Halloween Horror Nights 31 (UOR) - Tips & Tricks

[Galactus]

But from what I have seen and heard Blumhouse and Hellblock are the clunkers this year are they even worth seeing lights on?

The way I see it is that they're worth seeing in order to see the absolutely beautiful Dead Man's Pier and fantastic Descendants of Destruction. There was some surprising detail in Hellblock and my guide mentioned that it should get better/more detailed as the year goes on. (Depths of Fear was among my favorite mazes of 29 and I loved seeing a Mouthbrooder head in Hellblock) The Freaky part of Blumhouse was pretty cool and had some interesting scenes but the Black Phone section felt like a Hollywood maze. Actually the guide told us that one of the facts that tour guides were given for that section of the house was that the stove in the Grabber's kitchen for the "Naughty Boy" scene was gotten from the exotic faraway town of Tampa. I'd recommend the 6 house tour for DMP and DoD but Hellblock and Blumhouse are definitely steps down as far as detail goes IMO

Has anyone actually used the ticket this year (or know somebody who has) and can describe their experience? Are the folks at the front gate turnstiles really asking for proof of HHN admission when the "Scream Early" tickets are scanned?

My friend did Scream Early and he wasn't asked for proof of HHN admission at the gate but he was asked for his HHN ticket to scan when we bought the ticket at the Aventura ticket desk.

 

[wutisgood]

Is the staffing moved to the hhn shifts?
The hotels show wide open availability, and the ride wait times are low, could they have staffed low on the expectation the park would be slow?
I never eat at counter service places because the lines make me twitchy when I am hungry.

The expectation the park would be slow? Is this Disney? I haven't had any bad experience related to low staffing post vaccine at Universal. Even stayed on site once at the cheap hotel and staff was great and busses quick. HHN was great last year. Maybe more recently other businesses got their heads out of their asses and quietly started paying people even more?

 

[TheCodeMan95]

Well I was looking forward to trying a bunch of food at HHN .. sounds like that might not happen now lol

 

[ssirin88]

Well I was looking forward to trying a bunch of food at HHN .. sounds like that might not happen now lol

Because of the lines? They were bad, but not like hours of wait or anything. I tried like 6 different food items between Fri and Sat while every vlogger was there. Should be more manageable moving forward past opening weekend.

 

[Rikku]

The way I see it is that they're worth seeing in order to see the absolutely beautiful Dead Man's Pier and fantastic Descendants of Destruction. There was some surprising detail in Hellblock and my guide mentioned that it should get better/more detailed as the year goes on. (Depths of Fear was among my favorite mazes of 29 and I loved seeing a Mouthbrooder head in Hellblock) The Freaky part of Blumhouse was pretty cool and had some interesting scenes but the Black Phone section felt like a Hollywood maze. Actually the guide told us that one of the facts that tour guides were given for that section of the house was that the stove in the Grabber's kitchen for the "Naughty Boy" scene was gotten from the exotic faraway town of Tampa. I'd recommend the 6 house tour for DMP and DoD but Hellblock and Blumhouse are definitely steps down as far as detail goes IMO



My friend did Scream Early and he wasn't asked for proof of HHN admission at the gate but he was asked for his HHN ticket to scan when we bought the ticket at the Aventura ticket desk.

And I guess that is my question if two of the houses in the 6 house tour aren't good is it just as well to get the 3 house tour instead? Although the one I want to see is Dead Man's Pier but is it worth double the price?

 

[UniversalRBLX]

I think food lines were a mix of HHN fans/vloggers/UOAP wanting to try them since they tend to want to try the new stuff versus what's already at the park on a normal day. Combined with the labor day weekend, Universal was just not prepared for that type of demand.

I think F&B lines should get better except for the ones in Gramercy park with the loss of Monsters Cafe.

 

[Galactus]

And I guess that is my question if two of the houses in the 6 house tour aren't good is it just as well to get the 3 house tour instead? Although the one I want to see is Dead Man's Pier but is it worth double the price?

To me the answer is yes, DMP was that good but YMMV. Don't get me wrong, Hellblock and Blumhouse were fun to walk through and see the mazes, it wasn't like they were actively unpleasant or boring to walk through, they just didn't match the same levels as the rest of the mazes.

 

[SeventyOne]

I think food lines were a mix of HHN fans/vloggers/UOAP wanting to try them since they tend to want to try the new stuff versus what's already at the park on a normal day. Combined with the labor day weekend, Universal was just not prepared for that type of demand.

I think F&B lines should get better except for the ones in Gramercy park with the loss of Monsters Cafe.

Tonight will be interesting. School in session tomorrow (and work for many), opening weekend "new event smell" worn off a little, and Ops has had 3 days to reconfigure. I agree making the stress test Labor Day weekend invited problems, but let's see how well things work tonight.

 

[Parkscope Joe]

Tonight will be interesting. School in session tomorrow (and work for many), opening weekend "new event smell" worn off a little, and Ops has had 3 days to reconfigure. I agree making the stress test Labor Day weekend invited problems, but let's see how well things work tonight.

But also TMs aren’t blocked out if I’m not mistaken. So who knows. The opening weekend doom is always way bigger than the actual shakeouts a few days later.

 

[Tbad556]

Tonight will be interesting. School in session tomorrow (and work for many), opening weekend "new event smell" worn off a little, and Ops has had 3 days to reconfigure. I agree making the stress test Labor Day weekend invited problems, but let's see how well things work tonight.

It's also the first night not sold out thus far. I'll be there for a brief second run through some things. Should be an interesting evening.

 

[Jakemeister]

I think it's mostly lingering effects of the evolving job market post-covid. Customer service-type jobs are struggling badly everywhere. I overheard employees this weekend talking about how Universal is calling back applicants as quick as possible to fill open jobs. And it's pretty evident too. Saw a lot of TMs on their phones in a way that I don't ever remember seeing during previous trips. Doesn't ruin my experience as it's better to at least have these stands open, but the standards, or at least enforcement of them by leadership, has loosened.

They're absolutely trying to get talent in as fast as possible & turning a blind eye to smaller challenges that TMs are creating. The photo of the facade that got leaked from The Weeknd was something VERY traceable & when I was in Entertainment would have led to someone losing their job and EVERYONE in the entire greater Marquee & Entertainment department knowing about it.

I know of departments that went from 4 week trainings, to 1 week trainings at some points. That's a HUGE difference.

 

[jseal777]

Planning on getting to town around midnight tonight. Checking in to the hotel and getting tix. (we already have rof but did will call)

Where is the best place to just chill and grab a few drinks? we don't plan on doing houses tonight just strolling through to check out before hitting it hard this weekend.

 

[Captain Tragedy]

I’ll be there tonight. Not doing stay n scream as it is wayyyy too hot for that. I have express so not sweating (metaphorically lol). Hoping dead coconut club is open as I keep reading it’s only open “select” horror nights evenings.

 

[RedRightDan]

I agree making the stress test Labor Day weekend invited problems, but let's see how well things work tonight.

I'd argue that I haven't seen anywhere near the reports of major issues that I thought I would.

Opening weekend appeared to go rather smoothly considering...

-Ongoing staffing challenges in all industries and other areas of the park
-The earliest that they had to be staffed up
-The first year back to a "normal" year after two definitely not normal years
-Adding in Labor Day demand onto the already large opening weekend demand
-Increase of F&B locations/offerings

 

[TheCodeMan95]

I'm definitely interested to see how tonight looks compared to over the weekend.

Also - can anyone confirm that some of the HHN food is actually available during the day?

 

[SeventyOne]

Planning on getting to town around midnight tonight. Checking in to the hotel and getting tix. (we already have rof but did will call)

Where is the best place to just chill and grab a few drinks? we don't plan on doing houses tonight just strolling through to check out before hitting it hard this weekend.

Dead Coconut or behind Lombards (not sure it's official name, or even if it has one).

 

[Bort]

I'm definitely interested to see how tonight looks compared to over the weekend.

Also - can anyone confirm that some of the HHN food is actually available during the day?

The Twisted Taters stand and the 2 food trucks were open last weekend during the day.

 

[Neo]

I'm definitely interested to see how tonight looks compared to over the weekend.

Also - can anyone confirm that some of the HHN food is actually available during the day?

It's been "confirmed" as far as most food booths have been seen open during rhe day time hours ans people have been spotted walking around the park with Ecto Cooler beers during the day.

But I don't think there's been any official announcement about the foodbooths being open during park hours. Maybe they were just doing it the opening week trying to adjust/streamline operations at night and it was a temporary thing. Who knows.

 

[Tbad556]

S&S is way less crazy compared to Friday. Not wrapped around the lagoon this time lol. Walked right into the NY S&S with no wait at all.

 

[Stonecoldfreak1]

Planning on getting to town around midnight tonight. Checking in to the hotel and getting tix. (we already have rof but did will call)

Where is the best place to just chill and grab a few drinks? we don't plan on doing houses tonight just strolling through to check out before hitting it hard this weekend.

Behind Lombard's for sure. It was empty every time I went back there over the weekend. One of those walkups seemed to be selling blinky cups with whatever you wanted in them too. They were a little more expensive, but better ordering a handmade cocktail than one of those premade concoctions.