Credit: Inside the MagicIf you are planning on visiting Disney World, it is important to always keep an eye on your My Disney Experience app, as an attraction can close at any time. When a ride closes, it will show that on your app, which can prevent you from walking across a Disney World park, only to be told that you cannot ride the attraction at the moment.
When an attraction temporarily closes, the positive thing is that typically, the ride will reopen shortly. If the ride is not scheduled for a refurbishment, this means that the ride is not meant to be closed all day long, and Disney likely needs to perform some maintenance on the attraction without guests aboard.
Of course, bigger issues can occur and cause prolonged closures; however, this is not the norm for temporary closures.
One bigger issue that has shut down attractions at Walt Disney World Resort is horrific weather.
In Florida, one thing that is unfortunate about the state is that it is prone to hurricanes. When guests visit Disney World in the summer, especially from July to September, it will likely rain every day, which is not a huge deal as the storms in Florida leave as quickly as they appear. However, if you are in Disney World during a hurricane, the weather may not be what you expected for a theme park day.
Most recently, we have seen hurricane Idalia shut down multiple attractions at Walt Disney World Resort, whereas hurricane Hilary actually shut down Disneyland Resort early.
Of course, storms do not only hit Disney World in Orlando but also, their major competitor, Universal Orlando Resort.
Universal Orlando Resort is just down the road from Disney World and houses Universal Orlando Resort and Islands of Adventure. There is also CityWalk separating the two theme parks, with Volcano Bay just minutes away. Soon, Epic Universe will be joining the theme park lineup as well, once summer 2025 rolls around.
Halloween Horror Nights has been the premier Halloween event that the theme park resort has had to offer for 30 years, taking place primarily at Universal Studios Florida and at times, Islands of Adventure as well. As we have reported, coming to Universal Studios on select nights from September 1 through November 4, Halloween Horror Nights is returning bigger and scarier than ever. With ten haunted houses and five scare zones, you won’t miss this event. In its 32 years of operation, HHN has been the biggest Halloween event of the year time and time again.
Now, even Orlando International Airport has its very own “scare zone” with an all-new Halloween Horror Nights show now in terminal B.
The shop has just opened for guests, and will likely be quite a shock for those who were not expecting to see a haunted house gift shop when coming to visit the most magical place on earth. That being said, for those who are flying in to enjoy Halloween Horror Nights, this shop will surely be an unexpected, yet horrifying treat to both set the mood and bid them a haunted farewell at both the beginning and end of their trip.
When guests visit Universal Orlando Resort and enter the fog at Universal Studios Florida, they will instantly be transported into various horrifying cinematic universes and some original terrifying creations. There are hundreds of scare actors all over the theme park as well as in the houses, all of which are made to terrify guests.
From Chucky to Stranger Things 4, to The Last of Us, to The Exorcist: Believer, and more, Halloween Horror Nights utilizes popular IP as well as original stories to create their 10 houses. These houses often boast massive wait times, making it normal to wait in line for 120 minutes when you attend the event.
But, those numbers can jump even higher if other houses shut down.
Recently, a storm hit Universal Orlando Resort, and shut down five of the 10 houses. One guest noted, “So I was at HHN last Wednesday (there was a storm and 5 houses were closed most of the night due to flood). I was “ok” with that because well it’s weather, and we can’t control it.” That being said, that meant that wait times for the other houses jumped as everyone was funneled into half the amount of houses.
It seems that others who attended stated that they were able to be refunded, “They are offering full refunds or another ticket if you went that night cause of the weather cousin’s fyi”. The original poster replied, “Omg! So I just called guest relations, and they said they can’t do anything for me considering my ticket was used. I was at the park for the day and used for stay and scream.” So although the guest was not aware that five houses would flood, they were still financially penalized for it.
At Universal Studios Hollywood, because of the lack of land, the theme park has, it had to built up and down, instead of left to right. There are two “lots” per se, the lower lot, and the upper lot. When guests enter the park, they will enter through the upper lot, which houses the Wizarding World of Harry Potter, The Secret Life of Pets attraction, the streets of New York, Super Silly Fun Land, and more.
The lower lot is home to Revenge of the Mummy, Jurassic World – The Ride, Transformers 4-D, Super Nintendo World, and more. So, naturally, during Halloween Horror Nights, there are houses on both levels. To access the lower level, guests will take a series of four massive escalators both up and down the mountain, meaning it takes at least 10 to 15 minutes to go from up to down at Universal.
Four houses are on the lower lot this year, The Exorcist: Believer, The Last of Us, Stranger Things 4, and Holidays in Hell. These are some of the more popular houses of the event, meaning thousands of guests often flock to the area. Yesterday, all four houses ended up shutting down multiple times throughout the night, pushing guests out of the lower lot entirely.
Although the houses were inoperable, more guests continued to come down the escalators, creating an extremely overcrowded and havoc-induced situation. When asking a team member why the houses were not running, some said that the issues were temporary, while others noted that overcrowding was a major issue.
Guests ended up moving towards the escalator to leave the lower lot after the shutdown began, which created a heavy backup as the escalators allowed for a smaller amount of guests to be moved out.
The shut-downs for houses happen each night, with Chucky shutting down minutes after opening last night due to capacity.
Recently, complaints have been made on both coasts after performers at the event have been attacked. It seems that the influx of teenagers has encouraged some rowdy behavior, on top of the already crude behavior that we tend to see from adults who have had too much to drink. Performers have been hit, had water poured over them, and more. Read more on that here.
What do you think about Universal refusing a refund for those upset about the five house shut down?