HHN 27: Bill & Ted's Excellent Halloween Adventure Farewell Tour

[Lucky Planet]

Figured I'd highlight the last show:

First off, they had all hands on deck. Seems like anyone that was a part of the show, even the backups, where a part of that last show.

• Spicer had a picture of the actual Spicer instead of Harry Styles.
• Instead of the Taylor Swift paddle being butthurt, it was Trump.
• Betty White showed up, then ran away when Grim said he wanted to say Hi.
• Power Rangers formed a human megazord, with "genitalia".
• Eleven was updated to her Season 2 look.
• Baywatch people did some rather intimate exercising positions.
• Rick was greeted by Doc Brown.
• Trash Panda "puppet died".
• Grim won Rock, Scissors, Paper. Did 2 out 3. Ted won.
• When Bill came back to life, he listed recently closed Disney things and Grim killed him again. Brought him back, then Bill said "this show......"
• Moana had 2 "waters", and was joined by Elsa for a HHN 24 callback for an encore.
• Spicer came out with the Chewbacca mask - calling back to Chewbacca mom (Grim joked "How many characters did you play?")
• Sex Tail guy played up the crowd - let the crowd tell the whole joke.
• Not a planned joke - but Kendall Jenner lost her wig running - and they kinda played off that.
• Dr. Evil listed all Universal attractions that closed, even "Poseidon's Fury - but the one with Zeus".
• Bill then asked "What about Terminator?" Dr. Evil played dumb and asked what it was. Bill replied "You know with that guy that says 'I'll be back'" to which Evil hit back "No, YOU won't".
• Before the dance sequence, Bill & Ted addressed each other by their real names (PJ & Jason) to say that "It's been an excellent adventure".
• The final dance number saw all the supporting cast dressed as either Bill & Ted and came out to dance in the crowd. When the show ended, they each went to hug Jason & PJ before heading to the back. Rufus came out to say it's time to go. They all thanked the crowd and said to remember to be "Excellent to each other", and "Party on, dudes!". They closed the show by playing "God Gave Rock'N'Roll To You" from Bogus Journey.

The scene between Grim and Bill about it all being a dream seemed to be the point where the cast started getting choked up. You can hear Bill and Grim's voice starting to crack a bit. Apparently the TM show is where they all completely lost it.

We'll have more about our thoughts on the show tomorrow - but at least you have that for now.

This sounds really cool,
But im really glad i didnt go to that last show.

It Would be some emotions i would not wanna experience.
Even at the 7:30 show i felt queasy and uncomfortable. Im glad i get to read what they did.
I wish there was recording of some of these jokes

 

[Bobharlem]

Then there's this

 

[Drew]

As someone who's attended many things and events over the course of my 33 years on Earth, last night was probably one of the most unforgettable moments of my theme park life.

100%. I can't think of anything that I've experienced in a theme park that even comes close.

 

[Nick]

Figured I'd highlight the last show:

First off, they had all hands on deck. Seems like anyone that was a part of the show, even the backups, were a part of that last show.

• Spicer had a picture of the actual Spicer instead of Harry Styles.
• Instead of the Taylor Swift paddle being butthurt, it was Trump.
• Betty White showed up, then ran away when Grim said he wanted to say Hi.
• Power Rangers formed a human megazord, with "genitalia".
• Eleven was updated to her Season 2 look.
• Baywatch people did some rather intimate exercising positions.
• Rick was greeted by Doc Brown.
• Trash Panda "puppet died".
• Grim won Rock, Scissors, Paper. Did 2 out 3. Ted won.
• When Bill came back to life, he listed recently closed Disney things and Grim killed him again. Brought him back, then Bill said "this show......"
• Moana had 2 "waters", and was joined by Elsa for a HHN 24 callback for an encore.
• Spicer came out with the Chewbacca mask - calling back to Chewbacca mom (Grim joked "How many characters did you play?")
• Sex Tail guy played up the crowd - let the crowd tell the whole joke.
• Not a planned joke - but Kendall Jenner lost her wig running - and they kinda played off that.
• Dr. Evil listed all Universal attractions that closed, even "Poseidon's Fury - but the one with Zeus".
• Bill then asked "What about Terminator?" Dr. Evil played dumb and asked what it was. Bill replied "You know with that guy that says 'I'll be back'" to which Evil hit back "No, YOU won't".
• Before the dance sequence, Bill & Ted addressed each other by their real names (PJ & Jason) to say that "It's been an excellent adventure".
• The final dance number saw all the supporting cast dressed as either Bill & Ted and came out to dance in the crowd. When the show ended, they each went to hug Jason & PJ before heading to the back. Rufus came out to say it's time to go. They all thanked the crowd and said to remember to be "Excellent to each other", and "Party on, dudes!". They closed the show by playing "God Gave Rock'N'Roll To You" from Bogus Journey.

The scene between Grim and Bill about it all being a dream seemed to be the point where the cast started getting choked up. You can hear Bill and Grim's voice starting to crack a bit. Apparently the TM show is where they all completely lost it.

We'll have more about our thoughts on the show tomorrow - but at least you have that for now.

Bless your soul.

I was practically in a constant change of emotions from cheering and calling back the lines the whole show, laughing at the things they added, 5 minute standing ovations, to crying my eyes out at the end, knowing it's not coming back. I would've never fully remembered all the slight changes as written out here. I would've had a memory of something vaguely resembled what happened, but i'd always be missing a piece of the puzzle. Now I won't be missing that piece.

Oh, and that wig snafu may have been intentional. Kylie Jenner lost her wig in the TM show, too.

 

[DanB89]

As someone who's attended many things and events over the course of my 33 years on Earth, last night was probably one of the most unforgettable moments of my theme park life.

I definitely get where you’re coming from here. I’ve been into theme parks since I was a kid. I was fortunate enough to grow up going to Disney and enter adulthood going to Universal. Finally made it to HHN in 2011 after wanting to go since 2004. I honestly don’t think any theme park experience compares to this.

It’s been 24 hours and I’m still riding this weird mix of emotions. On the one hand I have this kinda of deep sadness that it’s over. On the other hand, I’ve got this huge rush of joy that I got to be at the last public show, ever. Still so grateful and humbled that I got to be there to see it in person.

For anyone who’s a fan of HHN or the show, this is really the end of a chapter for us and the start of a new one.

 

[Nick]

As someone who's attended many things and events over the course of my 33 years on Earth, last night was probably one of the most unforgettable moments of my theme park life.

Undoubtedly.

It will always depend on the person or how much you enjoy a certain thing as to how you feel when it closes, but if you dislike an attraction or it just generally sucks, a closing won't normally phase you. It's just a ride/show and in most cases, the only time you have a human interaction is once you load/unload. With Bill & Ted, we've been seeing many of these same faces for a long time now. Even if you weren't a fan of B&T, there's no way that you could leave the stadium last night without thinking what an incredible experience you had just been through.

 

[Ryan]

Man, I don't know if I could even watch a recording of the final show if it came out. Sounds insanely emotional. Thanks for the write-up, Brian.

Then there's this

He's probably referring to (the never-will-be-made) Bill & Ted 3.

 

[Nick]

Not sure how many have seen this, but Aiello put up a very lengthy post about the show on his public page. Definitely worth a read:

He's probably referring to (the never-will-be-made) Bill & Ted 3.

I agree it's not likely, however, the only reason I give it even a shot in the dark is because Keanu seems genuinely interested. He was on some UK talk show a few weeks ago and actually broke out the voice when voluntarily bringing up Bill and Ted 3. I would think he would be the non-starter for a third movie.

 

[s8film40]

Man, I don't know if I could even watch a recording of the final show if it came out. Sounds insanely emotional. Thanks for the write-up, Brian.

It was very emotional. I've only cried a small handful of times in my adult life and this is now one of them. The show has been a big deal for me and even so I got through most viewings without the emotions hitting too hard over the season. When the cast themselves started crying that really got to me.

He's probably referring to (the never-will-be-made) Bill & Ted 3.

He probably was referring to that or just making a general "you never know" positive statement. He is aware of the show though and has made other responses to it closing including reposting the (lost cause) petition to save it that's been going around.

 

[Brian G.]

Goodbye, Bill & Ted’s Excellent Halloween Adventure | Inside Universal

 

[Nick]

Anybody else see this? Now I think he's mostly blowing smoke since he's just a social media voice for APs, but still interesting nonetheless.

 

[Parkscope Joe]

That stuff is easily photoshopped, I’d like to see a direct link to a post. The shows end is more complicated than not wanting to do a pop culture parody Halloween show again.

 

[Ryan]

Yeah that totally looks fake.

 

[Nick]

I thought it seemed off, but I also don't care enough to dig into it further

That stuff is easily photoshopped, I’d like to see a direct link to a post. The shows end is more complicated than not wanting to do a pop culture parody Halloween show again.

As I understand it was a mixture of the contract being up/the show causing issues/not wanting to re-up a contract when there was no solid place to perform (i.e. paying rights for a 28 year old franchise with a cult following)

Did I get it?

 

[Nick]

Ok, so I did dig a little

I asked the person who posted the screengrab if I could get a link and this is where I was sent to. He immediately messaged me and said the comment was removed, which made me suspicious, but then Korn posted and said he can verify it's valid.

 

[MrRoamer]

Got to see the AP show, and it was great, everybody was super pumped and it was awesome seeing Water Pocahontas get surprised by the amount of love. I really wish we could have made the last show but there was just way too much going on for that to be even close to a reality. The team did a great job this year and they deserve every ounce of respect and praise that they have gotten and then some. I never realized exactly how long I've been seeing the Bill and Ted show but after seeing the montage I realized its been every year but the first year that I've been to Horror Nights, so 2000-2017. The show leaving really hits hard, every time we hear a song from years past it brings up good memories of the show. We generally start doing whichever dance steps were part of the song... and its hard thinking there won't be any more. Every time that damn song from this year plays on the radio or TV or whatever I get a little choked up. I'm very glad to hear how much love they got at the final show and I'm sorry I wasn't there but it sounds like it was amazing and also very emotional.

Onto the Korn thing, I don't understand the logic in his post and I'm sorry to rehash the why is it ending thing and I'm sorry to bring it up here in this thread where everyone is talking about their heartfelt feelings on this show. In my opinion, B&T is one of the most successful things that Universal has ever done, I can't think of another attraction/show/ride that they have that has/had this big of a fan base that care so much about it. I'm sorry if it wasn't some people's cup of tea or they thought it was dumb but there was a lot of us that adored it. Not everything is going to be for everyone, and one thing I have been trying to do more is be supportive of things people love even if I don't understand why or think its pointless. Not everybody likes the same things, but one thing I do know is that every year HHN becomes a bigger event and has more and more people attend. With that I also have seen the Bill and Ted show become a bigger and more popular show, it used to be (not that long ago) that shows were less than half full and it was a rarity to see a packed show. These past few years I have not seen that be the case, not even once.

If they knew they were going to have major backlash to the point that they feel state that they overestimated, if they knew they had to have extra showings/merchandise/etc for this show then why not put a feeler/survey out first instead of outright announcing its gone. Are we really supposed to contact Guest Services every time they do something that we disagree with or don't like? Every time we have voiced our complaints it seems to fall on deaf ears, why should this one be any different? I feel like the reason for the lack of backlash is that everyone feels like its just screaming into the wind, we tried it before, it didn't work, why waste the energy. Every single person that I talk to about this ending ask the same question "If it is so popular why are they getting rid of it?" So I will continue to enter on every HHN survey with a free form area to please never let the Bill and Ted Show end as I have done for countless years. I will contact guest services about it, and I will have all of the people that I have brought from out of town contact Guest Services about the show ending. I'm sure in the end it will be a waste of time, but well I gave it all.

 

[WAJAS]

Got to see the AP show, and it was great, everybody was super pumped and it was awesome seeing Water Pocahontas get surprised by the amount of love. I really wish we could have made the last show but there was just way too much going on for that to be even close to a reality. The team did a great job this year and they deserve every ounce of respect and praise that they have gotten and then some. I never realized exactly how long I've been seeing the Bill and Ted show but after seeing the montage I realized its been every year but the first year that I've been to Horror Nights, so 2000-2017. The show leaving really hits hard, every time we hear a song from years past it brings up good memories of the show. We generally start doing whichever dance steps were part of the song... and its hard thinking there won't be any more. Every time that damn song from this year plays on the radio or TV or whatever I get a little choked up. I'm very glad to hear how much love they got at the final show and I'm sorry I wasn't there but it sounds like it was amazing and also very emotional.

Onto the Korn thing, I don't understand the logic in his post and I'm sorry to rehash the why is it ending thing and I'm sorry to bring it up here in this thread where everyone is talking about their heartfelt feelings on this show. In my opinion, B&T is one of the most successful things that Universal has ever done, I can't think of another attraction/show/ride that they have that has/had this big of a fan base that care so much about it. I'm sorry if it wasn't some people's cup of tea or they thought it was dumb but there was a lot of us that adored it. Not everything is going to be for everyone, and one thing I have been trying to do more is be supportive of things people love even if I don't understand why or think its pointless. Not everybody likes the same things, but one thing I do know is that every year HHN becomes a bigger event and has more and more people attend. With that I also have seen the Bill and Ted show become a bigger and more popular show, it used to be (not that long ago) that shows were less than half full and it was a rarity to see a packed show. These past few years I have not seen that be the case, not even once.

If they knew they were going to have major backlash to the point that they feel state that they overestimated, if they knew they had to have extra showings/merchandise/etc for this show then why not put a feeler/survey out first instead of outright announcing its gone. Are we really supposed to contact Guest Services every time they do something that we disagree with or don't like? Every time we have voiced our complaints it seems to fall on deaf ears, why should this one be any different? I feel like the reason for the lack of backlash is that everyone feels like its just screaming into the wind, we tried it before, it didn't work, why waste the energy. Every single person that I talk to about this ending ask the same question "If it is so popular why are they getting rid of it?" So I will continue to enter on every HHN survey with a free form area to please never let the Bill and Ted Show end as I have done for countless years. I will contact guest services about it, and I will have all of the people that I have brought from out of town contact Guest Services about the show ending. I'm sure in the end it will be a waste of time, but well I gave it all.

I think his point is valid for the smaller things like the examples he gave. Projects like the FFL area will almost never be stopped by AP complaints because they know we'll be back either way.

 

[MrRoamer]

I think his point is valid for the smaller things like the examples he gave. Projects like the FFL area will almost never be stopped by AP complaints because they know we'll be back either way.

That's my point, why even bring it up, this post makes goes very close to the line (I'll say over the line) of sounding like "If you all care this much about the show, you should call Guest Services and you may be a able to save it". Even him using the #SaveBillAndTed hashtag feels like a way of saying: fight for it, the people can save Bill and Ted.

I also have issue with the "AP complaints because they know we'll be back".

 

[epcyclopedia]

Ok... as someone who literally just left Disney Research as a job, I’ll do my usual song and dance but with more frankness because they can’t threaten to not pay me if I interfere with the natural order of things...

And understanding this is my experience with guest research in general not specific to any event, park, etc...

APs don’t do surveys. “I’m an AP, you don’t want my opinion.” “I’ve done it before.” “I just did one...”

Well surveys represent the park population as-is. They’re seen as being representative of the people in the park at that given date and time. So if you’re the same AP or other returning guest who gets intercepted but doesn’t do a survey, then you don’t exist in the park as an opinion. You are literally silencing your own opinions by not being represented. There is no default “you” that backfills your spot with your opinions. No, some soccer mom from Ohio on her first trip ever does.

From a respondent standpoint there’s more of her than you in the park because she did a survey today and you didn’t. It doesn’t matter that the park entrance records say there are a high number of APs and a lower number of one day tickets - because they don’t care. I have no idea why it works that way and it seems very counter intuitive.

And then the write-ins and other such feedback... can make things happen, but in the hierarchy of feedback it’s the low end. They do not want to cater to the one off they want to cater to the broad group.

Broad group is the average response in randomly selected survey participants.

Keyword being randomly selected. You don’t get to ask to participate, but by golly the fandom seems hellbent on opting out when asked to participate.

“You don’t want my opinion...”

Self fulfilling prophecy right there.

So if you’re a body in the park and get selected, do your survey. Every time.

And every time you don’t... (seriously they’re designed to be short in park for a reason) you give up all right to complain about losing anything you enjoy in the parks.

 

[Alicia]

Ok... as someone who literally just left Disney Research as a job, I’ll do my usual song and dance but with more frankness because they can’t threaten to not pay me if I interfere with the natural order of things...

And understanding this is my experience with guest research in general not specific to any event, park, etc...

APs don’t do surveys. “I’m an AP, you don’t want my opinion.” “I’ve done it before.” “I just did one...”

Well surveys represent the park population as-is. They’re seen as being representative of the people in the park at that given date and time. So if you’re the same AP or other returning guest who gets intercepted but doesn’t do a survey, then you don’t exist in the park as an opinion. You are literally silencing your own opinions by not being represented. There is no default “you” that backfills your spot with your opinions. No, some soccer mom from Ohio on her first trip ever does.

From a respondent standpoint there’s more of her than you in the park because she did a survey today and you didn’t. It doesn’t matter that the park entrance records say there are a high number of APs and a lower number of one day tickets - because they don’t care. I have no idea why it works that way and it seems very counter intuitive.

And then the write-ins and other such feedback... can make things happen, but in the hierarchy of feedback it’s the low end. They do not want to cater to the one off they want to cater to the broad group.

Broad group is the average response in randomly selected survey participants.

Keyword being randomly selected. You don’t get to ask to participate, but by golly the fandom seems hellbent on opting out when asked to participate.

“You don’t want my opinion...”

Self fulfilling prophecy right there.

So if you’re a body in the park and get selected, do your survey. Every time.

And every time you don’t... (seriously they’re designed to be short in park for a reason) you give up all right to complain about losing anything you enjoy in the parks.

I ALWAYS do the survey when asked at a park. ALWAYS.

But I'm all opinion. Makes up like 85% of my body. And sharing it keeps me alive.