Anyways, back to topic...
I hadn't thought about them having to close both of the parks at 5. Don't they normally close at 6 in the off-season anyway? I was thinking a single ticket for both, and not needing a 2-park ticket. They could close off both Potter areas, and sell the ticket under the assumption that it won't be possible for someone to see everything in one night, thus requiring a second full priced day to see it all. Also price increase with less days on the Frequent Fear Pass.
The clientele has changed a lot too - much younger people, less drinking overall - so they'll need to rely on ticket sales. One of my former co-workers was telling me that last year was the first year that alcohol + merchandise sales during HHN didn't make more money than alcohol + merchandise sales during the day, and admission costs barely covered the cost of the event itself. Word was that Comcast overlords were questioning the worth of putting on the event vs keeping the park open additional hours and making the same revenue. I haven't heard anything on this year's numbers though.
Knowing that, it wouldn't surprise me at all if HHN moved to something more like the Halloween Party down the road in a few years. Less houses, more meet and greets, less R&D costs, and bring in more families. I know we all like to think that this event will always be around, but for those of us who have been going to HHN for a long time there has already been a huge change in the way the event was vs. currently.
This year they closed the studios at 5pm and kept DA and all of IOA open until 8pm for day guests. This is the best of both worlds as they are still getting the Potter and other merchandise sales from the day guests and getting HHN merchandise sales from the nights guests. Given what you heard about last year, and the addition of Potter, it seems like they found a way to strike a balance between getting merchandise sales out of both day and night guests.
Also, they have pulled a clever trick where they can possibly get a normal day guest with a one park ticket to upgrade to a dual park ticket just to have more time in the parks. The advantage of that is great as it is just one extra little way to get someone who may not have upgraded their ticket to spend a little more money.
The reasons against doing a two park event again seem more numerous to me than the reasons to do a two park event, so I do not see it happening.
I posted this elsewhere, but I will post it again here for posterity:
"I doubt a two park event will ever happen. There are so many x-factors that it just hardly seems possible, practical, or profitable.
Look at it this way, with a one park event they are able to keep IOA and DA open for regular day guests until 8pm without any HHN people intruding. These types of guests most likely came specifically for the parks and have zero interest in HHN so they are buying merchandise tailor made to their in park experience.
While HHN does good numbers, the most crowded nights recently have been ROF and FFP nights meaning that a lot of people have caught onto the value of those tickets. The type of ticket they buy is cheaper than a regular 3 day ticket so right up front you are not making as much money. HHN people are most likely buying HHN merchandise and not concerned about any other merchandise within the park as they most likely are AP holders or have already had day admission to UOR.
Running a two park even also ties their arms a bit as the next HHN year might not be as popular and they have to close BOTH PARKS early for the event. By having both open and running, they are raking in more money (albeit, at HHN guests and guests without parkhoppers expense).
If they do run a two park event, I would expect the prices to go up quite a bit to match the added attractions they would need to staff and to give themselves a bit of a cushion if the event is not as popular as this year's. After all, they are making a lot of money by having a packed studios and getting everyone else to spend the rest of their time in IOA, so you would have to recoup that loss somehow.
Another reason they would probably avoid a two park event is that companies can rent out the lands of IOA for corporate functions. Having a two park event at that point puts too much faith in the fact that the crowds WILL show up.
The only possible reason I could see them opening both parks is if DA and IOA were not busy during HHN this year. That reason alone seems like a bad idea to run a two park event since you are so reliant upon HHN being packed out, but it is a possible (thought not probable) reason for them to do a two park event."