Halloween Horror Nights 2022 (Sep 2 - Oct 31)

[Animaniac93-98]

I haven't seen it posted here, but apparently the lagoon show suffered damage from Ian. (I'd presume an overfilled lagoon let water into places it shouldn't) Ghoulish hasn't run since the parks reopened, and it's not expected to before the end of HHN. It's unclear when any lagoon show will resume.

Kinda bummed, because we arrive next week.

-Rob

At least some people saw the show when they could.

Ian cancelled my one chance to go to HHN this year. Still disappointed about that. The closest I got was seeing the Tribute Store.

 

[jmv5010]

My wife and I were there Sunday night. I got to every house except the Bug house. There was no chance my wife would do that one and I just didn't have time at the end of the night. Every other house was hit. This was only my second year doing HHN with last year being my first, so in my very limited experience, I still had a great time. Dead Man's Pier would rank as my favorite for the sets alone. Legend's Collide probably sits as my second favorite.

 

[SSH]

Don't think I picked a good night to visit. Mon was PACKED, but kinda strange - seemed like a lot of scare actors missing. Quite a few empty boo holes walking thru houses.

Scare zones were weird: one had no scare actors, just a security person standing there when we walked by...others had maybe 1-2 at most. Many people were just looking at the decor and moving on. I remember past years, you could have fun just watching the SCs scare people. Didn't see too much of that in the SZs: maybe my timing was off.

Food/drink booth and bathroom lines were long: we wanted to try more things, but just couldn't burn more time waiting in line. We visited 630-130 with express (didn't have park passes or S&S) and barely made it thru 10 houses, a quick Tribute Store visit; 1 food break and a couple of bathroom breaks. Wanted to see the show, but ran out of time.

Was anyone else there Monday night - just wondering if I'm being a "karen" here or if others weren't thrilled either. I love HHN...just think the night was off.

Not sure if it's true, but read (afterwards of course! ) that Mon was added after Ian. No one was required to work the event like other nights: it was volunteer basis only? When I bought the ticket, HHN website just showed it as an ordinary event night, so I didn't realize. But that would explain it.

Kudos to the folks that DID volunteer to work though. Those that were there were great and I really appreciated their effort!

 

[JoeCamel]

Don't think I picked a good night to visit. Mon was PACKED, but kinda strange - seemed like a lot of scare actors missing. Quite a few empty boo holes walking thru houses.

Scare zones were weird: one had no scare actors, just a security person standing there when we walked by...others had maybe 1-2 at most. Many people were just looking at the decor and moving on. I remember past years, you could have fun just watching the SCs scare people. Didn't see too much of that in the SZs: maybe my timing was off.

Food/drink booth and bathroom lines were long: we wanted to try more things, but just couldn't burn more time waiting in line. We visited 630-130 with express (didn't have park passes or S&S) and barely made it thru 10 houses, a quick Tribute Store visit; 1 food break and a couple of bathroom breaks. Wanted to see the show, but ran out of time.

Was anyone else there Monday night - just wondering if I'm being a "karen" here or if others weren't thrilled either. I love HHN...just think the night was off.

Not sure if it's true, but read (afterwards of course! ) that Mon was added after Ian. No one was required to work the event like other nights: it was volunteer basis only? When I bought the ticket, HHN website just showed it as an ordinary event night, so I didn't realize. But that would explain it.

Kudos to the folks that DID volunteer to work though. Those that were there were great and I really appreciated their effort!

It was a makeup night so not fully staffed

 

[matt9112]

It was a makeup night so not fully staffed

I hope they didn’t sell new tickets for it than.

On a side note they should lower capacity of the event even if that means increasing ticket prices.

 

[Poseidon Quest]

Don't think I picked a good night to visit. Mon was PACKED, but kinda strange - seemed like a lot of scare actors missing. Quite a few empty boo holes walking thru houses.

Scare zones were weird: one had no scare actors, just a security person standing there when we walked by...others had maybe 1-2 at most. Many people were just looking at the decor and moving on. I remember past years, you could have fun just watching the SCs scare people. Didn't see too much of that in the SZs: maybe my timing was off.

Food/drink booth and bathroom lines were long: we wanted to try more things, but just couldn't burn more time waiting in line. We visited 630-130 with express (didn't have park passes or S&S) and barely made it thru 10 houses, a quick Tribute Store visit; 1 food break and a couple of bathroom breaks. Wanted to see the show, but ran out of time.

Was anyone else there Monday night - just wondering if I'm being a "karen" here or if others weren't thrilled either. I love HHN...just think the night was off.

Not sure if it's true, but read (afterwards of course! ) that Mon was added after Ian. No one was required to work the event like other nights: it was volunteer basis only? When I bought the ticket, HHN website just showed it as an ordinary event night, so I didn't realize. But that would explain it.

Kudos to the folks that DID volunteer to work though. Those that were there were great and I really appreciated their effort!

Oh no, it was an off night for sure. It being an added night definitely had a huge impact on staffing. I've never seen the park so empty of scare actors. The park was also obscenely crowded and the clientele was exceptionally obnoxious and trashy. I went last night and while busy, the atmosphere and staffing were far better.

 

[SSH]

I hope they didn’t sell new tickets for it than.

On a side note they should lower capacity of the event even if that means increasing ticket prices.

Yes they did - and at full price with zero notification that it was a 'makeup night". It was just another HHN date on their website calendar you could purchase. I admire that they added back a day for passholders, frequent fear and TMs to visit who missed out in Sept, but am very annoyed that they didn't disclose it to new ticket buyers. I only had ONE night to do HHN and definitely wouldn't have chosen that night had I known.

It was insanely busy - and very understaffed across all operational and creative areas.

 

[SSH]

Oh no, it was an off night for sure. It being an added night definitely had a huge impact on staffing. I've never seen the park so empty of scare actors. The park was also obscenely crowded and the clientele was exceptionally obnoxious and trashy. I went last night and while busy, the atmosphere and staffing were far better.

thank you - at least I know I'm not being overly critical or whiny. We still had fun and I'm glad I went - just disappointed I missed out on so much. They even ran out of some of the snacks I wanted to try. The scare zones looked nothing like the pics I viewed before going.

BUT everyone working that night gave it their best and that was very much appreciated. None of them had to be there - and frankly, it was probably a miserable night for them, given the circumstances.

 

[tcool123]

Was anyone else there Monday night - just wondering if I'm being a "karen" here or if others weren't thrilled either. I love HHN...just think the night was off.

Not sure if it's true, but read (afterwards of course! ) that Mon was added after Ian. No one was required to work the event like other nights: it was volunteer basis only?

Correct. Most parts of the park just needed people getting to extend, but entertainment was mainly volunteer basis. (Alongside those working booths and other HHN activities) Scarezone staff are typically pulled into the houses to keep the houses going. This was leaps and bounds better than the first night after Ian, but still rough.

There was less staff to manage crowds and keep guest flow steady, but it was also the last night team members could go. In other words a plethora of team members flooded the night allowing for the night to be busy. Wednesday this week had particularly low waits.

 

[OG Runner]

I hope they didn’t sell new tickets for it than.

On a side note they should lower capacity of the event even if that means increasing ticket prices.

That is a very Disney thing to say.

 

[matt9112]

That is a very Disney thing to say.

Sort of but it’s different….I would say disney should also limit special event space. Special limited offerings should be priced as extras as an above and beyond item. See the daytime park can be expanded (new parks can be built) like epic. But something like HHN or MNSSHP have much “harder” limits

I am definitely a critic of the current disney regime however I have no issue with limited extras costing an arm and a leg it should be a premium experience. Although one can skip the day tickets and technically only do the event. It should be marketed as and catered as an add on. For those on vacation or AP holders.

Frequent fear and other multi night tickets should probably be heavily curtailed as well. The entire idea should be guest enjoyment.

I think it would be a hard pill to swallow to kill multi night out right so I suggest selling blocks at a time if anything. For example the ability to buy a week of nights for the cost of 2 nights or something. But the system is far too generous when crowds continue to grow and even Hardcore HHN night folks groan about how the event has changed over time. Part of fixing that is likely killing off things like large multi day tickets.

HHN is IMHO a far better product than MNSSHP even though the demo is obviously completely different and it’s hard to compare them. HHN has a lot of room to increase pricing imho. The gate ticket pricing is fine but the cheap online tickets for some of the nights are probably too cheap.

 

[OG Runner]

Sort of but it’s different….I would say disney should also limit special event space. Special limited offerings should be priced as extras as an above and beyond item. See the daytime park can be expanded (new parks can be built) like epic. But something like HHN or MNSSHP have much “harder” limits

I am definitely a critic of the current disney regime however I have no issue with limited extras costing an arm and a leg it should be a premium experience. Although one can skip the day tickets and technically only do the event. It should be marketed as and catered as an add on. For those on vacation or AP holders.

Frequent fear and other multi night tickets should probably be heavily curtailed as well. The entire idea should be guest enjoyment.

I think it would be a hard pill to swallow to kill multi night out right so I suggest selling blocks at a time if anything. For example the ability to buy a week of nights for the cost of 2 nights or something. But the system is far too generous when crowds continue to grow and even Hardcore HHN night folks groan about how the event has changed over time. Part of fixing that is likely killing off things like large multi day tickets.

HHN is IMHO a far better product than MNSSHP even though the demo is obviously completely different and it’s hard to compare them. HHN has a lot of room to increase pricing imho. The gate ticket pricing is fine but the cheap online tickets for some of the nights are probably too cheap.

Nice explanation. Very clear and concise.

 

[Rob562]

Don't think I picked a good night to visit. Mon was PACKED, but kinda strange - seemed like a lot of scare actors missing. Quite a few empty boo holes walking thru houses.

Scare zones were weird: one had no scare actors, just a security person standing there when we walked by...others had maybe 1-2 at most. Many people were just looking at the decor and moving on. I remember past years, you could have fun just watching the SCs scare people. Didn't see too much of that in the SZs: maybe my timing was off.

Food/drink booth and bathroom lines were long: we wanted to try more things, but just couldn't burn more time waiting in line. We visited 630-130 with express (didn't have park passes or S&S) and barely made it thru 10 houses, a quick Tribute Store visit; 1 food break and a couple of bathroom breaks. Wanted to see the show, but ran out of time.

Was anyone else there Monday night - just wondering if I'm being a "karen" here or if others weren't thrilled either. I love HHN...just think the night was off.

Not sure if it's true, but read (afterwards of course! ) that Mon was added after Ian. No one was required to work the event like other nights: it was volunteer basis only? When I bought the ticket, HHN website just showed it as an ordinary event night, so I didn't realize. But that would explain it.

Kudos to the folks that DID volunteer to work though. Those that were there were great and I really appreciated their effort!

We just finished 5 nights of HHN, Wed to Sun. Just like last year, we found that Friday was the best night. Staying open to close with just Stay & Scream, no Express, we had 17 house runs, got through all houses except Halloween, plus time for Nightmare Fuel, some stops for food and hanging out in scare zones.

My hypothesis is that since the cheaper Frequent Fear passes don't cover Friday and Saturday, there's a bump in Wed and Thurs, then a drop on Fri because people didn't want to spend the extra $40 for Freq Fear Plus. Then Saturday is just always crazy because a lot of people go on single night tix.

-Rob

 

[JoeCamel]

We just finished 5 nights of HHN, Wed to Sun. Just like last year, we found that Friday was the best night. Staying open to close with just Stay & Scream, no Express, we had 17 house runs, got through all houses except Halloween, plus time for Nightmare Fuel, some stops for food and hanging out in scare zones.

My hypothesis is that since the cheaper Frequent Fear passes don't cover Friday and Saturday, there's a bump in Wed and Thurs, then a drop on Fri because people didn't want to spend the extra $40 for Freq Fear Plus. Then Saturday is just always crazy because a lot of people go on single night tix.

-Rob

When you drop the coin on a FF pass intending to go many nights why for $40 would you limit it? With the cost of the F&B I can't see that being a factor.

 

[JT3000]

When you drop the coin on a FF pass intending to go many nights why for $40 would you limit it? With the cost of the F&B I can't see that being a factor.

I can't speak for others, but for someone like myself, who goes only once a week, having another day available is simply redundant if I can already go on Thursdays or Sundays. In fact, I wouldn't be opposed to them offering a cheaper ticket option with just one day of the week (and opening & closing nights.)

 

[matt9112]

I can't speak for others, but for someone like myself, who goes only once a week, having another day available is simply redundant if I can already go on Thursdays or Sundays. In fact, I wouldn't be opposed to them offering a cheaper ticket option with just one day of the week (and opening & closing nights.)

They should put more limitations on tickets as is.

 

[Tom Morrow]

This year seemed very busy like 90% of the nights. Last year seemed a little more manageable most of the time. Way too many people, especially teens, use HHN as their nightly hang out for two months straight and it really gets annoying and brings down the enjoyment of the event. They also oversell Express. These things are nothing new but make HHN not quite the amazing untouchable godlike experience so many in Orlando make it out to be.

 

[Tom Morrow]

Oh, and, wishful thinking, but they should leave Dead Man's Pier up and retheme it slightly for Christmas and keep it open through Christmas.

 

[SSH]

This year seemed very busy like 90% of the nights. Last year seemed a little more manageable most of the time. Way too many people, especially teens, use HHN as their nightly hang out for two months straight and it really gets annoying and brings down the enjoyment of the event. They also oversell Express. These things are nothing new but make HHN not quite the amazing untouchable godlike experience so many in Orlando make it out to be.

Been going to this event since late '90s. It used to work, but with today's crowds, they really need to stop promoting these "all you can visit" type of passes - I don't feel it's really optimizing their bottom line or the event experience for anyone. Wish they'd pivot to a series of set days: a 1 day, 2-3 day, 5 and 10 or 12 day passes.

Also wish they'd require a parent or legal guardian over the age of 21 to accompany any minors attending HHN. It wouldn't eliminate all problems, as adults can be idiots too, but at least a legal adult is held responsible for their own actions - and for the actions of minors they supervise.

 

[Sorcerer Mickey]

We're already getting house reveals for next year.