This is an interesting idea. The Fright Nights mazes are currently an underutilised facility as well. Many of the US parks have large facilities (See the Knott's Wilderness Dance Hall as an example) where it hosts mazes for halloween, but is used for boysenberry festival as a food and drink service area - it hosts many different events throughout the year. If the FN maze buildings were on a guest-accessible route, they could utilise these facilities throughout the year to host many different activities, offerings and such.
So pure laziness activity. The departments don't "need" this space at all.
You still haven't demonstrated that the chinatown alley is essential for the departments to use as BOH. As a matter of fact the more we discover about how this area is used, the less it seems like it is essential or necessary.
I want you to imagine this - the park is building a huge, brand new land. Anchored by three rollercoasters, more than they've ever built in a single install, themed to a brand new, never seen in park (in a major way) intellectual property.
Just like Lethal Weapon or Wild West before it, it has an immersive pathway directly from Main Street, with a huge bridge over the front announcing to the (movie) world when can be found down that path.
No, it's ok. Make everyone walk through the Superman Plaza, or they can pray to find a hidden passageway behind a dining area....
I know the tree is gone, but this sure looks like the entrance to a brand new multimillion dollar land!!!
Yes - this is how i'd want to present my brand new IP - by directing people to walk past the superhero or the cartoon dog.