Halloween Horror Nights 34 (UOR) - Speculation & Rumors

[HHNIcon]

I haven't really thought about it, but the closure of HRRR could legitimately factor into this. I've never even gone over there during HHN, but it always seems to draw a decent line during the night.

I feel like the lagoon show could with this problem

 

[UniversalRBLX]

I feel like the lagoon show could with this problem

Partially, but even with RockIt online HHN needs additional capacity (whether its additional shows or houses).

 

[saint.piss]

I feel like the lagoon show could with this problem

I agree that the show will help, but it's not the full solution imo. 1-2 more houses, an additional show on top of having the Lagoon show + NF (or whatever they put in the FFL location) and a few more rides being open (E.T, Minions, Transformers, etc) is what they need to do. It's a lot but it would help so much with the crowds. At that point it would become a multi day event though.

 

[LPCaptainDeath]

I agree that the show will help, but it's not the full solution imo. 1-2 more houses, an additional show on top of having the Lagoon show + NF (or whatever they put in the FFL location) and a few more rides being open (E.T, Minions, Transformers, etc) is what they need to do. It's a lot but it would help so much with the crowds. At that point it would become a multi day event though.

I know it sounds like an ops nightmare to have more stuff open, but with HRRR closing i concur that 1 more house and 2/3 more rides open would be the only way to combat this so that the influx of people who were going to do that instead get spread out over 1 to 4 other options, be it house/show/ride.

Not that i personally think the HHN crowd would be riding MINIONS in droves, by any means. lol It's something! And i can't claim it wouldn't help at all, being RIGHT NEXT to HRRR.

 

[UniversalRBLX]

I know it sounds like an ops nightmare to have more stuff open, but with HRRR closing i concur that 1 more house and 2/3 more rides open would be the only way to combat this so that the influx of people who were going to do that instead get spread out over 1 to 4 other options, be it house/show/ride.

Not that i personally think the HHN crowd would be riding MINIONS in droves, by any means. lol It's something! And i can't claim it wouldn't help at all, being RIGHT NEXT to HRRR.

Minions wouldn't move the needle, but Simpsons and ET could just a bit.

 

[TheCodeMan95]

I know it sounds like an ops nightmare to have more stuff open, but with HRRR closing i concur that 1 more house and 2/3 more rides open would be the only way to combat this so that the influx of people who were going to do that instead get spread out over 1 to 4 other options, be it house/show/ride.

Not that i personally think the HHN crowd would be riding MINIONS in droves, by any means. lol It's something! And i can't claim it wouldn't help at all, being RIGHT NEXT to HRRR.

It's been beaten to death, but I think the best bets for "other" things to open during the event would be ET, Transformers and Horror Makeup Show.

 

[Neo]

I don't think there's much of a way to do anything with the crowds unless they add multiple shows like others have said. There are really no attractions left that would swallow any crowds:

• Despicable Me - too Kiddie.
• Minion Blast - lines are never longer than 15min when I go (but I LOVE it and would do it a bunch of times a night!).
• Jimmy Fallon - queue used for HHN.
• Fast & Furious - queue used for HHN and nobody would care anyway.
• Simpsons and Hurl & Twirl - nobody cares.
• Trollercoaster - too kiddie.
• ET - if not for the pre-show, is always a walk on during the day in Sept.
• Transformers - was never longer than 15min wait when it was open for HHN.
• Horror Makeup Show - such a small venue and so much time between shows, would this really even be a blip on the wait times?
• Bourne - too specialized of a stunt show, so few employees that you can't expect them to find time to work until 2am or do the required training for seasonal staff to pull off the show. I always laugh at the suggestion of this being open during the event.

That's off the top of my head, sure I missed something.

The ONLY way I could see any existing attractions eating up lines would be to close Islands at 7pm on event nights, then open up a walkway between the two parks (like back in the 2 park days) at 8pm, aka start of peak time, and put up barriers that allow guests to do Velocicoaster and Hagrids at night but not go anywhere else. Those are the only two attractions at either park, that are currently not being used for the event, that could possibly eat up a significant number of people. I've been going to HHN for almost 20 years, and live out of state and only really go to Universal once a year (for a week). I would take hours out of a few nights to go to Islands and do those two rides in the dark.

Maybe put an area of special food and drink booths (items exclusive to those locations) in Lost Continent to eat up more crowd. Some kind of party hub.

Would they ever do it? I very much doubt it. But if they were serious (or even cared) about the crowds, that's the only way I see additional attractions helping. Even adding two houses gives me doubts as there will always be several houses most people don't care about so I don't see "adding 20% more houses will reduce lines and/or street crowding by 20%" as a viable solution.

------------

EDITED to clean up some text and wanted to add that it's nearly impossible to do 10 houses a night now without express (yes, I know people can and provide their gameplan), but with that being the case adding 2 more houses just means people have to make more choices about what to do and don't see it making any difference in terms of crowds or lines.

 

[UniversalRBLX]

• Simpsons and Hurl & Twirl - nobody cares.
• ET - if not for the pre-show, is always a walk on during the day in Sept.
• Transformers - was never longer than 15min wait when it was open for HHN.
• Horror Makeup Show - such a small venue and so much time between shows, would this really even be a blip on the wait times?
• Bourne - too specialized of a stunt show, so few employees that you can't expect them to find time to work until 2am or do the required training for seasonal staff to pull off the show. I always laugh at the suggestion of this being open during the event.

ET & Simpsons - could move people away from the hot spots of NY & MIB, so I'd like to see them try. Unfortunately, they are older ride systems that maintenance might prevent them from operating past a certain time.

Transformers - It's an awkward location unfortunately

Horror Makeup Show - it can handle ~600 people a show and they can run shows far closer to each showtime than they do now during normal ops. I've mentioned they can use this space for a different, yet similar, show. Definitely doable.

Bourne - They shouldn't run Bourne, but they should utilize the theater for something. You can display anything on the screen and roll out an assortment of temporary stage props overnight like they do for the scare zones.

---
As wild as this sounds, HHN isn't necessarily fully crowded, just lopsided towards the Fallon corner of NY and World Expo.

Outside NY, San Fran and World Expo, HHN is fairly empty. Even this past year the central park zone was decent crowd-wise. They really need something to draw folks towards the Hollywood/DreamWorks side of the park.

 

[Grabnar]

Even this past year the central park zone was decent crowd-wise. They really need something to draw folks towards the Hollywood/DreamWorks side of the park.

Tbh I think they need to add something along the lagoon if they're not going to turn it into a show. I usually grab food and go eat down there because there's just NOTHING going on and no one there. Even if they just add some temporary tables to encourage people to spread out and use that space to rest it would be a better use of space.

Horror make-up show and La Bamba are used for RIP tour stuff which is a huge cash cow, they won't touch that space.

 

[LPCaptainDeath]

ET & Simpsons - could move people away from the hot spots of NY & MIB, so I'd like to see them try. Unfortunately, they are older ride systems that maintenance might prevent them from operating past a certain time.

Transformers - It's an awkward location unfortunately

Horror Makeup Show - it can handle ~600 people a show and they can run shows far closer to each showtime than they do now during normal ops. I've mentioned they can use this space for a different, yet similar, show. Definitely doable.

Bourne - They shouldn't run Bourne, but they should utilize the theater for something. You can display anything on the screen and roll out an assortment of temporary stage props overnight like they do for the scare zones.

---
As wild as this sounds, HHN isn't necessarily fully crowded, just lopsided towards the Fallon corner of NY and World Expo.

Outside NY, San Fran and World Expo, HHN is fairly empty. Even this past year the central park zone was decent crowd-wise. They really need something to draw folks towards the Hollywood/DreamWorks side of the park.

E.T. : EXTRA-TERROR-ESTRIAL
If you thought this ride was scary before, wait til you see it now!
All the lights in the queue and ride have been turned off and the music has been replaced with the sinister stylings of Grammy award winning artist SLASH.
Let's see if you can help E.T. escape the woods and get back to his planet, before it's too late to phone home.
*guitar riff*

 

[ladiesman217]

E.T. : EXTRA-TERROR-ESTRIAL
If you thought this ride was scary before, wait til you see it now!
All the lights in the queue and ride have been turned off and the music has been replaced with the sinister stylings of Grammy award winning artist SLASH.
Let's see if you can help E.T. escape the woods and get back to his planet, before it's too late to phone home.
*guitar riff*

This sounds like something Uni would've done before the Potter days.

 

[UniversalRBLX]

Tbh I think they need to add something along the lagoon if they're not going to turn it into a show. I usually grab food and go eat down there because there's just NOTHING going on and no one there. Even if they just add some temporary tables to encourage people to spread out and use that space to rest it would be a better use of space.

Horror make-up show and La Bamba are used for RIP tour stuff which is a huge cash cow, they won't touch that space.

While I'd agree, I don't think VIP tours should stop HHN from using spaces like Horror Makeup. There's still a lot of available space in the park that can be utilized by them that isn't used by HHN yet (all of DreamWorks, including the Imagination Celebration theater), Animal Actors theater and Brown Derby (if they want to put a bar in there or small VIP lounge).

I just think something of significant weight needs to be featured in the Hollywood/CP/DreamWorks side of the park.

 

[Mashmingingmasher77]

So, just watched the Gorge on Apple TV. Wow! Do yourself a favor if you can and watch it. Great original monsters/scenes that could make a great house. I was shocked how well done it was. Unfortunately I don’t think too many Apple Originals get houses.

 

[Acandrews12]

it's nearly impossible to do 10 houses a night now without express (yes, I know people can and provide their gameplan), but with that being the case adding 2 more houses just means people have to make more choices about what to do

Two years ago, I would have agreed with you. Due to a sickness in the family, my two night trip was shortened to one night. I did all 10 (technically 10.5 with both endings of Dueling Dragons). But I was exhausted and took me open to close.

Last year, I was able to do 6 houses in the first hour and a half. I did Stay & Scream for Goblin’s Feast and Universal Monsters since they opened early. That put me in the park at opening. So I ran over and did SS2 and The Museum. They were both basically walk ins. Then I ran over and did Major Sweets with about a 15 minute wait. Ended it with Triplets of Terror at 45 minutes.

So if they do what they did last year with the phased openings, I think it’s certainly possible to do them all without Express.

 

[Neo]

Two years ago, I would have agreed with you. Due to a sickness in the family, my two night trip was shortened to one night. I did all 10 (technically 10.5 with both endings of Dueling Dragons). But I was exhausted and took me open to close.

Last year, I was able to do 6 houses in the first hour and a half. I did Stay & Scream for Goblin’s Feast and Universal Monsters since they opened early. That put me in the park at opening. So I ran over and did SS2 and The Museum. They were both basically walk ins. Then I ran over and did Major Sweets with about a 15 minute wait. Ended it with Triplets of Terror at 45 minutes.

So if they do what they did last year with the phased openings, I think it’s certainly possible to do them all without Express.

Good point. I really should have given some more details in my already too long post

We've gone the last week of September with the ROF pass since it came out...like so many other people. Last year, with the event starting in August, the pass surprised everybody by not covering the last 3 or 4 event dates in Sept. We scrambled to move up our trip by week and I think a lot of others did that as well. The crowds were INSANE. I think it was 2 weeks worth of out of towners crammed into that one week coupled with any locals who bought the pass trying to get the most out of it for the last few days it was valid.

Waiting in line 45min for Nightmare Fuel didn't even guarantee you'd get in and some people waited in line up to 2 hours from what we heard. The bar with the scareactors never had lines more than 3 people long, but the other bar by Transformers always had lines out to the street and it was a 30min wait. People were getting turned away from the NY Stay & Scream because it was at capacity. The Tribute Store was a conga line to go through it and the check out line started halfway through. If you shopped through the whole store, it was nearly impossible to work your way back to the beginning of the checkout line.

Hopefully that insanity was a one-time-thing based on my guesses of the cause. I was shocked, jealous, and a little mad to see people at the end of the event posting about how there were no crowds in late October.

 

[TheCodeMan95]

It's anecdotal obviously - but during our trip last year (first week of September), ET routinely had 30+ minute waits during the day. Obviously it's not a guarantee that would happen during HHN, but I think it could definitely provide SOMETHING to the event.

And it's been beaten to death numerous times, but a more "adult" Horror Makeup show could really work I think. I know the theater only holds around 600 people, but they could easily run a show every hour I think.

 

[Lucky Planet]

I feel like the lagoon show could with this problem

there were some nights where the lagoon show area felt kinda empty while the show was going on, or people leaving half way, ( I'm sure it was super crowded on different times, but not always)
but HRRR had almost 2 hours waits most nights, and the lagoon show is so short in length as well, with only a few showings per night,
the lagoon could help but only a little bit.

I know it sounds like an ops nightmare to have more stuff open, but with HRRR closing i concur that 1 more house and 2/3 more rides open would be the only way to combat this so that the influx of people who were going to do that instead get spread out over 1 to 4 other options, be it house/show/ride.

Not that i personally think the HHN crowd would beq riding MINIONS in droves, by any means. lol It's something! And i can't claim it wouldn't help at all, being RIGHT NEXT to HRRR.

Minions wouldn't move the needle, but Simpsons and ET could just a bit.

It's anecdotal obviously - but during our trip last year (first week of September), ET routinely had 30+ minute waits during the day. Obviously it's not a guarantee that would happen during HHN, but I think it could definitely provide SOMETHING to the event.

And it's been beaten to death numerous times, but a more "adult" Horror Makeup show could really work I think. I know the theater only holds around 600 people, but they could easily run a show every hour I think.

rides could help but their lines during hhn are ever that long, Simpsons line never got that long during hhn. transformers line never got that long, only the Potter ride and mummy had long lines. but I don't remember the other rides being that long in wait.

for it to bring a lot of people it needs to be something "new". or different.
add actors in the ET queue area or make a new Halloween video for Simpsons (I know that's never gonna happen) or do a new version of the horror make up show, or a new show on the Bourne stage,

but HRRR has such a huge monster - size line problem that is going to cause a big problem when it's closed, even if you had et and Simpsons and minions all open during hhn, it wouldn't be enough to make up for HRRR,

 

[Mashmingingmasher77]

It's anecdotal obviously - but during our trip last year (first week of September), ET routinely had 30+ minute waits during the day. Obviously it's not a guarantee that would happen during HHN, but I think it could definitely provide SOMETHING to the event.

And it's been beaten to death numerous times, but a more "adult" Horror Makeup show could really work I think. I know the theater only holds around 600 people, but they could easily run a show every hour I think.

I agree on the show. Edit it to make it special during HHN and shorten it a little to run every 45min-1hr. I would check it out for sure assuming I have time for all houses.

 

[TheCodeMan95]

I agree on the show. Edit it to make it special during HHN and shorten it a little to run every 45min-1hr. I would check it out for sure assuming I have time for all houses.

It would also provide an air-conditioned indoor space lol. I think it would definitely draw people in.

I am curious to see when they establish HRRR's closing date - and if they'd possibly consider pushing it to after HHN.

 

[UniversalRBLX]

I agree on the show. Edit it to make it special during HHN and shorten it a little to run every 45min-1hr. I would check it out for sure assuming I have time for all houses.

Horror Makeup is currently a solid ~25/30 minute long show. You can easily start the show every 45 minutes with a 15 minute pause between shows for load and unload. (They don't start loading HNF until 15-20 mins prior to showtime, so it's certainly doable). Cut off the video segments and you have a solid 20 minutes of showtime.

Starting at 7PM, you can run approx. 8 shows a night for a total capacity of 5.1K guests a night (~640 cap. a show). Rotate cast every other show, just like a house.

This isn't the entire solution, but it's a start.