The Old HHN 30 Speculation Thread (2020)

[OhHaiInternet95]

Would it be best to save the big anni stuff for next year?

 

[ChaseTuff]

I’m optimistic about this, but boy oh boy opening weekend is going to be a special kind of heck of this is 100% accurate.

 

[JJ591]

Thanks, I hate it.

Yeah, I'm not thrilled with it either by any means. However, I also understand the situation at hand, and if we're going to have HHN this year, we're gonna have to accept some things that we don't like so much.

 

[Clive]

Thanks, I hate it.

Yeahhhhh, I'm going to pass if they attempt this. The easier solution is to prepare as much queue as possible, cap attendance at 50% or lower, and then temporarily close queues when/if one runs out of space.

 

[BBPH]

Yeah no, I don’t see this happening at all.

That kind of thing takes serious time and money.

I’m expecting; capped attendance, no FF, virtual line and a one way system.

 

[Nick]

Yeahhhhh, I'm going to pass if they attempt this. The easier solution is to prepare as much queue as possible, cap attendance at 50% or lower, and then temporarily close queues when/if one runs out of space.

They'll definitely have to cap attendance if they have any hope of keeping distance. Every night would be a sell out, but they'd be making significantly less money than normal still (unless they jack up prices to compensate for lost revenue). But less than normal is better than no event at all.

 

[Clive]

They'll definitely have to cap attendance if they have any hope of keeping distance. Every night would be a sell out, but they'd be making significantly less money than normal still (unless they jack up prices). But less than normal is better than no event at all.

With capped attendance, I don't see why they couldn't go for the easier solution. Now is not the time to introduce more convoluted nonsense into the parks.

 

[Legacy]

This is basically what I heard was going to happen a month ago, minus the Jack videos.

Like I’ve been saying: the question this year is, “Is this a year you will want to attend?”

 

[hhn28andbeyond]

Theme Park University just posted how they might potentially be working guest flow and houses this year. Sounds interesting.

Universal's Potential Plans For Controlling Crowds at Halloween Horror Nights 2020 - Theme Park University

As we ramp up to the official re-opening of Universal Orlando on June 5, we’re already jumping ahead and covering Halloween Horror Nights 2020. By all accounts, the annual event is not only still a “go”, but they’ve been building the houses behind-the-scenes as usual while the parks have been...

themeparkuniversity.com

Am I the only one that actually loves this idea?

 

[Living Dead Dude]

Am I the only one that actually loves this idea?

I need to see it in action honestly. The idea of my event being controlled by jack. Kinda cool. However if top of my wish list is pumpkin king and hill house and I don’t get to do those I’ll be extremely upset.

 

[snayberry]

I'm going regardless. I only live 3 hours south and I need my HHN fix.

 

[Tobias]

If the rumored operation changes etc. do happen, that's something I can manage. It's a no-brainer that this year is not going to be normal operations-wise, expecting it otherwise is just futile. An while this is general for HHN, the changes also makes another great case for avoiding opening weekend, since there's bound to be issues to be worked out.

As for scares, the sting of less scareactors and more special effects is nicely dulled knowing about it now than say...finding out during the event. It helps adjust my expectations. Though to be fair, we're still three months out, things can still be liquid.

 

[DannyPowers]

My main concern is the possibility of the popular houses being locked out for anyone that doesn’t get express.

Hopefully they’ll limit those sales, and be able to spread them enough throughout the night that everyone will get a shot, as long as you’re tenacious about it.

 

[Living Dead Dude]

My main concern is the possibility of the popular houses being locked out for anyone that doesn’t get express.

Hopefully they’ll limit those sales, and be able to spread them enough throughout the night that everyone will get a shot, as long as you’re tenacious about it.

THIS^^^^^

 

[OhHaiInternet95]

This is basically what I heard was going to happen a month ago, minus the Jack videos.

Like I’ve been saying: the question this year is, “Is this a year you will want to attend?”

Hopefully only for logistical reasons. If, say, that first spec map had been correct, I think many would’ve asked that question about content too.

But, if they’re forced to take such measures, here’s to the years after being as good as the post-9/11 years seemingly were!

 

[UniversalManiac]

Not a fan of the proposals to be honest. Maybe use the virtual queue system for express but they have a massive amount of real estate to do socially distanced queues for the more popular houses and close the queues when full. Also could open up certain areas of IOA to keep the crowds dispersed if the queues are too full even with capped attendance?

 

[Legacy]

Not a fan of the proposals to be honest. Maybe use the virtual queue system for express but they have a massive amount of real estate to do socially distanced queues for the more popular houses and close the queues when full. Also could open up certain areas of IOA to keep the crowds dispersed if the queues are too full even with capped attendance?

There’s a lot less room for a socially distanced queue than people think. The 6 feet isn’t just in front of and behind you, it’s to the sides as well. What is normally 3 aisles of switchbacks now becomes a single aisle. If you think about the queue space in front of the amphitheater, that’s around 15k sq ft. If each person gets 2 sq ft of space in that rectangle, you can fit approximately 7500 people in there. If each person gets 6 sq ft, though, all of sudden you can only fit about 2500 people.

It’s a massive difference, and managing guests behavior in a queue is already hard enough without social distancing measures.

 

[Mashmingingmasher77]

I was planning to do the R.I.P. tour this year. I would assume it’s the best year to do it anyway. I think the plans sound good but I hope the houses are still high quality even if they expect to lose a lot of money by capping attendance. Does anyone have info on if they will still be doing the RIP tours?

 

[Tobias]

There’s a lot less room for a socially distanced queue than people think. The 6 feet isn’t just in front of and behind you, it’s to the sides as well. What is normally 3 aisles of switchbacks now becomes a single aisle. If you think about the queue space in front of the amphitheater, that’s around 15k sq ft. If each person gets 2 sq ft of space in that rectangle, you can fit approximately 7500 people in there. If each person gets 6 sq ft, though, all of sudden you can only fit about 2500 people.

It’s a massive difference, and managing guests behavior in a queue is already hard enough without social distancing measures.

An something to add is certain house locations just don't have the kind of space for a effective socially distanced queue. Both Shrek and MIB come to mind on being on the more cramped side already. An even if there may be backstage space to extend the lines, I don't think the event wants guests traveling around backstage more then they already do for the event, let alone managing it.

 

[CoryLevy91]

As someone who can only visit HHN for a single night or two and thus always needs the benefits of an Express Pass, if doing so will guarantee that I get to see every house and even the shows and extra activities, I'd be fine with the new system. I would think I'd be in the minority when it comes to this board since I bet a lot of the posters here can/do visit HHN multiple nights every year and therefore can explore the event at their own pace, which this system would all but eliminate.

I doubt it will be the 'norm' going forward since it'll be hard to control that many people when you remove the capacity limitations but for one year? Yeah, could work.