Based on official word from Halloween Horror Nights social media feed, it looks like Halloween Horror Nights will be happening for all guests this evening. Also, that same social media feed indicated that Universal Orlando would open for theme park operation starting Saturday October 1^st. For theme park fans, this comes as good news. The flooding and wind damage of Hurricane Ian created far more havoc than expected. Photos may be found online of large flooding and structural damage to many buildings in Florida. Still, one of the safest places to be during a hurricane would be Universal Orlando Resort.

This morning, resort hotel guests were given access to Volcano Bay and CityWalk area. For many of them, this came after spending basically two days tucked into their resort hotels. The reopening of Universal Orlando will be slow today. Most reports indicate that all guests with tickets to Halloween Horror Nights may enter Universal Studios Florida at 5pm. So, no one will get access to stay and scream areas. This could create an interesting dynamic for opening tonight.

Since almost every food tent for Halloween Horror Nights was taken down in preparation for hurricane Ian, I doubt many of those food booths will be in operation tonight for those attending Halloween Horror Nights. At this point, we can only speculate on how the operation will run tonight at Halloween Horror Nights.

I keep checking my contact group and my email for updates. Yet, as of the time of writing, we do not have specifics about exactly what might be open starting Saturday October 1^st. As someone who might be flying down on October 2^nd now, I possess a great deal of curiosity about this.

Based on history and my sourcing, I expect many aspects of Universal Orlando to be closed or functioning at limited capacity for a few days. The cleanup process will take some time. Many Team Members lost power where they live so getting a theme park ready lowered in importance.

If I fly down, I will update the appearance at Universal Orlando and Walt Disney World. However, based on the best information available, all Team Members scheduled to work tonight for Halloween Horror Nights and regular park hours Saturday have been asked to show up for work.

I want to express my best wishes to all Team Members and resort hotel guests going through this. I know we say thoughts and prayer so often that it loses meaning. Yet, I have prayed for this area of our country during this weather event. Yes, someone with the twitter handle @pastorjonself would do that. If you visit Universal Orlando anytime soon, remember to be nice to Team Members since this week created great stress upon them. Thanks for reading!