Seven days and counting to vacation.
HHN time is here. This is a photo of my Niece B on our first night of HHN 30 in 2021.
She loves Halloween as much as I do. I love this pic. I will share more of those photos as I go through more of the information on HHN’s past.
Now onto tips for those that have never attended HHN.
1. Weather…… If you are traveling from an area of cooler climates be prepared to enjoy the Florida heat. Typically it is very warm and muggy in Florida this time of year. This is also the rainy season so there is water too.
Bring a rain poncho for your backpack. On the subject of backpacks only carry what you need. I will guarantee you will not want to be carrying a huge backpack around in the heat.
That being said there can be enjoyable nights at times during HHN were there is a breeze and the temp is in the mid 80’s.
2. Hydration…..I know folks think they drink enough water when out in the parks, but the extra activity as well as the heat can cause you to dehydrate quickly. Make sure to drink plenty of water. Ice water is free at any of the areas that sell sodas. I have also heard you can fill up your water bottle at the free style machines.
3. Conserve your energy…….Make sure to rest up the day of your HHN Night. Save your energy and rest your feet, because you are going to be doing a lot of walking and standing in line for the Haunted Houses.
The Haunted Houses are located in the back lots. You enter the lines for the Houses from the regular park area, but the paths to the Houses and the roped lines are sometimes a big hike.
Doing a day in the parks then HHN In the evening is a lot. I have seen folks in great shape burnt out after such a day. If you can, save your energy for the evening.
4. Entering HHN for the evening……….You have a few options. If you get into the park before it is closed to the day guests that do not have HHN tickets for the evening then you can go to a “Stay and Scream“ area. You have to have a regular park ticket or AP to do this.
These areas are set up to allow folks that are already in the parks with regular park tickets or AP’s and HHN tickets for the evening to stay and be released to the haunted houses before the other folks who are at the gates waiting to get in.
You can purchase a ”Stay & Scream” ticket for an extra cost if you do not have a regular park ticket for the day and want to be inside the park and be released to the Houses early from one of the “Stay & Scream” areas.
If you are an onsite Resort guest they usually have a special entrance open during HHN for you to be scanned through and enter. So utilize that if you can as the line to get into the park from the regular entrance will be long.
Look at the HHN map. Choose a “Stay & Scream” area close to the Houses you want to see first.
5. Go during the week……..If you can, go during the week. Wednesday and Thursday night will be typically less crowded then the Weekend.
6. Time saving Tours and EP………HHN has really exploded in popularity over the years especially the past couple of years. If you have limited time and can afford it buying into one of the Tours for the evening is the way to go. There are two Tour Types to choose from.
Public RIP TOUR……You will have a Tour Guide for the evening that will take you to the front door of each of the Haunted Houses once during the evening. There is no waiting in line for you.
Included in your Tour is food and dessert offerings at Cafe La Bamba before your Tour starts and you can return with your Tour group during the event for a rest stop and refreshments.
Also included in the Tour is a HHN lanyard and rest stops at two air conditioned cocktail lounges set up in the park just for the Tours. These are for pay cocktail lounges. Seats are also set aside for your group at the nighttime show.
At the end of your Tour you can use your RIP Lanyard card as Express pass to all the rides that are open for the evening.
I have taken the Public Tour the last few years and they are very nice. The Tour Guides are very knowledgeable about all the Haunted Houses and share that information with you.
At the end of the Tour remember your Tour Guide and bless them with a tIp. I know the Tours are expensive, but the Guides can receive tips and they work really hard for them.
Private RIP TOUR……This is a tour that an individual has bought on their own. They then with the help of their Tour Guide set up the evening the way they want to. They invite others to join their tour. The cost of Tour is split among the number of people invited.
Also in the past the person who bought the Tour could let Universal know they had positions in their tours still available and Universal would help them find people to fill their spots if needed. I‘am not sure if this is still the case. Someone can pop in and let us know.
The Private Tour Guide can the take members of the tour into the Houses as many times as they want during the evening of the Tour. There is also time set aside to go to the front of the line on the rides that are open during the event.
In the past the Private Tours would check in at guest services and be taken to the second floor of the building to watch the gates open for the evening if your tour started during that time. Then you were taken to Cafe La Bamba for food and desserts before your tour started.
Also included in this tour are the air conditioned lounge stops for the evening. You can also return in the evening with your tour group for a rest and refreshments.
In this Tour the evening is planed by the person who purchased the Tour. In the Public Tour the Tour guide plans the flow of the evening.
I have been invited to join a few private Tours and they were wonderful.
Express Pass…..Express Pass for HHN is different than Express Pass for your day visit to the park. HHN is a separately ticketed event therefore there is an Express Pass available for the event.
The Express Pass is set up to allow you to go to the Express line to enter the houses quicker then those without Express.
If you have ever been to HHN and seen the regular lines to get into houses the Express Pass is a life saver and worth the money. That being said you will not walk right to the front door of the houses upon entering the Express line (unless it is later in the night on a non-busy night) You are going to wait a little as Express has become very popular with people.
Last year I waited at most 25 minutes in line for the more popular houses with my Express Pass.
Remember the weekend is busier and it looks like this is going to be a bumper year with some very popular houses so wait times with EP could be longer on the Weekends depending on how many Express Passes have been sold.
If you have your HHN ticket already you can go online at Universal Orlando and pick your date to purchase your EP. You can wait until the evening of your HHN visit and buy the EP for the night at guest services or in others areas of the park. The passes can sell out for the night so beware of that.
7. Multi-night tickets…….Like Rush of Fear, Frequent Fear etc…will allow you multiple nights to visit HHN. You can look at the Multi-night tickets and see which one would fit your needs if you are going to be going multiple nights during your stay at the Resorts or if you are a local.
These tickets have the option of adding EP to them.
The multi-night tickets allow you more time to see the Haunted Houses over a period of days if you do not wish to invest in the Tours or EP.
I know there are some people who have been able according to them to see every house in an evening without EP or a Tour, but my guess it has taken careful planning on a slow night with Stay & Scream for that to occur.
I’am older and I cannot commando the event like I used to. So it is not much fun for me to feel as though I have to wreck myself to see everything in one night. I want to see and enjoy the Houses and Scare zones and be able to walk upright after a night of HHN…LOL…..I have seen many a youngster crying the blues crumpled on the pier waiting for the Water Taxi to pick us up to go back to the Resort.
That being said, I know there are some who are attending for the first time and only have one or two nights. That is where the EP or a Tour would help.
7. Wear comfortable shoes…… you have already broken in for the trip. I saw many youngsters last year standing with their shoes off with angry blisters on their heels and toes. You will be walking your feet off and shoes you might have worn for a couple of hours Before will now be On your Feet for hours in the heat. Be kind to your feet they hold you up. Make sure to have some bandaids just in case you need them.
8. Drink responsibly…... There is alcohol served during the event. Those fun flavored cocktails in the flashing glasses are interesting to try, but when you consume to many you can ruin your evening as well as someone else’s.
Lots of alcohol and heat does not go well. It will dehydrate you quicker and make you sick.
9. Security for all……….there is security that are everywhere during the event. It is sad that this has to happen, but there are always a few that can’t keep their hands to themselves. When you have crowds of people in all age groups and there is alcohol you have a potential recipe for disaster.
That being said I have only witnessed issues a couple of times in all the years I have attended.
10. The Scareactors are awesome……..They are there because they love the event and want to be part of the entertainment. There are some Actors that do wear stilts as part of their costume. They can be injured if pushed causing them to fall. This happened last year as well as few other incidents. There are also roaming Scareactors in the Scare Zones and Actors in houses. They are the reason we have a HHN to go to. Be nice to them and enjoy the event.
11. Should I take my child with me to HHN……The information shared by Universal is that the event is not suggested for children under the age of 13. That being said there are according to some parents children that are not affected by the Haunted Houses or Scare Zones. I think it is a common sense approach and I would follow Universals suggested age limit.
There is alcohol being served at the event as noted above.
12. Go in and have a wonder around Diagon Alley.……You will never see this area this open and crowd free as it is on the nights of HHN. Enjoy some Potter time.
Hope this helps someone who is going or thinking of going to HHN this year.
If anyone else has additional information to share please do. There is a sticky on the Universal boards set up by the lovely keishashadow ” Official 2023 Halloween Horror Nights 32 (Orlando)” There is lots of information there so go have a look.
So go and have the best time ever at HHN 32 this year.
To be continued
