Greetings internet dwellers!

So, for some reason, I had some issues uploading the pics for this week's Photopalooza. So I had to improvise. Instead, I created a slideshow of images with some background music. This was fun. Perhaps I will do it again. 

Greetings internet dwellers!

This morning, Universal Orlando announced that it will open Volcano Bay, a water park, in 2017. The new park, will be located just south of the Cabana Bay Beach Resort. No real specific details were given for what to expect.

However, in Universal Orlando's blog, they promise that Volcano Bay will be a water park "unlike any you've experienced." The blog goes on to say this:

"This is one of the most exciting projects we have had the opportunity to be part of because Volcano Bay will completely redefine the water park experience for our guests."

Aside from perhaps your typical water park fare, Universal says that there will be an attraction that "challenges the way guests think about water theme parks." 

On a personal note, the quip about how many projects Universal has done since 2010, is kind of funny if you follow theme park fans closely. I expect the Disney/Universal flame war, to not slow down any time soon. 

Keep an eye out for further details on Volcano Bay to be released by Universal, in the future. Oh, and that water coaster in the concept art has me intrigued. 

When rumblings of HHN having 9 houses cropped up in the past few months, this was a rumor that began to gain some traction. Men In Black: Alien Attack, has an extensive overflow queue to the side of the building. If you attended the opening of The Wizarding World of Harry Potter- Diagon Alley last summer, you actually stood in part of the overflow queue line. That is, if you went while it was still very busy.

Like another attraction we will talk about later, I personally don't see this queue used very often these days. I'm not even sure how often it is used anymore. I myself have in fact waited in the overflow queue line. During my first visit to HHN, we waited close to 3 hours in that part of the line. But that is a story for another time...

The rumors suggested a few things. Quite possibly, another Sprung Tent being constructed on the space, was being discussed for instance. Perhaps more reasonable, would be for the space to be transformed like the one in the Disaster! overflow queue. Throw up some walls, an viola. 

Honestly, the house could be placed anywhere in the orange shaded area above. However, there comes with this location, a few questions and concerns. Where would the entrance be? Where would the exit be? One spot, could be down Exposition Blvd. in between the Fear Factor stage, and MIB.

An entrance and exit could realistically be placed anywhere where the arrows are. In an extreme case, they could even have the entrance around the other side of the MIB building, where the queue for Sprung Tent 2 is. Just cut off the line that is closest to the building, and place the entrance at the front edge of the building. With the Diagon Alley opening, they were holding people at the back edge of the the MIB building as well, before sending them around. If they really needed to do that, it could possibly be done.

That would be a lot of walking for guests though, and I don't think they would ever do something like that. More than likely, an entrance would be where I said before, down Exposition Boulevard. However, something like this can conceivably be done. 

Another option, is put the house entrance to the left of the Fear Factor stage, next to Diagon Alley. The house queue would wrap around the back of the Fear Factor stage, and you would enter the house from Backlot Drive. 

You could also reverse the above way by entering where the exit would be, and exiting where the entrance would be. However, for me this spot would not be ideal at all for a house. One word: CROWDS. When the Bill & Ted show lets out, it turns into an every man for himself fight to walk around back there. On really busy nights, it would be total chaos with the show letting out, plus people entering/leaving a possible house in that same spot. 

Rumblings suggest that any plans that may have been drawn up for a house in this location, have been nixed. And I don't blame them. I just don't see a house working in that area. It really is just too damn crowded, and would be even worse on busier nights. Let's move on to the next area that seems to have gained some traction recently.

This location, has gained some steam in recent days. Current rumblings suggest, a house will be built in the spare Shrek theater. If there was a debate between having a house in the MIB overflow queue, or here, this would be my choice. While transforming the spare theater may be the hard part, it's much better in terms of crowd control and logistics. Let's discuss. 

Putting an entrance and exit to the house, is much easier here, than by MIB. It's a much simpler option, than over there. If I had to guess, the entrance would be in the alley (usually a smoking area), next to the Lucy Tribute building. The exit, would be in Shrek Alley.

Shrek also has a pretty sizable overflow queue line, that is barely used these days. The same goes for the spare theater, which is also barely used. You could keep the attraction open during the day, but still have the house in there. You could even still use the overflow queue if needed. I don't think that would be themed for HHN. 

Now, you could also reverse the way, which would be a more "extreme" option. Put a street queue for the house in Shrek Alley, enter from that side, and exit in the smoking alley next to the Lucy Tribute building. 

Horror Nights has put queue's out in the open like this in the past. Vampyr: Bloodbath, the last house to be used in Nazarman's, used a street queue. The area in between Finnegans, was used as a queue. It is one of the spots where they hold guests for Stay and Scream these days.

So, it wouldn't be earth shattering if they did something like that. Since the construction of Transformers, HHN hasn't used Shrek Alley for anything. So they wouldn't be taking away something if they made a queue there, or even had people exit in Shrek Alley.  

Some have expressed concerns that with a house in this area, Production Central would be insanity. However, at least here, there is something you can do to attempt to avoid a super-duper cluster of people. Just close off access to Shrek Alley from Production Central. 

Will there be an increased flow of people in Production Central? Yes, especially if there is a scare zone in the area. However, I don't see it being as bad as having Bill & Ted, a house, and Men in Black riders, all converging at one point. It is a little different scenario, and at least you have SOME control over the crowds. 

With the possibility of five houses at the front of the park, a scare zone, Rockit, and Despicable Me, it's probably going to be a little cramped no matter what you do. But, if they had to take over an area, Shrek's spare theater seems to be the best option. And if access is indeed closed off to Shrek Alley, I don't think it would be as bad as some make it out to be. All that other stuff is pretty par for the course. 

Not only that, but taking over the spare theater, gives them a little bit more of a controllable environment to use for a house. It's a pretty sizable space; perhaps not as big as a soundstage, but a little bigger than a Sprung Tent. And based on the last few years, HHN can work wonders with those. So I wouldn't be worried if this is indeed the case.  

This option, would never happen, but in an alternate universe, it possibly could. With the parade floats being housed in B-79, the space is already limited. Universal and HHN, would have to find a place to put the floats. 

One house could enter through the front of the parade building (which until recently used to happen all the time). The other house could enter around the back (where the entrance to houses has been for the past few years). The exits to both houses, would remain in the same place.

Over by the Sprung Tents currently, there is enough space to possibly build another Sprung Tent. From what I gather, I think this option has been scrapped in the past because of cost. Those things are supposedly very expensive to purchase. 

If you have ever waited for a Sprung Tent 2 house, you know they have some open space back there. Another tent would fit perfectly. However, as of right now, I think they use the space for construction equipment and such. Perhaps in the future, something permanent may need to be placed back there. 

If for sake of argument, they ever got rid of the Parade Building, there's ample space to build another structure back in that area to house the floats, and could make use as a structure during HHN. Perhaps it may even be pertinent to build another permanent structure back there, specifically for HHN, as the event grows.

Truth be told, the space back there could also fit another attraction, if they so decide to build something. Perhaps, they want to preserve most of the space for that reason. Still, there is plenty of room to perhaps fit another permanent structure the size of the Parade Building, and another large attraction. So, I digress. 

Ah. The old two park rumor that pops up every year. Realistically, a two park HHN these days has some problems. While a few rumors suggest that J.K. Rowling has gone back on her initially feelings on having Potter anywhere near HHN, there is no evidence to support this.

In IOA, getting around the problem is easy by opening the "temporary bridge" into Jurassic Park. Seuss Landing, also has the issue of no spooky things in that area, but they got around this in the past. I actually liked the idea of having The Grinch roaming around a foggy Seuss Landing during Halloween Horror Nights.

There are a plethora of places to put Halloween Horror Nights houses in IOA. One such place, is the one specifically built for HHN, but only used three times. I speak of course of the Carnage Warehouse, or its actually name, B285A. By splitting the event into "two" parks, it just opens the door for more space.

However, the two park thing for HHN, while a good experiment, didn't quite work out too well. For starters, it was expensive to do. Granted, these days I think they have a bit more money to work with. Still, it would probably eat into the design budget. Which I think today, wouldn't fly.

And, it wasn't even really two parks. Having both parks open in full, would be a nightmare, and very expensive. So aside from using the idea for the space, it really isn't worth it. However, it could be an option later on down the road, if space becomes a huge issue. 

For HHN XXIV, the Legendary Truth experience utilized a section of the Revenge of the Mummy building and its queue, for the little experience. Is there another attraction at Universal, that could possibly give up its queue for HHN? Well, not really. Most everything else utilizes its queues during the day, and some fill them up.

I have fever dreams sometimes, of E.T. using its queue for an HHN house. I mean, by and large, just add crap to the forest. Boom. Horror Nights house. However, E.T. is a pretty popular attraction, and its queue is kind of part of the experience. I guess if they ever decide to close E.T. during regular park hours, they can use it. Perhaps, schedule its annual maintenance during the months of Halloween Horror Nights?

Revenge of the Mummy, while it too barely uses its HUMONGOUS overflow queue these days, it still generates quite a lot of guests. The ride is also pretty popular during HHN itself. While the Legendary Truth experience utilized a sizable portion of the Mummy building, I don't think much more of it can be excised in favor of an HHN house.

Aside from grossly splitting the soundstage houses, realistically, they are pretty much out of room.  

As we move forward, rumors would suggest certain places may be going the way of the Dodo. Some of these places, are locations for HHN houses. Perhaps with a never before used location for HHN XXV, this will give the team some ideas to make up for possible lost space in the future. 

Where those locations will be, is anybody's guess. However, I would think that at some point, with possible new things being built, HHN is being considered as well. Time will tell as we march on into the future. 

Greetings internet dwellers!

Went down to Universal for a few hours on Thursday, to get out of the house for a bit. I was advised by my nurse, to nix the wheelchair, and do some walking around. So, I did, but I didn't make it all the way around the park. Pretty much just stayed in the front half of the Studios.

I stayed for the fireworks, and played around with some night stuff. All in all, it was a fun few hours. Walking was a better idea than the wheelchair. Hopefully, I will be down there more often in the coming weeks, as this wound goes the way of the Dodo. 

Anyway, enjoy.

Greetings internet dwellers!

Halloween Horror Nights gave fans their first glimpse at the terror to come to HHN XXV this morning. Who better to do it for die-hard fans, then Jack The Clown. HalloweenHorrorNights.com, got updated this morning.

The site promises 9 houses, 5 scare zones, 2 shows, and 30 nights of mayhem. This of course is all capped off by a teaser video, showcasing Jack The Clown. The best thing about the video for me, is the quip at the end. "Did you miss me?" he says. It's kind of a brilliant way to wink at the hardcore fans.

I still say Jack is too overused, and it appears they are going more for a Carnival of Carnage 2ish feel, which I'm kind of on the fence about. Still, I love the logo design, and that Pop Goes the Wiesel, rock-ish tune is pretty nifty. It will be nice to have a different tune stuck in your head, rather than that Walking Dead theme song blaring everywhere.  

EDIT: It also appears you can "pledge your allegiance" to Jack. Just go to the "connect" menu at the top, and follow the instructions there if you so wish. You can be one of his "maniacs" if you desire. Sound like it is really just another social media ploy for HHN and Universal though. 

EDIT: Mike Aiello says via Twitter, that the event will feature "the most Scare Actor's we've ever had" in the streets. In addition to the Scare Zones, they will have 2 roaming hordes. You can read more at their blog. 

Things will be revealed more as we go forward of course.

Hasta La Bye-bye for now. 

Greetings internet dwellers!

It's time to start our HHN 25th anniversary coverage. Before we start recounting our experiences from our last 15 years of going, we will address the elephant in the room. Better to start with the bad, and get it out of the way. No doubt, if you follow Halloween Horror Nights closely, you may have noticed some hostility towards the event the past few years. The vast majority of the hostility, comes from HHN die-hards and veterans of the event, but why? Why have the most faithful of Halloween Horror Nights visitor's, upturned their noses to the event? 

THE WALKING DEAD NIGHTS

If you have visited a forum, Facebook page, Twitter Feed, Tumblr page, or any other online source dedicated to Halloween Horror Nights over the last few years, you may have seen this term. The HHN veterans, HATE the fact that The Walking Dead has been predominantly featured at the event the past few years. But why? Why are they so hostile towards the property being featured at Halloween Horror Nights?

The answer isn't that simple. If you really dig into the anger towards The Walking Dead, most HHN fans would point the finger in one direction: the marketing department. "Marketing is ruining the event with The Walking Dead." "Marketing only cares about money." "Marketing doesn't care about the event." "Marketing is greedy." This is easy; yes marketing is all of those things, but they are supposed to be.

The job of marketing lies within its name. They are there to sell the event. Put yourself in their shoes for a moment. Universal strikes a deal with AMC to bring The Walking Dead to the event. The Walking Dead is one of the most popular shows on television, breaking viewership records left and right. For a little perspective, Season 5 of The Walking Dead was its most successful in terms of ratings. The season 5 debut, scored 17.8 million viewers (the most ever for the show), and its finale netted 15.8 million viewers, up from the season 4 finale (15.7 million viewers). In TV terms, that is a pretty big market share, and up about 3% from the season 4 finale.

Those are incredible numbers, especially for a show on cable. And the show is going into its 6th season. So if you're in the marketing department, you've been handed your job on a silver platter. If you're Universal, you've hit a goldmine. Not only that, but Universal can reach an audience that may not have attended, or had any desire to attend Horror Nights in the past. It opens the door to a wider audience. So naturally, you use The Walking Dead to sell the event. The Walking Dead is plastered everywhere; billboards, t-shirts, mugs, hats, glasses, commercials, posters... you name it, The Walking Dead was on it. 

Would this be any different, if the property was something else? What if, for sake of argument, Universal struck a deal with Marvel to bring Marvel Zombies to Halloween Horror Nights? The answer is no. Marvel Zombies would be plastered all over the place, and marketing would be doing the same thing. So why still the hostility towards The Walking Dead? Well, the other aspect to this is overuse of the property. And to this I have to ask, what overuse?

Since Horror Nights has had the property, they have only gone overboard one time. HHN XXIII, saw the entire Street Experience as The Walking Dead. Did they repeat that for HHN XXIV? Or have that for HHN XXII? No, they didn't. So they've used the property 3 years in a row. Was it the same house 3 years in a row? The answer is still, no. What if Universal decided to bring an epic three year stint of Night of the Living Dead to the event? They do Night, Dawn and Day, for three years. It's still the same premise, but different settings. I can guarantee you there would be no complaints.

You will often hear that Horror Nights doesn't re-use properties like this. Again, I have to say, really? HHN has done sequel houses to its properties for years. Often, the premises are the same, just sequelized. Is it the same house? No. They've also used the same properties, yet, changed them in some way, shape, or form (how many Dracula's have we seen?). Did they do them back-to-back? Not exactly. But would it matter? If Horror Nights decided to bring back say, Nightingales three years in a row, would people still complain? HHN has constantly brought back houses in the past. Dungeon of Terror, The People Under the Stairs, Psychoscareapy, Psycho, Scary Tales, countless houses based on the Universal Monsters, Scream House, All Nite Die-In, and Havoc, just to name a few. All properties used multiple times at nauseum. 

What is the purpose of bringing something back? Creating a sequel to something? Popularity. Some will have you believe, that the public is tired of The Walking Dead. Did these people visit the event last year? The Walking Dead had insane wait times every night. Right from the get-go. With more Average Joe's attending the event, they are outweighing the hardcore fans. HHN veterans just have this blind rage towards The Walking Dead. Until people stop showing up for The Walking Dead, it will be here to stay.

WHERE ARE THE ICONS?

Most HHN veterans will tell you that they are tired of everything being focused on The Walking Dead, and they want Horror Nights to do Icons again. When you break that down, it's actually a silly thing to say. What purpose does an Icon for HHN serve? Marketing. Jack The Clown, The Director, The Caretaker, all serve the same purpose as The Walking Dead. They are marketing tools to sell the event. Any year Horror Nights had an Icon, weren't they featured in commercials? On billboards? On T-shirts? On glasses? You name it, they were on it. 

When you dig deeper, there seems to be this notion that the marketing department is hindering A&D's creative juices. Utilizing The Walking Dead to sell the event is “lazy." But is it really? If Jack The Clown had his own high-rated TV show, and Universal got the rights to bring the show to Halloween Horror Nights, wouldn't they be doing the same thing? There is this perception that because the Icons are “original,” they are “better.” But, is that really true?

The last Icon we had was Lady Luck, and HHN die-hards threw her under that prop bus Horror Nights uses every year. They hate her as an Icon because she was “underdeveloped." The HHN veterans also didn't take too kindly to Fear either. There is a blatant hypocrisy that rears its head when die-hard fans of the event complain about the lack of Icons.

So they hate that The Walking Dead is featured at the event. It is screamed on one side of the mountain, then on the other side of the mountain, scream to bring back the Icons. So, nix more of the same, for more of the same? That just doesn't make a whole lot of sense. "Bring back Jack the Clown because we are tired of The Walking Dead". Is re-using an Icon that has been featured on repeat for years, really all that “original"?

This leads into a little bit of a slippery issue when it comes to A&D, but we'll get to that later. The elaborate mythology and backstories that the Horror Night Icons have, really have no bearing beyond what their main purpose is. All that stuff is great, but is it really that necessary? They are merely a marketing tool.

THE WEBSITE

The Halloween Horror Nights website, has taken an obvious nosedive in interactivity over the last few years. Gone are the days of hours of Horror Nights world building and games, that used to permeate the websites. With HHN XXI, there wasn't a whole lot of fun and games to be had on the site. Sure they were there, and sure Lady Luck had a backstory in those games, but it wasn't up to the standards that the HHN veterans had come to appreciate.

In the case of Lady Luck specifically, she seems to be this nebulous Icon these days. But is it really because her backstory wasn't as elaborate? Or was it just because she was a forgettable Icon? No matter how many games, years of backstory, or connections to houses she has, it's all about how she was executed. Her presence in the park was pretty nonexistent, and those masks looked awful. The website had nothing to do with it. She was plastered all over the marketing material, right? She was the selling point, right? OK, just checking.

As HHN grows to a larger audience, an elaborate website with games and backstories, which are catered to about 0.001% of Halloween Horror Nights fans, is just not necessary. Guests coming to the Halloween Horror Nights website, are looking for five pieces of information: How much? When? Where? What time? What is the content? I'm willing to bet most people who attended HHN XXI, have no idea Lady Luck was connected to all the houses. 

Let's talk about those Lady Luck masks for a moment. Some HHN veterans will tell you that Halloween Horror Nights has taken severe budget cuts over the last few years, causing houses and things to have to cut corners. Including the website. To be honest, there has not been a single shred of proof to say that Horror Nights has taken severe budget cuts. In fact, there is evidence to the contrary.

Those horrid looking masks for example. They had to produce how many of those? Maybe 20 or so? They were supposed represent Lady Luck in her demon state. They could have easily just done that with some simple make-up and prosthetics, which would have been the cheaper option. Instead, they went with the more expensive route of fabricating latex masks in bulk. Not exactly the cheaper option. Oh, and those 3-D projectors used for Acid Assault? Not exactly cheap either.

I think a lot of fans will tell you that HHN XXI, also had some of the best collection of houses ever. If not the best. The last three years, one would argue, gave us two of the best houses HHN has every done. These budget cuts can be found where? The lack of an elaborate website? No Legendary Truth? Those are two poor examples to give for rolling budget cuts, no? They are two pieces of Halloween Horror Nights, that cater to a very small percentage of fans. 

Money for the event seems to be being spent elsewhere, instead of giving it to Legendary Truth, or the fancy website. In fact, the poorly conceived Compound game last year, actually is a good reflection of where the event is headed. HHN is really trying to cater more to the average person, rather than focusing on the die-hards. Now, that isn't to say the powers that be aren't throwing the veterans a bone every now and then. Horror Unearthed, Legendary Truth 2013, and the experimental Legendary Truth experience in 2014, show this. The use of more recognizable intellectual properties, also shows the event is trying to branch out to a wider audience.

However, is this a sign of a falling budget? Is this a sign of falling creativity? The answer is no. HHN is just evolving and growing. We as fans may not like where it is going, but that doesn't mean we have disguise our anger with false thinking and accusations. Now, is this to say that there aren't budget fluctuations? Of course not. I guarantee there are every year, in both directions. However, there is no evidence to point to doom and gloom budget cuts at all.

And why can't the event evolve for a wider audience? Why can't marketing use The Walking Dead to advertise for the event? I don't see anything wrong with that. Sure, it may not be "original," but it still gets the job done. And can one really argue that using The Walking Dead isn't working?

To be honest, the use of social media has changed the way Horror Nights approaches its websites, and marketing. I bring up The Compound again, as this showcases that approach. It brought in a "game" element like Legendary Truth, it was "interactive" in nature, and offered free advertising on social media with all it's hashtags and tags. I think a lot of people get a chunk of their information from social media these days anyway. And that pretty much nixes the use of a super-duper elaborate website. 

With the world living in a virtual, social media driven bubble these days, the use of an elaborate website just seems like a moot point. Beyond providing the obvious ticket options, times, and locations, it serves no real purpose for anything else. Other than to cater to 0.001% of Horror Nights fans. 

A&D

Let's talk about the “creative” side for a moment. No matter what property marketing, the suits, or the powers that be decide to use, it is still A&D's responsibility to create the content. They are ultimately responsible for creating the best experience that can possibly be done. There tends to be this practice of putting the A&D department on a pedestal. "The Walking Dead house sucks because, you know, marketing." Well, wait a minute. That's not true.

If a house is done poorly, it is on A&D's shoulders, not Marketing. I don't care what the property is. A&D is responsible for designing and executing the content, and if you walk into The Walking Dead, or Silent Hill, or Resident Evil and it's bad, that's nobody's fault but theirs. And if your boss tells you to do something, you do it. No matter how much you hate it.

You also do it to the best of your ability. If you deliberately cut corners because you don't agree with the work that was assigned to you, then that's just bad practice. And shame on them for doing that, if that is indeed the case. It's petty, and now you are playing with people's money. I would like to believe that this has not been the case the last few years. That first Walking Dead house was bad, but that's not marketing's fault. It's A&D's. 

Every event is going to have some houses that are up to par, and some that are not. It's just the law of averages. Afterlife for example. That house was pretty much panned by everyone. However, someone is bound to find a way to blame marketing or Comcast for that house's failure. Why? Because they believe everything is their fault. That's just an excuse not to blame A&D. They created the house. They executed it. It's their fault. 

The same logic applies to The Walking Dead. They designed it. They executed it. It's their fault. If, for sake of argument, Halloween was a bad house, would people still blame the suits for its failure? Probably, because it's an IP and "IP's are bad." They were told to do the house by marketing, so by default, it's bad. That's a horrible excuse for poor execution of a house. Speaking of IP's...

MONEY, MONEY, MONEY

Their tends to be this line of thinking nowadays, that the Comcast suits are the devil because they care about money. Well, yes, the care about money. As much as the veterans of HHN don't want to hear it, Universal Orlando, and by proxy, Halloween Horror Nights, is in the business of making money. Why people fail to see this, is beyond me. 

As Horror Nights also grows to a larger audience, IP's are more important to bring people in. This goes back to what I said earlier about The Walking Dead. One of the most popular titles on television, is going to bring people into the event. And let's not pretend that Universal has never used IP's in the past. HHN II, saw it's very first IP: The People Under the Stairs, and it even came back the next year, along with Psycho. Do these simply get a pass because both are Universal properties? If it does, then that is silly. 

The use of IP's is nothing new. Sure, the past few years saw more IP's than original houses, but why should it matter as long as the IP's are done well? It's all in the execution, and again, that rests with A&D, not the marketing department. It's funny because I remember a time when HHN die-hards screamed for IP's to come to the event. "Bring Friday the 13th!" "Bring A Nightmare on Elm Street!" "The Universal Classic Monsters!" Now they have IP's, but because it is the very popular The Walking Dead, or Dracula Untold, they hate it. 

Another line of thinking is that using IP's is “lazy." Why? If anything, using an IP is harder to do than an original property. With an IP, now you're dealing with expectations. The house better live up to the film it's based on. Something like The Cabin in the Woods for example. That film was incredibly hard to translate, yet I think most people would agree, they did it. With The Walking Dead, yes, AMC has a few restrictions here and there, but nothing to cause them to totally botch the experience. One could argue that the majority of IP properties at the event since HHN XXII, have been BETTER than the original content houses. 

The inherent problem with using IP's though, is that there is bound to be some people who don't care for the property. However, that's just human nature. Any house, IP or original, is bound not to please everyone. Isn't that the crutch of all this? You can't please everyone. If I had a nickel for everyone who had no clue what the hell An American Werewolf in London was, I would be a rich man. They sure as hell knew what The Walking Dead was though. 

CREATING A MONSTER

Spoiled. That's where a lot of this anger comes from. HHN veterans got used to a certain way of doing things. Now that it's changing and becoming more mainstream, the event "sucks." Does it? Does it really? Or do the veterans just feel disenfranchised because they feel that Horror Nights doesn't cater to them anymore? The later is more true than the first. I loved playing Horror Unearthed. I loved playing Legendary Truth (your Cerebin leader has spoken), but I'm not going to base my entire experience on a game. 

There are decision being made that I question sometimes, yes, but honestly, if you only go to the event because of games, or elaborate Icon backstories rather than the event itself, then one has to question that decision. Games, and fancy websites don't make the event. They are extras; the cherry on top, but that cherry is just empty calories. 

Boycotting the event because there are no more games on a fancy website? For me, that's just dumb. Boycotting the event because they offer an American Werewolf in London shirt, or a Child's Play shirt? Again, silly. Screaming at Comcast and the marketing department because they want to make money, is also silly. 

When The Walking Dead stops making them money, they will get rid of it. I also feel people who question its current popularity, need to jump off that high horse of theirs. This thing is still a juggernaut. I think the house last year, was pretty successful too. People will still come for it, until the hype dies down. And hey, if you don't like The Walking Dead, then don't go in the house. Plain and simple. Stop trying to say that you speak for everyone that goes to the event too. Because you don't. I abhor The Walking Dead, but I just don't see the reasoning behind damning HHN for using it. 

CH-CH-CHANGES

Horror Nights will put on its 25th event this year. 2010 promised a "new age of darkness." Sure, it's funny to Joke that the the "new age of darkness" is actually The Walking Dead. Still, I have to wonder, do people just want more of the same? With perhaps Jack The Clown, and lots of the other former Icons returning for HHN XXV, is that really what people want? The same old event running for 25 years?

If so, that is crazy. Things should evolve and change. Especially in entertainment. I mean for Jebus sake, The Simpsons just signed a contract for 2 more seasons to run on Fox. That would bring the show to 28 seasons. Most people stopped watching the show ages ago. How many more time can Homer get into the same shenanigans? 

How about some new Icons instead of the old ones? To be honest I'm a little sick of Jack. I mean, he started the whole wave of Icons, but let's just put him away for a while. Perhaps, forever. He, and the other Icons, had their time. Why can't The Walking Dead, or something else have theirs?

I get that people are afraid of change. I am too, especially when it involves something I am passionate about. However, sometimes the natural ebb and flow of things need to run its course. Horror Nights is no different for me personally. I like to see different things. Yes, The Walking Dead has been there for three, possibly four years, but the Icons had eleven years.

Whatever changes are in store as Horror Nights moves forward, one thing I think we all need to realize, is that things change. We change. People change. It happens. And we all really need to sit back and breathe. Because honestly, it isn't all that bad. I mean seriously, is it? 

Why can't the event change? Why can't they experiment with new things? Why can't we have new experiences, other than Psychoscareapy 1,000? Or Jack The Clown (He's different! we changed his look!)? Why can't we have The Walking Dead? Or Alice Cooper? 

There's room for it all in my book, no matter how much I hate The Walking Dead, for that matter.  

Greetings internet dwellers!

Well, after some serious Twitter spamming on Saturday evening, Mike Aiello decided to throw us a bone. Apparently, he was supposed to show this short, 20 second teaser clip at the HHN Panel down at Spooky Empire on Saturday. Unfortunately, the video didn't work. So, as a reward for putting up with some serious follower begging on Twitter, he posted it there.

The clip has the same image that has been making the rounds. It is that back-lit, "tunnel" (honestly, it's just between the soundstages at Universal). There are some flashes, and the words "The nightmare returns" appear. Then a shadowed figure appears. Then the words "May 19". Then of course, the obligatory social media plugs. 

The video has not yet been posted to Facebook or Youtube, and I won't be stealing it from the Twitter video. Once it's available on Youtube, I will post it. Below you will find screenshots of the video though.

If I had to glance into the crystal ball, I would say that Tuesday, will probably make way to the HHN teaser site. The current placeholder site will be gone. Perhaps some ticket options will start trickling in, and maybe another tease or two. I don't know just how much info they will release on Tuesday, but the way certain things have gone already this year, it's anyone's guess.

Hasta La Bye-bye for now.

Greetings internet dwellers.

I wasn't going to say anything, but I've been hounded by a bunch of people to say something. First and foremost, I have no clue if these popcorn boxes are real, or not. I can not confirm with 100% accuracy. I will not be posting pics of them either, unless something official comes out. Nor will I be posting this new HHN link.

I will say that by all accounts, the new link was apparently hidden inside the popcorn box if true. If you type in the regular HHN web address, it's the same as the old. If something official pops up, I will post it. Something may be coming very, very soon.

If you so desire to see said stuff, just search on Twitter. 

So long for now. 

Greetings internet dwellers!

As most of you know, I've been recovering from surgery. I got the OK from my nurse and doctor, to venture forth and spend a few hours at the park. Granted, it was in a wheelchair with my pops, and I can't do rides, but I managed to snap some pics. 

Kong is looking mighty fine. I love the rock detail on this thing. It's going to look awesome when done. It may be a while before I return to the parks. I still need time to heal. Anyway, happy viewing!

From King Kong to Donkey Kong? It's been a busy two days for Universal Orlando. Yesterday saw the return of King Kong at Islands of Adventure and today, sees a partnership with Nintendo. What exactly does this mean? Well, we don't know yet. Universal said this on their blog:

"Nintendo and Universal Parks & Resorts today announced plans to bring the world of Nintendo to life at Universal theme parks."

"Together, these two storytelling giants will create spectacular, dedicated experiences based on Nintendo’s wildly popular games, characters and worlds."

The blog goes on to say that both companies are currently working on concepts together. They promise "immersive experiences" and "major attractions", that will feature Nintendo's famous characters and world's. 

This opens up a whole Pandora's Box of ideas, speculation and possibilities. Where? What? How? When? Is this the long rumored replacement for Kid Zone? Is there truth to the long rumored re-branding of Toon Lagoon? Could this open up the possibility of more Video Game branded houses for Horror Nights? Looks like we have to wait for those answers. 

As a fan of old school Nintendo, I say bring it on. I would love attractions themed around Mario and Zelda. Yes, yes I would. Give me Hyrule over Middle Earth any day.