Halloween Horror Nights 23 Wishful Thinking

[Iwrestledabearonce]

Harlem Shake is only 30 seconds long lol I wonder if they will make it last longer for Bill and Ted.

Gangnam Style was like 4 and a half and was like 5 seconds in the show...thats about all the harlem parkinsons I can take, lol

[Dr. D]

Harlem Shake is only 30 seconds long lol I wonder if they will make it last longer for Bill and Ted.

Its an actual song. A little research goes a long way.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bk1_DbbzSdY

Edited February 24, 2013 by Dr. D

[TsunamiFox]

I was watching something that gave me a bit of wishful thinking. As a fan of traditional Halloween, it'd be cool to see a Coven based house. It doesn't have to be adapted exactly from the scarezone, but something along the lines or that general idea would be neat if done right.

[LV-426]

Its an actual song. A little research goes a long way.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bk1_DbbzSdY

irrelevant, meme is 30 seconds long

I really doubt bill and ted will use it for longer than a minute maybe.

[TsunamiFox]

irrelevant, meme is 30 seconds long

I really doubt bill and ted will use it for longer than a minute maybe.

Yeah, I don't see them using it for more than 30 seconds at a time. I think the Harlem Shake will be one of the jokes that will occur every now and then in the show, like the Katniss' "I volunteer," joke which was said several times during the show, or the Madmen "You're fired," joke. I don't think every time it will happen it will be 30 seconds long, but just a few seconds to get some laughs out of people. The comedy of familiarity.

[mystiquephreeq]

Mr. Murdy has tweeted some more about the "Big Surprise Maze". It has a code name now.

Tweets:

HorrorNights: Gonna need to come up with a way to refer to the "Big Surprise Maze" as we move forward....can't just keep calling it Big Surprise Maze...

I guess we'll have to give it a code name after all....I'm gonna call this one "Trickster" Will explain more and perhaps drop a hint later..

@HorrorNights Hmmm....well this is the west coast...if means something different in Calispeak

Ignore the fact that he replied to himself. The poor man is sleep deprived and I sympathize with him.

Remember, we have no idea if this maze will be shared with Orlando.

[Aaronupsidasium]

All of us old timers seemed to love the first few Iconic years. Jack, Caretaker, Director, and Storyteller/Terra queen. I liken this to how strong the stories were and how well the houses melded into the overall theme. Last year was the most hodgepodge, thrown together event. If it weren't for the legions unifying the park it would have been laughable. But they still have zero relation to the houses.

Definitely using some selective memory there. The non-icon houses in 12 & 13 had nothing to do with the Caretaker or the Director. Even though I didn't go that year, 2009 looked like it had the most cohesive theme that wasn't fettered by executives, marketing, construction and real-world events. 6 houses were movie themed and the other two were created by Fangoria who are known for horror movies and make up.

As great as Tales of Terror is, that year was really a hodgepodge of different ideas made on the fly. The event looked awesome but doesn't make a whole lot of sense when you think about it.

[JDW]

How did tales of terror not meld? Every house worked towards the overall story and there was a fully immersive story to tie them all together with little sub stories for each.

I don't expect everything to jive perfectly (even though in a perfect world they should). But I do expect more than "Hey here is a marketing ploy to make us more popular with the uninitiated."

[mystiquephreeq]

How did tales of terror not meld? Every house worked towards the overall story and there was a fully immersive story to tie them all together with little sub stories for each.

I don't expect everything to jive perfectly (even though in a perfect world they should). But I do expect more than "Hey here is a marketing ploy to make us more popular with the uninitiated."

Have to agree. Each house and scarezone was a location inside of an alternate reality world. The whole event took place in Terra Cruentas. That's a very big tie in. Even when Elsa was foisted upon them, they at least had her telling the tale of Terra Cruentas which kept theming intact.

[Aaronupsidasium]

Have to agree. Each house and scarezone was a location inside of an alternate reality world. The whole event took place in Terra Cruentas. That's a very big tie in. Even when Elsa was foisted upon them, they at least had her telling the tale of Terra Cruentas which kept theming intact.

Na Uh.

Cold Blind Terror, Where Evil Hides and even the Storyteller had nothing to do with Terra Cruentas.

Having listened to lot of inside information the original theme was "darkness" when most of the houses were designed. Then the executives canned that idea and A&D melded some From Dusk Till Dawn and Lord of the Rings esque characters to the event. I have no objections to the fact that the event was amazing but the assertion that it was completely thought out by A&D is completely false.

The houses in 2005 were not a story. They were vaguely a through-line, not to hate on the creators since they had created the houses with a different theme, but to hold future events to that standard is ridiculous.

Granted i would love to go to a Terra Cruentas event and think they could tell a real story through all the houses.

[Ande]

It seems many don't want to see another IP house at this years evert. Disregarding the persecution IP houses get, I really think they should have one and no more then one IP house.

I don't know how popular the movie "the crazies" is but it would fit the zombie apocalypse. I know we had TWD last year and it might be repetitive to have these back to back but you never know.

[Ecto_Freak]

I just have a bad feeling were share a lot of the same stuff with Hollywood this year. Sadly there is nothing we can do about it if it does happen.. Hopefully there a little more organized then last year and don't do stuff the last minute (One can dream). So if were sharing events again, then I see Orlando using IP's again... Only time well tell (IMO both coast dont need A LOT of IP's cause at this point ppl well go no matter what the houses are).

[Legacy]

Cold Blind Terror, Where Evil Hides and even the Storyteller had nothing to do with Terra Cruentas.

The houses in 2005 were not a story. They were vaguely a through-line, not to hate on the creators since they had created the houses with a different theme, but to hold future events to that standard is ridiculous.

The bold part nails it. The concept of a alternate reality/world with a consistant stories plays well, but objectively Terra Cruentes was obviously patchworked together. A vampire tavern, a ghostly school-house, a torture church and body harvesters don't really line up when you look at the "narrative" in a truly objective way. I totally get what they were trying to do, and I fully admire the ambition. But the fact that they created the canon around the houses they had decided on was fairly obvious.

[JDW]

I don't care if it was patch worked together. They built a narrative that included them all in the universe. That was the only point I was trying to get across is that they attempted to meld everything into a cohesive story rather than slap a bunch of completely unrelated (and well know) properties together with no reason why they were there other than its a Halloween event. That and that a Icon tends to help solidify and sell a theme.

I honestly don't think its asking to much. It was what sharpened my interest in the event after they started waning in 1999. Any rink dink haunt can have a collection of houses that don't make sense together. I like that they, at least attempt, to have a unifying theme for the whole event. If it is a stretch at times well I understand based on the fact that things never turn out 100% of what you planned and the designers don't have the ultimate say in it.

I just felt TWD, Silent Hill, Alice Cooper, and Penn & Teller were a cheap ploy to draw more public interest to an event that was bursting at the seams and to also sell more generic, non-event related merchandise. As Charles said though, the synchronization with Hollywood's haunt model seems inevitable this year. I just hope there is more cohesion and that the IPs they choose are a better representation of Horror and Halloween in general.

[Ecto_Freak]

IMO HHN 15 had a better story line then HHN 18... What made HHN 18 was that TJ and Rick took a one page backstory to an icon and turn it into many pages through LT.

Edited February 27, 2013 by DesigningtheFear

[mystiquephreeq]

I find this discussion fascinating.

I find what they did brilliant. An alternate reality is the perfect back drop to tie in widely different themes into one cohesive element. An alternate world would not be a monotone, simplistic, and conformed. A convincing alternate reality would have a multitude of regions, designs, lay outs, mythologies, ideologies, and creatures. To have a consistent look to the regions, a consistent creature look, the same beliefs and rituals would make an AR wholly unconvincing.

Thematically speaking, to explore a world one would need to experience the variety of legends and mythos the world has to offer.

With what they had originally wanted and then what they had to create to replace it, it was well done and kept the cohesion.

If you were to create an event with an overarching theme (such as an alternate reality), how would you do it? What is your idea of an overarching theme that won't limit the varieties and differences needed at a haunted event? How would you overcome your creativity being hampered and controlled by others?

Again with what they had, they did a beautiful job of trying to tie everything together.

EDIT: hoping this discussion brings forth some wishful thinking creativity.

What cohesive event theme would you want to see? How would you like A&D to theme an event and bring everything together.

Edited February 27, 2013 by mystiquephreeq

[Legacy]

I find this discussion fascinating.

If you were to create an event with an overarching theme (such as an alternate reality), how would you do it? What is your idea of an overarching theme that won't limit the varieties and differences needed at a haunted event? How would you overcome your creativity being hampered and controlled by others?

Dangerous requests, Heather.

An AR event I initially developed (way back in 2002, to be honest), was focused around a character running for political office in Orlando. All marketing would be based around the concept that this character was utilizing HHN as a political strategy to reach out to locals for the upcoming election. An added complication, however, was that he was actually a demon trying to rise to power (look at Al Pacino in Devil's Advocate for an idea).

What's important, however, is that was previously the mayor of a fictional city where he declared martial law. He used funds to imprison detractors, practice cyber-genetic enhancements for his police force, brain-washing etc. When the city imploded on itself, he went into hiding. He is now back and wants Orlando.

Because of his history, however, there is a rebelling faction trying to disrupt his entire event. This story would be told by "hacking" commercials and websites, as well as viral/ARG type stuff. Each evening would have culminated with a "political rally" show, where the rebelling faction attacks, the politician reveals his true form, and then riot police show up to do a classic "chase" out of the park.

It was envisioned for the Studios, long before all this weird constructon botched the initial design. But essentially, the park would be divided into three areas: The Politician's Camp (New York/San Fran), The Rebel Faction (Hollywood/Central Park), No-Man's Land (Everywhere else). Scares would be progressive throughout the night, as scareactors would become more and more zealous about their respective sides. Ideally, even Food/Retail would begin picking sides (donning a pin for their area, that you could pick up) and they could "refuse" service if you vocally favored their opposing side. No-Man's Land would be filled with the cyber-genetic police force and rebel militia.

Now, this was back when the number of houses was total number of houses were lower. Four firm ideas I had were a soundstage, double-run house going through the City the politician previously ran (now a dystopian nightmare), a house going through the Rebel training facility (now suitable for Parade), a house going through the Politician's "Cam-PAIN" head-quarters (initially concieved for Earthquake), and then a house going through one of the Politician's "Detention Centers" (where the cyber-genetic experiments would take place).

An event like this has no chance of happening now, though.

That's why I was toying with a sequel to Terra Cruentes that's inspired by Game of Thrones where the IoA is divided in half, the Terra Princess rules the "south" (now a developed, steam-punk-inspired city), Eelmouth's proginee rules the "north" with a religious cult-like manner, and a ice-zombie army prepares to invade from the borderland's (a nod to Cold Blind Terror).

[JDW]

Love the idea Heather!

A world where another dimension has converged with ours and humanity vainly fights for survival.

It's not a new concept (i.e. The Mist, Half-Life, Gears of War, etc.)

But, as far as i know, it's never been done in a theme park.

Also, typically the aliens, demons, or monster always teleport into our world. As a twist either humans are transported into their world and we are the hapless "invaders" fighting for our lives in a savage alien world... or have the dimensions transpose... so you have both worlds completely fused with both alien and human elements.

As an Icon you could have a antihero who has arisen as the unwilling leader of the human faction. He forces the humans to battle and servitude, under penalty of death, thus entrenching the opposing faction against humanity forever in a battle to the death.

The "aliens", could be Cthulhu-like tentacle monsters, to demon-like creatures, spirits, or literally anything and each house could be a mix of human and monster from all points of the now mashed up universe. You could have Adventure-like qualities, horror, etc. the beauty of it is its a fused world so anywhere is a viable option and any theme so long as it fits with the underlying dimension convergence.

[boogeyman13]

I'm generally not super excited about IP houses, but I feel if they're going to do IP's, then bring them into the mythos of the event and make it the focus.

I mentioned this last year, but with it actually being 100 years of Universal horror now, I wouldn't mind a fully Universal-themed IP event. The vault has been opened, and a century's worth of monsters, creatures, slashers, and other bogeymen have invaded the park. Separate areas of the park have been taken over by different legions. For example, the Universal Monsters could be a scare region encompassing Hollywood (region, meaning they can roam wherever they want within that section of the park). And split up other character groups like that. Houses are tears between our world and the world of film, and would be centered around different well known franchises (House of Frankenstein, Chucky's Toy Shoppe, Bloody Bay featuring Jaws, Psycho: Mother's Return, etc.)

The icon would be the personification of all that celluloid evil. As a Vaultkeeper of sorts, it can take on twisted versions of Universal's greatest horror icons, so that no matter what you fear, it will scare you. And that fear is what gives it it's power, and allows it to turn the nightmares of film into flesh and blood. By making it a shapeshifter, you can give it the role filled by the Iniquitus last year. Each group would have their own version for photo ops and theming.

If we were to get an IP year, this is what would make me excited. The event now fits into the setting of the park, gives it a cohesive theme, makes it very easy to market to the gp, provides a story (i.e. something LT can dive into), and still gives A&D some freedom to play, since it's homegrown properties (instead of NLC's camp or TWD).

EDIT: On a side note, this would also be a perfect event for Universal to prominently bring back Midnight Syndicate, as they have a new album coming this summer that's all about the classic silent horror films, as well as Universal and Hammer.

[General Specific]

Allowing for the houses to use whichever licensed properties are available, if I put my thinking cap on for the streets of HHN 23, I would utilize the 23 enigma, especially as it ties into the works of Lovecraft, Anton Wilson, Shea, and Koestler. Roaming hordes would continue (save for one group), and would preferrably have 25-30 actors.

The Illuminated Ones; Veiled in light and shadow, these scholars intend to bring to light the ancient truths hidden from humanity for millenia (only non-moving horde, located on the corner between Production Central and Hollywood).

Discordia: Beautiful women, but bringers of chaos and disorder before the Dark Times.

Coinchennien: Inhuman beasts from beneath the sea, angered as if an ancient sleep had been interrupted...

Denizens of S'glhuo: A demonic host known to carry various weapons, utilized to appear as though made of living sound.

The Lupine of Ngirrth’lu: Unremarkable humans prior to the acts of The Illuminated Ones, the prescence of The Discordia has caused their metamorphosis into a pack of wolflike hunters.

[TsunamiFox]

EDIT: On a side note, this would also be a perfect event for Universal to prominently bring back Midnight Syndicate, as they have a new album coming this summer that's all about the classic silent horror films, as well as Universal and Hammer.

That album sounds like it will kick some serious ass! And I'd love for Midnight Syndicate to return to the event as well, and also the website.

-----

As far as an overarching theme that I would enjoy would be traditional-Halloween based. There's a myriad of things that could be done, much of which I have mentioned so I'll spare the specific details. Now because these are my ideas and my own theme, I'd of course have 8 houses. Now to me, 2 IPs are perfectly fine in an 8 house event, but no more. There's plenty of IPs that could fit the traditional theme, my personal favorite would be the Halloween franchise. I know Hollywood did this a couple years ago; I'm not sure how well it went or if it translated well, but Michael Myers is my favorite killer and the Halloween movies are my favorite horror movie franchise, so I'd love it...if done well obviously.

[traveller]

"As far as an overarching theme that I would enjoy would be traditional-Halloween based"

Thats what I would like to see, something along how the Celts believe that on Oct. 31st the

wall that seperates us from the spirit world was combined allowing them to visit. There is

alot of stories that could be used, A ancient halloween theme in a modern time.

[mystiquephreeq]

News regarding the house code name Trickster.

Murdy has confirmed Trickster is Hollywood only.

Murdy also stated he cannot say if the parks will share any mazes.

If I get I chance I will try to write up my overarching theme.

[Ecto_Freak]

I LOVE overarching themes but I really think we wont see them again at HHN... Hell they never finished Roddy's 3yr arch.

However, I've been wrong before.. Who knows maybe they well come back but I dont see that happening.

[Aaronupsidasium]

I would love to see another Terra Curentas event especially if it was created from the ground up with individual houses that told a broader story. While Tales of Terror was heavily "suggested" by Lord of the Rings, they could borrow some themes and ideas from Game of Thrones. I'm still surprised none of the parks did a Hunger Games knock off house. Not that the Hunger Games is entirely original to begin with.

Tales of Terror was broke a lot of ground but saying it really told a story is incorrect.