Halloween Horror Nights 2024 (USH) - Speculation & Rumors

[Wesker69]

Kinda reminds me a little of HHN Orlando 2012 where the entire park was a cemetery unearthed beneath the park (minimal set pieces spread through-out, including tributes to former rides/attractions) and you had the roaming "Legions" (vampires, trick r treaters, warriors, chainsaws, zombies, etc) it wasn't the best, but it worked.

I feel like this concept could work for Hollywood, but only if they made the effort to cast enough scareactors to fill the streets. Although, French Street should remain as a fixed SZ. Also we'd definitely need a set of scareactors for the Lower Lot.

Pull an Orlando, give us Graveyard set pieces (we all know they have an excessive amount)... just decorate the park in traditional spooky Halloween/Fall decor & unleash the the terrors of Horror Nights past. You could even have two sets of casts, but not duplicates, so you could pass through an area twice but be stalked by different monsters than the previous.

oh yea.... speaking of anniversary ideas. Bring back the Creature musical but put it in Waterworld!! A Ragin', Rockin', Epic Stuntacular that'll be a splash hit! *hides*

 

[Freakenstein]

Talking on this with that of peeps on the TPS crew, and I wanna speculate something that would be kind of great.

Get rid of "Scarezones". I think we could do some real fun with the 60th Anniversary coming up, to have roaming hoardes representing specific periods of the Revival era HHN. From Exterminatorz to Klownz, from Demon City to Toyz, go hard with it as if you have ghouls popping up everywhere from the moment you enter, to Decision Hub next to Hogsmeade and Springfield (and save French Street as an extension for the Latin American house when it comes to a roaming area for character actors.

I think they already got rid of scare zones tbh. They haven’t felt the same since the year they did that zombie horde thing (or am I miss remembering that)

 

[Wesker69]

SZs haven't been the same since before the 2020 apocalypse. Props/set pieces had to be little vignettes on wheels and/or covered to not upset the overly sensitive daytime guests that lack the spooky gene.

Also the park renovations & changes has hindered SZs big time as well. Whether it be due to street space or becoming more "family" oriented. Even the new coaster is geared towards "family".

 

[viking_wizard_eyes]

I like the way we do the scare zones here -- they're too staged/passive in Orlando. Obviously Knott's has kinda mastered the art of the scare zone, and I'd wish we'd take more of their cues.

For example, I love that there's a zone the second you enter USH, it's the perfect way to set the table. But then there's another one right after, and there's no boundary or demarcation as to where one ends and one begins -- so much that the actors often wander into the wrong zone.

So it would be great if they could spread them out, and find better ways to properly theme the areas so there's a better context for everything. Probably much easier said than done given the park's layout.

 

[Wesker69]

It's not the park layout that is the problem, it is the on-going changes to the park & limited space. And as I said, daytime guest sensitivity.

I wouldn't even count the entrance as a legit SZ anymore due to the lack of props/set decor. It's just an area for chainsaws, nothing more.

"NY"/Fire Tower has become an unfortunate minimal SZ. Originally it wasn't a separate theme from the entrance. Now they're split just so they can market it as 2 SZs (The GP think they're getting more!).

We lost Baker St due to PETZ/Minionz.. I don't see us getting that street back.

French st is our last remaining "fixed" SZ location. While the display box on wheels isn't ideal, at least they've made an effort to include more & open the street to pass through instead of being a maze finale extension.

Potter has Deatheaters. Enough said.

Springfield has been a deadzone. Also i think there might be IP restrictions, can't remember. They should honestly just make it "Klownz" SZ (if Knott's can get away with minimal to no props for CarnEvil, USH can too. Thankfully Knott's made effort this past year). Despite being a dead hub, 1 year they did throw their former daytime vampires (street show) into the area. I'm too lazy to check which year.

Lower Lot has the congestion issues, but the last time we had something down there was Purge(?) chainsaws. So again, limited space due to everything within that area.

 

[Freak]

I've kind of just accepted the reality that USH's HHN is just never going to be capable of having more theatrical scarezones that Orlando has. That's just the way the park is. It's simply not possible.

I do think they can make up for that on the Terror Tram. Although they kinda-sorta lean this direction, I would like to see actual sets/theatrical moments Orlando's zones have but incorporated onto the Tram in some way.

 

[viking_wizard_eyes]

It's not the park layout that is the problem, it is the on-going changes to the park & limited space. And as I said, daytime guest sensitivity.

Layout is determined by space; space is affected by layout. It's the same thing. I think we agree on the bottom line, which is that the park's current infrastructure isn't exactly SZ friendly, but I personally don't think it's a permanent issue.

There's no issue with "daytime guest sensitivity" imo. That's always just felt like projection from certain HHN fans. KSF's zones aren't any more intense or graphic than USH's; they stay up during the day, and you don't hear anything about any "sensitive" Knott's daytime guests complaining.

I've kind of just accepted the reality that USH's HHN is just never going to be capable of having more theatrical scarezones that Orlando has. That's just the way the park is. It's simply not possible.

This is a good thing. People overrate the Orlando zones.

 

[chris.g]

This is a good thing. People overrate the Orlando zones.

Agreed. Theatrical anything in Hollywood ends up being a dud anyways that the GP really doesn’t care about

 

[Wesker69]

There's no issue with "daytime guest sensitivity" imo. That's always just felt like projection from certain HHN fans. KSF's zones aren't any more intense or graphic than USH's; they stay up during the day, and you don't hear anything about any "sensitive" Knott's daytime guests complaining.

Really? You haven't noticed the severe decrease in gory props/sets!? It's not a projection from HHN fans when the park literally had to cover set pieces for the daytime crowd due to the "blood/gore".

Even the mannequins have been swapped out for skeletons. This deems it "spooky" & less "graphic". They used to have so many victim dummies, now it's toned down significantly.

of course nobody is going to complain about Knott's Scary Farm decor. It is literally the least graphic & scary aspect of the event. The most themed area is Ghost Town & that's just filled with skeletons, which works for its overall existence even outside of the event. Gore-ing 20s lacks the gore, except for one "dead" mannequin in the crashed car.

The Orlando SZs aren't what they used to be. They've diminished in quality.

I forgot to include the Universal Plaza, while it's not a SZ, the Dia De Los Muertos theme is great atmosFEAR & is good recurring addition.

 

[viking_wizard_eyes]

Really? You haven't noticed the severe decrease in gory props/sets!? It's not a projection from HHN fans when the park literally had to cover set pieces for the daytime crowd due to the "blood/gore".

Even the mannequins have been swapped out for skeletons. This deems it "spooky" & less "graphic". They used to have so many victim dummies, now it's toned down significantly.

I'm not sure whether they've gotten less gory. I don't particularly care. What I'm saying is, complaints from daytime guests aren't deterring choices made by HHN creative re: scare zones -- at least not at the rate/impact certain HHN fans think they do. Because even if "the park literally had to cover set pieces for the daytime crowd due to the "blood/gore," as you're suggesting here, then they're not actually removing anything. They're just covering them up during the day and uncovering for the event; there's no "severe decrease" or removal happening at all in this scenario you're imagining.

My point -- and it's off topic, so I'll stop here -- is that certain HHN fans have kinda cooked up this narrative based on a variety of misperceptions and isolated incidents.

Agreed. Theatrical anything in Hollywood ends up being a dud anyways that the GP really doesn’t care about

Eh, this isn't true. People loved The Purge show this year, which is obviously very theatrical. It's just that scare zones are better when they're kinetic; the interplay between guest and actor is what makes them great. Orlando's are passive in comparison. No atmosphere.

 

[graspthesun]

I don't see LL scare zones coming back unless they remove the Mummy and push any new attractions further back. I typically hit a Saturday in October when I do HHN at USH and it's so crowded that I'm surprised the scareactors can even move through the crowds. The only spaces I can see for expansion of streets currently would be to add a small semi-fixed hoarde outside the Dreamworks Theater and maybe a zone in the Curious George lot.

 

[HydraGen2299]

Morning everyone. I’ve got another crackpot theory for y'all today I’m not sure if I’ve posted this before but that house #3 that murdy was giving clues for about an old man’s obsession and stuff… could it perhaps be a house based on the isle of dolls in Mexico? It has a pretty sad story about an old man’s obsession and he’d probably do research on the plant life there like the trees and water Lilly’s it also gives the opportunity to reuse those chucky animatronics if need be
The Island of the Dolls - Wikipedia

 

[AlexanderMBush]

Morning everyone. I’ve got another crackpot theory for y'all today I’m not sure if I’ve posted this before but that house #3 that murdy was giving clues for about an old man’s obsession and stuff… could it perhaps be a house based on the isle of dolls in Mexico? It has a pretty sad story about an old man’s obsession and he’d probably do research on the plant life there like the trees and water Lilly’s it also gives the opportunity to reuse those chucky animatronics if need be
The Island of the Dolls - Wikipedia

Something I actually kind of really like with this, is that they've used the Isle of Dolls as inspiration before; no? Specifically with El Cucuy, and it's finale with the dolls around his cave.

It also has a really interesting connection they could pull from La Llorona, if they look at the drowning of the child (and eventually him) as that from La Llorona. Could be a really cool way of tying back around to first appearances of both of them in a way that makes sense. Also helps that if we consider it, the Isle of Dolls could make sense with Murdy's clues given for #3.

Also helps that there is that option of the dolls simply being terrifying themselves in potential application.

 

[Wesker69]

I'm curious if Murdy is loosely connecting the Mexican/Latin American houses/SZs together as a shared interconnected concept

We were kinda given the modern shared "Dark Universe" with the Universal Monsters (FMW & Unmasked being the odd side quests). Something the studio itself has failed to do.

We've already gotten a very well received "mini land" made up of house, French st, & the plaza the past 2 years. Just a thought

 

[ProjectScare]

How many originals do you guys think we will get I assume 2 or more because of the house john Murdy researched gardening for and also maybe Urban Inferno.

 

[Freak]

2 originals and 6 IPs seem to be what Hollywood likes.

 

[Freakenstein]

2 originals and 6 IPs seem to be what Hollywood likes.

I feel like the last couple years the knotts and HHN crowd kinda finally mixed so people are open to the IPs. Well also getting scarecrow from Orlando helped a lot .

 

[ProjectScare]

If we could get one more house location for hhn Hollywood that would be the best. But the question is if we could get a 9th house location where would it be?

 

[saint.piss]

If we could get one more house location for hhn Hollywood that would be the best. But the question is if we could get a 9th house location where would it be?

I just want to experience the Back-lot man.... I know it probably won't come back for awhile (if ever) but those house locations seemed so awesome. I never got to experience any of them because I've ever gone to HHN Hollywood post pandemic (2021-onwards). I also think it would also help spread out the crowds a bit but I get using the metro sets is harder now but I still hope they come back at some point

 

[Wesker69]

The only thing you're being deprived of is the walk from hell that is (originally known as Route 666 in 2014) to get to the metro sets area.

Honestly, 8 houses is fine (we had 10 in 2019, but no Terror Tram). Terror Tram is our bonus.

If losing the Waterworld queue for a house location, so they can do "Slaughterworld", it's not a loss because having worked that venue in 2018.... it sucked the weekend it poured. We were cold, wet & they made us stay "open" due to our close proximity to guest services