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HHN 25 Discussion


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I recall reading someone's post a while back that said Uni wants to always keep it in just the one park. 

I really, really hate posts that say things like "Uni always wants to keep it in one park" and "Potter will never be open for HHN because Rowling won't allow it" (heh). Unless you sit in on the executive meetings where these decisions are made and contracts are signed, stop spouting this crap as fact. It's fine to say "I don't think Uni will ever expand to both parks for HHN again" but the fact is that nobody is precognitive. Anything can happen.

Just like everything else, opening IOA for HHN is a money issue. Is it worth it? They may have to keep attractions, stores, restaurants all open and pay all of those people that run everything just like they do during the day. Unless USF is having capacity issues consistently, why would they open the other park and deal with all of the logistics problems? And yes, there is a hard cap for tickets that they legally cannot pass. They usually only hit that number on Saturdays towards the end of the event. Opening Diagon Alley gives them an extra couple thousand tickets that they can sell.

In regards to this year, yeah it definitely feels like last weekend was the busiest opening weekend that I can remember. We waited 2 hours for RUN and everything else was at least an hour. I typically never wait in anything over 45 minutes on opening weekends unless it's a big crowd puller like TWD and it's right in the middle of the event (10-11pm). I'm a little worried about the rest of the event, but Wednesdays and Thursdays should stay relatively tame. But again, we'll see I guess.

@Pandry: That was me and I checked with my friend after I said it and, as of whenever I posted that, it is still true.

@Grime: I am only saying what I have heard from my friend who knows a lot of people in Universal Creative.  I believe I did say plans change, as he even told me, but as of now they are designing new attractions around the fact that they want to keep HHN in the Studios only.

A few years from now, who knows?

Grime does hit the nail on the head that operational costs would go up a lot having both parks open.  Add to that, the fact that the event is larger than ever and we have to factor in the queue issue too.  At the end of the day, people are showing up and spending money in the park so why should they care if it is crowded?  If people feel the need to spend multiple nights to see it all, those same people are most likely going to buy food and beverages so Uni still makes bank off of them.  A crowded event where people feel the need to return makes them more money than an empty event where people can be done in one night.

I will add that I have never said anything about DA being open during HHN because I never heard that from my friend.

 

Alright, I have a question. We don't have enough for those express passes, nor anything more, and would only be going for one day. At this point, would it probably be better to just hit HoS instead? As far as I know, that event doesn't have nearly as large of a crowd as HHN does, and the quality of the houses are going up drastically. And while we are all interested in many of the houses at HHN this year, it doesn't seem like we would be able to hit many... so would we be better off going to HOS instead?

Tough choice as I love both events.

I do have to ask a question, would you already be in Universal when the event begins or would you be waiting outside the gates?

Also, take into account that FFP do not have Saturday admission so even though a single night ticket is more expensive then, less APs will be in the park getting a jump start on the houses.

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My opinion, while Uni may be crowded, it's nowhere near ready for a 2 park event anytime soon. This is coming from a consumers (me) standpoint. We've just reached 9 houses (one which is just a repeat). If UniOrl wants to put it in two parks, in order to justify the price they'd need at LEAST 8 houses per park or one park cost considerably less than the other if they can't reach the same amount of content. I would buy a 2 park 2 night pass with the expectation one park is not lesser in content than the other. It'll be impossible to do 16 houses in one night (especially with up to an hour wasted in walk time) but at the same time I'm not going to spend the same kind of money as I do now for only one park that has been reduced/split to 4 houses instead of 8 so that you CAN do everything in one night and get half the value I can currently get with all 8 houses in one place. Nope. 

Then like what they already experience with potter, people will gripe about "I feel soooo pressured to buy a 2 park pass to see everything potter" if they split HHN. 

In order to achieve 2 parks the value needs to be the same in both parks as it is now to justify the price for content. And right now I personally don't think they can make that leap.

I don't really care about creatives reasonings or whatever. But my wallet says no to the idea in the meantime.

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Tough choice as I love both events.

I do have to ask a question, would you already be in Universal when the event begins or would you be waiting outside the gates?

Also, take into account that FFP do not have Saturday admission so even though a single night ticket is more expensive then, less APs will be in the park getting a jump start on the houses.

I would be waiting outside the gates, hopefully an hour before the event kicks off.

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My opinion, while Uni may be crowded, it's nowhere near ready for a 2 park event anytime soon. This is coming from a consumers (me) standpoint. We've just reached 9 houses (one which is just a repeat). If UniOrl wants to put it in two parks, in order to justify the price they'd need at LEAST 8 houses per park or one park cost considerably less than the other if they can't reach the same amount of content. I would buy a 2 park 2 night pass with the expectation one park is not lesser in content than the other. It'll be impossible to do 16 houses in one night (especially with up to an hour wasted in walk time) but at the same time I'm not going to spend the same kind of money as I do now for only one park that has been reduced/split to 4 houses instead of 8 so that you CAN do everything in one night and get half the value I can currently get with all 8 houses in one place. Nope. 

Then like what they already experience with potter, people will gripe about "I feel soooo pressured to buy a 2 park pass to see everything potter" if they split HHN. 

In order to achieve 2 parks the value needs to be the same in both parks as it is now to justify the price for content. And right now I personally don't think they can make that leap.

I don't really care about creatives reasonings or whatever. But my wallet says no to the idea in the meantime.

Totally agree.  We all know how corporate the event is now and it's a sound business move by them to, quite frankly, force people to visit HHN on multiple nights.  There's just no way to see it all in one night without going all out and using every trick in the book.  It can be done.  But you're also not fully enjoying and taking it all in.  Until they think they've reached maximum revenue return with keeping it in one park as is, expanding back to IOA is on hold.  Just my opinion, mind you.  But to use a hotel term, right now they're chief concern is putting "heads in beds."  Don't get me wrong, they still put on an amazing event.  But I think it's going to explode in the next few years and in a negative way.  They've been on the crest for quite a few years now and a trough is inevitable.

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that is the RIP tour.  More expensive than the normal express, lasts ALL night, and is in limited supply.  You even get right into the rides, and have reserved seating at any shows you choose to watch.  I feel that if you have only one chance to go (like my group this year) and enough cash, this is the way to go!

This is a valid point, but I go to the event alone.  An EP versus the RIP tour allows me autonomy.  I don't even mind that the EP only works once per house.  Full disclosure, I bought two EPs for the first night I'm there, and one for the second, with the expectation that this would allow me to (practically) waltz into each house at least 3 times, and then pick and choose my line wait time through the rest of the night.

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This isn't accurate. They wouldn't need, nor would they ever have 16 houses. Two parks was done with far fewer than 16 houses and while there were complaints about such massive amounts of walking, people still did it.

What I said is accurate.

I said, AS A CONSUMER.

I would not pay double the money to purchase a pass both parks to experience less than what I would with a single park event. It's not happening. If you want me to pay for two park passes at the same or higher price as they cost now the return value needs to be the same or higher.

I'm not paying $110+ per park to get half of what I do now, and be expected to have to purchase the other park ticket to see the rest. 

Edited by MissBA
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IoA isn't really the be-all, end-all anyway.  Putting aside the costs--which would be massive--the streets are too narrow and an entire land (Seuss) is off-limits. Even Marvel, they'd have to tread lightly. Not to mention the hassle of making people walk between parks.

In addition, closing both parks at 5 risks alienating the ever-growing daytime non-HHN crowd.

Realistically, I think a huge rate hike is a more likely option than a 2-park event any time soon.

 

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My opinion, while Uni may be crowded, it's nowhere near ready for a 2 park event anytime soon. This is coming from a consumers (me) standpoint. We've just reached 9 houses (one which is just a repeat). If UniOrl wants to put it in two parks, in order to justify the price they'd need at LEAST 8 houses per park or one park cost considerably less than the other if they can't reach the same amount of content. I would buy a 2 park 2 night pass with the expectation one park is not lesser in content than the other. It'll be impossible to do 16 houses in one night (especially with up to an hour wasted in walk time) but at the same time I'm not going to spend the same kind of money as I do now for only one park that has been reduced/split to 4 houses instead of 8 so that you CAN do everything in one night and get half the value I can currently get with all 8 houses in one place. Nope. 

Then like what they already experience with potter, people will gripe about "I feel soooo pressured to buy a 2 park pass to see everything potter" if they split HHN. 

In order to achieve 2 parks the value needs to be the same in both parks as it is now to justify the price for content. And right now I personally don't think they can make that leap.

I don't really care about creatives reasonings or whatever. But my wallet says no to the idea in the meantime.

When HHN took place in both parks, it was not two separate events and was still only required one ticket. They used the backstage area to connect the parks (and made it a scarezone) so technically speaking, when HHN was taking place, it was only inside "one" park that just happened to spread into two "day time" parks. 

Therefore, it wouldn't need 16 houses with 8 in each park. They could easily put 5 houses in each park because again, technically speaking, you would only be paying for one ticket just like you do now but would have access to both parks WITHOUT having to go through Citywalk to reach the other side. 5 houses, 3 scarezones per side and then one long scarezone in the backstage area that connects the parks would be perfect. It would really help spread out the crowds if they planned house locations and exits well. It would also allow them to keep more rides, shops and restaurants open to spread out the crowds even more. Yes, they would have more expenses with paying more staff to keep more stuff open, but they could then allow even more people into the event. Granted, they haven't sold out an event night yet this year but if things keep going the way they did during opening weekend, its going to happen more this year than in the past I feel. 

As for the people saying they want to keep it packed so you have to attend multiple nights, it is sorta a double edge sword so to speak. If I pay for a single night and can only see 4 of the houses because they each have a 2 hour wait, I would not be a happy customer and would not attend again. Why pay $100 for a single day ticket and then spend most of the night standing in a line not having fun? Now if I payed for a single night and was able to see all the houses because they each had a 30 minute wait, my experience with HHN would be a LOT better. I would then feel like attending again and telling all my friends about it as well. It's to the point this year were they are right on that edge. Come peak nights, if lines get way out of hand, people are not going to be happy and will most likely not return again. While them not returning because of their bad experience is good for other guests (fewer people next year) its horrible business practice.  

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That just bets on if they do decide to revisit the idea, that they won't charge you separate for them though. I can see them trying now. Especially after the HP expansion. You can't just ride the train, see Diagon alley, and then ride back without going into Universal Studios to experience Wizarding world in it's fullest. It's a pretty effective strategy currently to get people to pay to see both sides of the same coin. 

We'll see in the years come what they decide to do to handle the crowds. Whatever it is, it's probably going to come with a price though. 

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Guest kiwisoup

How about instead of more houses, they just do a second duplicate house for the most popular ones? Most soundstages can hold two mazes and the tents are right next to each other... That way instead of just having more lines for people to just stand in and have more on your plate to try and tackle in one night, you'd have more lines to suck up the crowd, wait times would be cut in half, and everything would still be doable. To top it off they'd save some of their time and budget compared to adding more houses. I'd be fine with going back to just 8 houses if they were to do it like that.

Edited by kiwisoup
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I was under the impression that that was just for rides and not houses. At least that's what I remember the site saying.

the RIP tour is this:  you can either go that night and see if any spots are open (and if so, you will get lumped into a not-full group) or you 'buy' a whole 10-person group ahead of time.  Either way, it's roughly $120 per person, plus the price of the HHN event.

what you get:  you get a tour guide, that will walk you up to the front of EVERY house, every ride, and every show.  I am not sure about the 'open' group, but my private group for this Saturday starts at 6:30 and doesn't end till the park closes.  Just to be sure, we asked the guest services manager, and she said that the front of the line deal works ALL night, as often as we want.  From what i hear, You also get free valet parking as well as a private bar that we can go to buy drinks....

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the RIP tour is this:  you can either go that night and see if any spots are open (and if so, you will get lumped into a not-full group) or you 'buy' a whole 10-person group ahead of time.  Either way, it's roughly $120 per person, plus the price of the HHN event.

what you get:  you get a tour guide, that will walk you up to the front of EVERY house, every ride, and every show.  I am not sure about the 'open' group, but my private group for this Saturday starts at 6:30 and doesn't end till the park closes.  Just to be sure, we asked the guest services manager, and she said that the front of the line deal works ALL night, as often as we want.  From what i hear, You also get free valet parking as well as a private bar that we can go to buy drinks....

According to the website this sounds like the private RIP tour, and not the regular RIP tour. There's a big difference. The private tour is 1K+ total compared to the basic RIP which is $139.

Private RIP

 

  • Priority UNLIMITED VIP entry to all haunted houses as well as two (2) regular park attractions while on tour with the RIP Tour Guide
  • Universal ExpressSM ride access to participating regular theme park attractions, with the RIP Tour credential, following the tour (park hours permitting)

Standard RIP

  • Priority VIP entry to all haunted houses (one entry per house)
  • Universal ExpressSM ride access to participating regular theme park attractions, with the RIP Tour credential, following the tour (park hours permitting)

source: http://www.halloweenhorrornights.com/orlando/rip-tours.html

Edited by MissBA
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According to the website this sounds like the private RIP tour, and not the regular RIP tour. There's a big difference. The private tour is 1K+ total compared to the basic RIP which is $139.

Private RIP

 

  • Priority UNLIMITED VIP entry to all haunted houses as well as two (2) regular park attractions while on tour with the RIP Tour Guide
  • Universal ExpressSM ride access to participating regular theme park attractions, with the RIP Tour credential, following the tour (park hours permitting)

Standard RIP

  • Priority VIP entry to all haunted houses (one entry per house)
  • Universal ExpressSM ride access to participating regular theme park attractions, with the RIP Tour credential, following the tour (park hours permitting)

source: http://www.halloweenhorrornights.com/orlando/rip-tours.html

that is correct.  As I said before, it comes out to roughly $120 per person.  The private RIP tour (like the one my party is doing) is indeed a little more than 1k (just under $1200 after taxes and such) And considering that 10 people are in the party, it IS about $120 per person.

as for what the website says:  as I said in my post... We called the guest services manager to make SURE what we were getting.  She said that the website is wrong and we would get front of the line, on everything, ALL night long.  

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All this talk about two parks, and I'm curious how many here have hoofed it from Jurassic Park to Men in Black. It's not easy, and it's definitely not fun.

There is a lot of truth to this for those who didn't experience it in 2004 well it may seem like a good idea 2004 was a beating walking from Spider Man to Beetlejuice.

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There is a lot of truth to this for those who didn't experience it in 2004 well it may seem like a good idea 2004 was a beating walking from Spider Man to Beetlejuice.

 that walk from the toon lagoon amphitheatre(when the bill and Ted show was there) to Deadtropolis was hell. However the freight yard still remains one of my top scarezones.

With all the advancements with the park I doubt that they could do another crossover scarezone. I also miss HHN in IOA dearly I just fear with the crowds it can't be done

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The main issue with both parks is that there's a lot of space. It would certainly help with the lines but they'd need to pack more experience in both parks to make it worth the walk. But, with the money they're making, I feel like it's totally possible.

One of my main complaints of HHN at this point is that you can't go to the event and see everything in one night unless you get the express pass (and have a good time), which has been going up in price year after year. I simply can't afford it anymore, and unfortunately I don't have the luxury of going multiple nights like a lot of people here do. And on top of that the content isn't favorable to me, so there isn't a single pull for me to go. It's too much to just go and have a good time and not cool enough for me to burn a hole in my bank account for it. I definitely see them going to both parks in the near future, simply because the crowds are reaching a point to where there just isn't enough space for them, or enough things to see to occupy them. Also, with the train going to the other park, it seems like a no brainer. Also, depending on how many times you make the look around universal, the distance can't be THAT much different, unless you're going around both parks multiple times in one night.

And before someone goes "You can go and see everything in one night if you try!!!" I've done it, quite a few times. It's not fun. You're running all over the place to see everything. You're just rushing around to make sure you get everything in and not actually ENJOYING it, and having a good time with the people you're with. Plus, most of the time if you're with a group, nobody wants or cares to run around the park at 1am.

Edited by Goo
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OK... so after listening to what Landis said at The Media event this weekend. Just putting two and two together. I think they redid AWIL because he was disappointed in the wolves the first time. I don't know if that is the primary reason. But it seems a lot like they were trying to recoup. Landis stated that he was very surprised they wanted to bring it back (exactly the same) but, if they do, they had to improve the wolves.

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OK... so after listening to what Landis said at The Media event this weekend. Just putting two and two together. I think they redid AWIL because he was disappointed in the wolves the first time. I don't know if that is the primary reason. But it seems a lot like they were trying to recoup. Landis stated that he was very surprised they wanted to bring it back (exactly the same) but, if they do, they had to improve the wolves.

What I find weird is that Landis thought our event here in Hollywood nailed the wolves. I loved our maze, but from videos your guys' puppets seemed so much more fluid and realistic. 

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What worries me is that since they brought AWIL exactly the same whats to say they wont start doing that with other properties?

That has been my concern since they did so... BUT if they were to keep 9 houses and bring back a carbon copy of the greatest houses of the past (with tweaks) I'd be OK with this. There are so many houses I wish I could relive. Hallow, ScaryTales III, Frghtanic, Scream house, Blood N' Gutz, Leave It to Cleaver, Nightingales, Dead silence, PS:HFTH, Hellgate, etc. I would think though we need at least a 5 year limit on the reboot. Also some of those i just mentioned, as great as they were, I would probably just want a sequel.

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That has been my concern since they did so... BUT if they were to keep 9 houses and bring back a carbon copy of the greatest houses of the past (with tweaks) I'd be OK with this. There are so many houses I wish I could relive. Hallow, ScaryTales III, Frghtanic, Scream house, Blood N' Gutz, Leave It to Cleaver, Nightingales, Dead silence, PS:HFTH, Hellgate, etc. I would think though we need at least a 5 year limit on the reboot. Also some of those i just mentioned, as great as they were, I would probably just want a sequel.

^This

But yeah, if they are feeling cheap, tweaked versions of OLDER houses with a minimum of five year gaps between would be great.

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