My problem with it is Fanta is a horrible mixer. I suspect the drinks here will make the ones at 1990s Pleasure Island look dry and sophisticated.My problem with the Fanta bar is just more in the terms of confusion of why it’s there rather than the how.
I do like your idea of theming bars as much as snack stands. Even low-budget Howl-O-Scream at least does that.
As for your second point, I hear you. I think @GA-MBIT nailed it with their post above -- "all of the original house concepts are kinda basic, really vague, or take the ideas in directions that I don't personally vibe with." I don't necessarily agree with the latter element, but I do agree that the titles and extremely limited descriptions are disappointingly ambiguous (and the crappy art this year doesn't help, either). For all we know, all of these houses will be hits -- I certainly hope so! -- but I get why they aren't garnering a whole lot of excitement relative to prior years.
And also repetitive. Sinema a direct sequel, and seemingly a rehash of that Amazon Women on the Moon/UHF style of house. Bloodline sounds like a spiritual and literal sequel to Bride and Monsters Collide. Major Sweets a continuation of a zone 2 years ago. Monstrous' elevator pitch--mythological monsters from Latin America--sounds a lot like Chupacabra. Ditto Goblins and Dueling Dragons. As I've discussed in the past, the newness of HHN, and the fact if you miss a house you'll never see it again, has always been a selling point of the event, setting it apart from its competitors. Any one of these houses could be HotY, even decade, but they come in lacking a common selling point of houses in the past. In 2023, I'd never seen a house based on the Crossroads legend, and I knew going in I'll likely never see one again. That adds a certain thrill.