Aaronupsidasium

I think they could build a Western set this year. They've been incorporating sets for the original movie and could do San Dimas 1880. Not only could they bring Billy the Kid from the movie but also parody Django Unchained, The Lone Ranger, Clint Eastwood and Taylor Swift pretty easily. The show stopper would be if they brought out Doc Brown's time traveling train onstage.

I would love for them to use the projection technology at Islands of Adventure. Marvel Superhero Island could be turned into a city after a nuclear meltdown with the buildings melting away like Acid Assault. Toon Lagoon could be an alley full of freaks and the projectors could spray the building's facades with graffiti or blood. Jurassic Park can be a forest with spiders and snakes projected onto the ground. Finally, Poseidon's Fury could be turned into a volcano with cracks and lava building up to an eruption.

I would love to see Blood N Gutz as an icon but I think general audiences have trouble understanding campy horror. Just look at Sam Raimi's Drag Me To Hell. It was a great movie but when I would talk to non-movie people they would say, "It was sort of scary but some parts were so ridiculous it was funny" and I would be like, "Yeah it was SUPPOSED to be funny"

It's true that Jack is more of a comical icon but clowns are still pretty scary. Almost every theme park haunt as some scary clowns and there have been a precedent are scary/evil clowns in pop culture and history (Pennywise, the Joker, John Wayne Gacy)

BloodenGutz is a TV host so he could host a TV themed year (like the Usher did). They have several TV IP's to play with: Walking Dead, True Blood, Grimm, Hannibal, Bates Motel, Penn & Teller. Also a Hunger Games-style house would fit the TV theme. BloodenGutz is too comical of a character for general audiences who only expect standard scary characters. I think themes are overrated in general. I mean, which years actually had themes that carried through to most of the houses? I count Tales of Terror and Ripped From the Silver Screen, maybe Reflections of Fear. The rest have themes that are barely even communicated in the scare zones which was done last year with the theme of No Escape.

You can get Alone-style experiences if you often and early enough. I was by myself for my first trip through Winter's Night. It was still light out and the line was short. Security forced the group behind me to finish their beer before entering and I was ushered in without any other guests in sight. HOLY CRAP! Every actor was after me! I actually didn't like the experience since I couldn't appreciate the great design, atmosphere and story since I was so tense from getting scared around each corner.

I agree. Even The Thing was designed around a movie that hadn't been released. But I went to 21 and 22 the same pre Halloween week and the lines were significantly longer this year. That's pretty good evidence that there was way more attendance. And when you're looking at an IP heavy or an original event from a business perspective, the choice is clear.

You realize that Universal is a business and that they want to keep attendance high. USF's new board of directors clearly want more IP's in the park (Potter, Transformers, Simpsons) and the Walking Dead is no different. I want to see a Terra Curentas sequel as much as the next person but it's not gonna happen for a while. Though Your Luck Has Run Out had 8 houses that had nothing to do with each other and all of them were amazing.

I would love to see another Terra Curentas event especially if it was created from the ground up with individual houses that told a broader story. While Tales of Terror was heavily "suggested" by Lord of the Rings, they could borrow some themes and ideas from Game of Thrones. I'm still surprised none of the parks did a Hunger Games knock off house. Not that the Hunger Games is entirely original to begin with. Tales of Terror was broke a lot of ground but saying it really told a story is incorrect.

Na Uh. Cold Blind Terror, Where Evil Hides and even the Storyteller had nothing to do with Terra Cruentas. Having listened to lot of inside information the original theme was "darkness" when most of the houses were designed. Then the executives canned that idea and A&D melded some From Dusk Till Dawn and Lord of the Rings esque characters to the event. I have no objections to the fact that the event was amazing but the assertion that it was completely thought out by A&D is completely false. The houses in 2005 were not a story. They were vaguely a through-line, not to hate on the creators since they had created the houses with a different theme, but to hold future events to that standard is ridiculous. Granted i would love to go to a Terra Cruentas event and think they could tell a real story through all the houses.

Definitely using some selective memory there. The non-icon houses in 12 & 13 had nothing to do with the Caretaker or the Director. Even though I didn't go that year, 2009 looked like it had the most cohesive theme that wasn't fettered by executives, marketing, construction and real-world events. 6 houses were movie themed and the other two were created by Fangoria who are known for horror movies and make up. As great as Tales of Terror is, that year was really a hodgepodge of different ideas made on the fly. The event looked awesome but doesn't make a whole lot of sense when you think about it.

From what I understand, most of the 2005 houses were designed with the theme of Darkness (hence Cold Blind Terror and Where Evil Hides) and they created the Terra Cretentus theme after the fact when the original theme was vetoed by Hollywood. If A&D had it to do over again, I think they would tell a better story through the houses instead of the vague, strung together at the actual event.

This is the wrong use of the term synergy. A more appropriate example is that Universal's movie studio was releasing the prequel The Thing in theaters while the theme parks had a house based on it. Silent Hill was just USF reusing ideas that USH had already developed when their houses had to be scrapped for whatever reason

I think that's less (in quantity, not quality) that Knott's Haunt offers. I know repeat houses are controversial with the fans but I wouldn't mind having an extra two houses if it brings the lines down. It also wouldn't be the first time they did it (ie Screamhouse Revisited).

Hollywood RRR ran till' 2am this year. I know they closed down Hulk and DD early in HHN past but if that might be an outdated rule if they're allowed to keep that hunk of junk running that late at night. If Transformers is going to be very popular, what happens when there is an hour wait for it when the park closes at 5pm? Remember that the first two years of Revenge of the Mummy it was opened at the second park later in the evening.

If Universal wants to duplicate the success of this year (which was financially a powerhouse and operation-wise a failure) they need to move to IOA. They need more than 7 houses and five rides (even the addition of Transformers won't cut it). Because of the addition of Rip Ride Rockit and Blue Man Group, the Studios side can't get anymore than 3 entrances for a studio house. While at Islands, nothing is blocking guests to the sound stages, not even Hogwarts express. Move in the Sprung houses and you can fit 9 or 10 houses in that park, plus a dozen guest guzzling rides.

So NBC is creating a TV series based on Thomas Harris' character Hannibal Lecter. They seem pretty confident in it since they have already green-lit 13 episodes without a filming a pilot. I'm not sure when it will air (I would assume Spring or Fall) and will feature a new actor as Lecter, Mads Mikkelsen from Casino Royale. Now connected the dots between an NBC/Universal's investment thriller/horror series featuring the most popular horror character possibly of all time and HHN's focus on IPs after the massive crowds that showed up this year, we might have a future presenting character/icon. All they would really need is for Harris to sign off on it, which seems to be pretty easy if you write a big enough check. They could even make cannibalism the theme if they do a Walking Dead sequel or La Llorona house. Could the tagline be, "Feed Your Fear"

How is Islands of Adventure off the table? There are more rides and attractions than USF which would have helped with capacity. All you have to do is keep the scare actors to stay out of HP and Suess Landing, they're going to have to open the Gringott's Ride for HHN guests anyway when it opens at USF. Cutting out those two lands might have created less dead zones than what we saw with the roaming hoards in USF. IOA has enough restaurants that closing Thunder Falls wouldn't make a difference for day guests and would have worked fine for House of Horrors.

The scareactors have to wear ear plugs in the houses, correct? Are they even able to hear any of the guests?

My 6th year going to Halloween Horror Nights. I usually take my vacation the week before Halloween so I can go three nights with the Frequent Fear Pass. To sum up: definitely a step down from last year in most respects though it shouldn't matter to Universal since they had more guests this year. Even though the long lines could be blamed on being down a house and Jaws, the fact they sold out of the souvenir glasses last weekend shows this year was a major success. First the Bad: Construction: Transformers was a fully functioning construction site at night and the bright light from the building distracting from the atmosphere. Street Experience: The detail and performances were great but I generally do not like the idea of roaming hordes since it makes it hard for fans to see all of the Legions. Even with the promise of having scare actors everywhere, a lot of the park seemed dead. Lagoon Show: The Alfred Hitchcock show was great but they did not have any showtimes and after going three nights I only saw one in it's entirety. Ok the good: Shows: A major improvement over the last couple years. 20 Penny Circus was a welcome improvement over Brian Brushwood and Rocky Horror. Bill & Ted was very fun this year after going through two cringe worthy years. Still not as good as the Hanging at Knott's (which you can actually view on Youtube) but featured a lot more pyro and impersonators than last year. The Iniquitus: I feel like they were pretty great defacto icons for this year. i loved that they came out in front of the gates before the park opened and they were easy to find during the night. House Reviews (Best to Worst): House of Horrors: Was really surprised by this house. The lighting gave me a ton of scares and the sets were really cool given it was mostly black cloth and paint. Alice Cooper: Also surprised by this house. The music and set design gave the house energy that seemed lacking this year. The Walking Dead: Pretty good recreation of the show. Thought there should have been some some non-undead actors like Daryl fighting walkers with his crossbow. Gothic: Pretty torn about this house. The design and effects in the house were great but it didn't really go anywhere past gargoyles coming to scare you. Silent Hill: I hated the movie and probably will never play any of the games. But the creatures looked pretty cool even though I had no idea what was going on. Dead End: I just didn't get this house. The scares weren't as creative as Legendary Truth and wasn't as creepy and beautiful as Winter's Night. Was also confused about the theme or back story. Penn & Teller: Had a really funny preshow that spoiled a lot of the gags once inside the house. The 3D was pretty bad/non-existent, unlike The In-Between and Circus of Superstition at HowloScream that used it for some good illusions. Probably missed a lot of the scares and gags because the glasses were so blurry it felt like I was drunk! Still a great event though I would still rate it along HHN 20

I'm so glad they got 20 Penny Circus instead of Brian Brushwood. Let's see: do I wanna see a Dane Cook look-a-like with spiked gel hair or Penny? I think I'll take Penny. It should be noted that there was an Evil Dead musical that was around when I went to school in New York. They even gave you XL white T-shirts to wear since the audience would be splattered with fake blood from the stage. I'm not sure what rights Universal has for that franchise but it's more excited than Rocky Horror again.

What kind of beer do they have at Backwater Bar? I love the two other bars at IOA (Watering Hole and Hogshead) and I think they have better food options since I usually do not have time to eat before getting to the park. Kind of lame that three of food locations are gone this year.

Do they set up the houses during the day? Given the sudden location change they might have only had time to design the lighting during the day and not realize that it makes a difference day vs. night.

Thank you for explaining to everyone why scare zones sets would be impossible this year. And using IOA might have been even worse with the Potter/Seuss problem.

Definitely heard Christopher Young's theme from "Drag Me to Hell" in the background of the Inside the Magic's Legions of Horror video. Young's music for Hell and last year's Priest are great Halloween soundtracks.