Official 2024 Universal Studios HHN 33 Thread

[Skippyboo]

Last year people were lining up for Strangers Things stay and scream line before 4 pm. It was crazy.

 

[tony67]

Last year people were lining up for Strangers Things stay and scream line before 4 pm. It was crazy.

Yeah that was a total mess no doubt.

If you can afford it, buy EP.
Or go two nights (it's even cheaper) and plan for half the houses each night.

Even that is not a guarantee, but it is very likely - you still may need to go till closing even with EP or two nights without.
The first few weeks were really bad and some the the nights EP may have been oversold.
Even with EP people were reporting not getting all the houses done in a night.

That said - I had FFP with express and did all the houses on 10 different nights (well some nights I skipped one of them because it was not a good house)

No idea what it will be like this year obviously, but just be prepared and have a plan even with EP.

 

[shh]

yup - we had EP and still stayed till 2am. EP cuts wait time in HALF - so half is relative, depending upon how busy the night is. Sure wish it applied to the food lines lol. I always like to try a few goodies, but the lines were long and they were really understaffed the night I went.

 

[Skippyboo]

yup - we had EP and still stayed till 2am. EP cuts wait time in HALF - so half is relative, depending upon how busy the night is. Sure wish it applied to the food lines lol. I always like to try a few goodies, but the lines were long and they were really understaffed the night I went.

I think the kids zone construction didn’t help last year. They normally have more food booths in the area by animal actors. Having most of the food in that NY square area when all the soundstage houses are dumping people out by Fallon wasn’t ideal. That area was always super crowded

 

[mamapenguin]

Yes and it took 30 minutes just to walk inside the line area from the holding pen. What I meant is that getting in the holding pen by 5pm, when the park closes to day guests, it's already too late for the hottest ticket, standby. This means waiting 2 hours in line even before the event starts.

That was such a hot wait. Last of Us was the worst in the full sun. At least with ST you might have had a shot at shade from the buildings. I brought an umbrella for shade…We’ll see what happens this year. Last year was the first time that I had to wait 30 minutes to get into a holding pen before they opened only to walk directly into a house pen, and I was never first.

 

[Skippyboo]

That was such a hot wait. Last of Us was the worst in the full sun. At least with ST you might have had a shot at shade from the buildings. I brought an umbrella for shade…We’ll see what happens this year. Last year was the first time that I had to wait 30 minutes to get into a holding pen before they opened only to walk directly into a house pen, and I was never first.

For HHN 31, you could hang in NY stay and scream and then get in the house line closer to opening.

 

[nurseberta]

We are buying tickets for Wednesday ,October 16th. I’m really torn on the Express Passes. I think it would make our night awesome. But wow .. the cost. We’re Canadian so add almost 30% to those prices .
I’d love to hear what other people think. Should we get them? Or just go with a good touring plan and see what we see? I don’t need to see every single house but I also would like to see as much as I can. Tough decisions.

I will say, if you are 22 years old and have the stamina for a marathon, then I suppose it is doable but not advisable.
Something to consider: the switchbacks that are erected for HHN are miles long. every- single- one of them. (see a little example below!) this is not perfect but an example of how every line is very long and even if you get in early you are still walking the path and on your feet the entire time. Add to that the walking/running/jumping you do in the actual houses, you have almost no time sitting unless you go on a ride or sit to eat.

If you choose not to get express, I would have a very detailed plan set out for the earliest entry possible.

This is what we did at HHN 2022.....
If you are staying onsite, they let you into the first house from the side entrance (entrance for onsite guests only) this is the red path. We entered around 5pm, waited in line before the red sound stage and were let into the house (Hellblock Horror) before 5:30pm, make note that this is the only path for that entrance. We were out of that house and shuttled into the scream early ropes and lined up for Spirits of the Coven near Finnegan's. By then the lines for both houses in this area were well established. I would say by 5:20ish we joined the line for Spirits of the Coven (the less popular of the 2 in that area as compared to Halloween) and it was not long at all. We were walked down by staff and entered the queue of that house that opened with a 10 min wait by 5:40pm. Then by 6pm we were at the front of the park taking pics of the Pumpkin Lord. So we did 2 houses before official opening time.

 

[FreckledOne]

Thinking about attending my first HHN on Sunday 22 September. Will express passes be necessary?

 

[keishashadow]

Yes and it took 30 minutes just to walk inside the line area from the holding pen. What I meant is that getting in the holding pen by 5pm, when the park closes to day guests, it's already too late for the hottest ticket, standby. This means waiting 2 hours in line even before the event starts.

Lost exact count of event nights we attended last year in sept & oct, lucky to not have that sort of wait for first houses

Last year people were lining up for Strangers Things stay and scream line before 4 pm. It was crazy.

Raising hand. Group of 2 some nights, others 4 pp. we took turns holding down the spot while others did food & drink runs. Crowd was actually quite pleasant, festival atmosphere

I always like to try a few goodies, but the lines were long and they were really understaffed the night I went.

Seriously, if not early on ugh. Seems like everyone wants to eat between 9&10 pm

Thinking about attending my first HHN on Sunday 22 September. Will express passes be necessary?

Our sept dates had far longer lines

Admittedly, semi obsessed with this site during the event that monitors wait times

https://www.thrill-data.com/hhn/orlando/2023

 

[Skywalker3]

Priced at our likely night, Oct 9, for 2 people, DS and me: tickets plus express: 549.50, for the 1 night. That's the cheapest night that week. Quite a lot to drop on one night, but I'll do it. I don't ever plan to do HHN w/o express again, unless I had multiples nights. I'm not ready to commit to dates though. I know we're in Orlando, Oct 6-12, so one day that week. But....DD's fall break is actually the 12-14, so trying to figure out a way for her to get down there, maybe for the 2 of us to do it Sunday night. So I might just look at a multinight ticket at some point.
So excited things are heating up. Hoping for some hints very soon on a house...Appreciate that list above that has all the previous years house announcements dates.

 

[FreckledOne]

Our sept dates had far longer lines

Admittedly, semi obsessed with this site during the event that monitors wait times

https://www.thrill-data.com/hhn/orlando/2023

Well, now I‘m going to become obsessed with that site.

Shoot. Might just switch to closing weekend. Wait times were not bad at all.

 

[tony67]

Our sept dates had far longer lines

Yeah - it did seem not as bad as I had expected in October - I have to assume the issue was ROF in September.

 

[soniam]

Well, now I‘m going to become obsessed with that site.

Shoot. Might just switch to closing weekend. Wait times were not bad at all.

It was also announced late, which probably helped.

 

[shh]

oof - those express pass prices. Every year the devil sits on one shoulder nagging me to go fetch my credit card post-haste. The angel sits on the other gently protesting that spending 500-600+ on a single theme park evening is a bit questionable. Guess who gets their way each and every year?

Not this one

 

[Suger Mag]

So excited, going Nov 1 for the first time. Just got our tickets and express passes!! Now to decide on what hotel.... leaning Aventura, we are staying just the one night

 

[Aazzdayen]

Was pointed this topic from another post of mine. My wife, myself, two daughters (teen and early 20s) are going to Disney Oct 5-12 (5th is arrival day and 12th we’re leaving) with a 3-day Disney park ticket usable 7th-11th. Thinking about checking out HHN but the prices are throwing me of a little. If we did a normal ticket, what are the odds of us seeing all the houses? Would 2 nights of normal tickets at a leisure place get us through the houses? Would an express pass get us through all the houses? Is it as busy on a Sunday versus a Wednesday?

 

[zavandor]

Was pointed this topic from another post of mine. My wife, myself, two daughters (teen and early 20s) are going to Disney Oct 5-12 (5th is arrival day and 12th we’re leaving) with a 3-day Disney park ticket usable 7th-11th. Thinking about checking out HHN but the prices are throwing me of a little. If we did a normal ticket, what are the odds of us seeing all the houses? Would 2 nights of normal tickets at a leisure place get us through the houses? Would an express pass get us through all the houses? Is it as busy on a Sunday versus a Wednesday?

Possible? Yes, but it requires a very good plan executed with military precision, early entry via Stay and Scream (a paid extra or a park ticket for the day), extremely early queueing in the holding pens (think 3:30pm), a lot of walking (A LOT), a lot of standing on your feet in line (A LOT) and staying until the very last minute.
Doable? Maybe, if it's not too crowded and you have a lot of stamina (A LOT).
Enjoyable? Questionable.

Wednesday should be better than Sunday, which is way better than Friday and Saturday.

 

[FreckledOne]

It was also announced late, which probably helped.

Ah, that‘s why the wait times were green last year. I am trying to get away with not purchasing express passes for a one night visit, but I might just have to do it.

From reading last year‘s experiences, the crowds seemed to be overwhelming at times. I hate waiting in line for more than 30 minutes. Add in FL humidity, I‘ll turn into a horror character.

 

[Aazzdayen]

Possible? Yes, but it requires a very good plan executed with military precision, early entry via Stay and Scream (a paid extra or a park ticket for the day), extremely early queueing in the holding pens (think 3:30pm), a lot of walking (A LOT), a lot of standing on your feet in line (A LOT) and staying until the very last minute.
Doable? Maybe, if it's not too crowded and you have a lot of stamina (A LOT).
Enjoyable? Questionable.

Wednesday should be better than Sunday, which is way better than Friday and Saturday.

Do you or others think it is worth it? Never been, only have heard the hype. I’ll be honest, I’m starting to lean to no. ~$400 for 4x normal tickets with a high probability of not seeing everything and being exhausted afterwards or almost triple the cost and get express passes for ~$1100 and still might not see everything. Just wondering if it is an above and beyond event especially when i can go to haunted overload in NH for a fraction of the price.

 

[zavandor]

Do you or others think it is worth it? Never been, only have heard the hype. I’ll be honest, I’m starting to lean to no. ~$400 for 4x normal tickets with a high probability of not seeing everything and being exhausted afterwards or almost triple the cost and get express passes for ~$1100 and still might not see everything. Just wondering if it is an above and beyond event especially when i can go to haunted overload in NH for a fraction of the price.

It is not an event for everyone. It is very expensive, it's overcrowded, often frustrating.
And sometimes you go in a house and you miss all the best scares, because you'll be rushed and you won't be able to linger to appreciate all the details.

But you could say the same about the theme parks in general: why go to Orlando and spend thousands in travel, hotels and tickets when you can go to a local regional park for a fraction of the cost?

If you don't buy Expess it might still be worth it, just go in with reasonable expectations. Plan for a few houses that appeal you the most, walk around the scare zones, try some novelty food, watch the show and you'll have a great night anyway.
If you're a completioninst and you wouldn't be happy if you won't experience everything, go multiple nights, buy express or prepare to suffer with a commando style touring plan.

I think the Halloween event at Sea World is a good value for money. It costs 1/3 of the HHN, has fewer houses but it's less crowded so easier to experience. Lines for attractions are short, so if you like coasters you can easily get your money worth just for that. A couple of the shows were decent. And the houses are good. But they're not HHN. They're not in the same category or even on the same planet. If you want the best, go to HHN (this said by someone who doesn't even like horror movies).