First time to Universal in October...how should we do it?...

[KristiA]

I think we are buying two day tickets. There will be four adults and our kids are 15, 12 and 9. What are the must do's? Is there a thread already pointing this out? Just read a bit about the HHN and it looks like this won't be ok for our 9 yo, but I think the older two would love it. Any tips, advice, etc. would be appreciated!

 

[patster734]

If part of your group is doing HHN, I advise using one of your day visits at US on the same day to take advantage of the Stay and Scream holding area inside US. This will give those in your group doing HHN as head start on guests outside the park.

Also, when buying the HHN ticket, be sure to get the best discount, which will probably be the Stay and Scream rate. If you haven't purchased your day ticket yet, you can purchase the HHN ticket at the Stay and Scream rate either at Universal Studios website or by calling. If you already have your day ticket, and had purchased it directly from Universal, you can call Universal and get the Stay and Scream rate HHN ticket by supplying your order number. If you purchased your ticket from an outside vendor (such as Undercovertourist), then I believe that you'll have to purchased the HHN ticket at the park from guest services to get the Stay and Scream rate.

Have you thought about what the remainder of your group will be doing during this time? Citywalk has a movie complex and a new miniature golf course. There's also a Blue Men theater at Citywalk.

 

[Metro West]

I think we are buying two day tickets. There will be four adults and our kids are 15, 12 and 9. What are the must do's? Is there a thread already pointing this out? Just read a bit about the HHN and it looks like this won't be ok for our 9 yo, but I think the older two would love it. Any tips, advice, etc. would be appreciated!

Crowd wise you should be fine...it's generally light during October. I think everything is a must do and with the light crowds, you shouldn't have any problems doing what you want. HHN is at the Studios so your best bet would be to purchase the HHN tickets at the Stay & Scream discount. This will allow those interested to stay in the park after day closing. There is a holding area that they would wait in until 6pm when those folks are released into the park. This will allow a jump on the houses since the main gates aren't opened until 6:30pm. Now...you can purchase the HHN tickets at the S & S discount for any night you want to go but if you aren't in the Studios prior to closing that night, you'll have to wait outside in the general public line...which gets very long very fast.

 

[glocon]

With two days you should be able to do it all. Especially if you happen to be staying onsite for unlimited express. And just in case you weren't aware, HHN is a separate hard ticket.

I would look at the UO website to explore all the ride and show optiions out there if I were you. It is very exciting to plan and anticipate....

 

[Maytrix]

Definitely consider staying onsite. It's well worthwhile - between the express and convenience of being right there, its great!

15 year old will probably love HHN - Not sure about a 12 year old, but why not give it a shot. Just let them know what to expect (i.e. crazy looking people running towards you with chainsaws (remind them there is no chain on it and they are actors and no one gets hurt))

With express, you can easily do everything in 2 days. We make our trips to Universal (next weekend in fact) for 3 days. I find it allows us to do all the rides as much as we want. We even may spend some time at the pool, although I'd rather ride Bluto's over and over (last time we did it 16 times!)

I also find you don't need to do just 1 park and then the other park. We often start at IOA and then go to USF and then back to IOA for a few more rides on our walk back to Royal Pacific.