Halloween Horror Nights 23 Speculation

[JungleSkip]

That is truly a clever clue, though. Direct reference to Cabin in the Woods, but it refers to Evil Dead WITHIN Cabin in the Woods.

What if it's both? Both are heavily rumored and with SS21 rumored to have either a mega house or 2 houses...what if they're both in the same area?

 

[Drew]

What if it's both? Both are heavily rumored and with SS21 rumored to have either a mega house or 2 houses...what if they're both in the same area?

Very, very possible. I don't know if they'd reveal them both tonight if they are separate houses, but I'd love it nonetheless.

 

[bronzey]

Whoa!

If Cabin in the Woods and Evil Dead are a duel run house that would be amazing. Any similarity the two properties have would be acknowledged from the start, and they wouldn't seem "redundant" to anyone at all...That would be brilliant.


I'm pretty sure the "root" thing is in reference to the overarching "theme"...that will probably call back on the "archetypes of horror" (made up phrase, but I think it fits) that we saw in the street hordes and in the Horror Unearthed game in 2012

 

[USO92]

Photo has been revealed

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10151527894683233&set=a.164930423232.115933.126469058232&type=1&theater

And CITW has been officially confirmed!

 

[Captain Tragedy]

baaahhhh!!! Sucks that I can't go this year. Being unemployed is a SOB.

 

[TylerDurden]

It's great to have an announcement, and I'm very excited to get to experience Cabin in the Woods this year!

But is this a sign of not-so-great things to come? Remember before when they'd tease about themes, backstories, or icons? Now they're announcing houses, regardless of theme. And what's worse, the big house that they announce, meant to get people excited, pumped, and ready to buy tickets for the upcoming year, is based off of an IP. It's clear that the message being communicated to Universal is that IPs not only sell more, but are generating excitement. If the focus wasn't on IP's, then why would the first announcement be based off a film? Is that what Universal thinks will pump people up?

I'm afraid that this may signify the end of the creative and original era of HHN. Hopefully, I'm wrong, but the announcement tonight doesn't seem to bode well for the future of HHN's era of creativity.

 

[violarum]

Replication and immersion is an art in and of itself, but I will not deny that if the main lineup is a set of IPs, I'll be a bit disappointed.

However, I absolutely loved Cabin in the Woods, and I cannot wait to see it in person!

 

[Clive]

It's great to have an announcement, and I'm very excited to get to experience Cabin in the Woods this year!

But is this a sign of not-so-great things to come? Remember before when they'd tease about themes, backstories, or icons? Now they're announcing houses, regardless of theme. And what's worse, the big house that they announce, meant to get people excited, pumped, and ready to buy tickets for the upcoming year, is based off of an IP. It's clear that the message being communicated to Universal is that IPs not only sell more, but are generating excitement. If the focus wasn't on IP's, then why would the first announcement be based off a film? Is that what Universal thinks will pump people up?

I'm afraid that this may signify the end of the creative and original era of HHN. Hopefully, I'm wrong, but the announcement tonight doesn't seem to bode well for the future of HHN's era of creativity.

Careful... if you express these sorts of opinions the unconditional "fans" tend to get angry. (Though I absolutely agree with everything you just said.)

It's another year of IPs - five of them, if the leaked list is to be believed. An interview with Aiello has indicated that the houses won't have connections (specifically citing similar to last year), so don't expect that.

 

[tiredoldspook]

Wow Cabin in the Woods, What a Creative thing for Creative to come up with....Oh Sorry I hate HHN according to people because of my opinion on things just like this.

 

[DanB89]

It's great to have an announcement, and I'm very excited to get to experience Cabin in the Woods this year!

But is this a sign of not-so-great things to come? Remember before when they'd tease about themes, backstories, or icons? Now they're announcing houses, regardless of theme. And what's worse, the big house that they announce, meant to get people excited, pumped, and ready to buy tickets for the upcoming year, is based off of an IP. It's clear that the message being communicated to Universal is that IPs not only sell more, but are generating excitement. If the focus wasn't on IP's, then why would the first announcement be based off a film? Is that what Universal thinks will pump people up?

I'm afraid that this may signify the end of the creative and original era of HHN. Hopefully, I'm wrong, but the announcement tonight doesn't seem to bode well for the future of HHN's era of creativity.

There was an article I remember reading not too long ago that basically laid out the changes in the HHN experience and how they are a result of the recent period of Potter-induced success. And the numbers have shown that IP's make sense. It's an easy way to market to the masses, and now that IP sharing is becoming the standard between Orlando and Hollywood it maximizes the bang for the buck.

I remember following the websites since 2003, years before I was ever actually able to attend the event. The detailed icons, creative themes, and engaging back stories that tied the original houses together sucked me into fandom long before my first actual visit in 2011. I would be thrilled if they returned to those standards, but I'm not getting my hopes up.

 

[Eric]

At the end of the day, Universal is a business and they make decisions on what brings in guests (and what makes them spend money). IP's are clearly shown to be a successful way to bringing in more guests and it would be foolish not to continue this trend.

 

[JungleSkip]

I honestly don't care about IPs as long as they're done well.

Last year was a down year. I have faith there won't be two in a row.

 

[SeventyOne]

I honestly don't care about IPs as long as they're done well.

Last year was a down year. I have faith there won't be two in a row.

^ This. Last year was an unlucky combination of construction, unseasonable rain, Penn & Teller being unfunny for the first time in their career, and a recovering economy/popular IP bringing in more guests than anticipated.

For every Silent Hill, there's a Cold, Blind Terror. For every Dead End, there's a Nightmare on Elm Street. And every year inevitably has a house that disappoints (e.g. Forsaken), and a house that far exceeds anyone's expectations (e.g. Havoc). It's crazy to dismiss a house just on its theme when it isn't even constructed yet.

 

[SeventyOne]

The detailed icons, creative themes, and engaging back stories that tied the original houses together sucked me into fandom long before my first actual visit in 2011. I would be thrilled if they returned to those standards, but I'm not getting my hopes up.

I always thought this was a bit overblown. 2006--generally cited as the gold standard for this--tried to tie together bikers, schoolgirls, 17th Century colonists and miners. The storyline to do this was tortured, no pun intended. Similarly, in 2011, the various connections to Lady Luck, while clever, did nothing to really improve my visceral enjoyment of each house.

The back stories remind me a lot of Pleasure Island. Each bar there had an elaborate back story tying into the myth of Merriweather Adam Pleasure. There were even plaques on the buildings that each told bits of the story. I'm guessing less than 1% of guests ever even realized this. At the end of the night, your enjoyment of 8-Traxx didn't hinge on knowing Pleasure once used it as a electronics lab or whatever. Similarly, if the houses are good, HHN will be a success; if they aren't, a tiny fraction of us fanbois knowing that each house represents one of Albert Caine's victims isn't going to save the event.

 

[PourJudgment]

It's crazy to dismiss a house just on its theme when it isn't even constructed yet.

^Yup. This

Also, I can't think of anything that is so highly subjective as HHN. One persons "worst night ever" is anothers "awesome event".

 

[ReelJustice]

^Yup. This

Also, I can't think of anything that is so highly subjective as HHN. One persons "worst night ever" is anothers "awesome event".

Hell, my first night was a disaster with that heavy rain, but we still had fun.

 

[PourJudgment]

Hell, my first night was a disaster with that heavy rain, but we still had Alcohol.

Fixed it for ya. ;-)

 

[TylerDurden]

I always thought this was a bit overblown. 2006--generally cited as the gold standard for this--tried to tie together bikers, schoolgirls, 17th Century colonists and miners. The storyline to do this was tortured, no pun intended. Similarly, in 2011, the various connections to Lady Luck, while clever, did nothing to really improve my visceral enjoyment of each house.

The back stories remind me a lot of Pleasure Island. Each bar there had an elaborate back story tying into the myth of Merriweather Adam Pleasure. There were even plaques on the buildings that each told bits of the story. I'm guessing less than 1% of guests ever even realized this. At the end of the night, your enjoyment of 8-Traxx didn't hinge on knowing Pleasure once used it as a electronics lab or whatever. Similarly, if the houses are good, HHN will be a success; if they aren't, a tiny fraction of us fanbois knowing that each house represents one of Albert Caine's victims isn't going to save the event.

I actually think that this is a really great point. A great house/event is a great house/event regardless of what the backstory that few know in detail about. So this year very well could be a great year.

What I hate is that HHN now has to cater to the masses. Before, it had carved out its own nice little niche that made nights bearable, made the houses able to be pulsated, and made it so that gore was a go (although the Cabin in the Woods house seems to promise to bring the gore back). But I liked the more intimate event, the one that catered solely to horror and haunt fans, not any old fans of a movie or television show.

But that's just selfish of me. The other thing that I can't help but think is that even though the backstories hardly tied the houses together or made or break any attractions, they really did help with the immersion of it all. Universal used to invite you to step into a world--even with the first IP-heavy events (2007 and 2009) you were given an original setting to step into (Carnival of Carnage and the Universal Palace Theatre). That's what I love. Last year that sense of immersion was missing as you wandered from house to house with minimal tombstone decorations literally just littered throughout the streets.

In theme parks, it's not what you notice that makes a difference between a good themed experience and a mediocre one, but what you don't notice unless it was gone. People may not fully understand the backstories and original characters, but people also don't always notice background music--you do when it's missing though. And that's the same with HHN I think. At least for me, I didn't get how important it was for there to be some sort of originality to get sucked into this world Universal had created until last year when there was none. Then the event went from Disney World to Cedar Point, in a way.

 

[PourJudgment]

Eight houses and Transformers being open should help a lot with the crowd vs last years real 'nightmare'. PLUS Duff gardens should ease the pain inside Finns for those wanting liquid courage.

 

[Brian G.]

All of you have valid points, but I think last year we can chalk it up as a "gimmie" with all the construction and whatnot going on in the resort. Let's not use last year as an strong example of a new precedent.