Halloween at Universal Orlando 2020

[MrBlonde]

This has been happening for a while. He does the pre-show. Mostly just crowd warm up and going over the safety rules. It’s fun

Off topic but love your name!

I'm planning on going down for halloween and staying at RPR. If I can use express to see even 2 houses with that, it'll make my trip.

 

[ultimateforce]

Just saw on IG that Beetlejuice is appearing in the Horror Make-Up Show? Is this part of the Halloween stuff, completely random today, or been happening for a while?

Beetlejuice said my shirt looked like a hotel room curtain.

As a slight derail, multiple people have told me I would play a great Beetlejuice because he's very similar to my natural personality. I think this is actually people saying I am a jerk.

 

[krazyhorrorkid]

Originals on the other side of the park.

They want to spread the crowds.

Assuming there aren't opening Carey, would they open the Sprungs with no facades?

Any reason in Particular Beetle is doomed for this year besides the revisions of the deal with right holders? Beetlejuice is on the far end of the park so it would make sense to open that in Kidzone.

 

[MrBlonde]

Assuming there aren't opening Carey, would they open the Sprungs with no facades?

Any reason in Particular Beetle is doomed for this year besides the revisions of the deal with right holders? Beetlejuice is on the far end of the park so it would make sense to open that in Kidzone.

My best guess is that it's a big IP with general population appeal they can use to draw travelers to the park next year vs. giving it away for free this year. They have an option to neogotiate an agreement with WB to use it during the day time now, and use it next year, or save it for next year and get the bigger revenue from (hopefully) selling HHN tickets.

Originals costs nothing to license, no need to get approvals from external parties, and are generally not the specific reason for someone to come to HHN. Not many would say they're going to HHN solely because of a Tooth Fairy maze or etc. They go because they want to see what the team comes up with.

 

[HHNSK]

I don’t see the logic in them opening more houses. Would they actually make back what it costs to staff them? Is the incremental attendance over and above what they are seeing with the current two worth it? Perhaps the allure of filling up the hotels for another couple of weekends is worth their while, but it just doesn’t make sense to me.

 

[Vyrus]

All I know is with the express testing yesterday, I'm now trying to upgrade my hotel from Cabana to a premier and they are all sold out. Want to run through these houses as much as possible.

 

[Legacy]

I don’t see the logic in them opening more houses. Would they actually make back what it costs to staff them? Is the incremental attendance over and above what they are seeing with the current two worth it? Perhaps the allure of filling up the hotels for another couple of weekends is worth their while, but it just doesn’t make sense to me.

More houses mean more overall capacity, and would theoretically entice people to both come back if they’ve already visited for the first two houses and require guests to stay longer. It’s not just about the hotels.

 

[Tbad556]

All I know is with the express testing yesterday, I'm now trying to upgrade my hotel from Cabana to a premier and they are all sold out. Want to run through these houses as much as possible.

FWIW, and I'm not sure what dates you're going so your mileage may vary, but the lines seemed incredibly short yesterday in standby. I saw tweets of people saying that had done some houses 15+ times yesterday.

 

[HHNSK]

All I know is with the express testing yesterday, I'm now trying to upgrade my hotel from Cabana to a premier and they are all sold out. Want to run through these houses as much as possible.

Do you have an AP? If so another option would be to upgrade to premier. I believe the express benefits after 2pm for AP days are extended through the end of October now. This is only for the premier AP though.

 

[Vyrus]

FWIW, and I'm not sure what dates you're going so your mileage may vary, but the lines seemed incredibly short yesterday in standby. I saw tweets of people saying that had done some houses 15+ times yesterday.

Going this weekend, so probably Sunday better than Saturday

 

[Mad Dog]

Going this weekend, so probably Sunday better than Saturday

so far in this covid era, weather being equal, Saturdays are busier than Sundays.

 

[Tobias]

Was down there over the weekend with my parents, and both Saturday and Sunday I had no issue getting a virtual line for both houses when I was in line for Hagrid during early entry. Though the lines were incredibly manageable for both days, since mid-afternoon/evening you could just walk right in and it was a 10-15 minute wait at the most.

I'll go into more detail on the houses in the appropriate thread, but overall both were solid! The plexiglass didn't hinder the experience as much as I feared it would, and the houses had bigger casts than I thought they would have. In their current forms, this was very well appreciated. An I look forward to seeing them in full form next year since hooo boy, both houses have the potential to wreck some folks at full power...they already got a good start on me in some places. All in all, it's a very good taste for what's to come next year.

As for the other stuff, the Scarecrow Stalk was really nice and the Tribute Store is great as well. The Vegan Brownie Skull in the bakery was a downright winner in my group.

It may not be HHN, but this is something I'd like to see them continue for years to come!

 

[Grabnar]

It may not be HHN, but this is something I'd like to see them continue for years to come!

That actual would be kind of interesting, I know a lot of people might object to it on here because it'll drive HHN more family friendly but leaving one house open during the day to give a preview to families/people that may be on the fence about going that night might be worthwhile.

 

[SeventyOne]

So no news as to crowds today?

I can speak to Sunday. Crowds were huge -- larger than normal pre-Stay & Scream for a September HHN night. That said, house lines were short. By afternoon, down to 10 minutes, even as they used VQ as a form of Express.

Topic for another thread, but the crowds at UOR on the weekends are non-traditional -- these guests don't seem to care much about Potter (other than rides) or HHN. With reports of how dead the parks are during the week, I'm curious how long they continue to full staff these houses 7 days a week next month.

 

[Tobias]

I can speak to Sunday. Crowds were huge -- larger than normal pre-Stay & Scream for a September HHN night. That said, house lines were short. By afternoon, down to 10 minutes, even as they used VQ as a form of Express.

Topic for another thread, but the crowds at UOR on the weekends are non-traditional -- these guests don't seem to care much about Potter (other than rides) or HHN. With reports of how dead the parks are during the week, I'm curious how long they continue to full staff these houses 7 days a week next month.

Yeah, it definitely feels like those who're in line for the houses are the die-hards, or the curious and unaware. I say the curious since I did actually encounter a couple people who've never been to HHN and hit up the houses out of sheer curiosity, and on the positive side they really enjoyed them! They appreciated the details, the effects and the stories. As for the unaware, I definitely saw a fair share of groups who found out the hard way that taking their kids through Revenge of the Tooth Fairy was not the best of ideas. Amusingly, that's the one I saw the most regrets on, not BoFL. I did also see one smart group of parents who immediately turned around and left once they saw the façade.

 

[Vyrus]

Yeah, it definitely feels like those who're in line for the houses are the die-hards, or the curious and unaware. I say the curious since I did actually encounter a couple people who've never been to HHN and hit up the houses out of sheer curiosity, and on the positive side they really enjoyed them! They appreciated the details, the effects and the stories. As for the unaware, I definitely saw a fair share of groups who found out the hard way that taking their kids through Revenge of the Tooth Fairy was not the best of ideas. Amusingly, that's the one I saw the most regrets on, not BoFL. I did also see one smart group of parents who immediately turned around and left once they saw the façade.

Are they allowing small children to go through the houses if the parents take them?

 

[Tobias]

Are they allowing small children to go through the houses if the parents take them?

Yup, that's pretty much how they're getting taken in.

 

[Tbad556]

Are they allowing small children to go through the houses if the parents take them?

There are very clear warning signs, but like HHN, they aren't going to stop you.

I have no inside info on adding two more houses, but considering they want to staff these houses daily in October, from 9am-5pm and some days 9am-9pm, I'm willing to place a bet the casting calls are for back ups for the existing two houses.

Also bringing the above back around to say that I know for a fact that at least some of these casting calls did indeed get used to fill more spots for the already existing two houses today. I wouldn't use those as a basis for any hopes or expectations of more getting added.

 

[RevFreako]

Are they allowing small children to go through the houses if the parents take them?

No, they're giving me the kids. Clearly this is an error in judgment on someone's part.

 

[JJ591]

Finally, the Chromatica house we've always demanded and wanted.

Joe, you asked me not to post any speculation for next year when I mentioned how they might rework the Eilish house, and I've since seen multiple posts speculating about next year ever since, many involving the Eilish house not being here. Are you singling me out for some reason? I'm confused.

please refrain from 2021 speculation at this time.