Universal Orlando this year seems to have triggered a different type of fear this year, however, and that's left a lot of fans howling, not laughing. It's the fear that the nation's most popular Halloween event might be taking steps toward becoming a dry event like its Hollywood sibling.
Let's be clear. The alcohol still flows at Universal Studios Florida's Halloween Horror Nights. But it's not flowing in exactly the way that Universal had promoted that it would, in the week leading up to last Friday's opening night. And that's stoked fears among some fans.
Universal had promoted on its blog that it would be selling watermelon-flavored Jell-O shots in squeezable heart-shaped containers at this year's Halloween Horror Nights. (And when we say "heart shaped," we are talking the human organ here, not Valentine's shapes.) But when the event opened, the heart-shaped shots were nowhere to be found, and Universal team members said that the shots would not be available during this year's event. Universal also has taken down the blog post page that promoted the heart shots.
"In terms of beverage sale during this year's Halloween Horror Nights, we'll be placing a greater emphasis on beer and wine as compared to other kinds of alcohol. All locations will be offering an expanded beer and wine selection," Universal Orlando spokesperson Tom Schroder said in response to my request for a comment.
"That said, we are still offering our specialty drinks (Liquid Courage, Liquid Fear, Midnight Madness). But we are not offering Jello shots," Schroder said.
Yet many fans took to Facebook groups to complain that they could not order mixed drinks in any of the bar tents around the event. Only Universal's pre-mixed speciality drinks were available. Fans wanting a mixed drink to order had to queue at the bar at Finnegan's instead.
Now, with all that beer, wine, and those specialty drinks available at multiple tents around the park, this year's Halloween Horror Nights is about as dry as a guest coming off of Dudley Do-Right's Ripsaw Falls. But any move to restrict or reduce alcohol sales at the event stirs fear among some fans that Universal one day will stop alcohol sales at Halloween Horror Nights in Orlando, as it did in Hollywood when that event returned after a multiple-year hiatus — a break that many blame on drunken guests' unruly behavior during previous events.
Drunks have created problems at Orlando's Halloween Horror Nights in the past, just as they have at any event that serves alcohol. But non-drinkers create problems, too, and it's up to a park's security and operations teams to minimize those disruptions and swiftly escort trouble-makers from the park, whether they've been drinking or not. Smartly-managed alcohol sales are one tool among many that parks can use to prevent problems and lessen the burden on their in-park teams.
"We are always refining our approach to food and beverage, and we wanted to see if an expanded beer and wine selection is a better fit for this event," Schroder said.
So let's put it this way: If you want theme parks to continue selling alcohol, do your part to support that by not becoming a problem when you drink.
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From a logistical perspective, drinking a beer makes far more sense since most HHN maze lines stretch for hours, so with limited purchase locations, it's easier to grab a big beer to sip while waiting in line instead of pounding a shot and then stumbling down a wandering queue for 3 hours. Personally, I tend to stray from the alcohol altogether (aside from maybe a pre-event drink at Finnegan's) because it's not worth taking time to stand in line for a beverage when there's so much to do at HHN. However, if making Orlando's HHN a dry event makes it less crowded, but with the same level of quality, I'd be all for it. Though something tells me that event designers count on that beer money to pay for their elaborate concepts.
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