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

[Parkscope Joe]

Some small tweaks have been made to the Bill & Ted show after the mass shooting in Las Vegas.

Universal Orlando's Halloween Horror Nights modifies Bill & Ted show following Las Vegas tragedy

Spoiler

Basically they dropped the “festival” theme and instead it’s just a concert in the Fear Factor Live theater. Death only wants to kill B&T instead of all of humanity.

 

[Alicia]

Some small tweaks have been made to the Bill & Ted show after the mass shooting in Las Vegas.

Universal Orlando's Halloween Horror Nights modifies Bill & Ted show following Las Vegas tragedy

Spoiler

Basically they dropped the “festival” theme and instead it’s just a concert in the Fear Factor Live theater. Death only wants to kill B&T instead of all of humanity.

That seems appropriate and well done tweaks.

Howl-O-Scream's "Fiends" show this year has a moment they really should get rid of, (and I imagine they will,) where someone opens the theater door and we hear rapid gunfire. Freakenstein ducks down and screams that outside is Tampa and it's never safe to open the door. Even before the Vegas shooting, that joke made me nervous. Every time I see a movie in theaters I feel a little nervous in the back of my mind. The world we live in now.

 

[ChrisFL]

That seems appropriate and well done tweaks.

Howl-O-Scream's "Fiends" show this year has a moment they really should get rid of, (and I imagine they will,) where someone opens the theater door and we hear rapid gunfire. Freakenstein ducks down and screams that outside is Tampa and it's never safe to open the door. Even before the Vegas shooting, that joke made me nervous. Every time I see a movie in theaters I feel a little nervous in the back of my mind. The world we live in now.

wow, even before the Las Vegas thing, that seems a bit tasteless

 

[Alicia]

wow, even before the Las Vegas thing, that seems a bit tasteless

Quite terrifying in surround sound coming through all speakers. The rest of the show was good. Just that one moment struck me as off.

 

[shiekra38]

That seems appropriate and well done tweaks.

Howl-O-Scream's "Fiends" show this year has a moment they really should get rid of, (and I imagine they will,) where someone opens the theater door and we hear rapid gunfire. Freakenstein ducks down and screams that outside is Tampa and it's never safe to open the door. Even before the Vegas shooting, that joke made me nervous. Every time I see a movie in theaters I feel a little nervous in the back of my mind. The world we live in now.

Uh, that's not funny in any way shape or form...Trying to hard?

 

[Frogki]

Having never seen this show before, I have to say it was actually very disappointing and saddening to realize it was leaving. The show is absolutely hilarious and will definitely hold a place in my heart when I remember HHN now. Gonna be sad to see it go.

 

[Nick]

wow, even before the Las Vegas thing, that seems a bit tasteless

Especially since there was a movie theatre shooting just north of Tampa a few years ago in Wesley Chapel.

 

[SeventyOne]

Finally saw post-Vegas show. Not a fan.

Spoiler

All the various festival title cards have but cut, but with nothing to replace them. Think a live action version of the cuts to Country Bear Jamboree. It throws the timing of the show off, and makes dialogue feel jumpy. More to the point, it does nothing. The Reaper still refers to the show as a "festival" and still says he plans to kill everyone. And no one takes it seriously because he's a comic incarnation of death from a movie.

I might be more forgiving if the show's opening monologue didn't include a "this isn't real, don't get butthurt" thesis statement.

Also, just before B&T, next door in Blumhouse, I had a girl point and a machine gun at me and mimic shooting me, while gunshots played. So I'm not sure where the line is here.

 

[Nick]

Finally saw post-Vegas show. Not a fan.

Spoiler

All the various festival title cards have but cut, but with nothing to replace them. Think a live action version of the cuts to Country Bear Jamboree. It throws the timing of the show off, and makes dialogue feel jumpy. More to the point, it does nothing. The Reaper still refers to the show as a "festival" and still says he plans to kill everyone. And no one takes it seriously because he's a comic incarnation of death from a movie.

I might be more forgiving if the show's opening monologue didn't include a "this isn't real, don't get butthurt" thesis statement.

Also, just before B&T, next door in Blumhouse, I had a girl point and a machine gun at me and mimic shooting me, while gunshots played. So I'm not sure where the line is here.

Just FYI, the machine gun girl now no longer points the gun at guests. At least purposefully. They have been instructed to point it upwards.

 

[SeventyOne]

Just FYI, the machine gun girl now no longer points the gun at guests. At least purposefully. They have been instructed to point it upwards.

Cool. Noticed last night, but wasn't sure it was intentional or not.

 

[UniversalRBLX]

Well there was a line about "the covfefe murder and wine festival" so it kinda makes sense to take away the murder part of the title card? Or replace it with something else...

 

[Ryan]

Finally saw post-Vegas show. Not a fan.

Spoiler

All the various festival title cards have but cut, but with nothing to replace them. Think a live action version of the cuts to Country Bear Jamboree. It throws the timing of the show off, and makes dialogue feel jumpy. More to the point, it does nothing. The Reaper still refers to the show as a "festival" and still says he plans to kill everyone. And no one takes it seriously because he's a comic incarnation of death from a movie.

Spoiler

When he said that line, an awkward "wtf?" chill washed over the audience. Lots of nervous laughter and confused silence as if, "um are they really going there?"

I can see where people are coming from: the show did feel a bit awkward, but still a great time and a very sweet sendoff. I was touched by the genuine sincerity towards the end. And Spicer, although overdone was funny along with the terrific capper to Avatar dude (and some other reoccurring characters)... the only thing that was a real miss was the Get Out sequence. That was just poorly executed. The ending song was an obvious, perfect choice. Last show will be a tearjerker for sure.

Just like Death, I'm going to really miss this show. I hope the show going away leads to many of these old iterations to finally make their way online again.

 

[Nick]

Spoiler

When he said that line, an awkward "wtf?" chill washed over the audience. Lots of nervous laughter and confused silence as if, "um are they really going there?"

Last show will be a tearjerker for sure.

Last show will be next to impossible to get int, too.

Losing Bill & Ted is not just sad to think about, but a big loss for Orlando theme park entertainment. It's the only show of it's kind in Orlando... the only other theme park shows in the area I can think of that allow for ad libs & give actors freedom are Horror Make-up and Hocus Pocus at MNSSHP. But the closest thing we'll have to B&T now is Fiends over at HOS and i've never been a fan.

 

[SeventyOne]

Last show will be next to impossible to get int, too.

They really should monetize it and give the revenue to charity. As is, it will be friends and family of the actors and maybe 100 or 200 people who line up from Stay & Scream on.

Losing Bill & Ted is not just sad to think about, but a big loss for Orlando theme park entertainment. It's the only show of it's kind in Orlando...

Completely agree from a creative perspective, the end of an era than began with the Disney-mocking show at Comedy Warehouse and the AdvClub. From a practical perspective, it takes away a proven people-eater from an already over-crowded event. It's also more of a draw to the frequent fear crowd than I think Universal realizes. With the number of APs seemingly falling, I don't know why you would choose to make the event less attractive to locals.

 

[s8film40]

They really should monetize it and give the revenue to charity. As is, it will be friends and family of the actors and maybe 100 or 200 people who line up from Stay & Scream on.

100 or 200? A small upcharge with guaranteed seating would probably make things go so much smoother. I did hear a rumor about wristbands, not sure that would help too much if true, but it'll be a mess either way and every little thing helps.

Completely agree from a creative perspective, the end of an era than began with the Disney-mocking show at Comedy Warehouse and the AdvClub. From a practical perspective, it takes away a proven people-eater from an already over-crowded event. It's also more of a draw to the frequent fear crowd than I think Universal realizes. With the number of APs seemingly falling, I don't know why you would choose to make the event less attractive to locals.

The real question is will there be a replacement. Losing a large show that's been a staple of the event without replacement to me would represent a scaling back of the event if no other additions are made. The fact is there would be less to do and that creates a shift in perceived value even for those who don't care for the show. It would be like if they said there will be 7 houses next year, I think most people's response would be an expectation of lower ticket cost.

 

[ThemeParks4Life]

My biggest question for 2018 with the loss of B&T/Fear Factor is how crowds will be spread around the park. I haven't been to this year's event yet (hopefully this week!), but Ash vs Evil Dead seems to be dying alone in Kidzone. Moving Tent 2's entrance is undoubtedly affecting crowd flows, and Ash probably could have waits 10-20 minutes higher if Scarecrow's entrance was in Kidzone. As it is, Bill and Ted exits out into three nearby houses. Hive is getting affected by this being the weakest option of the three, though waits are not as low as Ash. A show in the Animal Actors stage would help crowds flow a lot better, but will the parade building still exist next fall? The MIB corner will absolutely need at least one drawing IP and/or HOTY contender back there next year for optimal crowd flow while parade either needs a drawing IP or show nearby to boost crowds.

 

[SeventyOne]

The real question is will there be a replacement.

Everything I've heard says it's a lock no show of this type. I.e. not going to switch out Bill & Ted for Beetlejuice or some other IP and continue in all but name. The annual Halloween parody show is dead.

As for any other replacement--they've been trying for 26 years with at best mixed results. RHPS drew a few, Jack seemed to at least excite the fans for one year, AoV was big last year, may already be losing some of its shine this year ... nothing year in and out has built up as massive a following (t00 big to still call "cult" IMO) as B&T. You need a show that routinely takes 1,000 people out of the park for an hour 6 times a night, but I don't think anyone knows what they could be.

 

[UniversalRBLX]

AoV will most likely return next year. And possibly the parade maze will transfer to F&F queue as I believe there is enough space between the ride and the facades. As for a show, I think they could use a soundstage?

 

[Parkscope Joe]

Real quick, I don't see anything suggesting UOAP numbers are dropping.

My biggest question for 2018 with the loss of B&T/Fear Factor is how crowds will be spread around the park. I haven't been to this year's event yet (hopefully this week!), but Ash vs Evil Dead seems to be dying alone in Kidzone. Moving Tent 2's entrance is undoubtedly affecting crowd flows, and Ash probably could have waits 10-20 minutes higher if Scarecrow's entrance was in Kidzone. As it is, Bill and Ted exits out into three nearby houses. Hive is getting affected by this being the weakest option of the three, though waits are not as low as Ash. A show in the Animal Actors stage would help crowds flow a lot better, but will the parade building still exist next fall? The MIB corner will absolutely need at least one drawing IP and/or HOTY contender back there next year for optimal crowd flow while parade either needs a drawing IP or show nearby to boost crowds.

I believe you're reading too much into crowd flow. We wondered where extra houses would go year over year and UOR has gotten creative.

Everything I've heard says it's a lock no show of this type. I.e. not going to switch out Bill & Ted for Beetlejuice or some other IP and continue in all but name. The annual Halloween parody show is dead.

As for any other replacement--they've been trying for 26 years with at best mixed results. RHPS drew a few, Jack seemed to at least excite the fans for one year, AoV was big last year, may already be losing some of its shine this year ... nothing year in and out has built up as massive a following (t00 big to still call "cult" IMO) as B&T. You need a show that routinely takes 1,000 people out of the park for an hour 6 times a night, but I don't think anyone knows what they could be.

Lots of shows work for a year then just fade out. AoV seems to have a hard core base of fans so I think that'll become the new signature show of the event. The big thing with Bill and Ted now is if they wish to continue offering the kind of show they want to do they need a controlled theater to prevent recording. Throwing the show up at the Concert Stage would require a totally new kind of show, so at that point why not just try something new?

And I don't think we should write off a version of the Beetlejuice coming back.

 

[SeventyOne]

Real quick, I don't see anything suggesting UOAP numbers are dropping.

It's all anecdotal. But when a dozen or more local friends have dropped UOR APs, I start to suspect there's an underlying trend. Combination of price increase coupled with de facto price cut for WDW silver APs/huge increase for gold and platinum APs. Plus a general sense of staleness (Kong and Fallon aren't Potter), but mostly the money--vast majority of Orlandoites can no longer afford both.

And I don't think we should write off a version of the Beetlejuice coming back.

I don't doubt that, would welcome it. Just saying it won't be BJ introducing Wonder MAHNNNN and Water Pocahontas. Pop culture parody shows are dead.