Halloween Horror Nights 33 (UOR) - Speculation & Rumors

[Eckert]

Wait till next year when the Epic Universe boom happens and the year has IPs the GP is actually excited about (I'm looking at you, Five Nights at Freddy's)!

 

[Lucky Planet]

It’s different for everyone. I went through Disorientium once and still remember scenes from it.

I also think it’s flawed (and not very fun!) to prioritize your memory of an experience rather than just enjoying the experience itself. I remember very little of the details of all the Horror Nights houses I’ve been through, but I remember I had a great time.

one thing I was going to say was that the memories are not only about the sets or the costumes, but the guest experiences, because some of the funniest moments in hhn is seeing other people get scared, one time a group of 6 guys started crying in the collectors house lol.
or is funny when a guy hides behind the girlfriend. little things like that.
or see an actor do something unique, or see something different, see them improvise a scare. or see the house completely alone,
I did hell block alone and there weren't even actors in it ( it was an added extra day that had very short staff) I will never forget that experience. I was the only guest in the house and there were only like 3 actors in the entire house. sounds kind of dumb, but it was so weird.

that's kind of the memories I meant, the guests around me are kind of half the fun,

 

[Rikku]

So I have some friends who missed out on the FFP+Express is the move for them to get the non-express version and upgrade to express IF it reopens back up? I know no one “knows” but just curious what the thought is for those still trying. I was thinking buy non-Express version and try to upgrade if it opens up then if not buy Express individually on busy nights a few days before as I can’t imagine that single night Express will also sell out in similar fashion.

 

[johnathanm]

So I have some friends who missed out on the FFP+Express is the move for them to get the non-express version and upgrade to express IF it reopens back up? I know no one “knows” but just curious what the thought is for those still trying. I was thinking buy non-Express version and try to upgrade if it opens up then if not buy Express individually on busy nights a few days before as I can’t imagine that single night Express will also sell out in similar fashion.

This is the route I went. Bought non-express in hopes of an upgrade. Was no issue upgrading last year (wasn’t sure at first if I wanted to eat the added expense), so if they open back up I would suspect the same. That said, this quick a sellout is unprecedented, so hard to tell what past reference points carry over.

 

[Alicia]

So I have some friends who missed out on the FFP+Express is the move for them to get the non-express version and upgrade to express IF it reopens back up? I know no one “knows” but just curious what the thought is for those still trying. I was thinking buy non-Express version and try to upgrade if it opens up then if not buy Express individually on busy nights a few days before as I can’t imagine that single night Express will also sell out in similar fashion.

I would definitely attempt to secure at least the non express version so you have your entry, and then upgrade if available or get express the night you know you’ll be there the entire time. But that’s me.

 

[Rikku]

Thank you! @Alicia and @johnathanm

 

[Midnight Detective]

Looking forward to meeting some of you guys in the poverty line. Welcome aboard!

 

[theuberguberman]

yes and the fact that they're short-lived, fleeting experiences is part of what makes them special. obviously y'all do what makes you happy, but I agree that mainlining these 5-minute haunted houses over and over again makes the experience less enjoyable and less special.

I personally like doing the houses more than twice, but it isn't like I can do them a ton when I only go three nights. I don't find stay and scream to be worth my time/the heat, but we do close out the event every night we go. Last year, there was almost never a line for Darkest Deal. It started as one of our top two houses, and after we went through it so many times (because no line so why not), it ended up in my bottom few houses. It just didn't feel special anymore. So I'm not sure where my cap is for when runs become less special, but I definitely found I have one lol

Also, speaking on the express/no express stuff:
Because we only go three days, FF+express isn't cost effective for us. We do FF to attend for a Sun, Wed, and Thurs, and we do single-night express that Wed. I think even without doing stay and scream, we did around 6-8 houses on Sunday and Thursday last year without express anyways, plus Nightmare Fuel once and time for food/drinks. And we don't tend to get in lines over an hour long (so some of the very popular IPs we may not hit more than 1-2 times). It's always a great time!

Edit: We also do the 6 house unmasking tour Thursday during the day, so we run those houses again Thursday night to see the effects they taught us about in their full glory. We just really love learning how the stuff is done and why, so it's like looking at totally new houses when we go on Thursday

 

[SeventyOne]

This is the route I went. Bought non-express in hopes of an upgrade. Was no issue upgrading last year (wasn’t sure at first if I wanted to eat the added expense), so if they open back up I would suspect the same. That said, this quick a sellout is unprecedented, so hard to tell what past reference points carry over.

Anecdotally, you're far from the only one, I'd be ready to pounce if it happens.

 

[TheCodeMan95]

Has anyone ever successfully upgraded from 2 single night tickets to 1 multi-night ticket?

Obviously this year is clearly different, but I'm curious to see if that could be done. With ROF not increasing at ALL, it would be about.. $15 to upgrade lol

 

[UniversalRBLX]

To each their own, but the quality of work each year for every house deserves multi-repeats if your able to. As someone who questions "how do they do it", I like to get as many repeats as I can just to see house designs and how it evolves.

Also, regarding HHN being a "hang out" spot in the zones, while part of the issue is with influencers and guests wanting to be seen, you also have to (I hate saying this) put a good amount of blame at HHN for allowing it. I know they've become stricter with actor interactions, but zones like Vamp'69 and Oddfellow last year encourage it. Loved Vamp'69, but a "fun" colorful zone with great music will always draw a crowd that just wants to hangout.

While I agree the single-day tickets are critical (although I still think that's more locals than out-of-towners, even today), anyone dropping $1100 on a 2-month theme park ticket is a "whale." They're buying a ton of merch, every variant probably. They're buying all the themed food and drinks. You need to let them give you money; otherwise, you turn into Disney.

Yup - they're the ones that show up at the tribute store ready to buy multiple shirts, pins, lanyards, etc., and then want to try all of the F&B options.

Fair.

I think the real issue is not saying that there will be limited quantities. I'm glad they are treating Express like the luxury it should be, but a heads up would've been a better pill to swallow.

Yes, not against limiting Express w/ FF (all for complete removal), but they also need to give a heads up on when they are released.

 

[johnathanm]

I personally like doing the houses more than twice, but it isn't like I can do them a ton when I only go three nights. I don't find stay and scream to be worth my time/the heat, but we do close out the event every night we go. Last year, there was almost never a line for Darkest Deal. It started as one of our top two houses, and after we went through it so many times (because no line so why not), it ended up in my bottom few houses. It just didn't feel special anymore. So I'm not sure where my cap is for when runs become less special, but I definitely found I have one lol

Also, speaking on the express/no express stuff:
Because we only go three days, FF+express isn't cost effective for us. We do FF to attend for a Sun, Wed, and Thurs, and we do single-night express that Wed. I think even without doing stay and scream, we did around 6-8 houses on Sunday and Thursday last year without express anyways, plus Nightmare Fuel once and time for food/drinks. And we don't tend to get in lines over an hour long (so some of the very popular IPs we may not hit more than 1-2 times). It's always a great time!

Edit: We also do the 6 house unmasking tour Thursday during the day, so we run those houses again Thursday night to see the effects they taught us about in their full glory. We just really love learning how the stuff is done and why, so it's like looking at totally new houses when we go on Thursday

This is interesting. There’s definitely a point of diminishing returns for me. I find many runs over the course of the event (often with weeks in between) to be valuable. But I have a younger brother new to HHN who asked us to run Darkest Deal 4/5 times given no wait bc he loved it so much. I was ready to call it after 2.

Makes me wonder how the vloggers with hundreds of runs don’t burn out. But to each their own.

 

[Parkscope Joe]

It’s different for everyone. I went through Disorientium once and still remember scenes from it.

Yup! I’m the total opposite! Makes the world go round

 

[Grabnar]

I'm personally a 3x person.

1x going in blind
1x Lights on tour
1x After the tour

If I have time I *may* go see my favorite(s) 1 more time, but usually I'm done after that. Last year I did Chucky 2x with the Lights On tour and was already tired of it and never wanted to see it again.

 

[jarmor]

Rush of Fear didn’t go up at all. Regular passes went up a little.

Which begs the question, was ROF the problem??

 

[Jake S]

Has anyone ever successfully upgraded from 2 single night tickets to 1 multi-night ticket?

Obviously this year is clearly different, but I'm curious to see if that could be done. With ROF not increasing at ALL, it would be about.. $15 to upgrade lol

As with a lot of this stuff, it really can’t hurt to ring them up and ask.

 

[IzzyB]

One things for certain… next year everyone will panic buy these passes at once and sell them out instantly. Maybe even crash the site. It just seems like really bad decision making on their part of how they’re handling this. Stopping sales out of the blue last year, caused lots of people including myself to buy the passes immediately this go around, & now this happens. Imagine the chaos next year. Even if they come back this year, they’ll be panic buying then as well.

I do get that they are trying to fix overcrowding of the express lines, but stopping sales mere hours after they go on sale with no warning, there’s gotta be a better way to go about that. The amount of people in the community that didn’t get them is crazy. Maybe all us hardcore fans and locals aren’t their biggest money maker but I’d still argue that keeping their fan base happy should mean something?

I thought last year things didn't stop selling until the season actually began? If that is the case, I don't think that would cause the sell out now. I think Universal is trying to solve an issue. They clearly raised the express passes up way more than the non-express and they limited them all. There is an issue they are trying to solve not cause panic buying. We all complain about certain aspects, but now they are trying to solve some of those things and we also complain.

unfortunately that's how all concerts go.
you only have a certain amount of seats or space and once it's gone it's gone
same here. it's like that Taylor Swift concert stuff. tickets sell out quick.
it is similar here

as for keeping locals happy, other people might say "how about you keep out of towners happy? they spend so much money"

I agree, I think one night ticket holders probably complain a lot and don't return. Maybe they are seeing a trend on their end where multi-night was increasing, single night not at all, and this is ausing F&B to be less. Maybe the October is because of multi-night being down. By lowering the number of people with express you would decrease the stand-by wait giving those single ticket holders a better run allowing them to sell more of them which they are the ones probably spending the most money in that single night.

Fair.

I think the real issue is not saying that there will be limited quantities. I'm glad they are treating Express like the luxury it should be, but a heads up would've been a better pill to swallow.

Agreed. I think a better release of tickets to everyone at once instead of it showing up on the website and people finding it and also in that release saying quantities of Express passes will be limited. That s honestly the only thing I could see they do differently, because honestly what they did was a little brilliant in my eyes. It gets less people who are going thru these houses too many times clogging up the lines for everyone else.

Wow, HHN went and speedran becoming SDCC this year lol.

Honestly, I was wrong about everything. I didn't think they'd raise prices that much, but they have a clear sign that it doesn't even matter; the demand is there and they will sell out, regardless of price. They probably have 30-40% more room to increase prices, and that's an enviable, Disney-status place to be and they should take advantage of it. My only lament is that it really does increasingly price people out of the event (as people here have noted) and that does make me a little sad for less economically advantaged fans. :/

But one ticket didn't even go up. It was the top tier that no one without money wasn't already buying. If you are on a budget you are not buying express anyways.

Wait till next year when the Epic Universe boom happens and the year has IPs the GP is actually excited about (I'm looking at you, Five Nights at Freddy's)!

Everyone has complained about this line up, yet all the HHN super fans still purchased causing the sell out. So clearly IP doesn't matter.

 

[TheCodeMan95]

As with a lot of this stuff, it really can’t hurt to ring them up and ask.

Yeah that was my plan - just wanted to check in to see if anyone had actually done it before I inevitably sit on hold lol

Everyone has complained about this line up, yet all the HHN super fans still purchased causing the sell out. So clearly IP doesn't matter.

Yeah - we are absolutely at the point that HHN itself is the draw. Depending on how this year shakes out, I'm curious to see how they handle IPs moving forward.

 

[ssirin88]

Law of diminishing returns is very much a thing. In the past years, house runs 4 and up are just me enjoying other people getting scared. Exorcist house last year was awesome for this.

Now that I'm only going once this year, I know I'll have to appreciate each run and hopefully don't get shafted with a cast change lol.

 

[TheCodeMan95]

Law of diminishing returns is very much a thing. In the past years, house runs 4 and up are just me enjoying other people getting scared. Exorcist house last year was awesome for this.

Now that I'm only going once this year, I know I'll have to appreciate each run and hopefully don't get shafted with a cast change lol.

This is why I always like to do multiple runs. The odds of having a cast change on your ONE runthrough are too high lol