Halloween Horror Nights 32 (UOR) - News & Info

[sparky]

I think at the very least, you wait until EU opens in 2025 to pull the IOA trigger. That way guests still have a non-HHN Universal park accessible to them during evening hours. They've held off this long. No reason to make the jump on IOA one year premature at this point IMO.

Though, it almost makes sense to use EU opening as an excuse to test out a 2 park option. You know the money people like those upcharges. Make the 2 park option an upcharge ticket. Double your screams with our 2 park ticket.

 

[Lucky Planet]

Unless you only allowed FFP entrance for HHN at 10 PM or something. No early entrance. Leave the park to one day guests from 6 to 10. I don't know. Give 4 hours to them.
remove sundays?
What was always really really weird for me to see was to see universal offer a FFP pass that allowed for every single day and with free parking ( the ultimate FFP) why does that even exist?

If anything they just have to remove the FFP Plus. And the ultimate FFP. remove express from FFP. make Fridays a single ticket day like it always was before.

Those are really easy fixes. Friday, Saturday and Sunday for single ticket guests only? (Wednesdays already feel like the least crowded day this year as far as I can see) the big problem seems to be Friday and Saturday and sunday.

 

[Grabnar]

Unless you only allowed FFP entrance for HHN at 10 PM or something. No early entrance. Leave the park to one day guests from 6 to 10. I don't know. Give 4 hours to them.
remove sundays?
What was always really really weird for me to see was to see universal offer a FFP pass that allowed for every single day and with free parking ( the ultimate FFP) why does that even exist?

If anything they just have to remove the FFP Plus. And the ultimate FFP. remove express from FFP. make Fridays a single ticket day like it always was before.

Those are really easy fixes. Friday, Saturday and Sunday for single ticket guests only? (Wednesdays already feel like the least crowded day this year as far as I can see) the big problem seems to be Friday and Saturday and sunday.

Thursday was crowded but still navigable, Friday, Sat were impossible. Even with our RIP guide there were sections we could not move at on Sat.

 

[Lucky Planet]

Thursday was crowded but still navigable, Friday, Sat were impossible. Even with our RIP guide there were sections we could not move at on Sat.

Yeah That's exactly what I mean. I'm not allowed in on Fridays or Saturdays. So when everyone keeps mentioning to cut FFP, that would actually be FFP PLUS. Universal could definitely cut those immediately. Locals hanging out could buy the regular FFP. Like they always did before.

 

[MrRoamer]

Unless you only allowed FFP entrance for HHN at 10 PM or something. No early entrance. Leave the park to one day guests from 6 to 10. I don't know. Give 4 hours to them.
remove sundays?
What was always really really weird for me to see was to see universal offer a FFP pass that allowed for every single day and with free parking ( the ultimate FFP) why does that even exist?

If anything they just have to remove the FFP Plus. And the ultimate FFP. remove express from FFP. make Fridays a single ticket day like it always was before.

Those are really easy fixes. Friday, Saturday and Sunday for single ticket guests only? (Wednesdays already feel like the least crowded day this year as far as I can see) the big problem seems to be Friday and Saturday and sunday.

I think they would lose a ton of customers getting FF if they restricted it to 10:00 PM entry. If they did that, it would suck but I would likely just completely forego HHN and go to HoS SeaWorld instead.

I may be completely off base here (please correct me people that know better) but I feel like they have cut capacity in several different areas. Kid zone closed, multiple bars and pop ups gone, removing food and bar space at existing pop ups, no shows at all, not using the Shrek (Villain-Con) House for anything this year. I haven't really seen any kind of Street shows either but I've only been 2 nights and haven't followed along to close with the rumors and what is actually available.

After living through the IoA years, I really don't want to see it come back. Too much walking and it really doesn't lend itself too well.

I really like the Meet & Greet @SeventyOne brought up, and I bet you can find plenty of empty space that you could use for them: Horror Make Up or Bourne, Central Park, Knockturn, Peacock bar (RIP Secret Bar), the area next to Horror Make up.

Additionally, they could potentially add meet n greets for the fan favorite characters from this year's event which would help curtail the people that clog the zones, crowd the characters, or harass them. Batricia being the obvious one I'm thinking of this year so far. But maybe had they done something like this, we could have avoided the issues with Tiffany and some of the others that got really out of hand back in the day.

 

[Legacy]

Space and activities is directly proportional to available capacity. The spread it enables (if it happens) is minimal and short lived because it’s an illusion caused by the momentary dispersion before the new total capacity is hit by the influx.

(Think about it from a macro level. Epic Universe isn’t intended to spread out the guests who are already coming - it enables more total guests. That concept is scalable).

The only way to address this issue with any longevity is to decrease accessibility (or interest).

EDIT TO ADD - ten houses is and will be a cap for the foreseeable future because the overall infrastructure of the park itself cannot support the increased capacity.

 

[Lucky Planet]

I think they would lose a ton of customers getting FF if they restricted it to 10:00 PM entry. If they did that, it would suck but I would likely just completely forego HHN and go to HoS SeaWorld instead.

I may be completely off base here (please correct me people that know better) but I feel like they have cut capacity in several different areas. Kid zone closed, multiple bars and pop ups gone, removing food and bar space at existing pop ups, no shows at all, not using the Shrek (Villain-Con) House for anything this year. I haven't really seen any kind of Street shows either but I've only been 2 nights and haven't followed along to close with the rumors and what is actually available.

After living through the IoA years, I really don't want to see it come back. Too much walking and it really doesn't lend itself too well.

I really like the Meet & Greet @SeventyOne brought up, and I bet you can find plenty of empty space that you could use for them: Horror Make Up or Bourne, Central Park, Knockturn, Peacock bar (RIP Secret Bar), the area next to Horror Make up.

Additionally, they could potentially add meet n greets for the fan favorite characters from this year's event which would help curtail the people that clog the zones, crowd the characters, or harass them. Batricia being the obvious one I'm thinking of this year so far. But maybe had they done something like this, we could have avoided the issues with Tiffany and some of the others that got really out of hand back in the day.

They could combine the idea of a meet and greet and a nightclub or dance club. They could do a mixture of both.
The peacock/ David S pumpkins area is technically becoming like a mini meet and greet And mini night club. ( you get to meet and take a photo with the Purge lady and meet David S pumpkins. And at the same time people are standing around drinking already)
So technically, by pure coincidence, that peacock area is already doing both.

It just needs to be bigger, be FREE, and have more characters.

It's funny because in the Dead Coconut club in city walk, last year you get to meet Dracula, Frankenstein monster and the bride. Those 3 actors would come out in the club and you got to take pictures with them, the monsters walked around the dance area, Dracula talked to guests,
It was literally the meet and greet you guys are talking about. Universal was already doing it. Everything is already there on coconut
( just have bride, dracula and Frankenstein show up somewhere inside hhn )

The Megan Horde needs to be part of an official meet and greet by the Peacock stage. We don't even need that much. They already have the Megan girls. Just have them be by the Peacock area.

 

[MrRoamer]

Space and activities is directly proportional to available capacity. The spread it enables (if it happens) is minimal and short lived because it’s an illusion caused by the momentary dispersion before the new total capacity is hit by the influx.

(Think about it from a macro level. Epic Universe isn’t intended to spread out the guests who are already coming - it enables more total guests. That concept is scalable).

The only way to address this issue with any longevity is to decrease accessibility (or interest).

EDIT TO ADD - ten houses is and will be a cap for the foreseeable future because the overall infrastructure of the park itself cannot support the increased capacity.

I'm confused when you say 10 houses is the cap because of infrastructure. If we are at 10 this year and they aren't using the Shrek theater, which they specifically made sure would be available for a house in the future, shouldn't they be able to get up to 11 infrastructure wise?

I get they didn't use it this year because VillainCon was still being built, but unless they demo F&F it seems like they should be able to +1

 

[Jake S]

I'm confused when you say 10 houses is the cap because of infrastructure. If we are at 10 this year and they aren't using the Shrek theater, which they specifically made sure would be available for a house in the future, shouldn't they be able to get up to 11 infrastructure wise?

I get they didn't use it this year because VillainCon was still being built, but unless they demo F&F it seems like they should be able to +1

Infrastructure doesn’t just refer to a place to physically locate a house.

 

[HandsomePete]

A lot of the issues have nothing to do with the total number of people in the park. I have not seen it personally, but based on pictures it seems like the waiting to exit issue from the two Sprung tents is because they’ve decided to build elevated walkways over the areas that flood. Exiting two houses there has worked for years, but it’s as if they signed off on the walkways without assessing whether or not it would be a bottleneck. They either needed to 1) build a better walkway, 2) leave it as in prior years, or 3) if they had to build that specific elevated walkway for safety reasons, abandon one of the Sprungs and build a tent at the MIB location. Just because those two tents were built for HHN doesn’t mean they *have* to use both.

Same with the food booth village. Look at the lines at Epcot’s food booths and then look at all the little dots on the map by Vamp 69 with not a single managed line in sight.

I have no idea how budgets are allocated across the event, but the best possible event might entail dialing the house cost back by 5% so they can afford stanchions to have proper food booth lines. I think a lot of the aggravation online about crowding is because people know they can do better with what they have.

 

[Legacy]

I'm confused when you say 10 houses is the cap because of infrastructure. If we are at 10 this year and they aren't using the Shrek theater, which they specifically made sure would be available for a house in the future, shouldn't they be able to get up to 11 infrastructure wise?

I get they didn't use it this year because VillainCon was still being built, but unless they demo F&F it seems like they should be able to +1

If you want to get a sense if HHN’s infrastructure can support more houses, don’t look at locations—look at lines. Specifically, look at lines for food and restrooms.

Like I said, an eleventh house (or adding rides) only increases capacity. If we look at generally (not accurate but conceptual), a new house increases capacity somewhere between 3-5,000 people. So… do they have enough toilets for that? Can they make/vend enough food and drinks for that increase? Can the gates support an extra 800 people showing up for opening?

Based on the stories from the last couple of years, I don’t think it can.

There are operational issues, sure (always has been), but there are also very real, physical limitations to what the park can do. I’ve been a proponent for creating a courtyard carnival behind the soundstages. But that requires port-a-Johns. Because adding a house isn’t just “10+1=11”. It’s “10+12=11.”

 

[Grabnar]

If you want to get a sense if HHN’s infrastructure can support more houses, don’t look at locations—look at lines. Specifically, look at lines for food and restrooms.

Like I said, an eleventh house (or adding rides) only increases capacity. If we look at generally (not accurate but conceptual), a new house increases capacity somewhere between 3-5,000 people. So… do they have enough toilets for that? Can they make/vend enough food and drinks for that increase? Can the gates support an extra 800 people showing up for opening?

Based on the stories from the last couple of years, I don’t think it can.

There are operational issues, sure (always has been), but there are also very real, physical limitations to what the park can do. I’ve been a proponent for creating a courtyard carnival behind the soundstages. But that requires port-a-Johns. Because adding a house isn’t just “10+1=11”. It’s “10+12=11.”

Based off of the lines and crowds they can’t really support 10.

 

[Clive]

Based off of the lines and crowds they can’t really support 10.

Yeah, are we forgetting the number of holes in the houses right now?

 

[DodgsonHere]

Yeah, are we forgetting the number of holes in the houses right now?

Still relatively new to HHN, what do we mean by holes?

 

[Michael S]

Still relatively new to HHN, what do we mean by holes?

Casting holes I think. Meaning spots that should be populated by a character are not.

 

[UniversalRBLX]

What Universal is missing is a high-capacity quick service capable of feeding the masses efficiently like Cosmic Ray's over at MK. Food isn't great, but it at least your not going hungry or having to resort to a pretzel.

Hoping Mel's refurb allows them to be a bit better

 

[HandsomePete]

Also wanted to add that conversations like this are why I really enjoy this forum - this feels like one of the only places online where it’s possible to have critical but constructive and insightful dialogues about Orlando parks.

 

[sparky]

Infrastructure doesn’t just refer to a place to physically locate a house.

The potties. No one ever thinks of the need for more potties until there are not enough potties

 

[Lucky Planet]

If you want to get a sense if HHN’s infrastructure can support more houses, don’t look at locations—look at lines. Specifically, look at lines for food and restrooms.

Like I said, an eleventh house (or adding rides) only increases capacity. If we look at generally (not accurate but conceptual), a new house increases capacity somewhere between 3-5,000 people. So… do they have enough toilets for that? Can they make/vend enough food and drinks for that increase? Can the gates support an extra 800 people showing up for opening?

Based on the stories from the last couple of years, I don’t think it can.

There are operational issues, sure (always has been), but there are also very real, physical limitations to what the park can do. I’ve been a proponent for creating a courtyard carnival behind the soundstages. But that requires port-a-Johns. Because adding a house isn’t just “10+1=11”. It’s “10+12=11.”

And we technically lost the bathrooms by the entrance of the park to remodeling. So this year we have less bathrooms lol.
we literally have less food booths and less bathrooms now

 

[Tobias]

Went last Wednesday with a friend before a convention, general first impressions were very good for both of us!

Personally, out of the five years I've been attending, this is the strongest house line-up I've seen. And it also has the strongest line-up of originals. (Generally in the past, there would be three solid originals, with the others being on the fence or not good. But I honestly really like all five this year.)

While Chucky was the weakest of the bunch, my friend and I honestly enjoyed it! I don't see this as some all-timer worst house, especially for the simple fact that if this house existed last year...it wouldn't have even been the worst house!

As for zones, while they may not be on the same insane level of last years, they got better and better as the night went on. Vamp 69' is a great vibe, I love Jungle of Doom, and Dark Zodiac provided some fun moments as well.

Dr. Oddfellow is a great Icon, plain and simple. I really enjoy the park-wide music loop, too.
HNF: Revenge Dream is downright killer.
Yeti: Campground Kills gave me an all timer of a scare, first time I legitimately crawled out of a room.
And the Exorcist gave my friend and I quite a scene as when we were waiting to enter Bloodmoon (cast change), we saw one woman DIVE headfirst out of Exorcist and careen right into a queue rope. And considering how that house is, it checks out!

All in all, a very good time. And while there's lots more to say, that'll have to wait as in a couple hours I'm off with my Mom down to UO for our vacation. And considering how the first impressions were, I'm very glad I get to see this year's event multiple times!