foREVer56

I have to disagree. TWD wasn't supposed to happen in Orlando last year AFAIK, and it was received very poorly last year. It's been FOUR years, at an event that doesn't bring back an IP for two years in a row, let alone more. I'm not going to pretend the show's losing steam, because it's not even close to that point yet, and likely won't be for another 3-4 seasons. But as far as HHN goes, I've a feeling we've reached that point. If I end up being wrong, whether it's TWD or FTWD, I will eat my words and not be terribly surprised. I won't even be mad. Just disappointed, but at the end of the day Universal's going for what makes them the most money, and that's not something I have a say in. As far as TV shows go, Ash vs. Evil Dead is the only one I'm anticipating. And even then, I'm only anticipating something ED related, not specifically Ash. Could be Army of Darkness for all we know.

I've never actually been to HHNH or Knott's, but I must say their Paranormal maze last year looked utterly spectacular. I would almost compare HHNH's set quality to Howl-O-Scream's, which has gotten considerably better. AvP looked impressive, but other than that, I can't remember a maze from the last 5 years that had sets anywhere near on the level of even the mediocre Orlando houses. (Keep in mind this is based off videos of Hollywood, so not a completely fair judgement) HHN on either coast are insanely popular. Would they stay popular without IPs? Absolutely. Would they stay AS popular without IPs? Absolutely not. Plenty of people come to HHN because it's always fun, but a lot come mainly for the IPs, and a very large majority of them wouldn't have even started coming if a certain IP wasn't there at some point. TWD is obviously the biggest one, and both events can attribute a LOT of their financial and attendance success to the IP. In a way, TWD was beneficial and harmful to the events. Is it time for it to finally move on? Doesn't look like it in Hollywood, but in Orlando? We'll likely know in a month or 2.

I read "rolled out to design teams" as the IP was handed to them to make a maze out of. Could be totally wrong, but that's just how I read it.

We don't always agree on IPs at the event, but that's EXACTLY what this sounds like. Mike's tone was "The team was handed this property today". Murdy's tone was "We got the the rights to an IP we wanted". It is my understanding that this is what happened with TWD last year. UOR wasn't gonna do it, but Murdy wanted it and they were forced to share it. Praying this doesn't happen again, as I'm personally not expecting TWD this year at all. Wouldn't be surprised to find out I'm wrong though. Also, on the topic of how many houses, there's no reason why they can't still do 9. Twister being demo-ed doesn't affect queue line space to the point that they can't still do 4 SSs, and there's some usable locations for house #9. Curious George, E.T. extended queue, 2nd Parade house, 3rd Tent. They're not ideal, but definitely possible. MiB would be the most ideal, if they can make it so they're able to do it. I'm expecting 5 IPs 4 originals like last year.

Agreed. Certain houses just do not call for sequels, especially ones that were only good due to certain circumstances. HAVOC is the best example of that. 2010's was nothing special, but the cast was so energetic, it made it popular and successful. That's why the sequel, which actually featured better scenic imo, was not rated as high. Mutant soldiers is not a topic that calls for several houses (or another room in M&M -.-). Cleaver is another one that doesn't hold much for a sequel (and it wasn't popular enough to warrant one anyway). Same with houses like Winter's Night, Orfanage, Dollhouse, etc. Then there's certain houses that BEG for sequels, such as Nightingales, Catacombs, Scary Tales, etc. Houses that can be explored in new realms and settings. Houses that have a storyline that could actually be continued. Other than those specific (and very few) houses, I'd rather all the great originals stay as one hit wonders, and have A&D continue to bring out great, fresh ideas. Because that's what they're best at.

Ypu're the first 2 people I've ever seen say anything other than "that house was terrible" in regards to Disorientorium. lol

T.H.I.S. I've been saying this since November. They're not going to want to shut down both parks at 5 that many days in Sept./Oct. with 2 new rides opening, especially with how popular the resort has become. Losing 1 house and 1 queue location isn't a big deal. There's plenty of spots for house #9 (money's on MiB overflow), and rerouting the SS queues isn't all that difficult. I don't expect 2 parks at all. I do not agree with your stance on scarezones, unless you have actual info telling you otherwise. I don't think they will get rid of the actors in the streets. I do see where you're coming from, and if it does eventually happen I will be surprised but will understand it. I just don't see it getting to that point though.

This is something I really miss. I only became as big a fan as I am during the 2010 season, so I only really experienced 2 fleshed out websites, and they weren't even the best ones. Having games, backstories, slow reveals to the "big reveal" at the end of August for the entire event was a lot of fun and built up hype. Last year was the first time since 2011 I was excited for a midnight reveal of the event. Even though 4 houses had already been announced, the originals/shows/streets hadn't been, and it just felt like the Icon days again. I know how unlikely it is at this point, but it's one of those fan service things that we all cherished and would LOVE to see happen again. Also, if any of the newer fans were wondering what kinds of websites we're talking about, horrornights.be has a bunch of the past websites in tact with games and everything. They're a whole lot of fun to check out, especially 05's and 08's.

I would assume T:2 is too small a venue, but if they could do a Terminator-sized show, as in every 45 min or so, it could be a great idea.

I think Brian Brushwood had show in that theater in 07. With Beetlejuice gone, that is they're only option for a second theater show. Add something in a show in Mel's area and open HMU and that'd be wonderful for eating up crowds.

I'm with you on wanting new IPs if we have to have em, and I honestly only see 2 of these even having a chance this year, unless they decide to use the Hitchcock concept they supposedly have. I'm not believing TWD is back until I see it, and Krampus doesn't hold much stock for me on this coast. I'm iffy on The Purge. It'll be relevant, they have literally everything they need already, and the pile of shit that was last year's house was actually successful, so a sequel would be greeted by the GP. But will Marketing actually wanna do it again? I feel like the answer is yes. Ash is entirely dependent on whether Mike and the gang wants to do it, I think. No reason why that property would be pushed onto them by Marketing, and I don't see why they would tell them no over it, so if they want it, we'll likely see it. I'm curious to see how many originals we see this year. I feel like we will see 5 originals and 4 IPs this time, but I fear that may just be wishful thinking.

Appreciate it 1. I'd love a Nightingales Civil War house. And to my knowledge, the subject has not been touched. 2. YESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYES. I've wanted that for YEARS and Murdy has said he wants to do it, but the rights are tricky to obtain, as two separate parties own the music and the name. Roger Waters owns The Wall, but David Gilmore owns the rights to the name Pink Floyd. Maybe they would be able to simply call it "The Wall" based of the classic album from the 70's and not have to say Pink Floyd. They can call it whatever they want, it just needs to happen. Lol

I definitely do. If anything, Nightingales 2 will happen, unless they abandoned the desire of making that a franchise. Once IPs took over 50-60% of the lineup, it left A&D a lot less room to stretch out their creativity in the original content, so in most cases they chose brand new houses over sequels. HAVOC2 was done because it was cheap and easy for it's location, and last year was an anniversary year, so everything was a sequel practically (Though RUN, BC and Asylum were all fairly original save a scene or 2 in each). Other than that, all originals since 2012 (only 12 -.-) have not been sequels. I believe we will see 4 IP and 5 original next year. So I think we will see 1 sequel.

1. That's straight up denial, dude. The fact that houses like FvJ, Insidious, Halloween etc. broke 120-180min waits every night, when none of the originals last year broke 90 min on the busiest of nights is clue enough (I know wait time doesn't usually refer to popularity, but in this case it does). A LOT of people started coming to the event when they saw TWD, and Silent Hill, and Cabin, AvP, Insidious, etc. on the billboards. The amount of merch sold due to the IPs is insane. And so on and so forth. To say there's no evidence proving IPs are making the event more popular is bullshit. 2. That's you. I get you found the event to be a lot better 04-10, and that's your opinion and you're entitled to it. But you have to remember a lot of us on here see houses a lot differently from the 14-34 year olds that go once a year, if that, and see 3-5 houses in a night. Half of them intoxicated or fully trashed on top of it. This is the crowd the IPs are for. These are the people that saw the "water effect" in TWD 4.0 and thought it was neat. Hell, these people made The Purge way more popular than it deserved to be. We are the .1% of HHN attendees, and chances are most of the event is going to be catered to the 99.9% of individuals who give them the most amount of profit. That being said, last year did seem like they significantly tried to boost the scare factor in comparison to the last few years, and I commend them for it. 2014 was by far the least scariest year I've attended since 05, no matter how good the houses looked. Last year gave me some great scares, and a lot of people viewed Insidious as one of the most intense houses they've done ever (I don't agree, but I digress). I'm with you in wanting more original houses, and I mean ORIGINAL. Uncharted topics and such. But since it's so early, with nothing to speculate upon yet, all we can do is say what we would personally like to see, and give our best guesses as to what we might actually see.

I think we'll see him in some manner, but not necessarily as the main icon. I like the idea of doing underutilized/forgotten icons for 26-29 (Usher, Eddie, Chance, Crowe), then make HHN30 a huge year for the return of the Terra Queen (I want more than anything for them to bring back Terra Cruentus for 2020, since the story is that they come around every 15 years). I think having him make a cameo somewhere would be the best bet. That's what I would love to see, but if they just make him the icon again, I wouldn't be that annoyed.

Definitely not the first time a topic like this has been created (hell I made one a few years back I believe lol), but my list has changed since then, so I'll bite: (Note: it's impossible for me to make an ordered top 25, as there's just too many great houses, and it's all subjective, depending on how I'm remembering a house currently. So, with the exception of a top 3, which are their greatest achievements imo, the list is ordered by year, not favorites.) 1. Nightmare on Elm Street (07) 2. Monsters and Mayhem (15) 3. An American Werewolf In London (13) The Skool (05) Screamhouse: Resurrection (06) PsychoScareapy: Maximum Madness (06) People Under the Stairs: Under Construction (06) Scary Tales: Once Upon a Nightmare (08) Dead Exposure (08) Silver Screams (09) Catacombs: Black Death Rising (10) Hades: Gates of Ruins (10) Orfange: Ashes to Ashes (10) Winter's Night (11) Nightingales: Blood Prey (11) Nevermore: The Madness of Poe (11) The In-Between (11) Saws N Steam: Into the Machine (11) Gothic (12) Cabin in the Woods (13) Evil Dead (13) Dollhouse of the Damned (14) Halloween (14) Freddy vs Jason (15) Body Collectors: Recollections (15) Favorite years of HHN: 1a. 2011 (Strongest house lineup by FAR, great zones, and whole ton of fun.) 1b. 2015 (I had the most fun of any year this year due to many, maaany visits, great new friends, and an overall just awesome event. Only reason it's not solely my favorite year is that I feel the house lineup for 2011 was stronger. Had AWiL made it's first appearance this year, and TWD was not a thing, this would be the clear winner.) 3. 2006 4. 2010 5. 2013 6. 2009 7. 2007 8. 2014 9. 2008 10. 2005* (Only putting 05 this low as it was my first year, I was 9, and I don't really remember it at all.) 11. 2012 (A lot of the problems of 2012 were not A&D's fault, but it doesn't negate the fact that there were only 4 good-great houses[Gothic, Dead End, HoH, P&T], 2 bad houses [Alice Cooper and TWD], and one TERRIBLE house [fucking Silent Hill] imo. Couple that with the most unwatchable B&T of all time, lacking streets, down a house, and just an overall lack of HHN-esque presence, this year is the clear low point of HHN. All this considered, it was still fun, as it's HHN. It's always fun.)

...and explain why there was next to nothing in the house to allude to Hellgate. LOL

Scream. I believe there was talk of a Hellgate 10th house that was scrapped, though I don't know how legitimate that was.

Insidious is not a possible maze this year. There's no new release coming out in 2016 for the franchise, so there would be no reason. If there's a fourth movie, that's the next time we'd see the IP, and even then I'm not so sure. The Conjuring has the biggest chance of all 2016 IPs, imo, so if that's on both coasts' lineups this year, I wouldn't be surprised.

No one will have any info THIS early, but it's safe to assume it's an original, imo. Mike posted on Twitter that they have the list of IPs they want to do gathered and will start doing meetings to make that list final soon, so it seems they're not ready to dive into making treatments for those IPs yet. He also mentioned that they're trying to get a little ahead on the design process (maybe to take more time on each house/event as a whole?). Both points have me believe that this is an original house he's talking about. Unless it's an IP Comcast already told them they HAVE to do, which I doubt.

I don't anticipate it being. There's a chance the project is being pushed back a bit, and even if it isn't, I doubt they kill AA before Jan. of 2017. I could be wrong tho

Go down a house AND a show? LOLno Scare Zones are tricky due to the Superstar Parade, not because they don't have the budget to make them bigger, imo. I had no problems with the zones this year outside of Die-In's location and cast size. Lack of props (noticeably in Screampunk and ICONS) is the only thing missing, and they still do what they can (movable props and stages in PS and ICONS, the giant Oz prop in screampunk). My wish is for them to stop the parade from Sept.-Nov., AKA the off season, because is it really THAT big of a draw? My guess is they use it to bring people back to the park as late as possible so they may end up eating dinner there/CityWalk, or maybe promote the characters to drive merch sales. Either way, I really wish they'd give it a break for HHN. Going down in amount of offerings and capacity would be the stupidest thing they've ever done, regardless of how you think the quality of the event is right now. This year broke records in attendance, sales, and many areas of guest satisfaction. M&M, FvJ, and Body Collectors are some of their best work to date, and Insidious was a HUGE hit. The only houses that were reviewed negatively on the whole were RUN and TWD (which is gone, as far as I know). I think the quality of the houses and set design have done nothing but improve over the past 11 years I've attended. The only thing I think that needs to be upgraded is scare factor, and that definitely saw a boost over 24. Still needs some work, but they obviously tried to be scarier, and succeeded. The (realistic) event that I want in 2016 is USF only, 9 houses, 5 original/4 IP split. Zones in Pro. Cen., main NY, Sting Alley, Hollywood Blvd., and Central Park, with hordes in the rest of the dead areas of the park like this year. 3 shows; B&T, show on the stage in Mel's area, and a new one in AA. I'd love to see them bring over the Jabawokeez, Not because I have even the slightest interest in seeing them at all, but because it was wildly popular with the demographic HHN attracts in Hollywood, and it would be a great people eater.

The only Wednesday's left to add are in September, and I doubt they do that (though I'd LOVE it because they'd be beyond empty lol). I think 32 nights is perfectly acceptable. With the 9th house this year not being an exact repeat (I mean, this is assuming we even get a 9th house and it is in fact NOT a repeat), crowds will be spread out even better than this year, and yes while the streets will be flooded, wait times and crowding should feel better, imo. What they should do is add a 3rd worthwhile show in Animal Actors next year rather than add a 10th house (which I was never expecting anyway for budgeting/spacing reasons). Get people off the streets and out of lines, and that will help even more. Still can't think of a reason not to hire HHN-only actors for Horror Makeup Show and open that too, but idk.

Hollywood has Grinchmas. They do their production outside with a tree lighting too. While yes, Orlando's Christmas celebrations are much grander, Hollywood does it too. Also, I don't see the need to extend to Nov. 4th and 5th. Assuming they get smart and finally add Sunday to opening weekend, we'll have 32 nights next year, which is even more than this year, without needing to extend to November.

Thank you for: -Making an event you guys are as passionate about as I am. No matter anyone's personal opinions on specific content, we're all here because we love this event, and you all clearly do too, and as the commercialization of this world continues, that passion is being overruled by greed and power. That's not something A&D has succumbed to, even in Comcast has, so for that that I thank you for always. But for this year's event specifically: -Monsters and Mayhem. Top 5 house of all time for me (05-15). -Freddy vs Jason. NoES 07 will forever be my favorite house of all time due to the experience I had. I waited 8 years to see Freddy back at the event, and after what I felt was a weak AvP house in 2014, I was nervous going in with my unrealistic expectations. On EP Night, I came out fucking GIDDY. That house made me so happy, and my final run for all houses in 2015 was this one and it was a STRONG one. You guys nailed this house. -Body Collectors. My first BC house as more than a casual fan (saw 08's as a kid). Gorgeous, surreal, scary, and all around a fun time. Passion was very much noticed in this one. -Insidious. Great shot at a paranormal maze. The pitch black room with the moving walls is one of the most unnerving scenes I've ever seen in a house. Excellent scares in the back half of this one. -Bringing back a cohesive theme with original aspects, whether it was just an anniversary theme or not. Makes me hopeful for the future. -CHANCE. Not in a perverted way, but in a I REALLY like the character way.