Our first trip, we did a Behind the Mask tour and we loved that. We got a 1 night ticket and saw all the houses except one - we were worn out and it didn't really appeal to us. We could have easily done it, we just decided not to. We left the park probably 2 hours before close.
You must be referring to the RIP tour. In this tour you have a guide and see all the houses one time and ride a couple of the rides. The advantage of the RIP Tour as some have mentioned above is that there is no waiting in line. Your guide takes you to the front of the line to the Houses and the rides. You get to have Halloween refreshments in the nice air conditioned Cafe LaBamba before the tour starts and you may return for refreshments during the evening after your tour. You receive the HHN Lanyard and you will have a couple of stops at air conditioned lounges placed in the park where you can buy cocktails. For those who have a limited amount of time and do not want to wait in long lines it's well worth it.
Are you referring to The Unmasking the Horror Tour. These are tours that occur during the day. You can take a morning (3 houses) or afternoon (3 houses) tour or you can take the morning and afternoon tour and cover all 6 offered. Taking the morning and afternoon tour is a savings. For a true Horror fan these tours are fantastic to see the Haunted Houses in the daylight with the lights on to appreciate the artistry that went into creating these houses.
I am just now considering a trip there to surprise my husband for his Oct. Bday. We have been to IOA/US, but know nothing about Halloween there. What are these houses? Do both parks have Halloween stuff? How many days should we plan? Thanks.
I would highly recommend going if he is a horror movie fan he will love it. When it comes closer to early summer and Universal starts releasing information Keishashadow puts up the official Sticky on here for HHN 2018 she will have everything explained on the site with all ticket options etc..to help you make a great choice. If you have any other questions feel free to ask, someone will jump in and help you.
We did the Stay and Scream (day park admission, then move to a 'holding area' in the park to get an early jump on the crowds) each visit. If you don't have day passes, it would be more difficult.
I have to admit that some of the areas for the Stay and Scream have very limited seating options and if you are going to be on your feet for the evening trying to make all the houses it could be difficult. For me the Stay and Scream is for the youngsters and I will admit I heard some of them complaining that their feet and legs were sore.
I would never do HHN without EP or one of the Tours.
There were 9 Houses last year
1. American Horror Stories (was based on 3 seasons Asylum, Coven and Roanoke)
2. Dead Waters
3. ScareCrow The Reaping
4. The Shining
5. BlumHouse
6. Ash VS Evil Dead
7. The Fallen
8. Hive
9. Saw
As you can see 5 were based on movies and 4 were created by Universal.
There were also 5 scare zones
1. Alters of Horror
2. Purge
3. Invasion
4. Trick 'r Treat
5. Festival of the Deadliest.
Two shows
Bill and Ted's Exellent Halloween Adventure (was last year for that in 2017)
The Academy Of Villians: Afterlife
There is also HHN merchandise.
Hope this helps. Everyone is looking forward to seeing what happens this year.
As noted above read last years official sticky. Packed with lots of information.