Halloween Horror Nights 29 General Discussion

[Parkscope Joe]

HHN twitter account confirms.

 

[TDBLMT]

HHN twitter account confirms.

But will Team Members be blacked out for it?

 

[jrn14]

The twitter account said that the BOGO tickets wouldn't be valid for this date... Do we think that's correct?

Looking further into it... it doesn't seem like it should be blocked for BOGO considering this wording on the ticket.

• Visit any two (2) Sunday – Friday event nights during Halloween Horror Nights, Sept. 1-Nov. 1.
• May be used on non-consecutive nights. Saturday event nights excluded.

 

[Parkscope Joe]

But will Team Members be blacked out for it?

Just asked and the twitter account said yes.

 

[WAJAS]

So @Legacy. It seems like you’re saying that Us almost ended up as an ADDITION and not a REPLACEMENT. Am I getting that right?? I don’t see how you could fit more queue for another house by the soundstages.

 

[Legacy]

So @Legacy. It seems like you’re saying that Us almost ended up as an ADDITION and not a REPLACEMENT. Am I getting that right?? I don’t see how you could fit more queue for another house by the soundstages.

Pretty much.

I've heard two different stories about how/why Bedtime Stories (Tooth Fairy) got replaced. One had Us in a tent behind F&F before moving into the soundstage.

 

[Nick]

But will Team Members be blacked out for it?

As of right now, yes. Fireable offense.

Now, since it’s expected to be a light crowds day, I wouldn't be *shocked* if they make that date an exception as we get closer to it.

 

[redy2468]

Question: How do cast changes work?

 

[Legacy]

Question: How do cast changes work?

New cast walks in, taps the cast that's currently performing on the shoulder, and they switch places.

 

[itsabee]

Question: How do cast changes work?

It depends on the role, actually! I can give you the experience from one of the most common types: the back-to-back tagout.

So we’re all familiar with boo holes, which are the hidden spot, typically behind a curtain, that a scareactor emerges from when performing their scare. These boo holes are typically connected to a backstage “hallway” or larger space beyond the visible, decorated walls of the house where team members can exit from guest view. If the hallway is large enough, an event called a tagout takes place.

Here, tagout is used as a reference to the action as well as one’s other-cast partner. Cast A performs for their set for 45 minutes while Cast B takes their break for that time. When the 45 minutes are up, which is a strictly-enforced schedule, Cast B goes to their respective boo holes. The most common method of letting the member of Cast A know that their Cast B tagout is there to take over is a tap or a “tag,” hence the name. This way, the member of Cast A can hit their trigger, perform one last scare, and quickly step back behind the curtain of the boo hole to allow Cast B to fill in their place. This allows for a seamless transition with minimal pauses between scares.

Another type of cast change, which I am less familiar with, would be the type where they completely stop guest flow to allow the change to happen. Killer Klowns does close at the 45 to allow for the cast change, presumably because of the movement limitations of the Klowns making it difficult to fit two people by each other.

Spoiler

Ghostbusters will close only because Janine, the only live speaking role in the house, must switch over her mic to her corresponding Janine.

The complete house pause can also be due to character integrity issues; I know that last year, Halloween 4 apparently had to take a moment between sets because of the risk of seeing more than one Michael Myers at once in the same place. Lastly, some roles call for harnesses and other difficult pieces of rigging that cannot be simply stepped away from and into, such as the flying witch from last year’s Scary Tales.

Street cast changes are simple. They tend to end with a show scene of some kind;

Spoiler

the Chainsaw Drill Team makes a large huddle only to burst out at guests, chainsaws all running at once, and a Zombieland set will end with a Zombie Kill of the Week show.

Vamp ‘85 would end with one of the ball drop show scenes. Instead of the crowd of actors running around the zone without a predetermined target, the cast change calls for them to run backstage. Look for an ops member holding and spinning a small blue glow stick in a circle to signal this event.

Spoiler

I’ve heard from a friend of one of the Little Rocks that she specifically waited for Wichita’s show scene to end her set, and was surprised when she didn’t show up on time.

I hope this helps! I’m not a scareactor, but I have many friends and a boyfriend that are!

Edit: yeah, what Legacy said ! I’m a bit over-explanatory!

 

[Mad Dog]

New cast walks in, taps the cast that's currently performing on the shoulder, and they switch places.

and..with the tap on the back shoulder .....the scareactor gets scared by a scareactor.

 

[Legacy]

and..with the tap on the back shoulder .....the scareactor gets scared by a scareactor.

After about 30 minutes on set, you start expecting it.

 

[OhHaiInternet95]

Yes.

I've heard conflicting reports of how Us ended up in a soundstage.

Pretty much.

I've heard two different stories about how/why Bedtime Stories (Tooth Fairy) got replaced. One had Us in a tent behind F&F before moving into the soundstage.

So it was going to be an 11th house, according to one account?

If they increase the house number next year thumbsdown, maybe they do another repeat?

 

[Lucky Planet]

Question: How do cast changes work?

It depends on the role, actually! I can give you the experience from one of the most common types: the back-to-back tagout.

So we’re all familiar with boo holes, which are the hidden spot, typically behind a curtain, that a scareactor emerges from when performing their scare. These boo holes are typically connected to a backstage “hallway” or larger space beyond the visible, decorated walls of the house where team members can exit from guest view. If the hallway is large enough, an event called a tagout takes place.

Here, tagout is used as a reference to the action as well as one’s other-cast partner. Cast A performs for their set for 45 minutes while Cast B takes their break for that time. When the 45 minutes are up, which is a strictly-enforced schedule, Cast B goes to their respective boo holes. The most common method of letting the member of Cast A know that their Cast B tagout is there to take over is a tap or a “tag,” hence the name. This way, the member of Cast A can hit their trigger, perform one last scare, and quickly step back behind the curtain of the boo hole to allow Cast B to fill in their place. This allows for a seamless transition with minimal pauses between scares.

Another type of cast change, which I am less familiar with, would be the type where they completely stop guest flow to allow the change to happen. Killer Klowns does close at the 45 to allow for the cast change, presumably because of the movement limitations of the Klowns making it difficult to fit two people by each other.

Spoiler

Ghostbusters will close only because Janine, the only live speaking role in the house, must switch over her mic to her corresponding Janine.

The complete house pause can also be due to character integrity issues; I know that last year, Halloween 4 apparently had to take a moment between sets because of the risk of seeing more than one Michael Myers at once in the same place. Lastly, some roles call for harnesses and other difficult pieces of rigging that cannot be simply stepped away from and into, such as the flying witch from last year’s Scary Tales.

Street cast changes are simple. They tend to end with a show scene of some kind;

Spoiler

the Chainsaw Drill Team makes a large huddle only to burst out at guests, chainsaws all running at once, and a Zombieland set will end with a Zombie Kill of the Week show.

Vamp ‘85 would end with one of the ball drop show scenes. Instead of the crowd of actors running around the zone without a predetermined target, the cast change calls for them to run backstage. Look for an ops member holding and spinning a small blue glow stick in a circle to signal this event.

Spoiler

I’ve heard from a friend of one of the Little Rocks that she specifically waited for Wichita’s show scene to end her set, and was surprised when she didn’t show up on time.

I hope this helps! I’m not a scareactor, but I have many friends and a boyfriend that are!

Edit: yeah, what Legacy said ! I’m a bit over-explanatory!

i remember when the exorcist house came to hhn, a few actors on facebook mentioned feeling tapped on the shoulder and they would turn around and no one was there... one girl said she felt her ear touched, it wasnt just one person, more than a few commented on this. was it trolling or just a joke? who knows, another person felt the same tap in walking dead, are the stages haunted after the exorcist ? who knows

 

[GA-MBIT]

The Bedtime Stories theme has me reallyyyy interested. Is there any more info on what characters or stories would’ve been portrayed in the house or if it’ll ever come back to the event in future years? (If so, I understand any hesitation on fully releasing information just yet).

What would’ve made it different from Scary Tales or even a Holidays in Hell-type showing? Tooth Fairy wouldn’t really fit into a Scary Tales but I personally can’t think of a ton of other folktales that fit the same ideas without getting into holiday home invaders like Easter Bunny or Santa. Could that also be another reason why it was cut? Is having very similar houses in the same SS location two years in a row just a little too much?

 

[Nick]

Question: How do cast changes work?

One cast comes in through backstage, taps their “tagout” on the shoulder, and then, in theory, it’s a seamless change that guests shouldn’t really notice.

Most of the time it doesn’t work as it’s meant to though.

 

[OhHaiInternet95]

The Bedtime Stories theme has me reallyyyy interested. Is there any more info on what characters or stories would’ve been portrayed in the house or if it’ll ever come back to the event in future years? (If so, I understand any hesitation on fully releasing information just yet).

What would’ve made it different from Scary Tales or even a Holidays in Hell-type showing? Tooth Fairy wouldn’t really fit into a Scary Tales but I personally can’t think of a ton of other folktales that fit the same ideas without getting into holiday home invaders like Easter Bunny or Santa. Could that also be another reason why it was cut? Is having very similar houses in the same SS location two years in a row just a little too much?

I'm thinking the Supernatural episode "I Believe the Children Are Our Future."

Also this video (slightly NSFW obviously):

 

[SpoopySkeletons]

It depends on the role, actually! I can give you the experience from one of the most common types: the back-to-back tagout.

So we’re all familiar with boo holes, which are the hidden spot, typically behind a curtain, that a scareactor emerges from when performing their scare. These boo holes are typically connected to a backstage “hallway” or larger space beyond the visible, decorated walls of the house where team members can exit from guest view. If the hallway is large enough, an event called a tagout takes place.

Here, tagout is used as a reference to the action as well as one’s other-cast partner. Cast A performs for their set for 45 minutes while Cast B takes their break for that time. When the 45 minutes are up, which is a strictly-enforced schedule, Cast B goes to their respective boo holes. The most common method of letting the member of Cast A know that their Cast B tagout is there to take over is a tap or a “tag,” hence the name. This way, the member of Cast A can hit their trigger, perform one last scare, and quickly step back behind the curtain of the boo hole to allow Cast B to fill in their place. This allows for a seamless transition with minimal pauses between scares.

Another type of cast change, which I am less familiar with, would be the type where they completely stop guest flow to allow the change to happen. Killer Klowns does close at the 45 to allow for the cast change, presumably because of the movement limitations of the Klowns making it difficult to fit two people by each other.

Spoiler

Ghostbusters will close only because Janine, the only live speaking role in the house, must switch over her mic to her corresponding Janine.

The complete house pause can also be due to character integrity issues; I know that last year, Halloween 4 apparently had to take a moment between sets because of the risk of seeing more than one Michael Myers at once in the same place. Lastly, some roles call for harnesses and other difficult pieces of rigging that cannot be simply stepped away from and into, such as the flying witch from last year’s Scary Tales.

Street cast changes are simple. They tend to end with a show scene of some kind;

Spoiler

the Chainsaw Drill Team makes a large huddle only to burst out at guests, chainsaws all running at once, and a Zombieland set will end with a Zombie Kill of the Week show.

Vamp ‘85 would end with one of the ball drop show scenes. Instead of the crowd of actors running around the zone without a predetermined target, the cast change calls for them to run backstage. Look for an ops member holding and spinning a small blue glow stick in a circle to signal this event.

Spoiler

I’ve heard from a friend of one of the Little Rocks that she specifically waited for Wichita’s show scene to end her set, and was surprised when she didn’t show up on time.

I hope this helps! I’m not a scareactor, but I have many friends and a boyfriend that are!

Edit: yeah, what Legacy said ! I’m a bit over-explanatory!

Are you a scarecator? Just asking because you get a lot of this right. Zombieland does not end with a zombie kill of the week. They simply are on 45 minute sets like everyone else. It doesn’t matter who is doing the show at the time or when the show happens honestly, because stunt and active roles do 20 minute sets while everyone else does 45. A lot of the characters in Zombieland do not need to worry about “double exposure” and can simply wander on and off set to their locations when they are signaled that its time. There are a few exceptions such as names characters (Little Rock) and other shared specific characters such as Charlie Chaplin, yellow dress, the neighbor zombie, Bill Murray, etc. or even those who have to share props as well.


To answer the general question: tag outs in houses are truly as simple as your back to back taps your shoulder and you switch spots. The only time it gets more complicated would be IP double exposure (which I’ve dealt with multiple years), prop sharing, active roles (switching harnesses), “illusions” (think spine rip, walking dead victim being eaten, etc), or live mic actor a roles (to switch mics)

 

[GA-MBIT]

I’m surprised they don’t actually have just two mics set up for live roles. I guess it helps avoid the risk of accidentally hearing the second Janine talk from backstage over the loud speaker in the house but if it takes too much time to switch mic packs I don’t really see the point. You’re just creating a new problem by fixing another.

 

[itsabee]

Are you a scarecator? Just asking because you get a lot of this right. Zombieland does not end with a zombie kill of the week. They simply are on 45 minute sets like everyone else. It doesn’t matter who is doing the show at the time or when the show happens honestly, because stunt and active roles do 20 minute sets while everyone else does 45. A lot of the characters in Zombieland do not need to worry about “double exposure” and can simply wander on and off set to their locations when they are signaled that its time. There are a few exceptions such as names characters (Little Rock) and other shared specific characters such as Charlie Chaplin, yellow dress, the neighbor zombie, Bill Murray, etc. or even those who have to share props as well.


To answer the general question: tag outs in houses are truly as simple as your back to back taps your shoulder and you switch spots. The only time it gets more complicated would be IP double exposure (which I’ve dealt with multiple years), prop sharing, active roles (switching harnesses), “illusions” (think spine rip, walking dead victim being eaten, etc), or live mic actor a roles (to switch mics)

I’m not a scareactor, but my boyfriend has been one since 2017. He was in Ash vs. Evil Dead, so he already knew all about Type-A and Type-B cast and such as well that he could talk to me about. Last year and this year he’s been a reserve, so there’s even more experience. Our roommate was on the Purge street, The Harvest, and now is in Ghostbusters; my friend Drew was in Halloween 4 and now is in UM; our new roommate who’s just here during HHN is in Graveyard Games.

I got the Little Rock information from the first roommate’s girlfriend, a recently-quit character performer, because she’s friends with one of the Little Rocks (unsure which cast). We were just commenting on/sort of complaining about the ZKotW shows when she brought that up about LR and Wichita. I watched a cast change happen on Sunday, but maybe it was just a weird coincidence that it immediately followed one of the shows. LR and Wichita might specifically go together...or is it LR and whoever’s supposed to do that show? I know she’s there to support whoever’s doing the killing.

What’s your role, assuming you’re a scareactor?