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Halloween Horror Nights 2021 (USH) - News & Info

I finally got to see Jabbawockeez last night, and felt it was one of the stronger Jabbawockeez shows (the music, pacing, and lighting were much better than in the past). But that said, their overall show doesn't really change a whole lot from year to year, so I can imagine it's getting a bit overplayed. I saw the 8:20 show last night, and it wasn't quite full. However, the audience was receptive, so it's tough to say.

Personally, I don't think the current political climate would ever get a B & T type show again. If Orlando can't even pull it off, I don't see how Hollywood can. But more of a variety show wouldn't be bad. Even an acrobatic/magic show would be a good offering.

On a similar note, I was wondering what the HHN guest satisfaction is about Hogsmeade being open, and if something they'd continue even if it didn't access a maze area (assuming they're return to the backlot next year). I've seen FJ pull 60 minute lines, so I'd guess it's helping something.
 
Well, we did it! Exorcist > TCM > HH > Pandora > Halloween > Bride > WD > TT. All done by 9:25 PM on a sold out Friday night.
 
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On a similar note, I was wondering what the HHN guest satisfaction is about Hogsmeade being open, and if something they'd continue even if it didn't access a maze area (assuming they're return to the backlot next year). I've seen FJ pull 60 minute lines, so I'd guess it's helping something.

I'm admittedly curious about the layout for next year; as for what I understand via those on Theme Park Stop discord, the Tram Garages are now not an option for having mazes, due to that of the infastructural changes that they had to do for the electric trams. Maybe if they return to the backlot, who's to say they wouldn't keep Curious George, and have three mazes down in the Backlot; 2 at Curious George, and TWDA venue?

That'd leave 6 mazes, with SS29; Mummy; Parisian; and Waterworld making ten. (And yes, I did do a bad with numbers).
 
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I'm admittedly curious about the layout for next year; as for what I understand via those on Theme Park Stop discord, the Tram Garages are now not an option for having mazes, due to that of the infastructural changes that they had to do for the electric trams. Maybe if they return to the backlot, who's to say they wouldn't keep Curious George, and have three mazes down in the Backlot; 2 at Curious George, and TWDA venue?

That'd leave 6 mazes, with SS29; Mummy; Parisian; and Waterworld making ten. (And yes, I did do a bad with numbers).
And it would still allow a Terror Tram and for all rides to be open.
 
I'm admittedly curious about the layout for next year; as for what I understand via those on Theme Park Stop discord, the Tram Garages are now not an option for having mazes, due to that of the infastructural changes that they had to do for the electric trams. Maybe if they return to the backlot, who's to say they wouldn't keep Curious George, and have three mazes down in the Backlot; 2 at Curious George, and TWDA venue?

That'd leave 6 mazes, with SS29; Mummy; Parisian; and Waterworld making ten. (And yes, I did do a bad with numbers).
I don't think TWD venue will be an option for next year as they will have to throw some money into gutting it for a flex venue. Even if they were to start gutting it for flex space like Nov 1st, they would still need time to asses the space and think about how they will use it. By the time the process of converting it into an open venue would be complete, construction for houses will have already started, making it too late to plan for a house in there. So unless they decide to mothball TWDA until next year or just make a really cheap overlay like Walking Dead Remix or Zombiez: Music by Slash, I don't see them using that space next year.

They do have the Curious George lot available for the event now, but if you have the Metro sets as well....that's a LOT of walking bro. I don't mind the walk but I doubt a lot of people are going to be down for all of that exercise. If they do bring back the Metro sets for HHN, I don't think the Curious George lot will be necessary. I know some of us are eager to add houses, but let's be real here: If we want a good event with little-to-no black walls, they can't afford to do like eight houses and the tram. You'd be amazed how much the tram cost to operate during the event. If they only run the electric ones then that will probably shave the cost of fuel and maintenance.

They really, REALLY need to focus on quality over quantity. I know the event has been getting pretty crowded this year, but I don't think adding more houses will help the event. The event should be no bigger than seven houses and the tram MAX (Though six plus the tram would be more ideal IMO). Anything more than that is too much for the event's budget. If you add wednesdays into late September and throughout October, I think the crowds will be balanced out pretty good, especially if you keep Potter open and have Dark Arts operating for the event. They need to prioritize improving the event.
 
“Did you just use the ableist term ‘freak’? There are real people with these conditions, and having them be in some sideshow operation is highly, grossly offensive, and shame on Universal for putting people with disabilities on display for amusement and then having the audacity to label them as freaks…”

…is probably the type of commentary that Universal knows they’d get from some opportunistic blogger/social media hound yet again and makes them quake in their boots over the mere idea of having another show offering, however big or small, that could even slightly offend one person.
I mean they could just give it a different name, knotts basically did that this year and nobody batted an eye.
 
I don't think TWD venue will be an option for next year as they will have to throw some money into gutting it for a flex venue. Even if they were to start gutting it for flex space like Nov 1st, they would still need time to asses the space and think about how they will use it. By the time the process of converting it into an open venue would be complete, construction for houses will have already started, making it too late to plan for a house in there. So unless they decide to mothball TWDA until next year or just make a really cheap overlay like Walking Dead Remix or Zombiez: Music by Slash, I don't see them using that space next year.

They do have the Curious George lot available for the event now, but if you have the Metro sets as well....that's a LOT of walking bro. I don't mind the walk but I doubt a lot of people are going to be down for all of that exercise. If they do bring back the Metro sets for HHN, I don't think the Curious George lot will be necessary. I know some of us are eager to add houses, but let's be real here: If we want a good event with little-to-no black walls, they can't afford to do like eight houses and the tram. You'd be amazed how much the tram cost to operate during the event. If they only run the electric ones then that will probably shave the cost of fuel and maintenance.

They really, REALLY need to focus on quality over quantity. I know the event has been getting pretty crowded this year, but I don't think adding more houses will help the event. The event should be no bigger than seven houses and the tram MAX (Though six plus the tram would be more ideal IMO). Anything more than that is too much for the event's budget. If you add wednesdays into late September and throughout October, I think the crowds will be balanced out pretty good, especially if you keep Potter open and have Dark Arts operating for the event. They need to prioritize improving the event.

Definitely agree with this. There’s so much potential and USH has an amazing pool of talent to draw from. I don’t understand why Universal isn’t focused on getting the quality of this event to match Orlando’s.

Once TWDA is gutted, wouldn’t that provide enough space for 2 mazes? Or just 1?
 
Once TWDA is gutted, wouldn’t that provide enough space for 2 mazes? Or just 1?

That depends, what happened to that upstairs portion of HOH? Is it still just all sitting there? Chucky's dolls, the Psycho area, etc.. I'd love to go back through it, I miss the HOH so much. It had a timeless quality that Walking Dead doesn't.
 
That depends, what happened to that upstairs portion of HOH? Is it still just all sitting there? Chucky's dolls, the Psycho area, etc.. I'd love to go back through it, I miss the HOH so much. It had a timeless quality that Walking Dead doesn't.

If memory serves, didn't the entire soundstage that contained HoH get fully torn down? I also have to assume whatever happens to TWDA, is on it's own budget and not aligning with HHN's (though I could be very much wrong and I wouldn't be shocked if I am).

I don't think TWD venue will be an option for next year as they will have to throw some money into gutting it for a flex venue. Even if they were to start gutting it for flex space like Nov 1st, they would still need time to asses the space and think about how they will use it. By the time the process of converting it into an open venue would be complete, construction for houses will have already started, making it too late to plan for a house in there. So unless they decide to mothball TWDA until next year or just make a really cheap overlay like Walking Dead Remix or Zombiez: Music by Slash, I don't see them using that space next year.

They do have the Curious George lot available for the event now, but if you have the Metro sets as well....that's a LOT of walking bro. I don't mind the walk but I doubt a lot of people are going to be down for all of that exercise. If they do bring back the Metro sets for HHN, I don't think the Curious George lot will be necessary. I know some of us are eager to add houses, but let's be real here: If we want a good event with little-to-no black walls, they can't afford to do like eight houses and the tram. You'd be amazed how much the tram cost to operate during the event. If they only run the electric ones then that will probably shave the cost of fuel and maintenance.

They really, REALLY need to focus on quality over quantity. I know the event has been getting pretty crowded this year, but I don't think adding more houses will help the event. The event should be no bigger than seven houses and the tram MAX (Though six plus the tram would be more ideal IMO). Anything more than that is too much for the event's budget. If you add wednesdays into late September and throughout October, I think the crowds will be balanced out pretty good, especially if you keep Potter open and have Dark Arts operating for the event. They need to prioritize improving the event.

I've been consistently the champion for lowering the maze count; but I am also a realist and considering that Hollywood executives may want to try to get the maze count on par with Orlando. Regardless of the quality of the maze. In-fact, I'm starting to champion more on just abandoning the use of the Metro sets altogether, as controversial as I can get.
 
If memory serves, didn't the entire soundstage that contained HoH get fully torn down? I also have to assume whatever happens to TWDA, is on it's own budget and not aligning with HHN's (though I could be very much wrong and I wouldn't be shocked if I am).



I've been consistently the champion for lowering the maze count; but I am also a realist and considering that Hollywood executives may want to try to get the maze count on par with Orlando. Regardless of the quality of the maze. In-fact, I'm starting to champion more on just abandoning the use of the Metro sets altogether, as controversial as I can get.
Yeah, HoH has been completely torn down. There is no upstairs of HoH anymore. It’s all gone.

I really hope they’re not trying to make the event as big as Orlando. The team doesn’t have the capacity or the budget to pull it off. If they HAVE to add houses then I say get rid of Metro.
 
I'd miss Metro, but Curious George is a great substitute. If they can stick one more maze in that area, I'd be happy.
 
I'd miss Metro, but Curious George is a great substitute. If they can stick one more maze in that area, I'd be happy.

Ideally, losing three mazes could be a major boon for the quality control of the event. Especially if the focus is to expand on food and party style aspects (put something down in Lower Lot, cowards); alongside opening more rides and adding a show into Animal Actors ontop of SES, feels like a larger step forward. Especially if they add Wednesdays and Tuesdays to compensate.

It'd help a lot to get more GP onboard, as that is the ultimate group to please more than us HHN fans. With more and more competition rising yearly; I'd have to think Universal needs to look intently to compensate for competitors, and look to ensure a higher quality (Even if it means a lower count of mazes).
 
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I'd agree to an extent, but even with lower maze counts, we'd still get that one truly awful maze for the year, like Clowns or This Is The End. And then there'd be one or two divisive ones along with one or two solid ones -- kinda like how it is even with 7+ mazes. So low maze count doesn't always equal quality control. If we're talking GP, they like the black wallz and find them scary to be in darkness, so I don't think that's really part of the issue. Crowd dispersion is the issue and keeping TT is a huge part of that, but what we really need is one or two more shows while keeping even the small dumb rides open. Extra days, like Wednesdays, would also help (I don't see Tuesdays happening, Wednesdays will wear out the performers as it is).

So IMO, the number of mazes can go up or down, but at the end of the day, if they don't add anything else to compensate, the crowds are all packed in with nowhere to go, and the same could be said if there were even 4 mazes like back in the day. 3-10 mazes, if there's nothing else to do, the lines are the only place to be, and that's what ruins the event for a lot of GP. Knotts can have one or two mazes with 60+ minute waits, but the rest are like 0-20, and that's ideal, because that gives time to do things like see shows or ride some rides.
 
Question: Did the BeetleJuice maze get built and then got torn down when we lost the rights? Or was it never started on?

From what I understand, was a Beetlejuice maze being built for this HHN Hollywood season (2021), no. HHN Hollywood lost the rights to that IP early on this year.

However, was a Beetlejuice maze being somewhat built last year (2020), well, the maze was possibly starting construction last year but then was torn down because of the event’s cancellation.
 
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This was a magic show that HHNH did in the Animal Actors stage back in 2007. As you can see the first 15/20 minutes were literally just filler. Random clips from different movies and a random dance act. Then the last act was only manned by a handful of performers and even there, they could probably trim a person or two if they were really that stingy. Also, the show had extremely minimal set dressing. This is evidence that you really don't need some crazy high-end show that would cost a lot of money.

I really don't see why they just will not let another show play in that venue. The event really needs more entertainment and people would like to rest a little and be entertained. Not to mention this is something the drunks would probably enjoy. Throw together a show that shows random video clips, maybe throw in a short dance number, have a guy and a couple of other performers pull some magic tricks and you have yourself a cheap show that would pull people off the streets to be entertained. C'mon USH just put that empty venue to use already.
 
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