Hush

I guess it would depend on whether or not the British celebrate Halloween as extensively as we do here in the States? (I'm not sure if it's viewed as that major of holiday across the pond or not...) That would be a contributing to factor as to how many of them check out HHN this year and on top of that, how many of the families have kids who are too young to truly enjoy HHN to it's fullest. While every age range seems to enjoy HP, many of the younger set who like him may not be too keen on an scarier event like HHN. It will be interesting to see if HP being open ultimately has an effect on the overall attendance at HHN this year.

I bet anyone who spends the cash and purchases that would be very upset to know they could've found the same information for free online...LOL I tell ya some of these companies out there! Thanks for sharing, very interesting find none the less.

Charles, Congrats on having so many members, that's wonderful! You've done a fantastic job with your page so far, keep up the great work!

That's our theory, with the FFP, we can go multiple nights to begin with, so it pretty much negates the need for any kind of express pass. (Unless your someone who just HAS to see everything the very first night...and we're not like that at all...we're cheap...LOL)

Jim, I agree completely! You would hope that Uni realizes they are leaving folks hanging when they don't produce a functional operating calendar the same time every year! They are supposed to make the announcement Thursday I believe, so here's hoping you'll get park hours for October released soon there after!

It truly depends on your level of patience! Historically opening weekend is never super duper crowded, but the wait times can crawl up into the 40 minute mark as the evenings go on. We've easily done all the houses, and a few twice, on opening weekend. And as the event becomes more popular every year, more people do seem to find their way to attending the first weekend. The other thing to take into consideration is whether or not your coming back to the event or trying to see everything on just opening weekend...if that's the case, investing in an express pass for one night or the other might not be a bad idea. At least that way you'll get a chance to see everything once!

Exactly Michelle! It's like just up the wait time so it seems like your getting through the line faster than anticipated...LOL...everyone's usually had a few drinks so no one is watching their watch like a hawk. But even with a few beers in me I can still tell the difference between a 20 minute and 45 minute wait! And to everyone still debating on attending opening weekend, I HIGHLY recommend it. I've been to every opening weekend for the past 19 years and this one will be no exception. There's just something very special about opening weekend that I can't describe...

Jim, I bet they'll update it next week after they make the announcement as to when Harry Potter will be opening. Something tells me they are waiting to update both park calendars in regards to that; perhaps due to the "Stay and Scream" option.

I'm with Three Circles and Chip on this one, while to all of us the 20th anniversary of HHN marks a huge milestone, something tells me that for the company it will just be used as a means of marketing this year. In other words, look at this 20th anniversary year as the unnamed icon if you will... Personally after attending for going on 20 years, I've learned that first and foremost, don't buy into any hype. Nothing is written in stone, and as Chip said you just have to take everything you hear with a grain of salt. I've said it numerous times and I'll say it again, I don't believe anything until I walk through the gates on opening night and see it for myself. There's always way too much overzealous speculation by the fans and this year won't be an exception. You can't be disappointed if you go in with an open mind and remember that no matter what opening weekend is like, the even always improves as it moves into October.

I have the same thought process as Jeramy on this one! Initially when I got the survey I though "Hmmm, good idea"...but then I remembered that the FFP passes are only usable on what we consider fairly "off" capacity nights to begin with, like Wednesday/Thursday and Sunday. With being able to go three times most weeks, we can hit the houses as much as we want without having to fork over money for an express pass of any type. Say it's unusually busy one night and we miss a house or two, there's a fairly exceptional chance we'll be able to hit it on another night that same week. Last year we went three nights in one week and hit every house, every night...a few twice. And as Jeramy mentioned this could turn out to be an even bigger waiting game. I'm sure many of you remember in 2008 that some of the express pass lines actually had longer waits than the general admission lines! I remember us strolling through the regular admission line for "Dead Exposure" while people with express passes were waiting...sometimes paying more to be "special" ain't all it's cracked up to be! Like Mark said, unless they offer the FFP Express Pass for a very reasonable additional cost (like the $25 bucks he mentioned) I seriously doubt we'll utilize it. The only time an express pass is worth having is if your going on a peak night or during hell week...or your just a very inpatient individual...LOL In general it's a good concept, and many people who typically buy the FFP will jump on a FFP Express Pass without question. With the FFP we get to go so many nights that at least for Eric and I spending even more money on a FFP express pass wouldn't be beneficial. It's apparent that Universal is looking at adding additional ticketing options that will please everyone, I'll be curious to see what the final offerings will be for this year. As long as there's a FFP I'm a happy camper.

Ain't that the truth! (Hope you and the wife are doing well!)

That's actually a excellent speculation! Leaving the parade till the end of the night would be a great way to do just like you said, keep people in the park and spending money till the very last minute. (Because if there's a parade, people will stay to see it, no matter how tired they are...as proven by Disney...LOL) And it would actually be a great way to clear the park out too...at the end of the parade line itself have staff members usher people towards the front of the park.

Yay, Stephanie will be partaking in the beverages this year!

But you've also got Ops employees who are brought on specifically for the seasonal parades to do just crowd control/containment, be float handlers, etc. like for Macy's and Mardi Gras, wouldn't they just utilize those same folks if the parade were to come to fruition once again? I'd rather have small well done scare zones and a parade, than large, grossly uncreative (*cough*Containment*cough*)scare zones like we've seen in the past....but again, I love the old days of HHN and it would be a trip back to see the parade make an appearance one last time... As with everything we hear from now till opening night, it ain't nothing but speculation in my book till I see it with my own two eyes.

If you go over and check "over there" the latest update suggests that both the RHPS and most importantly, the parade, will return this year. Again, even as suggested on that site, none of this is a done deal and is completely speculation...as is everything till we all see it with our own eyes opening night. These ongoing rumors of a parade, I can't take it...my poor little old school HHN heart just can't take it!

I have to agree that was one of my favorite houses to this past year! I think because it was gory, but still had that dark twisted humor to lighten it up a bit. The "Meetz" family certainly was dysfunctional, but we loved 'em! It would be very cool to see that house return in a sequel of sorts this year to commemorate last year's event in the overview.

This year we need to grab a few drinks and plant ourselves somewhere close to a scare zone where we can sit, laugh and point at people who run away screaming!

The thoughts of the parade returning make me giddy as a kid on Christmas morning, but alas, unless they do a two park event (which is always an option of sorts) I think it would be a logistical nightmare of sorts at the studios...however IF they create a parade route that won't interfere with the way they have the queue lines, which technically is possible. Let's face it, the queue lines are typically much longer than necessary...think of Wolfman last year, good Lord you had to drop bread crumbs some nights to find your way from the very beginning of the queue to where the line began. Like Jimmy said, there are many possibilities as to why the Festival of the Dead moniker has been resurrected, but as an old school HHN fan, I can only hope it means a parade! (And yes, I know it's a far fetched idea, but a girl can dream can't she? The thoughts of getting a parade and perhaps an original Midway of the Bizarre back all in one year is more than I can handle...LOL)

My thoughts exactly! And while it's "fudging" things if done this way, why not always overestimate the wait time? That way no matter what, guests won't feel as if they are spending their entire stay waiting in line. If the actual wait is 40 minutes, show it as 60...you'd be amazed how happy people are when they get into an attraction ten minutes quicker than they thought they would...it's as if you've given them extra time...LOL

I enjoy reading all the speculation every year, but as with the past 19 events, I won't believe a word of what I hear until I step through the gates on opening night... It's neat to find out hints here and there of what we are possibly going to experience, but for me, being the HHN purist I am, I really do enjoy waiting to see it all on opening night. That's like Christmas morning for me! This year I don't think any of us would be surprised if the event is a combination of all things HHN from the past 19 years, it would be amazing to see some of our old favorites come to life again! (**HINT** Midway of the Bizarre in Amity with TONS of fog **Hint**)

I know that the wait times drive us as guests crazy when they are "estimated" only to be proven wrong after standing in line 30 minutes later, so I can only imagine how it must frustrate the individuals who are in the houses...and then top it all off on being sick. Here's my thing with wait times, if the time is 40 minutes, then show it to be 50 minutes, at least that way guests will be pleasently surprised when they wait 10 minutes less than the shown time. If you put up a 5 minute wait when in actuality it's 40 minutes, your going to be dealing with ticked off people. I think most of us can agree that we have no problem waiting, but would really like to see realistic wait times as opposed to the "guesstimates" that we typically see.

Oohhh...I like it! You are right Chip, that movie really is basically a haunted house done in a movie format and would most definitely translate well into a real world version. I especially like the ending that you've described, what a way to finish a run through what surely would be a very insane house!

Due to unforseen medical issues that popped up last Thursday, I declined the role that Universal had offered me. Not what I wanted to do, but sometimes you've got to look out for yourself (or in this case, your health) over everything else! With that being said, I will be able to continue to orchestrate our opening night shinding and any others that follow during HHN 20 You can all breath a sigh of relief now as I'm sure the organization of our get togethers was weighing heavily on everyone's minds...LOL

Exactly! He's like the original Terminator...no matter what Michael Myers did to him he kept coming back for more. I have a hysterical soundboard prank call clip that features soundbites of Loomis calling a mental institution and telling the woman that Michael Myers is on his way to Haddonfield; the woman is like "Who is this? What?" I'll have to figure out how to get it off my phone and post it, I never get tired of hearing it...LOL I have to agree with Chip as well, a well staffed zombie house would be an instant hit. Zombies seem to be that one horror element that everyone loves, hates or is completely scared crapless of...LOL

I think we've all been wondering that for years now...LOL If need be I can dress up to look like a goon in a tight suit; albeit with my degree, I paid attention in college, so therefore, I technically would know what I was doing...LOL