Help with first HHN Plan

[cfoxga]

We (myself, DW, DD14, and DD16) have been to UO several times, but we've never been during HHN. We are planning to go one last time on our APs on Oct 8-12, and I convinced my DD16 and possibly her friend (also 16) to give HHN a try. I've read through the official thread, but still have some questions. Given that this is a busy weekend, I'm looking for some advice on how to get the most out our time there (likely 1 night, but may be able to swing a second)

1. Is there any reason to buy the tickets before we arrive? I'd prefer to wait in case something causes us to miss the trip, but if they sell out then I'll pull the trigger.

2. EPs ($175) are almost twice as much as HHN tickets ($100). Since we'll be able to be in the park with our APs for S&S, it seems like 2 nights w/o EPs would be better than 1 with EPs. Make sense?

3. Is the Behind the Scenes Tour worth doing? If so, how long does the 3 house tour last (6 house tour is sold out)? It would have to be Sunday morning 10/9, but might make the day too much if we end up going to HHN that night.

4. How does S&S work timing wise? Is there any advantage to queueing up early?

5. Any tips on maximizing the experience if we only make it one day without EPs?

Thanks,
Chris

 

[kristenabelle]

We (myself, DW, DD14, and DD16) have been to UO several times, but we've never been during HHN. We are planning to go one last time on our APs on Oct 8-12, and I convinced my DD16 and possibly her friend (also 16) to give HHN a try. I've read through the official thread, but still have some questions. Given that this is a busy weekend, I'm looking for some advice on how to get the most out our time there (likely 1 night, but may be able to swing a second)

1. Is there any reason to buy the tickets before we arrive? I'd prefer to wait in case something causes us to miss the trip, but if they sell out then I'll pull the trigger.

2. EPs ($175) are almost twice as much as HHN tickets ($100). Since we'll be able to be in the park with our APs for S&S, it seems like 2 nights w/o EPs would be better than 1 with EPs. Make sense?

3. Is the Behind the Scenes Tour worth doing? If so, how long does the 3 house tour last (6 house tour is sold out)? It would have to be Sunday morning 10/9, but might make the day too much if we end up going to HHN that night.

4. How does S&S work timing wise? Is there any advantage to queueing up early?

5. Any tips on maximizing the experience if we only make it one day without EPs?

Thanks,
Chris

Hey Chris! I can answer some of your questions (still not an HHN expert yet, so hopefully this is helpful!)

1. I like to secure my tickets in case a popular night is a sellout. I'm not sure if that frequently happens, or at all. That said, I go in mid-late October around my birthday, and it's more crowded during that time. I'm also a massive worrywart and tend to secure things waaaay out in advance.

2/4. You can get a lot done by being strategic with S&S, and spread out over 2 nights! In that case, I'd only recommend express if you're into doing multiple runs on select houses and want to use express for one of them.

Last year I was at the front of the queue for Beetlejuice S&S. I waited a good amount of time in the queue area - bring a book, a podcast, or a good conversation lol. I'm not the best example of how to maximize S&S since I started using my Express pass immediately after to sprint through each house, but lines were nowhere near where they'd get just an hour or so later. In previous years, I used S&S to go through The Shining completely solo - terrifying - and Dead Waters after with little to no wait. There are some great blogs/pods that'll discuss strategy when we have a better idea of where the popular houses are, and how that impacts waits.

3. The Behind-the-scenes tour is my FAVORITE part of HHN time, especially if your party has fans of theater, backstage workings, or just really cool experiences. I love touring the houses with the lights on and seeing all the incredible detail up close. The 3-house tour doesn't have a mid-tour break like the 6-house tour, and goes faster than you think (at least for me it does lol). You spend about 30-ish minutes at each house, plus some time for walking to each location. It's awesome to hear all the thought that goes into house development and creation, and backstories you may have missed during a quick house run during HHN. If you plan a break between the tour/HHN at night, you should be fine. That said, I jumped from a 6-house tour directly to an S&S queue and into the event - all on fumes and adrenaline.

5. Definitely S&S and planning must-do's in advance. I've heard lines also taper off towards the end of the night when folks like me are exhausted and back at the room, so depending on your group's stamina that may be an option.

 

[cfoxga]

Thanks kristenabelle!

I'm pretty sure we'll opt for the 2 nights without EPs. I went ahead and books the behind-the-scenes tour for all 5 of us. My wife and youngest daughter will at least get to see what some of the houses look like, without getting scared. Who knows, maybe it will inspire them to give HHN a shot on the second night!

At this point I'm planning on:

Sat 8/8 - Arrive early morning at PBH to hit IOA. Mid-afternoon nap, then an early dinner before heading back to US for S&S.
Sun 8/9 - Behind the scenes tour at 9:15 am. Do a couple rides after the tour. Then repeat the nap/dinner/S&S.

We've had some exhausting days at UO before, but I expect this to put those to shame. Will likely sleep in on Monday to recuperate before getting back to the traditional (relaxed) UO vacation...

 

[Skywalker3]

We (myself, DW, DD14, and DD16) have been to UO several times, but we've never been during HHN. We are planning to go one last time on our APs on Oct 8-12, and I convinced my DD16 and possibly her friend (also 16) to give HHN a try. I've read through the official thread, but still have some questions. Given that this is a busy weekend, I'm looking for some advice on how to get the most out our time there (likely 1 night, but may be able to swing a second)

1. Is there any reason to buy the tickets before we arrive? I'd prefer to wait in case something causes us to miss the trip, but if they sell out then I'll pull the trigger.

2. EPs ($175) are almost twice as much as HHN tickets ($100). Since we'll be able to be in the park with our APs for S&S, it seems like 2 nights w/o EPs would be better than 1 with EPs. Make sense?

3. Is the Behind the Scenes Tour worth doing? If so, how long does the 3 house tour last (6 house tour is sold out)? It would have to be Sunday morning 10/9, but might make the day too much if we end up going to HHN that night.

4. How does S&S work timing wise? Is there any advantage to queueing up early?

5. Any tips on maximizing the experience if we only make it one day without EPs?

Thanks,
Chris

We were total newbies last year. I didn't want to spend a fortune, and we did 1 night, SS, but no EP. also a very busy COlumbus day week. I think Stay/Scream was great I want to say we got into the park about 30 mins before closing and found the SS area by Hill house/Beetlejuice. I wanted to do those first, as had heard the lines get crazy. Also put us in a good position to get to the wicked growth house. We were able to knock out like 4 houses in just over an hour. (but not Beetlejuice, by the time we got out of hill house, line was insane,) Then it got busy, we got sidetracked, and next couple houses had long lines. Like Texas Chainsaw, we waited 60 mins in line, but it was posted like 85. But yes, SS will put you in a great position to get a few done early. Once all the houses get announced, and HHN gets going, we'll know more about which houses are the most popular, have the longest waits, and can best plan our strategy. IF we'd stuck it out until 2AM, I think we could've done all 10 houses. We got 8 done by 1AM (plus a sit down rest/food at Louie's, and a ride, which we will not plan on any rides this year,) I would not spend much time eating, like I hope to do mobile order on pizza fries, and that's it. I would not ride anything like Rip Ride Rocket, etc. Would have kept on with houses instead of all that.

I am so looking forward to reading here about everyone's experience this year, and will start watching vloggers, reading the TRs here for info!
we'll also be there that weekend, likely Oct 9. I've also not bought HHN tickets yet, was waiting, but also getting nervous they'll sell out....Also the end of our APs.....tempted to renew. Ha!

ETA-just saw your other post. if you have 2 nights and a tour, you'll be so good!!! Hope you all have a blast!

 

[DVC_HK]

So last year we did S&S at Springfield for beetlejuice. We were let loose at 6:30pm from holding and walked straight into beetlejuice and a slight wait for Hill House. We were there Sep 30th on a Thursday so not weekend crowds but we did 7 out of the 10 houses by 8PM. That's when we saw the huge crowds coming in and had to be up at the crack of dawn for the 50th at MK the next morning so we bounced. Had we stayed I am sure we would have done all 10 houses without EP. We did skip the two shows though and didn't spend much time in the scare zones. With two nights at HHN you should have no issue without EPs especially using S&S to get a head start