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I just completed a new survey from Universal about Covid-19 in general and what measures Universal should be taking now while closed and once they reopen. Multiple questions about ways to make guests few safe. Temperature screening (forehead or body scanner), rapid testing (nasal or mouth swab), and even "immunity cards". One is clearly to cover themselves which is "requiring guest to fill out a health questionnaire about possible symptoms and exposure". You know all guests are not gonna be honest on that and simply say they feel fine. More questions about food/drink service. Keeping ALL doors open so you don't have to grab any door handles. Spacing of families in shows and rides. Areas to give feedback or ideas that were not mentioned. I mentioned during HHN, do not require guests to keep up with the party in front of them. Let guests walk through the house at the distance they feel comfortable with (within reason). One question asked if I had a trip planned and when. My answer was Sept 2020. The very next question was, if Universal opens Sept 2020, how quickly would you return to the park. So either they took my first answer and wanted more info, or they are thinking about staying closed for a while still. With Shanghai opening in a few days, i'm curious to see what happens.

Maybe I just haven't been paying attention to the website since nothing has been announced yet, but have all official days always been listed? I knew before Covid they announced the dates of Sept 10th-Nov 1st but I didn't think we got actual event nights since that always seem to be released in the summer but now the website has the nights listed already. Didn't expect Sept. 16th to be an event night since they usually skip the first Wednesday. Glad i'm arriving that Wednesday afternoon now! 10 full nights of HHN for me now...assuming nothing changes.

I couldn't see them doing post spring. That wouldn't give them enough turn around time to get 31 set up. An April-May HHN run would mean June 1st would be teardown and require immediate construction on 31 with only 3 months to tear down and rebuild. While not impossible, I don't see that being an option. I also don't think a 3 month break is enough for guests. Quite a few people travel from out of state and 3 months isn't enough of a break between trips for many people but a 7 month break is better. They wouldn't want to effect Mardi Gras. I feel like if they delay it, the only option is post Christmas, pre Mardi Gras.

So, let's just say that HHN doesn't happen. We know a few houses are nearly finished already. I'm sure most elements of the event are well on the way to being finished. Do we think there is any chance that they delay the event to some time other than Halloween? Like could we see an HHN in January? That would give them time to remove everything and set up Mardi Gras and start construction on 31. Would also give them more time to let this all pass. I am hoping that the event happens. My airfare and hotel have been booked for awhile. Become a tradition to come down for 2 weeks every September. I just want them to start announcing plans soon. With the cruise industry slowing starting back up in August, I would hope Universal would give us some ideas of what they are thinking. One thing I'm positive of, capacity for this year (assuming it happens) is going to be greatly reduced. The event packs the park with people filling the streets and the queues. Ticket options this year will be interesting. Will express even need to be a thing if the park capacity is cut in half or more? Will you have to purchase your ticket and select the day your coming far in advance? Will Rush of Fear and other "season pass" type tickets be offered? Will they limit it onsite resort guests and AP holders (rumored to be what Disney is going to do for some time)? Hopefully we get answers in the next few weeks.

The survey wasn't about HHN in general. It was about the resort as a whole. It basically said that when they get the OK to reopen from the state, they will but wanted feedback on safety messaures and precautions that they are thinking about putting into place. Things like only opening outdoor shows and attractions. Wiping down ride vehicles after every rider. Stopped self serve food/drinks (no more Freestyle machines). Temperature checks for staff and/or guests. Face masks for all adults staff/and or guests. No shows/parades were large people gather in groups. Spacing out ride seating/only send the same family in a vehicle for smaller vehicles. Multiple capacity questions. Hand sanitizer questions. The theme park industry is going to look very different for quite some time I'm sure. It's not going to be the same park we knew before all this started. I'm expecting 50% reduced capacity for quite some time. Different queue systems. Different restaurant systems. Bus system changes. It's a lot to change and implement but also going to be very hard to make guests follow the new rules and guidelines. I'm sure whatever happens will be effecting HHN as well. Time will tell.

Random 5am thought: Does anybody else think Universal changed up houses and trimmed down on the number of IP's because they are expecting a large drop off in attendance this year because of the coronavirus? After getting that email to AP holders asking what guests would like to see change after they reopen, it really got me thinking. 3 different questions asking about reduced capacity. HHN has gotten to the point where some nights it's difficult to walk the streets without bumping into somebody every few steps. I easily see them dropping capacity by at least 25% this year but I wouldn't be surprised if they cut it in half. So, why spend all the extra money to lock down IP's when the event is going to draw in less of a crowd?

Now this is a list I can totally get behind and hope is true! A 4/6 split of IP to Originals during an anniversary year is amazing. I'm guessing Shrek's days are numbered with them trying a new location. Once Bourne opens I could see them giving it a few more weeks and then pulling the plug. Most likely getting a copy of the new Secret Life of Pets ride from USH.

While I don't see them cancelling the event (unless the parks are legally required to stay closed), I do think we are going to be seeing quite a few changes. For starters, I don't see them being so pushy about keeping up with the party ahead of you while in the houses. I still think social distancing, while not required, will still be getting practiced by many guests. I also see the cap on the number of guests inside the park being lowered substantially to keep the streets less congested. Yes this will hurt sales of merch and alcohol and whatnot but it's better to make some sales than nothing at all. The show in Fear Factor I could see them blocking off every other row to give people more space. It's going to be an interesting rest of the year after parks reopen. I don't see people queuing up right next to each other the day the parks reopen. I don't see Disney putting on parades and firework shows with hundreds of guests standing shoulder to shoulder the first day back either. It's going to be interesting to see how the theme parks handle guest comfort and safety after months of being told to social distance in an environment were hour long lines of people standing a foot away or less has been the norm.

I'm ok with most of this list. While Sabrina and Eilish seem like an odd choice for the event, they tend to surprise us with the odd choices. They have done some music based houses in the past and they always manage to pull them off somehow (although never the best house of the year by a long shot). Her music and videos are creepy and i'm sure they will come up with their own spin on it. I am glad it is going in the MIB tent though. Might actually change up the crowds rushing the houses in the front with all the younger crowd wanting to see her house first. Sabrina is the only really strange one for me. I found the show very strange and not something I was into. I didn't find it to have any horror elements at all. Curious to see what they do with this one. I'm beyond excited for Haunting of Hill House! Tons of creepy elements. I can't wait to walk thru this house and see the set design. I'm glad its going into the new building which has the space to pull this house off properly. This list also got me thinking. Could we be getting a setup for the Icons to all make a return? The main 5 can be placed into the houses pretty neatly. Beetlejuice/Gremlins -- Jack -- More "fun" type houses and Beetlejuice having a similar personality to Jack Terra Cruentes/ Bedtime Stories/Dungeon -- Storyteller -- As mentioned above, she was the Icon for 15 which is when Terra Cruentes was features. Bedtime Stories is what is tells. Dungeon Retold was her house during Sweet 16. Monsters/Sabrina -- Usher -- Both are movies/tv shows Billie Eilish/Haunting -- Director -- Billie has creative, well directed music videos. Haunting won huge praise for its directing, especially the limited cuts in episode 5 which required sets to be designed and built specifically with this episode in mind. Legendary -- Caretaker -- The most famous resident of Carey, Ohio

While I have wanted to see a return to using both parks, I don't see it happening anymore...especially this year. I am expecting quite a few things to change this year depending on how quickly this is all over. For one, I don't see crowds being nearly as large as they have been in years past simply because of the cost. Since this has started I have re-booked my onsite hotel, staying an extra night and still saving over $100. My airfare was also dirt cheap. Theme Parks around the world are going to be offering quite a few deals for a while after they all reopen to try and get people to visit again. If this goes into June or July, Sept is going to be a little too close for most people to part with a large chunk of change with the limited income they have been dealing with. With millions of people losing their jobs and no end in sight, spending money on vacations is not what the general public is going to be doing. While I don't think this will lead to any major budget cuts on the event as a whole, I could see some things like SIF and things hundreds on people have to touch every hour being removed. Depending on just how long this lasts, I could see them relaxing the "keep right up next to the party of total strangers in front you of" team members being toned down as people may still be practicing social distancing. Same thing goes with whatever show ends up being in FF. They might block off every other row to give people some more space. HHN 30 is an event I have been looking forward to for so long because they "anniversary" years are always a much larger production. I just hope the budget remained the same and they go all out this year. Time will tell.

I would be really surprised if we don't get Hill House this year. It was a huge show that got a lot of people talking about it and it can be turned into a house pretty easily. I don't think we will see many returning originals in the form of a sequel house. With HHN 30 next year, I see them holding back the big original sequel houses for that year and giving us new originals this year. Maybe we will see something Legendary Truth related this year to get the public aware of them again if they are planning on using them for the 30th. Originals have been getting more and more popular as the "new" general public crowd is starting to see how good they are. I could see this year being 4 IP's and 6 originals.

SunshineFrights on Twitter mentioned a few minutes ago they are on their way to Universal for a special HHN update. Are they doing a press thing today to announce a house or something?

I figured it out! All the Rick and Morty clues and the talk of popular fandom can only mean one thing.... We are getting a McDonalds house! Evil clowns, the Hamburglar and life size chicken nuggets are not the scariest part either. That honor goes to the room at the very end, after waiting for over an hour, that ties everything back to the clues. The walls are lined with empty sauce cups and your told they have run out of Szechuan Sauce! The horror!!

It seems like Universal learned a lot from last year. First they totally fooled peopled with fake house concepts so nobody is 100% sure what we are really getting. Now we seem to be getting announcements every few weeks. I can't remember a time when a non-icon, original concept house ever had its own announcement with an announcement video and logo. Normally all originals are bundled together a month or so before opening night and we just get a logo and brief description of the house. The people on the creative teams seem very excited about this year. Overall it just seems like this year they are going all out to make up for the disappointment that was last year. I think the budget was much smaller last year with the new Christmas stuff they were doing and this year they got all their money back and hopefully more! Also, I have to wonder if we will be getting another new show this year. The new fountain show and viewing area will be finished before HHN starts. I wonder if we will be getting a horror themed water show that will run throughout the night? Even if we don't get a full blown show, it would be cool if they randomly played an iconic horror song with the fountains going off.

Didn't HHN do a maze years ago over in IoA where every couple of guests got a "hard hat" with a light on it that would flicker on and off based on where you were inside the house? While I think giving guest access to portable lights now is an awful idea with the current crowd the event draws in (those poor actors will be blind by the end of the first night!) I do think the concept is cool.

So, with the key words of Zero and Detective, I got to thinking. Typically in any type of outbreak they always try to find Patient Zero. The first known person to contract whatever outbreak is going on. Detectives work to find this Patient Zero. Could we possible be dealing with some sort of outbreak house? Not sure how paranormal investigators keep track of cases either. Could a house (and/or person) be considered a Patient Zero if whatever is happening to that home or person continues happening in other locations? If so, maybe we could be going to the very first location Legendary Truth investigated...their own personal Patient Zero?

They announced it a while ago. They tend to announce scarezones one at a time unlike Orlando and VERY, VERY rarely do we ever have a scarezone they have.

This is quite interesting. What if Netflix knows the other IP's coming to the event. It's not totally out of the realm of possibility that Universal would tell them who they would be sharing the spotlight with. Heck, for all we know this Universal/Netflix partnership could be bigger than we originally thought. With Disney soon to launch their own streaming service and pull ALL Disney content off Netflix, it makes since for Netflix to want to partner with another big media giant. I already have this feeling that as we exit Stranger Things, we will get handed a "flyer" for Netflix with a free trial code on it. What if they include all the IP's (minus the new Halloween of course but we could get the old ones) on the Netflix platform before the event starts and send out a free month to everybody that buys a ticket on line to the event so they can watch the movies and shows that will be a house or zone.

I really wish they would hurry up with the multi-nights passes! I can't see them ever doing away with them completely because it would drop attendance significantly! Plus, for people from out of town like myself, the multi-night ticket is the reason I go! Past three years now I've stayed onsite for 16-18 nights and attended three full weekends. Have had Aventura booked since Sept of last year for 17 nights this year. If for some stupid reason they don't offer the Rush of Fear, I will drop that down to just a long weekend and probably only attend 1 night. You would think they would want to start collecting money now from people that want to attend and for people that are on the fence about going, having a multi-night ticket might convince them to make a trip over for a long weekend.

I totally agree! The Voodoo show from a few years ago that had to be scrapped because it upset a few people is just insane to me. The fact that they caved and stopped the show after just a few nights after all the time and money than went into building the shack and hiring the cast. Heck, they even promoted the whole zone as it being tied to the show with the mason jar lights strung out throughout the entire zone interacting with the show. I will still never understand why they pulled the plug on it and then turned around a few years later and gave us and entire house based on that one scarezone.

If the total theme of this year turns out to be the 80's (which would just be amazing!) then I really hope AoV sticks with it. Seeing them do Thriller would be incredible! I'm still trying to figure out what the other show might be. My guess would be they would put it in Animal Actors unless Fear Factor is still standing by then. First thought was Rocky Horror but that was 1975. I honestly hope they create an original show like Bill and Ted but without them. I know the rumor was a HP Death Eater show but I still just honestly can't see that happening during HHN. Maybe as a day time thing during normal park hours but a HP show during HHN is could to bring in the wrong type of crowd I fear.

With three news hotels and over 3,000 new onsite rooms being added by the time the 30th anniversary rolls around, I can't help but wonder if the budget this year went up in order to get more guests into the event to get them hooked. I have a feeling we will be seeing a LOT of first time visitors this year with just Stranger Things alone. Get them in this year, have them fall in love with the event so next year they go for a few nights and stay onsite at the new value resort. Then by the time the 30th rolls around and the 2nd half of the new resort (with over 2,000 new rooms alone) opens up, maybe, just maybe the event will have gotten big enough to branch into both parks for the BIG anniversary year. I think a big reason we don't have both parks now is the resort has gotten much more popular since the old IoA HHN days and they want to make sure guests that don't want to go to HHN have something to do in the evening over at IoA. This brings me to my next point...the new park that we all know is happening. Way to much prep work is already going on (heck, 2000 new rooms are being built close by it). IoA took about a year and half from breaking ground until grand opening. Even if they don't break ground until early next year, it's VERY possible they will have the new park open by fall 2020. This would easily allow them to expand to into IoA for the 30th anniversary without fear of shutting people out from all the parks.

Seventeen videos makes sense IF we are getting an Icon. I hope this means we are! 9 for the houses 5 for the zones 2 for shows 1 for Icon

I don't want projection mapping on the arches. I want to physically see the depth of the "stuff" (does it have a technical name in the show?) growing on the arches. Plus it would love cool even during the day and considering its not even dark when the event starts most guests wouldn't notice it much. The idea inside the house is cool, but again the physical look of it would be much better. Also, in season 1 I don't recall ever instantly switching to the Upside Down. They normally have to pass through something to enter it via the Lab or even the tree in the forest. With this house strictly following the story of season 1, a room that switches between the real world and the Upside Down instantly doesn't fit.

I don't see ST being the mega house this year. They have said we will follow the season 1 story line faithfully and will make multiple trips into the Upside Down. However, I just don't see their being enough content to fill up a mega house. I am very excited to see how they pull this house off though. The sound design has be to on point! The Upside Down has a very distinct sound to it that they need to pull off along with the unique visual design. I'm hoping they use that "air bag" effect when your entering and exiting the Upside Down so you feel like you are being "squeezed" into it kinda like how it looks in the show. After seeing the art they created for the announcement, I have high hopes that this will turn out amazing. With both the creators of the show and Netflix helping with this house, it should turn out great. Not only is this a big win for Universal, it is a MASSIVE win for Netflix! It has the potential to grow their member base. Heck, I honestly wouldn't be surprised if at the exit of the house you get handed a code for a free 7-day trial of Netflix. Speaking of that art they released, if they DON'T do that to the Arches, they lost an amazing opportunity to finally do something cool to the arches that have been boring and bland for years!