HHN XXI Speculation

[Guest FL Universal Jax]

I was one who had believed that HHN would never return to IOA, but last year I learned from the guys at A&D that they do in fact continue to look at IOA for future events. When the time is right, when the overall concept fits, HHN will someday return to IOA.

I second that Dr. Jimmy. I too learned about IOA at the VIP sessions as well. I think we will see a return to IOA when two things occur. First, the theme permits. Second, general attendance and profits begin dipping from when the event occurs at Universal.

Does anyone remember hearing about why the event was originally moved to IOA for 2002? One was because the theme, but the other was because the A&D/Marketing team felt that it would renew the interest of the public and increase ticket sales and attendance. It turns out, that IOA was extremely successfully that year. Not only was the event well received, but Universal felt that the public’s interest had indeed been renewed. Thus we were able to experience IOA and HHN for several years. I think the same will be true when IOA is used again.

However, that being said, I personally don’t feel like the time is right for IOA to be used once again. For starters, to the best of my knowledge, ticket sales are where they should be and the general public still has interest each year in attending HHN. Of course, the ticket sales statement is not official, I just know what I hear from everyone else at Universal.

[LV-426]

I second that Dr. Jimmy. I too learned about IOA at the VIP sessions as well. I think we will see a return to IOA when two things occur. First, the theme permits. Second, general attendance and profits begin dipping from when the event occurs at Universal.

Does anyone remember hearing about why the event was originally moved to IOA for 2002? One was because the theme, but the other was because the A&D/Marketing team felt that it would renew the interest of the public and increase ticket sales and attendance. It turns out, that IOA was extremely successfully that year. Not only was the event well received, but Universal felt that the public’s interest had indeed been renewed. Thus we were able to experience IOA and HHN for several years. I think the same will be true when IOA is used again.

However, that being said, I personally don’t feel like the time is right for IOA to be used once again. For starters, to the best of my knowledge, ticket sales are where they should be and the general public still has interest each year in attending HHN. Of course, the ticket sales statement is not official, I just know what I hear from everyone else at Universal.

Very interesting,

I guess there is hope, if crowds start to get smaller at the studios, that makes sense, I always heard from everyone that it was a space issue, that the big crowds of HHN were better handled at the studios, but like I said, I find it somewhat sad and ironic that IOA was the birth of the icons, and seems like really good years were done over there, but they won't do at least one year at IOA again, I mean, I can understand that studios is better but I wish they did it at least one more year, or at least every 6-7 years, do one year at IOA, we'll see

[Goo]

I personally can't wait to see HHN back in IOA. I missed 2005, so I never got to experience it. In my opinion, 2005s event wouldn't have worked very well over at Uni if you think about it. I feel like IOA has the ability to be extremely immersive, with it's narrower streets and windier paths. Especially with the Jurassic Park area. These things make great scare zones. Though I never really looked into where 8 houses would go...

[traveller]

If they do ,I belive it will be just part of IOA not the whole park. PoE,MSHI,TL.

They could have a show(B&T) at toon theater again. A interactive show

at POE(terra queen). The hulk ,spiderman, open and to keep it halloweenie

a good scarezone starting at the end of the bridge moving towards spiderman.

Like whats been said , I don't see it happening anytime soon.

Edited March 8, 2011 by traveller

[LuitaChris]

HHN at IOA in 02 was my first ever year attending and I have been attending every year since. Their thinking is right and it worked with me.... Get them in and they will keep coming back.

[LV-426]

I personally can't wait to see HHN back in IOA. I missed 2005, so I never got to experience it. In my opinion, 2005s event wouldn't have worked very well over at Uni if you think about it. I feel like IOA has the ability to be extremely immersive, with it's narrower streets and windier paths. Especially with the Jurassic Park area. These things make great scare zones. Though I never really looked into where 8 houses would go...

yeah, I look at pictures and videos of the years at IOA and, it just, looks so amazing, the studios works for HHN and is great, but, I really wish i could have seen HHN at IOA at least once,

or in both parks again,

but, again you're right, where would the 8 houses go?

[Lambier]

Yeah i dont think they'll bring HHN back to IOA until they can figure out what to do with all the space they CAN'T use. Unless they wanna do another cross over year (using both UO and IOA at the same time.)

Then again, they could be using IOA as a back up. Maybe they figure when the crowds start thining out at Universal, maybe they'll swap it back over for a while to get ppl amped up. It's not a bad idea, if you ask me.

I just wonder what they would do without being able to use WWOHP and Suess Landing. Hm...

[Dr. Jimmy]

yeah, I look at pictures and videos of the years at IOA and, it just, looks so amazing, the studios works for HHN and is great, but, I really wish i could have seen HHN at IOA at least once,

or in both parks again,

but, again you're right, where would the 8 houses go?

1. in Carnage warehouse

2. in Popeye queue area

3. in Thunder Falls Terrace

4. in Jurassic Park outdoors using Triceratops Encounter area

5. in Jurassic park Discovery Center

6. in Poseidon's Fury

7 & 8. in the Soundstages

They could in fact have three houses in the Soundstages as they usually do and thus have 9 houses!!!

So there is no problem for the amount of houses at IOA.

[Goo]

I never thought about that! I wonder if they'd have a problem with theming the harry potter area, though.

[Lambier]

If I remember correctly, JK Rowling said she didnt want them to use it, but they could always use it in the ways they've used Suess Landing in the past. Like, not make it really scary but still Halloween-it up for the event.

[Legacy]

1. in Carnage warehouse

2. in Popeye queue area

3. in Thunder Falls Terrace

4. in Jurassic Park outdoors using Triceratops Encounter area

5. in Jurassic park Discovery Center

6. in Poseidon's Fury

7 & 8. in the Soundstages

They could in fact have three houses in the Soundstages as they usually do and thus have 9 houses!!!

So there is no problem for the amount of houses at IOA.

I don't think they would use Poseidon's Fury unless they had to. The layout and theme of the attraction severely limits what can be done (Terror Mines worked because the building is already themed to caves), and that's only if the building survives WWoHP Phase 2.

Triceratops Encounter held one of the few moments I was actually scared in a HHN House (Jungle of Doom, actually), and I have always loved what they did with JP Evilution. That said though, I think A&D learned how risky having a house there was after the really bad storms would come through and shut the house down for most of the night. Personally, I think they should build another warehouse behind Mt. Crumpet (near where Harvest of Souls was) and have it's entrance on the other side of 1 Fish, 2 Fish.

Getting eight houses wouldn't be a problem, but I would love to see a layout similar to 2004 with New York and the main plaza being open on Studios side along with the full Islands. Use PoE, MSHI, Toon, JP, Backlot (think Fright Yard), New York, Sting Alley, Shrek Alley, Blvd of Stars and even the Breezeway. House locations would be Marvel warehouse, Discovery Center, Thunder Falls (if needed), Triceratops Encounter (if needed) 2-4 in soundstages, Earthquake (enter/exit near Beetlejuice/New York), Nazerman's (let's go old school), and even Herc/Xena if it's even usable. Get enough of both parks to make it fun, the only bad thing is that hike from Lost Continent to New York.

[Lambier]

I know it's a little off topic but.....WWOHP phase 2? They're adding more?

and yeah-I would rather have it in both parks than just IOA. I wouldnt mind the hike :]

[AaronPaHHNFan]

I was at 13 which was at IOA and that is the event that got me hooked. I wouldn't mind another year being there but what I really want to see is both parks used. I didn't get to go the year they used parts of both and really want to experience it. To me it seems like it would be the best of both worlds so to speak.

[Mae]

What I find ironic is that the islands were kind of the birth place for most of the icons, and was held there for more than a couple of years, but, It looks like HHN will never be at the Islands again, specially with Potter not being able to be used,

Weeelll.....3 major players and 1 minor player in each.

The best part of HHN at IOA was the textural differences in the locations of the houses. Poseidon's Fury was an awesome house location and I liked the Ripsaw Falls queue for Ship of Screams (I didn't get to see ST2). There were so many little differences that were just neat when you were used to the old park.

Mae

[Kenny]

This is a noobish post but i dont know much about when they used both parks but in that hike between parks couldnt they just put another scare zone either way both parks sounds like a cool idea to me.

[Lambier]

Nah Kenny there's no such thing as noobish questions....well....there is.......but trust me, that's not the worse we've seen. If you came in here to ask WHAT HHN was, that would be noobish lol

While I'm not 100% sure, since I didnt have the good fortune to attend the event back then, I believe that there were scarezones in between the parks the year we had it in both parks. (Somebody jog my memory: wasn't field of screams located there? And another one too? Harvest of souls maybe? I'm having a brain fart; somebody back me up here! lol)

[Legacy]

Fright Yard in 2004 was on the backlot.

[JDW]

Nah Kenny there's no such thing as noobish questions....well....there is.......but trust me, that's not the worse we've seen. If you came in here to ask WHAT HHN was, that would be noobish lol

While I'm not 100% sure, since I didnt have the good fortune to attend the event back then, I believe that there were scarezones in between the parks the year we had it in both parks. (Somebody jog my memory: wasn't field of screams located there? And another one too? Harvest of souls maybe? I'm having a brain fart; somebody back me up here! lol)

Field of Screams was. Harvest of Souls was located where the pumpkins are typically now. Jack's rat race was back there at HHN 15. In a way I like the trek behind the scenes... in other ways I don't. There is never really any real theme in the backlots. Sure they had one of those air sock guys, some spinning lights, and some fog one year... But that does not a theme make

I liked the Ripsaw Falls queue for Ship of Screams (I didn't get to see ST2).

ST2 was in the queue for Bluto's Bilge Rats.

Edited March 9, 2011 by JWFearman

[BruinsFan]

Getting eight houses wouldn't be a problem, but I would love to see a layout similar to 2004 with New York and the main plaza being open on Studios side along with the full Islands. Use PoE, MSHI, Toon, JP, Backlot (think Fright Yard), New York, Sting Alley, Shrek Alley, Blvd of Stars and even the Breezeway. House locations would be Marvel warehouse, Discovery Center, Thunder Falls (if needed), Triceratops Encounter (if needed) 2-4 in soundstages, Earthquake (enter/exit near Beetlejuice/New York), Nazerman's (let's go old school), and even Herc/Xena if it's even usable. Get enough of both parks to make it fun, the only bad thing is that hike from Lost Continent to New York.

Everyone would need to rent an ECV with this layout.

[Lambier]

lol very true JWFearman! A fog machine and eerie lighting does not a scarezone make hah

That area just always seemed like it has so much potential. I remember a few years ago, when I was there for Grad Bash and they ushered us between the parks, I thought how cool of a scarezone it could make. This was before, obviously, I knew mych of anything about HHN lol

[Mae]

Field of Screams was. Harvest of Souls was located where the pumpkins are typically now. Jack's rat race was back there at HHN 15. In a way I like the trek behind the scenes... in other ways I don't. There is never really any real theme in the backlots. Sure they had one of those air sock guys, some spinning lights, and some fog one year... But that does not a theme make

ST2 was in the queue for Bluto's Bilge Rats.

I loved those extra large scarezones, but I confess to only seeing Field of Screams and Fright Yard in 04. In 05 Jack's Rat Race was closed due to inclement weather (Hurricane Wanda), more's the pity. I loved loved LOVED the 'tunnel' in 2004. It was only lighting and fog, but it was spooky and when the cast changes went through it was a completely unique experience. You never knew what was happening in there.

The more I think about it,the more there seems to be a lot of interesting places USO could use for scaring that go to waste.

I'm still bitter about missing 2002. Between that, 2004 Howloscream lost to Jeanne, and HHN 15 to Wanda in 2005, I missed too much and now it is a moral imperative to go multiple times a year. I've bought FFPs religiously since then.

Mae

[Legacy]

Everyone would need to rent an ECV with this layout.

That's pretty much how they did it in 2004, so there is precedent for it. The worse part was the trek from Lost Continent (around the back of Poiseidon) to the soundstage parking where Fright Yard was. It was a whole lot of nothing, except a lone barker on an old InGen vehicle insulting people.

[BruinsFan]

That's pretty much how they did it in 2004, so there is precedent for it. The worse part was the trek from Lost Continent (around the back of Poiseidon) to the soundstage parking where Fright Yard was. It was a whole lot of nothing, except a lone barker on an old InGen vehicle insulting people.

Oh, I was there in 2004 and the walking back and forth was very tiresome. At least Disorientorium made it a little easier in deciding not to make the ridiculous trek, especially if you'd already seen B&T.

In the layout you described, I was commenting on adding TL and JP to that already horrible hike.

[Dr. Jimmy]

That's pretty much how they did it in 2004, so there is precedent for it. The worse part was the trek from Lost Continent (around the back of Poiseidon) to the soundstage parking where Fright Yard was. It was a whole lot of nothing, except a lone barker on an old InGen vehicle insulting people.

I loved that guy! Damn I had forgot all about him when I did my Horror Nights history videos for HHN 14.

[Legacy]

I loved that guy! Damn I had forgot all about him when I did my Horror Nights history videos for HHN 14.

The barker was awesome.

What I would love to see Uni do is a variation on Hollywood's Terror Tram. They could load behind Lost Continent and drop between Jaws and Earthquake (essentially the route the Employee shuttle runs backstage). If they did that, with the SZ on the Backlot, it would allow guest to walk or wait and ride, and it would become one more crowd-soak.