I deal with entertainment law all the time. Only thing that matters is money. And Six Flags ain't shelling out more. They literally don't have the budget, that much is apparent. Nothing is enticing about what they have to offer whether it's in regards to fan outreach, tourist outreach, merchandise sales, commercial showcasing, repeat business, new fan conversion, international market, or literally anything -- they do not have the fanbase loyalty or numbers to sustain or make any declarations bigger than Universal's, whether that's here in Six Flags' Valencia, Texas, or New Jersey. Any and every IP will go where the most money is being offered, even if it meant staying there for freakin' 10 years - Walking Dead is a prime example of that. It also worked out major deals to be in multiple places at the same time because they were a big enough entity to do so -- it literally is that simple. Work with the big dogs or don't, even if exclusivity isn't on the table.
Six Flags snagged those properties up cheaper than they usually are because Universal offered them nothing. Universal is trying to expand, I totally get that, but the product is so much weaker now. It has nothing to do with "oh we've been going a long time and I'm used to it" -- Knotts is over there getting BETTER recently and I've been going there for 25 years. There's a major decline and even the GP is starting to notice it. It's time to start hitting some panic buttons and shelving out big bucks for some crazy big draws that'll stop people from saying "oh that sounds cool" and back to "oh that sounds scary."
Let's not forget the fact that one single person has been spearheading this thing for almost two decades now. With all due respect, new blood is needed to throw some fresh freakin' ideas onto the table. I'm not saying Murdy needs to quit, step aside, or even be just a consultant -- but he needs to share this process with multiple other people in order for this to work. How many times is he typing into his treatments, "and then uh...he rips off the face of his victim and...shows the guests running by! YEAH, that's it!" We all KNOW there's so much more HHN can be doing, even with their rules, regulations, and standards they have set, even with the guilds in place, but we're just ignoring it because "uh, yeah, The Last of US, cool! Weeknd, alright!" Far and wide, the haunt industry is growing and this event itself is growing, but it is using the same techniques over and over again -- REFUSING to grow not because it can't, but because it all stems from ONE person's imagination!