Fear2010

Got some intriguing info on the newest Stay & Scream locations: Delancey, Central Park, Richter’s/Chez Alcatraz, Soundstage 18 Pathway, and Hard Rock Gate/Minion Way. It’ll be interesting to see how much they could thin out the crowds in New York and Springfield.

For my prediction of which one is likely to be the “House of the Year,” then I’m expecting Descendants to be the most well-received, since the Sprung tents have a good track record of the title like last year with the Wicked Growth. If not, then maybe a toss up between Chupacabras and Dead Man’s Pier.

How busy do you guys think the event will be? I think last year was a “buffer” of sorts for the crowds cause of the dividers, so they were probably less slightly. But I’m not sure it could be on par with 29, since we’re all unfortunately facing against the inflations right now, and some might not come this year.

I already knew this, but the pandemic is fading out very surely at this point, which is very good to hear.

Yeah, I figured that too, and even if it was, then it would probably be like last year with Haunting of the Hill House where they let guests take photos of the facade, and that was it. I’m guessing this was The Weeknd’s choice, so he could reduce the spoilers online as possible. Despite one IP house being omitted, it’s still a really good three to six hour tour lineup.

I did came up with my own Vamp scarezone idea both era and music wise as a sequel to the last one from 28 of Generation X Music icons as vampires set in 1999 mixed in with the Y2K hysteria. For example: the Grunge type vampires are Nirvana’s Kurt Cobain and Dave Ghrol, and Alice In Chains’ Layne Staley. And the Nu-Metal type vampires are Korn’s Jonathan Davis, and Linkin Park’s Mike Shinoda and Chester Bennington. You also gotta add other iconic Gen X figures from other genres like Tupac, Biggie and Eminem to represent Rap/Hip-Hop, and the Spice Girls to represent Pop Music.

Speaking of eras, am I the only one who wants a Woodstock themed with werewolves as a comedy zone? I know it sounds ridiculous, but if that idea were to happen, then it would be called “Wolfstock,” and it actually has a nice flow to it when you pronounce it. We could have scareactors playing as musicians who performed at the festival in 69 like Jimi Hendrix and Janis Joplin in a werewolf form.

I’m starting to get a 30’s vibes with Hooray For Hollywood, and I could easily picture the facade to be big in one of the soundstages or parade buildings.

And the exclusive food selections for this year’s HHN just keeps getting better with Leave It To Cleaver back in some way and form.

Since we’re about to see big demands for the Weeknd, I’m hopefully expecting all the queuing space they can get. I think it looks like Bugs will go into what was previously the MIB tent entrance/exit where (S)Carey was at, and then coil around the MIB Show Building. The other tent might enter at the same location, but the flip-flopping shifted to where the express queue for the north tent would have been. Could improve the exit too, since they can use the old house entrance as an exit. It may require more walking, but it’s better than standing still stiffly like a board in a switchback, and maybe no bottlenecks near the Coke building.

For the foodies.

With their new album coming out next month, I’m picturing a Slipknot house to be inspired by a music video of “Dead Memories” from All Hope Is Gone with the inclusion of one scene for Corey Taylor, and this is the closest one I could think of that could translate well with a nice flow as a house. The classic lineup would be the best way go with for the nostalgia, especially as a tribute to their deceased members.

There better be a meet and greet spot for Sam Meetz over there in the Sting Alley next to the booth.

Well this is something good to hear. Every night, the event will end at 2am other than on weekends. This was recently confirmed on Orlando’s Twitter pages. Could be a double-edged sword cause you might be able to hit all the attractions on some of the weekdays but this would also be more closer to be crowded as the weekends.

If there’s one thing I want Universal to do during the event the most is to use Animal Actors as a queue or a waiting area. It’s the perfect spot to be at that attraction in case of raining, especially the need to thin out the amount of guests who are attending for HHN. I noticed last year on opening night was the Beetlejuice queue filled the entire central park viewing, and this could be crowded again with the Weeknd, but bigger.

Though we’re far from being concerned about this, but I do want to remind you guys that Universal does occasionally reschedule the HHN dates after a hurricane hits through Florida.

The tribute store will feature a cemetery, so I’m hoping the tombstones will have gravemarkers of past attractions that are no longer at the Universal parks like Bill & Ted, Earthquake/Disaster, The original Kong ride, Jaws, Back To Future, and Dueling Dragons as tributes - I’d be so happy if they do it for the nostalgia.

With the event coming, let’s give out our best advices for each other. Try to go early with an Express pass at one of the lockdown areas in the park, and just keep your head down to hit the houses for the first hour or so for a productive night to slow down and take a night at an unhurried and relaxed pace.

HHN 31 Billboards revealed!

Here are my final thoughts of Halloween Horror Nights 31 before the event begins next month on Labor Day weekend. Legends Collide: Since the Bride of Frankenstein was so good last year, I’m loving how A&D plays with the scenarios they throw the Monsters into and how they could do it. I think it’s gonna be like a fun crossover between the 2019 Monsters house and Icons from last year. With this being located at the original parade building, not only you’ll get big and tall sets, but also lines up some possibilities of an arena scene with the Wolfman, Dracula, and Mummy fighting against each other. Halloween (2021): Like last year with the Original Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Halloween is getting the soundstage treatment that it deserves. If they could recreate the intensity as the best one from the franchise in previous years of the event similarly or close as possible, then it could be good. Seeing Michael Myers back at HHN for the 31st year is a very touché addition. Horror of Blumhouse 3: Though there are a couple of strong IP’s, one of them might be too repetitive in execution that’s not much to pull from it outside. If they end the house with a team-up assault with the characters from Freaky and the Black Phone, then a crossover scene would make a good ending of this house. The Weeknd: He may be one of the most divisive additions for this year, but the dude has ALOT to offer other than his music and videos that are pooling on the table. I’ve also been hearing he took some inspirations from Non-Horror films for this house. Daniel Craig better have his own Easter egg. Bugs Eaten Alive: I’m assuming this house will take place in Carey, Ohio with some tongue-in-cheek humor cause of the 50’s vibes like Leave It To Cleaver, and The Future House concept is actually nice twist on a basic line like it was inspired by Disneyland’s House of The Future in Tomorrowland. Though it’s an original concept, it's the closest we could get that is based on a classic movie The Fly. Fiesta De Chupacabras: I find it interesting they labeled the village as “Latin America” instead of Mexico or maybe not only that country to represent the Spanish-speaking countries. I’m hoping this house brings in the authenticity of the village ambiguously like one of the creative developers - who is a latino - from A&D promised. Spirits of the Coven: They actually had a witch scarezone from 2010 called the Coven, and not only it’s back as a house, it’ll take place during the 1920’s. If it doesn’t set at one of the colonial states, then maybe it will set at New Orleans, Louisiana. The flapper elements and scenes were really good in Cases Files last year, so I guess they wanted to do it again on a bigger scale. Hellblock Horror: I’m loving this concept! Though, it sounds like it could have been there last year, but It’s basically Hellgate meets Cabin In The Woods as a fun crossover idea. They’ll even throw in some Easter Eggs too. I think they’re gonna randomize the characters every night with the largest groups of casts ever with lots of swapping as a “Hold My Beer!” response to Legends Collide and last year’s Icons. Descendants of Destruction: If it’s gritty as Seeds of Extinction, then it should be good. The New York setting, broken subway trains, and the architecture of the station could lead to some crazy scares if well executed. It seriously seems to feel like one of the most grounded themed houses they've ever done. Though I do enjoy campy horror yet this house sure does look like if it was supposed to be there in 29 but never made it. Dead Man’s Pier: Winter’s Wake: I actually expected it to take place on the Seaside Shores of Alaska, but the New England states works though. As for the change from “Wharf” to “Pier” on the title, then I’m guessing it’s due to some sort of copyright/legal concern that made Universal nervous. Wharfs and Piers are also kinda two different things despite being located on the seasides. Graveyard: Deadly Unrest: I’m loving how this zone is an ambitious take on the Graveyard theme by putting some sort of story or concept other than throwing in all the zombies, ghosts, and Grim Reapers for the sake of it. The details of the pitch sounds really good. Conjure The Dark: This one sounds more interesting than what I was expecting. It looks like we're seeing the Celtic origins of Halloween, so it should hit the beats as much as it could with the witches pulling the strings. Very intrigued with this one, and the stage awesomely looks what the Terra Queen coulda have in Gorewood last year. Scarecrow: Cursed Soil: Though, it’s a zone, but it should secretly be an 11th house with a newly built barn we could walk through and a Harvest of the Soul vibe. Are they growing any crops again for this? Sweet Revenge: This is gonna be the closest Willy Wonka theme we could get at the event, and it’s clearly a comedy zone. The concept is ridiculous but sounds hilariously unusual and fun. I just hope we could get some nice, sweet candy scents as a distraction to get some scares. Horrors of Halloween: I am so glad the Pumpkin Lord - and Lil Boo - is back with his own zone as not only a continuation of the Wicked Growth, but also as a soft-icon like Bone was in 27. Very excited for the strictures of the zone. All hail the great and mighty Pumpkin Lord. Halloween Nightmare Fuel Wildfire: It was a good show, and I’m expecting it to be a more intense experience other than just adding more pyro effects to offer something different as possible, so it won't be too much like its debut year. Ghoulish! A Halloween Tale: I really find this interesting what they’re doing with the Lagoon right now rather than throwing in a shuffle of IP’s like the last two years, and this should be the best. Some guests may want them to incorporate The Weeknd’s music, but I prefer to be its own thing. Overall: It’s looking a lot like a slight callback to the previous years of HHN, and maybe last year marked as the next era of the event. The original concepts now took the total house number a little not just once but twice, and there are also no IP scarezones this year too. Hopefully with the ongoing pandemic fading out slowly, we shouldn’t be seeing any aspects of it again.

It’s so overwhelming in such an awesome way right off the bat. Everything from the zones, names, logos, and descriptions sounds way better than we’ve expected, making it hard for me to to set up my own hype list from top to bottom - all of them are awesome! The logos and names for the original houses are also really good too that are very exciting and intriguing. That might to be a tough one to set a hype list for myself too. The name and logo for Lagoon show sounds interesting, and hopefully way better than the last two. What a ride this year was. All the speculation I’ve been doing was an honor. Got everything ready for my return to Orlando at Universal for HHN on opening night like last year.

Here’s the full lineup, and the best the thing about it is the Pumpkin Lord is coming back in the Horrors of Halloween scarezone, which finally makes him the icon of the year (At least from our point of view)! #HHN #HHN31 #HHNForever #HHNatHome https://www.insideuniversal.net/2022/08/universal-orlando-announces-full-lineup-for-halloween-horror-nights-31/

Yeah, it has a good shot of winning the “House of the Year” title, since Descendants of Destruction has a type of name that sounds hard enough to understand what the theme is and what types of characters they’ll fill in for an average attendee to understand.

The first Sprung Tent house with a Subway facade is Descendants of Destruction that was formally called Underground Creatures, and it could take place in New York City. If it’s related to Seeds of Extinction, then I’m guessing it’s either a prequel or a spin-off. Could revolved around the survivors of the meteor strike from the Seeds by being underground at the time of it in the Subways, Sewers or even some Bunkers, and have been thriving for years without going above the ground to the plants that took over after the strike. Does that eventually mean they’re evolving to living in dark conditions and becoming more like creatures similar to the monsters from the decent? Whether if I’m right or wrong about this, then the title of that house makes a lot of sense cause they’re literally the Descendants of the survivors from the meteor strike, and the plants from the seeds that have been thriving down there the whole time. This could very be the backstory of the house, and it actually sounds awesome if it was. Can’t wait to see some gator puppets in the sewers!