Jump to content

DTH316

VIP
 View Profile  See their activity

  • Posts

    6,298

  • Joined

  • Last visited

  • Days Won

    86

 Content Type 

Posts posted by DTH316

    WB Studio Tour Hollywood 2018 - "Horror Made Here: A Festival of Frights"

    in Other Haunt Destinations

    Posted

    You literally just proved my point.

     

    Haunted Hayride is cheap and that's why they're hella popular. They've expanded from just a hayride to also mazes on the side. They can increase their prices over the next few years, increase their popularity and quality at the same time -- they're staying afloat perfectly. They're arguably a much smaller known name than WB as well, but people know Haunted Hayride for it's Halloween festivities and people go in droves every year. I'd bet money that more people will go to that than they will to WB this year, even with all their IPs.

     

    And hardly anyone went to WB last year, you can barely find reviews or videos on it. Even their panel had small applause to anything they said because the fanbase is very, very low. And the people who did go will say it was ALRIGHT at best. Even YOU said NOT TO COMPARE the two because "this year" will be different. Even if last year was the same price, this year is supposed to be their "proof is in the pudding." How is $39-59 "practically free?" Tons of haunts have this price point for even more attractions. Very basic supply & demand. If WB can't sustain itself with that market point, nobody freakin' asked them to be a Haunt, and if they fail, well than that's their fault (I KNOW I KNOW, "OMG YOU CANT COMPARE TO LAST YEAR, YOU CAN'T COMPARE TO HHN OR OTHER HAUNTS, ITS AN EXCLUSIVE VERY SPECIAL OPPORTUNITY, YOU SHOULD BE ON YOUR KNEES AND KISSING WB'S ASS, YOU SHOULD BE SO GRATEFUL, NOTHING ABOUT ANYTHING WB DOES CAN POSSIBLY BE WRONG, THEY ARE PERFECT, ALL HAIL WB FOR DOING US THIS FAVOR AND LET US GRACE OUR EYES ON THEIR EVENT").

     

    I don't have to pay, but you're wrong that enough "someone else's will" because every business is fallible. Even Disneyland will shut its doors one day - which had epic failure in the beginning and only succeeded because the very idea of the park was a pure phenomena. Give it another 30 years (not when they CLOSE, but when things start to decline, STAY WITH ME HERE, I know it's tough for you to grasp concepts) when enough kids of kids who didn't go today don't hold the same nostalgia to care to take their kids in the future... It's all about sticking the landing and WB HAS TO. Just like Knotts did. Just like HHN did.

     

    And why the hell even compare HHN when it wasn't even HHN yet, we are CLEARLY talking about post-hiatus. '06 and up. The modern Haunt era. The events that made HHN what it is today. HHN was a shit-show prior to that, no doubt about it, to the point it's irrelevant. However, even they didn't charge crazy ass prices to get in. But we could talk about the other coast, because Orlando is removed enough to say it did it on it's own without Hollywood's help or disservice. And today, it's known as THE Haunt in all of the United States by many, many people because of how it popped on the scene and kept climbing.

     

    The best example I can think of is Eli Roth's Goretorium. Too pricey and nobody cared, even with it's decent quality. Closed within a year or two and nobody misses it. People just kept on going to FearDome because it was cheaper and consistent.

     

    Anyway, this is my final correspondence pre-WB opening on the matter. Nothing you say holds weight, and plenty are annoyed with your self-important attitude on just about every topic. Especially when all of us are just saying "it's expensive, we hope it's good" and nobody has outright said "this is going to suck!" You've been very defensive about it for no reason. You hated HHN last year yet went through mazes upwards of 50+. Can't trust the opinions or ideas of a man who has clearly gone mad lol. Next you're gonna say that Fright Fest is going to be good this year. BAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH!!!!!!!!

    • Like 1

    WB Studio Tour Hollywood 2018 - "Horror Made Here: A Festival of Frights"

    in Other Haunt Destinations

    Posted

    But if we pay $80 and get a shitty quality event not on par to two other major Haunts within an hour radius that are cheaper, IT'LL BE A ONE-AND-DONE EVENT.

    Start modest and work your way up. HHN did it right. KSF knew when to go high and when to scale back their prices. Disney (although a completely different market) can pay insane prices because they also started relatively low and people now know it's worth it. Queen Mary has all sorts of deals, most notably the early bird deals -- they could be a much bigger event if their maze quality was at least better than Knotts, but it's only on par, so between the two, a reasonable person chooses the rides. Fright Fest fails because they don't want to become a hard ticketed event and don't put in enough effort or budget. The wristbands probably don't allocate enough of that money to maze quality and even during Halloween, people are still focused on the rides. They stay afloat because they're Six Flags and might as well do a Halloween event -- they're not even open on freakin' Halloween and the park is literally open 365 now -- there's no excuses not to do their Haunt that day.

     

    WB is in danger of being "that bougie Haunt" and will push away a lot of people with their prices. Even something niche like Delusion, which sells out every night MONTHS in advance at high prices, can't stay open the whole season or ends up missing a year, but I bet if they had more people flowing in conga style (which would then ruin the entire point of what they're going for), they'd be more sustainable and afloat.

     

    A normal person isn't talking to their friend about how it's such a cool exclusive opportunity to be on WB backlot -- they've been going to Universal for the past decade, that's nothing new to them. They're going to want a quality Haunt. And if WB has that, they want people to see it, so they'll need to lower their prices or die. Period.

    Halloween Horror Nights Hollywood 2018 Speculation

    in Halloween Horror Nights Hollywood 2018

    Posted

    $59? Alright, I could do that, guess that's the only day I'm going because God knows I ain't paying anything more than that lol

    Thanks for the details Zombieman!

    P.S. I would still read your posts! You have one of the most respected voices of veterans in the Haunt community, imo. Your undying commitment to events, even if if you hate them, and to seek new Haunts is unmatched. With some of the best detailed reviews, I always look forward to what you have to say, even if 50/50 I disagree wholeheartedly with what you have to say, your opinion is still respectable, intelligent, and valid.

    P.S.S. HHN truly is dropping the ball. If they had any sense, they would've dropped their announcements at the same time instead of letting WB steal the thunder. It's letting them create a lot of buzz in this meantime. And apparently selling tickets.

    Halloween Horror Nights Hollywood 2018 Speculation

    in Halloween Horror Nights Hollywood 2018

    Posted

    2 hours ago, DRLOTS said:

    Yes exactly plus for all we know, WB can be biting off more then they can chew, horror nights has been doing this for years and they STILL mess up or do things that the fans hate so this event may flop at first, I hope it doesn't but now that they have announced all of these properties they are setting standards extremely high 

    I've been thinking about this as well. WB already is capping their capacity by having guided tours and priding themselves on no conga lines. Guess what happens next? Even if it is good, word of mouth is going to force their hand on that aspect when crowds go apesh!t on too many sold out nights. And they'll realize, bottom line, it means more money on pushing people through, so they'll have to do it.

     

    Other side of the coin, if these guided tours aren't good (which Neibolt house honestly looked like it wasn't, but we'll see what they improve this year), then they'll be dead in the water despite all their amazing properties.  It's a no-win situation and I don't think they should've acted so cocky at their panel. Confidence is key to selling the event, but they don't quite have a fanbase yet to make this work long-term, so they also should've been a bit humble.

     

    Granted, their event SOUNDS awesome, but if it isn't, I'll be (and many others will be) sorely disappointed, and will definitely not be back. Fright Fest has been on my no-fly list for more than a decade now because of one crappy haunt.

    Knotts Scary Farm 2018

    in Other Haunt Destinations

    Posted

    I'm hoping Log Ride also gets a new overlay, Hootenany was okay, I want something much more dark in theme!

    Mine Ride would be great also, that way they could bill 4 new mazes.

     

    I'm hoping someone updates us IMMEDIATELY after Midsummer Scream! It's only a 30 minute presentation, so I'm worried there won't be much new, or that they're saving it for their own presentation in their own theater like they've done a few times with the live broadcast and such.

    Halloween Horror Nights Hollywood 2018 Speculation

    in Halloween Horror Nights Hollywood 2018

    Posted

    On 4/23/2018 at 12:43 PM, dykealiscious said:

    Slightly off topic, but can someone give me an idea of how much the discount for HHN tickets is if you have an annual pass? 

     

    Also, what are the "select nights" that you can get tickets free? 

     

    I'm considering a pass this year because I'll be in LA this week and MIGHT have time for a drop in and will definitely go in October.

    I've seen the discount be anywhere from $1 up to $6 extra off from any regular coupon you can find. In my opinion, it's only worth it if they're giving out really good perks for passholders, which varies year by year. Sometimes they'll have super extra early entry or free nights. Sometimes they'll give you literally nothing. 

    Halloween Horror Nights Hollywood 2018 Speculation

    in Halloween Horror Nights Hollywood 2018

    Posted

    It's so sad to see this thread be so dead. The other page I've been at has 101 pages of speculation, and this one only has 6. I know this site was always geared more for Orlando, but geez, this has died down SUBSTANTIALLY in the last year or two. There's not even a Stranger Things Maze Discussion page and it's been announced for dayzzzz. First the Vault, now HNN. Fond memories. I hope this place kicks back up again.

    • Sad 1

    Halloween Horror Nights Hollywood 2018 Speculation

    in Halloween Horror Nights Hollywood 2018

    Posted

    It's the IPs and the marketing for the first weekend, with the reviews hitting it major on the second weekend and after, plus with Knotts being open from that point and on, and getting rave reviews (which lead to them selling out for the first time in yeeeeeears).

     

    IPs: Yeah, Shining is huge, but it's not Exorcist huge. Insidious is popular, but the new movie isn't out, so there's no buzz around the franchise at the moment, plus it's been done twice. AVED, even big fans of the franchise have no idea this show exists, sadly. Saw, literally nobody gives a shit about it, and that's why the new movie flopped also -- I was surprised it even had a line, but I'm guessing that's mainly because new fans didn't see it back in 09/10. AHS had to deal with only being Roanoke, a very divisive season.

     

    Marketing: I tried pointing it out before, but Titans of Terror and Blumhouse are hard to market, even if there's popular brands within them. Their ideas are too complex for a simple execution to reach to a mass audience. Also, on the forefront of the website, they advertise front and center the Jabbawockeez and The Walking Dead. Next to that is the Key Demon from Insidious 4 who nobody knows yet, Ash with his big stupid grin-yell face that doesn't look scary. The only thing striking to the eye is the twins in The Shining...

     

    Reviews:.. and they're not even scareactors in the maze! Alot of people were looking forward to being scared by them, Vanessa Hudgens did a interview before going into the park saying that's what she was more excited about. And all they are is a ghost pepper effect! On the same coin, we have Chucky in a lot of marketing, but he's on the poorly received Tram, and was used sparingly on it. They're not even giving the FANS what we perceived the event to be! Disregarding the black hallways that the GP would think nothing of, none of the mazes were strong this year. Even the Shining isn't as good as '16 weakest maze. Knotts definitely is a competitor and stole a lot of business. They're cheaper, had a lot of new and fresh ideas, plus rides -- and everyone is saying it's good.

     

    Past Years: Yeah, people love HHN, BUT the other half of people have been getting sick of the long lines. Year after year, you see the same exact story on Yelp: "I came at 8, did the Tram, did 3 rides, and one maze -- everything was 3 hours long, I'm never coming back." Last year may have been the best ever, but it was also beyond crowded and I can imagine how many people didn't show up for early entry and hated every second of it. Their perception is it's overcrowded, overpriced (because they probably went on a peak day) and overrated in quality. They may have done the event "wrong," but Uni needs to make the event more accessible -- which it luckily was this year BECAUSE of light crowds.

    Halloween Horror Nights Hollywood 2018 Speculation

    in Halloween Horror Nights Hollywood 2018

    Posted

    23 minutes ago, Sheev4Senate said:

    So are they lying when they said they had record high numbers this year? I genuinely feel like there was hardly anyone there for the event.

    I feel like there's some truth to it, but not in the way we think, and they're doing a "positive spin" routine. Last year was way more packed and had way better reviews from GP (Yelp or Facebook) and fans, and they're saying this year had "record" crowds. I don't know, sounds fishy to me. They're trying to reason that "one extra maze" spread people out more, but by that much to the point it's dead empty at certain points in certain areas of the park? Maybe the 5 PM early entry helped too and people left early, I don't know. I just think it's all suspect and don't know what to believe anymore.

    Halloween Horror Nights Hollywood 2018 Speculation

    in Halloween Horror Nights Hollywood 2018

    Posted

    7 hours ago, Horrorisprettyrad said:

    I actually had the hardest time with saw. It was the first maze of the night (or day, I guess), and for the life of me I couldn't tell what direction was the right one. Wasn't scared, more so frustrated that I kept on smashing into walls and almost walking into actors because of non existent lighting. I think universal needs to let people in maybe a half hour before opening for early entry, that could solve wait times exceeding 2 hours before the park opens. 5:00 early entry is just ridiculous. Also, stressing out over a plan to just getting to see everything shouldn't even be a worry, universal knows their crowds and should cut back on selling tickets (which I know they never will, because of all that sweet green molasses).

    Actually, Early Entry used to be 6:30 (maybe about 2 -3 years ago?) and they still had the same problem, if not worse, with lines getting upwards to 2 hours right away. I think changing it to 5 was to counter that. And instead of 2 hours right away, now it's an hour to an hour and a half lines right at 7, which is a bit better haha.

    Halloween Horror Nights Hollywood 2018 Speculation

    in Halloween Horror Nights Hollywood 2018

    Posted

    1 hour ago, Horrorisprettyrad said:

    Unpopular opinion, but I really wish that early entry wouldn't be so, well, early. At 5:00 on most nights, the sun hasn't even set yet. Sometimes they'll even let you in earlier! Leaking sunlight can straight up ruin a maze, and this year, getting your eyes adjusted to black hallway city was a complete nightmare.

    I think it just depends on the mazes they open. For example, Insidious under no circumstances should've been open for Early Entry. The maze is literally not the same during day time. That, or put an actual roof overhead. However, Saw and Roanoke were fine. I think the event needs to start at 5, otherwise, I don't think I'd get to finish all the mazes in one night, and as it is, I have to do it under extreme stress and worry. I feel legitimately sorry for the people actually showing up at 7. They just have no clue of the hell they're walking into when half the lines are already an hour and a half long. They don't get to finish all the mazes, for sure. So the 5 PM early entry at least gives us a fighting chance.

     

    Personally, I love that eye adjustment to make the mazes even darker and I have no idea where the hell I'm going when scenes are supposed to be dark, they're actually DARK, and makes some of the scares hit way harder. My run thrus of TWD: Wolves Not Far were amazing for that reason.

    • Like 1
×
×
  • Create New...