whether a daytime haunt attraction would work. Guess it was just that - rumours and wild speculation!

 

[horrornights789]

Hopefully we can knock out Stranger Things 2 tomorrow. Hopefully the announcement trailer is as good as last year

 

[Parkscope Joe]

Hopefully we can knock out Stranger Things 2 tomorrow. Hopefully the announcement trailer is as good as last year

I think Stranger Things Season 2 is next week, Universal usually doesn't announce things on Friday... usually....

 

[RevFreako]

I think Stranger Things Season 2 is next week, Universal usually doesn't announce things on Friday... usually....

Do you think it's just ST2, or do they throw something else in, since everyone knows it's coming?

 

[horrornights789]

Do you think it's just ST2, or do they throw something else in, since everyone knows it's coming?

They could announce the theme again like last year with the 80s

 

[Brian G.]

Do you think it's just ST2, or do they throw something else in, since everyone knows it's coming?

Just Stranger Things. It'll be enough for the common audience.

 

[DannyPowers]

I think Stranger Things Season 2 is next week, Universal usually doesn't announce things on Friday... usually....

I agree with this. Unless they decide to pull something crazy, I don't expect it until next week. I really thought it was going to be today, but the coaster announcement through me for a loop. (no pun intended)

 

[johnathanm]

For clarity’s sake, a bit of a disclaimer about my statements (“out of nowhere IPs,” and the Family Guy gif):

My sense of what is on the table each year is, I think, pretty good. Partly because I typically hear about discussions in August/September for the following year, but mostly because I have a decent understanding of Universal’s capabilities in negotiating certain rights, their design principles, and their history. I also try to keep abreast on “popular horror culture” beyond properties’ simple existence. Most of the IPs Universal uses tick most of those boxes. Some surprise me.

Last year, Chucky was really surprising to me. The Shining surprised me. Both, however, became REALLY obvious after my initial reaction. Chucky was accessible and well-known. Shining was a white whale with a loop hole. Those surprised me more than Killer Klownz or Exorcist or Poltergeist - oft discussed and requested IPs.

That said, I’m still kinda shaking my head at this one. Like previous surprises, it makes sense. I’m still just amazed it may happen. That’s not in a good or bad way. It’s an indifferent, “Really? Okay...” way.


Now, regarding the “bonkers build,” it’s not tied to an IP that I know of. If true, it’s a long-term investment in the type of scenes Uni can design. You may not even this year. But you might.

So we are essentially just looking at an IP that did NOT "tick most of those boxes" in your perception?

 

[Legacy]

They could announce the theme again like last year with the 80s

Except "The 80s" wasn't a theme and was never announced as such. It was a general aesthetic that effectively applied to only eight of the 15 things presented. Hell, the primary iconography was a rotten pumpkin.

Eighties things:
Stranger Things
Poltergeist
Halloween 4
Killer Klownz
Child's Play
Vamp 85
Slaughter Sinema

Argued for or against the 80s:
Trick R Treat

Timeless/Not 80s:
Blumhouse
Seeds
Carnival Graveyard
Dead Exposure: Patient Zero
Scary Tales
The Harvest
The other zone

So we are essentially just looking at an IP that did NOT "tick most of those boxes" in your perception?

It definitely subverts a couple of boxes by triple checking others.

 

[DannyPowers]

Dead Exposure was actually in the '80s. It was "officially" in the back story of the house, but honestly there wasn't much that stuck it in that time period.

 

[OhHaiInternet95]

Dead Exposure was actually in the '80s. It was "officially" in the back story of the house, but honestly there wasn't much that stuck it in that time period.

I really liked the maze, probably my favorite last year, but I do kinda wish they had used songs from the '80s (1982 and before) in the facade. As catchy as that techno song was, it came out in 2013.

A way they could've made it truly "'80s" would've been to set it in West Germany (Munich, maybe?) in 1987 after Reagan ordered the teardown of the Berlin Wall, and as a desperation effort, a Soviet spy releases a biohazard. Have 99 Luftballoons and Holiday in the Sun by Sex Pistols play out front instead.

And they could've gone either the vaccination side effect route or have a reporter capture photos again--though I think the latter probably would've resonated more with the GP.

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Anyways, I have no expectations of a theme this year. Honestly with ST2 this would've been a better year to use the rotting pumpkins as the marketing. With 30 I'm hoping they do something to make the theme different from 25.

 

[Legacy]

Dead Exposure was actually in the '80s. It was "officially" in the back story of the house, but honestly there wasn't much that stuck it in that time period.

If you didn't know that tidbit of back story, would you get the sense it was set in the 80s?

Decades/eras have specific looks. You can glance at most things from the 50s, 60s, 70s, 80s, and 90s and tell the difference. It's in clothes. It's in furniture. It's in music. It's in the look and feel. To do that though, the era has to be baked into the design from the very beginning. If the only way you know the time period is a throwaway line, then it was never designed to be during that period or it's just a poorly designed piece of art.

Point being- the 80s aspect was something that just kinda happened that A&D and Marketing decided to lean into. It wasn't a "theme." This year definitely won't have a theme tied to an era .

 

[Darko]

I kinda want a Vamp '99: Y2K scarezone.

 

[JawsVictim]

Twin Peaks would make me shake my head in disbelief.

Go on...