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The more I look at these tweets, the more I can't help but notice the random capitalization on words. Like, why is "Stop" and "Think" using capital letters? Has a hidden message been slowly getting tweeted out based on what words are capitals? Also, the use of the word Further (with a capital F) SCREAMS Insidious to me. Either it was a cleaver use of the word to throw us of, or a very obvious confirmation that we are in fact getting an new Insidious house.

I think they will put the 3D mazes on hold for a bit. Alice was great and the 3D effects were done really well. Lots of people also seemed to like it. However, the Chance house last year was pretty bad. I would overhear people around the park commenting about how bad it was. I have only been attending since 24, but it was easily the worst house I had been in by a long shot. For this reason, I think they will put away the 3D gimmick for a year or two.

So excited AoV is most likely coming back!! They put on an incredible show last year. Bill and Ted has been pretty bad the past two years so having AoV last year really helped!

If I had to guess, we are getting 10 houses. More houses means more overall capacity. Plus, more houses than ever is a great marketing tool. I can't see them doing away with Shrek. It simply works to well as a house location. I do think they need to rethink the entrance though. The first year was awful. Last year's worked better. However I think if they used the normal Shrek entrance for the house, they will make it harder for people to pick which house to go into right when they enter the park considering two house entrances will be right across the street from each other. If AHS is going in the same location, putting another big name house in Shrek will help divide the crowds up a little better.

I hope your right about two claustrophobic houses! Tomb was one of my favorites last year for that reason alone. Most houses after a few times through I have the path figured out and know where most (if not all) the actors are. With Tomb, I never could figure it out and I loved it for that!

If King is really on board, wouldn't it make perfect since to have an "It" house too? With the movie dropping a week before opening it, I think this would be the first time in event history were the movie and house are open side by side for the duration of HHN. Dracula Untold opened after HHN started so that one doesn't count and most of the other houses we get are a year later once the movie is on DVD. You know King has to closely follow the event. Maybe after all these years, he is seeing how the event just keeps growing and growing and very difficult to translate IP's are being turned into amazing houses. Maybe he finally has enough trust in Universal Art and Design that they will do his properties justice so he agreed to finally come on board. Plus, this might get the younger crowd interested in his books which would be a win for him. I just can't see them even attempting to risk an IP without getting the TRUE IP holder on board anymore. After all the issues with Bloody Mary and then Scream, I can't see them wanting to go behind King's back. They WANT to work with him so bad. Going behind his back and saying "oh, its based on the movie, not the book" would be so insulting King would never listen to a word Universal had to say to him again.

I don't know why I never thought about it but a sequel to Vamp '55 in the form of a house one year later is an amazing idea! Would be even cooler if they could get the most memorable actors back for the sequel. They just better not make it the 3D house (if we even get a 3D house this year).

I don't see them ever dropping the number of houses. You have to remember, each house that is open increases the number of guests they can allow into the park by quite a large number. Capacity is also a huge issue especially towards the end of the run. Removing a house will make things so much worse and we will probably see a lot more "sold out" nights. They don't want "sold out" nights. They don't want to turn away money. They will just keep expanding the event. I honestly wouldn't be shocked if they give us 10 houses this year. Not only is that great for marketing, it also gives guests a higher perceived value for their money. Also, the more houses they add, the more the event becomes a two night experience to see it all which again, is more money for Universal. They can add tents just about anywhere and snake the queue in some crazy directions. That years Chance house proved they don't need a permanent structure to hold a house. See my Jimmy Falon house location post above for what I mean.

Why does everybody keep assuming Nintendoland will come to US? Have we already forgotten that they purchased a TON of land not to long ago. It's enough land to build at least one new large park (or two smaller parks), another version of Citywalk and a few more hotels. Wouldn't you want to attach a big IP to a new park to drive traffic to the park even more? When they announced they got Nintendo, I figured construction would start right away. Unlike Disney, Universal doesn't like to announce things until construction is already underway. The fact that they are waiting this long to start the project just seems off to me. With Disney "confirming" a 2019 opening year for Star Wars Land, I would not be surprised if construction starts on that new land when Volcano Bay is done. With the speed Universal builds (and all the money Comcast is throwing at the parks), they could start early summer of this year and have an entire new park, hotel and Citywalk 2 built by the time Star Wars Land opens. That's going to be one crazy summer if that happens! Back to HHN talk, I highly doubt we will see a drop in house numbers this year. Less construction is going on now than last year. Plus, and I mentioned this a while back, but the old Twister queue is one giant slab of FRESH concrete now. I was there at the end of March and while riding Rockit you can see a large, rectangular slab of concrete. It looks just like the size for a decent size tent house much like USH does. Also, with a minor adjustment to the music plaza queuing setup, they could easily have a new house location. It's behind the New York Facade, wouldn't interrupt any ride operation, and could easily form a queue and exit onto a path where two soundstage houses currently exit. It is an ideal location, and all that fresh concrete, in the shape they poured it in, just screams new house location to me.

I feel like if they go the duel Icon route, they need to divide it between the parks. Give The Usher IoA and the Director UO. Create a "generational" scarezone connecting the two parks. Give the Usher older IP's like the rumored It house. Give the Director newer IP's like AHS. Create Scarezones based on the different overall theme of the park. IoA would get older SZ's, maybe even revamping some of the older SZ's used in the years past. Give the Director's side more modern SZ's with high tech elements. Finally, give each side shows. Move Bill and Ted (it's not technically modern and considered a classic) over to the Toon Lagoon Theater. Put Academy of Villains (if they are coming back) in the Fear Factor Theater. With the right selection of classic and modern horror elements, this idea could work really well. It HAS to be an equal balance though. Give each park 5 houses and 3 zones plus the connecting zone. They also need to spread them out a little more even so all the houses at UO are not just right at the front of the park. Also, they need to really stick to the Icons and which park they own. Only sell Usher merch in IoA and only Director merch in UO. Create different themed drinks with a different blinky cup design for each park. Basically create as many reasons as possible to get people moving around both parks to help spread everything out.

I am really kinda shocked that people didn't instantly think of The Caretaker. Also kinda surprised people had to go searching for him saying the "Hush little baby" line considering this line was repeated over and over again just 2 years ago at HHN 25 during the kill on his mini-stage. He says it at the 0:51 mark. If that twitter user is to be believed and is hinting at things to come, using that line is a dead give away.

It's quite possible they might dedicate each of the next 3 years to each of the other 3 "main" icons to get them back in the spotlight before the big 30th anniversary where we might, hopefully, get another big stage show like HHN 16. I don't consider Storyteller a "main" Icon that could hold the spotlight for the year (especially with the merch) so I could see them putting Storyteller and Director in the same year. Even if they don't go this route, I don't see them going without an Icon for a while. Marketing tried to do away with it, but it just doesn't work. You need that "thing" to tie everything together and also to drive merch sales. I know my first year didn't have an Icon and I hated all the merch because it was just so generic. With the Icon shirts, mugs, pins, cards, your unifying everything and making things unique that stick out.

So, another interesting piece of info about "It". It shattered the world record for most number of views in 24 hours for it's first trailer. It was viewed 197 million times in 24 hours beating FF8's old record of 123 million. You know the powers at be are going to be trying even harder to lock down this IP now. Going to be interesting to see if they can finally convince King to let them create houses for his IP's.

I've been thinking about this as well. Add on the fact that this next season of AHS is based on the election and there is no way Universal is going to get political in a HHN maze, I feel like we won't see season 7 come to the event. Part of me feels like they might getting through all the seasons quickly so they can toss together a permanent maze based around AHS. With AHS being on TV for at least 3 more years (7-9) they could open the year round haunt in the spring and "plus" it during HHN like Hollywood did with TWD. Plus, if they plan ahead, they could set aside some extra space to expand the house with the new seasons if popular enough. This way they will know what works and what doesn't work for all 6 seasons and add/cut elements to make the whole experience even better. Plus, walking through all 6 seasons in one maze would be worth the wait since we would be looking at a 8-10 minute long experience so they could pulse the queue during non-HHN times. Plus, it would be another attraction they could market and help with the crowds from F&F.

I really wanted Roanoke to get the standalone treatment. They better give us that house as the Facade. I would love it if the Coven house ends in a forest setting and we make a turn and see the massive Roanoke house. I also hope we get the tunnels, another forest "break" and then go visit the other house for a bit to see all the crazies there. Then finally end back up at the Roanoke house on fire with a final encounter with the Butcher. Roanoke had so many stand out horror elements that it really could be it's own house so I hope they don't rush through it! To me, Coven is very weak with not many scary elements. I hope we just get a couple of rooms for it. Plus, witch craft and voodoo have never gone over well at the event so I doubt we will see much of that (HHN 24 having the voodoo show cut shortly after opening night for example). Asylum has some good moments that can work well in the house and another memorable moment with the Name Game song that will probably be playing in the house. Overall I'm happy with AHS return. I also like the fact that they have confirmed (through e-mail) that this will be the years longest house with the most actors so that's always a good thing!

I always thought a fortune teller would make a pretty decent Icon with the right backstory and look. Could film the commercial were 3-4 people go to some creepy, side of the road fortune teller tent inside a freakshow where she "predicts" how they will all die. Then, to kinda tie it all together put look-a-like actors in the houses that "die" the way she predicted in the commercial. Could come up with some really awesome looking fortune teller cards that are used at the gates to show off each house. Then they could make a SZ themed around the same freakshow that's shown in the commercial. Could then even put up a mini-stage in the zone were throughout the night she picks "guests" to come up and get their fortune read where she tells them how they will die and moments later that happens to them inside the zone.

I really don't want Jack back again. Don't get me wrong, I like Jack but it's time a different Icon gets the spotlight put on them again. Plus, Jack without Chance just seems wrong and I'm not sure they want Chance back again for what would be three years in a row. Granted, they seemed to be setting up a "story", if you could call it that, with her house last year and the video that played outside. I am surprised the Usher has not come back yet. For 25, his mini-stage always seemed the most popular. With all the IP's, the Palace Theater is the perfect setting. I just feel like he is an underused Icon. Save Jack and Chance for the 30th anniversary.

So, I just got back from a short trip to Universal today and I wanted to bring up something I noticed while on the Rockit. Where the old queue for Twister was, next to Fallon they have fresh concrete poured in a LARGE rectangle shape. Since Fallon does not have a queue, and the fact that this large section of concrete can not be accessed from the main path has me wondering if they planned this location to be another place for a tent house. It seriously is the length and width of what most of the Hollywood houses fit on. I don't see any other reason for there to be that much concrete in a perfect long rectangle shape next to the building. The only thing I can't figure out would be the queue setup for a house there unless they rework the music plaza queue to be for that new location with just a small section of a SS house using the music plaza as a way to get backstage. All I know is they are getting to the point where they either need to expand to both parks or add more houses to help spread out crowds and UO is basically out of locations now that MiB is being used for a house location. I wish I could have snapped a picture but you can only see it from on the Rockit and you can't bring cameras on the ride. We will see what happens with that location I guess in the next few months.

That's the reason why it shouldn't be part of a three season house like last year. Give Asylum and Coven (a season without many horror elements) a combo house. Roanoke however has so much to pull from it can easily be a mega house. With season 7 currently going down a very strange path, it might be a season they have to skip next year if things get to political. The question comes down to, do they split up the seasons to milk it for another year or do they attempt to jam three seasons into one house again? If they decide to split them, do they do Roanoke this year since it was the most recent or do they save it for next year? I am curious to hear why you don't want it back. It was a highlight of each night for me. Heck, some nights I would watch it twice on purpose and other nights if I was heading past it and the show was going on, I would always stop and watch the rest of it. During the 8 nights I went, I probably watched AoV from start to finish 10 times (13-14 if you count partial shows) but I only saw the "HHN staple" Bill and Ted twice because it was simply not good.

Is it weird that I almost don't care so much about what IP's we get or if we even get an Icon as long as AoV comes back? For a new concept for HHN and something a lot of people were thinking wouldn't work or wouldn't be good, it was the biggest highlight of the event for me! Far better than the past few Bill and Ted shows. I just watched their last show they did two weeks ago at VIBE XXII and they killed it once again. Quite of few people you will remember seeing in the video below. Also, they need to devote a bigger chunk of the budget so the size of the group can increase. While a change of venue would be needed in order to bring everybody to HHN, there is something about seeing SO many performers moving together in perfect harmony like we get at the 8:25 mark that I would LOVE to see happen at HHN. WARNING: LANGUAGE! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZVs0iYwbGDo

I have a feeling with AHS, we will get a Coven and Asylum year and then a Roanoke year. Coven doesn't have enough content to be a full house and I feel the same about Asylum. Roanoke has more than enough content to be a massive house all by itself. I wouldn't be surprised if Roanoke is this year since its the most recent season as well. Eddie is in an interesting position as far as Icons go. He is like the unknown Icon that never was that only hardcore fans know anything about. In order for him to the be the Icon, they are going to need to really focus in on him with marketing and backstory which we all know has been really lacking lately. Chance worked because most locals and people interested in the event but not big on its history already had at least probably seen her either in person or while looking up Youtube videos of the event. Eddie would be the first "new" Icon since Lady Luck and we all know how well that "Icon" turned out. The other Icons are sorta cemented in the history of the event. They are used quite often in promotions and marketing and are the most common thing that normally pops up when attempting to search for the event. Heck, the logo for this site alone uses 4 of them! Eddie is going to need a massive media/marketing push and one heck of a house or zone if people are going to remember him and put him on the same page as Jack or The Usher.

I hope they kinda learned that not having an Icon doesn't work well. Being able to theme the marketing and a huge portion of merchandise around an Icon help tie everything together nicely. Plus I feel like merchandise tied to an icon helps sell more product. I know my first year I went didn't have an Icon and I barely bought anything but I bought so much stuff during 25 and 26 because of the Icon focus. The retrospect video put a subtle focus on Icons as well. While nearly the entire video was content from last year, there were quick shots of all the "main" Icons. We see Usher, Director, Caretaker, Storyteller, a QUICK glimpse of Jack and of course a bunch of Chance. I honesty am surprised we haven't seen the Usher return. During 25, his "mini-stage" was always packed way more than the other three. Plus, with the IP heavy event now, he is the perfect Icon to "present" these IP's in his theater. If i'm remembering correctly, his house was also one of the more popular Icon houses. One things for sure though, AoV better return with an all new show! They were a surprise hit of last year and probably the best show HHN has ever put on imo.

Normally all the tickets went on sale at once closer to summer. They normally would do the date announcement around this time and then around summer they would release all the tickets. Overcrowding is a balancing act. Sure on one hand you are packing the park with guests so you would assume they will spend more money but that's not always the case. Instead you end up with a park that has lines 2 hours long and streets so full of people the actors can scare guests. This in turn creates a bad guest experience and the odds of them returning are lower. The single night ticket guests are the money makers. They come in, want to enjoy their night and get some drinks. The ones like myself that get the RoF for less than $100 total but attend 10-12 nights and barely spend anything on drinks are the guests they don't want. If I want to attend 10 nights now, it's going to cost upwards of $800. Going to be interesting to see how this plays out. I really hope they come up with RoF or FF again this year and are just changing up the way they do things this year.

That's my fear too. It might be another way for them to combat crowds. Instead of offering a cheaper, multi night option, make everybody pay each night they want to attend and there won't be as many repeat people. However, on the flip side, they might be trying to sell single night tickets first to better gauge express pass costs and to get people to buy tickets full price instead of getting the cheaper multi night option later on. I don't recall them ever putting single night tickets on sale before any other pass type though.

I hope with the dates they announce the tickets too. I doubt it because it is so early but I really want to get planning on the ticket types are going to be the deciding factor on which two weeks I go.