Official 2023 Halloween Horror Nights 32 (Orlando)

[macraven]

Do you have the employees name that gave you the original info?

Suggest you call and ask to talk with a supervisor.

Universal will work with you on clearing up the issue.

 

[duder92]

We went to HHN for the first time on Friday, 10/20 and had a blast. We lined up at the resort entrance at around 5:30, we were escorted in and placed in front of the main iron gates at 6pm and let in with the masses at 6:30p. Being at the very front of the crowd and having already scanned our tickets allowed us to beat everyone to Stranger Things.

We had express pass and were able to do all 10 houses, all scarezones, and stop a couple of times for food. Also spent some time in Diagon Alley and got to see the Death Eaters. We were wrapped and back in our room by around 1130pm

Im not sure if 10/20 was lower than normal crowds (it seemed full to us) or if reports have been over blown, but we had all the time we needed to get everything finished. I know EP is spendy, but I probably wouldnt do the event without it. It just made everything so much easier.

It was a great first experience and we will definitely be back. I enjoyed all the houses, but my favorite was probably Yeti, followed by Last of Us. Chucky was the weakest overall I think, but it did have some really cool moments in it.

 

[shh]

Last Wed/Thurs were packed with standby lines long - but with absolutely gorgeous cooler rain-free weather and express pass, they were terrific. It also helped that I had zero desire to try any specialty foods or drinks this year - I thought they were all too gimmicky vs anything of substance and none appealed: seemed way overpriced or low quality for what you get.

So sure saved a lot of time waiting in those lines!

I thought all the houses were great, but candidly, I was disappointed by the scare zones. The SAs and stiltwalkers are terrific - this is no critique on them, but I don't know if UO blew most of their budget on IP rights and tried to cheap out on the scare zones. They seem to be doing the minimum. They need to invest a lot more time and love into execution- most were flat and had little going on other than SAs jumping at people.

These scare zones should have impressive light shows, kick $ss music, super high energy special effects, etc. (I did like the eerie 'woods" themed one - the old Halloween Sam spot.)
Vamp had this impressive stage - i thought there'd be a band or a mini show, but nothing, other than a SA jumping and screaming once in a while.
(I just watched ABC's Halloween Fright Fight - and frankly, some of those contestants did a better job with a fraction of the budget and resources.)

I still love HHN despite its flaws. The houses, as I mentioned, were terrific. I know one thing: I will never do this event without express again. I'd rather invest in 1 night with express than multiple nights without it. Other than Last of Us, we never waited more than 15 min, even when standby lines were 60-90 min.

 

[wmoon]

We had a great time at HHN last week. We did 3 nights, Sunday, Wednesday and Thursday. First and last without express and middle one with unlimited express.

I thought the scare zones did not have as good sets as last year but the scare actors themselves were brilliant.

We did the 3 house tour and although I was excited for the Last of Us with the lights on it was Oddfellow that stole my heart with the level of detail.

Yeti was our favourite house, followed by Monsters. Darkest deal, Oddfellow and exorcist all ranked quite highly with us. Stranger things and last of us were amazing to see as we know the IPs so well but not top of our lists.

This was only our second year but we will hopefully be back again next year. Thanks for all the info and help on here.

 

[TB'sWidow]

It’s funny how everyone who goes on the same night have different perspectives. We were there 10/19 first timers no express pass. We were able to do 5 out of the 10 house Chucky , Stranger Things, Monsters unmasked, Yeti and the Exorcist. Chucky was my favorite and Yeti my least. We were able to see the Megan horde along with the death eaters and I loved the scare zones. For my group we really enjoyed it all and I would rather do two nights at HHN in the future than pay the high price being charged for the express pass. There were 7 of us with a wide range of opinions

 

[shh]

I would rather do two nights at HHN in the future than pay the high price being charged for the express pass.

that used to be what I would always say - been going since 1998 off and on, always with stay and scream and no express. But I've changed my tune the past 2 years. I just can't wait in those lines anymore and am aging out of stay and scream lol. Still love HHN though.

 

[CAPSLOCK]

Still have an extra ticket to SeaWorld Howl-o-Scream if anyone is coming tonight or tomorrow. They do not ask ID of any sort, and it is purchased direct from SW so you can go right to the event entrance. No charge, just prefer it not to go to waste.

 

[macraven]

that is really nice of you to grace someone with a free park ticket.

 

[tony67]

So just got back from my trip - did 8 nights of HHN.

No issues with express at all - it was reasonable every time - pretty sure I could do all 10 houses every night if I wanted to - but I didn't really feel the need.

Seemed to almost always get bad walkthroughs - seemed to be lots of SAs missing all the time.
For example the one armed ranger in Yeti was almost never there the last few nights.
It was not like I was even missing the scares - people in front and behind me were not getting them either.
Sometimes - especially in Chucky and Stranger things it seemed like an empty walkthrough for entire sections of the house. In Chucky the guy that is between the two sections of the houses (where you exit and reenter) was rarely there and he is one of the best parts of the house - a lot of fun to interact with.

I knew where the SAs were for the most part after several walkthroughs and the behind the scenes tours - but lots off empty boo holes many nights.

They seem to have a lot of issues with switching people out this year - maybe they should stop for 5 minutes then and do a reset? Id rather they do that then send me through with no SAs.

Imagine waiting 90 minutes and half the SAs are not in place. I was able to go multiple nights and I was not happy about it. Most people only get to go once and do each house once so they really need to be consistent even if that means stopping for a few minutes.

The scare zones are way understaffed and then there are the two missing ones - Minions and Simpsons is just a dead area. Vamp was really bad - it was hard to tell the SAs from the guests and really the only thing it had going for it seemed to be the music that people were enjoying.

They also seem to be very lax about the costume rules which does not help the situation. Lots of girls dressed up in 60s outfits or Freddy Kruger etc..

I usually take a ton of photos, I even had a new camera and lens I wanted to test out, and I could not be bothered not worth the effort to carry it. When you think back on Vamp 55, Vamp 85, Killer Klowns or Rob Zombie - there was nothing even close to those. Bring back the overused purge.

Overall it was not great to me.
My last night was the 29th and I almost skipped it. Glad I did not - seemed like all of a sudden the SAs jelled and all the houses were spot on and I really enjoyed it (there were still a few missing SAs BTW), but the 29th of October is a bit too late for that - the season is over and I had 7 nights that were lame.

As for the M3gans - having that random really annoyed a lot of people - including the employees.
They change the times almost every day and no one seemed to know when or where.
More than once I waited an hour to see if they showed up - sometimes with off duty employees who were also trying to catch them and one even texting one of the M3gans to see when they might be there to no avail. Its all very secretive.
That said the guy at the crepes cart said 7:30 one night and they were there at 7:30 so who knows.
I did get to see the full show twice and caught parts three times - one time I just walked into it at as they were pushing the crowd back. Again a total PITA for someone only going one night to luck upon it.

Unfortunately Universal had what seemed to be a very successful HHN so I dont think they will change it other than rase prices and probably revamp the entire ticket structure.

Lastly there was some questions on why Eddie was not playing the guitar in the scene - not sure if its been addressed - but they did not want people stopping to watch the show so they left it out.

 

[shh]

So just got back from my trip - did 8 nights of HHN.

No issues with express at all - it was reasonable every time - pretty sure I could do all 10 houses every night if I wanted to - but I didn't really feel the need.

Seemed to almost always get bad walkthroughs - seemed to be lots of SAs missing all the time.
For example the one armed ranger in Yeti was almost never there the last few nights.
It was not like I was even missing the scares - people in front and behind me were not getting them either.
Sometimes - especially in Chucky and Stranger things it seemed like an empty walkthrough for entire sections of the house. In Chucky the guy that is between the two sections of the houses (where you exit and reenter) was rarely there and he is one of the best parts of the house - a lot of fun to interact with.

I knew where the SAs were for the most part after several walkthroughs and the behind the scenes tours - but lots off empty boo holes many nights.

They seem to have a lot of issues with switching people out this year - maybe they should stop for 5 minutes then and do a reset? Id rather they do that then send me through with no SAs.

Imagine waiting 90 minutes and half the SAs are not in place. I was able to go multiple nights and I was not happy about it. Most people only get to go once and do each house once so they really need to be consistent even if that means stopping for a few minutes.

The scare zones are way understaffed and then there are the two missing ones - Minions and Simpsons is just a dead area. Vamp was really bad - it was hard to tell the SAs from the guests and really the only thing it had going for it seemed to be the music that people were enjoying.

They also seem to be very lax about the costume rules which does not help the situation. Lots of girls dressed up in 60s outfits or Freddy Kruger etc..

I usually take a ton of photos, I even had a new camera and lens I wanted to test out, and I could not be bothered not worth the effort to carry it. When you think back on Vamp 55, Vamp 85, Killer Klowns or Rob Zombie - there was nothing even close to those. Bring back the overused purge.

Overall it was not great to me.
My last night was the 29th and I almost skipped it. Glad I did not - seemed like all of a sudden the SAs jelled and all the houses were spot on and I really enjoyed it (there were still a few missing SAs BTW), but the 29th of October is a bit too late for that - the season is over and I had 7 nights that were lame.

As for the M3gans - having that random really annoyed a lot of people - including the employees.
They change the times almost every day and no one seemed to know when or where.
More than once I waited an hour to see if they showed up - sometimes with off duty employees who were also trying to catch them and one even texting one of the M3gans to see when they might be there to no avail. Its all very secretive.
That said the guy at the crepes cart said 7:30 one night and they were there at 7:30 so who knows.
I did get to see the full show twice and caught parts three times - one time I just walked into it at as they were pushing the crowd back. Again a total PITA for someone only going one night to luck upon it.

Unfortunately Universal had what seemed to be a very successful HHN so I dont think they will change it other than rase prices and probably revamp the entire ticket structure.

Lastly there was some questions on why Eddie was not playing the guitar in the scene - not sure if its been addressed - but they did not want people stopping to watch the show so they left it out.

I'm one of the folks that only went 1 night: so it was interesting to read your notes about what I missed.


We went thru chucky 2x - early on and late night, but there was never any SAs in middle section between houses. I agree vamp zone was a criminal waste - they had that incredible stage - and did nothing with it. I was most disappointed by the entrance zone - Dr. Oddfellow's main one - that should have blown you away as you entered! It should have set the tone for the entire event- he's the icon! But it was really quiet and flat.

The SAs did a great job, but they didn't have much to work with zone-wise. Best executed one was the woods area (old Sams/halloween zone) - don't you think? Very eerie/atmospheric.

By the way - I didn't see any survey folks at the front exit area when I was leaving and never received one in email - are they no longer doing them? Or just sending to selected guests?

 

[tony67]

The SAs did a great job, but they didn't have much to work with zone-wise. Best executed one was the woods area (old Sams/halloween zone) - don't you think? Very eerie/atmospheric.

Yeah that was the best of them - but that area has been better used in the past - like Trick R Treat (As you pointed out).

By the way - I didn't see any survey folks at the entrance when I was leaving and never received one in email - are they no longer doing them? Or just sending to selected guests?

So I actually got 4 surveys - one for each behind the scenes tour and two for HHN nights - I told them what I thought so that should be popular with them.

Dr. Oddfellow's main one - that should have blown you away as you entered! It should have set the tone for the entire event- he's the icon! But it was really quiet and flat.

Yup - was not even thinking of that - even the little stage show he does was disappointing - the guy was good but just nothing to work with.

And talking about Oddfellow - he was missing from his house one of the nights - I mean its his house he has to be there right? Not the scene at the end but the one with the one in the middle where he welcomes you and has the two ram or goat guys whatever they are.

 

[macraven]

This has not been a good hhn year for me.

 

[tony67]

Though I do have a Q.

I paid for HHN private RIP tour and months later bought an annual pass.
I called yesterday to get the 10% discount applied and now I'm being told it will only apply to the current price which is much higher.

That is not what I was told when I purchased the tour, had I known, I never would have bought the AP.
The gal who arranged the tour is avoiding my calls and I'm getting a bit ticked off.

Has anyone experienced this before?

Just wondering if you had any luck with this?
Hopefully they at least gave you a gift card or something.

 

[tony67]

This has not been a good hhn year for me.

Sorry to hear that.

Had it not been for the last night that went really well I would have not been happy at all.

Even Finnigan's was worse this year - which is hard to believe it could get worse - but at 1:30 they would no longer serve food at the bar.
Next the started pulling chairs - then a bit later they asked us for our chairs - there was a group of 4 or 5 that had just met at the bar and were hanging out - you know like a pub or something.
The last straw was they would only serve in plastic cups - you are charging my 12.74 for a Pint of Guinness - and I've been there for a couple of hours - very annoying.
I get it they have a way of doing things - but its worse and worse every year.
It was not even that busy - almost no need for that setup anymore.

I did enjoy the sea world event so that was a plus and even though its much smaller and simpler than HHN - that is how HHN started so hopefully it continues to get better and better.


One last complaint (Ill try for it to be the last one anyway!) - just add a service charge to the food and drinks at the booths and stop asking for tips - just do tap and go. I dont want to have to sign anything and feel obliged to leave a tip on a drink made from a vat. Also all the wasted paper for nothing - just stop it already.

 

[CAPSLOCK]

All 10 houses complete before 11pm with no EP & a dinner stop.

 

[tony67]

All 10 houses complete before 11pm with no EP & a dinner stop.

Did you do stay and scream? I started at 6PM with the hotel guest entry line on the 29th and it took till about 10:30 with express to do all of them (I skipped Exorcist and did Yeti twice so still 10 houses)

I know Halloween is usually a bit slower then other days as locals have other things to do - but this year could be totally different so would be good to know. I had planned to be there on Halloween but the family wanted me home for it.

 

[CAPSLOCK]

I followed the plan laid out by @ClapYourHands (1st post on page 41 of this thread). It was a huge help.

We started with Stay & Scream & we were 2nd for one of the tap points at about 3:10pm. Did Stranger Things right around 5:15, then there was confusion upon exiting with TMs sending us (& others) back towards the entrance to Stay & Scream again, so it took a bit of time to cross through then back through to Deuling Dragons where we had been headed. Then Exorcist, which was a pretty long line. Finished Exorcist at 6:09pm and headed to Chucky. Went to the back of the park for Darkest Deal & Dr Oddfellow, then hopped in the Last of Us line which was posted as 40min & watched it grow behind us - hooray good timing! Came out around 8:05-8:10pm. Had a disappointing chicken waffle sandwich at Simpsons area, rested in the AC a while. Then did Universal Monsters since we were right there. Walked through scare zones down to Bloodmoon.
Headed back up to Yeti, walked through those scare zones again (they were better once it was dark) and hung out in Diagon Alley for a while before calling it a night around 12:30am, back to hotel around 1:15am.

I was generally surprised most lines weren't longer because the EP price for Halloween was much higher than surrounding days. Plus we did very well with getting in each line & while the posted wait was lower than most other times I looked. Definitely being up at the front of the Stranger Things holding pen made a huge difference. There is no reason for the TMs to be confused & give poor directions this late in the event, that was aggravating.

 

[tony67]

Yeah getting ST4 done is a big one.

I did stay and scream a couple of times - but I did not get into the park till just about 5PM. Still got ST4 done in around 40 or 50 minutes so not too bad and then did DD and finally Yeti.
I was not a fan of the exorcist house so I never bothered with it - I should have done it again just to be sure.

The NY area was a total mess even this late in the season.
They were sending me all over the place and I finally ended up at mummy and then had to go all they way back around - its like they had not been doing this week after week.

Then the lines are not clear for DD. I know people are not going to do that first for the most part, but when you arrive at 5 that is the quickest one. Then after you come out of ST and figuring out how to get to DD is a total PITA.
You basically have to go to the end of the ST line and then cut around through the food area - it was not clear at all and people think you are trying to cut in line.

One other thing is you can get in line for Yeti even though its not open till 6. I did that once or twice - but again it not clear that you can do that.

 

[keishashadow]

Im not sure if 10/20 was lower than normal crowds (it seemed full to us) or if reports have been over blown,

https://www.thrill-data.com/hhn/orlando/2023

The wait times decidedly dropped off

Could be regulars figured out the best strategies or even just did a few houses and returned another day

Interesting that Crowds (wait times) significantly dipped once the RoF passes expired. Same thing on days Premier APs were blacked out.

Several shared itineraries that worked for them. Many thanks to them!

Waiting in long lines, thru inclement weather, how you hit the house’s pace, even the company you keep on any given night; could surely dampen one’s enthusiasm and overall enjoyment.

no two nights were ever predictable or exactly the same for me. I say that in a good way, as it kept things fresh.

They change the times almost every day and no one seemed to know when or where.

As in random on steroids. The mr never did get to see them despite multiple nights.

They way people would suddenly set off running, attempting to get close enough to see the girls, struck me as an accident waiting to happen.

just sending to selected guests?

I received one for approx ever other visit

 

[tony67]

Interesting that Crowds (wait times) significantly dipped once the RoF passes expired.

Yeah I was thinking this was a big factor in September, but who knows.

Maybe the weather as well - with the rain there are no scare zones and not a lot to do. A few times houses were flooded so less houses and really the only thing to do if you had a ticket was wait in line for the houses - nothing else to distract the crowds.

Also in talking to a few employees (and Disney bus drivers ) most of them seemed to go in September as well so maybe a lot of those employee discounted ticket's were for September as well.

I was also told that most likely this year was the end of ROF - but we have all thought that before and an employee - even one that works in the back with the parades and M3gans probably would not know that.

Regardless the eight nights I was there seemed very busy but the wait times never got too crazy - but the weather was perfect so you were not worried about just getting the houses done and getting out of there.