Halloween Horror Nights '19 General Discussion

[HZorrorLover1974]

can't wait for tonight!

 

[DTH]

You either gotta get a FOL option or plan on going multiple nights if you want to do HHN right. That’s always been my philosophy and it seems like it goes double this year.

Probably getting tickets this weekend and I think we’ve decided on just doing the frequent fear pass and going like three or four times. Should be worth it with our free parking.

I've been going since 2007 and have hit every maze every single time I've ever gone without the need of FOL or a pass. Just gotta gameplan it right and do Early Entry. Even before Early Entry, still was able to manage. My only worry is without Terror Tram, there's not a crowd absorber and that the peaks and valleys of line waits won't change as much.

 

[viking_wizard_eyes]

I've been going since 2007 and have hit every maze every single time I've ever gone without the need of FOL or a pass. Just gotta gameplan it right and do Early Entry. Even before Early Entry, still was able to manage. My only worry is without Terror Tram, there's not a crowd absorber and that the peaks and valleys of line waits won't change as much.

Fair enough! I just think having FOL and/or the ability to attend more than once without any additional ticket cost is better than needing a game plan. Removes a lot of stress and opens you up to enjoying the event more naturally. You can go with the flow, rather than stick to a strict schedule that you can't actually control—like sometimes the fire alarm goes off in ST and all of a sudden your game plan is screwed.

Yep, it costs more, but it's worth it in the end.

 

[GhostHost85]

Not having early entry and Stranger Things being closed at opening really screwed up crowd flow. I was able to do everything once though by starting at Ghostbusters. I got in line for Stranger Things 2 at about 1245am and only waited about 15 minutes. I was able to do Killer Klowns twice since it had almost no wait around 1230am. I didn't stop to eat anything and didn't do any rides during the Horror Nights hours and was just barely able to do all of that.

There was an extremely long period of time where the Pandora's Box line didn't move. I am guessing because they were escorting some celebrity through.

 

[quinnmac000]

Not sure if this has posted...but you can thank Murdy for his connection to Jason Reitman for getting Ghostbusters and Jordan Peele personally asked for a house and all the costumes used in the house are the ones used on set.

Meet The Man Who Turns Multimillion-Dollar IPs Into Halloween Horror Reality

 

[Ridesandstuff]

Not sure if this has posted...but you can thank Murdy for his connection to Jason Reitman for getting Ghostbusters and Jordan Peele personally asked for a house and all the costumes used in the house are the ones used on set.

Meet The Man Who Turns Multimillion-Dollar IPs Into Halloween Horror Reality

Thats exciting! I'd love to see him involved with the event in the future.

 

[k_peek_2000]

I haven't seen it posted anywhere but here's the panel with Slash, Eli Roth and Greg Nicotero. Somebody must not have warned them about swearing because there are multiple F-bombs dropped. But that's what happens when you pair up the three lol

 

[Guygas]

Anyone know if its sold out tonight, been keeping tabs on the wait times in the app and they're ridiculously high for the most part.

 

[Brian G.]

Anyone know if its sold out tonight, been keeping tabs on the wait times in the app and they're ridiculously high for the most part.

It’s crazy busy. #PrayforBrian

And yes it is.

 

[Ron101]

200min for Ghostbusters and 180min for Us! 120min for Jurassic World! Can’t even imagine the crowds during the October weekends!:afraid:

 

[DTH]

There's more updates in the Game Plan thread on lines and such.
Pandora is now at 2 hours for the first time. Every maze is at least an hour. It's insane. The shortest right now is Holidayz at 55.

 

[Ron101]

Is it always like this opening weekend? I feel like this year will be the craziest due to the heavy hitting IPs.

 

[foodstampsFTW]

You should pray for me as well I just waited over 2 hours for US and my body hurts.

 

[viking_wizard_eyes]

Oooof. Is this the year I finally spring for the ultimate fear pass? Things usually just get get busier from here.

 

[rageofthegods]

On the one hand: yay! the event is growing! Supposedly, they went over budget this year, so maybe it'll be such a success this year that we get an even bigger budget!

On the other hand: 2 hours for Jurassic World is insane. Three hours for Us? Will we see four hour waits for GB and Stranger things?

 

[foodstampsFTW]

So I know I advocated for shorter early entry like a week ago, but I’ll eat the crow, they need to change the hours like now. I got 3 houses done in 6 hours, and still haven’t been through pandora. The last time it was this crowded was opening weekend 2016, after that weekend was when they introduced 5:00 pm early entry btw.

 

[Spookies n' Stuff]

So I know I advocated for shorter early entry like a week ago, but I’ll eat the crow, they need to change the hours like now. I got 3 houses done in 6 hours, and still haven’t been through pandora. The last time it was this crowded was opening weekend 2016, after that weekend was when they introduced 5:00 pm early entry btw.

The crowd for ST immediately at 6 was insane, hit 70 minutes right away, and if you weren’t at the head of the charge there was no way you were getting to GB before it got too busy, really hoping stuff dies down from here on out, cuz Im not a fan of horror nights with 27k people present

 

[HydraGen2299]

Ok so seeing tonight’s wait times on the app definitely scared me. Is it possible to upgrade my ticket to FOL or is it too late? And how does FOL work? Do I have to wait time outside of the line like a fast pass? I’ve never used it

 

[Spookies n' Stuff]

Ok so seeing tonight’s wait times on the app definitely scared me. Is it possible to upgrade my ticket to FOL or is it too late? And how does FOL work? Do I have to wait time outside of the line like a fast pass? I’ve never used it

You can upgrade inside the park at the big tower at universal plaza and maybe even at guest services for a pretty hefty fee, but it works fine if you only want to skip the lines once, as the way it works is you can go into the express lane for all the mazes in the park, and it will get you a majorly lower wait time, (tonight a friend managed to turn a 150 min wait for Us into a 15 min one with express), but it is a one time use per maze, meaning after you've used express for a maze you cant use it at that maze again, unless you get unlimited express which is much more expensive. There aren't really any time or reservation requirements, you just walk up through the express line of each maze as you please.

 

[DTH]

If I were to guess, tonight's attendance was due not only because it's the first night for major fans (at least the ones who missed out on Fan Preview because of school or work in the morning, or whatever), but also because it's Friday the 13th and ALSO a full moon. Social Media has been anticipating this (and Spooky Season in general, at least moreso than most years) for a week or so now, so HHN was probably on a lot of GP's minds earlier than usual.
If I were to guess, things will die down tomorrow and Sunday. Or at least I genuinely hope so. Or else this year is going to suck from an operations standpoint.
Another thing is Stranger Things Season 3 is in the current lexicon of things being talked about at the water cooler, even since its premiere July 4th. People are still catching up by the end of summer and sharing their thoughts, so the hype for ST is at its absolute peak.