avoiding HHN 2010 and best day for crowds?

[Hardy]

Ok, I have not been to Universal in years, but we are die hard Disney fans and go as much as possible! Well, we are also die hard Harry Potter fans, so next year, we will be taking a day to go to IoA to visit. I did not even know about the whole Halloween thing, is that at US or IoA or both? What type of hours can be expected for IoA while this is going on? We are looking for the absolute lowest crowd day, we are arriving Sunday Oct. 24 2010, and leaving Nov. 1 first thing in the morning. I was thinking Tuesday or Wednesday to visit, would that typically be a lowest crowd time?

Also, as far as dining goes, we are not going to want to miss out on the whole HP experience, so how and when do we make reservations for dining?

Thanks so much, I am almost looking forward more to visiting HP than Disney!

 

[Purseval]

Halloween Horror Nights is at night, after the regular parks close. There's nothing to avoid. You also don't need to make reservations for dining.

 

[macraven]

Since you will be going to IOA sometime in the last week of October, aim for Tuesday to do the park.

No HHN on that night, which will mean less peeps in the park that day.

 

[Cdn Friends of Pooh]

Halloween Horror Nights is an evening event - held on the studios side, so if you are visiting IOA during the day, you won't even know it's going on. HHN also does not impact IOA closing hours - and depending on the day, it either closes at 6:00 pm or 7:00 pm. As for dining reservations, unlike Disney, you don't need to make advance dining reservations 180 days in advance. If you want to make a reservation for peace of mind, you can do that a day or so ahead of your visit by calling the IOA central reservations number at (407) 224-9255.

 

[AussiePJ]

What nights of the week is HHN on?

We are there the first week of October and are definately doing it. Using the express pass option as well but I want to make sure we get to all the houses and the Bill and Ted show so I want to avoid Friday and Saturday nights. I ahve also heard that Sunday is starting to get ridiculous as well now so I am trying to gauge alternatives.

 

[macraven]

Thursday was added this year for early october.
Wednesday night is added in the middle of the month for hhn.


First weekend is Fri and Sat.
weekends after that include the thursday and sunday nights.

i don't have a calendar in front of me to see how the dates will be for '10.

 

[Cdn Friends of Pooh]

What nights of the week is HHN on?

We are there the first week of October and are definately doing it. Using the express pass option as well but I want to make sure we get to all the houses and the Bill and Ted show so I want to avoid Friday and Saturday nights. I ahve also heard that Sunday is starting to get ridiculous as well now so I am trying to gauge alternatives.

Most likely it will be the Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday ... unfortunately we won't know for certain until the Oct hours for the Studios are released and the official dates for HHN are released.

 

[AussiePJ]

Thanks heaps guys.

We will probably aim for Thursday with Sunday as a back up.

 

[Metro West]

I'll be curious to see how WWoHP will affect the HHN crowds next fall.

 

[Hardy]

Thanks for the replies! Good to know HHN won't be a factor....will probably aim for Tuesday to go, I'm sure it will be busy, as Deathly Hallows Part 1 will be released in November, and of course true HP fans will all want to go visit But anyway, we plan on being there before park opening and making a whole day of it, bit of sticker shock on the price for just one day, but I trust there will be plenty of fun....both of my kids are thrill seekers, and the only thing that holds them back are height restrictions.

 

[Rip]

Thanks for the replies! Good to know HHN won't be a factor....will probably aim for Tuesday to go, I'm sure it will be busy, as Deathly Hallows Part 1 will be released in November, and of course true HP fans will all want to go visit But anyway, we plan on being there before park opening and making a whole day of it, bit of sticker shock on the price for just one day, but I trust there will be plenty of fun....both of my kids are thrill seekers, and the only thing that holds them back are height restrictions.

IMO, do yourself a favor and buy the 7-day passes online now. I'm not sure why the one-day passes are a "sticker shock", they are in line with every other theme park in the area, but for multiple days you can't go wrong.

 

[Metro West]

IMO, do yourself a favor and buy the 7-day passes online now. I'm not sure why the one-day passes are a "sticker shock", they are in line with every other theme park in the area, but for multiple days you can't go wrong.

Agreed.

 

[Hardy]

IMO, do yourself a favor and buy the 7-day passes online now. I'm not sure why the one-day passes are a "sticker shock", they are in line with every other theme park in the area, but for multiple days you can't go wrong.

I guess I was expecting it to be more in line with Busch Garden tickets, although now that I think about it I always get those for the VA resident price

We definitely are only doing one day though, this is a Disney vacation with a side trip to Universal, we are staying on DVC points at Kidani, but are hoping (but not holding our breath!) to switch to Boardwalk to enjoy Epcot more during the F&W festival!

 

[brenda1966]

So, am I to understand that HHN will likely be on Weds, Thurs, Fri, and Sat nights on that last week of October, right before Oct 31???!!!

So, my plan to visit US on Thurs/Fri is probably a bad plan. I don't want to try to maneuver around the park closing early. I don't want to pay peak rates for the hotel.

So, would it be better to taxi from WDW over to US on Tuesday, do one park, stay the night, do the other park, and then head back to WDW Weds night?

The thought of having two hotels booked for the same night makes me a bit crazed. LOL. Maybe I should do a split WDW stay and try a new hotel at the end of the week?

There are so many ways to slice it, I hope I get it figured out by October.

 

[macraven]

i always do a 2 week vacation in orlando.

i start by staying onsite at the motherland then switching to the darkside for the last week of my trip.

if you want to do the motherland for the entire stay, then just taxi or mears to UO for a day.
go for tuesday.

like some others will be doing, stay at disney with a one night booking onsite at the darkside. use a taxi back and forth.


the most ideal would be to try a new hotel resort and add time for the darkside at the end of your disney trip.


i used to do the entire stay at the motherland.
then in 1995, i started to spend the vacation time at both places entirely.
it works for me.

brenda, if you have not been to UO/darkside before, you may just want to do a one night stay over so you can use the express pass lines for rides and shows.

 

[brenda1966]

Thanks. Am now thinking of maybe starting my week at US and then switching to WDW. I don't want to endure the halloween crowds. This is shaping up to be a hotel hopping trip. Friend wants to do 1 night at Cocoa beach. Then I'd move to a cheap hotel by US for 1 night, then do my 2 days and 1 expensive night at US. Then move to WDW and finish out the week right. I only have 1 week -- fall break for DD's school. Buying 2 sets of 2 day passes is going to break the bank I think, but I must ride E.T. and see HP!

 

[macraven]

and you MUST see the horror make up show.


it is a hoot...........sit up front if you can


sounds like you have a plan.

hit the beach, offsite at UO, stay onsite at UO and then switch to the motherland for the rest of your vacation.

it will work out fine.