And you too,
@Ringwraith, without you guys there would be no hype!! Thanks again
I've had time to do my grieving, but someone told me a Shadybrook Police Department car was backstage and it hit me again.
I appreciate the nod
@Moistowlette11 and
@hhn28andbeyond . Having been on the side with zero knowledge of what's going on, I truly envy you this time around. I really enjoyed having insider info these past couple of years, but knowing what was going on for this event(outside of the light details of the spec map) and then watching it get cancelled, was really rough. I am hearing word that they're looking at keeping some or most of the houses for next year and who knows what moneymaking event will come along the way? There could be tours, there could be a "villains after hours" type thing or there could be nothing at all, but I have a feeling that Universal has something up their sleeve in the upcoming months. Maybe it's more of the "fall festival" rumors we were hearing, or decorating the park in old fashioned Halloween decor, or bringing a scarezone to life on some random nights to drum up attendance, or a show to the fear factor stage. I know it won't be HHN, but it won't be Halloween time without SOMETHING in the parks. I have no insider info on this. I'm just being a eternal optimist.
As far as this forum/thread is concerned, I have couple of suggestions for next year with hopes that we're still not in the midst of a pandemic. Did this thread get out of hand? Yes. Was it sometimes fun to go crazy or post random stuff? Yes. Did the rules not apply to this year because of Covid? Yes and rightfully so. However, I can feel the frustration from some veteran members who just wanted to come here for info and not wade through nonsense. I was one of them...but I also contributed to the useless fodder, so assuming things are back to normal next year, I'd like to propose a couple of things for our members to think about, to make these boards more appealing to visit.
1. If you don't have any ACTUAL insider info, don't post that you do. Even if you heard it from some TM in the park, frankly, that's not good enough. You can throw it out there and see if it holds water, but don't post it as gospel. Being that I used to be one of the members back in the Vault days that would try and chime in with everything I heard, I look back on it and now understand how annoying that can be. I also apologize to those that had to put up with it. You know which members to trust with info. So trust them. I will tell you that I sit on most of my information and I don't *fully* reveal anything until I have heard the rumors start flying. That way, my sources are safe, and the info that's there, could have been heard from a variety of places. I, personally, will never try to mislead you. I will drop a little more obvious hints or like someone's post or post that ninja emoji if I know something or know you're onto something, but I can't outright say it. But I won't mislead you. I also will never pretend that things don't change, but I will always tell you what's being said at the CURRENT time.
Suggestion for the mods: Sources can change year by year, so maybe we can get give "verified" tags to those that are "in the know" that particular year. However, let's say I may lose my sources next year, so then if I had this "tag," I would give it up since I wouldn't know anything. That way, people know who to trust. :shrug: Just a thought.
2. Opinions are fine, but opinions saying "you'd rather have this than that" or "that's stupid, why would they do it?" aren't productive opinions. If you're going to have an opinion, criticizing something, come up with a solution, or don't say anything at all. All of this "I'd rather have" talk is just useless and it clogs the forum. Start your own thread with a "why don't they do this?" but it doesn't belong in speculation.
3. Following number 2....guide and be kind to those that don't understand the decorum of the forum, the first couple of times. After that...well....:chainsaw:. But no seriously, attacking feels fun sometimes, but it's not productive and in the end, it just makes the other person feel like crap. The one thing we could all use a little more of, especially during a pandemic, is patience and grace. Also, to help reduce the urge for people to call you out, reread and check your post before you hit "post reply." 1. Is it beneficial? 2. Is it news? 3. Should I send a PM to someone first, asking if it's relevant? 4. Am I being a Debbie-Downer? 5. Am I being overly optimistic?
That's all I got. I hope we get some Halloween-y type fun things in the park, that aren't HHN, but celebrate the spirit of the season. That way we can start a new thread and start some spec about that.
It's been fun! I'll be around.