Halloween Horror Nights 34 (UOR) - Speculation & Rumors

[TheCodeMan95]

We all need to buy the mods a drink at HHN this year.

(Well not me - you guys)

 

[Jake S]

We all need to buy the mods a drink at HHN this year.

sorry i only read this part

 

[SeanPhilly]

sorry i only read this part

If any mods are there 10/11 through 10/20, I’m game to buy!

 

[jarmor]

What is confusing me is, if you're already here (on the forum) and even casually participate then chances are you know what houses to expect this year so what is the big deal about when it is announced? It's quite concerning when I log on and see how sad and down people are that there was no announcement, when none was even promised in the first place. Like, it has become the personality of some and some have lost some grasp of reality. Like for instance, saying marketing is not good because you aren't getting the announcement is, well, a choice lol.

I remember having to be smart enough to solve riddles and having enough patience to sit through audio case files to get off hand descriptions of the houses. There were no speculation maps, no "insiders" (well there was Dr. Charles lol) just shocked folks when something updated or when a house was revealed. I wish we could go back to those times instead of having our mood depend on if HHN announced something or not. . .

So, When's the next announcement lol.

 

[Blysthon]

I take back what I said I’m going to bed, but I’m not disappointed all though it has been wild today. I will await tomorrow if something happens.

 

[Casper Gutman]

Please explain how. Someone with Blum let the FNAF cat out of the bag. If you think Universal Marketing had anything to do with that, you're delusional. They released their tweet to stem the bleeding and do something.

The Fallout Announcement was an IGN exclusive. All kinds of companies do this all the time. Why? Because IGN has a world wide audience of gamers...a demographic HHN is clearly trying to tap into. It's a great move.

Then today, they don't announce something that was never implied to be announced in the first place and that's just unacceptable?

The point of marketing isn't to tell you, what you already know, when and how you want to find out about it. People bitching about marketing not doing their job out one side of their mouth and then bitching about how popular and crowded the event is out the otherside of their mouth is just stupidity (general statement, no directed any particular person).

MARKETings job is to MARKET the event, to make the MARKET (aka consumers) aware of the event and want to attend it. The crowds say they're doing a great job. That's indicative of a job well done, not that "Superfan XYZ" thinks they should have announced something on the v1 Spec Map a different date, at a different time, in a different way, through different channels.

the frantic defense of HHNs MARKETERS - not designers, staffers, scareactors, etc - is just odd.

As we’ve discussed just recently, in most cases the success or failure of an established product has relatively little demonstrable relation to a particular marketing campaign. We can all remember terrible campaigns for successful products. If you were praising HHN’s EARLY marketing, before it had a firm foothold and needed to establish a fan base and identity, you’d have a firmer if still incomplete argument. The fact is that a lot of complicated and intersecting factors - economic, cultural, etc - have contributed to HHNs continued growth in recent years and specific marketing programs are a very minor part of that.

Fans are necessary but not sufficient to HHN’s success. The overall campaign should absolutely be oriented towards the general public even as it still tries to woo the fans. But right now we are in the “fan” phase of the marketing roll out. House reveals, merch teases - those are aimed at energizing your base. The GP isn’t really tuned in yet. The heavy GP push - billboards, radio and TV ads, product tie-ins, etc. - will be much more vital closer to the event.

Frankly, that GP campaign has been, at best, unfocused and unmemorable for several years. Universal’s recent HHN campaigns have given the appearance of suffering from a mix of indecision, poor coordination between departments, lack of focus and direction, mixed messaging, and so on. It’s all rather strange considering that the event is so vital to the resort’s profits and perceptions.

 

[Brandon Voorhees]

When's the sweepstakes announcement dropping?!

 

[SeventyOne]

HHN fans when they don’t get an announcement but already know what 98% of what the lineup consists of….

Because it's not enough to be a "fan" anymore. You need to be an "insider super-fan," with secret esoteric knowledge of exactly what's coming -- which IP, which location they'll be in, the number of rooms, where the GATs are, what the ABV of the new craft-brewed HHN beer will be -- else you're just one more of the great unwashed who every year simply walk up, buy a ticket and raw-dog it all night. Because they're not real fans, even if they've been for years, they aren't even wearing a vintage t-shirt! But until the insider secret knowledge is confirmed, it's possible you were just another all year.

(This is obviously an issue throughout theme park fandom -- and other fandoms, the clown emoji was inspired by my Swiftie wife -- but HHN seems to be the worst. My theory is that HHN is like Monty Python & The Holy Grail in the 80s -2000s. Literally everyone who went to college ever in that era had seen it, but nerdy fans still loved to pretend it was some obscure cult movie so that quoting it made you one of the cool kids. HHN super-fans treat the event like a cult favorite only they obsess over and truly understand, even though it's easily the most attended event in Orlando.)

 

[RedRightDan]

HHN super-fans treat the event like a cult favorite only they obsess over and truly understand, even though it's easily the most attended event in Orlando.)

Spitting the hard truth bombs this morning.

 

[PrimalScream1996]

When's the sweepstakes announcement dropping?!

Have no fear these desktops should hold you over before announcements start up again lmao

 

[Casper Gutman]

Because it's not enough to be a "fan" anymore. You need to be an "insider super-fan," with secret esoteric knowledge of exactly what's coming -- which IP, which location they'll be in, the number of rooms, where the GATs are, what the ABV of the new craft-brewed HHN beer will be -- else you're just one more of the great unwashed who every year simply walk up, buy a ticket and raw-dog it all night. Because they're not real fans, even if they've been for years, they aren't even wearing a vintage t-shirt! But until the insider secret knowledge is confirmed, it's possible you were just another all year.

(This is obviously an issue throughout theme park fandom -- and other fandoms, the clown emoji was inspired by my Swiftie wife -- but HHN seems to be the worst. My theory is that HHN is like Monty Python & The Holy Grail in the 80s -2000s. Literally everyone who went to college ever in that era had seen it, but nerdy fans still loved to pretend it was some obscure cult movie so that quoting it made you one of the cool kids. HHN super-fans treat the event like a cult favorite only they obsess over and truly understand, even though it's easily the most attended event in Orlando.)

Maybe people just really like the event, are excited about it, and want more information about it? I don’t think that’s odd. I don’t see a lot of the gatekeeping of which you’re accusing HHN fans.

It is absolutely possible to placate fans while also appealing to the general audience. For over a decade the MCU gave an absolutely textbook example of how to please both groups. Lots of other properties have done it too.

The fact that HHN is “easily the most attended event in Orlando” makes it all the more strange that its marketing often seems so shambolic and unfocused.

 

[velocicoasterswife]

Maybe people just really like the event, are excited about it, and want more information about it? I don’t think that’s odd. I don’t see a lot of the gatekeeping of which you’re accusing HHN fans.

It is absolutely possible to placate fans while also appealing to the general audience. For over a decade the MCU gave an absolutely textbook example of how to please both groups. Lots of other properties have done it too.

The fact that HHN is “easily the most attended event in Orlando” makes it all the more strange that its marketing often seems so shambolic and unfocused.

Yeah I think the way the fanbase acts and interacts has more to do with HHN's nature as a seasonal event than its reputation as a cult object. Well before I ever cared about HHN, I started getting excited about Halloween in June. People are pumped and it's far enough out that the only real outlet for their hype is strings-on-boards conspiracy theorizing. The fact that there's a sizable group of people wanting to engage in that absurd ritual this far out is good and fun, imho.

 

[amar831]

We’ve gotten 4 official house announcements and confirmation that 5 nights will be at the event in the span of about a month, with 2 of those announcements being within a 4 day span. The announcements with videos attached have also given us a glimpse of the overall theme of the event. Prior to May 22nd, there was a heavy focus on Epic Universe. If the focus right now is on the pre-established fanbase, and they didn’t announce anything yesterday on purpose, I honestly have to give them props because there was such a high amount of engagement on this thread due to the lack of an announcement yesterday.

 

[TheCodeMan95]

I wonder if we'll ever see a return for Scareactor dining - I've never done it but was always interested in it. FNAF could be a good theme for it!

 

[Casper Gutman]

I wonder if we'll ever see a return for Scareactor dining - I've never done it but was always interested in it. FNAF could be a good theme for it!

It was fun but it really needed the space of Monsters Cafe. The present location doesn’t work. It would be something they could host in the festival center they desperately need.

 

[saint.piss]

I guess Chad forgot to turn on their alarm yesterday.

 

[Parkscope Joe]

I wonder if we'll ever see a return for Scareactor dining - I've never done it but was always interested in it. FNAF could be a good theme for it!

Universals lack of character dining in general is an issue IMHO

 

[Neo]

the frantic defense of HHNs MARKETERS - not designers, staffers, scareactors, etc - is just odd.

As we’ve discussed just recently, in most cases the success or failure of an established product has relatively little demonstrable relation to a particular marketing campaign. We can all remember terrible campaigns for successful products. If you were praising HHN’s EARLY marketing, before it had a firm foothold and needed to establish a fan base and identity, you’d have a firmer if still incomplete argument. The fact is that a lot of complicated and intersecting factors - economic, cultural, etc - have contributed to HHNs continued growth in recent years and specific marketing programs are a very minor part of that.

Fans are necessary but not sufficient to HHN’s success. The overall campaign should absolutely be oriented towards the general public even as it still tries to woo the fans. But right now we are in the “fan” phase of the marketing roll out. House reveals, merch teases - those are aimed at energizing your base. The GP isn’t really tuned in yet. The heavy GP push - billboards, radio and TV ads, product tie-ins, etc. - will be much more vital closer to the event.

Frankly, that GP campaign has been, at best, unfocused and unmemorable for several years. Universal’s recent HHN campaigns have given the appearance of suffering from a mix of indecision, poor coordination between departments, lack of focus and direction, mixed messaging, and so on. It’s all rather strange considering that the event is so vital to the resort’s profits and perceptions.

First off, let me apologize for my rant yesterday. While I believe every single word I said, it was harsh...in part because I make this argument several times every single year. And, yes, I worked in marketing for over 2 decades so it's a an area I'm passionate in defending.

Right now we're in the midst of a historic heatwave in the US, overseas turmoil, etc, etc, etc. A Halloween event is the last thing on the mind of Joe Public / GP right now. Nobody, but us super fans, cares about HHN right now. If Universal TRUELY wanted to have a focused campaign, that went off without a hitch, and captured the GP they wouldn't start the event until late September and not announce anything until mid September to strike while the iron is hot and drive "knee jerk reaction sales". So long as everything is announced, prior to September, where they can mount a "vanilla" campaign of billboards and commercials to pull in the GP, then they're good. I'm the biggest fan of the old online website with it's games, but again, Jane Doe worrying if her A/C can keep up with the heat wouldn't give a crap about a site like that.

Mixed messaging isn't necessarily a bad thing. Again the superfan that has the meme of all the connected crap on the wall, wants this...but does it matter to the GP? If I'm a huge Fallout fan, having Fallout at the event is going to pull me in. Do I care if Fallout has a background that includes stained glass or anything? No. Do I care if I know how it's linked to some "random" Hatchet and Chains thing? No. If I'm really into the spooky, does an unexplained blob living underneath Universal entice me? Sure, seems spooky to me. Do I need it tied into 10 houses, 5 zones, and a show or two? No. These aren't mutually exclusive.

A cohesive campaign is something super fans, who have been pouring over the spec maps for months and trying to connect dots that may, or may not, be there want. And even if it was provided, let's be honest, it would piss off half the fanbase because it's not the way THEY would tie it all together.

 

[v0latilebear]

Universals lack of character dining in general is an issue IMHO

Doing scareactor dining in Monsters cafe and then Louie’s it just wasn’t the same after monster closed. I’d love for it to make a comeback.

 

[Brian G.]

Maybe people just really like the event, are excited about it, and want more information about it? I don’t think that’s odd. I don’t see a lot of the gatekeeping of which you’re accusing HHN fans.

Maybe not here. But there is DEFINITELY a big issue with this in the community.