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Universal Orlando
Orlando, FL
NBC Universal / Blackstone Group
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Resort News - (8/7/10) Universal Orlando has now followed Disney and raised their ticket prices today to $82 for a one day pass, matching Disney’s increase.
(8/6/10) Universal Orlando has launched a new “Blue Sky” survey this week, one that mentions a lot of questions about certain popular movies: Lord of the Rings, Avatar, Twilight and Charlie & The Chocolate Factory, Hitchiker’s Guide To The Galaxy and more. They also ask if you’ve read certain books by Sci-Fi / Fantasy / Horror authors like Stephen King, JRR Tolkin, Douglas Adams, Isaac Asimov and Robert Heinlein.
However the end of the survey chooses to go into a lot of detailed questions about Lord of the Rings in general. Could Universal be thinking of nabbing up another big fantasy franchise for a future park addition? For me it also asked a bunch of questions about adding a Terminator attraction… which is strange since they have one, but it looks like they want new ideas for a new one. Perhaps it’s time to replace T2/3D but may want to replace it with a new Terminator themed attraction. Fine by me… I always wanted to see that once proposed Terminator themed indoor/outdoor roller coaster concept.
(7/10/10) Universal Orlando is conducting a survey online that asks a lot of questions about a possible new blue sky waterpark concept. It claims that they don’t have anything planned yet, but are using this to find out what people think about waterparks for “when a project does come up”. Well we all know the lease on the property Wet ‘n Wild sits on will eventually expire or just become too cost prohibitive, so the fact that Universal is fishing for waterpark ideas and freeback is a good sign.
Overall they seem interesting in what the public’s perception of an official Universal themed waterpark would be, and what it should have. Should they have attractions tied into movies and entertainment properties? If so, they want suggestions as to what you would like to see, so go give them your ideas.
 Halloween Horror Nights 20 - (9/3/10) Universal Orlando offers a sneak peek at their upcoming HHN 20 TV ad. Check out the preview here.
(9/2/10) Scare Zone construction at Universal has begun. You can find some pictures posted to Orlando United today.
(8/28/10) Universal Orlando held a HHN conference call on Thursday to answer some questions and talk about Fear and HHN 20. While I wasn’t able to make the call myself due to the time it took place, you can listen in to a recording of it at Behind the Thrills. You can also read through some bullet points about what was discussed over at Destination Theme Park.
(8/27/10) Universal Orlando has relaun ched the Halloween Horror Nights website and introduced this year’s icon… FEAR. “Fear” is apparently an evil entity that has been the mastermind behind the past 19 years of of chaos and terror at Universal Orlando. On this, the 20th anniversary, Fear himself will emerge from the shadows to take control.
There will be 8 new mazes this year, 2 shows and 6 scare zones.
This year’s crop of haunts sounds great on the surface, and even better… no licensed properties in the mix as that gets old after a bit. The list includes: Catacombs: Black Death Rising, Hades: The Gates of Ruin, Horror Nights: The Hallow’d Past, Havoc: Dogs of War, Zombiegeddon, Legendary Truth: The Wyandot Estate, Psychoscareapy: Echoes of Shadybrook and The Orfanage: Ashes to Ashes. Haunt fans will enjoy the description of the last one as well, “Ashes to ashes, forever now dust. For years she has existed in the shadows, never getting her due. Misunderstood by all around her, she has had enough of her playthings at the Good Harvest Orphanage – Now is the time for vengeance. This burned our shell contains the souls of the forgotten and the lost who all scream one name: Cindy.” Yep… Cindy, the lost icon daughter of the Caretaker is finally getting her own house.
There are two shows this year, the new Brian Brushwood: Menace & Malice show and the ever popular Bill & Ted show. The Scare Zones are: The Coven, Zombie Gras, Saws n’Steam, Esqueleto Muerte, Fear Revealed (The souls of Chaos, Death, Sacrifice, Mythos and Vengeance — He created them and gave them terror. Each with a part to play, they fulfilled their tasks. Their malice provided him bone, their rage gave him blood, and their terror fulfilled his soul. What has been 19 cycles for some have been eons for him. He’s waited patiently for the final piece, and now on the 20th cycle… HE IS REVEALED.) and HHN: 20 Years of Fear (Step into the shadows of the last Twenty Years of Fear. Move toward the lantern, and encounter the most frightening characters of Halloween Horror Nights past.).
From what I’ve been led to understand, this year they will seek to tie most of the major haunt stories and legends they’ve created over the past 19 years together into one overall connected story world. For example, the Dogs of War military haunt could very well be tied in story to the Military themed base used as the backdrop for the popular maze themed to The Thing a couple of years ago. While we really don’t see too much of ‘Fear’ yet (other than the giant teeth) it’s been said he will be revealed more and more as time goes on.
(8/23/10) I’v got a couple of new Horror Nights rumors to share this week. I’m told that the Parade Building is currently being decked out to look like a real storage facility for Horror Nights, which will allow for a tour through recreations of Haunts from previous years. I’m guessing that the Legendary Truth could also come into play here.
As for the other haunts, again the reports are still coming in that the haunt in the Jaws queue building will be themed as an Orphanage where despicable things took place. The Disaster area haunt may indeed take a queue from the Left 4 Dead 2 video game and feature a trip through a nightmare circus full of Zombie Clowns. One of the Sprung tent haunts will feature some kind of Military theme to it, but I don’t know anything more yet. As for the deluxe soundstage haunts... I’m told that one has a kind of “Greek” looking theme to it while the other may very well feature a descent into hell theme, possibly as a tie into the Lantern on the website being an artifact of ultimate fear and evil.
(8/20/10) Universal Orlando has released a new teaser video for HHN 20 to wet your appetite, with the promise that all will be revealed on August 26th. I’ve also been sent a few more odd rumors. One claims that we may have a maze this year themed entirely to Clowns… but I have to wonder if they’ve gotten confused with the similar themed maze at Universal Hollywood’s event. The haunt that should b e a flashback to HHN’s and Icons from year’s past is also still heavily rumored. Finally, we’ve heard something about a maze that may feature size-based illusions that will make you feel too big and claustrophobic in a maze full of very small passages and doorways.
Finally the sites for both HHN Orlando and Legendary Truth have both been updated once again, with the later showing off pictures of the Chainsaw Drill Team, The Director, Rat Lady, Dead Silence and a Lion character from 2008. If that wasn’t enough, one of our readers was able to dig deeper into the programming of the Latern on the main site itself, decompiling the video and pulling out some disturbing images of ‘faces’ hidden within the animated flames of the Lantern. Tied into the info about the new version of Freddy serving as the icon of HHN Hollywood, doesn’t the face in the flames look a bit like Freddy on fire?
(8/19/10) I’ve heard a few interesting rumors about the Haunts for this year’s HHN 20. It’s interesting that so little information has trickled out so far this year, as in the past it’s been more of a flood. Though they also seem to be off to a very weak/slow start with the online effort, as in some past year’s they were evolving a big story and online developments all summer long.
A couple of readers have sent in some hints and info about the house going into the Jaws queue which seems to imply some kind of combination of a school and orphanage theme going on in there. Could it be some kind of catholic school gone wrong perhaps with abusive staff? One source has gone so far as to possibly link the story to be told here to the origins of Cindy, the daughter of The Caretaker.
Meanwhile the haunt in the Disaster queue may take on a Zombie Apocalypse theme, as we’ve been told the designer may have been inspired by the Left 4 Dead videogame series.
There is also a rumor about a possible Haunt themed to the Legendary Truth team, which may involve the investigation “Paranormal” activity within.
(8/16/10) Varous photos can now be seen if you click on the lantern at the HHN site. Hover over the lantern on this second page for long enough and a message and link to the Legendary Truth website will appear. New updates have also appears lately to the Legendary Truth website, such as a photo of The Caretaker from 2002, a shot of Screamhouse Resurrection from 2006, Festival of the Dead (’96), Torture Truck (’99) and Midway of the Bizarre (’95). So far we’re not sure where they’re going with this, only that Legendary Truth is warning us that Universal is not telling us the whole story, which sounds like some kind of cover-up has been going on for some time now in relation to the events and history of HHN over the years.
(8/7/10) I don’t know if this is still the current plan,  but I did hear a rumor that the villain in this year’s Bill & Ted show may be an evil Steve Jobs bent on world domination and putting a lowercase i in front of every known product in the world. Can iBill & iTed stop him? Sounds funny to me… but just one of many rumors right now.
Speaking of which, we’ve heard that one of the sets going up in the Disaster queue area looks quite a bit like a hospital scene of some kind. Odd so few rumors about themes for this year have leaked out, but I’ve also heard they’re being a bit more secretive than normal this year too.
(8/3/10) Not only was the official HHN 20 website updated late last week, showing off a weird collection of Poloroid photos slowly developing as hints about this year’s haunts, but today the old Legendary Truth website from HHN 18 has also returned to life! Check it out at LegendaryTruth.com and join The Collective. There is some interesting stuff in there about a missing former agent who had communication with someone from Universal Orlando about HHN.
(8/2/10) I’ve been sent a g reat rumor for HHN 20, which involves one of the large Soundstage haunts under construction. From what I’m told there may be one extra special haunt this season… a huge one… possibly the biggest Haunt ever built at HHN. Inside it would be a trip back through the year’s of HHN’s past, with sections dedicated to each of the previous years and the Icons that ruled the event that year where applicable.
(7/31/10) The Halloween Horror Nights website has been updated once again. Check it out.
(7/28/10) Due to huge crowds, Universal was forced to open up a few of the extended queue sections at certain attractions that were closed off to build HHN Haunts. You can find a few pictures of these areas posted at Behind the Thrills this week.
(7/24/10) The Halloween Horror Nights site has been updated again, with the Twenty Years of Fear section now showing off many icons from the past and the origin years of the event. More sections are still to come.
(7/22/10) Paranoia makes people do strange things… like seeking out messages and symbols where none may be. For example, check out this update posted to Destination Theme Park where they break out a virtual microscope and check out every inkblot on the HHN 20 “lantern” graphic in a quest for symbols, hints and clues. Did they find something? Maybe… maybe not. But it’s interesting what the human mind can come up with.
(7/15/10) The popular HHN performer Brian Brushwood could be returning for HHN 20. If you take a look at his official website that lists his performance dates, and in late September and throughout October there are dates listed as “Booked for event” which all match up perfectly with every night of HHN 20. Coincidence?
(7/11/10) The official Halloween Horror Nights site for Universal Orlando has been updated once again, confirming the “Twenty Years of Fear” tagline for HHN 20… but not much else.
(6/22/10) The official Halloween Horror Nights website has been updated to promote this year’s event dates as well as promising that “This fall, a new era of darkness begins as the nation’s premier annual Halloween event takes terror to a whole new level.” I can’t wait to hear more about this new era of Darkness.
HHN 20 will take place in Universal Studios Florida yet again on September 24-25, Sept. 30-Oct. 1-3, Oct 7-10, Oct. 14-17, Oct. 20-24, and Oct. 27-31st. Advanced tickets are already on sale for $74.99 as well as Stay & Scream upgrades and Gory Getaway Hotel Packages.
(6/10/10) Some new interesting clues as to the themes for the HHN 20 Haunts has been posted to Orlando United.
(6/8/10) It seems construction is starting early for HHN 20 this year, as black coverings are now up blocking off all views into the Jaws extended queue building which is normally used for a Haunt.
(6/5/10) It’s been awhile since we’ve heard any juicy HHN rumors, but I think I forgot to post this one that came across my Twitter a couple of weeks ago. According to HHN Rumors the official LegendaryTruth.com website that was first launched to promote The Collective group that was hunting down Bloody Mary has had it’s domain registration renewed for another two years, now registered up through 8/21/2012. Right now nothing is on the site, it just auto forwards to the old HHN site from last year, but it seems to be a clear sign that The Collective will be returning for HHN 20.
(5/21/10) The latest HHN news comes from HHN Rumors this week, as they have uncovered the first building permit from Orange County for construction for the event. No details other than that, and very little other than haunt locations was determined from the follow up permits last year.
(5/4/10) Behind the Thrills dropped into the Haunt Con event and has posted some interesting rumors about HHN 20 as given turning an official event Q&A session. TJ Mannarino mentioned that this year’s event will be a sort of “scrapbook of years past”… as the various icons are all connected it seems. That’s one twisted family tree…
(5/2/10) I was sent word that Universal was conducting a survey back in March that asked questions about two new possible Express Pass options under consideration or Halloween Horror Nights. Remember, these were just concepts and nothing confirmed for use for HHN20 or future years yet… just ideas they were getting feedback about.
The first option was something being considered to fit in with the Frequent Fear passes, so this of this as a Frequent Fear Express Pass. The idea is that kind of pass would be make available on the same nights that Frequent Fear passes are allowed to visit HHN, typically the first weekend and following Wednesday, Thursday and Sunday nights afterwards… in other words, the slower nights. This pass would allow guests to cut to the front of the line at each maze once per night only.
The second Express Pass option was a kind of VIP style pass that would allow the holder unlimited front-of-line visits to each and every haunt…. All night long. Given the length of the lines HHN can get, I’d say the later was a bad idea, though I’m sure the price involved for this would be so high, they would be unlikely to sell that many anyway.
(4/21/10) HHN Rumors has posted a new update about the latest rumors for this year’s HHN. The overall theme of returning Icons is still there, and they’re counting 8 haunts this year, which matches up with the number of haunts I’ve also heard from another source. And yes, Bill & Ted are still rumored to be put in T2/3D this year, resulting is shorter but faster paces shows… and a lot more of them. Make the jump to read the rest.
(4/9/10) The latest buzz from HHN Rumors claims that the New Line Cinema character (aka: The Deadly Trio – Freddy, Jason & Leatherface) are also unlikely to return for HHN 20. I’m not too sad about this actually, as they did their thing and their time is over, and I’d prefer to not see them steal the show again.
(4/8/10) According to the latest buzz from HHM Rumors, the copyright holder to the Bloody Mary legendary character tells them that Universal’s deal to use the character was up in early November 2008, shortly after HHN ended its run. To date, Universal has not signed by kind of new agreement that would let them use the character again, contrary to the rumors claiming that a possible gathering of past icon’s for HHN 20.
(3/16/10) According to the latest rumor at HHN Rumors, the throw-back theme for this year’s mazes is still alive and well, though instead of picking out one maze for the year, they may theme each maze as a taste of all the chaos that took place during that particular year’s event.
(3/13/10) HHNRumors has some interesting news to share about HHN 20. Their sources seem to indicate that this year’s Bill & Ted Show may somehow make the move over to the T2/3D theater. Of course, this is a much smaller theater, but the idea is to use more than one cast and run more frequent shows throughout the night, as well as taking advantage of the T2/3D queue area. Interesting… very interesting… this could allow for a unique pre-show experience to be added to the story and flow of the show as well.
In other news I’ve heard that there is talk of adding some custom programming to the Hollywood Rockit for HHN, including special new audio tracks and lighting effects.
(3/4/10) HHNRumors has posted some new information that suggests that the dreaded Festival of the Damned parade may return for HHN 20. God, I hope they are wrong on that one as getting rid of the parade was the single best move in all of HHN history.
(3/2/10) The new HHNRumors website claims that official Construction Tours of select HHN Haunts are likely to take place this year. They also have a great bit of into about HHN 20, claiming that the park may add heavily themed queue areas to the mix this year as well.
(3/1/10 - Updated) While we had initially been sent a report about two very expensive roof repair projects (Click here to find the listings) coming up, it turns out nether of these are expected to have any impact on HHN 20. Details of the locations have been placed on the USF page.
(2/27/10) Some early rumors about what we may be able to expect from HHN 20 are already starting to roll in… and the good news is that it doesn’t look like this will be another all movie themed maze year. If the rumors are true HHN 20 could actually be a big celebration of all things HHN from years past. We’re talking bringing back the top attractions, scare zones and shows from the previous 19 years. Even better… they may up the ante this year and offer a record setting 10 mazes. More when we find out.
(11/16/09) A video showing off the special scare zone added at the end of the event can be seen here.
(10/29/09) The new Scare Zone opened to guests last night and was called Tales From The Past. As you can see in the photo sent in, Jack the clown was indeed back in action in the alley. According to another report over at Behind the Thrills, the alley also featured the return of many other major characters from past years. Not just icons like Caretaker, but other characters like Darkness, a Body Collector and “Cindy” and more. They also post some interesting ideas for  HHN 20 next year, including the idea of holding a Midnight Syndicate concert. Very interesting... but which park gets the honor of hosting HHN 20?
(10/19/09) While one reader tells us they watched the drive in for 20 minutes and never saw the Easter Egg... another reader sent in a link to a YouTube video they posted showing off the clip itself. Seems it really is there.
(10/16/09) This is a bit too detailed I think to be true, but the rumor going around some insider circles is that HHN 20 may be themed around the the wedding of Jack and Chance. Of course the impending nuptials will bring about a massive gathering of Icons from the past once again, each set to deliver a horrific gift to set the mood. Hmmm... I do kind of like it, but I still think it’s a bit too soon to bring back Jack again.
(10/15/09) In response to my thoughts about possibly holding HHN at Islands of Adventure once again once Potter opens, an e-mail came in claiming that Universal may actually be toying with the idea of holding a family friendly / non-scary event at IOA next year. Similar to Disney’s “Not So Scary” event, kids may be allowed to dress up and trick or treat at Candy stands set up around the park. Apparently this may take avanage of the more kid-friendly themes at IOA that would involve Harry Potter, the Seuss characters, and even the Marvel superheros.
(10/14/09) With the Wizarding World of Harry Potter finally set to open next summer, some have begun to wonder if Universal might see fit to move Halloween Horror Nights back over for another run at Islands of Adventure next year. Anyone else heard anything on this?
(10/13/09) A reader visiting Halloween Horror Nights tells us that they came across what sounds like a little Easter egg possibly for next year’s haunt. While standing outside Mel’s Diner and watching the drive-in movie screen for a bit of time, they noticed something odd at the end of the reel. A movie ticket stub comes on the screen and says “Coming Soon”, followed by footage of a “clown”, and then Flashlight (The Usher) holding a finger to his mouth as if to say “Shhhh!” The footage jumped back and forth between the clown and Flashlight for a few more seconds before coming to an end. It kind of makes one wonder if this may be a hint that Jack may be coming back again. Anyone else seen this? Meanwhile, while we’re talking about HHN, check out this interview with Michael Roddy (aka: Dick Johnson) over at the Orlando Sentinel. It’s worth noting that he says that work on HHN has gotten to the point where they are already working the next year’s HHN over a year out now, which is a change from about 3-4 years ago when they used to take a month or two off to go over the data, review what people likes and didn’t like, before beginning the process of planning the next year’s event. According to Roddy, they began work planning HHN 2010 back in July 2009!
Future Resorts, Parks & other Expansions - (2/24/10) Those who have drove by Universal’s backside may have noticed that a section of the employee parking lot has now become a construction site as work seems to have begun on that long in development apartment complex set up in the area behind Jaws and Men In Black. (No need for photos… it’s all just dirt and tractors right now)
(1/4/10) Remember that apartment complex idea Universal Orlando pitched a few years ago? Well it looks like there is still life left in the concept and according to the Orlando Sentinel Universal is ready to partner with a local developer to build the 330-unit complex that will be aimed at securing tenants from their own workforce. They plan to open the first units in 2011.
(12/4/07) Screamscape sources have sent a piece of concept artwork discovered showing off what the proposed new 16-story tall 1,800 room hotel project may look like. As described in the master plan amendment, this hotel would go right across Hollywood Way behind the Jurassic Park building, between Turkey Lake Road and Adventure Way. We also have map over the overall new master plan, a small piece of artwork showing off what the proposed employee apartment building would look like. There is also a photo of the billboard showing off The Promenade (mixed use office/retail/restaurant) going in across from the Hess station as well as a construction photo of the site posted to OrlandoRocks.
(8/2/07) Today we have to discuss the fate of Wet ‘n Wild. It’s been a few years since anyone talked about this, but the latest rumors claim that the end of the road for Wet ‘n Wild may be in sight. For those who need a little history lesson, I confirmed a few years back that the property under Wet ‘n Wild is actually not owned by the park or Universal, but was part of a land lease deal signed by the creators of Wet ‘n Wild back before it opened in 1977.
Even today no one really knows for sure just how long the term of the lease was for, but shortly after I uncovered that fact one of the local Orlando papers did their own research to contact the property owners who confirmed that there was little chance of them signing a deal to renew the lease due to the increased value of the property and it’s key location on I-Drive that could be put to better (and more profitable) uses. An older article in the Orlando Sentinel about Aquatica once mentions that the terms of their lease start to change in 2007 and the price is expected to rise through the roof by 2012.
The bottom line… Wet ‘n Wild is living on borrowed time. This has led many to speculate about when and if Universal Orlando may take the next step to build their own new water park on their own resort property. It’s also been noted that all of the “new attractions” added to the waterpark over the last few years have either been rehabs of older attractions (The lazy river, The Blast) or larger above ground attractions (Storm, Disco H2O, Brain Wash) that would be fairly simple to move to a new location when the time comes.
These days the rumor mill has picked up once again claiming that 2009 could very well be the last summer for Wet ‘n Wild. If this is true, then my best guess may be that Wet ‘n Wild signed a 35 year lease possibly as early as 1975 which could come to an end in 2010. Remember that the park will need time to remove their property from the site, so you can see where the 2009 closure idea may be coming from.
Keep in mind that other than the fact that there is a ticking clock… everything else is just speculation right now. For all we know the park may have another 10 years left on their lease… or they could already be in some kind of overtime extension where the fees grow higher and higher each additional year. If the end is near, I’m sure we’ll hear more about this very soon and Universal is likely to promote this fact to drive up attendance in the final season when they find themselves up against the new waterpark on the block, Aquatica.
(5/15/07) According to a post at UrbanPlanet.org, Universal Orlando is asking for an amendment to their master plan to add Timeshare Units and Multi Family Residential units to their 800 acre property. Currently only 104 acres are undeveloped and this plan pretty much fills up almost all the rest of the holes. The Residential section of the plan will add up to 316 units along Vineland that are intended to be used as Workforce Housing, most likely in much the same manor that Disney offers housing for their International and College Workforce programs. A new four story tall office building will be added not far from the current office building(s) along Turkey Lake Road. Meanwhile it looks the plot of land next to the Royal Pacific will become home to an 800 room 8-story tall hotel property and the land between Adventure Way and Turkey Lake Road will become home to a 1,800 room 16-story tall hotel project. From the look of the new Masterplan Map, the river system will be expanded to allow for transportation to these two new hotel projects. Looks like those rumors last week about the new Premium and Moderate sized resort projects were right on the money. Meanwhile the only big holes left open for future development include what’s left of the property from the new 1,800 room resort down the South end of Universal’s property on Turkey Lake (enough room to build a new waterpark still) and the large plot of land between the Men In Black ride building and Universal Blvd where they set up a few mazes at last year’s Halloween Horror Nights. Here’s another look at the Sat Map showing off the various site plans.
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