Halloween Horror Nights 33 (UOR) - Speculation & Rumors

[Ahmanet]

Could see a UCM house with super deep cut characters that most people have never heard of ... give them a chance in the spotlight since they missed the call up to Epic lol

 

[Brian G.]

Didn’t that house feature two girls with progressively more prosthetics as the possession advanced? It also had demon scares.

Abigail, to our knowledge, has none of that flexibility.

I’d also add that being a part of the Exorcist franchise also gives it a little extra rub.

 

[SixBillium]

An Abigail house, by virtue of Abigail being the antagonist, requires a whole lot of lookalikes for the entire duration of the run. Without Universal knowing the movie is already a success, I don’t see them risking it.

I 100% agree that I think casting would be the biggest hurdle, but I think it's fundamentally different enough that the initial approach would also be different- Abigail can fly.

That allows for plenty of tricks to show "Abigail" without requiring a lookalike- dummies suspended in the air, projection effects, having Abigail as part of a victim costume (similar to Sam+Kreeg in Trick r' Treat). Millie, Eleven, Katherine, Ellie, they're all (mostly) human, so it wouldn't make sense to show them anywhere extravagant or as more than just (mostly) plain kids. But for something like Abigail, where you've got an antagonist with abilities and can be anywhere, now there's the opportunity to make the victims the main scareactors, and with clever lighting and sound you can sell that Abigail was there without any physical presence.

I'm not necessarily sure that incorporating so many tricks in THIS haunt is the way that Universal would want to go, bar any contractual issues, but I could see a lot of ways for a successful Abigail haunt without more than a handful of lookalikes. Maybe I'm just excited, who knows lol.

Anyways, female-centric monsters is very interesting, but I feel like it would have to have a very distinct theme to become more than just "Universal Monsters 2019 but Slightly Different" to the general public. But they did that incredibly well with 2021's Bride of Frankenstein Lives, that trailer and logo really showcased that creative direction incredibly well IMO. I don't think that Universal would pursue this direction without a really solid concept, so I think it's a win/win either way.

 

[TheCodeMan95]

How wild is it that we're 4.5 months away already? I know everyone is getting impatient with house announcements, but I think once they start coming - they're going to happen quickly!

Universal is kind of in a "nothing" area now - Mardi Gras just ended so they're just in a holding pattern until summer season begins. It would be a good time for something to be announced - whether that be more Epic news, Dreamworks details, or an HHN house!

 

[SixBillium]

How wild is it that we're 4.5 months away already?

Only about a dozen more Sprung 2 walks until HHN starts

 

[Kichkinet85]

Only about a dozen more Sprung 2 walks until HHN starts

Walks will be bad this year it looks like. I feel bad for people without express or without multi nite tickets.

 

[Ahmanet]

Don't think I have seen any Netflix IPs speculated for this year ? Seems strange , no pun intended

 

[rageofthegods]

Don't think I have seen any Netflix IPs speculated for this year ? Seems strange , no pun intended

What IP would there be that's relevant and worth the license fee? Maybe Fear Street, which gas a new movie soon, but that wouldn't be a headliner.

 

[Neo]

Don't think I have seen any Netflix IPs speculated for this year ? Seems strange , no pun intended

Considering how focused the houses were last year on just parts of the story, I expected Stranger Things 4: The Russian Escape and The Last of Us: Boston houses this year. The way they focused on the Vecna arc and the Pittsburgh location respectfully, I assumed it was to milk each season/game for 2 events and to keep the IPs going until the next seasons came out.

 

[TheCodeMan95]

Considering how focused the houses were last year on just parts of the story, I expected Stranger Things 4: The Russian Escape and The Last of Us: Boston houses this year. The way they focused on the Vecna arc and the Pittsburgh location respectfully, I assumed it was to milk each season/game for 2 events and to keep the IPs going until the next seasons came out.

I definitely expected/hoped for another section of TLOU. I was personally hoping for the Winter portion!

 

[DannyPowers]

What IP would there be that's relevant and worth the license fee? Maybe Fear Street, which gas a new movie soon, but that wouldn't be a headliner.

Wednesday. S2 is likely slated for end of 2024, but I can totally see that slipping into 2025 as they just started filming.

 

[SeventyOne]

Considering how focused the houses were last year on just parts of the story, I expected Stranger Things 4: The Russian Escape and The Last of Us: Boston houses this year. The way they focused on the Vecna arc and the Pittsburgh location respectfully, I assumed it was to milk each season/game for 2 events and to keep the IPs going until the next seasons came out.

At the start of the season, I completely agreed. But look at the crowd reports, by October ST didn't move the needle like used to. I can see the wisdom in resting the IP a year to avoid another TWD situation.

May be buried in discussion above but Pinhead on Reddit said only "tier 2" IPs this year. Could easily be luck of the draw, but I also wouldn't be shocked if this is to see how well HHN as its own brand can do.

 

[Neo]

At the start of the season, I completely agreed. But look at the crowd reports, by October ST didn't move the needle like used to. I can see the wisdom in resting the IP a year to avoid another TWD situation.

May be buried in discussion above but Pinhead on Reddit said only "tier 2" IPs this year. Could easily be luck of the draw, but I also wouldn't be shocked if this is to see how well HHN as its own brand can do.

I wonder how much of the crowds dying down and/or houses that cater more to the GP not moving the needle in the later days of the event is just how successful Rush of Fear is. My group buys RoF+Express every year and fly down from different locations and have a week long timeshare. The last couple of years we've been adding on an extra Sat or Sun by staying in a hotel for a night at the beginning or end of the trip.

We would LOVE to go the event in October instead, but if it's $400 a night for a ticket plus express per night, or $1000+ for the all nights with Express, it's just not worth it. To pay for 48 nights plus express, $1000 is great...but if you're only able to use 6 of those nights as you're in town for a week, it's hard to justify.

If the crowd issues later in the event are a real issue/concern, they need to introduce a "Culmination of Fear" or "Pinnacle of Fear" type of ticket for the last 2 weeks of the event for like $100 more than the RoF and I think that would help even out the crowds and keep the houses drawing people at the end of the event as everything will be "new" or "fresh" to the people who purchase that ticket and it might help alleviate some of the overcrowding in September.

And for non-diehard locals, if you can go for 20ish days at the beginning of the season for the price of going a single Saturday in late October, that's a no brainer. So it's not at all surprising that crowds are dying down in the later days of the events and houses that local FFP die hards don't care for, aren't drawing the kinds of interest they were in the beginning of the event.

 

[Legacy]

At the start of the season, I completely agreed. But look at the crowd reports, by October ST didn't move the needle like used to. I can see the wisdom in resting the IP a year to avoid another TWD situation.

May be buried in discussion above but Pinhead on Reddit said only "tier 2" IPs this year. Could easily be luck of the draw, but I also wouldn't be shocked if this is to see how well HHN as its own brand can do.

Luck of the draw. They REALLY wanted Five Nights.

 

[UniversalRBLX]

It's a combination of things that ended up resulting in September arguably being busier than October.

• Cheaper in hotel, express, tickets
• Express being so expensive (overall, not just October), people are probably skipping out on Express and instead spending that on multi-night tickets instead along with merchandise. $200 for 1-night of express is a nice dinner at Bigfire lol
• Crowds - the event is well known for its crowds, so as people planned their trips for last year, they decided to visit earlier to "get ahead" of October crowds. I also think October crowds were turned off by the chaos we saw in September.

Compared to last year, I'm surprised to see that Universal hasn't changed pricing that dramatically in late September outside of the last Saturday in September by 9%. Seems like either they have no internal reason to do so... or they have plans to avoid that chaotic last weekend that RoF active was.

*I can't seem to find what pricing was for the November added nights last year.

 

[Jake S]

Is the double-digit percentage increase on Express normal? I'm skeptical that'll actually suppress demand, but curious if that's a larger-than-normal increase.

 

[GA-MBIT]

Luck of the draw. They REALLY wanted Five Nights.

I can at least take this assertion as a consolation prize. They wanted what I wanted, but alas.

 

[TheCodeMan95]

I can at least take this assertion as a consolation prize. They wanted what I wanted, but alas.

Hey, I'm still convinced we might get FNAF in the Cabana Bay photo op lol

 

[Killer Klown]

At the start of the season, I completely agreed. But look at the crowd reports, by October ST didn't move the needle like used to. I can see the wisdom in resting the IP a year to avoid another TWD situation.

May be buried in discussion above but Pinhead on Reddit said only "tier 2" IPs this year. Could easily be luck of the draw, but I also wouldn't be shocked if this is to see how well HHN as its own brand can do.

GB and ANOES are tier 1’s in my heart!

 

[Casper Gutman]

GB and ANOES are tier 1’s in my heart!

Yeah, a world in which GB and Elm (if it’s coming) are tier 2 and Freddy’s is tier 1 is a world with confused priorities. (I understand that Freddy is enormously popular).

Honestly, Freddy’s gimmick is so basic - ironically scary mascots - Uni should be able to create their own take with much better art design, settings, and backstory, all of which are weak in Freddy.