Halloween Horror Nights 34 (UOR) - Speculation & Rumors

[velocicoasterswife]

Wouldn't it still be considered a spooky week if we get announcements the rest of the week?

I'm still operating on the assumption that there are at least a couple more announcements coming down the pipe this week. I just don't get this weird insistence that people are making baseless assumptions by believing the tweet that said things would happen this week. They're very obviously playing on fan expectations. Again, not really a huge deal but it's not like they just tweet random words for fun. HHN as an event is pretty well known for being conversational with and reactive to the way fans engage with it, I'm pretty certain they know what they're doing. To that end, I'm also sure they're doing it this way for a reason, I'm just not really clear on what that reason is yet.

 

[Jake S]

Again, not really a huge deal but it's not like they just tweet random words for fun.

don't they do this exact thing a lot?

 

[velocicoasterswife]

don't they do this exact thing a lot?

I feel like they're usually pretty intentional with what they post, it's just that sometimes they're trolling.

 

[EAS]

My two cents - I think it is fair for people to be disappointed that an announcement didn't come today. I for example was really looking forward to a possible announcement, and I don't think it is unreasonable to think we might have gotten one (e.g., based on the past precedent of last year's originals announcements, comments from Pinhead on reddit, the Spooky Week tweet, etc.). And I think expressing disappointment that an announcement didn't happen today after all is totally fair, and arguably that disappointment is an expression of the passion that people have for this event (and, probably, the amount of crap in the world that we could all use a distraction from).

Of course, it would be absurd to say that the marketing team lied to us, or that we are entitled to an announcement, or that it is not fair, or that now I won't go to HHN because I didn't get my announcement, or any of that stuff. If anyone feels entitled to an announcement, that is different than wanting one. And everything will obviously be okay for everyone on this thread w/r/t HHN, even though we didn't get our little dopamine hit today.

But I don't think it is totally fair to act as though everyone who is bummed they didn't get an announcement is unreasonable, tiresome, etc. I get that especially for those who take on the responsibility for moderating these forums (and thank you so much to all of the moderators), certain behaviors must be super annoying. But at the same time, this is a fan site for people who are passionate about this event to talk about it, get excited, and share the roller coaster of announcement season together, and that includes lows (even if they are silly lows).

 

[Parkscope Joe]

You guys are making assumptions and getting upset when you don't get exactly what you want, when you want it. I don't mean to be cold about this, but we go through this boom and bust cycle repeatedly, and it's exhausting.

And makes these threads completely miserable and unusable to everyone else.

 

[velocicoasterswife]

And makes these threads completely miserable and unusable to everyone else.

I mean... if there's not an announcement or a new rumor to discuss, what exactly is "everyone else" trying to use this thread for? It's a speculation thread during a marketing cycle. Speculating about the marketing cycle is literally the point, no?

 

[Jack Torrence]

Wild to say marketing is a mess based on a rumoured announcement.

Marketing reacting to whatever they have had to is in itself organised marketing.

Yeah I may have been overdramatic there lol. I was mainly talking about stuff like the IGN article coming out early, the Blum leak, the double posting announcements, all of that. Just seems kinda scattershot, and as someone who worked in and with marketing departments I get it, you have to be reactionary sometimes.

But the announcement not coming out today doesn't affect anything at the end of the day either, people are getting too worked up about this. Its gonna be announced eventually no matter what so.

 

[Clive]

I mean... if there's not an announcement or a new rumor to discuss, what exactly is "everyone else" trying to use this thread for? It's a speculation thread during a marketing cycle. Speculating about the marketing cycle is literally the point, no?

The problem is when people who fancy themselves as insiders co-opt the thread with assumptions that announcements are imminent when they aren't, so we get several pages of "here comes the announcement!," "wait where's the announcement?," "the announcement's still coming, right?," "wow Universal is a jerk for not announcing something," "hopefully an announcement still comes later, right?," "wow Universal is really blowing it this year."

 

[trinitron7]

Who's excited for Goblin's Feast 2

 

[v0latilebear]

The quote, at least one of them:

The panel also stated that the house ties into the overall “texture” of the event, and while Navarro and the house “isn’t the story of the event, the event takes place within this story”. Paradoa adds, “The theme of paintings and artwork coming to life carries through, and how we’re executing the overall theme throughout the event.”

It’s be cool then if the entrance for some of the houses is walking into a painting

 

[Legacy]

I feel like they're usually pretty intentional with what they post, it's just that sometimes they're trolling.

A lot of the time, they’re trolling.

And this is where I go back to my soapbox about the difference between rumor and speculation.

A rumor is something shared by someone with actual knowledge or access about the event. Speculation is a guess (hopefully) substantiated by rumors, evidence, or precedent. While rumors are, traditionally, more accurate, neither should be RELIED on.

An “original week” was never rumored. It was always pure speculation centered on last year and Spooky. Even the rumored announcement for Spooky changed immediately AFTER Marketing dropped from the event (which speaks to the flexibility of rumors and schedules themselves).

Mike Aiello said it best at Spooky: They’re cognizant of the super-fan but they have to design for casual guests as well. That applies to marketing and announcements as well.

 

[velocicoasterswife]

Mike Aiello said it best at Spooky: They’re cognizant of the super-fan but they have to design for casual guests as well. That applies to marketing and announcements as well.

Truly not trying to flood the thread or be overly argumentative or whatever, but I'm curious about this point because this doesn't really seem geared towards the casual guest at all. I doubt most parkgoers are even looking at unpromoted posts on event socials. If there's nothing else this week then I'd lean much further towards this being an attempt to troll the super-fans than having anything to do with courting casuals.

Edited to add: I guess they could also have been referring exclusively to the Hatchet and Chains announcement, which would be a bit silly imo but not totally unwarranted.

 

[Clive]

Truly not trying to flood the thread or be overly argumentative or whatever, but I'm curious about this point because this doesn't really seem geared towards the casual guest at all. I doubt most parkgoers are even looking at unpromoted posts on event socials. If there's nothing else this week then I'd lean much further towards this being an attempt to troll the super-fans than having anything to do with courting casuals.

Edited to add: I guess they could also have been referring exclusively to the Hatchet and Chains announcement, which would be a bit silly imo but not totally unwarranted.

You're going to drive yourself nuts trying to read these tea leaves when you don't have all of the information. It really isn't that deep.

 

[velocicoasterswife]

You're going to drive yourself nuts trying to read these tea leaves when you don't have all of the information. It really isn't that deep.

Sure, and when I close my laptop I will probably stop thinking about it altogether until the next actual announcement. But isn't "trying to read the tea leaves" why we're all here? Speculation and Rumors, right? And as a wise poster once said,

Speculation is a guess (hopefully) substantiated by rumors, evidence, or precedent.

I get why it could get tedious, but we're all here to make guesses based on evidence and precedent.

 

[Jake S]

setting expectations based on those guesses and then getting disappointed based on expectations based on guesses is what gets incredibly tedious.

 

[Clive]

Sure, and when I close my laptop I will probably stop thinking about it altogether until the next actual announcement. But isn't "trying to read the tea leaves" why we're all here? Speculation and Rumors, right? And as a wise poster once said,

I get why it could get tedious, but we're all here to make guesses based on evidence and precedent.

I'm specifically talking about tweets and other social media posts. You've already acknowledged they troll, and there's no way to know when they're trolling versus when they're being serious.

 

[Legacy]

I get why it could get tedious, but we're all here to make guesses based on evidence and precedent.

My point was that you shouldn’t rely on speculation. You shouldn’t rely on rumors but you definitely shouldn’t rely on speculation.

And I am also including the idea of happiness/disappointment in that reliance.

 

[velocicoasterswife]

setting expectations based on those guesses and then getting disappointed based on expectations based on guesses is what gets incredibly tedious.

I think a mountain is being made out of a molehill here. A couple people expressed mild disappointment in a pretty reasonable way but I feel like other than that it's just been normal discussion.

 

[Jack Torrence]

Mike Aiello said it best at Spooky: They’re cognizant of the super-fan but they have to design for casual guests as well. That applies to marketing and announcements as well.

On this point, I was waiting in a stay and scream line for a house last year (I think Ghostbusters?) and a guy and his girlfriend behind me in line asked me what they were waiting in line for and if it was a ride or not. Actually crazy to me that people will attend HHN and not know what it is they bought a ticket for, but pretty enlightening then when you start thinking about Uni's marketing strategy and how niche the super fan group really is.

 

[HHN Maddux]

On this point, I was waiting in a stay and scream line for a house last year (I think Ghostbusters?) and a guy and his girlfriend behind me in line asked me what they were waiting in line for and if it was a ride or not. Actually crazy to me that people will attend HHN and not know what it is they bought a ticket for, but pretty enlightening then when you start thinking about Uni's marketing strategy and how niche the super fan group really is.

2023, I was in line for Oddfellow's and mind you, at this point we were at the final switchback right before you step through the facade, and a middle-aged man asked me if this was the line for Stranger Things.

It baffles me how some guests have zero idea what they're doing sometimes.