Halloween at Universal Orlando 2020

[RevFreako]

FWIW we have pins to give - so if you're at the park when we are, make sure to follow our Twitter. We'll be out there again sometime this week.

I MISSED OUT ON A PIN!?

 

[Kichkinet85]

FWIW we have pins to give - so if you're at the park when we are, make sure to follow our Twitter. We'll be out there again sometime this week.

I actually think based on what I know there are four casts per day. Two in the morning and then two that come in in around 2.

And the new October UOAP pin!!

 

[Tbad556]

I've stayed away from reading anything until I finally had the chance to attend today, so I may be behind on some things, but this really seems like a massive failure for the park, unfortunately. It seems like the houses are pretty much exclusively 5-15 minute waits now that we're past the initial hype of it all opening up despite the rest of the parks being completely slammed. I can't imagine it's helping the park with profits. It's a shame, but it really seems like the daytime crowds just don't have any interest.

 

[ultimateforce]

I'm sad to say I agree. I saw a lot of people walking up to the lines and turning around when they heard they aren't rides. The only thing I can say is positive is that the lines move really fast so that might be what keeps the wait times down.

 

[JoeCamel]

I've stayed away from reading anything until I finally had the chance to attend today, so I may be behind on some things, but this really seems like a massive failure for the park, unfortunately. It seems like the houses are pretty much exclusively 5-15 minute waits now that we're past the initial hype of it all opening up despite the rest of the parks being completely slammed. I can't imagine it's helping the park with profits. It's a shame, but it really seems like the daytime crowds just don't have any interest.

I'm sad to say I agree. I saw a lot of people walking up to the lines and turning around when they heard they aren't rides. The only thing I can say is positive is that the lines move really fast so that might be what keeps the wait times down.

I think they are important to preserve the soul of HHN. HHN is such a money machine it needs to be protected even if it means operating the houses as a loss leader.

 

[Mad Dog]

I think something needs to be said for this since more people are coming to the parks now, even on weekdays, which were ghost towns before the houses.

 

[Legacy]

I think they are important to preserve the soul of HHN. HHN is such a money machine it needs to be protected even if it means operating the houses as a loss leader.

Except, this isn’t HHN. It’s not preserving anything.

The purpose of the houses were to draw attendance. The sunk cost is worth it if people are showing up for the houses. But if the vast majority of people showing up are coming despite the houses, then the expense is purely unnecessary.

Last week I heard about casting for a third house (a tent). That means that, after the first couple of weekends, the response to the houses meant that opening more could be beneficial. At least on weekends. However, when a holiday weekend that is traditionally one of the best attended days of the year is only getting 5-15 minute waits, it means more houses aren’t needed. It means their draw was short-term.

If anything, it highlights the limitations of HHN’s appeal.

 

[Tobias]

Except, this isn’t HHN. It’s not preserving anything.

The purpose of the houses were to draw attendance. The sunk cost is worth it if people are showing up for the houses. But if the vast majority of people showing up are coming despite the houses, then the expense is purely unnecessary.

Last week I heard about casting for a third house (a tent). That means that, after the first couple of weekends, the response to the houses meant that opening more could be beneficial. At least on weekends. However, when a holiday weekend that is traditionally one of the best attended days of the year is only getting 5-15 minute waits, it means more houses aren’t needed. It means their draw was short-term.

If anything, it highlights the limitations of HHN’s appeal.

Agreed, it can also be said that general daytime crowds aren't as big into haunted houses as we are. That's not to say the house aren't popular or HHN in general, far from it. But it caters to a different audience then who's normally showing up during the day.

Also, I think this makes a great case that a year-round daytime haunted house wouldn't work. There's plenty of other evidence that supports this, but here's a fresh example right here.

 

[HHNSK]

I’m not going to argue that the houses didnt draw as many people that Universal was hoping for.

However, one thing that has to be kept in mind is how the safety precautions in place on many rides has drastically inflated the que times. For example, I rode the Mummy on the weekend and they were using every other row on each car. Additionally, each row was limited to one party. While I waited for my car to load I saw the ride vehicles being loaded with maybe 6 total people / vehicle. That’s 6 / 16. Plus the process was understandably painfully slow. So you have the Mummy sitting at a 95 minute wait, and moving guests at a snail’s pace.

Just my two cents.

I am curious @Legacy, do you think Universal would like a re-do on their decision not to hold HHN? Knowing what they know now, do you think they would have run the event and been able to do so with limited capacity while still turning a profit? This is perhaps one benefit from running the seasonal event - I’m sure they are coming up with different contingencies on how to successfully run HHN next year with restrictions in place.

 

[Parkscope Joe]

I'll just say I never want to hear another soul say they should open a daytime haunted house as a permanent attraction ever again.

I don't think this has been unsuccessful but extrapolating a house from 34 nights a year to daily in October to every day of the year just is diminishing returns. (Plus it shows how much HHN has turned into an event people travel to.)

 

[JawsVictim]

I wonder how this will affect UCM if EU ever gets built. It’s pretty clear the average park guest doesn’t care for haunted houses and UCM during park hours.

 

[RevFreako]

I wonder how this will affect UCM if EU ever gets built. It’s pretty clear the average park guest doesn’t care for haunted houses and UCM during park hours.

Those are two different things though.

 

[Parkscope Joe]

I wonder how this will affect UCM if EU ever gets built. It’s pretty clear the average park guest doesn’t care for haunted houses and UCM during park hours.

You know there aren't any haunted houses in the Epic Universe land, right?

 

[Tbad556]

I’m not going to argue that the houses didnt draw as many people that Universal was hoping for.

However, one thing that has to be kept in mind is how the safety precautions in place on many rides has drastically inflated the que times. For example, I rode the Mummy on the weekend and they were using every other row on each car. Additionally, each row was limited to one party. While I waited for my car to load I saw the ride vehicles being loaded with maybe 6 total people / vehicle. That’s 6 / 16. Plus the process was understandably painfully slow. So you have the Mummy sitting at a 95 minute wait, and moving guests at a snail’s pace.

The ride queues are absolutely inflated. However, the houses also have safety precautions in place that are causing longer than normal wait times. There would basically be no line whatsoever if the houses weren't being pulsed consistently like they are currently. It's just not something they want to see when investing in staffing to open theses houses up daily for over a full month.

My main hope is that despite all of this, they aren't completely discouraged from expanding on/continuing the daytime, family-friendly Halloween things that they put forth this year (trick-or-treating, scarecrow stalk, etc).

 

[JawsVictim]

You know there aren't any haunted houses in the Epic Universe land, right?

Wasn’t a walk through attraction/haunt proposed?

 

[UNIrd]

I think a lot of your views are short-sighted on these houses and this was a resounding success. They are absolutely responsible for an uptick in attendance, on-site hotel reservations, plus everything that comes along with it like more merchandise and food being sold, etc. The parks were a DEAD ZONE on weekdays and that's not the case anymore.

Plus, the houses having short waits even being pulsed shows just how much of a benefit having houses open for extended hours could be. Maybe people DON'T need to wait in 2-3 hour lines for houses during HHN and can average more than 3 houses per HHN visit by opening some earlier in the day for HHN ticket holders, especially for what we expect the most popular houses to be like Stranger Things in years past.

 

[RevFreako]

Wasn’t a walk through attraction/haunt proposed?

I don't think it'd be HHN style.

 

[Parkscope Joe]

My main hope is that despite all of this, they aren't completely discouraged from expanding on/continuing the daytime, family-friendly Halloween things that they put forth this year (trick-or-treating, scarecrow stalk, etc).

I imagine they'll send out surveys in November. I hope they keep some of those additions plus bring back the Dark Arts stuff in Hogsmeade.

Wasn’t a walk through attraction/haunt proposed?

I default to @Alicia but I don't think like a haunted house.

 

[Alicia]

I default to @Alicia but I don't think like a haunted house.

Theatrical show and Technologically advanced dark ride were the two main attractions in the latest iteration. An enhanced meet and greet for Frankenstein’s monster may be on the table, but that would just be a well themed queue/location, not really a “walk through” attraction.

Definitely no haunted houses as far as I know. Maybe roaming characters in the land itself. Maybe. But that’s no different than the stilt guy wandering around in front of Mummy at USF, ya know.

 

[Tylerthecreator]

Except, this isn’t HHN. It’s not preserving anything.

The purpose of the houses were to draw attendance. The sunk cost is worth it if people are showing up for the houses. But if the vast majority of people showing up are coming despite the houses, then the expense is purely unnecessary.

Last week I heard about casting for a third house (a tent). That means that, after the first couple of weekends, the response to the houses meant that opening more could be beneficial. At least on weekends. However, when a holiday weekend that is traditionally one of the best attended days of the year is only getting 5-15 minute waits, it means more houses aren’t needed. It means their draw was short-term.

If anything, it highlights the limitations of HHN’s appeal.

So no chances of that third house now?