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HHN 23: The Walking Dead: The Undead Streets

I feel very uneasy about it. As a fan of the show, it's going a little overkill. However, if they plan on using it as the sole experience/scarezone, Universal better look like it is in ruins, sets throughout the park, and zombies...zombies...zombies.


Still though, color me a disappointed. Just trying to make the best out of it.

Furthermore, WTF does Evil Takes Root have to do with this now?

This is EXACTLY what I was just about to say. They try to set up a good story but then kill it with this. I'm no longer following the vibe they're trying to throw out.
 
I feel very uneasy about it. As a fan of the show, it's going a little overkill. However, if they plan on using it as the sole experience/scarezone, Universal better look like it is in ruins, sets throughout the park, and zombies...zombies...zombies.


Still though, color me a disappointed. Just trying to make the best out of it.

Furthermore, WTF does Evil Takes Root have to do with this now?

And my question is: what does LT have to do with it either when it is mostly IPs?
 
I'm speechless...this is idiodic to the highest degree...its all just thrown together at this point! LT, Evil takes Root, ect...not to mention WD overkill!!! Can you say Universal = Sellout!
Im so Dissapointed! Looks like Ailleo's first full year as head creative is a mess! Where's Roddy when u need him!?!!? :( I'm actually now debating if I should fly down from Ohio this year or not.
 
Well as previously stated, The Walking Dead will be the entire "Street Experience", but we know of rumors that suggest this year is a combo of street experiences and set zones. If this is the case, I think it would be a lot more enjoyable. There are already rumors that there will be one more "Experience" which makes me think it's Resident Evil. In regards to TWD, the 3 most iconic areas of the series are Atlanta, the farm, the woods, and the prison/woodbury. With the house taking care of Prison/Woodbury, I assume we will get 3 areas of sets for the Walkers. If I were a betting man; I'd say Hollywood Blvd would be Atlanta, Central Park would be the woods, and the Kidzone area would be the barn area leading us into the prison/woodbury transition. Basically, go right for Walkers, and go straight thru Prod Central for other zones. If that's the way it's executed, I'd be thrilled.
 
I wish they would just announce the full line-up, houses and scarezones. This WD overkill has left many feeling bitter and disappointed, myself included.
 
I wish they would just announce the full line-up, houses and scarezones. This WD overkill has left many feeling bitter and disappointed, myself included.

Guilty.

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I honestly don't know. That's the only place where they truly get to use a lot of their creativity. So I'm hoping they run wild with it.

Almost think they cry themselves to sleep most nights.
 
Well as previously stated, The Walking Dead will be the entire "Street Experience", but we know of rumors that suggest this year is a combo of street experiences and set zones. If this is the case, I think it would be a lot more enjoyable. There are already rumors that there will be one more "Experience" which makes me think it's Resident Evil. In regards to TWD, the 3 most iconic areas of the series are Atlanta, the farm, the woods, and the prison/woodbury. With the house taking care of Prison/Woodbury, I assume we will get 3 areas of sets for the Walkers. If I were a betting man; I'd say Hollywood Blvd would be Atlanta, Central Park would be the woods, and the Kidzone area would be the barn area leading us into the prison/woodbury transition. Basically, go right for Walkers, and go straight thru Prod Central for other zones. If that's the way it's executed, I'd be thrilled.

This could work actually, as long as its kept in certain areas, so other zones could be set up...but again we have to remember with the parade, down Hollywood blvd has to be a lot of minimal sets, or a lot of moveable sets too.
 
The only people who are excited about today's announcements are rubes of the GP & bloggers (who are biased.)

Everyone else: outrage.

Considering the announcement got 6,000 likes and shares I can see why they continue to bring it back..it is popular...just sucks that everything is rated on profit these days
 
Transformers is supremely profitable, that doesn't necessitate quality though.

Interesting point bringing up Transformers--because that is a high-quality attraction even though it's a popular IP and not original.

I'm a moderate fan of TWD (only seen the first two seasons because that's all that's been on Netflix and I don't care to watch it on real TV) and thought last year's house was ok. I've also been going to HHN since 2007 so I've seen what they can do with heavy IP usage (2007, 2009, 2012) and going all-out original (2008, 2010, 2011)...with the exception of last year, I have always had a blast, original or not. Because even though they may be going for the IP's more and more nowadays, we can't deny that A&D still puts on a hell of an event--it's not like they all of a sudden forgot how to make stunning houses. They've just gone a different direction.

I personally prefer originality over IP's (not just in haunted houses, but for any theme park attraction really), but that's generally because I like buying into a new story and not knowing what to expect--it makes it easier to get enveloped and immersed into the attraction. That being said, that doesn't necessarily mean that IP attractions are bad. Transformers, for instance, is easily one of my favorite rides in the resort now, and it isn't original. Some of my favorite houses in the past have been based on IP's (loved Camp Blood, Dead Silence, Flesh Wounds, Silver Screams, and didn't mind most of the others), because I don't go into a house expecting not to like it just because it's based off of something else. In addition, I loved Interstellar Terror, Saws n Steam, Psychoscareapy, and Hades even though those all borrow heavily from outside sources (nobody seems to complain that those all seemed unofficially based off Event Horizon, '80's dystopian movies, Black Christmas, and Greek mythology, respectively). Is it nice to be immersed into an original story? Of course! But does A&D all of a sudden not take the same amount of time and care into developing houses that they haven't created the backstories for themselves? No. HHN has always been a quality event, and always will be. The sets will still be impressive, the effects will still be stunning, and the scares will still be there no matter what (last year was an exception, but I feel HHN wasn't Universal's priority that year so it can get a slide).

If the theme of this year was Jack the Clown's Zombie Circus, would we all like it better? Even if the sets and themes were exactly the same? TWD does lend itself well to haunt material, and we will probably see some stunning houses this year no matter what. Furthermore, we've seen some stinkers that have been completely original (The Spawning, Reflections of Fear). I think that IP or not, the quality will always be consistent. Yes, the added crowds suck. Yes, we will all miss being lost in the intricate stories HHN used to develop us in. But in the end, what matters is that we get a high quality haunt event right? Does anyone remember Bloody Mary's patients, or the date of Julien Browning's suicide? No. But do we all remember how friggen awesome Dead Exposure was, or how innovative the In-Between was? We sure do. As long as the quality is still there, I don't think the IP usage matters. It's regrettable that the event has moved in that direction, but not the end of the world. In the end, TWD does offer a lot of opportunities for some very cool set-pieces and designs, and I won't not enjoy them just because they came from a television show.
 
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But I do, what made HHN so unique and amazing is they took the ideas of a place like Netherworld, and blew it up to a huge scale and nothing ever before seen.

Knotts Berry Farm still has a completely original event, and to me seems to be even better now than HHN.

HHN Never took a Netherworld Theme and Blew it Up...HHN took themes and worked with them...Netherworld takes a Theme and explodes it like a nuclear bomb.

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People Love TWD Universal knows it so they are going to work with complaints they got last year and make it a bigger part of the event...Hey you fans out there as I have always said ( though I am the Hater of HHN as people say) It isn't about FANBOYS it about the DOLLAR and that's it.....The Legendary Truth is what a Movie club?
 
I was actually thinking this year would be a step forward again for HHN. Then they announce this crap. Yeah, TWD is a popular IP right now, but in no way should every scarezone EVER be themed to one IP, imo.

We'll see how it turns out, maybe they'll surprise me and manage to pull it off. But right now, consider me beyond disappointed. The only area Uni isn't excelling in in recent years is with their marquee, award winning Halloween event. It amazes me how they can be doing so well with pretty much everything else around the resort, but when it comes to HHN, things have been getting worse imo over the past few years. I have no problem with IP's, but they need to be implemented correctly, not just there to draw crowds.
 
So... now I guess I don't look so silly for being kinda pessimistic about this year, huh? :down: I hinted about this development in the main HHN23 thread and have been consequently preparing myself for this inevitable announcement... it's bad. It's a huge sellout, lazy, boring. There's more potentially bad news coming. AMC is one of the most controlling IP holders Uni has ever had to deal with - they want their Walkers to behave in a certain way, not be scary, not be aggressive. We know this because actors playing Walkers last year were instructed to tone their performances down. I wish I was kidding.

Get ready for a bunch of rambling around the park. I'm sure the little set pieces will be nifty, if not retreads of what we already saw in last year's lackluster house.

Oh, and I was really happy that the folks at Horror Unearthed (the popular FB group) were finally realizing that HHN may be on the downturn and everything they put out isn't god's gift to the earth... until an A&D member popped in and suddenly everyone is confident that everything will be okay. Damage control at its finest... I really love most members of A&D, including Aiello, his passion is fantastic and he's a really great guy, but it frustrates me that everyone will switch their opinion on a dime in an attempt to not offend A&D. They're adults. They can take the heat. We're going to keep getting this BS until the decision-makers of HHN get heat, and a LOT of it.
 
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