Halloween Horror Nights 2024 (USH) - Speculation & Rumors | Page 11 | Inside Universal Forums

Halloween Horror Nights 2024 (USH) - Speculation & Rumors

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Probably apropos of nothing, and to be clear I have no inside information whatsoever. But I am an accountant, and if there is one thing that I’ve learned over the past few years of reading and learning about theme parks is that budgeting and marketing are two of the most important factors in the creation of these seasonal events.

With that being said, from purely a budget standpoint, here are some of my predictions.

Chucky Repeat or Gremlins: as has been said before, we are 100% getting another maze primarily with small animatronics. Reports seem to indicate they spent a shiny penny for the maze this year. My gut says they will run a repeat of Chucky this year, with Gremlins to come next year. 80’s nostalgia sells big at the event - as does “family-friendly” IP houses (whatever that means). This seems to check both boxes. The only question is if WB wants to play ball.

Five Nights at Freddy’s: I would be beating a dead horse to talk about this at length. We are getting this. 100%. Blumhouse and Universal are tight. This was one of the most successful horror movies of the year. The thing I will say is that doing this right would be incredibly expensive. Which leads me to next point…

The Thing: I can’t see this one coming in the same year that Five Nights runs. Too expensive. Especially with them still amortizing Chucky out over multiple years as they surely will.

Ghostbusters / American Werewolf: We will be getting an 80’s “comedy maze” (especially if Gremlins has to wait until next year). I would bet on a repeat. And a beat-for-beat repeat at that. The event is beginning to demand more mazes to absorb the crowds. The event seems to be reacting to this by running repeats. It is what it is.

Monsters: I am a huge Universal Monsters fan. Was not a fan of the maze this year. That being said, they seem to test high with audiences. I would bet on some more mainstream monsters this year. Murdy seems to like Frankenstein and his Bride best. And they have been sitting out for a few years. Would be cool to see them do it in B&W and/or include Creature in some capacity, but I’m not holding my breath.

Latin Monsters: Happening 100% and all but confirmed. If they are trying to save some money on this one I could see El Cucuy getting another run. Not sure. Chupacabras haven’t been represented very much at the event so I could see them factoring in in some capacity.

Scream: Rumors persist every year. The modern franchise is in shambles. Still popular to the public, though. Could see them making a maze based on the original, but I doubt it. It would’ve happened by now, if I’m being honest.
 
Hollywood’s budget stigma is a thing of the past after 2022 from what I’ve heard.
Given how 2023 had us use WaterWorld and have it be a surprisingly pyro filed show (with the only thing truly absent being the Seaplane), its kind of crazy just how quick we are in the jumping.

Add in the Purpose Built venues (traffic cones have now been added around H-Lot 2), it’s kind of crazy.
 
Also I’ll be the first to say it - I DONT think we’re getting a chunky repeat. I *do* think they’re going to repurpose the animatronics though….
Santa Hat Christmas Movies GIF by filmeditor
 
I feel like there’s another way they can reuse the Chucky animatronics. Wanna give credit to Hydra when I got to meet up with him on closing night for his idea/speculation:

He had the idea of “bringing back” House of Horrors for its ten year anniversary of being shuttered next year. It would also fill the quota for the Universal Monsters slot and can be used as the “budget house”. They could reuse a lot of props from the previous UM houses as well as have a Chucky room towards the end to reuse the AAs. Then when the time comes, they can reskin them for Gremlins or whatever.
 
HoH would be a great nod IMO, espescially considering EU being on the forefront.

Let both coasts split off for one year--it wouldn't kill anyone.

Marketing will probably still insist that both coasts' UCM houses share at least two common monsters so the merch and marketing artwork could be shared, even if the houses themselves are different in story..
 
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*looks over at Hollywoods unmasked*

Considering the circumstances--I think Unmasked might just be a exception due to just how much effort was put with the rest of the lineup (with even EDR getting the restoration of previously MIA aspects, and the updates given to Holidayz).
Eh, I can live with one budget house. While the black wallz weren’t ideal, at least they integrated them in a way where it didn’t just feel randomly placed and they “worked”. It was a pretty good budget house all things considered.

But one black wallz house isn’t going to be the end of the world of the rest of the line-up is great.
 
Eh, I can live with one budget house. While the black wallz weren’t ideal, at least they integrated them in a way where it didn’t just feel randomly placed and they “worked”. It was a pretty good budget house all things considered.

But one black wallz house isn’t going to be the end of the world of the rest of the line-up is great.
totally agree with this. I think the Monsters house managed to work despite the black walls, though I’m sympathetic to the argument that the event is too crowded and too pricey to be suffering from major budget cuts.