SeventyOne
Platinum Member
A 2nd stage show is 100% needed next year - Nightmare Fuel is at or near capacity for most of its shows. The houses are full as well, HHN will need to figure something out for next year and ticket price increases obviously didn't do much. No free parking until 12 didn't do much either.
Not saying Ghoulish would have solved everything, but it was a 5x a night people-eater. Failure of human error, not planning. That said, a seated show in Bourne or a soundstage would help with crowds, and also give guests a place to sit for an hour. Thing I've noticed this year is every bench, curb, wall and patch of open ground is constantly in use with people sitting.
I disagree with your premise that ticket prices were meaningfully changed. Increases were primarily on Express. While I'm open to new ideas like weekly passes, basic FF and RoF need to be priced significantly higher than 2 nights of tickets. Ultimately, multi-night tickets without Express need to be more in line price-wise with the current with-Express prices.
Some of you will hate me for saying this, but HHN needs a minimum of 4 popular/somewhat known IPs to do a better job spreading the crowds. We really only have 2.5 IPs this year (I feel Blumhouse is a constant 90+ min wait due to its location, not the IP utilized).
I think Blumhouse actually a top two draw with Halloween based on wait times and historic popularity of houses, but otherwise agree. It seems obvious Parade 2 with its 4-hour queue was originally supposed to be Stranger Things, which would've been a perfect back-of-the-park weenie.