The Purge: Dangerous Waters (HHN 2023)

[HORRORable Commenter]

What do we think management and creative will take from this? More purge? More shows? More waterworld during HHN (my guess)? Hopefully this helps makes the event easier in regards to waiting in lines. Imagine, for people that don’t really care for all the mazes, doing shows they don’t have to wait in long lines for. Perhaps put one in a soundstage?

 

[Freak]

What do we think management and creative will take from this? More purge? More shows? More waterworld during HHN (my guess)? Hopefully this helps makes the event easier in regards to waiting in lines. Imagine, for people that don’t really care for all the mazes, doing shows they don’t have to wait in long lines for. Perhaps put one in a soundstage?

Food for thought: if they’re able to get Metro back….have the empty spot where Walking Dead and FMTWM was be the new food court and have a show in the Universal Plaza. You can probably have Jabawockeez there just saying. Lol

 

[Jerroddragon]

Wow

I mean, I enjoyed the show but surprised it was so liked by the General Public.

Guess it will be back in someway next year

 

[wutisgood]

When I was there the genial public hardly clapped. The purge is a garbage idea for a horror franchise in general but perfectly fine enough for a 20 minute show. I don't understand how someone wouldn't be entertained by the production on this at least. Is ws a big plus over what orlando has.

 

[DTH]

Going to ditto the sentiment that I'm surprised this is scoring high and that my crowd was also very lackluster towards it. No laughs, no cheers, no applause -- it was so oddly quiet, that I was sure it was bombing and they'd do rewrites (has any happened yet?).

My only guess is it is probably the highest-trafficked attraction, therefore it skews the scores in its favor somehow. Wasn't Jabba also #1? I'm trying to wrap my head around the show aspect here and what could make it alluring to folks seeking frights.

 

[highdefrex]

Going to ditto the sentiment that I'm surprised this is scoring high and that my crowd was also very lackluster towards it. No laughs, no cheers, no applause -- it was so oddly quiet, that I was sure it was bombing and they'd do rewrites (has any happened yet?).

My only guess is it is probably the highest-trafficked attraction, therefore it skews the scores in its favor somehow. Wasn't Jabba also #1? I'm trying to wrap my head around the show aspect here and what could make it alluring to folks seeking frights.

When I saw it, too, about five minutes in, a big group of people a few rows behind us got up and left, and then at least three dozen more people in the immediate area decided to get up and follow them out. Just one big conga line of people going down the bleachers in the middle of the show.

Just spitballing, but if I had to guess based on crowd reactions throughout the show, I don’t think most people really “get” that the Founding Fathers are the bad guys and the Purgers (at least in this story) are the “good guys.” Obviously it’s explained in the dialogue, but considering a lot of people are busy talking to one another, lost because they know nothing about the Purge, are busy eating, etc., I think people just… zone out until something happens, but when it does, they’re not really sure what’s going on other than “ooh, that guy got punched!”

I prefer this over Jabbas, but the crowd reaction — at least that I experienced — is night and day, where people were cheering and engaged for the songs and dancing in a way they just aren’t for something with a dialogue-laced plot they have to follow. With WaterWorld, it’s made clear who the good guys are even before the show starts with the actors doing crowd work and you don’t have to know the movie or its lore to get it, so with this show, I feel like it’d benefit with having some kind of crowd work or even just a tightening up of the dialogue for an audience that’s already busy wondering if being at this show is worth the difference between getting to a maze that has a less than 50-minute wait or watching it grow to 180 by the time the show is even over.

 

[Jake S]

I’d be curious to know if any insiders can confirm that the show is rating as well as the tweet says.

 

[KlownzNskullZ]

I’d be curious to know if any insiders can confirm that the show is rating as well as the tweet says.

Yeah pretty much

 

[UniversalRBLX]

Nightmare Fuel is #1 in Orlando as well... so wouldn't be surprised as well.

As for a stunt show, Bourne is highly rated and you don't really see guests hollering during the show either, just clapping at the end.

 

[Nick]

Nightmare Fuel is #1 in Orlando as well... so wouldn't be surprised as well.

As for a stunt show, Bourne is highly rated and you don't really see guests hollering during the show either, just clapping at the end.

If you want to get an idea of how popular Nightmare Fuel is too, just stand outside the stadium during applause moments in the show. The crowd erupts so much and so similarly loud every single show to the point it almost sounds pre-recorded from the outside.

This all said, i'm not a huge fan of Nightmare Fuel (nor was I a big fan of AoV) and Purge caught me by surprise even knowing the type of show it was. I quite enjoyed it.

 

[UniversalRBLX]

If you want to get an idea of how popular Nightmare Fuel is too, just stand outside the stadium during applause moments in the show. The crowd erupts so much and so similarly loud every single show to the point it almost sounds pre-recorded from the outside.

This all said, i'm not a huge fan of Nightmare Fuel (nor was I a big fan of AoV) and Purge caught me by surprise even knowing the type of show it was. I quite enjoyed it.

It's ridiculous how good, and popular, the show has become. Standing ovation each night.

 

[HORRORable Commenter]

I’d love to see them bring a water centric nightmare fuel to the waterworld venue. Lyra and silks on the crane arms, maybe motorcycle ball or the two person pendulum on the main platform, fire acts all around, etc. I think there is a strong possibility something like this happens

 

[viking_wizard_eyes]

It's probably highly rated for the same reason Waterworld is highly rated: It's the best theme park stunt show in the country. And sure, giving it a Purge overlay isn't necessarily the most creative thing in the world, but I think it's different enough that people see some novelty in it while it upholds all the familiar aspects that make the regular show so great. I personally really enjoy it and I'm not surprised it's rating highly. (I also enjoyed Nightmare Fuel so maybe I'm just a sucker for this stuff.)

Other than the dollar signs and the opportunity to add more capacity, I hope Universal's main takeaway here is to add more live entertainment. This really feels like something they should have been doing all along, in addition to Jabbawockeez -- which, remember, also consistently scored very high. People like shows!

 

[Freak]

I think having a show akin to what Knotts has with their Carnival show would go very well with the GP if they were to put such a show in Uni Plaza.

 

[chris.g]

I always thought something like Carnival of Carnage would do wonders in Waterworld. Maybe if they got the rights again, a Saw show would be very fun.

 

[ItsAtrap]

The problem with the WW arena is the performers on the main stage area - the peninsula - are so far away from the audience. The ending of Purge way up on the top level is difficult to connect with because the performers are so far away. Something like Carnival of Carnage needs to be closer to the audience.

Anyone remember Bill and Ted at WaterWorld in 2000? The shows in the Wild West area were great - moving to WW it was just awkward.

We need more shows!

 

[Rideguy70]

While I don't necessarily feel the show is bad, I feel like it's high ratings have be due at least partially due to the large number of people it can hold, as well as the fact it's virtually the only thing you can do in the park without an hour+ wait and get to sit down to boot.

But yeah, while the stunts and blood effects are great, the plot and dialogue could really be redone, IMO.

On a similar note, I watched Blumhouse the 2nd week of HHN to see if they'd make any changes to it, as no one seems to understand when the show is over. But no, it was exactly the same.

 

[HORRORable Commenter]

While I don't necessarily feel the show is bad, I feel like it's high ratings have be due at least partially due to the large number of people it can hold, as well as the fact it's virtually the only thing you can do in the park without an hour+ wait and get to sit down to boot.

But yeah, while the stunts and blood effects are great, the plot and dialogue could really be redone, IMO.

On a similar note, I watched Blumhouse the 2nd week of HHN to see if they'd make any changes to it, as no one seems to understand when the show is over. But no, it was exactly the same.

I think this is all for sure true. I didn’t see the same issue at blumhouse since most people I saw didn’t even think the experience was anything more than seeing the FNAF characters (which with how they did Chucky, and with how enthusiastic most crowds were about fnaf, the younger demographic that buys a lot of merchandise, and the overall response HAS to be coming next year, right?) but I do think it’s a bit too short. Maybe more of walk through experience in the queue with more actors portraying all of the slashers (not just the grabber but maybe babyface and the slasher from freaky) would help make it feel more complete? I do think audiences that only cared about doing a maze or two, did the shows, and got drinks as the bars were probably happy with their experience altogether and that lends to the purges high rating

 

[Spookies n' Stuff]

While I don't necessarily feel the show is bad, I feel like it's high ratings have be due at least partially due to the large number of people it can hold, as well as the fact it's virtually the only thing you can do in the park without an hour+ wait and get to sit down to boot.

But yeah, while the stunts and blood effects are great, the plot and dialogue could really be redone, IMO.

I mean, although I'm not saying we shouldn't ask for better, I think when you look at it in the wider scope of halloween event shows it's pretty up there. It's an incredibly surface level show that is purely action spectacle, but honestly that's kinda the best you can say for a halloween show in the grander context, the best of the best is usually just some form of action spectacle or some form of physical performance spectacle, the rest is usually just dance shows or raunchy comedy shows. Compared to daytime offerings halloween events have always lagged hard behind in the show department.
As much as I could do without the EDM shattering my eardrums, and a tighter plot would be great, I'm kinda just happy to have a halloween show that actually has a plot and plays itself relatively straight. Can't really think of the last time I can remember that aside from maybe Possessed at Knotts in 2013?

 

[Orwellian Wiress]

TBH I think this is the most slept on part of Hollywood this year. Take it with a grain of salt because this is my first year actually attending, but this is one of the coolest theme park shows I've ever seen. Maybe I'll reconsider it more critically if we ever get one of those "gore magic shows" like Carnival of Carnage over here.