Halloween Horror Nights 30 (UOR) - Speculation & Rumors (2021)

[Shinigami]

I saw this great idea a while back for an Iron Maiden house...

Don’t you dare summon the one with an account for his brother

 

[JJ591]

Couple things to say:

1 - Good to be back!
2 - Can't wait for September. I'm confident we will have a whole season of HHN.
3 - Did @Legacy confirm Hellraiser, The Thing, and Candyman yet?????? :nana: :nana: :nana:

 

[Tobias]

Does anybody think the Billie replacement will be some kind of music house? I can't think of any artists as big as Billie but she was being used to draw in a certain demographic and I'm just curious if they will try to find a replacement that would also bring that same demographic to the event.

With this situation, just about anything can happen. It's not a firm "No" because of that, but I'm personally not expecting one.

Previously with house replacements, we've had Scream and Conjuring turned last minute into The Purge and Hive respectively, due to losing the original IP's in one form or another while the house was being constructed. A&D had to work with the settings and scenes they had to have a replacement theme work it. You also have minor situations like 2017's HoB which had to replace the Ouija scene with the Purge, which applies to this scenario.

More recently, we've had the situation of them gaining the rights to "US" later in the season, and straight-up replacing Tooth Fairy in order to have it.

The replacement of Billie Eilish is in a unique spot. If it was pulled yet the event still went on last year, they probably would've turned it into a original "nightmares" house since that's what the general theme was for B.E. However the event didn't happen, so the house was both pulled and scrapped since the house wasn't finished...leaving that venue back to square one with over a year to come up with a new house.

Now if they still want to roll with a nightmares themed house, they totally can. But since they can do that, or any other theme -and- the fact Billie Eilish was a "Now or Never" situation...I personally don't think they'll be aiming for a music house as it's replacement.

 

[Coolbfitz]

I saw this great idea a while back for an Iron Maiden house...

 

[krazyhorrorkid]

EDIT: SORRY DOUBLE POST ERROR.
:dance:

 

[krazyhorrorkid]

I know everyone put's the stamp on Five Nights at Freddy's as being a "Not quite yet" house since the film coming out next year, but this is hardly the case.
Not saying it is likely, but HHN has based houses off of Video Games in the past and this can easily be said for the case we have with Five Nights.
It is not something they would normally do per say, but is not something that should be ignored.
Sure the movie is coming out next year, but FNaF pretty much has five whole games coming out this year associated with the creator (Counting the Fanverse initiative) and is not in the height of it's popularity, but its close.

As some of you may or may not know, the newest game "Security Breach" was showcased this year in Sony's Playstation press conference alongside Assassin's Creed and God of war, which are some of the biggest gaming franchise's of the decade, and somehow FNaF was still shown. After the event the showcased trailer was uploaded and what would you know, out of all the things shown it sparked the most views on YouTube.
This is a big deal. If push come to shove it is not something that should be over-looked.

But this fact just makes the case for Willy's Wonderland more apparent and likely.
It's premise is close enough that people that are not super educated could assume it for FNaF or just go with it, especially if it's as fun and slapstick as the trailer implies it being.
Probably a better business decision as well as far as them being slightly trapped for cash this time around.
I would imagine it would not be very hard either since a surprising fun fact, the head of the creative department that worked on Willy's also has done quite a bit of work for HHN once upon a time, including making the Chucky insult emporium puppet's.
Talked with him a few times, great guy.
I really hope that Willy's Wonderland does step up to the plate this year since Ellish is "officially" out.
It could *almost* fill the shoes with the crowd draw as well.

 

[GA-MBIT]

I don't think there is any reason to speculate FNaF as a replacement for Billie over any other horror property with a release in the next year or two. It personally feels more like Hellraiser/The Thing-style wishlisting to me.

I do wonder what the negotiating price for the rights to FNaF from Scott Cawthon would be compared to Sony with Ghostbusters or Netflix with Stranger Things. Even if the series isn't as big as it used to be, I wonder if the price was low enough if it would even matter?

 

[Clive]

Five Nights at Freddy's isn't going to get a maze if/until the movie gets made. They won't do an IP knockoff for obvious reasons. I could maybe see them doing an original that plays with a similar theme - see Interstellar Terorr/Event Horizon - but even then, the movie is so close that I imagine they will wait.

 

[Legacy]

With this situation, just about anything can happen. It's not a firm "No" because of that, but I'm personally not expecting one.

Previously with house replacements, we've have Scream and Conjuring turned last minute into The Purge and Hive respectively, due to losing the original IP's in one form or another while the house was being constructed. A&D had to work with the settings and scenes they had to have a replacement theme work it. You also have minor situations like 2017's HoB which had to replace the Ouija scene with the Purge, which applies to this scenario.

More recently, we've had the situation of them gaining the rights to "US" later in the season, and straight-up replacing Tooth Fairy in order to have it.

The replacement of Billie Eilish is in a unique spot. If it was pulled yet the event still went on last year, they probably would've turned it into a original "nightmares" house since that's what the general theme was for B.E. However the event didn't happen, so the house was both pulled and scrapped since the house wasn't finished...leaving that venue back to square one with over a year to come up with a new house.

Now if they still want to roll with a nightmares themed house, they totally can. But since they can do that, or any other theme -and- the fact Billie Eilish was a "Now or Never" situation...I personally don't think they'll be aiming for a music house as it's replacement.

Good post. It’s important to remember that the Eilish situation is not the same as Scream/Purge or Conjuring/Hive. Those were conversions of houses that were mostly built. Eilish is more akin to the Chubacabra/Transformers situation where an under-construction house was canceled. That house hasn’t returned, though it’s rumored the costumes for the Beasts legion were from the canceled house. We don’t even know what, if anything, was reused from it in previous years. And that’s with an original that didn’t have any sort of IP holder.

Conceptually, I hope A&D revisits the idea of a “sleep demons” house. However it’s just as likely the next Shrek house is designed from scratch. Shoot, I wouldn’t be surprised if they’re able to swing Silence of the Lambs and stick that in Shrek.

 

[krazyhorrorkid]

I don't think there is any legitimate reason to speculate FNaF as a replacement for Billie over any other horror property with a release in the next year or two. It personally feels more like Hellraiser/The Thing-style wishlisting to me.

I do wonder what the negotiating price for the rights to FNaF from Scott Cawthon would be compared to Sony with Ghostbusters or Netflix with Stranger Things. Even if the series isn't as big as it used to be, I wonder if the price was low enough if it would even matter?

Wishlist? Not really on mine, great games but I have my own inner feelings about why it doesn't belong at HHN which I won't share here.
FNaF apparently is popular enough for it to become a house and that is that.
The price is where things get tricky, but Frightdome in California featured a FNaF attraction. So with a smaller haunt like that claiming Freddy's, you can make an estimate with the price for being featured at the event being reasonable and not astronomically high.

Five Nights at Freddy's isn't going to get a maze if/until the movie gets made. They won't do an IP knockoff for obvious reasons. I could maybe see them doing an original that plays with a similar theme - see Interstellar Terorr/Event Horizon - but even then, the movie is so close that I imagine they will wait.

An IP knockoff may not be too far off as you are stating if the the clashing between Murdy and Jason was as bad as some say...
Nevertheless, I do agree it is more realistic for the film to come out first, so the house can be based off of the movie.

But it is still possible, so is Pumpkin Head, Hellraiser, The Thing, and dare I say Iron Maiden?
I think that is what really put's a forced perspective on speculation for so many people, what makes this fun is the unknown, the pick for Ellish could be sudden and unexpected (like most years).
This is why we speculate, because sometimes we have NO CLUE what the picks for houses and scare zones could be like, we can only match what we know from previous years.

 

[Living Dead Dude]

Good post. It’s important to remember that the Eilish situation is not the same as Scream/Purge or Conjuring/Hive. Those were conversions of houses that were mostly built. Eilish is more akin to the Chubacabra/Transformers situation where an under-construction house was canceled. That house hasn’t returned, though it’s rumored the costumes for the Beasts legion were from the canceled house. We don’t even know what, if anything, was reused from it in previous years. And that’s with an original that didn’t have any sort of IP holder.

Conceptually, I hope A&D revisits the idea of a “sleep demons” house. However it’s just as likely the next Shrek house is designed from scratch. Shoot, I wouldn’t be surprised if they’re able to swing Silence of the Lambs and stick that in Shrek.

Do we know if there was a reason they wouldn't use SoTL last year? I assumed it was because of controversial themes.

 

[Morganxrose]

i personally think puppets & animatronics in one year is just pushing it in similarity.

 

[ultimateforce]

When are we getting a music of Morrissey house?

 

[Legacy]

Do we know if there was a reason they wouldn't use SoTL last year? I assumed it was because of controversial themes.

They couldn’t secure the rights.

 

[Bort]

I don't want to sound like the pessimist of the group here, but is there even a need to replace the Billie house at all for this year's event? Just think about a few factors at play here:

- The event will operate at some sort of reduced capacity.
- Although budgets were determined for the event pre-covid, theme parks have taken huge hits over the last year and are looking to be smart with their money.
- The average person may not feel comfortable visiting an event this large even in late 2021.
- Much of 2021 is still going to rely on local/regional audiences who already have an understanding of what UOR/HHN is. They don't need to be drawn in by some mega-IP.

The goal of all these houses/shows/zones is to maximize your ROI, and the difference between a 9 house and 10 house event just doesn't seem like its gonna have a huge impact on that ROI. I'd personally be okay with them being a little lighter on the event this year, with the understanding that this event is likely a bridge to get us from COVID-life to "normal" life and normal HHN in 2022.

 

[Tobias]

Good post. It’s important to remember that the Eilish situation is not the same as Scream/Purge or Conjuring/Hive. Those were conversions of houses that were mostly built. Eilish is more akin to the Chubacabra/Transformers situation where an under-construction house was canceled. That house hasn’t returned, though it’s rumored the costumes for the Beasts legion were from the canceled house. We don’t even know what, if anything, was reused from it in previous years. And that’s with an original that didn’t have any sort of IP holder.

Conceptually, I hope A&D revisits the idea of a “sleep demons” house. However it’s just as likely the next Shrek house is designed from scratch. Shoot, I wouldn’t be surprised if they’re able to swing Silence of the Lambs and stick that in Shrek.

I totally forgot about the Chubacabra house! That's a good example that shows that unfortunately some scrapped ideas have yet to resurface. Makes me more thankful Revenge of the Tooth Fairy did get built since a return like that is never guaranteed, that and I downright adored the house.

As for SotL, having recently re-watched it, I'd be down for it. I see a good chunk of locations being close quarters (Baltimore State, Buffalo Bill's house/basement), so that can work in Shrek's theater. Plus like with the Exorcist and Shining, it's one of those properties where I'm genuinely curious on how they'd handle it.

I don't want to sound like the pessimist of the group here, but is there even a need to replace the Billie house at all for this year's event? Just think about a few factors at play here:

While it's been a while since I've heard this mentioned, but A&D/Marketing etc. never want to decrease the number of houses. They're the bread and butter of the event and there's nothing to be made by advertising less houses than previous years. An when you're running a event with limited capacity, you really don't want to cut back on the houses so you're able to spread folks out. This is true especially when you also factor that there might be a cutback to shows...or none period. So you really need ten houses since that's gonna' be the main attraction.

 

[Neo]

I don't think they'd "Purge" the Billie house. Since it was in Shrek, I would imagine that house has been demoed already to allow both theaters to be operational again, right? Granted, capacity at the park is still low, but it's reaching capacity quite a bit and if they are socially distancing the shows with lots of empty seats and spaced out in the pre-show room, the extra space should be really useful.

I could be completely wrong with my assumptions (that's all they are) and that's not to say they couldn't save a few bucks by re-using all the props that aren't uniquely Billie and retrofitting an original story into the previous layout.

 

[Mashmingingmasher77]

Have they or would they ever toss around the idea of bringing the house of the year back every year? It was obviously the best, some who missed would get a chance to experience, and would of course save money. I’d be up for it. People go to the same stale haunted houses year after year around here. One called Erebus near me that people love but it’s been primarily the same for over a decade.

 

[ultimateforce]

I bring this up every time people say HHN doesn't redo houses.

The People Under the Stairs

The People Under the Stairs (a.k.a The People Under the Stairs II or The Haunted Soundstage) was one of the two haunted houses that were featured during Halloween Horror Nights II. It returned the following year for Halloween Horror Nights III. It was located in Soundstage 23 and had a prequel...

halloweenhorrornights.fandom.com

They literally started by redoing houses.

 

[Mashmingingmasher77]

True, forgot about those. Although it was done because they were just starting and maybe out of necessity to see if it caught on. I think it would work especially with 10 houses. It would be nice to see one come back. Bet you it would up the game in the houses to see who comes back.