I have struggled to form confident thoughts on this year's event so far, and want to spend a bit more time with it before I fully jump into discussions, but there is one thing that I am already 100% sure about. I love how well this event uses the space around USF.
Last year felt incredibly barren at times. Kidzone all the way around to San Fran felt like it had nothing going on at all. It grew deeply repetitive having nothing to do besides houses and zones across the whole event. Going into 34, I was honestly a little concerned, especially with the loss of HRRR and rumors of no second show or lagoon show, cut zones, etc.
I am very pleased to report that this year every inch feels utilized. Mel's Zombies, Lagoon Show, clownsaws, the large house sets at the end of Central Park, The Grabber, the upgraded Coke Booth, Death Eaters, Art the Clown popping out park-wide, Club Horror, Transformers returning, a sprawling entrance zone, and the new back-of-house entrances for the Soundstages; it always feels like when you are leaving one offering, you are walking directly into the next. And that's great!
I really love having so many things to dig into. The event hasn't felt this wide and full of things to experience in awhile! Even the zones have a few different show moments, which is something I was really hoping for! I hope this is the blueprint for the event going forward.
If I can be a bit greedy, I do find it weird that Megan has no representation this year! That dance troupe would've been great to bring back, or at least a stage around Club Horror like Grabber has for pictures.
I think Meet and Greets, even unofficial ones like Grabber this year or the Blumzone / HHN Bar last year are underrepresented at HHN, and meeting characters like Freddy Fazbear or The Ghoul would be really cool! And I will always root for my guy David S. Pumpkins to return to the event. Possibly my favorite HHN offering ever, and I might not be joking(?)