Halloween Horror Nights 2013

[Brandis]

see you there on the 6th!

i don't feel that the hhn ticket will be sold out in advance for that night.


it is more during the end of hhn that certain dates sell out.

buy the hhn ticket before 4:15 that sunday in the park.
lines at guest service can get long around that time as many decide to stay for the hhn event that day while they are in the park.

Thanks! I already have the Express Pass for that night as well as a table reservation for Finnegans at 4:45, so I'm pretty much locked into that night. Planning on quickly dropping buy the the day before and get the ticket then as I'll be in the area anyways.

 

[b8nker]

We have never been before and will be there Oct. 17-21. Do you think it would be alright to take an 11 year old boy?

 

[Brandis]

I don't think Universal gives a firm guideline on what age HHN is appropriate for, but they say it might be too intense for young children.

Also, there is no discount for children, you will need to buy an adult ticket for him as well.

Just keep in mind this is nothing like Disney's Halloween event...

 

[Metro West]

Do Sunday HHN in early october usually sell out (fast)?

As I already have Universal tickets, I cannot buy the discounted S&S ticket online and will need to buy them at Universal directly.

If I want to go on Sunday, Oct. 6, do you think I will be fine getting the HHN ticket the day before or could they already be sold out by then?

You shouldn't have any issues going that early in the event.

We have never been before and will be there Oct. 17-21. Do you think it would be alright to take an 11 year old boy?

If your son can handle "in your face" scares, blood and guts and the like, sure...he'd enjoy it. If he doesn't like stuff like that, save your money. I've already seen several strollers during the event which really bothers me but...what do you do?

Thanks Metro West! So it is doable without express passes? I have 13 people going (we're coming from NYC) for my birthday and not everyone wants to spend the extra money on express pass...we figured we'd try and do 4 houses one night and 4 houses the 2nd night (although I think I'll wind up wanting to do AWIL on both nights since everyone is raving about it! )

Sounds like a lot of fun for the group. If you aren't doing Stay & Scream, make sure you're as close to the entrance by 5PM as possible so the wait isn't terribly long to enter the park. Do what you can the first night and then return ready to finish things off. AWIL is great! The wolves are very life like...I'm sure you'll love it!

 

[macraven]

We have never been before and will be there Oct. 17-21. Do you think it would be alright to take an 11 year old boy?

if your son can't handle it, and you leave the park, there are no refunds.

hhn website recommends the event is not for children under 13.

 

[PolyGuy]

Here's our thoughts & rankings on all 8 mazes this year:
http://allaroundorlando.blogspot.com/2013/09/halloween-horror-nights-23-maze.html

Also, here's a link to videos of all 8 houses. Most are dark thru-out but there are spots where you can see some great scenery. We were invited by Universal to film for our YouTube channel, as normally taping & pictures are not allowed:

http://allaroundorlando.blogspot.com/2013/09/universal-studios-florida-halloween_22.html

 

[PolyGuy]

if your son can't handle it, and you leave the park, there are no refunds.

hhn website recommends the event is not for children under 13.

I think this is a marketing tool. The houses & scare zones are on a much more impressive scale than a Six Flags Fright Fest, but not that much more intense or scary. My 10 year old goes thru the houses with her sisters and is fine.

The real issues are with the shows. Bill & Ted's drop some 4 letter words, and has a sexual overtone. Rocky Horror is Rocky Horror. I personally enjoy the shows, but I can see how some parents would not be comfortable watching these with their young children.

 

[DCTooTall]

I think this is a marketing tool. The houses & scare zones are on a much more impressive scale than a Six Flags Fright Fest, but not that much more intense or scary. My 10 year old goes thru the houses with her sisters and is fine.

The real issues are with the shows. Bill & Ted's drop some 4 letter words, and has a sexual overtone. Rocky Horror is Rocky Horror. I personally enjoy the shows, but I can see how some parents would not be comfortable watching these with their young children.

I'll go one further and say that the real issue can also be the other guests and atmosphere of the event.

Yes.... there can be language, sexual overtones, and of course the blood and guts and horror throughout the event's activities.

BUT... There is also massive amounts of alcohol flowing and extreme crowds. Add in the frightening aspects and the dark, and it can sometimes be a powder keg or a place which may not be the best place to bring a child. The crowds and alcohol can sometimes lead to short tempers, fights, or other incidents which are the reason during HHN the local police are highly visible and have an expanded facility at the hub between the parking decks. You also have a lot more adults who are attending what is obviously a more mature event with lots of alcohol availability who will behave more like they are in a child-free zone than they would in public place which kids could be reasonably expected to be present. [Language, PDA, etc].

I'm personally a firm believer that HHN should be treated as a HARD PG-13/Soft-R type of rating, due to not only the official HHN events, but the overall party atmosphere that the guests can give the place. Some parents and kids could probably feel that their 13 or 14 year old horror junky child can handle the event just fine. While others may feel uneasy letting their 16/17yr old attend. But I do believe that you should know what to expect if you plan on taking your child, and be aware that beyond the straight horror aspects of the houses and scare zones, the child will be exposed to lots of drunk guests, Strong Language, Sexual innuendo, half-naked monsters and performers, PDA, possible violence, and lots of Drunk guests. (Seriously... there is basically a bar every 100ft during the event. I seldom have an empty glass in my hand unless I'm in a house, show, or ride.)

 

[chrisn]

Like I posted before...the S & S house is An American Werewolf in London which is open early as is The Cabin in the Woods but they are not right beside each other. Evil Dead and Resident Evil open at 6:30PM. Those are the soundstage houses. If you wanted to do the stage houses first, do it in this order: AWIL, The Cabin in the Woods, Evil Dead and Resident Evil. Then move to another part of the park and do those. Since the passholder party ends this weekend, I don't know which of those houses will remain open if there is a holding area near ET. All other houses should be open by 6:30PM.

I'm only suggesting a route that should save time and steps.

Thank you...that's exactly what I wanted. We only have the one night so we definitely don't want to waste time.

 

[Bluer101]

DW wants to know if she can wear open toe sandals to HHN. Like the sport Velcro style.

She wears these to the parks all the time but we have never attended HHN.

 

[patrickpiteo]

DW wants to know if she can wear open toe sandals to HHN. Like the sport Velcro style. She wears these to the parks all the time but we have never attended HHN.

See no reason why not

 

[Metro West]

See no reason why not

Yeah...I don't see any reason not to either.

 

[MRAven]

Having been twice, this is what I would do to see the houses...

Since you will do S & S, the first house you will do is American Werewolf in London...which is awesome! I would then go to The Cabin in the Woods since it opens before the other soundstage houses. When you exit this house, you will be at the entrance to Evil Dead. Do that one provided it's after 6:30PM when it opens. Then tackle Resident Evil which is in the middle of the soundstage houses. That's all the soundstage houses so you can move along to Havoc: Derailed which is behind the Beetlejuice theater. That's the only house in that area.

Once you're over by MIB, do Afterlife and finally head over to the final two houses near ET. Make sure you do The Walking Dead first...the exit dumps you at the entrance to La Llorona. It will save you LOTS of walking to do these two houses in this order...don't forget.

If you are interested in the shows, you'll have to check the times when you're at the park and work around those.

If you've never done HHN before, make sure you understand the insane amount of walking you are going to do. My plan above will hopefully save you some steps. Since you will have EPs, don't use them first thing. Wait until the lines get to 45 minutes or so before using them. I know you'll be tempted but you only get one time through each house so use it wisely. Saturday night we saw people using their EP first thing when the line was less than 10 minutes!

I will be in the S & S area on 10/18 too if you want to say hi.

Thank you will defenatly take your advice.

 

[Bluer101]

See no reason why not

Yeah...I don't see any reason not to either.

We will see you that Friday night, looking forward to it.

 

[Planogirl]

I think this is a marketing tool. The houses & scare zones are on a much more impressive scale than a Six Flags Fright Fest, but not that much more intense or scary. My 10 year old goes thru the houses with her sisters and is fine.

The real issues are with the shows. Bill & Ted's drop some 4 letter words, and has a sexual overtone. Rocky Horror is Rocky Horror. I personally enjoy the shows, but I can see how some parents would not be comfortable watching these with their young children.

I would imagine that many kids under 13 are terrified though so Universal is probably accounting for them. I can already see the angry parents if Universal didn't do this.

Of course, there is also that party atmosphere. I definitely agree with that.

Also, great reviews. I enjoyed reading them.

 

[castaway3]

Has anybody been to the Pass holder night ?I am going Friday 9-27 Not much info on RSVP...thanks

 

[DisneyInfinityFan]

Has anybody been to the Pass holder night ?I am going Friday 9-27 Not much info on RSVP...thanks

I did it on the opening day. You need to RSVP on the website. Bring the confirmation, valid HHN ticket and Passholder ticket. They will give you a wristband when you check in and present the three things mention in the previous sentence. The houses that are open during the event in the consecutive order are The Walking Dead No Safe Haven, Urban Legends La Llorona, Afterlife Death's Vengeance. The check in starts at 4, but people starts lining up around 3:30 pm. I suggest lining up in the kid zone instead of the main entrance because it is closer to the entrance for the walking dead and la Llorona. The only drawback from doing the passholder event is the sight. Your eyes are so used to the sunlight, and you will feel the houses are very dark. Very hard to see the surroundings. It was fun though because the line was not very long. The walking Dead had the longest wait time due to its popularity.

 

[keishashadow]

I'll go one further and say that the real issue can also be the other guests and atmosphere of the event.

Yes.... there can be language, sexual overtones, and of course the blood and guts and horror throughout the event's activities.

BUT... There is also massive amounts of alcohol flowing and extreme crowds. Add in the frightening aspects and the dark, and it can sometimes be a powder keg or a place which may not be the best place to bring a child. The crowds and alcohol can sometimes lead to short tempers, fights, or other incidents which are the reason during HHN the local police are highly visible and have an expanded facility at the hub between the parking decks. You also have a lot more adults who are attending what is obviously a more mature event with lots of alcohol availability who will behave more like they are in a child-free zone than they would in public place which kids could be reasonably expected to be present. [Language, PDA, etc].

I'm personally a firm believer that HHN should be treated as a HARD PG-13/Soft-R type of rating, due to not only the official HHN events, but the overall party atmosphere that the guests can give the place. Some parents and kids could probably feel that their 13 or 14 year old horror junky child can handle the event just fine. While others may feel uneasy letting their 16/17yr old attend. But I do believe that you should know what to expect if you plan on taking your child, and be aware that beyond the straight horror aspects of the houses and scare zones, the child will be exposed to lots of drunk guests, Strong Language, Sexual innuendo, half-naked monsters and performers, PDA, possible violence, and lots of Drunk guests. (Seriously... there is basically a bar every 100ft during the event. I seldom have an empty glass in my hand unless I'm in a house, show, or ride.)

you raise some good points for potential visitors with children/teens to consider.

Most adults manage to enjoy both a few drinks & HHN, having a great time while holding themselves together, just as they would in any party atmosphere.As at any adult event that features alcohol, you have those who over indulge to the point of being sloppy drunks (amateur night ala NYE) and become a nuisance to everybody else. the majority of guests aren't raving lunatics...if they were they'd likely find a job as a scareactor. If a guest isn't able to control himself, security puts up with absolutely no crapand that is a very good thing imo.

I'd hate to see Universal dumb down the level of scares to appease the HP crowd's demographic, yet it can be said that many teens are far more mature than the adults you describe above.

DW wants to know if she can wear open toe sandals to HHN. Like the sport Velcro style.

She wears these to the parks all the time but we have never attended HHN.

conga line thru the houses is tight, her toes may suffer if somebody jumps back after a scare.

 

[troydjames]

If you are staying on sight do the front of the line access you have during the day in the parks also work for HHN or is it a separate express pass you have to buy in addition to your ticket?

 

[Metro West]

If you are staying on sight do the front of the line access you have during the day in the parks also work for HHN or is it a separate express pass you have to buy in addition to your ticket?

No...onsite benefits do not carry over to hard ticket events. You would have to purchase an EP in order to use Express.