Universal unleashes its horrors upon Las Vegas

This will definitely be an interesting test case to watch, especially given the current state of tourism in Vegas. That is why I'm really surprised to see Universal give the green light to a second installation in Chicago before seeing how this goes in Vegas first. While I do think there's some advantage with this indoor installation and likely lack of long queues for the houses, but I feel that haunted attractions like this benefit greatly when experienced in a group setting. Even if you don't know the folks you're standing around, the time spent waiting almost forces you to interact with them, which then enhances your experience in the house as it becomes as much fun to watch those new momentary friends walk through as it is to walk through the house yourself. Haunted attractions are very much a communal experience, and while it can be frustrating to miss scares in a crowded house, I just don't see the same appeal in walking through in such a small group (or alone). With that, I would hope that Universal pulses larger groups of guests through these attractions (not only for the actors' sake) so they're not trickling through alone or 2/3 at a time.

I also wonder what the tolerance will be for guests wanting to experience multiple attractions at the Area 15 complex in a single day. When we were in Vegas back in April, we did the Omega Mart attraction, which took the better part of 2 hours and we probably could have spent another hour or 2 in the attraction if we had more patience to wait in lines for various control panels, screens, and other individual exhibits. While Horror Unleashed probably isn't as intellectually stimulating as Omega Mart (or the upcoming Interstellar Arc), I also wouldn't want to do a high quality and expensive haunted attraction shortly before or after walking through something that is a bit of a "brain drain".

The real question is what Universal's plans are if this doesn't take off immediately. They've obviously committed to the concept by already jumping head-first into a second installation in Chicago, so it's not like the company is going to pack up shop if people aren't gravitating to this new experience right away. However, does Universal look at the price as a barrier? As Robert noted, the admission for this experience is in line with many low/mid-level Vegas theatrical shows, but it is also nearly double the price of a ticket to the Omega Mart next door. That's where I think Universal will need to do some serious analysis, and whether the level of their experience can be maintained on a lower-cost ticket. I was a bit surprised with how many live actors are shown in Robert's (and other) walk-through videos of the houses during the media event, and it's clear that the number of staff in this experience meets or exceeds what guests would expect during an in-park HHN event. Will cast be sacrificed in exchange for a lower admission, and would that significantly impact the quality of the experience creating a downward spiral of lower expectations and decreased guest demand? The other option would be for Universal to adjust operational hours as they get a feel for when guests most want to do this experience. I think it's pretty unlikely that guests will want to walk through haunted mazes at 2 o'clock in the afternoon on a weekday, so I would expect Universal to do some modifications there to optimize their labor costs. Ultimately, I think this will be a very interesting case study to see if a permanent haunted attraction can succeed year round like a traditional art exhibit or other entertainment venue. Universal is taking a pretty big risk here and with the use of their top IP show that they are laying it all on the line. I'm still skeptical that this will succeed long term, but I definitely wish them the best of luck, because if I were going to Vegas in the next few months, I'd definitely take the time to check this out.

If Universal believes in this concept - and I think that it is clear that the company does - I think it's smart for them to commit to two markets. If Vegas stumbles and Chicago succeeds, then Universal will know that they have a Vegas problem and not one with their concept. The extra data points can only help Universal to see what does and does not work with this new business of theirs.

@Robert - That makes sense, but the indication from Universal and industry experts when the original project was announced was that Vegas was the "perfect" market for the first iteration of an experience like this with heavy tourism and a decent local population that would gravitate to this. Perhaps that confidence has waned given the recent downturn in Vegas tourism, which forced Universal's hand to ensure an appropriate "proof of concept" by adding the Chicago installation. However, there should have been those questions up front that must have led them to consider the possibility of making this a touring exhibition instead of a year-round, permanent installation.

We're going to Vegas HHN on Fri August 22nd. If anyone is interested, I can report back on crowds and experience.

We're also doing HHN Premium Scare Night (grand opening) on August 29th in Orlando, and Singapore HHN in October.

Also apparently the duped houses in Orlando & Hollywood are different this year, including Fallout. If I hear good things, we'll do a weekend trip to Hollywood.

Edit: Will report back!

Please do share your experiences! I'd love to see what an HHN fan thinks of Vegas.

I saw the videos posted above and I've got some naive questions about how the business side of this attraction works.

It appears that each actor you encounter in the houses does a quick "scare" bit as you walk past. So help me to understand this - each actor just repeats his/her 2-second bit over and over for hours and hours like an animatronic? That's their actual job? I'm baffled how this works for them.

Note that this is not part-time seasonal employment like Universal's Halloween events. These jobs appear to be full-time year-round positions which involve nothing more than standing in place and performing a single repetitive "acting" task for hours and hours. How can anyone do that full-time?

My guess is that Universal will maintain a roster of part-time "actors" they can call up as needed. But it's not easy keeping your crew fully staffed when you're a full-time business relying on part-time employees. Good luck with that.

More: How many actors will work during one shift? How much will they get paid? Is Universal expecting a high employee turnover rate?

Thanks in advance to anyone who can offer some insight.

@Beacher - I'm not exactly sure how Universal is staffing this attraction, but I'm almost certain they're not employing people to sit in one spot and jump out every 30-45 seconds to scare guests for hours on end and as their only job. My guess is that mazes have been designed to allow staff to rotate positions with one actor potentially filling 3-4 different roles during a single shift (probably wouldn't perform scaring roles for more than 2 hours consecutively). I would also surmise that staff would not solely perform scaring roles continuously with staff likely changing roles in a single day or in successive days (unless they specifically requested). Other roles likely include front of house (greeter, queuer, and overall customer service/ticketing), bartender (likely limited to specifically-trained employees), security, and roaming characters/show performers. It's also possible that staff are also trained to trigger effects from a backstage control room and/or perform minor maintenance to the attractions (fixing sets, cleaning/sweeping, and making modifications to designs).

I would agree that it's a whole different ballgame to hire scare actors for a year-round installation like this versus HHN or other Halloween event that only runs for 2-3 months, or even a traveling installation that only stays in one city/location for a few months at a time. There will inevitably be fatigue, which will be a constant challenge for the management of this attraction (you can tell some scare actors get bored with their roles at theme park-based events after just a few weeks). I would anticipate that Universal has plans to fight attrition and prevent staff malaise, but I do think they're betting that they will attract people who are naturally drawn to this kind of stuff and won't be as easily fatigued by the repetitive nature of these roles.

I really expected to see scenes, effects and scares done on a level not seen in the temporary HHN houses. Sorry but these look way too similar to the typical HHN house.

@MWM83 - Maybe that's because the typical HHN maze is REALLY good, and there are few areas for improvement that would be practical or be cost effective to raise the bar. I'm constantly impressed with how much detail and depth Universal is able to pack into their houses, which are indeed "temporary". While the planning occurs year round, with designers starting work on the following year's event before the current event is over, the actual build/creation of the houses is typically completed in a month or 2 (though in many cases, they're working from existing frameworks from the previous year). The typical HHN house does not feel "temporary" at all, and if you ever experienced the Walking Dead or Monsters Legacy (House of Horrors, Van Helsing, and Mummy) permanent mazes at USH, you would have seen similar qualities between the HHN houses and the haunted attractions that USH operated year-round. I also think it's likely that aspects of the design to make a house more "resilient" that wouldn't traditionally be used on an HHN house are not really that obvious when you walk through. These include using different materials that look virtually the same, but wear slower or are more rigid in order to last longer than 2-3 months. While these upgraded materials and props probably cost significantly more than what would be used during HHN, they aren't really that noticeable (like using plaster surfaces as opposed to painted spray foam), especially in a dark environment that guests may on catch a fleeting glance.

However, I do think the whole point of this installation is to replicate the HHN experience year-round, and not deliver something dramatically different from what guests expect when they think of HHN. That's the reason why the overall design elements and aesthetic are generally pretty similar here to what you would see and experience during an HHN park event.

Same ole. I see it popular for Halloween but not as a year rounder. A ride vehicle kind of attraction would have been interesting but the walkthrough scare thing is done everywhere

FYI, I did see a first hand report that indicated that mazes were closing to guests well ahead of the posted 10 PM closing time for the facility (9:30 PM). So if you happen to have a later entry into the attraction, it looks like it will be important to go through all of the mazes at least a half an hour before closing time with the expectation of spending that last 30 minutes in the bar and gift shop. Hopefully staff are notifying guests of this so they don't spend time at the bar and miss out on any of the mazes because they close early.