October Visit, But Not Doing HHN...

I am planning to make my way to UO in October, around the Columbus Day holiday. I've got young ones, and HHN is not my kind of thing, so we wouldn't be doing any HHNs.

I know I came across an article somewhere that talked about doing a Universal visit during this period, but I just can't find my way back to it. So please point me to any blogs/articles that discuss this.

Or we can talk about it here...

If I recall correctly, the downside to not doing the HHNs is that US will close early, and that there will be some prop set-ups around the park during regular hours, which aren't too menacing, but might be a little out of place.

My specific questions are: how limited are the hours...are we talking 5 PM closing when there is a HHN? Or does the park close even earlier? And are there any attractions in US that will close early/have limited showings/or won't be available at all? Is there any impact on IOA during October and/or on HHN nights?

Does anybody suggest pushing this trip a little later, like mid-November? I don't want to wait that long, but I'd consider it if it significantly improved the experience.

Thanks for reading. I've done UO a bunch of times, staying at HRH. But never during the HHN period.

Thanks for your help.

I already have the reservation at HRH for Columbus Day, at a decent price, so that's not a concern at this point. I haven't booked airfare yet, and I plan to do so soon, which is why I asked about potentially bumping to November (easy to cancel or change hotel reservations...not so easy to do that for flights).

Given what you said, I think I'm okay with October. One of my UO trips, was Christmas Week at the HRH for a couple nights, so I won't be surprised by the crowds. Fear Factor being closed inst an issue. And my daughter loved Popeye, so the warmer the better. My trip with her was August 2013, and (until our upcoming trip) we've been doing Disney in October, so the heat won't be a surprise.

Thanks again.

FWIW - we were there in November and it was cooold! The parks also closed at 6pm in November, so you'd be potentially postponing only to gain an hour of park time, which you may not even need.

GrnMtnMan said:

there will be some prop set-ups around the park during regular hours

Click to expand...

I haven't seen that since our 2011 trip. My son HATED the props that were up, but they haven't been there when we've been in October since. Not that I've noticed or that he's noticed, at least.

They always have props out during the day. Some are covered some aren't.

Not anything that would freak people out.

Props might not be the right word.....I was thinking about things like the Walking Dead camper. I recall seeing a picture of it during the daytime. Not menacing, but a little bit of a non sequitur during the day without the haunted houses open and the scare actors around.