Halloween Horror Nights 2024 (USH) - Employee Preview

[chris.g]

I'm also cool with it being a down year, as long as we never get a repeat of 2017. Ash vs Evil Dead anyone?

 

[Jerroddragon]

I do feel like theres a degree of bias in first impressions and crusty phone videos, as I feel like every single year theres some starting feelings of "oh god everythings bad this year" that pretty quickly alieviates after the first 2 weeks and we get a clearer view of genuine strengths and weaknesses, heck I'm pretty sure I remember even years like 2016 and 2019 getting really mixed feelings at preview, and the opposite for years like 2017 here and there.
Obviously if its bad its bad, and I've gone out of my way to block image and video embeds for the thread so I haven't actually seen any of it but I do get a lot of deja vu.

Last year for HHN?

I swear Chucky, Monsterous has pretty glowing reviews and last of us was mostly liked

I do feel like theres a degree of bias in first impressions and crusty phone videos, as I feel like every single year theres some starting feelings of "oh god everythings bad this year" that pretty quickly alieviates after the first 2 weeks and we get a clearer view of genuine strengths and weaknesses, heck I'm pretty sure I remember even years like 2016 and 2019 getting really mixed feelings at preview, and the opposite for years like 2017 here and there.
Obviously if its bad its bad, and I've gone out of my way to block image and video embeds for the thread so I haven't actually seen any of it but I do get a lot of deja vu.

i just looked at last years thread

It has different vibes. Not saying everyone agreed because people were split on made of us but definitely feels more positive then this one

I also once again don’t think this is going to be a bad year, it just can’t live up to last year or a year like 2019


Also haven’t seen anyone brought it up yet but man sucks Florida got death eaters again but we didn’t. Especially since you have to walk through potter area to get to two of the houses again

 

[KlownzNskullZ]

KSF had its “best year” last year?

KSF has more or less the same year every year (by design) because the houses — outside of two or three exceptions — are literally exactly the same every year. And even then, the quality of those old houses drops exponentially because all the effort and budget goes to the new ones.

This is all sounding like the usual “HHN sucks” hot take people throw around to sound cool and different. I’ve been attending all the SoCal haunts — theme park and otherwise — for well over a decade and to act like HHN doesn’t sit at the tip top is just contrarianism, in my opinion.

The only thing horror nights has over the competition is the ability to get quality Ips
Knotts scary farms best event was their 40th anniversary. It probably was the best Halloween event ever put on tbh. 50th was okay… but that 40th lineup plus the scare ones.. tricksters causing havoc and trapped!

 

[rageofthegods]

I'm also cool with it being a down year, as long as we never get a repeat of 2017. Ash vs Evil Dead anyone?

Yeah folks have forgotten what "down year" used to mean for HHN. They wasted The Shining because the event didn't have money.

 

[TheHaunter]

It's not to late to give us the death eaters Universal

 

[Jake S]

It's not to late to give us the death eaters Universal

narrator: it was too late

 

[Jerroddragon]

lol

Two threads talking about Death Eaters.....yeah would love them to come back. but yeah no way we got them this year best we can do is some spooky music and lighting and the dark mark on the castle...if we are lucky

 

[TheHaunter]

lol

Two threads talking about Death Eaters.....yeah would love them to come back. but yeah no way we got them this year best we can do is some spooky music and lighting and the dark mark on the castle...if we are lucky

It's a shame that we didn't even get Dark Arts this year.

 

[thehorrorlover]

me and my sisters actually made friends with the death eaters last year so it would be sad not to see them

Im going to make an educated wish for death eaters to come back

 

[Jerroddragon]

It's a shame that we didn't even get Dark Arts this year.

It is

Its a very good show, was really hoping for summer nights but...Universal really didn't do to much last summer

I'm hoping we get lucky and even get the new castle show at some point. But the Death Eaters....I really miss them. I went many nights and just people watched and it was just a lot of fun

 

[Michael S]

The only thing horror nights has over the competition is the ability to get quality Ips

That’s definitely not the only thing HHN has over the competition. They have higher quality costumes, masks, prosthetics, lighting, sound design, sets, and animatronics (now). That doesn’t necessarily make Horror Nights better than other haunts, but it is a huge advantage that Universal has.

Plus, Knott’s has had “quality IPs” before. SFMM does this year.

 

[KlownzNskullZ]

That’s definitely not the only thing HHN has over the competition. They have higher quality costumes, masks, prosthetics, lighting, sound design, sets, and animatronics (now). That doesn’t necessarily make Horror Nights better than other haunts, but it is a huge advantage that Universal has.

Plus, Knott’s has had “quality IPs” before. SFMM does this year.

I don’t agree with lighting and sound design or sets. I think people equate realism with good…. Have you even seen the newer mazes at knotts? Paranormal is the big one that stands out to me.

 

[Michael S]

I don’t agree with lighting and sound design or sets. I think people equate realism with good…. Have you even seen the newer mazes at knotts? Paranormal is the big one that stands out to me.

Yes I’ve attended KSF every year since 2003 and have seen all the mazes each season. I also do lighting for a living, and Universal is far superior. A lot of it can come down to the equipment they have available to them. They literally use the same lights we do in the film industry, because everything is from the Universal Lamp Dock. Knott’s doesn’t have the budget for that equipment. They use mostly theatrical lights, which still are great quality.

The sound design in their mazes is top tier. They have a larger library of film quality sound effects and music than Knott’s has, which uses ASCAP. Knott’s have their own sound recording booths on site, but they aren’t up to the same quality as the same booths they use to record sound for films, that Universal has access to.

Also, my original post was about the competition in general. Not just Knott’s. Knott’s is, arguably, a step above just about every other haunt in SoCal. My point wasn’t even a dig at other events, or saying they don’t have quality, in those respects. It was merely stating that Universal has those resources that other places don’t.

I also did not state that Universal has excelled in those aspects recently, regardless of my opinion on whether they have or not. I said they have that edge over the competition, because we’ve seen them execute it before.

Edit: Also, about Set Construction and Decorating, Universal employs the same people that will do that for films, television, theater productions and concerts. They have access to the Universal Prop Warehouse. Again, whether or not it is being done to its fullest in recent events, they have that ability to create movie quality sets, that gives them an edge over the competition.