Halloween Horror Nights 26 Discussion

[s8film40]

That was the worst introduction to Florida I could have received. IOA was torn to pieces by Charlie, as was my property.

I got to be one of the first persons to inspect the MK resort area afterwards for damage, it was really interesting. I think I still have a chunk of the Wedding Pavilion somewhere.

If this storm tuck a sudden turn it likely wouldn't allow much time for Universal to clear out a lot of the HHN street stuff, facades etc. I would hate to see HHN interrupted by a hurricane, hopefully this just results in some light wind and rain.

 

[Parkscope Joe]

That's true, hopefully it's just a nice cool breeze. My only concern is the overall width of the storm by the time it passes and also they just shifted it in a little in the latest update. If we get lucky with very little rain and it scares enough people away could be a good weekend for HHN! I remember the parks in 2004 before each storm came were practically empty!

Just making sure but the cone is possible directions, not the size of the storm. Wasn't clear in the post and wanted to clarify. :thumbsup:

 

[Frank Drackman]

Just making sure but the cone is possible directions, not the size of the storm. Wasn't clear in the post and wanted to clarify. :thumbsup:

Yeah, but the cone represents the eye's potential direction, so the size of the storm and the latest update do cause more concern for more of FL, I mean, on that older track, here in Palm Beach county, we had a 68% chance of tropical storm winds...I imagine it has gotten worse with the most recent shift...and that dang UK model has had the eye heading right at us for the past two or three days...

 

[STL]

I hope Mad Dog and his lady friend get their ass out of town soon.

They check out on October 8th so they will be there IF this hits close. It's looking worse for our flight down early Friday morning. DAMNIT!

 

[Joel]

They check out on October 8th so they will be there IF this hits close. It's looking worse for our flight down early Friday morning. DAMNIT!

Sorry to hear.

My question is how quickly they can set up the scare zones after the storm? I don't care if the facades to the houses get messed up (obv. prefer them to to be), but we're going on Friday Oct. 14th with a bunch of people who're going for the first time and I would hate for them to get a lesser experience.

 

[Parkscope Joe]

Obviously we all care about the safety and security of the CMs, TMs, guests, and residents of FL so please keep that in mind during discussions.

As we've seen with AoV set up and take down for RTU this can all be done in one day.

Currently the storm is not projected to make landfall and will remain very far offshore. Currently WUnderground.com is showing rain all day Thursday with high winds (40 mph) late Thursday till Friday morning.

Right now locals are being prepared but are not worried this storm will be as strong as prior ones. Hurricanes prediction has improved but changes 24 hours out occur frequently. Stay alert to the Orlando Sentenel, WESH, Weather Underground, Orlando Informer twitter, and OU forums and twitter.

I am flying in Thursday AM and have no immediate plans to change.

 

[DanB89]

I have reservations booked at the Holiday Inn across the street for Thursday and Friday night, and I'm pushing it until the last possible minute (5pm tomorrow) to change. According to Weather Underground the Friday rain chances drop significantly around 5-6pm, which matches up with the storm being north of the peninsula by then. Unless it looks like it's going to landfall or get too close to Orlando I may plan to brave the trip and just hunker down in the hotel on Friday.

I'm also going to contact guest services tomorrow after the morning NHC advisories and see if they plan on delaying or closing HHN. Figure it can't hurt.

 

[Teebin]

They check out on October 8th so they will be there IF this hits close. It's looking worse for our flight down early Friday morning. DAMNIT!

Yeah, if I still lived in Florida, I would be having a cow today... that shifty cone.

 

[s8film40]

Yeah I think the storm should be a non event and just amount to some rain and wind, unless it takes a turn. There are some models out there showing it turning across Florida. That was the same story with Charley and the theme parks weren't as prepared as they should have been.

I would guess the most vulnerable aspects of HHN is the AoV stage, Chance house tent, outdoor house facades and scaffolding in the Survive or Die zone. Should they need to take stuff down all combined it's a huge task and I'm sure they are weighing some decisions right now of wether it's better to be safe than sorry or take their chances.

 

[Teebin]

The good news is that it is a great time to stay at one of the on-site hotels. After hospitals, the major parks are the first to get power restored, $$$.

 

[s8film40]

The good news is that it is a great time to stay at one of the on-site hotels. After hospitals, the major parks are the first to get power restored, $$$.

If they even lose power at all. I stayed in Disney hotels for all 3 of the 2004 storms, it was a very pleasant experience, going back to my hot apartment afterwards was not.

 

[SeventyOne]

Yeah I think the storm should be a non event and just amount to some rain and wind, unless it takes a turn. There are some models out there showing it turning across Florida. That was the same story with Charley and the theme parks weren't as prepared as they should have been.

Definitely the worst case scenario this morning, that one outlier spaghetti strand has it coming up the state, hitting Orlando pretty directly. If it's fast like Charley, could still pack a whallop, and parks would likely be on NE side.

Barring that, too much money on the table--I see HHN being open Friday night, even if sans SZs, shows and facades, Maybe even down TCM and Tomb due to flooding. Thursday harder to call at this point, I have to assume mostly FF, so not as much revenue loss.

 

[Legacy]

If they close the parks, they'll cancel HHN. And ever since 2004 the parks have proven fairly quick to close in response to hurricanes.

 

[s8film40]

If they close the parks, they'll cancel HHN. And ever since 2004 the parks have proven fairly quick to close in response to hurricanes.

Actually HHN gives them a little added flexibility. Many parks have rather than closing completely either opened late or closed early depending on the timing of the storm. In this case they could either close the park and make it an HHN only day or have the park open normal hours and cancel HHN.

 

[kittykt]

Hey OU! Long-time lurker here. My fiancé and I took our first trip to HHN kind of on a whim during our Universal vacation last year and became instant fans of the event. Enough that when his family organized a family beach trip to Florida this year, we decided to tack on a few days at Uni to get our HHN fix before driving up to the beach.

Now we're a few days out from our trip and Matthew has me so anxious. We're supposed to be flying into MCO around 11AM Friday morning and I can see our flight being delayed and/or cancelled, OR us making it to Orlando only to find that HHN has been cancelled on Friday night. We only have 3 nights of HHN before we have to drive to the beach, and I was really wanting to make the most of our short time there. We even shelled out for the UFF pass so we could attend Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights. The idea of losing one of those nights has me really bummed :/

I guess this is just a general rant/plea for assurance. I know we'll still be lucky to have Saturday and Sunday night, even if we have to venture out into the rain in ponchos and soggy shoes. Thank y'all for your great input here on the forum! It's been an invaluable tool for our trip planning.

 

[Teebin]

Actually HHN gives them a little added flexibility. Many parks have rather than closing completely either opened late or closed early depending on the timing of the storm. In this case they could either close the park and make it an HHN only day or have the park open normal hours and cancel HHN.

They also require closing in time to secure things like signs. In 2004, IOA lost its ticket awnings completely. I also believe that Cirque du Soleil lost its massive awnings as well... I only know that they vanished for the longest time after the storm... 6 months to a year.

 

[s8film40]

They also require closing in time to secure things like signs. In 2004, IOA lost its ticket awnings completely. I also believe that Cirque du Soleil lost its massive awnings as well... I only know that they vanished for the longest time after the storm... 6 months to a year.

Yeah, Test Track lost its canopy also. One of the most interesting things was the massive tree on the MK monorail station. When you walked in the station you couldn't see out there was just tree everywhere. My understanding was this became the top priority for WDW, since the 1st priority was reopening MK and this was the primary thing keeping them from opening. I've never seen a tree disappear so fast, the team cutting it devoured it in no time at all.

 

[Parkscope Joe]

Hey OU! Long-time lurker here. My fiancé and I took our first trip to HHN kind of on a whim during our Universal vacation last year and became instant fans of the event. Enough that when his family organized a family beach trip to Florida this year, we decided to tack on a few days at Uni to get our HHN fix before driving up to the beach.

Now we're a few days out from our trip and Matthew has me so anxious. We're supposed to be flying into MCO around 11AM Friday morning and I can see our flight being delayed and/or cancelled, OR us making it to Orlando only to find that HHN has been cancelled on Friday night. We only have 3 nights of HHN before we have to drive to the beach, and I was really wanting to make the most of our short time there. We even shelled out for the UFF pass so we could attend Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights. The idea of losing one of those nights has me really bummed :/

I guess this is just a general rant/plea for assurance. I know we'll still be lucky to have Saturday and Sunday night, even if we have to venture out into the rain in ponchos and soggy shoes. Thank y'all for your great input here on the forum! It's been an invaluable tool for our trip planning.

Relax, watch the weather stations, and Saturday and Sunday look very good.

 

[s8film40]

Relax, watch the weather stations, and Saturday and Sunday look very good.

This storm will also probably result in lighter crowds which could help compensate for lost time.

 

[sjago13]

I can see Thursday getting cancelled if it tracks west but it should be though by Friday night. So I would think Friday would only be impacted is if there was serious damage. I'm coming up for friday-Sunday so I hope the storm gets close enough to scare people away but not enough to impact the event besides some rain and light winds.