Halloween Horror Nights 33 (UOR) - Speculation & Rumors

[ssirin88]

I have no issues with any of the IPs or lack thereof. My original point was just on a personal level that my hype meter is low compared to years past. Leaving Twitter contributes since I’m not getting any news or updates on props as soon as they happen.

I do hope in the years following Epic Universe that the event gets changed up a bit. As mentioned the corporate nature of it can suck some of the fun and “scariness” out but that cat isn’t going back into the bag.

I still love the event and they already got hundreds of dollars out of me this year before night 1.

 

[Blysthon]

I have no issues with any of the IPs or lack thereof. My original point was just on a personal level that my hype meter is low compared to years past. Leaving Twitter contributes since I’m not getting any news or updates on props as soon as they happen.

I do hope in the years following Epic Universe that the event gets changed up a bit. As mentioned the corporate nature of it can suck some of the fun and “scariness” out but that cat isn’t going back into the bag.

I still love the event and they already got hundreds of dollars out of me this year before night 1.

I love the originals and icons, so yeah I’ll still go even if the IPS aren’t great the event is still worth it.

 

[Allison]

The scare actors didn't want or ask for the plexiglass - it was a cowardly executive decision and thrown together at the last minute. It naturally did not accomplish what it was ostensibly meant to accomplish (prevent COVID transmission). Later on, some (foolish) people ran with the narrative that it improved guest-on-performer safety.

I just wanna say I did see some scareactors saying it made them feel safer, and that shouldn’t be dismissed even though it wasn’t received well at all. It’s totally valid to not like the plexiglass, but it’s also totally valid for some scareactors to have been ok with it. When it comes to safety, even if it feels pointless to one person, if it helps someone feel more comfortable that should always be respected.

 

[Parkscope Joe]

I’m just fascinated at the fan anticipation of this year, considering how drastically different it would have likely been if Universal had actually secured Five Nights.

One house would have been an immense difference. So much of the mediocrity would be getting glossed over.

Because, really, I feel like that’s the bigger issue. For so long (at least five years), hype about one or two IPs has (I think) glossed over a formulaic blase, corporateness about the event as the whole. The sterile branding of the Peacock Bar didn’t matter, because David S. Pumpkins was there. The repetitive disappointment of Monsters could be ignored because TLOU was finally there. The CROWDS and prices that were (theoretically) operational unsustainable could be suffered through because HHN had IPs no one else had. But there problems were always there… and actually getting worse.

Now, though, the changes and cuts and corporate-ness of the event is continuing, but the key IP(s) that shields those changes from pushback isn’t there. Plus, suddenly, Six Flags has some of the same IPs Universal gets? My stars!

It’s just interesting to watch as an observer.

Oooooooooooh this is one to crack and break into.

I don't think Universal Entertainment has attempted anything different or new for HHN since 2016, 8 years! The Peacock Bar wasn't a themed bar in my eyes, they just threw up some scaffolding, Sings-to-Go stuff, and leftover private event stuff then hired TWO actors to rotate through there. I mean I've never been disappointed in Monsters but how many years are we saying "there's no BAD house but there's also no TRANSCENDENT house"? The event has become so large it feels like TWDC in a way - so large it takes forever to turn the ship, it must be planned out so far in advance that it feels almost inevitable and destined to happen.

I dunno if IPs are to blame for being the opiate for the fans for ignoring HHN's issues, instead, I think there might be more sociological issues:

• Affordable Multinight Passes - locals and college program kids swamp an event. Plays into how the event is so large it is hard to account for locals coming. How many people consider it a right of passage, a yearly home away from home, or other such things?
• Social Media & Influencers - FOMO pure and simple has really helped HHN, especially with scare zones. Influencers built a fandom based on this with spec maps, opinions, and daily photo updates.
• HHN Speculation Season - This is all our fault, we build the event up more and more. You can see it in the pages of spec seasons, the attempts at spec maps, trying to one up others, and more. How many people who go and cover it actually like the event? Seriously. It feels like speculation 10 new walkthrough attractions a year is fueling a lot of money to people and they are going to ride this thing to the end.

Yes, all those and IPs play into each other, but this is sorta where I think the issues come from.

My in park experiences with HHN really haven't changed - it's still a lot of fun and I enjoy the houses, zones, shows, and offerings. But my at home experience with HHN has deteriorated to the worst it's ever been with miserable speculation and anger over everything.

 

[Parkscope Joe]

I have no issues with any of the IPs or lack thereof. My original point was just on a personal level that my hype meter is low compared to years past. Leaving Twitter contributes since I’m not getting any news or updates on props as soon as they happen.

This isn't a bad thing, interests wane and change. And honestly, X is part of the problem.

 

[Kooks]

Yeah, walking through an empty house in late Summer really doesn't do a ton for me personally.

I think part of the way I feel about this year's event is also a personal thing. This will be my 9th year going to Horror Nights, if you count 2020, which I do since I ran those 3 houses a ton. We all coped with the pandemic in our own ways haha. This is my 6th Frequent Fear pass, and I've experienced a lot of Halloween Horror Nights at this point. I'm excited about the event, as I imagine I always will be for HHN. But I'm not... that excited.

There are no IPs this year that I hold incredibly dear to my heart like I do Stranger Things, Invisible Man, The Shining, Billie Eilish, Trick R Treat, Klowns, Elm Street, or especially FNaF while that iron is burning hot. I care about Ghostbusters, but I've already seen that house and it was okay. I've also seen Ghostbusters in both Cinesational and Mega Movie, so I'm not really hungering for it at Universal like I was in 2019. AQP is interesting logistically, but I'm not attached to it outside of that. Monsters is just more of the same, and not with my favorite ones like Creature, IM, etc. so it's hard to get too excited.

No crazy things are happening like TLoU being our first video game house in almost a decade, or finally getting our cancelled Chupacabra/Tooth Fairy house, or a cool elaborate concept house like Case Files or The Darkest Deal. No long-requested Dueling Dragons house or anything. All of the original house concepts are kinda basic, really vague, or take the ideas in directions that I don't personally vibe with.

• Slaughter Sinema remains my #1 HHN house of all time, so I should be excited for the sequel, but with a concept so flexible there is a 100% possibility that the lightning just doesn't strike twice. I've been keeping my expectations purposefully low for a little bit now.
• "Nightmare at the Museum" is a terrific HHN concept I've had for years! But they seem to be taking it less as "Dinosaur Skeletons, Marbled statues and ancient artifacts, Taxidermied Animals, Cowboys, Mummies, Soldier mannequins coming to life around you" and more folklore and local gallery-focused? I guess I just have no idea what to even expect out of it.
• Goblins might be really scary and funny like Scary Tales or Wicked Growth, but could just be another Dragons; pretty but dull.
• Dual Icons are neat, but I don't know anything about them outside of their bad 2000s-y names and their basic premise which I might just have to see for myself how I feel about in the moment.

Long story short, I just haven't felt very compelled into hype for this event, and I haven't really since FNaF and Elm Street got knocked off the spec maps. Those were things I truly hadn't seen before personally.

Despite all of this complaining though, I think that it's honestly okay that I'm not that excited. It's a shame, and I would hope every year could grab me in the same ways, but I've been going for a long time now! It's somehow been almost a decade since I've been going to HHN, and exactly 5 years since I worked the event myself. I've gotten a lot out of HHN over the years, and it's okay if it doesn't hit everytime. At this point, I've seen most things that HHN could reasonably offer me, and so there will end up being some diminishing returns. I'm sure there will be new faces and FFP owners who will experience this event as the best thing ever, and that's wonderful. I hope this year really hits for them.

Perfectly said about Museum. It’s really low on my hype list for exactly this reason.

 

[Parkscope Joe]

I just wanna say I did see some scareactors saying it made them feel safer, and that shouldn’t be dismissed even though it wasn’t received well at all. It’s totally valid to not like the plexiglass, but it’s also totally valid for some scareactors to have been ok with it. When it comes to safety, even if it feels pointless to one person, if it helps someone feel more comfortable that should always be respected.

Plexiglass made no one safer, if someone doesn't feel safe jumping out in a haunted house they shouldn't be a scare actor. They actually made the houses safer with the inclusion of cameras for evidence and more security.

 

[Allison]

Plexiglass made no one safer, if someone doesn't feel safe jumping out in a haunted house they shouldn't be a scare actor. They actually made the houses safer with the inclusion of cameras for evidence and more security.

If it made someone feel safer then there’s nothing wrong with that. lt doesn’t matter whether you or I liked it or not, doesn’t matter if you think someone shouldn’t have been working there because of it (I know you like to troll Joe, but that’s messed up even for you), cameras for evidence is totally necessary but what I’m saying is if the plexiglass made someone feel safe that’s ok, even if nobody else saw it that way.

 

[Kooks]

I might be in the minority in saying this but I think this year’s scarezone themes are some of the strongest in recent years, up there with 2022. I don’t think the execution will be, though, with the new parade and already apparent lack of construction.

 

[Kichkinet85]

I just wanna say I did see some scareactors saying it made them feel safer, and that shouldn’t be dismissed even though it wasn’t received well at all. It’s totally valid to not like the plexiglass, but it’s also totally valid for some scareactors to have been ok with it. When it comes to safety, even if it feels pointless to one person, if it helps someone feel more comfortable that should always be respected.

Plexiglass made no one safer, if someone doesn't feel safe jumping out in a haunted house they shouldn't be a scare actor. They actually made the houses safer with the inclusion of cameras for evidence and more security.

I disagree with you on this and going to back up @Allison here. If someone feels safer with that it’s 1000% valid. It’s bc of the times and event we were in. It didn’t look the best but if it made someone feel better then it did it’s porpoise.

 

[fryoj]

I'm not sure how, when we have a whole thread dedicated to scareactors being touched inappropriately, anyone would say a barrier between them and guests isn't safer for the scareactors. But hey, I can't say I'm surprised considering....


That being said, it would be really hard to do an effective, scary, house with plexiglass barriers everywhere.

 

[Boodini]

Having performed in 2020 oddly enough I felt safer working that period of time than any other during Covid (especially compared to how ops was handled). I can’t speak for 2021 but I think it was an unfortunate necessity.

 

[Grabnar]

I’m just fascinated at the fan anticipation of this year, considering how drastically different it would have likely been if Universal had actually secured Five Nights.

One house would have been an immense difference. So much of the mediocrity would be getting glossed over.

Because, really, I feel like that’s the bigger issue. For so long (at least five years), hype about one or two IPs has (I think) glossed over a formulaic blase, corporateness about the event as the whole. The sterile branding of the Peacock Bar didn’t matter, because David S. Pumpkins was there. The repetitive disappointment of Monsters could be ignored because TLOU was finally there. The CROWDS and prices that were (theoretically) operational unsustainable could be suffered through because HHN had IPs no one else had. But there problems were always there… and actually getting worse.

Now, though, the changes and cuts and corporate-ness of the event is continuing, but the key IP(s) that shields those changes from pushback isn’t there. Plus, suddenly, Six Flags has some of the same IPs Universal gets? My stars!

It’s just interesting to watch as an observer.

I recognize that I'm in the minority here but I come to HHN for theming and execution more than IPs. Most local haunts don't have the budget to routinely swap out haunts each year so getting 10 new houses each year + entertainment is what I'm more interested in. I'd actually prefer to have *no* IP and take that licensing money to dramatically plus up all of the other houses and do some more innovative concepts, but as I said, I recognize that I'm not the GP.

I think you're right, to an extent, about the lack of a killer IP giving more scrutiny to the rest of the event but there is a decidedly more amateur tone to the marketing, merch, art, and concepts that is made worse in comparison to last year's event cycle. They nailed it out of the park last year with the slow release of Oddfellow lore, having a lot of easter eggs, the podcasts, etc, and having a mid-to-average year after that is going to be rough in comparison, let alone a year that clearly has had some issues with parades, EU scale-up resourcing, and staff transitions.

That said, I will cover the entire IU team's tab at the Dead Coconut Club if Six Flags/Cedar Fair are able to execute on their new IP line-up anywhere close to satisfactorily.

 

[Jake S]

That said, I will cover the entire IU team's tab at the Dead Coconut Club if Six Flags/Cedar Fair are able to execute on their new IP line-up anywhere close to satisfactorily.

Finally, we’re speaking my language.

 

[TheCodeMan95]

The mod team can't WAIT for this event to start. Then everyone will talk about how great the event is and pretend that they never had any doubts.

There was a post earlier that compared this year to 2017 - and that's kinda the same vibe I'm getting. Not really any heavy hitter IP (I guess The Shining counts?) but a solid event with banger after banger originals.

Starting in 2018 the event changed a bit - with the introduction of Stranger Things it really made the event feel a bit differently. It felt more .. corporate. Which is alright as long as the quality is there.

What's funny to me is that people are saying 2024 feels more corporate.. where for me, it feels LESS corporate and more like pre-ST HHN.

 

[Wesker69]

Starting in 2018 the event changed a bit - with the introduction of Stranger Things it really made the event feel a bit differently. It felt more .. corporate

**2012 with TWD era
THAT was the real corporate plague origins

2007/2009 being IP heavy was at least anchored by Jack/The Usher

 

[TheCodeMan95]

**2012 with TWD era
THAT was the real corporate plague origins

2007/2009 being IP heavy was at least anchored by Jack/The Usher

Idk boss my first year was 2016 lmao

What I can say is that I felt a distinct shift between 2016/2017 and every year after that

 

[Wesker69]

Idk boss my first year was 2016 lmao

That explains why. lol you missed the dark times.

 

[TheAlaskanBullworm]

Plexiglass made no one safer, if someone doesn't feel safe jumping out in a haunted house they shouldn't be a scare actor. They actually made the houses safer with the inclusion of cameras for evidence and more security.

I worked the plexiglass year and disliked having them there. I was excited to have them gone the following year. There were also plenty of fellow scare actors who would mention how they liked them for the extra barrier between themselves and unruly/drunk guests. It was a nice break for those in the houses even though it’s safe to say it hindered the overall guest experience. I’d imagine there were less security calls for physical guests because of the plexiglass. So if some felt safer that single year(1.5 years if you count 2020?) because of it then who are we to dismiss it.

And yes the cameras were an amazing but long overdue security measure. I remember them telling us about it for the first time before the event and how relieved many were.

 

[Wesker69]

Is it too early to speculate on HHN 2025 in regards to NBC UNIVERSAL corporate

Inspired by Halloween Horror Nights at Universal Studios, Jimmy Fallon has announced Jimmy Fallon’s Tonightmares, an immersive horror experience coming to NYC this fall.

Located at Rockefeller Center, Jimmy Fallon’s Tonightmares will feature 10 unique rooms based on Fallon’s deepest darkest nightmares, including a cornfield with killer scarecrows, werewolves, aliens, brain-eating zombies, murderous AI robots, and an abandoned gas station.

(Sorry if this has already been acknowledged)