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Halloween Horror Nights 32 (UOR) - Speculation & Rumors

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"HHN marketing is horrible."

"They don't know their @$$ from a hole in the ground."

"They're really missing out on potential ticket sales"

"They had great websites a decade and a half ago."

"They need to release more info earlier."


(not actual quotes, just paraphrasing common complaints)

Nevermind the fact that ticket prices have more than doubled and the lines (indicating the amount of tickets sold) has tripled since they did all that magical marketing.

People need to chill out and realize this is a business. If the business is doing gangbusters, to the point that not only are express tickets selling out most nights, but the event as a WHOLE is selling out nights in early September. Guess what? What they're doing, that is an affront to our sensibilities and so utterly stupid that my dog could do marketing better than them is WORKING. They're printing money.

Get over it. You are still going to the event, so who cares what you know now? Marketing doesn't micro manage down to the fan base(s), their job is to get butts through the turnstile for the event and drive revenue. And they're doing TOO GOOD of a job in my book, the event is too crowded, too popular, and too expensive.

Would I love interactive and engaging websites? Of course. Would I prefer that flying on an airplane was a regal experience like in the 60s where you got complementary champagne to celebrate the majesty of flight? Sure. Do I wish Busch Gardens and Sea World gave out free beer (yes, I realize there's a limited promotion doing so right now) all year? Of course. But guess what, those things cost money and used to be needed to draw paying customers to come. If they don't need to do it now, it's a waste of time and money from budgets that could be used elsewhere.

But if you want to get butthurt because you didn't get an announcement when you personally thought you should get one, you're probably right. Marketing $#!+ the bed once again and are horrible at their job. You and your dog would do a much better job by revealing everything too early, spending millions on web content, putting billboards up across America, putting commercials on local TV stations in Maine, and demanding that the HHN A&D team figure out a way to have 13 houses this year.
Umm.. why all the hostility? Personally, I am careful about what I post because I never want to come off as a complainer. It's not in my nature. I have made a few comments about being frustrated, but I've not said anything negative about Uni overall. All I said was they changed the game for announcements. My point being, that is what is causing the frustration here. Some are more vocal than others and have some wild opinions, but, in the end, I think we ALL understand this is a business. What it comes down to is - we are here because we love the event. If people start going over the top, that's what the Mods are for. I don't think a public lambasting like this is really warranted. I guess if it makes you feel better, rock on with your bad self. The rest of us will carry on and learn the patience of a Buddhist Monk.
 
The interactive websites made up for that.

But yeah, they don't have to put much effort when they know they'll make a ton of $ no matter what.
I think there's little doubt the most admired/wished for interactive site is the one from 2005. The interactive game lasted all season long, and at the end those lucky fans who stuck with it were rewarded with some backstage passes and a chance to be a part of the final Terra Queen show!

Of course, while the game captured the attention of those 20 or so super-fans who were going to buy FFPs anyway, the same night as that finale Universal had to stage a last minute $1000 costume contest just to get enough normies through the gate to justify opening.

Some of the things Marketing threw against the wall to see if they stuck surely were fun, but that doesn't mean they justify the cost.
 
Umm.. why all the hostility? Personally, I am careful about what I post because I never want to come off as a complainer. It's not in my nature. I have made a few comments about being frustrated, but I've not said anything negative about Uni overall. All I said was they changed the game for announcements. My point being, that is what is causing the frustration here. Some are more vocal than others and have some wild opinions, but, in the end, I think we ALL understand this is a business. What it comes down to is - we are here because we love the event. If people start going over the top, that's what the Mods are for. I don't think a public lambasting like this is really warranted. I guess if it makes you feel better, rock on with your bad self. The rest of us will carry on and learn the patience of a Buddhist Monk.
I’ve been following HHN speculation for a long while. I used to frequently lurk the HNN forums. Nothing I’ve seen as of recently of 2023 can match the hostility I’ve seen in the 2010s era, especially 2015-2016.

And speaking of old websites…

HHN Orlando Past Websites - Horror Night Nightmares
 
Looking back at the various speculation maps that have been put out there this year, I see a lot of stuff about Demons, The Devil, and the Occult.

I wonder if an unofficial theme this year might be the Satanic Panic.

And do we think this means the food will be hot and spicy?
 
I wonder if an unofficial theme this year might be the Satanic Panic.
While I think that would be interesting as hell, I really doubt that a major park would touch that subject matter. Especially when the "villains" of the Satanic Panic era are some of the folks that would be paying for their kids to attend.

That era wasn't really about the actual devil(s). It was about mass hysteria.
 
While I think that would be interesting as hell, I really doubt that a major park would touch that subject matter. Especially when the "villains" of the Satanic Panic era are some of the folks that would be paying for their kids to attend.

That era wasn't really about the actual devil(s). It was about mass hysteria.

I get that there was an actual moral panic surrounding it, but that’s the least interesting part for me. Just look at all the art that happened in response to the panic.

There was an entire sub-genre of horror movies that happened because of it. The metal music. Video games.

Basically all the people who knew it wasn’t real just making it into some sort of rebellion to make people upset

To bring this back around to current HHN rumors and speculation: look at what happened to Eddie Munson in Stranger Things Season 4 in the context of the moral panic. And then you have the movie that really got people worried about The Devil - The Exorcist.
 
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LOL! If they did Satanic Panic - We'd have protesters and pitchforks and every incarnation of "Florida Man" you could possibly conceive. Not in this lifetime..
 
LOL! If they did Satanic Panic - We'd have protesters and pitchforks and every incarnation of "Florida Man" you could possibly conceive. Not in this lifetime..

Ha! Yeah I get it.

I fully understand why Universal Studios, a multi-billion dollar corporation wouldn’t officially embrace Satan into their hearts (even if it’s just for smiles and giggles).

Back in my youth, my aunt told me Dungeons and Dragons was satanic and wouldn’t let my cousins anywhere near it. Black Sabbath was also worrisome. It’s all overblown.

I think it’s more of a funny concept, but some people take these sorts of things way too seriously and can’t just have fun with it like a lot of horror movies do. It’s definitely not worth the protests it would generate and I totally get that part.

That’s why I said “unofficially”. Like, maybe it could be a loose theme that isn’t directly discussed. When I attempt to decipher the spec maps this year, that’s just where my mind went.
 
I definitely think the Chucky booth will probably be back in its entirety. Although maybe they'll change locations based on where the house is located.

If ST is coming, I can't really think of any food that would be exclusive to Season 4. More waffles it is! (please bring back the waffle ice cream pocket)
What about a “Surfer Boy Pizza” stand? That pizza truck and pizzeria was featured very prominently in Season 4 (like how “Scoops Ahoy” was in Season 3.)
 
But HHN is also now the face of a major resort with international attendance and major contracts with Warner Bros, Nintendo, etc., which I have to imagine means everything that gets published in a guest-facing setting goes through various rounds of legal approvals. One single site with a few informational pages is a lot easier to bang out and get signed off on than interactive web pages and games.
That’s just it… HHN ISN’T the “face” anymore. Back in the aughts, HHN was only time the park went into the black. HHN kept a struggling resort alive. Universal would allow ANYTHING they could try to get people in the doors, which allowed great freedom In marketing.

Then Potter happened.

Then Comcast happened too.

All of a sudden (and to your broader point), the freedom of HHN’s marketing became an unnecessary liability. They also realized that, remarkably, LESS was MORE. All the ARGs and slow builds couldn’t hold a candle to the success of a couple popular IPs.

HHN is a cherry now. It’s not a life preserver. And you don’t smother an entree with garnishes or else it becomes inedible.
I think there's little doubt the most admired/wished for interactive site is the one from 2005. The interactive game lasted all season long, and at the end those lucky fans who stuck with it were rewarded with some backstage passes and a chance to be a part of the final Terra Queen show!

Of course, while the game captured the attention of those 20 or so super-fans who were going to buy FFPs anyway, the same night as that finale Universal had to stage a last minute $1000 costume contest just to get enough normies through the gate to justify opening.

Some of the things Marketing threw against the wall to see if they stuck surely were fun, but that doesn't mean they justify the cost.
2008 site and games > 2005.
 
That’s just it… HHN ISN’T the “face” anymore. Back in the aughts, HHN was only time the park went into the black. HHN kept a struggling resort alive. Universal would allow ANYTHING they could try to get people in the doors, which allowed great freedom In marketing.

Then Potter happened.

Then Comcast happened too.

All of a sudden (and to your broader point), the freedom of HHN’s marketing became an unnecessary liability. They also realized that, remarkably, LESS was MORE. All the ARGs and slow builds couldn’t hold a candle to the success of a couple popular IPs.

HHN is a cherry now. It’s not a life preserver. And you don’t smother an entree with garnishes or else it becomes inedible.

2008 site and games > 2005.
Okay…it’s A face (or “representative”) of a bigger, more successful resort. That was my point…
 
2008 site and games > 2005.
both sites are fun but IDK, 2005’s storyline where these 6 realms contributed to this “Circle of Death” or “Season of the Queen” and it’s presentation where you go and explore these realms in the site was more deeper and engaging than 2008’s. The “mad doctor” story was already done effectively in 2002 (though he wasn’t a psychologist) and the twist kinda ruined 2008’s.
 
Eh, as Legacy said before, it’s more the site was a fun thing creative did on the side, not a project with proper budgeting and such. Regional park vs vacation destination stuff.

And this is part of why--even if I still like the resort parks--I've developed a taste for regional parks over the last few years!
 
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