The Walking Dead : No Safe Haven

[LV-426]

I was a walker in Hollywoods event last year and we weren't given any limitations in terms of how intense our scares could be. Yes, we couldn't talk obviously and couldn't run, but we could lunge at guests very intensely, etc... So I really doubt AMC would be limiting what Orlando's actors could do if we weren't given any restrictions here in Hollywood.

It has been mentioned here in the past. I remember seeing it at least more than once last year. I can't find the exact posts but I remember people talking about this.

[Arsik_22]

It has been mentioned here in the past. I remember seeing it at least more than once last year. I can't find the exact posts but I remember people talking about this.

Then that really sucks... Still doesn't make sense though. Lol

[LV-426]

Then that really sucks... Still doesn't make sense though. Lol

I did notice that the actors seemed to have more freedom and acted a little more aggressive in videos of the Hollywood Event. (I Know those are only videos and I wasn't there personally...)

But from what I saw, yeah there was a big difference.

[Dr. Jimmy]

As for Woodbury, what we really need in the house are fishtanks filled with snapping heads.

[Goo]

I'm curious to see how this house is lit. It's really dark in the show from what I remember. Do you think the helmets could possibly return? That might be really cool. Also, is the house just the prison or is it gonna go through the little town as well?

EDIT: I answered my own question.

Edited July 31, 2013 by Goo

[somebody85]

I can't wait for this, but I do wish it was in one of the sound stages instead. The Parade building is great but I'm not sure they can actually build the facade for the prison inside. From all the articles I've read it starts in Woodbury and you get to walk through the "Walker Fighting Arena", "Governors Room" and probably a few other places before heading into the prison. This is where I'm not sure how they'll do the transition since those guard towers are tall in the prison entrance (just look at Comic Con). I'm hoping you just don't end up in a prison block or the courtyard from Woodbury without the guardtower, fences, etc. I had no clue that the scene last year was supposed to be in Atlanta on the roof until reading reviews later.

The transition can be much smoother if they really pull it off. Woodbury - Woods - Prison is how it should logically progress.

Things I'm hoping for from this house that could make or break it:

The Woodbury Facade - I hope they go all out with it and reconstruct the entrance. Surround the area below with broken down cars and have residents on the roof of the door shooting walkers standing about. This would be similar to how Silent Hill was done at the entrance last year with the cop who would show up and shoot the scareactor before you started progressing through the house.

Incorporate characters from the show in the house - This is a big if, and out of all the articles/press releases I've read none really indicate this happening but do mention "Survivors". I guess we'll see, but I think it would make a world of difference if I saw actors playing Rick, Daryl, The Governor, Glen, etc in this if AMC lets up on the restrictions rather than just throwing random props around that hints they were there. They can even be a mannequin like at Comic Con. That would make this is a much more immerse experience and really feel like I'm walking into the show. If Evil Dead's producers will let go of the rights of their characters this year and you saw the lead girl from The Thing in the remake house..this shouldn't be as big an issue as it is.This also opens up huge marketing opportunities for merchandise featuring the likeness of these characters for the event.

If you can't use characters, at least place regular survivors fighting back inside - This is a major element lacking last year, and took away any urgency the original house could have had. The scareactors playing walkers might not be able to do much to attack guests but they can attack scareactors playing survivors. This opens up the door for other scares as guests are engrossed in the scenes of people fighting walkers and don't see a "boo" coming from a walker that's suddenly in your face. This was once again done to a level in both The Thing houses. Add more scenes of Walkers eating humans (like Hollywood's house last year) but make it more gory (aka The Body Collectors). This would be way true to the show which definitely doesn't skimp on the gore.

Incorporate the music from the show into the house - A lot of people have commented how good the score was for this season, and I really hope Universal takes note and uses it. It would be awesome to walk to the entrance with the main theme playing and fading out as you head into the house (aka Nightmare On Elm St: Dreamwalkers) rather then just being used as an advertisement for the show in the que. The music that should really come into play is the score that started at the end of the first half of Season 3 (The Pulse: listen below) and has a huge sense of urgency to it. Adding that to a scene in the prison tombs would do wonders for this house. Imagine walking through a dark corridor with that blaring! You probably wouldn't want to stick around for long or have a huge grin on your face lol.

Build the outside of the prison with maybe a guard tower to transition from Woodbury (if it's not part of the que): I'm not sure if this can be done inside the parade building but it definitely should if it can be. I know Murdy said they are building the prison in Hollywood but A&D hasn't really mentioned much about it. It would be a shame if they got it and we didn't with how much of Orlando's event is based on the show. I guess we'll see but this could make for some more really cool scenes before actually entering the prison itself. And once again the setup was at Comic Con this year.

Use more makeup and practical effects for the Walkers instead of masks - This was a major complaint with people last year, and with the change in venue they should be able to fix it at least for the house (with it being completely inside). Hollywood had a mixture of both makeup and masks, so there's really no reason Orlando can't do it especially with no other legions to worry about this year. *I hope rain is not as big a factor this year either, like it was last regarding the street experience*. If they must use masks everywhere, make them closer to the show and don't reuse the same ones from last year. The event should have made more then enough money not to have to recycle them. If they do, that's just really cheap especially regarding the number one property at the event.

Add more sound effects and FX then last year: Last year the only time you really heard any real sound effect was in the RV. Unlike Hollywood last year our "Don't Open, Dead Inside" door didn't move. Make sure gunfire is heard when a survivor is fighting a walker. I know Murdy has commented about a lot of FX planned for this house so I hope it's used here in Orlando too. It would be awesome to hear Rick or one of the characters from the show when in the prison. I know they're doing the phone scene with Lori but I don't think we are. Still hearing a characters voice would make this an even more immerse experience.

I guess we'll see how it goes but hope Hollywood's house isn't better again. There is a lot of potential for this house to be much more then it was last year and I know A&D heard the complaints from regular HHN customers. I hope this will allow AMC to let up on the restrictions as the event this year is pretty much a walking advertisement for their show (pun intended). Everything I mentioned except maybe the Prison facade and use of the characters should be able to be done. But I'm excited to see what ideas A&D have in store!
Edited August 1, 2013 by somebody85

[JDW]

very well thought out. i immediately thought the outside of the parade building would easily become a prison.

As for Hollywood's being better. i had heard, until just recently, the house was going to be the exact same house as last year. But looks like it wil change now.

[somebody85]

very well thought out. i immediately thought the outside of the parade building would easily become a prison.

As for Hollywood's being better. i had heard, until just recently, the house was going to be the exact same house as last year. But looks like it wil change now.

Thank you!

Yeah I was hoping this too, but from everything I read we start out in Woodbury. If this is a facade, it should be easy to pull off but I would way rather see the prison over it. I wasn't sure if they could construct the prison courtyard, guardtower, fence, etc in the middle of the parade building (or would be willing too)..unless Woodbury is outside before you walk in, but I don't see that happening.

Yeah I heard that about Hollywood. Murdy said they are building a huge prison so it's definitely a new house.

Edited August 1, 2013 by somebody85

[LuitaChris]

Very well thought out. I think using the soundtrack would add so much to this house and is a great idea. I think building at least one guard tower inside is possible and should be done. I just remember the Foresaken and how tall some of the sets were. No reason it couldn't happen.

[Goo]

I think it should start in the prison for some reason.. Then the woods, then woodbury. I feel like the facade for the prison is a little bigger? It'd be cool if they built it outside and had fences around the queue line and bodies and debris on the ground. I think it would even last long enough with the weather in florida. It'd save space, give room for the woods and second facade too, as well as set the mood I think.

Who knows. We've only had one facade that was outside in that location, Scary Tales, and it was a 2D Cutout look.

Edited August 1, 2013 by Goo

[JDW]

based on the show progression. Woodbury as a start is a little weird.

[Just Jeff]

I think it should start in the prison for some reason.. Then the woods, then woodbury. I feel like the facade for the prison is a little bigger? It'd be cool if they built it outside and had fences around the queue line and bodies and debris on the ground. I think it would even last long enough with the weather in florida. It'd save space, give room for the woods and second facade too, as well as set the mood I think.

Who knows. We've only had one facade that was outside in that location, Scary Tales, and it was a 2D Cutout look.

I agree. I think it would flow a lot better with it starting with the prison first. Anyways the prison was first in the show, then Woodbury was introduced later. And I agree, they can make the queue area around the outside of Parade building easily look like a yard outside one of the prison buildings in the show. I really hope they do some sort of facade on it at least. it looks very sad without something on it.

[AdmiralTyler]

I also want to see the Prison facade for this house. I know he probably can't answer this but I'm going to ask Mike Aiello on twitter and see if we will get one.

[Just Jeff]

I also want to see the Prison facade for this house. I know he probably can't answer this but I'm going to ask Mike Aiello on twitter and see if we will get one.

I asked earlier today about if there would be a facade on the Parade Building. He didn't respond to it though.

[AdmiralTyler]

I asked earlier today about if there would be a facade on the Parade Building. He didn't respond to it though.

Probably because he doesn't want to give the house location away. I asked if we were getting a façade or a prison set inside? He's probably in bed now so I expect him to answer (if he even does) tomorrow?

Edited August 2, 2013 by AdmiralTyler

[Just Jeff]

Haha, I just checked Twitter. Looks like her isn't giving up that facade secret.

[RockinSight]

Hey quick question. Is the facade and entrance going to be in the back like last year or will it be in the front like the past years? I know it was in the back for last minute reasons the previous year, but will we still enter through the back? I suddenly had that thought pop up and just became curious...

[blacklagoontaylor]

I think a prison start would be ideal because they could build up a facade easier outside or inside depending on the location. I went to Comic-Con this year and I think the way their mini-setup was would be a good idea for a facade with the fences on the outside. They also had a governor's room with the heads and whatnot, I am hoping for a real Penny and Governor however.

I post my link to flickr if anyone hasn't seen the setup at Comic-Con

http://www.flickr.com/photos/83403558@N02/

[somebody85]

I agree with everyone that the prison would be the ideal opening facade, but this is where I got it from guys. It was one of the press releases the day this was announced:

"At Universal Orlando, guests will enter the haunted house in Woodbury and head through the Prison for a "survivor's experience," Timon says. The theme park also decided that its "scare zones," the areas of the park where employees dressed up as "scaracters" will terrorize Halloween Horror Nights attendees, will be dedicated entirely to recreating iconic moments from "The Walking Dead" Season 1 and 2. The maze itself will feature some different scenes from the ones used at Hollywood, including the zombie gladiator arena from Season 3's midseason finale.

"We had the arena portion of Woodbury where you have to kind of, for lack of a better term, run the gauntlet of getting through the arena alive, so there will be some chained walkers there that you've got to be able to get past," Timon teases.

In Hollywood, guests will enter in the Prison and then head through Woodbury. Instead of using scare zones to expand "The Walking Dead" Halloween Horror Nights experience, Murdy is turning the Terror Tram into an extension of the haunted house. If being in the Halloween Horror Nights maze is like being in the Prison and Woodbury, then the Terror Tram will be like being outside of Woodbury's walls. Expect to see some human Woodbury scaracters there in addition to zombie ones."

Source:

http://blog.zap2it.com/pop2it/2013/07/the-walking-dead-season-3-coming-to-universal-halloween-horror-nights.html - also included more infornation about both houses.

Like blacklagoontaylor said it would be really easy to copy what they did at Comic Con. So if you do enter in Woodbury I hope we see this somewhere in the house. Because it would make no sense to enter the prison (see the facade) and be in Woodbury instead.

The flow should either be Woodbury - Woods - Prison or Prison - Woods - Woodbury (which would make a lot more sense but I kind of understand what A&D is going for). This would start off the house a bit calmer (and introduce survivors) before it gets crazy. Season 3 also ended in the prison not Woodbury. And if they do save the prison for the 3rd act of the house they can make that part the most intense as I'm sure we'll see the tombs there. This is where it would be perfect to utilize that "The Pulse" soundtrack as you try to escape. But leaving Woodbury couild be the same but there is only so many ideas that they can use aka The Governors Room, The Torture Chamber, and The Arena. Walking through those first and then into the woods leading to the prison could be perfect. Once again I'm excited to see what A&D does this year!

Either way would be way better then finishing into a que line like last year thats surrounded by fences with a few boo holes lol. It was supposed to be like the barn was on fire like the end of Season 2 but definitely didn't feel like it.

But yeah, I'm going to be disapointed if they don't utilize the music from Season 3. I know they can easily do it and have before for other IPs. It adds to the atmosphere so much more.

Edited August 2, 2013 by somebody85

[JDW]

weird choice seeing as Hollywood is Woodbury

[somebody85]

weird choice seeing as Hollywood is Woodbury

Yeah I agree unless they mean the area outside of the house will be designed to look like Woodbury.. but I'm not sure what he's implying by "enter the haunted house". The scenes mentioned in Woodbury would have to come at the very end if you went into the prison first unless this house is throwing transitions out the window (which I seriosuly doubt). If you enter the prison first, this would put you back outside of Woobury at the end into a possible scarezone with The Governors room being the last room of the actual house. I could easily see this with a scareactor Playing penny jumping at you while guests look at the fishtanks. That could be cool actually, but I'm not sure that is what he means.

Edit: That actually would be similar to the outside of TWD house last year where you ended up on the freeway from Season 2 so who knows. I don't know how easy it would be to reconstruct Woodbury outside of the house. But if he means you enter the house through Woodbury, they could easily do the same thing if you exit the "prison experience" instead, especially with the woods theme this year. Just fill the exit with a horde again like last time and add a few props to make it look like the area outside of the prison gates on the show.

Edited August 2, 2013 by somebody85

[JDW]

IDK I hope they don't waste the oppertunity to make and extremely easy and effective house entrance for the parade. I don't care if you start is Woodbury INSIDE. But c'mon the outside begs for a prison theme. Maybe even some walkers in the fenced area.

[somebody85]

IDK I hope they don't waste the oppertunity to make and extremely easy and effective house entrance for the parade. I don't care if you start is Woodbury INSIDE. But c'mon the outside begs for a prison theme. Maybe even some walkers in the fenced area.

I agree, but I hope it doesn't go from a prison facade into Woodbury. That just wouldn't make sense othen then to say you are entering The Walking Dead house ya know. The facade would just set up the theme not serve the actual story of the house. They could just throw in a bunch of random scenes at that point, instead of a smooth transition from locations.

I understand what you're saying though and agree that if this is the only way we'll get that facade, then I'm all for it. And I definitely think we'll see something. I'm guessing there is a reason this is in the Parade building away from the other studio houses, and that's so they can actually do something outside of the house where they could not with the studio houses due to the location of the que lines. I guess we'll see.

Edited August 2, 2013 by somebody85

[AdmiralTyler]

Well if our house starts in Woodbury, well then we need a Woodbury façade for the house. It would make the most sense in my opinion.

[somebody85]

Well if our house starts in Woodbury, well then we need a Woodbury façade for the house. It would make the most sense in my opinion.

If we had to choose between the two facades, I would way rather see the prison (especially with how easy it could be done) but if the house starts in Woodbury I agree (but not at the expense of not getting a prison facade at all).

I wrote how possible a Woodbury facade would be to do yesterday but I hope that if this is done, that there is some prison area in the middle of the house that is built like a facade before entering the cells/tombs with a guardtower, fences, etc. I'm hoping the Parade building would be tall enough to construct it if this is the direction A&D goes.

Logically it makes sense to have a Woodbury facade if that's where we start, but it is possible they'll build the outside like the prison and start from Woodbury in the house and just begin the story there. The transition could be sloppy from Woodbury to the prison if they don't put much thouight into it though, especially if the outside of the house is already built in that setting.

Last year the transition into the farm was the area containing the RV which took you outside and was one of the best scenes of the house, so if they do it I hope it's like that but better.

Edited August 2, 2013 by somebody85