HHN Hollywood Speculation/News - 2016

[Alexshow.]

So, as Horror Nights comes to its end tonight, it seems fitting we start speculating HHN 2016.


I'll throw my hat in the speculation,


~ This will be the first year that's not completely reigned by John Murdy, as Ted Doughtry becomes CD of Halloween Horror Nights;


~ maze count will stay the exact same but the house locations will change. JP, Backlot (TWD area and 747), Persian, and the HOH Replacement are the locations for all six houses;


~ The Conjuring, Krampus, Fear The Walking Dead, Freddy Vs. Jason and The Purge are the IPs for HHN 2016;


~ The Purge becomes The Walking Dead in terms of saturating with a scare zone, Maze and Terror Tram. Also becomes a major presence in Marketing with a new commercial;


~ Ted Doughtry will oversee a full-on Original maze for the Persian Courtyard;


~ Wizarding World of Harry Potter WILL be open for HHN 2016;


~ Jabbawockeez return to HHN due to how successful and popular the show was last year;


~ Four Scare zones will be in London, Paris, the main strip (ending at the back side of the Plaza Grill), and the Backlot;


~ No Megahouse will be at HHN for 2016;


Can't wait to see what is in store for Halloween Horror Nights 2016 as it will become a very interesting year.

 

[sickle_claw]

I would like to see Jurassic World be a maze but I doubt it...anyways Fear the Walking Dead may be introduced but I am not sure how they would do it. Perhaps mix in soldiers and zombies in equal measure as equal menaces?

 

[Alexshow.]

I would like to see Jurassic World be a maze but I doubt it...anyways Fear the Walking Dead may be introduced but I am not sure how they would do it. Perhaps mix in soldiers and zombies in equal measure as equal menaces?

I'd have to think Universal and AMC will see this as an opportunity to not only recap the last season of FTWD, but give a tease to next season with some scenes from Season II

 

[Allen The Actor]

Next year all of HHN will just be allocated to a new Soundstage where every maze will be a motion simulator D-BOX + screen. With water effects. And end in "z".

 

[Nland316]

Here's my wishful thinking/speculation for 2016:

Shows:

-Jabawockeez return: Due to high popularity and success from this year's show.

Scarezones:

Locations are same as usual. I think it'd be cool to expand more on Exterminatorz, maybe change location to allow for that. But other than that, I expect completely original SZ's next year.

Mazes: I feel like it is a strong possibility that we get 7 mazes back next year. Same locations as this year, plus the new rumored venue in the HOH replacement.

-Freddy vs. Jason: Pretty much a given after Orlando's success with it this past year. I expect it to take over TWD's usual spot as icon in marketing.

-TWD: We all expect this I'm sure. I don't think they'll use FTWD yet until further seasons. 2017 at the earliest, imo. The only difference though is that I don't think it will be the main draw for marketing anymore like the past.

-Krampus: Due to the extreme popularity of the Dark Christmas scarezone for the past two years. And considering if the movie does well, it will be based completely off of it.

-The Conjuring: Murdy has hinted at this property on Twitter. With the new movie coming out next year, it makes sense.

-AHS (wishful thinking): This show is extremely popular (possibly on par with TWD). It's only a matter of time that a maze is created and it could take over TWD's plot from this year. There is so much content to choose from with AHS, it would be such a beautiful maze. I'm kinda biased since I'm a fan of the show, but I really hope it comes.

-TCM (wishful thinking): With a new movie slated to come out next year, it's a perfect opportunity to bring him back. Especially if FvJ is nearly a for sure IP, it'd be amazing to have 3 of the main horror icons at the event at once. Just like in 2007.

-Original maze? (Wishful thinking): I know Murdy isn't head of the event anymore, but he has mentioned wanting to collaborate with a few people on some original mazes. I assume this is music related, and I feel that a Lady Gaga maze would be pretty rad. She has such a unique style it could really work in a house. Probably would be in 3D.

Terror Tram:

-Purge: with a new movie coming out next year I don't see why not. It was more successful this year than previous.

 

[Wesker69]

In regards to Jabbawockeez... Do not expect them to return to HHN for 2016's event. The ONLY reason they were available for Universal to use this year was due to them relocating to a new venue in Vegas (which I mentioned before the event started before they were actually announced). So since they will have a new permanent home at MGM, it is highly unlikely they are going to "go dark" for the weekends of October just to perform at USH.

While yes, there are more than one Jabbawockeez troupe, it is still most likely not going to happen.....

HOWEVER, I was talking to one of the guys from Academy of Villains after HHN last night before heading out of the park & he told me that Friday/Saturday were basically their "audition" for Universal. So if the crowds loved them (which they really did), they'll hopefully be booked for HHN 2016. These guys put on a pretty great show on the Lower Lot (caught it once both nights), they interacted with guests on the Lower Lot & Insidious queue so well. Universal would be dumb not to bring them back as headliners in the Castle Theatre.

 

[Alexshow.]

^


I forgot about them..well, i'd may as well have to make some re-adjustments. It wouldn't be a bad idea, especially considering their talent.

 

[HorrorNightsFan13]

Wishful thinking: something further related to Exterminatorz, it's been my favorite Scarezone of all time and it was just an insane concept that turned out to be really badass.

Speculation (Mazes):

The Walking Dead: no further explanation needed in my opinion.

Freddy Vs. Jason: So many fans want it, if Orlando did it we can do it. And it's been a few years since we've seen Freddy and Jason so why not kill two birds with one stone.

The Purge: Not just a maze, but park takeover like TWD in '13 and '14. Third movie next year, Orlando did a maze on it last minute and it looked pretty good (only saw videos) so it Hollywood did a planned maze on it there's good potential.

Krampus/Dark Christmas: John wants to work with Michael Doughtry and this is sooner to come out than Trick 'R Treat 2. Or John could do an original take on the concept and give the Scarezone more life.

OR

Trick 'R Treat: Whenever the sequel happens the maze will happen. Sequel has been rumored for next year so here's to hoping.

The Conjuring: John's hinted at it for next year, people want to see it. As well there's the sequel coming next year so it aligns. Just as long as they avoid getting sued which is pretty hard for them.

Alice Cooper: Alice has to come back some time to complete his promised trilogy. And seeing as John isn't the head of the event anymore he'll probably want to get his final maze with Alice done.

That's all 6 mazes for my speculation, I don't think we'll go back to 7 for sometime.

 

[Zxylruc]

I really can't wait for next year even thought it's only the day after HHN 2015 ended. I enjoyed the Purge TT more than I thought I would, i'd say it was probably my favorite part of the event.

Only gripe I have is that out of the scare zones this year, two of them were really out of the way and I think that needs to change for next year. I think the purge scare zone on the lower lot was perfectly executed because everyone had to go through it. I loved that due to the nature of the trams, there'd basically be waves of people coming in intervals so the scare actors could reset to certain positions each time.

 

[Wesker69]

^I'm guessing you're referring to Dark Xmas & Corpz being "really out of the way", which would not exactly be very accurate at all. Guests HAD to pass through either Dark Xmas or Corpz once they exited Halloween. Same if they wanted to ride Despicable Me, they HAD to pass through one of them to ride it & afterwards. So they both had wves of people consistently passing through just like Purge & Exterminatorz.

The ONLY thing that "needs" to change on that end of the park is to have Gru's Lab Café open for food options. I know they had the one snack counter open so you could get something, but still.

 

[chris.g]

Might as well post what I think will happen in 2016.... 

- The Conjuring, Freddy vs. Jason and The Walking Dead are more or less coming... 

- No Fear The Walking Dead according to my sources. Wouldn't be surprised if there is.

- Trick 'r Treat will not be next year, as the sequel won't be until 2017. 

- We may see another show coming, but it's not Jabbawockeez as they're booked next October. 

- Wizzarding World will be open as its own thing. 

- Alice Cooper Returns (possibly)/ Original Maze 

- FvJ in 747 

- Maze in Parisian Courtyard again. 

 

[Zxylruc]

^I'm guessing you're referring to Dark Xmas & Corpz being "really out of the way", which would not exactly be very accurate at all. Guests HAD to pass through either Dark Xmas or Corpz once they exited Halloween. Same if they wanted to ride Despicable Me, they HAD to pass through one of them to ride it & afterwards. So they both had wves of people consistently passing through just like Purge & Exterminatorz.

The ONLY thing that "needs" to change on that end of the park is to have Gru's Lab Café open for food options. I know they had the one snack counter open so you could get something, but still.

Good points. I just feel that not a lot of people go to HHN to ride Despicable Me, and not all guests might have gotten a chance to go through Halloween, specifically the busy nights where the waits for most of the mazes exceed an hour. I feel like i'm nitpicking but it's just an observation I had this year.

 

[Wesker69]

Trust me... there are many guests that attend HHN that have never been to the park before & the rides are a big deal to them. I know it sounds crazy, but its true. Also, if the rides weren't open, the maze waittimes would be A LOT worse. Personally, I'm disappointed that both last year & this year USH didn't have "Silly Swirly" open.. say what you will about it being a "kiddie/family ride", but having experienced HHN in Orlando for 9 years... I can assure you that teens/adults WILL ride a spinner  lol

As far as Halloween (and other mazes) having a waittime that exceeds an hour, the difference between "us" & the "general public" is that they WILL wait in lines over an hour for a maze, while we say "NOPE" & move on to something else. I've seen people over the years willingly get in lines for houses in Orlando that already had waittimes of 200+ minutes.

But like I said, neither of those two scarezones are "out of the way" & IF they actually had Gru's Lab open as a dining option (and Silly Swirly as another ride option), more guests would pass through both scarezones.

 

[Zxylruc]

Fair enough, good points! I just remember when I first saw the park map I saw how both of the scare zones were on the way to Despicable Me and it seemed odd to me. I didn't know the exit to Halloween let out between both of the mazes until I actually went through the maze myself, lol.

I know too well about the guests making rides a priority, when I went with a group of friends earlier they we wanted to get on all the rides as well and we managed to fit them all in by the end of the night.

Also, what would be keeping the Jabbawockeez from performing Horror Nights next year? In the behind the scenes video they show that it's wasn't the main Jabbawockeez that performed every night so what would keep them from sending another crew down for next year?

 

[Wesker69]

It is very possible that another crew could be sent to USH for HHN next year, but the main reason why they were even here this year was due to their show in Vegas ending in August because they would be relocating to a new custom built theatre at MGM Grand as soon as the current performer left. BlueManGroup is back at Luxor. Its a big show shuffle in Vegas. This year's show for the event was all done from Vegas. I know someone that had applied to work the merchandise booth for HHN & they said even that was being done through Vegas rather than Universal.

I just wouldn't expect them next year when USH specifically brought in Academy of Villains the final two nights to see how the crowds would react to them. Its possible BOTH Jabbawockeez & Academy of Villains could be back for the full event, but its too soon to know. Eitherway, HHN needs multiple shows/entertainment options period...

 

[Zxylruc]

What do you mean the show was done from Vegas?

I dunno, I do see the possibility of Jabbawockeez returning for next year, especially considering that they even had shows for the daytime guests as a test for the last two nights.

 

[Wesker69]

Jabbawockeez came directly from Vegas. That is their base of operations. Here is the actual description (which is the same info I passed on when them being at HHN was just a rumor in the 2015 thread) from the HHN website...

Them having 2 shows before the park closed on Friday/Saturday wasn't really a test for anything. I'm sure several daytime guests had wanted to see them but couldn't/wouldn't be attending HHN & made a comment to guest services about it. Really it was mostly just Universal saying- "Yea, sorry daytime guests, we know HHN is technically over, since we're kicking you guys out of the park early because we added 2 more 'after party' nights, please enjoy a showing of the Jabbawockeez before we tell you to get the hell out".

 

[Ryan]

I wonder how long the event will go before they finally decide, "eh screw it" and add a comedy show again. 5, 10 years? Never ever?

 

[chris.g]

Heard something interesting this week, not sure how much truth there is to it, but apparently there was an out of the box property which was considered a while back that was none other than.. Doctor Who! If true, I would've really liked to see how that played out, or even if creative got far enough to make designs, but I could definitely see the problems pertaining if they had go with it. 

 

[Wesker69]

Mike Aiello of A&D (the face for HHN Orlando currently) is a fan of the show. We had a "weeping angel" statue scare in our "Winter's Night" house in 2011 (apparently there was a scene that would've featured a hallway of them but was budget cut). And in 2013, we had the Tardis featured in our AWIL house. Hell, Doctor Who even had a cameo in 2010's B&T show (which was Aiello's last year writing/directing B&T). There were rumors of a Doctor Who house for Orlando at one point.. I'll have to ask if it got anywhere, but when it comes to Orlando... if they can't obtain the rights to an IP, they'll just do a loosely based inspired by rip-off version and call it an "original" house

It wouldn't be too difficult to create a maze for HHN based on Doctor Who though. It'd be better to just be "inspired by" certain monsters from the show & create something original (similar to how Orlando did with The Gentlemen from Buffy).