Teen Problem at HHN?

[viking_wizard_eyes]

I hardly even saw any teenagers at the event, let alone had any issues with them.

This is how I feel about the Hollywood event, it definitely seems like the vast majority of people are over 21. I could be completely wrong about that, though -- as I've gotten older, I've gotten terrible at determining someone's age. Like unless they're clearly over 30, they could either be 14 or 27, I have no idea lol.

Obviously Knott's and Six Flags have their chaperone policies, but those are suburb teens -- I tend to think L.A. teens aren't quite as interested, or they have better things to do.

All the bad behavior I see is from aggro dudes in Raiders jerseys and baggy jean shorts.

 

[Tobias]

During my trip a few weeks ago, I honestly didn't notice anything wildly out of the norm. Definitely not on Wednesday and Thursday, while Friday and Saturday were your usual busier nights.

The only thing I did witness on Friday (9/6) was in the line for Major Sweets when two teens decided to roughhouse and try pushing one another into a trash can. The TM monitoring the line swooped in and instantly took them right out, which caused a group of teens in front of me to applaud that TM for doing so. It was pretty much an isolated incident that was quickly handled by the TM's.

The way folks on twitter are talking about it, you'd think it was the apocalypse out there. I'm sure there are isolated incidents, but Friday and Saturday were just significantly more crowded. More people, more problems.

Agreed. Fridays and Saturdays at any haunt are gonna' be busy and there can be an uptick of incidents because of that, and the incidents can come from anyone.

 

[Parkscope Joe]

Seems like this weekend was the breaking point cuz I didn’t have any issues 9/4-9. I’ve seen some people sharing posts about “teens” and people vaping. Using scare quotes for teens as it’s bad guest behavior that’s been assigned to teens but not sure if it’s them or not.

 

[Jerroddragon]

This is how I feel about the Hollywood event, it definitely seems like the vast majority of people are over 21. I could be completely wrong about that, though -- as I've gotten older, I've gotten terrible at determining someone's age. Like unless they're clearly over 30, they could either be 14 or 27, I have no idea lol.

Obviously Knott's and Six Flags have their chaperone policies, but those are suburb teens -- I tend to think L.A. teens aren't quite as interested, or they have better things to do.

All the bad behavior I see is from aggro dudes in Raiders jerseys and baggy jean shorts.

I was going to say HHN at Hollywood I've never had issues with teens

Knotts and Six Flags I've seen teens, even now with Six Flags having its new policy I saw a bunch of teens there. I didn't see anyone causing issues but HHN feels more 20-40 year olds and Six Flags felt more like 14-30. Mostly the older people were bloggers, lol

 

[TheCodeMan95]

Seems like this weekend was the breaking point cuz I didn’t have any issues 9/4-9. I’ve seen some people sharing posts about “teens” and people vaping. Using scare quotes for teens as it’s bad guest behavior that’s been assigned to teens but not sure if it’s them or not.

My experience was the same - HHN on 9/5 and 9/8, no issues.

(other than the monsoon on 9/8)

 

[Brian G.]

I think if Universal enforced the rules proactively, this may not be an issue. Right now, they are reactionary instead of precautionary.

Yes, drunks are an issue, too - but they can be handled a little easier. You can spot a drunk, you can't really spot a jerk kid.

 

[UniversalRBLX]

Had a group of adults skip us at Museum this past Saturday and TMs did nothing. My group and other groups in the standby queue informed TMs and they did nothing. Manager came out but they said because they weren’t using tickets to check for line skipping at time, there was nothing they could do. The group acted rowdy after that since they were able to get away with it. It was unfortunate.

Universal has done a great job these past few years improving security at the event (cameras in houses) and preventing (as much as humanly possible) issues in zones with more supervisors.

Not much you could do, outside of implementing a chaperone policy when entering the park.

 

[Bort]

10 minutes into my first night there was a teenage girl who was in front of me flipping off every scareactor that came near her in Torture Faire. Incredibly immature. It won't surprise me to see the misbehaved teens ruin it for the well-behaved ones who just want to enjoy the event, unfortunately.

 

[TheCodeMan95]

It would be interesting to see - if the issue is prevalent on weekend nights, maybe only implement a chaperone policy on those nights?

 

[UniversalRBLX]

It would be interesting to see - if the issue is prevalent on weekend nights, maybe only implement a chaperone policy on those nights?

So far that seems to be the case. Speaking anecdotally, Fri/Sat have more groups of teens. Universal knows this since they implemented the chaperone policy only on Fri-Sun in 2022.

 

[SeventyOne]

Shots fired by BGT --- chaperone required for 15 and under at Howl-O-Scream.

 

[srbmarc]

Shots fired by BGT --- chaperone required for 15 and under at Howl-O-Scream.

I'm only seeing the post by BG Williamsburg so I'm not sure if Tampa is doing the same.

 

[Lucky Planet]

i guess that one small way that it could be helped would be to not sell frequent fear passes to teens without a parent buying one.
so they would have to buy 2 passes if they want the teen to attend, and then at the gate then both tickets would have to be used at the same time ( both people, teen and parent)
I know that it sounds crazy but I just realized, it might not solve everything but it would at least curve some of the problem.

or have a parent sign a form about buying the ticket for the kid and be given a list of rules for the event or something. like a mini contract.

 

[Midnight Detective]

Hot take - the event isn't niche anymore (hasn't been in a long time) so it isn't just Horror Fans/Metal Heads/Spooky Enjoyers etc. The groups you'd associate with the typical Halloween event is, by a significant margin, more welcoming and kind than the general public.

 

[Kichkinet85]

I never had a huge issue with any teens at the event. Sure, I've had annoying teen I've seen but nothing huge. Been lucky. I've seen videos of huge things though so IK it happens and it's unfortunate. Drunks on the other hand are what I've had to deal with.

 

[Lucky Planet]

I never had a huge issue with any teens at the event. Sure, I've had annoying teen I've seen but nothing huge. Been lucky. I've seen videos of huge things though so IK it happens and it's unfortunate. Drunks on the other hand are what I've had to deal with.

what were the days you visited?

 

[Kichkinet85]

what were the days you visited?

Been going since 2013 and while back then I only went 1 night, I now get the FFP and go many nights. Opening night and weekend and Halloween week these past years r some dates.

 

[TheCodeMan95]

Yeah - I've never had an issue either.

Obviously just my opinion, but the "teens" argument has always felt like hardcore gatekeeping lol

 

[Myah1220]

Yeah - I've never had an issue either.

Obviously just my opinion, but the "teens" argument has always felt like hardcore gatekeeping lol

Agree, it also just seems like a moot argument because a) we know it's an impossibility that teenagers are going to be banned from the event, Universal isn't going to block access to paying customers, especially when b) at the end of the day this is an over-generalization. I've been going since I was 13 (2005), I behaved myself. Were there rowdy kids back then? Yes. Are there rowdy kids now? Yes. Were there rowdy ADULTS back then? Yes. Are there rowdy adults now? Yes. The issue isn't really the age demo, it's the fact that some people regardless of age don't know how to act right. Best we can do is just try to enjoy the event as much as possible and if kids start acting up then that's an issue for security to deal with just like they do for any misbehaving guests IMO.

 

[darkridelover]

Agree, it also just seems like a moot argument because a) we know it's an impossibility that teenagers are going to be banned from the event, Universal isn't going to block access to paying customers, especially when b) at the end of the day this is an over-generalization. I've been going since I was 13 (2005), I behaved myself. Were there rowdy kids back then? Yes. Are there rowdy kids now? Yes. Were there rowdy ADULTS back then? Yes. Are there rowdy adults now? Yes. The issue isn't really the age demo, it's the fact that some people regardless of age don't know how to act right. Best we can do is just try to enjoy the event as much as possible and if kids start acting up then that's an issue for security to deal with just like they do for any misbehaving guests IMO.

I don't know. 10 years ago there were a lot less High School and Middle School kids at the event and it was an infinitely better more manageable experience for me. I advocated for chaperones for anyone under 18.