Halloween Horror Nights 33 (UOR) - Construction

[Casper Gutman]

Fanta is the new Halloween. Embrace it. Fear it.


You underestimate how much can fit into that tent lol

That's not my concern, it's more a question as to why F&F had to be closed for HHN. If the queue is indeed involved, that makes more sense.

 

[Wesker69]

That's not my concern, it's more a question as to why F&F had to be closed for HHN.

Because nobody will miss it. Not even family.

 

[srbmarc]

Bioreconstruct photos showing the new queue area for the new tents.

The way the new tent queues are being set up makes me a little more optimistic about the walks not being as bad as it was for Bugs/Oddfellow. At least the entrances are on the close side of the tents!

 

[HHNObsession]

Judging by the article that was put out in Sahara Traders, I’m pretty sure the scaffolding was intended to be the finished product. I have a feeling some higher ups said, “Um, no!”

 

[UniversalRBLX]

Wow, what a mess. I wonder if it's pushback against the design or worries over how weather can impact it's integrity? You would think all these questions were asked and answered.

I just want to stress that I love this event and will be there on opening day and enjoy my time there, but I think it's fair to criticize a few decisions this year at the same time.

 

[TheCodeMan95]

I'm curious if they're worried that people would see the scaffolding and not realize that there's actually something there lol

 

[Wesker69]

I'm curious if they're worried that people would see the scaffolding and not realize that there's actually something there lol

Instant crowd control.

 

[Neo]

Or ome idiot was already caught trying to climb on it or something and they removed it over liability concerns.

 

[Lucky Planet]

I think that it looked pretty bad. and even without it, with the way the container is set up by blocking the entrance ( you have to enter by the side) the scaffolding definitely make it look like it was actual construction going on lol.
like if universal was renovating something

 

[Brian G.]

Wow, what a mess. I wonder if it's pushback against the design or worries over how weather can impact it's integrity? You would think all these questions were asked and answered.

I just want to stress that I love this event and will be there on opening day and enjoy my time there, but I think it's fair to criticize a few decisions this year at the same time.

It’s the latter.

 

[TheCodeMan95]

It’s the latter.

Well - makes sense with that yellow blob that just popped up over the Atlantic!

 

[Midnight Detective]

Literally first thing that popped in my head was Fright Yard. Like literally looks straight lifted out of that zone.

Same here

Universal if you're reading this graffiti my name inside the shipping container ala Fright Yard

 

[Crypt Keeper]

 

[Casper Gutman]

If you have a relatively thin IP lineup, perhaps you don’t need to have the EXACT same promotional and merchandising strategy as when you have a very strong one.

Universal is going to be forced to move away from IPs. Changes in the Hollywood economic landscape and competing (weaker) parks securing big name IPs means that IPs will be both harder to license and less impactful. This should have been the year Universal pivoted to leveraging the other, much more signifiant and unique, strengths of the event. However, the event has become so ossified it seems incapable of making even such minor and necessary changes.

The other solution is for Universal to attempt to produce new and diverse in-house horror IPs to stock the event (Blumhouse isn’t enough), but that’s hard, very risky, and requires intracompany coordination of which I’m not sure they’re capable.

 

[Legacy]

If you have a relatively thin IP lineup, perhaps you don’t need to have the EXACT same promotional and merchandising strategy as when you have a very strong one.

Universal is going to be forced to move away from IPs. Changes in the Hollywood economic landscape and competing (weaker) parks securing big name IPs means that IPs will be both harder to license and less impactful. This should have been the year Universal pivoted to leveraging the other, much more signifiant and unique, strengths of the event. However, the event has become so ossified it seems incapable of making even such minor and necessary changes.

The other solution is for Universal to attempt to produce new and diverse in-house horror IPs to stock the event (Blumhouse isn’t enough), but that’s hard, very risky, and requires intracompany coordination of which I’m not sure they’re capable.

IPs ARE the unique part of the event. Since its inception, the preponderance of IPs - especially bigger ones - was what made Universal different than any other haunt that does original concepts (minus the park itself). “Icons” were unique twenty years ago. Now? Any haunt can do it (and some have). Universal doesn’t have a monopoly on lore, or original concepts or creativity. They have money and IPs. That’s their trump card.

 

[Casper Gutman]

IPs ARE the unique part of the event. Since its inception, the preponderance of IPs - especially bigger ones - was what made Universal different than any other haunt that does original concepts (minus the park itself). “Icons” were unique twenty years ago. Now? Any haunt can do it (and some have). Universal doesn’t have a monopoly on lore, or original concepts or creativity. They have money and IPs. That’s their trump card.

HHN ran for over two decades before IPs came to dominate the event. External circumstances dictate that IPs are going to become consistently more difficult to acquire and will set the event apart less and less - they don’t have a monopoly on them anymore.

If we want to be very reductive and a bit cynical, what Universal has that other events don’t (yet) is lots of money. They can put that money towards IPs or they can develop new strategies to leverage that budget. Icons, lore, sophisticated design - Universal doesn’t have a monopoly on them but their financial advantage does allow them to both emphasize those elements and market them widely.

 

[Legacy]

HHN ran for over two decades before IPs came to dominate the event. External circumstances dictate that IPs are going to become consistently more difficult to acquire and will set the event apart less and less - they don’t have a monopoly on them anymore.

If we want to be very reductive and a bit cynical, what Universal has that other events don’t (yet) is lots of money. They can put that money towards IPs or they can develop new strategies to leverage that budget. Icons, lore, sophisticated design - Universal doesn’t have a monopoly on them but their financial advantage does allow them to both emphasize those elements and market them widely.

Fright Nights… promoted with Beetlejuice. People Under the Stairs… year two. Cryptkeeper, yeah five. Psycho was key marketing aspect its first decade. 2002 had a Carnage shirt. The first year with NO IP (or IP featuring) houses or zones was 2004… year 14.

To say it went two decades before IP “dominated” is ignoring A LOT of its early years. You literally have two icons whose houses leverage IPs (Director - Die In and Usher - Silver Springs). Jack literally hosted an IP-focused year. That isn’t even touching the “not IP” rip-offs like Body Collectors or Bill and Ted. IPs have ALWAYS been intrinsic to the event, and the access to them was always a big reason it’s maintained its popularity.

 

[Wesker69]

@Legacy and let's not forget Universal's most famous in-house IP/legacy (ha)

Universal Monsters

Which were the logo for Fright Nights.

 

[Casper Gutman]

Fright Nights… promoted with Beetlejuice. People Under the Stairs… year two. Cryptkeeper, yeah five. Psycho was key marketing aspect its first decade. 2002 had a Carnage shirt. The first year with NO IP (or IP featuring) houses or zones was 2004… year 14.

To say it went two decades before IP “dominated” is ignoring A LOT of its early years. You literally have two icons whose houses leverage IPs (Director - Die In and Usher - Silver Springs). Jack literally hosted an IP-focused year. That isn’t even touching the “not IP” rip-offs like Body Collectors or Bill and Ted. IPs have ALWAYS been intrinsic to the event, and the access to them was always a big reason it’s maintained its popularity.

There’s an ENORMOUS difference between how IPs were integrated into the event before and after 22 (the change arguably started with 17).

IPs will never be absent from the event. At the very least, Universal is a vertically integrated company that will use any event on the scale of HHN as a way to promote the company’s products. However, the overwhelming focus on IPs, especially ones licensed from outside, may have to change. It would be logical for IPs to return to the sort of usage they saw prior to 22.

As a side note, the use of knock-off, unlicensed IPs that we used to see at the event (including, I thought, in at least the first die-in house) is absolutely not unique to Uni - it’s a common feature of even the smallest haunt. The “official” stamp makes a big difference.

 

[Crypt Keeper]