Halloween Horror Nights 23 Speculation

[Capacity]

You're not reading what I am saying; yes Halloween should be scary. But several people don't like being scared to the point of going into things they don't understand. The Bloody Mary story, for instance, was extremely dark--a very macabre and twisted concept that brought about fear even be looking at the billboards. This is the kind of thing people will stay away from.

HHN has probably realized that considering the size and scope of their event, they needed to stop targeting only the small niche that were hardcore horror fans who ate up the R-rated stuff in the icon stories (notice how Lady Luck tried to be an icon that was easier to swallow and how it failed miserably). Casual horror fans (the type who see PG-13 horror movies and slasher flicks) can still be scared by The Walking Dead (who said it made anyone comfortable?), without being completely isolated by a crazy backstory and gory advertising materials. Hell, I remember the advertisement for the Jack the Clown year (when I first moved to Orlando) and thought there was no way I'd go to that event; of course, had I seen a picture of Michael Myers or even Jack Torrance, I would've been a little less hesitant to go because I know those characters, I can relate with them, and I can be scared by them without being made uncomfortable. In a hospitality/tourism business as big as Universal, you can't make people uncomfortable--however just because you and I don't think TWD is scary doesn't mean other people won't.

Universal is a growing business, and a major player in Orlando now, even more so than before. Cult followings aren't going to do them any good anymore. Also, as to the capacity argument, it should be noted that the houses were pulsed in 2006, inflating wait times.

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Yep

By "pulsed" do you mean instead of a continuous line they let in certain amounts of people at a time?

 

[SeventyOne]

What do you mean the houses were pulsed? Ive never heard this term.

They would send a group of, say, 5 or 10 people thru, wait 30 seconds, then send another small group. That way you avoided the "conga line" and seeing every scare happen to somebody 10 people ahead of you.

 

[Eric]

What do you mean the houses were pulsed? Ive never heard this term.

Your party would enter, the greeter would wait a little bit and then send in the next group. It wasn't just one big conga line.

Pulsing is one of my biggest complaints of the event. I understand they can't pulse anymore because of the crazy crowds, but by sending in everyone at one time, the houses lose a lot of scare factor.

Nevermind SeventyOne beat me to it!

 

[Capacity]

Your party would enter, the greeter would wait a little bit and then send in the next group. It wasn't just one big conga line.

Pulsing is one of my biggest complaints of the event. I understand they can't pulse anymore because of the crazy crowds, but by sending in everyone at one time, the houses lose a lot of scare factor.

Nevermind SeventyOne beat me to it!

I thought of it after I posted. Yeah I don't enjoy Horror Nights for that exact reason. You go through the house and see the same scare 3 times. I remember the last scene of Dead End there was a set where a girl rolled out from under a TV or something. I saw her roll out 3 or 4 times before I walked by. Got nothing out of it.

 

[tiredoldspook]

It is impossible to Pulse when you have the sheer volume that HHN does. Netherwworld in Atlanta pulses people people when they can but on the nights they have 4 to 5 thousand come through even they congo line. HHN has to put between 1400 to 1600 people through a haunt per HOUR...This was shared with me and Octobers Fade 2 years ago on our tour(hang in the back you learn stuff) so at that rate here is the Math. 25 people a MINUTE or 2.4 people a second over the threshold. So if you wait 30 seconds you are already behind the game. When you are doing Massive Volume you CAN NOT pulse...

 

[WolfmanJ]

Universal Orlando's HHN twitter changed its username to @HorrorNightsORL . I'm pretty sure I'm not the only one who noticed it but I wanted to share it.

 

[Ajstriker26]

It is impossible to Pulse when you have the sheer volume that HHN does. Netherwworld in Atlanta pulses people people when they can but on the nights they have 4 to 5 thousand come through even they congo line. HHN has to put between 1400 to 1600 people through a haunt per HOUR...This was shared with me and Octobers Fade 2 years ago on our tour(hang in the back you learn stuff) so at that rate here is the Math. 25 people a MINUTE or 2.4 people a second over the threshold. So if you wait 30 seconds you are already behind the game. When you are doing Massive Volume you CAN NOT pulse...

This. With the crowds they have now, I wouldn't be surprised to hear that they've raised that to 2,000 people an hour. If you really want to avoid conga lines, go from event open to close and you should be able to hit all houses right when they open and just before they close the lines

 

[Hatetofly]

This. With the crowds they have now, I wouldn't be surprised to hear that they've raised that to 2,000 people an hour. If you really want to avoid conga lines, go from event open to close and you should be able to hit all houses right when they open and just before they close the lines

There is a system in place that tracks hourly numbers for each house and managers that give the flashlight nazi's instructions to speed up the conga line. Some will go as far as flashing there light at you and yell keep moving if there is a 4-5 ft gap between groups, it's beyond ridiculous. As this event continues to grow as well as trying to reduce HHN's number 1 customer complaint of extreme wait times they have lost certain aspects of the events intimacy by speeding up haunt tempos and conga lines. I do want to point out though that there are several team leaders and managers at the event who are amazing and are truly dedicated to getting there house to there thru put goals but NOT at the cost of interfering with the atmosphere of the house. Talking with them directly they would rather seek higher satisfaction scores than ruining the house via flashlight nazis. To those leads and team members I applaud your efforts to get the job done while not ruining the experience even with certain management members who try every year to make the event less and less intimate ad original.

 

[Mike]

If they have a THRC issue, perhaps they should make the houses longer, or have more of them. If their #1 guest complaint is long lines, then THRC isn't as much of an issue with a capacity of 2000, it is the $$$ they are banking with HHN Express. Express is causing just as long of lines as not bumping THRC up another 100 people. Can't have your cake and eat it too.

I have to say that last year was my first year for HHN, and after hearing about it for 2 decades, I was let down. I had been to Knott's a few times as well as various Fright Fests and the HHN conga-line was the biggest downer on the whole experience. Especially being flashed in the face by an unthemed usher just because someone in front of me was so scared that they stopped, backed me up, and then ran ahead out of the room. I appreciate why some might bemoan the expansion of consumer-friendly IP, but that didn't bother me and it won't cause me to stay away in the future. My favorite house was Dead End, so I am not trying to convey that I am part of the "masses who come for IP", just that the balance of IP is not what might cause me not to return. I had fun, and had fun with the crowds, but this is not a scary event. I can't get worked up about scarezones or walking dead, because frankly, I have never come across a "scary" scarezone; they're all cheesy no matter what IP is used.

Not sure if I will swing by this year, Knott's remains my #1 favorite Haunt. Universal's set design was neat, but it felt like a walking-tour of, well, sets. The independent houses in metro areas all do better jobs of real scares, and I've never seen one not Pulse.

 

[Tbad556]

Mike Aiello is currently doing a Q&A on the HHN Twitter account: https://twitter.com/HorrorNightsORL

 

[Jymmymack]

I feel kind of spoiled now because the Hollywood conga lines don't begin until 11 or even 12. I'm usually on my last house when I get my first conga line. When I went through Hostel, and AC1 I had the two girls I took with me and that was it. Nobody else. Pulsed about 45 seconds away from any other group (these were the first houses of the night). I did however conga through The Thing and WD. Everything else was pulsed with a group of about 10.

 

[tiredoldspook]

Mike you echo what I hear from people from Haunts I meet on my trips to Mid West haunters and Hauntcon. Number one complaint is lines no one can even argue against that. You can't stop the huge lines with out selling less tickets that won't happen. As i have been told by a number of people who have done HHN that only have seen all the hype and heard all the amazing things about it When you are in a conga line there is no scare factor. When you say Non Peak you think smaller crowds you don't expect a 2 hour wait at all the houses. People who build and work in haunts expect to go early in October and not see crowds like that because that is not the norm in the haunt world so they get turned off after 1 trip. I understand HHN is about money and I think a lot of the fan boy world is seeing it also.

 

[Jakemeister]

I feel kind of spoiled now because the Hollywood conga lines don't begin until 11 or even 12. I'm usually on my last house when I get my first conga line. When I went through Hostel, and AC1 I had the two girls I took with me and that was it. Nobody else. Pulsed about 45 seconds away from any other group (these were the first houses of the night). I did however conga through The Thing and WD. Everything else was pulsed with a group of about 10.

You can go to HHN and get pulsed. This will probably mean nothing to everyone who doesn't go more than once or twice, but it requires some luck, timing and a bit of planning. You need to do Stay and Scream on a REALLY slow night and wait until everyone has already gone through the house. When you get in line if it is really low volume ask the greeter if they can separate you from the next group. This also works the last 10 minutes of the park being open for the event.

 

[Felipe]

You can go to HHN and get pulsed. This will probably mean nothing to everyone who doesn't go more than once or twice, but it requires some luck, timing and a bit of planning. You need to do Stay and Scream on a REALLY slow night and wait until everyone has already gone through the house. When you get in line if it is really low volume ask the greeter if they can separate you from the next group. This also works the last 10 minutes of the park being open for the event.

That's a key time. I remember doing Havoc twice, back to back, with just my group at the end of one of the nights. It was awesome!

 

[Drew]

47 days folks.

 

[PourJudgment]

I'm ready and so is my Avatar & Sig! Felt great on August 1st to finally say ~ NEXT MONTH!

 

[psljags71]

Just saw word from Hollywood that they will be doing a Black Sabbath House this year. Is that also joining Orlando's HHN? I've also heard there might be a 3rd Cabin "IP Hell" house in Mama. Any truth to that?

 

[Brian G.]

Just saw word from Hollywood that they will be doing a Black Sabbath House this year. Is that also joining Orlando's HHN? I've also heard there might be a 3rd Cabin "IP Hell" house in Mama. Any truth to that?

No. That was Cali only. Mama is not coming to Orlando. Don't know if it's heading to Cali though.

 

[psljags71]

BTW, thoughts on the ghost in the new "Evil Takes Root" Video?

 

[Hatetofly]

The house lineup is Havoc 2, Resident Evil, Walking Dead 2, Grimm: La Llorona, Cabin in the Woods, The Evil Dead, Legendary Truth, and American Werewolf in London. Posting this in case someone may have missed it from the Stash in June :thumbs: