Official 2023 Halloween Horror Nights 32 (Orlando)

[lisam70]

I would not be surprised if the crowds stay high all the way to the end…..

I was hoping for at least a bit of a drop in crowds since hotel availability is up and rates lower for that week

 

[mamapenguin]

They have put a limit and some feel not enough on the sale of Express passes on any given night for HHN.

I was there for a number of days just recently and I was there last year and over heard people trying to buy Express for the night in the park and they were told they were sold out.

I would not bet on that happening.

All bets are off for this year. Things have really blown up as far as tickets, Multi-night passes and Tours and Express Pass sales.

I would not want to give someone hope if they hold out and try to buy Express the night of their visit to HHN. They might be lucky and they might not.

Like others who bought Multi-night Passes with Express this year when you bought your multi-night pass like ROF with Express they wanted to know when you were going to start your first day of your pass use.

This was an attempt I‘am guessing to track the estimated amount of Express passes sold or used on any given night within reason.

The Express is far more popular when the event is busier. This year has been the busiest HHN I have ever seen in all the years I have attended.

It was happening last week. I went every night between 9/20 and 9/24. They were selling express, after 11 and unlimited express (I have never seen the unlimited HHN express offered on line) Maybe with their survey results they might rethink this. 3 of the 5 nights I went sold out for single day tickets the day of the event. I heard someone inquiring on Wednesday and they had sticker shock, I think it was around $200pp. Sorry, I would never suggest someone wait to buy express the price goes way up. I just think that they are selling too much of it when they sell it beyond online sell out. This is the first year that I realized they did that.

 

[shh]

It was happening last week. I went every night between 9/20 and 9/24. They were selling express, after 11 and unlimited express (I have never seen the unlimited HHN express offered on line) Maybe with their survey results they might rethink this. 3 of the 5 nights I went sold out for single day tickets the day of the event. I heard someone inquiring on Wednesday and they had sticker shock, I think it was around $200pp. Sorry, I would never suggest someone wait to buy express the price goes way up. I just think that they are selling too much of it when they sell it beyond online sell out. This is the first year that I realized they did that.

200 a person for admission tickets? or for express passes?

 

[Robo56]

200 a person for admission tickets? or for express passes?

Express Pass. If you look on line the Express Pass for October 21 is $259.99 of the night.

It was happening last week. I went every night between 9/20 and 9/24. They were selling express, after 11 and unlimited express (I have never seen the unlimited HHN express offered on line) Maybe with their survey results they might rethink this. 3 of the 5 nights I went sold out for single day tickets the day of the event. I heard someone inquiring on Wednesday and they had sticker shock, I think it was around $200pp. Sorry, I would never suggest someone wait to buy express the price goes way up. I just think that they are selling too much of it when they sell it beyond online sell out. This is the first year that I realized they did that.

It really has been an interesting year for sure as far as seeing new pricing and the overall interest in HHN has exploded. I and some other oldies who have attended HHN for years are shocked to say the least.

In the past they would sometimes sell Express After 11 pm but it would be cheaper then those that had paid for it in advance or during the start of the event that evening if any were available.

I had never seen the Unlimited Express for sell either for HHN. I saw that someone on FB HHN site had purchased an Unlimited Express for the night.

You are correct the overselling of Express will be a problem going forward and perhaps some folks will question its value.

I was at the Universal from 9/12 to 9/23 and I had ROF with Express. The longest I waited in line with Express was almost 25 minutes and that was Stranger Things House.

A few times after the hike back to the house It was a walk in. Which was nice.

On 9/20 it rained buckets that evening. In the past when it rained the crowds would be lower, The rain eased off about 9:30ish and I took the water taxi over to have a look around HHN and do a couple houses.

When I entered HHN it looked dead at the front, but it was slammed with everyone at the Houses.

The regular line for Monsters Unmasked was backed up all the way to the entrance of ET. It said it had it 100 minuted wait. That house was a hike to get to from there. The poor TM’s were sweeping water away from the line in the back lot area so you did not walk in a puddle.

The other 3 houses in the back were on delay Dr. OddFellow, The Last of US and Darkest Deal.

I had talked to some other folks who said this was the only night they had to do HHN and they would have to go even in the rain.

I had never seen HHN so busy on a Wednesday night and on top of that with rain too.

Thats why I keep saying this has been was just a different year.

I’am not complaining about the prices. I think if you want to attend an event you pay whats required, but it just seemed odd with all the severe price increases and fluctuating prices for RIP Tours, UMH Tours and EP prices.

The Scare Zones were very congested with people at night and it was hard to really appreciate the Zones and the ScareActors in them totally.

It will be interesting to get others feedback as the event continues.

All the TM’s, Scareactors in the houses and Scare Zones were great. They do work hard to make sure your experience at HHN is a good one.

 

[shh]

The way they abruptly jack up prices every few weeks without any warning is obnoxious. It's really tarnished the brand reputation for me. I don't care what a company wants to charge for an experience - if it has value, I'll pay it and not complain.

But set the price correctly from the getgo and stick to it. Don't screw around and annoy people with this constant price fluctuation that has someone paying far more for the exact same experience on the same evening because they bought their ticket a few days later. I don't think it's right or guest-friendly.

 

[mamapenguin]

The way they abruptly jack up prices every few weeks without any warning is obnoxious. It's really tarnished the brand reputation for me. I don't care what a company wants to charge for an experience - if it has value, I'll pay it and not complain.

But set the price correctly from the getgo and stick to it. Don't screw around and annoy people with this constant price fluctuation that has someone paying far more for the exact same experience on the same evening because they bought their ticket a few days later. I don't think it's right or guest-friendly.

Unfortunately I think this is the new model. I had ROF no express. I got in line between 3:15 and 3:30 for stay and scream NY 3 times and Springfield once, the other day was resort entrance because of the time family arrived. I have never waited in line before stay and scream opened before, but without express it was the only way to get the big house and others in the area down before the crowds entered. We are planning a trip next year and will use what we learned and likely budget to add express to the passes.

 

[schumigirl]

The way they abruptly jack up prices every few weeks without any warning is obnoxious. It's really tarnished the brand reputation for me. I don't care what a company wants to charge for an experience - if it has value, I'll pay it and not complain.

But set the price correctly from the getgo and stick to it. Don't screw around and annoy people with this constant price fluctuation that has someone paying far more for the exact same experience on the same evening because they bought their ticket a few days later. I don't think it's right or guest-friendly.

Completely agree with you, that jacking up on prices is dreadful.

We said last year that might be our last year due to crowds and lack of "something" that`s been missing the last couple of years.

I may be being too nostalgic, but it was a different event before 2016/17, today`s HHN is nothing like what it should be and it`s probably lost us as guests. Our first visit was 2007 and it bears very little recognition to what it was then.

It seems folks that are quite new to the event or this was their first year are impressed but us "oldies" arean`t always as happy. I know Robo and I have spoken about it as we`ve been both been going for a long time and it`s not the same before we even consider the cost.

It didn`t matter what it cost for the RoF with EP, we always got it regardless as we wouldn`t ever do the event without EP, but the crowds last year were just too much, even on so called quiet nights.

We have friends who are SA and they were complaining they can`t give guests the scares they want as there`s just no room in certain areas, like Central Park. That`s not good when SA think they`re selling too many tickets.

Howl o Scream for us next year, we`ve seen the best of HHN as far as I can see, for us anyway.

 

[ClapYourHands]

Here’s my take on crowds:
HHN has grown beyond what the house-and-scare-zone model can handle.
UO either needs to cap their ticket sales or up their other offerings (or both). With the exception of Nightmare Fuel, there are no “people eater” attractions to absorb the extra people. There is no place for all those people to be other than standing in a line for a house, unless it’s standing in a line for food.

When I went to MNSSHP, there was a huge variety of things to do - almost all rides open (some with Halloween overlays), event exclusive character meets, a parade (twice nightly), fireworks, a stage show (three times nightly), plus the treat trails and a little kid dance party. I realize some of these activities wouldn’t translate to HHN, but the point is that when one thing had a long line, you could just go on to something else fun with a shorter wait.

At HHN there are 5 rides and one show (that I personally think isn’t really in keeping with the aesthetic of the rest of the event, but I know some people love it). We saw this year how adding the Death Eaters to Diagon Alley drew some crowds over there. But the random flash mob M3GAN thing meant there was no way to wait for them. We were there 4 nights, and actively on the lookout for them, but never saw their performance. UO has a huge stage near RRR that would be used for more of a pop culture roast type show like Bill and Ted’s. They could easily add cool exclusive character meets. This is a horror event full of people who love horror movies, yet they don’t even run their own Horror Make Up show (which they could either spice up with a new script or just have Beetle Juice host and people who have already seen it would still show up to watch it).

UO is still running HHN like it’s a little niche event, and it’s grown so far beyond that.

 

[Jessem1133]

Here’s my take on crowds:
HHN has grown beyond what the house-and-scare-zone model can handle.
UO either needs to cap their ticket sales or up their other offerings (or both). With the exception of Nightmare Fuel, there are no “people eater” attractions to absorb the extra people. There is no place for all those people to be other than standing in a line for a house, unless it’s standing in a line for food.

When I went to MNSSHP, there was a huge variety of things to do - almost all rides open (some with Halloween overlays), event exclusive character meets, a parade (twice nightly), fireworks, a stage show (three times nightly), plus the treat trails and a little kid dance party. I realize some of these activities wouldn’t translate to HHN, but the point is that when one thing had a long line, you could just go on to something else fun with a shorter wait.

At HHN there are 5 rides and one show (that I personally think isn’t really in keeping with the aesthetic of the rest of the event, but I know some people love it). We saw this year how adding the Death Eaters to Diagon Alley drew some crowds over there. But the random flash mob M3GAN thing meant there was no way to wait for them. We were there 4 nights, and actively on the lookout for them, but never saw their performance. UO has a huge stage near RRR that would be used for more of a pop culture roast type show like Bill and Ted’s. They could easily add cool exclusive character meets. This is a horror event full of people who love horror movies, yet they don’t even run their own Horror Make Up show (which they could either spice up with a new script or just have Beetle Juice host and people who have already seen it would still show up to watch it).

UO is still running HHN like it’s a little niche event, and it’s grown so far beyond that.

All great points. Like most of us, I used to go every year for like 15 years. It's no longer worth the price for me. We'll use our AP ticket to go for one night, walk around a couple scare zones...then get the heck out of there. Way too busy, way too expensive.

 

[spewey]

As a wise man once said, it's so crowded no one goes there anymore.

This was our first HHN, so we have nothing to compare it to. But it is clearly at or near capacity most nights, from reports on here - a victim of its own success perhaps.

It's so popular that my suggestion would be to, if possible .... run it every night during the season? Seems like the demand is there for them to make a buck on Mondays and Tuesdays, and this could spread out the attendance a bit.

That and capping EPs and tickets to something more easily handled.

 

[ClapYourHands]

So my issue with express is not how many EPs that are sold, but how incredibly lopsided the prioritization was with some TMs. There were some who were constantly completely clearing the EP line as soon as anyone got to the merge point. They were prioritizing EP as if it were RIP with no wait at all, and not making any effort to keep standby moving. It was particularly bad on the back houses, with Monsters being the worst offender.

As a person in standby, I expect to wait longer than express, and have no problem with that. But I also think it’s reasonable to think the TMs will at least try to find a balance in how they handle the merge. When I have daytime EP, I expect I’m going to wait for some of the rides, not as long as standby waits, but I don’t expect to walk on. I’m not sure why some of the TMs were making EP a complete walk on when standby was backed up through the ET queue. There just didn’t seem to be any attempt at balance, and that’s what annoyed me far above the crowd levels.

There should absolutely be a difference in the level of experience, but the extreme discrepancy I experienced really left a bad taste in my mouth.

 

[keishashadow]

Last night's event was a mess in the rain. Multiple houses were closed until around midnight due to leaks and flooding.

It’s happened for ages, just the way it drains there. They had hoped the metal & wooden boardwalks would help more in tent houses

Agree. I’m glad I got in line for stay and scream NY at 3:30pm. I was able to get into ST4 with minimal rain before I got to the covered area

U got in line at 3:30 pm just to enter?

Then immediately went to the ST line area to stand?

Entered after last Bourne show on Sunday 9/17, in line for ST afterwards no problem

Have only heard unverified reports of that line being cut

Will be there 10/8. Plan on following same protocol

All of us old timer HHN folks had a feeling this was going to be a banner year for HHN according to what we were seeing early on with sold out RIP Tours and UMH Tours and Resorts being sold out.

yep, sadly

I'm surprised and concerned by the prices for Halloween. I wonder if it will be busier than 11/1 or 11/2 even despite the Premier AP ticket being good those Nov nights.

Halloween, proper, Usually reported as ‘dead’ as locals have other activities

The way they abruptly jack up prices every few weeks without any warning is obnoxious. It's really tarnished the brand reputation for me. I don't care what a company wants to charge for an experience - if it has value, I'll pay it and not complain.

But set the price correctly from the getgo and stick to it. Don't screw around and annoy people with this constant price fluctuation that has someone paying far more for the exact same experience on the same evening because they bought their ticket a few days later. I don't think it's right or guest-friendly.

I agree with what you are saying here

However, the fact that they still offer any sort of discount for those who commit early is still
Somewhat of a gimmie

It’s genius marketing to artificially creating a sense of urgency to reach a certain metric, then basically print money by raising the prices at their whim

UO either needs to cap their ticket sales or up their other offerings (or both). With the exception of Nightmare Fuel, there are no “people eater” attractions to absorb the extra people. There is no place for all those people to be other than standing in a line for a house, unless it’s standing in a line for food.

110%.

Why not sell a multi-night discounted after 11pm ticket?

So my issue with express is not how many EPs that are sold, but how incredibly lopsided the prioritization was with some TMs. There were some who were constantly completely clearing the EP line as soon as anyone got to the merge point. They were prioritizing EP as if it were RIP with no wait at all, and not making any effort to keep standby moving. It was particularly bad on the back houses, with Monsters being the worst offender.

The TMs I spoke to throughout my last trip indicated that the long EP lines (often more than stand-by), were enough for me to request a fund of 4 one night EPs I bought for upcoming trip. Jury out on whether it was a good move or not for us.

Had to laugh to see them now selling for double

They also said that they started to receive clearer parameters as to pacing before the 3rd weekend that seemed to help a bit

But I also think it’s reasonable to think the TMs will at least try to find a balance in how they handle the merge.

See above, they have guidelines to follow. I’m hearing that EP wait times are now improving.

However, if I found myself standing in line the same general time as stated standby…I’d visit GS and request a refund on EP.

 

[zavandor]

In 8 nights, Darkest Deal usually had a wait of half the standby, Yeti sometimes the same as standby (around 6pm many people with Express enter the line for Yeti after finishing the houses that open early), but later it's a bit better. LOU usually 20-30 minutes wait with 60-90 minutes standby.
For all other houses Express was a near straight shot to the merge point. Most generous: ST4.

 

[shh]

Here’s my take on crowds:
HHN has grown beyond what the house-and-scare-zone model can handle.
UO either needs to cap their ticket sales or up their other offerings (or both). With the exception of Nightmare Fuel, there are no “people eater” attractions to absorb the extra people. There is no place for all those people to be other than standing in a line for a house, unless it’s standing in a line for food.

When I went to MNSSHP, there was a huge variety of things to do - almost all rides open (some with Halloween overlays), event exclusive character meets, a parade (twice nightly), fireworks, a stage show (three times nightly), plus the treat trails and a little kid dance party. I realize some of these activities wouldn’t translate to HHN, but the point is that when one thing had a long line, you could just go on to something else fun with a shorter wait.

At HHN there are 5 rides and one show (that I personally think isn’t really in keeping with the aesthetic of the rest of the event, but I know some people love it). We saw this year how adding the Death Eaters to Diagon Alley drew some crowds over there. But the random flash mob M3GAN thing meant there was no way to wait for them. We were there 4 nights, and actively on the lookout for them, but never saw their performance. UO has a huge stage near RRR that would be used for more of a pop culture roast type show like Bill and Ted’s. They could easily add cool exclusive character meets. This is a horror event full of people who love horror movies, yet they don’t even run their own Horror Make Up show (which they could either spice up with a new script or just have Beetle Juice host and people who have already seen it would still show up to watch it).

UO is still running HHN like it’s a little niche event, and it’s grown so far beyond that.

well said. I wish they'd consider a series of concerts themed to the decades...classic 60s, 70s rock, 80s metal, 90s grunge/punk, etc. Not the original artists - use cover bands - which is all the rage now - and cheaper to hire.

I still remember the KISS cover band they featured in an early HHN - it was awesome! How fun - and talk about a people eater!

Bring back the water show plus concerts, open up a few more attractions like horror show.... and now you're really talkin'

 

[Idontknow3]

well said. I wish they'd consider a series of concerts themed to the decades...classic 60s, 70s rock, 80s metal, 90s grunge/punk, etc. Not the original artists - use cover bands - which is all the rage now - and cheaper to hire.

I still remember the KISS cover band they featured in an early HHN - it was awesome! How fun - and talk about a people eater!

Bring back the water show plus concerts, open up a few more attractions like horror show.... and now you're really talkin'

The kiss tribute concert was my first HHN.

 

[shh]

The kiss tribute concert was my first HHN.

mine too!

 

[keishashadow]

This was absolutely needed IMO.

Reports do indicate the crowds have dropped since the last night of RoF, especially on the nights the “free” tix is not available to Premier AP holders.

 

[fanoforlando]

Hey fellow HHN goers, we already bought our tickets to go on the 14th of October with early admission passes.

What holding que is located close to The Exorcist and Stranger Things? It has been a few years but IIRC it is called Finnegans?


The houses we are dead set on going through are The Exorcist, Stranger Things, Dueling Dragons & then Chucky house.

Our plan is to wait in que close to the houses we want to go through and once they drop the rope run ( or walk fast ) to the houses we plan on going through before the crowds



Thanks

 

[mamapenguin]

Hey fellow HHN goers, we already bought our tickets to go on the 14th of October with early admission passes.

What holding que is located close to The Exorcist and Stranger Things? It has been a few years but IIRC it is called Finnegans?


The houses we are dead set on going through are The Exorcist, Stranger Things, Dueling Dragons & then Chucky house.

Our plan is to wait in que close to the houses we want to go through and once they drop the rope run ( or walk fast ) to the houses we plan on going through before the crowds



Thanks

It’s NY by the Starbucks that is being remodeled. There will be couple of small white tent like covered areas where they will scan you in. Line goes back towards the closed SB. I would do ST4 first, Exorcist opens later, but you can still get it done before the main opening time.

 

[keishashadow]

Encouraging to see the wait times again drop dramatically for last night & tonight

Guessing it’s that magical combo of no RoF nor Premier pass option.

May bode well for October visitors or not