Halloween Horror Nights 31 (UOR) - News & Info

[Lucky Planet]

My first visit tonight in 4 years... Didn't realise I was that popular :bonk: but in all seriousness, didn't expect a sell out and having never experienced a sell out I'm really not sure what to expect! Thankfully express already purchased.

First day back on the boards in months, somehow managed to avoid spoilers too.

Welcome. How did it go?

 

[Lucky Planet]

I saw Halloween Ends and something I noticed was

Spoiler: Minor Spoiler for Halloween Ends

the music throughout the movie was VERY similar genre-wise to the parkwide music lol. Not a critique but when you see the movie you'll know what I'm talking about within the first 5 seconds. Kinda interesting

Oh...
My...
god.....
You were right, wow ........ Omg

 

[SeventyOne]

Sell-out tonight felt busier than opening weekend. At one point post-HNF, traffic on Simpsons bridge just stopped. No one could move.

Speaking of shows, heard "damage from hurricane flooding" is a bit of an understatement/euphemism. Damage to Ghoulish infrastructure was critical, show is done for the season.

 

[Lucky Planet]

I have zero idea of the staffing numbers but opening more days of the week makes me believe a lot of people would get stretched way too thin and I'm sure more than a few actors would voluntarily put themselves in harm by accepting a bigger workload.

They're already open more than any other haunted attraction in the world, they don't need to open for more days weekly. Being stuffed to the gills attendance wise is just gonna have to be an accepted fact of the event. It's also a weird complaint to have if you're attending more than one or two nights. If you can afford to just stroll through HHN and only catch two or three houses because you're going every weekend, what's the problem? Some people only get two or even just a single night. If anything those people have much more of a worthwhile gripe since they're straining and clawing to get through everything in one go.

I like the fact that HHN draws more and more people because it should mean (in theory) that the event is going to be able to put more and more money behind it, becoming bigger and better every year.

Everyone says that the solution to crowds is higher prices but I honestly don't think higher cost would change anything
Anyone and everyone would just pay the higher ticket cost. If the event is as beloved then I doubt anyone will skip it over a 30- 50 dollar increase

I was just saying that adding Monday and Tuesday could help with spreading the crowds. The days keep getting sold out which means that there needs to be more days

 

[Jeepers Reaper]

Welcome. How did it go?

I've been to five HHN years, all on September nights in the past, I've never seen crowds like last night. Is there a local holiday or something else? The SZ were slammed and as @SeventyOne said, post show was chaos.

Going 3 more nights this week, will review after then but last night was an experience for sure.

 

[SeventyOne]

I've been to five HHN years, all on September nights in the past, I've never seen crowds like last night. Is there a local holiday or something else?

Nothing local, but judging by the mid-South license plates in the garage, I think it's probably Fall Break. Relatively "new" holiday, started mostly in the southern states but may be elsewhere now, that always seems to catch Orlando management off-guard. WDW had peak Summer lines this weekend as well, according to Blog Mickey.

It was a non-regulars crowd last night. Finns Stay & Scream was relatively empty, and the rides (even Transformers) saw relatively big wait times.

Going 3 more nights this week, will review after then but last night was an experience for sure.

Hoping for better crowds as well, but at least Wednesday and Thursday should offer perfect Halloween weather.

 

[UniversalRBLX]

If we continue to see these crowds throughout the year and into next year, including the regular parks (pending a recession), I'm sure a discussion will take place if they need to start casting more actors for HHN so they can run the event on a nightly basis.

The crowds this year have been abysmal, and if they can't add additional nights - an 11th house and additional stage show need to happen.

 

[sjago13]

If we continue to see these crowds throughout the year and into next year, including the regular parks (pending a recession), I'm sure a discussion will take place if they need to start casting more actors for HHN so they can run the event on a nightly basis.

The crowds this year have been abysmal, and if they can't add additional nights - an 11th house and additional stage show need to happen.

Someone else mentioned it before but where do the extra scareactors come from? It seems they have trouble keeping the event as is fully staffed and SeaWorld doesn't help by taking some of talent pool.

Ideally I would love for them to bring back Shrek and MiB tent and get up to 12 houses and possibly add a show to BMG or AA or the plaza stage but adding capacity also seems to make the streets crowded when everyone isn't in line for a house. I just don't see how they feasibly do that in the short term.

 

[UniversalRBLX]

Someone else mentioned it before but where do the extra scareactors come from? It seems they have trouble keeping the event as is fully staffed and SeaWorld doesn't help by taking some of talent pool.

Ideally I would love for them to bring back Shrek and MiB tent and get up to 12 houses and possibly add a show to BMG or AA or the plaza stage but adding capacity also seems to make the streets crowded when everyone isn't in line for a house. I just don't see how they feasibly do that in the short term.

HHN has the ability to add an additional set of scareactors if they wish, but since they decide to have only 2 sets, along with a few backups, it can create shortages when you add a night or start getting injuries/etc.

I firmly believe that the crowded streets are artificially created by Universal, not just the crowds themselves. There are a few remedies they can do to alleviate some of the congestion:

• Stop using the music plaza stage as a queue - give people the opportunity to relax there/seating for food/etc.
• Once Minions Cafe opens, that will add some additional seating/quick service options
• 2nd stage show at BMG (or Bourne)
• Stop putting large objects in the middle of the street (like parade floats in NY - I loved this year's zone, but the floats are causing serious congestion in front of Mummy)
• Central Park zone needs to stop putting props in the middle of the pathway and add it beyond the fencing. They can easily afford to remove/replace the fencing for HHN.
• They need to stop putting food & beverage tents in areas prone to congestion. There is no reason for them to put food tents in front of 2 house entrances (The Weeknd/Monsters)
• They need to move that Mac & Cheese food truck in San Fran elsewhere, it's clogging up the pathway.
• They need to create more well-defined areas for Food & Beverage tents with actual seating/tables to enjoy your food in. (For Example: the area in front of Animal Actors with the tables under the tent is a perfect location to add additional seating and Halloween theming so you can enjoy your food/drinks. Move the bar there and try out the bar concepts from SeaWorld's howl o screams with a unique theme. The Weeknd bar would have fit here a lot better).

The event creatively is doing awesome, but operations are holding it back.

 

[Jakemeister]

Someone else mentioned it before but where do the extra scareactors come from? It seems they have trouble keeping the event as is fully staffed and SeaWorld doesn't help by taking some of talent pool.

Ideally I would love for them to bring back Shrek and MiB tent and get up to 12 houses and possibly add a show to BMG or AA or the plaza stage but adding capacity also seems to make the streets crowded when everyone isn't in line for a house. I just don't see how they feasibly do that in the short term.

The actors are there, the problem is retaining them.

I think the bigger operational nightmare is keeping F&B, Events, Attractions, Turnstiles, Guest Services, etc. open every night. If you go that route I think the biggest thing the event needs to do is tie in an seasonal event bonus. $500 if you finish the season with 1 call out, $400 if only 2 call outs, etc. A retention bonus is a lot more cost effective than recruiting.

 

[Frank Drackman]

Tonight (Sunday 10/16) another sell-out. Odd in that doesn't really coincide with any school closings I know of.

Polk county schools have today (Monday 10/17) off. I think there are many other factors: International tourism has greatly picked up in the area -- folks moved vacation from the hurricane week -- FL residents that have issues from hurricanes sometimes decide to spend some time in Orlando -- I feel I have seen more NY plates this (past) week.

 

[Lucky Planet]

Someone else mentioned it before but where do the extra scareactors come from? It seems they have trouble keeping the event as is fully staffed and SeaWorld doesn't help by taking some of talent pool.

Ideally I would love for them to bring back Shrek and MiB tent and get up to 12 houses and possibly add a show to BMG or AA or the plaza stage but adding capacity also seems to make the streets crowded when everyone isn't in line for a house. I just don't see how they feasibly do that in the short term.

All I personally know is that a few friends that were hhn veteran actors didn't get called back since 2019 and it sounded like uni was getting newer people ( I seem to remember reading the same either here or on Reddit or Facebook, how some veteran actors weren't getting called back. )
I very vividly remember a girl saying she worked from 2009 to 2018 but then uni didn't call back or something
It sounded like there were people they could call back but didn't. I wonder how many, but I at least personally know a few

 

[Jakemeister]

All I personally know is that a few friends that were hhn veteran actors didn't get called back since 2019 and it sounded like uni was getting newer people ( I seem to remember reading the same either here or on Reddit or Facebook, how some veteran actors weren't getting called back. )
I very vividly remember a girl saying she worked from 2009 to 2018 but then uni didn't call back or something
It sounded like there were people they could call back but didn't. I wonder how many, but I at least personally know a few

That's still absolutely the case. I know plenty of actors who would also happily come in and do Active Backup, but HHN fights them on availability. I get it, but also if you want the holes to be filled, open up more slots...

 

[fryoj]

Everyone says that the solution to crowds is higher prices but I honestly don't think higher cost would change anything
Anyone and everyone would just pay the higher ticket cost. If the event is as beloved then I doubt anyone will skip it over a 30- 50 dollar increase

I was just saying that adding Monday and Tuesday could help with spreading the crowds. The days keep getting sold out which means that there needs to be more days

But it might cut repeat visits. If you only go once, instead of twice. Or 2 times instead of 4, thats the same as keeping people away.

 

[Parkscope Joe]

The actors are there, the problem is retaining them.

I think the bigger operational nightmare is keeping F&B, Events, Attractions, Turnstiles, Guest Services, etc. open every night. If you go that route I think the biggest thing the event needs to do is tie in an seasonal event bonus. $500 if you finish the season with 1 call out, $400 if only 2 call outs, etc. A retention bonus is a lot more cost effective than recruiting.

No park can sustain 7am-2am hours.

 

[Jakemeister]

No park can sustain 7am-2am hours.

I don't think it's sustainable, or even that feasible. Those 10 weeks put a ton of strain on USF, but from a staffing standpoint you have to rally an incentive if you're going to bring in seasonal. I still stand by the statement that Entertainment would be the easiest to staff, people *want* to act, and HHN isn't too difficult as far as that goes.

 

[Nick]

From a friend who works HHN as essentially an extra body this year and just goes in and certain days to fill in for any holes. From what he's seeing and has seen all this year, they seem to have no interest in hiring enough people to fill every position once people start dropping out. He says every day when he gets cast into a certain role, it's not abnormal for hundreds of roles to go unfilled each night.

Add on the fact that - Right in the middle of the Hell stretch for HHN (the last two weeks) - they just raised the prices that Team Members have to pay for food while at the same time, Sea World is giving Team Members FREE lunches through October 31st. Smart move by SeaWorld. Giving people complementary food means you're not making money in that department, sure, but you're buying good will and earning gratitude points from your Team Members in the process.

Meanwhile, Universal seems to be caring less and less about their relationship with TMs and from a lot of TM's i've heard from, they're much more likely to work for HOS next year they've said because HHN isn't worth it anymore and the leadership has become incompetent now. Universal needs to watch out for these things because while they'll always be able to find some random kid, they're losing all the veterans of the event and then all you're left with is newer people to the event who aren't as used to working so many hours. Supposedly the morale backstage around the event has been very low.

 

[OrlandoGuy]

Supposedly the morale backstage around the event has been very low.

You know, it’s interesting you say this. I recently visited the park during the day for the first time in a few years and my experience was…not good. I didn’t want to do a whole write-up but one of the shortcomings was definitely staff. Seemed like they didn’t care/were annoyed if you interacted with them (and I’m not exactly a talkative person, I’m talking like the bare minimum to complete a transaction). I overheard more than one conversation among TMs (attractions specifically) about how badly they wanted to go home, how they were noping out the second they got asked, etc.

I had chalked it up to me being kinda tired and I know that going to theme parks kind of requires a “rhythm” to get into (you gotta get used to the crowds, the waiting, etc.), but I think you/your TM friend are probably onto something RE morale.

Granted, I haven’t noticed that at all among Scareactors…from what I can tell they’re mostly giving it their all. I mean, the houses seem less intense across the board but I figured that was design more than effort.

 

[Nick]

You know, it’s interesting you say this. I recently visited the park during the day for the first time in a few years and my experience was…not good. I didn’t want to do a whole write-up but one of the shortcomings was definitely staff. Seemed like they didn’t care/were annoyed if you interacted with them (and I’m not exactly a talkative person, I’m talking like the bare minimum to complete a transaction). I overheard more than one conversation among TMs (attractions specifically) about how badly they wanted to go home, how they were noping out the second they got asked, etc.

I had chalked it up to me being kinda tired and I know that going to theme parks kind of requires a “rhythm” to get into (you gotta get used to the crowds, the waiting, etc.), but I think you/your TM friend are probably onto something RE morale.

Granted, I haven’t noticed that at all among Scareactors…from what I can tell they’re mostly giving it their all. I mean, the houses seem less intense across the board but I figured that was design more than effort.

The ops TMs i'm sure are being heavily effected by the constant 2am closures as well as many have to stay and work until 3:30-4am to close HHN. Now, unless Universal is paying them turnaround time (coming in to a shift within eight hours of when you clocked out the night before), then the HHN ops team isn't coming in until at the very least noon and probably not until 5:30 or so. However, with schedule changes, people are working insane hours right now because Universal is handing out OT left and right to get through this event and some people are killing themselves trying to get as many hours as they can every week, which leads to an inconsistent sleep schedule and crankiness.

I don't doubt Scare Actors are giving it their all, but the houses are definitely designed so that they can operate with as little staff as possible if they are short on staff and only fill what are deems the "essential positions".

For what it's worth, my friend who mentioned a lot of this to me also works at Howl-O-Scream, so he does have the perspective of both this year. I worked the event from 2017-2019 (I had also done it in 2012) and by 2019 it just felt like they were pushing us to the limit with the amount of days and hours. I can't imagine this year with more Wednesdays than ever, all 2am closings, etc. The last week of the event used to be considered Hell Week because it was the only real time you had 2 am closes every day, was the most crowded, and that you worked pretty much every day. Now every week of the event is pretty much considered Hell Week by the old standard.

 

[Mad Dog]

Universal Orlando for 2022 has been experiencing record revenue, super crowded parks/hotels, yet they've been acting like the Disney management, namely 'cheap'. They've really made no attempt to address
the capacity issues, raised hotel rates (with their partner Loews) way above the inflation rate, and just seem content to rake in the profits without taking care of their customers. I don't know if this is the result of the new park Executive or
marching orders she's getting from Comcast. Whatever it is, I'm not liking what I'm seeing. And as most of you know, I've been one of the most pro Universal voices on this Forum for a decade or so. Generally I've
stayed on site for 20 to 30 nights just about every year, most nights in the deluxe on site hotels. But I've taken a pause this year, and possibly all of next year. I'm hoping this is, in part, poor management resulting from
post covid pressures, and not a 'new direction'. And I understand Epic is probably sucking up some resources. But this is a bit troubling, especially now hearing about poor employee morale. It seemed Universal had
pretty decent employee morale before this year, since they always seemed to treat us tourists very well at the parks & hotels.