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Halloween Horror Nights 28 General Discussion

If the event is attracting significantly larger crowds and spending every year, it's reasonable to expect that Universal will increase the budget & expand their offerings. A second show, 10 houses, and more rides open, would be a reasonable expectation for 2019.

Not only is that a reasonable expectation, I think it will be a mandate based on the crowds this year. The decision not to go this year was pretty easy based on our experience last year, with ridiculous crowds that only an express pass would have alleviated. After randomly jumping on the app to check wait times this year, our decision was confirmed. You either need several nights, express pass, or both to enjoy this event any longer, at least in my eyes.
 
Not only is that a reasonable expectation, I think it will be a mandate based on the crowds this year. The decision not to go this year was pretty easy based on our experience last year, with ridiculous crowds that only an express pass would have alleviated. After randomly jumping on the app to check wait times this year, our decision was confirmed. You either need several nights, express pass, or both to enjoy this event any longer, at least in my eyes.
Yeah. Too crowded for me too. We're not big HHN fans, but we do enjoy having a different experience at the parks, so HHN is good for a change of pace. . Some years that we were there in Oct. , we didn't even go to HHN. The first year we experienced HHN , we went there 3 times and the crowds were moderate, but not overly busy. When we went in 2015 & 2016, for three days each time, the crowds were overly packed every day we went, just about shoulder to shoulder. So I can imagine how crowded 2017 & 2018 have been. That's great for Universal's bottom line, but too uncomfortable to me. That, along with the worst than usual Fall weather cycle southeast USA is in, is now keeping us away from paying for a vacation at that time of year. ...But I do think Universal will adjust and come up with some solutions. Revenue is probably becoming so great that it's attracting the high Executive's attention more so than before, that they need to adapt to the crowds to ensure they keep growing.
 
I kid you not though, a sold-out night I was able to do lots of things. Yeah it's a busy night, but if you can manage to get to the gates early (be one of the first in line) and then stay the entire course of the night, you can do nearly all the mazes. I was able to do Halloween, and all the back houses the first 2 hours of the event (ignored Blum). The last hour or so I was able to knock out all the soundstages (except Stranger Things, but it was plausible by jumping in line at 1:59). From 8-1 all I did was meander through the zones, eat and some rides.

Still, I felt like a sardine most of the time. lol
 
yeah I never understood the people that say that in One night they saw 2 or 3 houses. i know of some cases like that but i dont get it.
the houses back of the park stay low until around 8 PM (When everyone has already done the sound stage houses in the front
IF you get to the park when they open (and it is Not a Sunday) you can easily do 6 houses by 8. do the tent houses, do the house by ET, do the house by Men in black.... do the house by shrek.
sure you might not be able to get everything done, but if you are there early you can get at least 5 houses... but it looks like everyone that has a bad time runs for stranger things or poltergeist or they arrive at 9 PM.
 
I’m gonna guess before long (maybe even next year?) HHN will run 7 Days a week and run the event like they do Mardi Gras where they would have different casts come in on different days.

I also wouldn’t be surprised if the event was given an extra hour st the beginning of the night soon (close the park earlier to day guests).
 
I’m gonna guess before long (maybe even next year?) HHN will run 7 Days a week and run the event like they do Mardi Gras where they would have different casts come in on different days.

I also wouldn’t be surprised if the event was given an extra hour st the beginning of the night soon (close the park earlier to day guests).

I think for the last 2 weeks of October they could run 7 days.

And I think Orlando should be like Hollywood where they start scanning tickets a bit early and hold people already inside the park for the opening scareomony.
 
I'd say its a sure bet that next year's event will start at least one or two weeks earlier than this year, if not even sooner. (Not So Scary being the benchmark for "too darn early", I doubt it starts that early... but it could). Especially with Rock the Universe moved to January.

The only downside to that is heat, cool weather nights are orders of magnitude more enjoyable then the hot/humid ones.
 
From a non hardcore HHN person: I never really cared how many houses I did. I took my good old time, and if I did a few early with stay & scream, and had short lines (I refuse to stand in long lines for anything), I was fine with that. I actually enjoy the spooky ambiance of the park & the scare zones/shows more than the houses. BUT, I don't like (as Universal RBLX so aptly described it) feeling "like a sardine most of the time". Everything is just crushed with crowds, sometimes a bit too rowdy crowds, to enjoy it fully now. Just my take/perspective as a very casual HHN tourist staying at Universal for the full park experience, not primarily being there for HHN. And I would think there's a class of tourists staying in the park hotels, especially the deluxes, in Sept./Oct. that have a similar perspective.
 
I think HHN has an operations problem. For example, exits for mazes this year were horrible. Exiting DE or SC was the worse! It literally felt unsafe with the tight corridor between barricades and fences. I almost tripped several times.

...and don't get me started with the maze operations. No way in hell can you force people to do "two people side by side" in a maze. It's unsafe and just not pleasant. Flashlights always on.
 
I think HHN has an operations problem. For example, exits for mazes this year were horrible. Exiting DE or SC was the worse! It literally felt unsafe with the tight corridor between barricades and fences. I almost tripped several times.

...and don't get me started with the maze operations. No way in hell can you force people to do "two people side by side" in a maze. It's unsafe and just not pleasant. Flashlights always on.
Ehhh they told people entering to be side by side, but no one ever did. They never actually enforced it and I never saw anyone ever do it.
 
Ehhh they told people entering to be side by side, but no one ever did. They never actually enforced it and I never saw anyone ever do it.

No I know nobody did it. Screaming it endless amount of times is what bothers me. Why bother screaming if you are not going to enforce it and people are not doing it.
 
I think HHN has an operations problem. For example, exits for mazes this year were horrible. Exiting DE or SC was the worse! It literally felt unsafe with the tight corridor between barricades and fences. I almost tripped several times.

...and don't get me started with the maze operations. No way in hell can you force people to do "two people side by side" in a maze. It's unsafe and just not pleasant. Flashlights always on.

You were made to walk side by side in the houses?
 
Doubt it. Doesn’t make that much sense. Adding an 11th house, but shortening houses doesn’t really do much for logistics. We found out this year adding a house doesn’t do much for wait times. Need something more than that.
 
I think for the last 2 weeks of October they could run 7 days.

And I think Orlando should be like Hollywood where they start scanning tickets a bit early and hold people already inside the park for the opening scareomony.

but then the stay and scream people would get furious about that. and would complain that they aren't getting preferred entrance anymore

I'd say its a sure bet that next year's event will start at least one or two weeks earlier than this year, if not even sooner. (Not So Scary being the benchmark for "too darn early", I doubt it starts that early... but it could). Especially with Rock the Universe moved to January.

The only downside to that is heat, cool weather nights are orders of magnitude more enjoyable then the hot/humid ones.

i wonder how frequent fear pass would be worked into this. this year ffp had the most days added.
ffp will never go away since uni benefits from them, but i wonder if they add more days or if the event starts in beginning of September, how would they handle FFP? i mean, they do have the pass that has every single day


but
 
I think HHN has an operations problem. For example, exits for mazes this year were horrible. Exiting DE or SC was the worse! It literally felt unsafe with the tight corridor between barricades and fences. I almost tripped several times.

...and don't get me started with the maze operations. No way in hell can you force people to do "two people side by side" in a maze. It's unsafe and just not pleasant. Flashlights always on.

What's the option otherwise? Yeah it sucks they have to make people walk far but there's a full theme park that needs to run back there too.

Justin Bieber Seen Crying in Public Again as Wife Hailey Baldwin Offers Emotional Support: Report

So they can just kick out paying customers if a celebrity feels like it? I guess he pays universal well?

Got me, Leaky is usually closed around that time during HHN.

My bet to you is that next year the houses get slightly shorter so that they can add an 11th house and manage their staffing better

No comment. ;)
 
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