Halloween Horror Nights 28 General Discussion

[Lucky Planet]

I don’t know, man. Last year we did a seven day week towards the end of the run. Scareactors this year don’t have to deal with that.

I’ve heard there are a lot of issues going on behind the scenes. Supposedly boo holes are too small this year and scareactors keep getting injured. I also know for a fact ST has a lot of new scareactors that weren’t ready for the intensity of performing. That house is also suffering from wardrobe issues that vary from uncomfortable to dangerous.

ugh.... this is how you end up with empty houses.... specially the boo hole problem....
And i wonder what could they do to fix something like a boo hole being too small, but i dont even know if that has a fix.
why would they do boo holes that are too small? that seems like such a weird problem to have after running the event for decades.

is there new management or something?

Ill probably have to do stranger things as soon as i can if thats the case... might have to wait the 90 minutes...

 

[OLSinFLA]

Well, the used to have Sun-Thu to fix after the first weekend. But now its just Sun-The. Hopefully it will rapidly come together

 

[JawsVictim]

ugh.... this is how you end up with empty houses.... specially the boo hole problem....
And i wonder what could they do to fix something like a boo hole being too small, but i dont even know if that has a fix.
why would they do boo holes that are too small? that seems like such a weird problem to have after running the event for decades

I don’t have a confirmation on this, but they may have used a different contractor to construct the mazes this year.

 

[Lucky Planet]

yeah that would be the thing to explain it.....
And something like that would probably dont have a way to fix. so it makes me wonder if the worst boo holes just dont get used or something...

 

[OrlandoVillian]

Had performers stuck in Stranger Things for 3 hours last night.

 

[JoeCamel]

I don’t have a confirmation on this, but they may have used a different contractor to construct the mazes this year.

Should show on the permits if the sub is licensed stand alone and not inhouse

 

[Chumpieboy]

I don’t have a confirmation on this, but they may have used a different contractor to construct the mazes this year.

Aren't there still blueprints and specs? It's not just "Hey subcontractor person, put a hole there or something. Do what you want. Go crazy!" Wouldn't the blueprints show how big to make the holes?

 

[Teebin]

Aren't there still blueprints and specs? It's not just "Hey subcontractor person, put a hole there or something. Do what you want. Go crazy!" Wouldn't the blueprints show how big to make the holes?

Yes, everything is designed in house very specifically with elevation drawings for every little detail. Sub contractors are then brought in to bid and then build those plans. Finally, the A&D team returns to dress each house which might include paint and detail changes.

As with anything, designs might make new assumptions on how things will play out and work. If they don’t then they will make adjustments. I assume most major or minor adjustments will be made in house.

 

[Nick]

I get all this and I 100% agree that UoR tends to learn and adjust, that they tend to respect and react to guest feedback. There are reasons the place gets $$ from my family.

BUT, it seems like there are some things they should know/understand. I have not been to HHN yet. I think 25 is the only time I went opening weekend.

Anyway, I seem to recall the first year of AHS, the first time we went they were scanning Express right at the merger point. Easy to tell that does not work, to have the conga flow, you need to stage it and that includes giving the Express queue time for scanning, you need additional queue space after the scan to build up guest to merge with the regular queue.

I saw comments around straight numbers...30 from this queue, 10 from that one along with comments that it slowed things down as people didn’t have their Express passes out.

To me, this sounds like ‘stuff’ that OPs should understand. I get it is a tough balance. Heck, I had Express one year and it took us longer to get into the Halloween house (the year it was in the parade building) then it would have if we went in the standby queue...there was this guy ahead of us and he went off on the employee at the merger point. I did not like the guest’s attitude and thing people often expect too much from Express, but the guest was not wrong in the fact that for that one house, having Express was not what was paid for.

I’ve joked for a few years now that capacity for the event is being added via exit queues. Last year I had a rare time when I was at the event while my family had already gone back to the hotel. I’ve read how folks can get stuff done in the last hour....I found myself stuck in an exit queue....it was either the tents or the parade building last year)....I could not pass the folks that were walking sooooo slow at the end of a long day....felt like I lost 20 minutes...then to read this year they made the exit single file...that is just comical!

I know I have not been, I know they adjust often, but it does feel like there are some lessons they never carry over from year to year!

You don't get how hard it is to have 1 day of practice on-the-job and then be expected to go out there and be perfect... especially when 75% of Events ops employers for example are seasonal or new hires for the event. A lot of the scareactors are ALSO new hires and many having never done an HHN before (I'd say it tends to be around 50% every year... maybe slightly less).

So while @Legacy and I highlighted that part of that could be to preserve the body throughout the run, another part could simply be that we're two days into a 36 day event. Give the actors in the houses and streets this first weekend to get acclimated to their environment and feeling out which scares work and which don't. There's not a magic switch that turns on and everyone is all of a sudden perfect.

 

[TDBLMT]

Year one was also three nights, and only two were back to back. They also only had one house. So let's not act like the operational decisions from 28 years ago are good guidance for this now. In the last ten years, that sort of extension would have been huge news.

There's also the aspect that being "scheduled" for an hour after close only keeps the house open for thirty/forty-five minutes. They always give fifteen/thirty minutes to change, remove make-up and sign out. My B-Cast sign-outs were regularly 30 minutes after close for that reason.

You can't expect performers to routinely work two-three hours after their scheduled sign-out. They have lives. Now, if Uni is scheduling them for a 3am sign-out, performers can plan around. That's still making a 9-10 hour night. Their going to grind them to the bone.

People are commenting on the energy. With how many nights this is running, that low energy is a survival tactic.

It’s ridiculous. Yes, other haunts don’t get as busy as HHN but there are plenty that do - where actors are put through a much tougher situation. (Netherworld. The Beast. Headless Horseman. Pretty much any of the Big Big Haunts.)

I’m not downsizing the toll of scaring or that it’s tough work - I did it for 6 years.

But scareactors at HHN are spoiled and have it insanely good.

 

[snayberry]

Hope they tweak things before next weekend.

 

[Legacy]

ugh.... this is how you end up with empty houses.... specially the boo hole problem....
And i wonder what could they do to fix something like a boo hole being too small, but i dont even know if that has a fix.
why would they do boo holes that are too small? that seems like such a weird problem to have after running the event for decades.

is there new management or something?

Ill probably have to do stranger things as soon as i can if thats the case... might have to wait the 90 minutes...

I don’t have a confirmation on this, but they may have used a different contractor to construct the mazes this year.

Bad boo holes is on A&D. Everything is planned out before its handed over to the contractors. That includes the size of the boo-holes. If the contractor doesn't meet those specs, they don't get paid.

That said, the only fix is rebuilding the holes completely. So, there's no mid-run fix.

Had performers stuck in Stranger Things for 3 hours last night.

This is inexcusable. When I talk about Ops making the right decision, it's to avoid this right here. I know how this happens (ASM forgot someone in the house), but still.

It’s ridiculous. Yes, other haunts don’t get as busy as HHN but there are plenty that do - where actors are put through a much tougher situation. (Netherworld. The Beast. Headless Horseman. Pretty much any of the Big Big Haunts.)

Scareactors at HHN are spoiled.

They are spoiled, now doubt. But from my understanding places like Netherworld pulse (I could be wrong). Pulsing makes a huge difference by giving the performers a break. It's not a 45 minute barrage.

 

[TDBLMT]

Bad boo holes is on A&D. Everything is planned out before its handed over to the contractors. That includes the size of the boo-holes. If the contractor doesn't meet those specs, they don't get paid.

That said, the only fix is rebuilding the holes completely. So, there's no mid-run fix.


This is inexcusable. When I talk about Ops making the right decision, it's to avoid this right here. I know how this happens (ASM forgot someone in the house), but still.

They are spoiled, now doubt. But from my understanding places like Netherworld pulse (I could be wrong). Pulsing makes a huge difference by giving the performers a break. It's not a 45 minute barrage.

Netherworld is one of America’s most visited haunted houses. Open every in October and weekends in September and October. 6pm-12 most nights. And that’s box office closing.
Line will still get put through.

When the season starts it is pulsed - correct - small groups go in - you may have a 1min-5 min break Btwn groups - but you’re stuck in your boo-hole - in costume. In mask. Etc. You will get 1 10 min break a night. More if you ask and a lead walks by.

By middle October? Conga. Every night. Weekends? Forget about it. There’s a 7 hour wait for the main house (hour walkthrough give or take.)
Conga from 6pm-3am. 2 10 min breaks.

ZERO overtime (seasonal job.)
Minimum wage.
Zero E-Prompts to help your voice
Zero attendants for security.

It’s a farfanooging zoo. And the actors LOVE IT. They are HERE FOR IT.

They are out there. But universal hires spoiled entertainment kids (my roommates are two of em).

Yes, Netherworld is one of the busiest haunts in the nation (100,000k a year) and an exception and difficult to compare. But these scare actors (in the houses at least) have it MADE IN THE SHADE.

 

[Parkscope Joe]

They are out there. But universal hires spoiled entertainment kids (my roommates are two of em).

I'm going to stop you now and say lets not push this line of assumptions. Drop it.

 

[TDBLMT]

I'm going to stop you now and say lets not push this line of assumptions. Drop it.

Entertainment, when it comes down to it, actors are entitled/spoiled. It’s reasonable. It SHOULD be like that. I wish they’d fight for the ops team members to get better treatment, too.

Equity rules are obnoxious when they’re INCREDIBLE. But, it does mean that they (Entertainment) appear a certain way. Sorry if that offends you. (My best friend is Jack the clown. Screen shot this and put It on twitter. He’d agree.)

There’s a reason we have E-Prompts. If you “told them” what to say it’s “dialogue” and you have to pay them more...

 

[JungleSkip]

We’re calling kids who work for minimum wage in a job they’re likely to get punched in the face by drunken morons “entitled”? Really?

Man, sometimes the people here really need to look in the mirror

 

[Legacy]

Combat my ideas not my words, PC police. Also - not assumptions...?

I love it when the "PC Police" accusation is thrown out, at a moderator, on a private forum...

You're right. It's not "an assumption." It's an accusatory generalization.

 

[TDBLMT]

I love it when the "PC Police" accusation is thrown out, at a moderator, on a private forum...

You're right. It's not "an assumption." It's an accusatory generalization.

Some people can have a mouth on here and others can’t. You are well aware.

It’s not accusatory? I don’t know why you’re offended by it. Entertainment / Actors are treated the best in the parks. That comes w certain behaviors.

 

[JungleSkip]

Yes, Netherworld is one of the busiest haunts in the nation (100,000k a year) and an exception and difficult to compare. But these scare actors (in the houses at least) have it MADE IN THE SHADE.

100k a year? That’s like a weekend for HHN

 

[Legacy]

Some people can have a mouth on here and others can’t. You are well aware.

When I cross a line (and it happens), a mod talks to me. I oblige and move on.

Maybe that's the difference.