Gut predictions pretty hot off of the heels of HHN32:
HHN33
10 Houses, 5 Original, 5 IP.
5 Zones.
2 Shows.
Aug 30th - Nov 3rd, 6:30pm to 2 am.
Houses:
1
. Five Nights at Freddy's, B108 (I would kill for a B79 FNAF but I don't think it will end up like that.)
Feels pretty obvious honestly. Set design works incredibly well, the game is based around jumpscares so it would work better as a house than Silent Hill or Last of Us, it made bank the first weekend, and lots of merch potential.
2.
Saw, F&F Tent
Consistently used IP that is easy to squeeze in smaller locations, has recent movie releases, wouldn't be too hard to get rights for.
3.
Nightmare on Elm Street, SS??
Classic IP that hasn't been seen in close to 8 years. Friday is mired in legal issues still and Yeti was too close in visual aesthetic to feel comfortable predicting that. WB has the rights, they're a bit of a wild card. Could go either way between getting or not getting the rights, for this or if they try for Beetlejuice 2.
4.
Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire, SS??
Going out on a limb with this one. Feels pretty distinct from other houses they've done as of late, and the ice monster/supernatural threat seems more suited for a thrilling haunt than the 80s comedy original ever could.
5.
Creature from the Black Lagoon, B79
He's the last one!
6.
New Icon House, Sprung Tent 1
7.
Poseidon's Fury, SS??
This one feels unlikely. It's like predicting Dawn FM after HHN31, but in lieu of other original ideas to go off of, it's a consideration. The other big original concept attraction from UOR, and one that was already a walkthrough. I wasn't a fan of DD, but setting us down in Atlantis during the attack from Darkanon on the kingdom as it happens seems like a much easier thing to accomplish than scares revolving around literal Dragons. Greek Gods and warriors fighting against monsters and Dark knights sounds like a cool way to callback to PF without having to 1 to 1 recreate the Tunnel Room or anything. Don't make it about Taylor, set it fully in the backstory he read about on the wall's of Darkanon's tomb, only this time Darkanon wins. Bad ending Lost Continent stories seem like a cool path to take.
8.
Jungle House, SS??
I've been feeling it for years, but we've not gotten one since maybe TotA in 26? I never went through that one unfortunately. Would love to see something happen here.
9.
ORIGINAL GOES HERE, Sprung Tent 2
10.
ORIGINAL GOES HERE, SS??
I don't feel like there are any notable leads for original houses atm, so I thought of what I could.
No new house locations, no MinionFlex for now and MiB is retired.
ZONES
5 Zones, all in the same basic layout as last year except for the opening zone, which places the HHN sign truss where it was in HHN32 for opening scaramonies, as well as taking over both the road thru VCMB and to the right towards Hollywood like 32. Features another Icon stage.
David S. Pumpkins returns alongside the other Meet n Greet characters (Bride of Frank, Purgers, M3gan, Freddy Fazbear) in a new experience inside HMU Show theatre.
Death Eaters return to Diagon with more fanfare and a larger scale show.
SHOWS
1. Halloween Nightmare Fuel: Flashburn
4th show with new set-up and framing device, a new Nightmare Queen dressed in black continuing from Revenge Dream, and a few new magic tricks. Bed swap and Globe Explosion retired for other tricks.
2. Ghoulish.... 2!!
Not actually Ghoulish 2, but I anticipate it will probably be closer to that than Marathon of Mayhem. No IP, even if I'd love to hear TLT FNaF theme reverberating through Central Park's zone.
- No M3gan-type street shows return.
MISC
- Kidzone construction will be complete, allowing operations to return to relative normal for the back houses (B79, B108, Sprung's 1 & 2), with some queuing adjustments for the new Panda and Shrek theming.
- Food is still going to be pretty gross haha.
- A new icon! Not a returning one, but instead either a completely new character, an Oddfellow-type situation where a previously named character is expanded upon, or even bringing back a "Lost Icon" per say like Cindy or Bone. Adding someone new to the group, who also has limited connections to the OG Icons, and/or actively dislikes and works against them. This is all in lead-up to HHN35's Icon Civil War theme, which is definitely a thing that is definitely going to happen and not something that should probably be saved for a Wishlist post.
The Icon will be used for merchandise and theming across the event, but largely not for marketing.
- The music loop will incorporate some more TikTok beat influence like 32 but with a different tone and vibe.
- A unified theme across all houses and zones again, spurred on by the new Icon.
- No new rides will be added to the lineup.
- Tribute Store returns in New York with another all original theme. No IP rooms.
- All in USF, no cross park houses in IoA. I think that's obvious enough to not say, but I know we'll be discussing it again by February.
- Some changes to Multi-Day Passes, especially Rush of Fear, but not as many as people might think due to Universal wanting as much business as possible right before the Pre-EU drought really sets in.
- New tagline, "
Go Alone, or don't actually!"
Okay, that's most of what I've got. Happy spec! Here's to 2024!