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HHN Explorer

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    Halloween Horror Nights Orlando 29 Discussion Thread

    in Halloween Horror Nights 29

    Posted

    Ok, so I’ve done both HHN Orlando and HHN Hollywood within two weeks. 

     

    Orlando Pros: 

    - Elaborate Set Design of houses

    - Beautiful, well designed scarezones

    - No horror-less deadzones

    - Blinky Cups

    - Nice 80s theme (besides the houses)

    - Dark and spooky lighting

    - Lagoon show

     

    Orlando Cons: 

    - Party Atmosphere/Music

    - Not scary

    - Very generic and repetitive costumes

    - Crappy dancing show

     

    Hollywood Pros:

    - Much scarier than Orlando (more startling noises)

    - Agressive scarezones scareactors

    - Costume Design

    - Creepy Atmosphere/Music

    - Generic Crypt TV Que Videos

     

    Hollywood Cons:

    - Crappy facades

    - A lot of black walls and hallways in the houses

    - No “real” scarzones. They’re all very basic with not much design. Toxic Tunnel? Just a bunch of lights.

    - Horrorless Deadzones. It really takes you out of the atmosphere of the event. Too much light as well. The whole event needs to be darker like Orlando.

    - No overall theme. Just the merch is 80’s

    - Crappy dancing show

     

    Overall, Hollywood is lightyears behind Orlando but Orlando could take some notes from Hollywood on their scare factor and “Horror” atmosphere. Hollywood really doesn’t feel like HHN. It’s a completely different vibe than Orlando.

    • Like 3

    HHN29 Tribute Store/ Merch

    in Halloween Horror Nights 29

    Posted · Edited by HHN Explorer

    My girlfriend made this shirt for the event this year since the theme is technically supposed to be 80s. I'm still working on mine, which will be different, but just wanted to give you guys a peek at hers.
    EDIT: It’s missing Depths of Fear but we’re adding it.

    Eleni-Shirt.jpg

    • Like 2
    • Love 3

    Halloween Horror Nights 29 Speculation

    in Halloween Horror Nights 29

    Posted

    12 minutes ago, zombieman said:

    House: Because it is reportedly an IP, probably some red tape.  Or maybe even it was agreed it would be final announcement.  Who knows?

     

    Show: I've heard the rumors of an extra show, but won't believe it till I see it.  Seems to be the one item of true speculation that remains.  I know that the blog says "outrageous

    This was on their official blog post today RE: 2nd Show
    67911058-1187945411392301-45119305110100

    • Like 5

    Halloween Horror Nights 29 Speculation

    in Halloween Horror Nights 29

    Posted · Edited by HHN Explorer

    Anybody else find it odd that they didn't announce the final house before the scarezones and AOV? Plus they have one show left to announce and it's weird they didn't group it with the AOV announcement. They're changing things up on us. Normally it's all the houses then a full reveal with scarezones and shows. I need them to announce the last house so I can make my own house shirt for this year.

    Halloween Horror Nights 29 Speculation

    in Halloween Horror Nights 29

    Posted

    On 7/27/2019 at 10:57 PM, BenjaminNicholas said:

    On another topic, I'd love to see them get away from such an antiseptic/standardized front gate facade.  It's the first thing you see when you're walking into the event...  It needs to pop.

     

    I believe the last decent year of front gate design was with Bloody Mary.

    As much as I'd like to see the main gate all fancied up, it just doesn't make sense anymore. They don't need to sell the event like they use to. I think it was mainly used to attract visitors during the daytime, the one's who didn't have a HHN ticket. Seeing the gate may have persuaded them to see what HHN is all about. Also, the immersive overall theme has gone to the wayside. Personally, I'd love for them to bring it back, but if they're going to use that money on making the houses/streets better instead I'm all for it.

    Opinion: Then vs Now

    in General Halloween Horror Nights - Orlando

    Posted

    On 10/4/2017 at 6:58 PM, zombieman said:

    I agree on some points.

     

    I miss Michael Roddy, too.  He gave us unforgettable icons, music that created a scary atmosphere at HHN, and memorable facades.  I also think he was responsible for revealing the backstories to the fans to keep us excited.  And of course he gave us Terra Cruentas.  He didn't so much leave as he was forced to leave, though.

     

    While the party atmosphere may be Mike's doing (and I don't like it anymore than you do), I don't think he is to blame for the IP overload or repeated themes.  I think that is the bean counters at Comcast.  They decided it made no financial sense that expensive IP contracts were used at one park and not both.  The two parks had to "synergize".  Today there is more overlap than ever.  Hollywood had been rehashing IP endless times - without lessening crowds - so why not have Orlando do it?  Multi-year contracts let you amortize the cost.  So why not sign a five year deal with AMC for TWD?  

     

    Comcast owned 51% of Universal as of 2011.  They owned 100% of Universal as of March 2013.  I remember warning that 2012 was a turning point - out of nowhere both coasts had three overlapping IP houses for no apparent reason (unlike in 2007 when they shared overarching themes).  And ever since, it's been shared IP after shared IP.   

     

    I totally agree on the scarezones.  They have become mostly photo ops with no scare attempts anymore.  We usually get one really beautiful zone in San Francisco area that's neat to look at, but nothing happens.  Un-credited clown zone every year in Springfield is just a lazy thing to do.  However, I do love the mini-shows they do.  I'm thinking back to the Shadybrook zone, specifically.  Personally, I'd give up all scarezones for a 10th house (original of course).  

     

    I had the same feeling about Murdy's lack of originality, but he did give us El Cucuy and La Llorona - two very good originals in Hollywood.  Even Clownz was far from a generic clown theme.  However, that was only three original houses across ten years.  Could he churn out 6 fresh good ideas per year?  That remains to be seen, and I'm sure he will never attempt that.

     

    And I disagree about the facades.  I don't know what happened with Hive.  Was a Conjuring facade in place and then torn down?  Was it pending build when the theme changed and the budget for the facade was used to retheme the house?  I'm betting the latter.  But the facades for Ash and the other originals are great - no denying that.  I mean - Dead waters...   There have been a lot of great facades since Roddy.

     

    While I think the originals lately have been hyper-detailed, some of my favorite originals were from the Roddy days - I miss the comedy houses like Leave it to Cleaver, Zombiegeddon, Home for the Holidays, and man - H.R. Bloodngutz.  It's only the originals that give me any reason to fly from L.A. every year; otherwise, Hollywood and Orlando are interchangeable if all they do is IP.  As I mentioned in my review, this year was saved by originals.

     

    To me at least, it's obvious how much the team loves the originals.  They have been putting so much effort into them in the past few years, and it shows.  Four top notch originals this year.  Halfway feels like we're back in 2011.

     

     

     

    I didn't realize Roddy was forced out. Care to share? What you can of course.

    Opinion: Then vs Now

    in General Halloween Horror Nights - Orlando

    Posted · Edited by HHN Explorer

    Before I start letting it all out there, I just want to go on the record and state that I have the utmost respect for Universal Creative, it's directors, and Universal as a company. It's a hard job toput on such an amazing event that takes a team and a lot of other factors. I am not one of those bitter "the old days were the best" kind of people and I go every year to the event and I love it. I will continue to go. Having said that, this post is about the change of overall quality since the departure of James Michael-Roddy as Head Creative Director. 

    I personally feel that Mike Aiello isn't the guy for this job. Since the year he took control of the event and when Roddy moved over to Disney, HHN has seen major changes. Some good some bad. I feel that there is a huge difference between being a fan and being an innovator. Murdy out in Hollywood is a "fan" and by fan I mean that he isn't capable of creating fresh ideas. He loves so many horror properties and just wants to replicate them. He does nothing on a deeper level. That is why, again in my opinion, that Hollywood is never as strong as Orlando and the reason Hollywood often repeats their scarezones and houses on a yearly basis. For Aiello, I believe he is a "fan" as well. It wasn't until he took control that we saw a spike in IP houses. I have no problem with IP's as they can often be great and draw a large number of crowds. I know that a lot of this is probably out of Aiello's hands because Marketing has a pretty large say. The problem I have is that for the first time in HHN history we are starting to see repeats of these houses and scarezones. American Werewolf in London was great but to have the exact same house done within only a couple years felt very stale. I'll skip Walking Dead because we al know that was all strictly marketing's call. But The Purge? There isn't much you can do to change it or make it fresh. The lack of ideas are starting to pile up. 2 years of a Purge scarezone withing a few years, a Purge house (because Scream fell through), and now Purge represented in another house. Really? 

    The Scarezones have become more like mini-shows since Aiello took over. Especially this year. It seems like the actors are instructed to put on a show instead of actually trying to scare people. They even have stages to do shows. It's cool and all but if you can't blend the scares with the shows than it's pointless. Everything has become a photo-op and show. This year it seems that almost all of the scarezones are photo-ops with shows. I do love it when the scareactors won't pose for pics. Every zone this year has a "show" and it's way overused. Use that energy on maybe actually scaring people.

    The Music. Since the departure of Roddy, the music has gone from an eerie sountrack to an upbeat party soundtrack. Heck, even last year I saw on some boards that people were complaining about it and magically within the first few weeks the soundtrack at the event had changed to be a little more creepy. I feel like Aiello treats the event as a party and not a horror event. Also, every year before Aiello took over, the music was different. Now the past 3 years I have heard the same carnival song. It worked for 25 and 26 but this year? What the hell. It was playing near Blumhouse. Gone are the eerie scores from Midnight Syndicate or Nox Arcana. The atomosFEAR has changed drastically. Everything is just lacking. 

    The Facades have drastically changed. This year is probably the year with the least. A cutout for HIVE. No real facade for The Shining. No facade for SAW. The list goes on and on. When Roddy ran the event, the entrances were grand and exciting. Some of this carried over into HHN 21, the year after he left, but it eventually transformed into the Aiello standard. 

    I don't want to keep going on and on so I'll end it with the most over talked about topic. The Icons and story. Since Aiello took control there hasn't been a memorable icon or story for us hardcore fans. Everything is just thrown together with a loose tie or no tie-in at all. Again, the difference between fan and innovator. When Kenny Babel and James Michael-Roddy ran the show things were original and actually had a layer of fear and creative stories and icons. They would even make amazing queue and archway videos. Fear may have sucked as an icon but at least he had a cool story that tied other icons together along with a video to explain it. This year, it's like they wanted to do some festival theme but never followed through with it. It makes little sense.

    Year by year Orlando becomes more and more like Hollywood's event. 25 was a step in the right direction of creative and innovative. The perfect blend of new and old. 27 has been three steps back. I think Aiello is a great guy and loves horror. I just don't think he's the right guy for the job. The event has become less scary and more like a party. A party I will continue to go to and enjoy but I am definitely ready for somebody fresh to take over. Somebody that knows what Horror Nights is really all about. 

    Thoughts?

    • Like 1

    Halloween Horror Nights 26 Discussion

    in Halloween Horror Nights 26

    Posted

    8 minutes ago, Badge said:

     

    It really depends on queue restructuring that is going on this year. Having two houses share the Music Plaza area is going to be a tight fit and with Fallon construction blocking off most of the right hand side's gate that was used as an entrance point for one house and an exit for two, it all's all up in the air as to how they are going to make it all fit. Same thing goes for MIB. It's still unknown if parts of the outdoor queue will be used for the new house location. Still, I doubt they would come up with a solution that involved closing Rockit since it is a big hit every night. MIB on the other hand might be a victim of the new house location. 

     

    We should have Mummy, Transformers and Gringotts for sure. I can't remember if Simpsons is normally open or not during HHN since I rarely ride it. Rockit I would say has a 95% chance of being open. MIB is really a toss up until we know how the new house is going to queue.  

    Simpsons is always open so count on that. I can't imagine them closing MIB. They need it to keep the lines down. I doubt they would close any of the E-Tickets.

    • Like 1
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