HHN 2010: Vampyre: Castle of the Undead (HOH)

[electro_killer]

Is anyone else more exicted about this mazes than HOTC

If it WASNT inside HoH I might be more excited. But putting it in HoH does make it lose some points.

[DTH316]

Nope. For me, HOTC was kinda the lowest of the barrel... but I guess I was wrong, lol, so I'm more excited for that than this. Especially since they're just throwing it in HOH, which some won't even consider a new maze (we'll see how different it is come Sept)

And seriously, the y in vampire still pisses me off and it's cheesy, lol

[Grindhousehero13]

What Im saying is yes this is the wrose place to put a original maze but if this flops we can say good bye to ever seeing another original maze as long as Murdy's in charge and Most likely the Gp gonna eat this up, and realy I think this is WAY better then shoving chucky or the strangers up HOH's A-Hole

[horror lover]

not necessarily, murdy knows how much we crave original maze ideas.

[WixFlix]

i think for hoh, vampires are perfect, from the facade to many scenes inside (minus chucky, and some other obvious ones) it just fits....def a better fit than putting chucky and random characters in there...but lets see how it all plays out..

[LeeRay]

Is anyone else more exicted about this mazes than HOTC

heck no techno!

HOTC is one of my favorite movies lol

i've always been freaked out by that movie and its soooo creepy!

i think this maze will suprise alot of people that thought it would be crappy despite the 3-D.

but even though it's in 3-D im still hoping they find a good version of 3-D.

[Halloween Blues]

Here's my thoughts on originality that I posted on my blog. It's kinda longish lol:

What some people are failing to realize though is that this announcement goes well beyond Vampires, it could shake the very foundations of Halloween Horror Nights! AND THE WORLD! Well, maybe not the world, but still, it might be kinda important.

For awhile now, there has been a very strong and loud group of fans that have been demanding Hollywood begin using original maze concepts like it's sister park, Orlando. For those that don't know, Orlando tends to rely less on movie properties and has a greater focus on original mazes and Icons. In fact the few original Icons that we've had in Hollywood, actually got their start over in Orlando.

However, not every fan is as excited to get an original property and I'm not going to say that they're really close minded to not want it. It has always been John Murdy's stance that Universal Studios shares a world with Hollywood and therefore, the park's Halloween events will always reflect that world. Meaning studio properties and movie horror icons will always be integrated into the theme of the park somehow. Which you have to admit makes sense. However, how long can that really last before you're either a.) scraping the bottom of the barrel for long forgotten movie properties or b.) you're just retreading old ideas.

I understand the desire to use popular figures like Freddy Krueger and Jason to promote your event, it's going to be a bigger draw than some imaginary figure. I mean, lets face it. Are people going to be clamoring at the gates of Univesal to get into Vampyre? Probably not, but if you shove a Friday the 13th maze at them, you'll get a greater response. However, if you have to come back to that franchise year after year, people are going to start develop a "been there, done that attitude" and look elsewhere for their scares.

So what is Universal going to have to do to continue being profitable and how is this a sign of things changing? If Vampyre turns out to be a wildy popular maze with the general attendees, then you can certainly expect to see another original maze return next year. The creative staff at Universal takes fan reaction into huge consideration and if public opinion swings towards originality, that's what we're going to get.

Does that mean original mazes will soon dominate Universal Studios? Most definitely not. You can rest assured that fan favorite properties will always have a home at Halloween Horror Nights for the simple reason that they're hugely profitable for everyone involved. What's going to happen though is, if Vampyre is a success, we may begin to see more of a balance of original themes and adaptations of movies. This blend of the two will help to assure that Universal maintains a fan-base who craves to be surrounded by their favorite horror franchises, while helping to keep some of the older veterans intrigued with the promise of never before seen mazes and characters.

[Grindhousehero13]

Here's my thoughts on originality that I posted on my blog. It's kinda longish lol:

What some people are failing to realize though is that this announcement goes well beyond Vampires, it could shake the very foundations of Halloween Horror Nights! AND THE WORLD! Well, maybe not the world, but still, it might be kinda important.

For awhile now, there has been a very strong and loud group of fans that have been demanding Hollywood begin using original maze concepts like it's sister park, Orlando. For those that don't know, Orlando tends to rely less on movie properties and has a greater focus on original mazes and Icons. In fact the few original Icons that we've had in Hollywood, actually got their start over in Orlando.

However, not every fan is as excited to get an original property and I'm not going to say that they're really close minded to not want it. It has always been John Murdy's stance that Universal Studios shares a world with Hollywood and therefore, the park's Halloween events will always reflect that world. Meaning studio properties and movie horror icons will always be integrated into the theme of the park somehow. Which you have to admit makes sense. However, how long can that really last before you're either a.) scraping the bottom of the barrel for long forgotten movie properties or b.) you're just retreading old ideas.

I understand the desire to use popular figures like Freddy Krueger and Jason to promote your event, it's going to be a bigger draw than some imaginary figure. I mean, lets face it. Are people going to be clamoring at the gates of Univesal to get into Vampyre? Probably not, but if you shove a Friday the 13th maze at them, you'll get a greater response. However, if you have to come back to that franchise year after year, people are going to start develop a "been there, done that attitude" and look elsewhere for their scares.

So what is Universal going to have to do to continue being profitable and how is this a sign of things changing? If Vampyre turns out to be a wildy popular maze with the general attendees, then you can certainly expect to see another original maze return next year. The creative staff at Universal takes fan reaction into huge consideration and if public opinion swings towards originality, that's what we're going to get.

Does that mean original mazes will soon dominate Universal Studios? Most definitely not. You can rest assured that fan favorite properties will always have a home at Halloween Horror Nights for the simple reason that they're hugely profitable for everyone involved. What's going to happen though is, if Vampyre is a success, we may begin to see more of a balance of original themes and adaptations of movies. This blend of the two will help to assure that Universal maintains a fan-base who craves to be surrounded by their favorite horror franchises, while helping to keep some of the older veterans intrigued with the promise of never before seen mazes and characters.

couldnt of said it better myself

[electro_killer]

i think for hoh, vampires are perfect, from the facade to many scenes inside (minus chucky, and some other obvious ones) it just fits....def a better fit than putting chucky and random characters in there...but lets see how it all plays out..

Of course its a better fit for vamps, of course Murdy did what he did. Did we all forget what House of Horrors was before they slapped a new name on it??

Van Helsing: Fortress of Dracula

The place was made for vamps, thee vamp if you wanna get specific. I think Murdy is testing the waters with this maze which is why he put it in HoH. Why spend money building a test maze? Just throw it in HoH and see how its recieved. Although now that I'm thinking about it, all hes doing is switching it back to the Helsing maze. But I'll stop myself, I'm sure he has some small tricks up his sleeve to please us.....hopefully.

[DTH316]

Actually, the oldest I can remember the HOH building being anything, it was The Grinch the year the movie came out. But I hear before that it was Chicken Run. And then I'm sure we all know it was the Mummy, which is the first time I remember the bridge being used and the spinning room and what not which was pretty much the same lay out it is now until Van Helsing took over... just thought I'd throw that out there, haha

[Grindhousehero13]

Actually, the oldest I can remember the HOH building being anything, it was The Grinch the year the movie came out. But I hear before that it was Chicken Run. And then I'm sure we all know it was the Mummy, which is the first time I remember the bridge being used and the spinning room and what not which was pretty much the same lay out it is now until Van Helsing took over... just thought I'd throw that out there, haha

what Electro means is that unlike the other incarnations the transition from Van Helsing to HOH had little to no reconstruction since most scenes are left overs from Van Helsing and the Facade is almost exactly the same

[Freak]

Actually, the oldest I can remember the HOH building being anything, it was The Grinch the year the movie came out. But I hear before that it was Chicken Run. And then I'm sure we all know it was the Mummy, which is the first time I remember the bridge being used and the spinning room and what not which was pretty much the same lay out it is now until Van Helsing took over... just thought I'd throw that out there, haha

Hey I remember gong through that as a little kid! Haha

[Trevler]

And before that it was a Marvel Restaurant and BEFORE THAT it was Victoria Station which was AWESOME. BRING BACK VICTORIA STATION AND FUNG LUMS!

[Halloween Blues]

It was a Chicken Run maze?

[DTH316]

A Marvel RESTAURANT? Jesus, that sounds like the most awesome idea ever. Did Spiderman sling down from a building to give patrons food? Man, I wish I could've seen that! lol

[electro_killer]

I remember Marvel Mania. It was an awesome restaurant! What was Victoria Station?

[Grindhousehero13]

And Hulk just smashed your dishes when you were done

[Trevler]

A restaurant.

[electro_killer]

A restaurant.

Oh wow, the furthest back I can remember was Marvel Mania.

[DTH316]

Halloween Blues - Yes, it was a Chicken Run maze based off the films by the guys who made Wallace and Gromit.

And then it was a Grinch maze for the first Whobulation or whatever they call it.

The Grinch maze was awesome as it had actual sets and props from the film in it.

And then at the end, you got to meet the Grinch.

There was also secret passageways only kids could go through while the adults had to take an alternate route.

[electro_killer]

wasnt the secret route true for The Mummy as well? I remember someone telling me that.

[DTH316]

Yes, there were child routes for The Mummy also.

They stopped all that with Van Helsing though, if I remember correctly.

[Havoc]

Just to clear it up a bit, Vampyre is an older spelling derived from Latin Vampyrus. It makes sense to use that spelling considering the old castle setting of HOH.

[DTH316]

Yeah, we know Havoc, we covered that a little while ago lol

[DTH316]

Any new news on this? Or is this just one of those things where nobody cares?

That's the problem with original mazes; in comparison to movie properties, people just FORGET about the original ideas.

I don't think this maze will at all be a success; that's just my gut feeling. It'll be crowded for the first 2 hours because it's the first maze and then have no line for the rest of the night.