Halloween Horror Nights 25 Discussion

[Nick]

I will say I am interested to see if they add Halloween night to FFP this year. I'm indifferent to going that night but curious if they regret what happened last year. Last year was the first time they didn't add the last day when it fell on a Saturday to the pass. That night ended up being one of the slowest of the event and I can't imagine someone wasn't looking at how much lost revenue that created.

Ultimately I think the only factor that could result in reduction of FFP is sellouts. I'm sure they have some formula for how many tickets they can sell on nights with FFP, FFP+ and non FFP nights. The only reason they would want to reduce FFP is if it is keeping them from selling tickets. The next two weeks will tell us how much demand there is. I don't doubt there is some tipping point where selling those extra tickets outweigh the FFP park spending. Personally I think this is the reason Diagon Alley and a 9th house were added, they would rather have the best of both worlds sell more tickets and let the FFP in as much as possible. I think with those additions we could see only 1 or 2 sellout days like last year or even less possibly none. If we get four or five sellout days I could see some rethinking of the FFP structure, if we don't get any or only one or two I would say it's business as usual for next years FFP. As you said time will tell, especially the next couple of weeks.

Throughout the entire history of HHN, Halloween night has ALWAYS been one of the slowest nights of the event.

 

[s8film40]

Throughout the entire history of HHN, Halloween night has ALWAYS been one of the slowest nights of the event.

Yes, and that's generally pretty standard with the haunt industry as a whole. I think last year they were worried they would lose out on some ticket sales due to the previous sell outs the week before, but I don't think that was the case at all.

 

[Lucky Planet]

I'm going to disagree. Time will tell.

how are they unhappy? just curious but what did you hear?

I will say I am interested to see if they add Halloween night to FFP this year. I'm indifferent to going that night but curious if they regret what happened last year. Last year was the first time they didn't add the last day when it fell on a Saturday to the pass. That night ended up being one of the slowest of the event and I can't imagine someone wasn't looking at how much lost revenue that created.

Ultimately I think the only factor that could result in reduction of FFP is sellouts. I'm sure they have some formula for how many tickets they can sell on nights with FFP, FFP+ and non FFP nights. The only reason they would want to reduce FFP is if it is keeping them from selling tickets. The next two weeks will tell us how much demand there is. I don't doubt there is some tipping point where selling those extra tickets outweigh the FFP park spending. Personally I think this is the reason Diagon Alley and a 9th house were added, they would rather have the best of both worlds sell more tickets and let the FFP in as much as possible. I think with those additions we could see only 1 or 2 sellout days like last year or even less possibly none. If we get four or five sellout days I could see some rethinking of the FFP structure, if we don't get any or only one or two I would say it's business as usual for next years FFP. As you said time will tell, especially the next couple of weeks.

maybe they don't have to get rid of FFP completely but just reduce the number of nights. Like those UCF nights.
Whenever Hell week is going on FFP should not be allowed in, that would help with the crowds on those days for example.

take out the busiest days of the month, that way people that are going from UCF don't have a horrible time and the FFP still stays there for the fans.

I am not sure why it has to be an all or nothing kind of thing, either they keep the FFP or they take it out completely. not sure why Universal doesn't work around it.

 

[Shucker]

Have they been sold out any days so far? I have not heard they have closed the gates yet.

 

[s8film40]

how are they unhappy? just curious but what did you hear?



maybe they don't have to get rid of FFP completely but just reduce the number of nights. Like those UCF nights.
Whenever Hell week is going on FFP should not be allowed in, that would help with the crowds on those days for example.

take out the busiest days of the month, that way people that are going from UCF don't have a horrible time and the FFP still stays there for the fans.

I am not sure why it has to be an all or nothing kind of thing, either they keep the FFP or they take it out completely. not sure why Universal doesn't work around it.

Yeah they could take some of those out and add in a few of the Saturdays that aren't very busy and make everyone happy!

 

[s8film40]

Have they been sold out any days so far? I have not heard they have closed the gates yet.

None so far. There were only two days last year, it will be interesting to see if Diagon Alley and the 9th house will keep it from happening this year.

 

[SeventyOne]

None so far. There were only two days last year, it will be interesting to see if Diagon Alley and the 9th house will keep it from happening this year.

Rumor has it online sales were halted last night (10/11), making it at least a "Phase 1" sell-out to borrow Disney terminology.

Thing is, previously sell-outs have generally been non-FFP nights. And, again through the grapevine, last night's crowd was primarily out-of-state tourists--remember FL schools don't get Columbus Day off, we still have Hell Week next week. FFP holders were a fraction of the crowd. Look at it this way--Friday, also covered by a lot of FFPs, wasn't all that busy. Single-night tickets still dominate, just like single-day tickets still dominate at WDW.

Multi-night passes make the earlier events busier than ever, but the same factors selling more multi-night passes are also selling more single-night tickets. And while raising the price on RoF/FFP seems obvious, not sure how you effectively slow sales of single-night tickets--do they dare go to a $150/night event?

 

[OrlandoGuy]

maybe they don't have to get rid of FFP completely but just reduce the number of nights. Like those UCF nights.
Whenever Hell week is going on FFP should not be allowed in, that would help with the crowds on those days for example.

take out the busiest days of the month, that way people that are going from UCF don't have a horrible time and the FFP still stays there for the fans.

I am not sure why it has to be an all or nothing kind of thing, either they keep the FFP or they take it out completely. not sure why Universal doesn't work around it.

I personally believe that it's their strategy to keep those nights valid for FFP. I think the idea is that an annual pass holder will have enough access to the event that they won't feel the need to go on those super busy days...like SeventyOne said, the sellout days are FFP blackouts and a good amount of the biggest crowds are not local. However, keeping those days open, even if not many pass holders take advantage of them, makes the pass seem more valuable => selling more of them to keep early weekends busy.

 

[Frank Drackman]

Alright, this comes up every year, but last night, exponentially more kids (talking under 12, with plenty under 8) than I've ever seen at the event before. Other friends I met throughout the night commented on this as well. Watched Jack show next to a kid no older than 9. Watched a girl who was maybe 7 run terrified from a chainsaw into the Central Park smoking area.

I still think Marketing does a decent job conveying this is an adult event--I can only chalk it up to bad parenting. Time to put an age limit on the event?

I would be against a minimum age as our daughter loves the event (this year was her second year). We do not expect the event or any of the attendees to tone down for us.

I feel we put a lot of thought into our choice to start bringing her by experiencing the event for a few years without her and speaking to families we saw with kids to see if they encountered any issues.

We've stayed on site on nights we brought her and were more than willing to leave if anything felt wrong or if she wasn't handling it well, we also gave her the option to stay at one of the hotels kids clubs...we went six nights this year and she still wants me to bring her for her birthday (but UNI made my mind up on that one when they would not let me upgrade RoF to FFP)... I think she is a bigger fan than I am, I think she acts better than other guest we have seen...anyway, I would hate to take that away from her and she really does enjoy the event and I do not feel it makes me a bad parent but I am sure others would disagree with that, but I think I know my daughter better than they do.

 

[Parkscope Joe]

A suggestion on Twitter was a hard ban on strollers at the event to curb the very young, and a warning/verbal note when purchasing tickets online or in person. Thoughts?

 

[Lucky Planet]

Thing is, previously sell-outs have generally been non-FFP nights. And, again through the grapevine, last night's crowd was primarily out-of-state tourists--remember FL schools don't get Columbus Day off, we still have Hell Week next week. FFP holders were a fraction of the crowd. Look at it this way--Friday, also covered by a lot of FFPs, wasn't all that busy. Single-night tickets still dominate, just like single-day tickets still dominate at WDW.

like SeventyOne said, the sellout days are FFP blackouts and a good amount of the biggest crowds are not local. However, keeping those days open, even if not many pass holders take advantage of them, makes the pass seem more valuable => selling more of them to keep early weekends busy.

wow, it is very interesting to read this, I have heard this before too but, with the amount of Hate the FFP stuff gets, It always feels like FFP is destroying the event or something lol.

It is interesting that even if they were to take out the FFP, the event would still be really crowded on those "bad days"

Like I said, I mentioned in the past how someone that worked at the park told me that FFP-plus don't even sell that well, but every year I always see the same anger for the FFP passes being thrown around

 

[s8film40]

A suggestion on Twitter was a hard ban on strollers at the event to curb the very young, and a warning/verbal note when purchasing tickets online or in person. Thoughts?

I agree with banning strollers. HHN just isn't a good environment for them. You often have to navigate paths with fog, light blinding you, scare actors coming out of nowhere and of course other guests running from those scare actors. The potential for someone to push a stroller into someone else or someone else to trip over a stroller just seems much greater than normal. I personally wouldn't use one regardless of if they were banned or not just for those reasons. Not to mention they don't exactly have stroller parking, where do you put the things when you go through a house that exits in a different area.

 

[HalfGlass]

Hey Guys!

Super excited because I'm coming down to Orlando this weekend so I get to experience HHN in Hollywood and Florida this year!

However, I'm no expert on Orlando's HHN, so I could use some friendly advice!

For starters, I’m coming to see my family down there for a few days, and to them, HHN isn’t a priority, but they do want to go. My mom, though, can’t walk much before she starts hurting due to her condition, and she’s too embarrassed to use a wheelchair, so there is some retriction, and we will most likely do HHN for only 3-4 hours on Sunday night.

Now, knowing that and the fact we are doing a 2-day, 2-park hopper (Friday and Saturday) with a Stay and Scream add on, what do you recommend we do? They will probably want to do dinner in CityWalk on Sunday before entering, which means we will not enter the park any earlier than 6:30 or 7. How realistic is to see the houses/shows in a few hours? How many do you think we can get done without rushing since my mom can’t. Also, we cannot afford the Express pass.

Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated. Love you guys and love this board!

Best,
NYG

 

[Andy]

Alright, this comes up every year, but last night, exponentially more kids (talking under 12, with plenty under 8) than I've ever seen at the event before. Other friends I met throughout the night commented on this as well. Watched Jack show next to a kid no older than 9. Watched a girl who was maybe 7 run terrified from a chainsaw into the Central Park smoking area.

I still think Marketing does a decent job conveying this is an adult event--I can only chalk it up to bad parenting. Time to put an age limit on the event?

As much as I would want to bring my kids to the event, I just can't imagine bringing any child under the age of 12 or 13 to the event. Its just too much sex, alcohol, and overall adult content for any kid to be subject to at a young age.

 

[Andy]

Hey Guys!

Super excited because I'm coming down to Orlando this weekend so I get to experience HHN in Hollywood and Florida this year!

However, I'm no expert on Orlando's HHN, so I could use some friendly advice!

For starters, I’m coming to see my family down there for a few days, and to them, HHN isn’t a priority, but they do want to go. My mom, though, can’t walk much before she starts hurting due to her condition, and she’s too embarrassed to use a wheelchair, so there is some retriction, and we will most likely do HHN for only 3-4 hours on Sunday night.

Now, knowing that and the fact we are doing a 2-day, 2-park hopper (Friday and Saturday) with a Stay and Scream add on, what do you recommend we do? They will probably want to do dinner in CityWalk on Sunday before entering, which means we will not enter the park any earlier than 6:30 or 7. How realistic is to see the houses/shows in a few hours? How many do you think we can get done without rushing since my mom can’t. Also, we cannot afford the Express pass.

Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated. Love you guys and love this board!

Best,
NYG

Hello NYG, unfortunately as @SeventyOne already pointed out Sunday's have been brutal! Your only hope is to either buy express or do Stay and Scream and then eat a late dinner. You really have no other options. Sucks about your mother and again unfortunately it will put you at a disadvantage. But there is another option if you can DM me, I may be able to help you another way. All advice aside if you don't enter until 7, you will be lucky to do 2 or 3 houses and a show in 4 hours.

 

[sjago13]

Hey Guys!

Super excited because I'm coming down to Orlando this weekend so I get to experience HHN in Hollywood and Florida this year!

However, I'm no expert on Orlando's HHN, so I could use some friendly advice!

For starters, I’m coming to see my family down there for a few days, and to them, HHN isn’t a priority, but they do want to go. My mom, though, can’t walk much before she starts hurting due to her condition, and she’s too embarrassed to use a wheelchair, so there is some retriction, and we will most likely do HHN for only 3-4 hours on Sunday night.

Now, knowing that and the fact we are doing a 2-day, 2-park hopper (Friday and Saturday) with a Stay and Scream add on, what do you recommend we do? They will probably want to do dinner in CityWalk on Sunday before entering, which means we will not enter the park any earlier than 6:30 or 7. How realistic is to see the houses/shows in a few hours? How many do you think we can get done without rushing since my mom can’t. Also, we cannot afford the Express pass.

Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated. Love you guys and love this board!

Best,
NYG

Why not just make one of the days you go to the park the sunday so you could eat at finns and take advantage of stay and scream? That saves the waiting and standing to get in. Also possibly see if you can get one of those cards that let you wait out of the line so you guys can sit or take in the zones while waiting.

 

[ralphoutloud]

You guys really think FFP has an effect on Hell Week? Highly doubt the majority of FFP holders are crazy enough to go at that time, being that most of them I'd think are event veterans. Hell Week is definitely majority single night ticket holders. Them eliminating FFP access on those event nights would do literally nothing.

FFP isn't the problem. It's like limiting access to water park seasonal passholders, if the park is busy it's going to be busy regardless, haunted houses (and waterslides) are low capacity attractions. That's just the way it is. Only way to lessen the crowds is to jack up the prices and I don't think we'll see a huge increase over the next 5 years.

 

[ThreePack Shagur]

FFPs account for less than 10% of attendees on FFP nights. ROF even less. These aren't the problem, in fact, in Universal's eyes the event is going better than ever and there are no problems. Although we view it as theme park geeks and bitch and whine that the lines are too long or it's too crowded, we need to remember that we're a niche group and not the target audience.

Most locals who go to HHN show up at 8, buy their tickets at the turnstile, leave at midnight, do 2 or 3 things and leave happy with not seeing everything. If they want to see everything, they'll buy express. That's how it's always been.

In my 15 years of going and working, I can't think of a time when HHN wasn't busy, except maybe days where a thunderstorm is happening.

 

[s8film40]

These aren't the problem, in fact, in Universal's eyes the event is going better than ever and there are no problems.

Exactly! I'm not sure why people on here perceive the event being crowded as a problem for Universal. FFP helps to fill the park and they are very happy about that.

 

[SeventyOne]

Hello NYG, unfortunately as @SeventyOne already pointed out Sunday's have been brutal! Your only hope is to either buy express or do Stay and Scream and then eat a late dinner. You really have no other options. Sucks about your mother and again unfortunately it will put you at a disadvantage. But there is another option if you can DM me, I may be able to help you another way. All advice aside if you don't enter until 7, you will be lucky to do 2 or 3 houses and a show in 4 hours.

Even with Express or the option I suspect HatetoFly is talking about, you're still looking at easily 20 minute waits in lines--probably longer--entering at 7. Just to get in could take the better part of an hour. Eat a late lunch or hold off on dinner, but be in the park by 5 and you might cut down those waits a bit, but still, a ton of walking. Tell mom she'll see plenty of really embarrassing behavior that night, having to use a wheelchair does not fall into that category. It's just common sense given the distances at issue--literally miles when you add it all up.

Even doing all that, concentrate on the soundstage houses and maybe Asylum in Wonderland (do that after the soundstages, will have the shortest waits, or if you have time using HTF's option). Leave Jack show until last, can see from anywhere around it. Missing a great Insidious house and an average-at-best Bill & Ted, but not much else.