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HHN 22 Speculation


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HHN has always been a high net profit event for Universal. It's not like this even doesn't make plenty of money for Universal. I don't think new ownership would change things that drastically. Another thing, the "cutting costs" concept doesn't match well with the announcements of the new retro resort, referbished rides and expansions they are working on. Just be patient folks...this event will either be on par or better than years previous. Dialing back HHN would be like Universal dropping the Mardi Gras to fewer floats or dropping the number of summer concerts or dropping the Macy's down to just Santa Clause. It just wouldn't make good business sense and would hurt their bottom line and ruin their reputation.

HHN will be excellent this year and better than before (houses and scarezones alike). Just keep the faith HHN faithfull!

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HHN has always been a high net profit event for Universal. It's not like this even doesn't make plenty of money for Universal. I don't think new ownership would change things that drastically. Another thing, the "cutting costs" concept doesn't match well with the announcements of the new retro resort, referbished rides and expansions they are working on. Just be patient folks...this event will either be on par or better than years previous. Dialing back HHN would be like Universal dropping the Mardi Gras to fewer floats or dropping the number of summer concerts or dropping the Macy's down to just Santa Clause. It just wouldn't make good business sense and would hurt their bottom line and ruin their reputation.

HHN will be excellent this year and better than before (houses and scarezones alike). Just keep the faith HHN faithfull!

I'm not gonna say this year won't have some difficulties. It's obvious that it will. But last time I checked A&D are still designing the event. They make some of the best events in the country. I'm not overly worried about the future of the event. Once all the construction dies down, and Universal continues to gather money, they're not going to ignore HHN. And I have faith that next year, when A&D knows what the construction across the resort will look like, they'll have a terrific event next year. And I still have faith it's going to be a great one this year.

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HHN has always been a high net profit event for Universal. It's not like this even doesn't make plenty of money for Universal. I don't think new ownership would change things that drastically. Another thing, the "cutting costs" concept doesn't match well with the announcements of the new retro resort, referbished rides and expansions they are working on. Just be patient folks...this event will either be on par or better than years previous. Dialing back HHN would be like Universal dropping the Mardi Gras to fewer floats or dropping the number of summer concerts or dropping the Macy's down to just Santa Clause. It just wouldn't make good business sense and would hurt their bottom line and ruin their reputation.

HHN will be excellent this year and better than before (houses and scarezones alike). Just keep the faith HHN faithfull!

Your logic is not...logical. Just because corporate expends a bunch of capital over "here" does not make it a foregone conclusion that they will expend a bunch of capital over "there". As a matter of fact, all of the spending they've been doing refurbishing the main park makes it more likely that they will try and streamline things in other areas to make up for the shortfall. People like to say that hhn is Universal's big cash cow, but that's not true anymore. Going forward the big cash cow will be the Harry Potter theme park.

Here's what we know; they're combining the websites. They may be combining the A & D for the two parks at Orlando and Hollywood. There are six houses and one scare zone this year, or at least we think that's the case. They've been trying to squeeze more money out of patrons by making it a "multi night" event. They closed the park at earlier times last year to try and guarantee that you wouldn't be able to see everything in one shot.

What does that tell you, honestly, when taken in it's totality?

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6 houses just doesn't sound right, I dont care if they had 1 house 15 years ago, but is just not the same,

I really have no doubt the houses will be great, and look great, and, if they made them longer, if they made the houses with more rooms it would even be good,

I really have no doubt the houses will be even amazing, but 6 houses is going to be crazy, specially with properties like Walking Dead and Silent Hill, that is going to bring a lot of crowds, I mean, 6 houses would be okay if we had rides open and shows, but who knows.

I wonder if Uni has something else prepared, like a show we don't know about or something,

if we get one zone I wish is as long as 3 regular zones, i know it won't be, but, it would be cool

Edited by black mask
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I'm not gonna say this year won't have some difficulties. It's obvious that it will. But last time I checked A&D are still designing the event. They make some of the best events in the country. I'm not overly worried about the future of the event. Once all the construction dies down, and Universal continues to gather money, they're not going to ignore HHN. And I have faith that next year, when A&D knows what the construction across the resort will look like, they'll have a terrific event next year. And I still have faith it's going to be a great one this year.

6 houses and 1 scare zone will not cut it.

The wait times will go from bad to completely terrible and that alone will be enough to ruin many an experience, especially for people who are going one night only.

I tend to think positively but at a certain point one must look at things with a more jaundiced eye.

Why bother with one super big zone when you could do 3 regular sized unique zones for the variety that people want?

It's just wishful thinking.

They'res going to be one regular sized zone and then a bunch of roving mobs of scareactors.

This thing has budget cuts written all over it.

They know people will come anyway.

Edited by King_K.
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Can we Please stop talking about the number of houses and scarezones we will have this year?!!

I'm quite excited for this years event!(like I am every year since 2010 when I first started going.)

I started thinking about the queue videos and if we will have any this year..Of course the Walking Dead will have a queue video...But then I wondered if the Penn & Teller house will have a queue video of them talking and doing crazy stuff....Maybe even the Alice Cooper house will have one too?? Any thoughts???

Edited by hhnFEARfan
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Your logic is not...logical. Just because corporate expends a bunch of capital over "here" does not make it a foregone conclusion that they will expend a bunch of capital over "there". As a matter of fact, all of the spending they've been doing refurbishing the main park makes it more likely that they will try and streamline things in other areas to make up for the shortfall. People like to say that hhn is Universal's big cash cow, but that's not true anymore. Going forward the big cash cow will be the Harry Potter theme park.

Trust me when I tell you there is no shortfall. They're looking for excuses to spend money. Not to cut back. On anything. You can say they are all you want, but it isn't the truth.

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Dialing back HHN would be like Universal dropping the Mardi Gras to fewer floats or dropping the number of summer concerts or dropping the Macy's down to just Santa Clause.

Not for nothing, but didn't they drop one or two floats from this year's Mardi Gras parade? Just a reminder that things change as circumstances change.

On a more general note, I have faith the 6 houses we get will be incredible. The problem is just 6 houses--and also losing Jaws--will make everything more crowded. Not just increased wait times, even trying to walk the streets. That's just how theme park capacity works. Opening more attractions or new shows would help compensate for this, and I'm still hoping that's on the table, but I think this is a legitamate concern.

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Not for nothing, but didn't they drop one or two floats from this year's Mardi Gras parade? Just a reminder that things change as circumstances change.

On a more general note, I have faith the 6 houses we get will be incredible. The problem is just 6 houses--and also losing Jaws--will make everything more crowded. Not just increased wait times, even trying to walk the streets. That's just how theme park capacity works. Opening more attractions or new shows would help compensate for this, and I'm still hoping that's on the table, but I think this is a legitamate concern.

i wonder if the excuse of not being able to use Islands because of space still applies, seems this year they will have just as much problems with space and capacity over at studios,

I mean, I know doing HHN at Islands is not possible because of not being able to use Potter and because there would be a problem with crowds, is always been said HHN at Islands is not good, that because of the space is better done at Studios,

but like I said this year seems that's not really the case, a big chunk of Studios being closed, losing two houses, I wonder if they could have planned to use Islands, I don't know, I'm just thinking,

because, one of the biggest reasons I keep hearing over and over from people here and people in the park, "Islands is not big enough to handle the crowds" "the big Crowds are better held at Studios" So I'm like, okay I get it, the HHN crowds can be chaotic for Islands to handle. the reason that HHN is not held there anymore.

but now everyone is saying, "6 houses is good enough" "the crowds won't be as bad" "the park won't be as crowded" or "we used to have 6 houses in the past and it was okay"

so which is it? crowds too big for Islands? or "crowds wont be too much for 6 houses at Studios??

Edited by black mask
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Here's what we know: Nothing

Other than the fact that we're getting a Walking Dead themed house, and that there were six permits submitted (which we don't even know if some houses are or aren't dual path yet), we personally know nothing. If you're willing to risk your reputation on here and say that something is a 100% going to happen, then do so and we'll see if it comes to fruition.

I suggest that instead of continuing to base arguments on rumors and other speculation that you might've heard here, or from a friend, or the guy that valets the cars at Universal, that we at least wait till we get the basic gist of what this event is gonna bring this year from the website itself. I know that this is a speculation thread (and by all means keep speculating), but it gets a little repetitive and redundant when you basically see the same post/argument, talking about the same thing for the past 20 pages. I personally have faith in Universal, not because I've grown to love the event, but because they're a business. They know that they have to knock it out of the park every year if they don't want to see dwindling numbers and sales. Harry Potter might be a cash cow, but Horror Nights is a cash cow and alot easier to profit from. Especially from liquor.

Something else I wanted to mention. I, like everyone is really sad over the fact that Ray was't asked back to join the team for website design this year. This doesn't mean they might dumb down the website though (like Hollywood's. Sorry West coasters). They might just want to go in a different direction than years past.

Just in the last day I've seen people demean others here over certain opinions they've made. Like Mark (mz_) has mentioned, we don't want to hide posts or lock topics. We just want people to be civil to each other. When it comes down to it, we all have one thing in common. We all love Horror Nights and are all very passionate about it.

tl;dr : Chill out peeps and be patient. Speculate about the event, not argue with each other's opinions.

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They closed the park at earlier times last year to try and guarantee that you wouldn't be able to see everything in one shot.

what exactly are you basing this off of?

The park itself always closed at 5pm (thats plenty of time to enjoy the park during the day)

They extended the event hours back in 2010 to accomodate the bigger crowds.

Lets take a look back at HHN 2002... (which started an hour later than HHN does today, since they open the gates earlier)

Event Hours:

7 pm - 2 am Friday and Saturday nights (except Oct. 4 and Nov. 1)

7 pm - 12 am All other event nights

Here are the event hours for 2007...

4QTVp.jpg

Now lets look at the 2010 Event Hours

51419892.jpg

And of course, here are the 2011 Event Hours

74234013.jpg

If they have done anything regarding the hours, its extended them to maximize your time. Why would they "close earlier" as use claim? That would be stupid for business since the longer you're there, the more money you'll spend. And there were quite a few nights from 2006-2009 where they stayed open an extra hour, so it allowed many of us to see the last B&T show and hit up a few houses another time before leaving. If you can't experience everything that HHN has to offer, that is just poor time management skills (with the occasional long ass line thrown in). The event hours certainly weren't any shorter than previous years.

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i wonder if the excuse of not being able to use Islands because of space still applies, seems this year they will have just as much problems with space and capacity over at studios,

I mean, I know doing HHN at Islands is not possible because of not being able to use Potter and because there would be a problem with crowds, is always been said HHN at Islands is not good, that because of the space is better done at Studios,

but like I said this year seems that's not really the case, a big chunk of Studios being closed, losing two houses, I wonder if they could have planned to use Islands, I don't know, I'm just thinking,

because, one of the biggest reasons I keep hearing over and over from people here and people in the park, "Islands is not big enough to handle the crowds" "the big Crowds are better held at Studios" So I'm like, okay I get it, the HHN crowds can be chaotic for Islands to handle. the reason that HHN is not held there anymore.

but now everyone is saying, "6 houses is good enough" "the crowds won't be as bad" "the park won't be as crowded" or "we used to have 6 houses in the past and it was okay"

so which is it? crowds too big for Islands? or "crowds wont be too much for 6 houses at Studios??

Why isn't HHN aloud to use Potter? And when it comes to Orlando will it affect anything? I blame Harry potter for the reason we have less houses. It should have stayed at IOA but what you going to do about it?

Edited by Nintendokid33
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HHN has always been a high net profit event for Universal. It's not like this even doesn't make plenty of money for Universal. I don't think new ownership would change things that drastically. Another thing, the "cutting costs" concept doesn't match well with the announcements of the new retro resort, referbished rides and expansions they are working on. Just be patient folks...this event will either be on par or better than years previous. Dialing back HHN would be like Universal dropping the Mardi Gras to fewer floats or dropping the number of summer concerts or dropping the Macy's down to just Santa Clause. It just wouldn't make good business sense and would hurt their bottom line and ruin their reputation.

Again, investing in the theme parks does not equal investing in a seasonal event. Also, I've heard a rumor that Macy*s may be considered for discontinuation. Universal has already invested in their own daytime parade, after all. Why rent balloons (and hire people who walk them), when they have an in-house product? Universal has lived strictly off seasonal events for so long, fans have grown accustomed to them. However, Universal is finally at a point where they don't NEED seasonal events (at least as we know them). Ever notice how the changes to Disney's seasonal events are fairly minimal? One new float instead of a whole new parade? Same decorations. Predominately the same lay-out and festivities. Disney doesn't NEED an all original event every year. Universal is pretty close to being the same way. So, actually. With more money going into the theme parks themselves, the less they need to invest in seasonal events.

And like Comcast cares about its reputation.

Your logic is not...logical. Just because corporate expends a bunch of capital over "here" does not make it a foregone conclusion that they will expend a bunch of capital over "there". As a matter of fact, all of the spending they've been doing refurbishing the main park makes it more likely that they will try and streamline things in other areas to make up for the shortfall. People like to say that hhn is Universal's big cash cow, but that's not true anymore. Going forward the big cash cow will be the Harry Potter theme park.

Here's what we know; they're combining the websites. They may be combining the A & D for the two parks at Orlando and Hollywood. There are six houses and one scare zone this year, or at least we think that's the case. They've been trying to squeeze more money out of patrons by making it a "multi night" event. They closed the park at earlier times last year to try and guarantee that you wouldn't be able to see everything in one shot.

What does that tell you, honestly, when taken in it's totality?

This guy gets it.

Although, as of right now A&D has not been joined. And from my understanding the Hollywood site is still going to be different from the Orlando site (though that obviously could change).

If you're willing to risk your reputation on here and say that something is a 100% going to happen, then do so and we'll see if it comes to fruition.

Penn and Teller. That's the only thing I'm 100% on.

Harry Potter might be a cash cow, but Horror Nights is a cash cow and alot easier to profit from. Especially from liquor.

Not true. HHN is a yearly investment that requires hiring a few hundred extra employees, materials, security, contractors, etc. That yearly investment only creates a profit boon during a six week period. Harry Potter, outside of regular theme park expenses such as maintenance and stock, is a one-time investment. The first phase alone resulted in a annual attendance increase of 40%. With as many people who attend HHN, that's a drop in the bucket compared to what Harry Potter and the long term profits it provides. Smart business practice is long-term investment. HHN is not that.

Something else I wanted to mention. I, like everyone is really sad over the fact that Ray was't asked back to join the team for website design this year. This doesn't mean they might dumb down the website though (like Hollywood's. Sorry West coasters). They might just want to go in a different direction than years past.

Hollywood's site IS a different direction.

Fun Fact: A&D has had to fight tooth and nail to approve the games on the website in 2011 and 2010. While an entertaining distraction, they provide no tangible return and a small percentage of visitors bothered with them. And that was management in Orlando. They solved the "problem" by sending the site to the coast that doesn't do games.

Just in the last day I've seen people demean others here over certain opinions they've made. Like Mark (mz_) has mentioned, we don't want to hide posts or lock topics. We just want people to be civil to each other. When it comes down to it, we all have one thing in common. We all love Horror Nights and are all very passionate about it.

I like my civility with a heavy helping of snark.

Why isn't HHN aloud to use Potter? And when it comes to Orlando will it affect anything? I blame Harry potter for the reason we have less houses. It should have stayed at IOA but what you going to do about it?

It's believed Potter can't be used for the same reason the widow Geisel doesn't allow Suess Landing to be used: Scary event in a family/kid-oriented location. We don't know that for sure, and I wouldn't be surprised if Rowling is actually okay with it.

I do know it WON'T be used because it's regularly used for special events after hours, and so opening it up for HHN can affect an extra source of income they could have.

Now, from what we know about Diagon Alley, it's being built in a manner where you can walk past it and never go through it. The "London Bypass" will be lagoon side and you will actually have an entrance into the Alley. This will allow it to still be used for special events, as well as allow a walkway for people who don't want to deal with the crowds.

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The fact of the matter is HHN is a seasonal event, and yes I do love it dearly just as much as you guys, but I like Universal Studios Florida a lot more considering it's kinda sorta vital to HHN.

Trust me when I tell you there is no shortfall. They're looking for excuses to spend money. Not to cut back. On anything. You can say they are all you want, but it isn't the truth.

*thumbs up*

For those doubting this year, try to channel the frustration you’re feeling into the thought that this is one big, invigorating makeover for the resort. If the parks and City Walk look great and appeal to a wide variety of people and the hotels look great too, then the chances of people visiting are higher, their length of stay and frequency of attendance increases, and frankly that means that they are more than likely going to attend HHN as well. If you're having a really good time somewhere, don't you typically try to find an excuse to stay a little longer? Or if you're a loyal regular at an establishment, don't you consider checking out events even if the content isn’t your forte? HHN is consistent; even at its “worst” for us fans it’s still winning Amusement Today’s Golden Ticket Award for Best Halloween Event in the country year after year. If you’ve got a lot of B and C rate attractions to fix, you probably aren’t going to worry too much about the ones that generally score an A with the general public and with your accounting books.

HHN’s time is coming. Maybe not this year, but hopefully soon. I wouldn’t keep coming back for the abuse if I didn’t have faith in that.

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remember during the twitter event last year the one guy from A&D said that this year is going to be his favorite year. Uni cant just not tell them what to expect the following year. Im sure everything they did this year has been in the plans for the past 2-3 years including the destruction of soundstage 44. They know what they are doing and I believe this year is going to be excellent. So party on dudes!!!

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remember during the twitter event last year the one guy from A&D said that this year is going to be his favorite year.

He says that every year. It's called hype. He actually said that before a single concept was proposed, let alone approved.

Uni cant just not tell them what to expect the following year.

What? I'm not sure what you mean.

Im sure everything they did this year has been in the plans for the past 2-3 years including the destruction of soundstage 44.

No, it hasn't. A&D propose concepts to management in January, so they aren't planned 2-3 years in advance. And the destruction of 44 wasn't planned by A&D, it was a last minute announcement by Creative (at the corporate level). They were actually building a haunt in there when they tore it down, proof that they didn't know it was coming.

They know what they are doing and I believe this year is going to be excellent.

They're flying by the seat of their pants this year.

So party on dudes!!!

We shall try.

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remember during the twitter event last year the one guy from A&D said that this year is going to be his favorite year. Uni cant just not tell them what to expect the following year. Im sure everything they did this year has been in the plans for the past 2-3 years including the destruction of soundstage 44. They know what they are doing and I believe this year is going to be excellent. So party on dudes!!!

im with you on that at this point, im not worried about anything anymore... im a firm believer that everything is happening is supposed to bring chaos... on purpose... isnt that the way the apocalypse is supposed to be... chaotic? crazy? unorganized? unplanned? i think its all on purpose to play with it... its never too soon to start panicking, which is encouraging to panic right away cuz they know thats what were gonna do... everything is gonna go our way this year... i know this is part of the plan as per said. all. part. of. the. plan.

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so even universal themselves didnt know 44 was going to be taken down. thats what i meant by they know 2-3 years in adbance. not for hhn but for other things in the park such as closing jaws they probably thought long and hard about that for at least a year and the minion ride and all they knew about all that for a while.

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so even universal themselves didnt know 44 was going to be taken down. thats what i meant by they know 2-3 years in adbance. not for hhn but for other things in the park such as closing jaws they probably thought long and hard about that for at least a year and the minion ride and all they knew about all that for a while.

No. Universal Orlando did not know about the demolition of SS 44 until about a week ahead of the demo. Permits were pulled to build a haunt in there. They had started building a haunt in there. They were told stop building and remove everything, the building is coming down. The decision was made at a level above Theme Park Operations. They did not know it was coming.

Regarding Jaws, while upper management may have known, most of the people who worked there didn't know it was closing until the day they announced it. Chances are good that decision was made at the corporate level as well.

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AD is not running by the "seat of their pants". I know one of the major designers personally, I've talked with him on numerous occasions. They plan contingencies and these type of projects are adaptable. If anything, they are pulling their die hard fans right into their teaser statement "It's never too soon to start panicking". I am reading a lot of worried and panicky posts and its hilarious. They have you all right where they want you. "Kings to you HHN A&D". ;)

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AD is not running by the "seat of their pants". I know one of the major designers personally, I've talked with him on numerous occasions. They plan contingencies and these type of projects are adaptable. If anything, they are pulling their die hard fans right into their teaser statement "It's never too soon to start panicking". I am reading a lot of worried and panicky posts and its hilarious. They have you all right where they want you. "Kings to you HHN A&D". ;)

you nailed it bro

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