Halloween Horror Nights 32 (UOR) - News & Info

[ultimateforce]

I've never seen so many puking at HHN either. Being in these long switchback lines for so long is brutal. There's ZERO airflow for a lot of these extended lines and it's really rough. I'm not a person with social anxiety but the tent house exits have really put me on edge a few times.

For the casual reader reading this: I think the houses this year are among the best I've ever seen since my first year HHN28.

 

[Speed]

Honestly wouldn't mind an express pass for the house exits at this point

 

[Lucky Planet]

The booth concept sounds good on paper (need F&B capacity, can come up with cool food items), but the lines and throughput don’t match what the event needs.

The whole game is finding space to put people. I think this year was always going to be rough because KidZone was a big space where you could put people (waiting for the parade building houses). As much as the ride sucks, F&F was an extra place to put people when the Shrek house was in use. The path between Transformers and Shrek is now empty after holding people in the past. The Simpsons Ride is a place to put people, but it’s closed. The lagoon show pulled people off the main walkways. The food booths create a bunch of unmanaged lines that clog up the walkways. Moving the tater stand probably helps that area a bit, but that’s just fixing a problem that shouldn’t have existed.

11th house or two parks are huge leaps when they really just need to actually focus on maximizing what they have to work with in the one park. Stick a DJ in Animal Actors. Put a tent next to MIB with something other than a house in it. Get creative - it doesn’t need to be a full blown show, just get people off the walkways.

This is just a random idea,but what if they did a type of club like the Dead Coconut club but inside the park? ( and yeah I have no idea about logistics or the space to do it or anything)
But I always wondered what happened if they did some kind of monster club ( like the hhn tribute store) for dancing or something . universal has a lot of stores and restaurants and liquor booths outside, but I always wondered about some kind of club.
The dead coconut club is always so wonderful around this time of year. Could be interesting

Just a heads up everyone! A friend of mine has tapped out of HHN tonight feeling sick and I've been SPRINTING to the bathroom today. There might be a HHN stomach bug going around.

Could just be regular covid? It's on the news recently

It got too crowded for me about 5 years ago. We're not huge horror fans, so while HHN is a pretty good event, I don't anticipate going again, with the high level maxed out crowds.

It’s been similar for Hollywood with crowd levels for around the same time. I wonder if anything changed operationally (probably from higher ups) to cause these issues with both parks.

If there's no lagoon show, why not turn one path down there into a food court, throw some tables and chairs (this event needs more seating this year) in the other. Throw in a DJ and some walk-around characters or whatever, make it feel like a party. And get guests off the main paths. Or instead of a food court, one massive outdoor kitchen turning out the basics--burgers and pizza.



Oct 13 - 15. Tho the weekend before is Columbus Day, so doubt it's much better. In other words, the worst is yet to come.

This is a good point and that's why a solution to the crowd problem seems impossible really.

It's been around 5 years or so that the crowds are hurting guest experience pretty badly from all the reports, and not only is it getting worse but now we have construction AND they removed the lagoon show.

i dont really see anything that universal can even do. All of us are thinking of different ways that universal can fix the problem ( including a 2 park event) but universal could have tried but I don't universal can do anything . No changes to anything really.
The DJ idea and food court idea are really good, but universal just doesn't do anything. No extra rides open or anything . ( maybe it's just a staffing issue)
This year with construction and without lagoon show it was the perfect opportunity to do something different.
Those ideas you wrote sound really good.

I've never seen so many puking at HHN either. Being in these long switchback lines for so long is brutal. There's ZERO airflow for a lot of these extended lines and it's really rough. I'm not a person with social anxiety but the tent house exits have really put me on edge a few times.

For the casual reader reading this: I think the houses this year are among the best I've ever seen since my first year HHN28.

The tent exits could hurt someone really bad if a fight breaks out or if people try to run away or something. As long as people are standing by, there's no problem. Everyone is just waiting to exit.
But the second two guys start fighting it's gonna be a problem.
I'm always watching the crowd in this tight area..... praying that no one fights or pushes each other.

 

[UniversalRBLX]

I've never seen so many puking at HHN either. Being in these long switchback lines for so long is brutal. There's ZERO airflow for a lot of these extended lines and it's really rough. I'm not a person with social anxiety but the tent house exits have really put me on edge a few times.

For the casual reader reading this: I think the houses this year are among the best I've ever seen since my first year HHN28.

I've noticed this as well, I think part of it has to do with heat exhaustion. Even when the sun goes down, don't underestimate the Florida weather. They really need those giant mist fans in the switchback queues (and projectors for some entertainment).

There are a lot of things that Universal could do before they even consider using IOA. They have 4 stages at USF (Animal Actors, Bourne, Horror, Music Plaza), not even including BMG, sitting empty during HHN that could be utilized. Food booths need to offer seating/tables, stop creating artificial bottlenecks with scare zone props/booths in pathways, etc.

 

[Grabnar]

This is just a random idea,but what if they did a type of club like the Dead Coconut club but inside the park? ( and yeah I have no idea about logistics or the space to do it or anything)
But I always wondered what happened if they did some kind of monster club ( like the hhn tribute store) for dancing or something . universal has a lot of stores and restaurants and liquor booths outside, but I always wondered about some kind of club.
The dead coconut club is always so wonderful around this time of year. Could be interesting

I think the issue is where would you put it? Most of the backstage areas are taken up by team members getting ready or are reserved for break/cast switches.

WRT the puking I'd def test for covid, the new variants are causing it again unfortunately. Heat exhaustion and poor hydration are also distinctly possible, it was horrid this weekend (though like 10-15 degrees cooler than Houston so a welcome respite from my own personal hell).

Overall the event really needs a civil engineer to come in and re-evaluate things like traffic flow and F&B placements. Food carts need an escort to get through crowds faster, and they need to do *something* with these empty spaces.

 

[SeventyOne]

I've noticed this as well, I think part of it has to do with heat exhaustion. Even when the sun goes down, don't underestimate the Florida weather. They really need those giant mist fans in the switchback queues (and projectors for some entertainment).

I think we all lose sight of the fact for most of the event's history, HHN wouldn't even be kicking off until this upcoming weekend. When, coincidentally, we're getting our first cold front of the Fall. Labor Day weekend is still the middle of Summer, tho I agree the airflow-free design of the new queues does not help.

There are a lot of things that Universal could do before they even consider using IOA. They have 4 stages at USF (Animal Actors, Bourne, Horror, Music Plaza), not even including BMG, sitting empty during HHN that could be utilized. Food booths need to offer seating/tables, stop creating artificial bottlenecks with scare zone props/booths in pathways, etc.

While I agree IoA is a no-go, the problem is finding a show for those venues that will draw. We remember the hits (B&T, Jack), we forget the many, many misses (The Enigma anyone?). Why I pushed the food court angle--we know food booths are popular. I think Surfer Boy Pizza would draw a line lagoon-side as easily as in NY. Let's get all those guests off the main pathways. A chill area would help as well. If people are dragging, let them sit for 20 minutes.

As for the characters, I think it's untapped potential. Meet & greets draw the longest lines at MNSSHP which for better or worse HHN resembles a little more every year. David S Pumpkins, Beetlejuice, Drac, Frank and Bride, all those costumes are available, rights should still be clear. Maybe offer Sweet Tooth from Twisted Metal or some other streaming IP to get Peacock to eat some of the (minimal) cost. Something like the M3GAN troupe would work better here as well. But the best plan might be to randomize the icons--Caretaker and Lady Luck trade shifts one night, Eddie and the Director another. No rights issues, and you know the influencers and super-fans would line up every night for a photo.

 

[Brian G.]

It definitely needs to extend beyond the current borders of USF. Going into IOA is the "easy fix" but it closes 2 parks at 5pm. The creative fix is something akin to @SeventyOne 's post.

An 11th house doesn't solve it, for right now at least. They need to alleviate the pressure - not add to it.

 

[Grabnar]

It definitely needs to extend beyond the current borders of USF. Going into IOA is the "easy fix" but it closes 2 parks at 5pm. The creative fix is something akin to @SeventyOne 's post.

An 11th house doesn't solve it, for right now at least. They need to alleviate the pressure - not add to it.

I know no one wants to hear it but I honestly think they need to cut guests instead of raising capacity. There’s not a lot else they can do at this point to spread guests out more, even doing photo op M&Gs is a bandaid on a missing arm.

I would wager next year we see changes to multi night tickets.

 

[Brian G.]

I know no one wants to hear it but I honestly think they need to cut guests instead of raising capacity. There’s not a lot else they can do at this point to spread guests out more, even doing photo op M&Gs is a bandaid on a missing arm.

I would wager next year we see changes to multi night tickets.

I agree. They'll never get rid of FFP outright, but cutting ROF and the Ultimate Pass could help. Change FFP where it includes the first couple of Sept Fridays before cutting it off once we get close to October.

 

[Mad Dog]

Way more guests, but there's less people eating entertainment shows than in the decade before when crowds were a bit less. That should be one of the solutions. It'll also help when Dreamworks area is open next year. Seventy One's recommendations seem right on...... And IOA should be out of the solution. With all those hotel rooms, there's too many high spending tourists that aren't HHN hard core oriented, who would be robbed of their vacation experience if both parks were used for HHN. Some common sense is warranted. And, this is probably a very unpopular idea, but perhaps a limit on the number of times the frequent and rof nights tickets can be used.............My point of view is as someone who has just a casual interest in HHN, might spend one night, but wants a fairly full vacation experience in return for the money spent during a vacation at Universal. I'm sure there's many non horror fan guests, and guests with young kids, that share the opinion that IOA should not be part of HHN and close at 5:00 PM.

 

[Jake S]

Yeah, my immediate fix would be limiting/increasing the cost of multi-night and express tickets. I don't think they need to go full bore into a reservation system, but I believe @Clive has mentioned treating multi-night Horror Nights tickets the same way as day time tickets. You pick a start day and have a week to use your allotment of tickets. I feel like these type of macro-level changes need to be made to get things done — my quibbles with the resort's ops aside, I don't think ops is driving the bus on either coast.

 

[Speed]

I can't see the addition of any theaters benefitting the event at this point, whatever capacity is added by those theaters will be taken over by the additional returners who are starting to make this a yearly event for them. No matter what, there isn't enough walking space in USF. Also, do we ever see S&S becoming a perk for only certain APs?

 

[Frank Drackman]

When is hell week this year?

I was wondering if Rosh Hashanah is the new hell week?!?

 

[UniversalRBLX]

I'd like for them at leas tryt adding 2 stage shows before going the route of limiting Frequent Fear Passes to a certain limit/jacking up prices sky-high.

Bourne can seat 700 a show, Horror Makeup is 500ish? You run those 2 shows with an HHN theme at least 5 times each and that's at least 1K+ guests out of the houses/pathways at any time.

Still too early to pull the IOA button.

 

[Stonecoldfreak1]

I'd like for them at leas tryt adding 2 stage shows before going the route of limiting Frequent Fear Passes to a certain limit/jacking up prices sky-high.

Bourne can seat 700 a show, Horror Makeup is 500ish? You run those 2 shows with an HHN theme at least 5 times each and that's at least 1K+ guests out of the houses/pathways at any time.

Still too early to pull the IOA button.

500 fit into Horror Make Up? That's insane...

 

[Grabnar]

I think IOA/theaters/more things to-do will just create induced demand. It's like building a new lane on a freeway, it'll never help traffic.

Edit: Honestly, thinking about it, the best thing they could do is rush the LV Area 15 expansion. Spreading crowds out geographically might make a difference, esp to the Hollywood crew where things looked dire this year too.

 

[UniversalRBLX]

I think IOA/theaters/more things to-do will just create induced demand. It's like building a new lane on a freeway, it'll never help traffic.

Edit: Honestly, thinking about it, the best thing they could do is rush the LV Area 15 expansion. Spreading crowds out geographically might make a difference, esp to the Hollywood crew where things looked dire this year too.

Vegas is not going to deter guests away from HHN... if anything, it'll entice them to visit the "real thing" later on.

 

[Tbad556]

I think at the very least, you wait until EU opens in 2025 to pull the IOA trigger. That way guests still have a non-HHN Universal park accessible to them during evening hours. They've held off this long. No reason to make the jump on IOA one year premature at this point IMO.

 

[SeventyOne]

Yeah, my immediate fix would be limiting/increasing the cost of multi-night and express tickets. I don't think they need to go full bore into a reservation system, but I believe @Clive has mentioned treating multi-night Horror Nights tickets the same way as day time tickets. You pick a start day and have a week to use your allotment of tickets. I feel like these type of macro-level changes need to be made to get things done — my quibbles with the resort's ops aside, I don't think ops is driving the bus on either coast.

I'm not dismissing week-long tickets out of hand, but not convinced it would really make a difference. They work well for out-of-towners, but I know tons of out-of-towners who have no problem buying RoF, usually with Express tacked on. And they do nothing to control for the Orlando area goers who have turned HHN into "the local hang," the way Pleasure Island and then EPCOT during Food & Wine used to be. Maybe reasonable priced week-long tickets in September combined with doubling or tripling RoF/FFP is a workable compromise, but I think increased prices need to be part of the equation.

Blackout dates like Brian suggested a thought, too, but may just spike attendance other nights.

I know no one wants to hear it but I honestly think they need to cut guests instead of raising capacity. There’s not a lot else they can do at this point to spread guests out more, even doing photo op M&Gs is a bandaid on a missing arm.

I think we largely agree. To be honest, I'm thinking of emergency solutions to limp the event through October, because crowds are only going to get worse from here. By next year they need to have a plan to cut capacity before any tickets sold.

 

[Clive]

I'm not dismissing week-long tickets out of hand, but not convinced it would really make a difference. They work well for out-of-towners, but I know tons of out-of-towners who have no problem buying RoF, usually with Express tacked on. And they do nothing to control for the Orlando area goers who have turned HHN into "the local hang," the way Pleasure Island and then EPCOT during Food & Wine used to be. Maybe reasonable priced week-long tickets in September combined with doubling or tripling RoF/FFP is a workable compromise, but I think increased prices need to be part of the equation.

Blackout dates like Brian suggested a thought, too, but may just spike attendance other nights.



I think we largely agree. To be honest, I'm thinking of emergency solutions to limp the event through October, because crowds are only going to get worse from here. By next year they need to have a plan to cut capacity before any tickets sold.

My pushing for the week-long tickets is to prioritize out-of-towners, who tend to spend more (and stay on property). No one wants to hear it, but the more we can avoid prioritizing those treating it as the local hang, the better - and that means eliminating some of the stalwart multi-night passes and/or doubling or tripling the price, as you've suggested.

Definitely agree they need to figure out some emergency solutions. Doing nothing and pretending the problem isn't real - and growing - is probably going to result in real disaster on a bad night.