HHN 1st Time, 1 Night, 1 Person

[glvsav37]

Hey All, In orlando for a conference during late Sept. I've never been to a HHN before, but might take the opportunity.

Going solo for one night, would be a Friday, Saturday or Sunday.

Anyone been solo? So no one to jump behind and throw them out as sacrifice? Whats the deal with EpressPasses? Also seeing some guided tours, maybe that would be good for me, but they are expensive (close to $300 w/o park ticket)

any advice appreacited

 

[ozliz]

Can’t answer your questions but following along as I’m expecting a solo trip as well this season.

 

[macraven]

I go solo to hhn
Sometimes I’ve been able to meet up with other solos I meet on these boards

If you are at hhn when I am, join me in doing a few houses or grabbing food during the evening

My plans are to do 5 nights starting with the last Sunday in September

 

[MoeJ]

I haven't been solo, but went last year with DD14 (at the time, 15 now). Since we drove up that morning and were just there for the tour, we stayed off-property close by.

You do get to visit ALL of the houses in one evening, plus really good seats at the show (Academy of Villains last year, which DD REALLY loved!). For me, just a chance to rest my feet, lol.

We also went in late Sept., and it was HOT! I mean, really, really sweaty. Wear something cool! We're from SE Florida, so we're used to heat but DANG!

And comfortable shoes! You will be hiking all over the park, criss-crossing through backstage areas. I wore comfy, broken-in flats and my feet were throbbing at the end of the evening... I should have worn sneakers!

The appetizer buffet is a definite bonus, since you won't be able to stop and eat during the tour. We easily made a light dinner out of the hot & cold apps and desserts. They do stop a couple of times for drinks, alcoholic or not. Lombard's was only open to RIP tour guests, your own tour and some other RIP tours at the same time.

Even though we did the 6:30 p.m. start time, the rides were already shutting down for the evening by the end of the tour, so we weren't able to take advantage of the rides with the Express included with the tour.

Also, the crowds were getting a bit... um... rowdy at the end of the evening. I enjoy alcoholic beverages as much as the next person, but there were definitely many people who'd, maybe, overindulged a bit, lol. We did a Saturday night, so that might have been a factor in that.

The valet parking included was also handy, but you will wait quite a bit for your car to get to you... it was HOPPING that night! When I dropped off my car, I tried to upgrade to preferred valet, but the speaker-thing apparently wasn't very conducive and I just gave up trying to get them to understand what I wanted, lol.

All in all, it was worth it. We felt like rock stars, even cutting ahead of Express pass lines, straight-up walking on. As you said, you only have one night, so if you want to see everything I'd go for it.

That said, I'm not doing it again this year. Too grueling for me and the houses started to kind of blend together in my memory since we did so much in such a short (relatively) amount of time. We're lucky in that we're only a 3-hour drive away. I'm thinking we're going to take 3 days with the Rush of Fear with EP and do a more laid-back trip this time around.

Sorry about the wall of text!!!

 

[Robo56]

Above poster was talking about tours you can take.

Do the Public RIP Tour or buy into someone’s Private VIP Tour.

You will get Into to all the houses by passing the lines with all the people waiting to get into the houses. If you are there for only one night this is the way to go.

I would go for Sunday if you can Friday and Saturday are busier. Not sure when your dates are in September, but the tours are cheaper the earlier in September you can go.

Look online and pick your tour date and time. Your can call and purchase your tour or you can do it online. AP holders do get discounts. You will receive an email with all directions. You need to have a HHN ticket for the evening in addition to tour ticket.

ADVANTAGES OF TAKING TOUR

1. You get taken to front of the line to all the haunted houses one time by your tour director. There is usually 10 people in your group.

2. You get to walk the red carpet at Cafe La Bamba.

3. You get a HHN lanyard.

4. You are treated to hot and cold snacks and Halloween desserts before the tour. You can return to Cafe La Bamba throughout the evening to cool off and have beverages and snacks.

5. You get to enjoy a Express on the rides that are opened for HHN.

6. You will be taken to air conditioned lounges during the tour where you can purchase specialty cocktails and beer.

You will get all the above mentioned on the Private Tour also. The difference between a Public and Private Tour. The Private Tour is purchased by someone and you buy into their tour. The tour cost is divided among all who are In the tour. There can only be 10 to 11 people in Private Tour. If person purchasing tour is an AP holder they get discount. So for example if AP holder was able to purchase tour for 2,000 and 10 people join the tour it would be $200 per person if 11 people $182 per person. So sometimes Private Tour can be as cheap as Public Tour.

The other difference is that on Private Tour you can visit the haunted houses more than once.


You will see people on these boards talking about their private tours when it comes closer to HHN. People can not profit on these tours. Nothing can be advertised here on the boards for sale or profit by posters. Whatever the tour cost is supposed to be equally divided among the group.

Macraven is a wonderful resource here on the boards. She has been so helpful in making sure everyone understands the ins and outs on the tours. She has been responsible for many of us becoming fans of HHN.

As noted a above wear comfy shoes and light cool clothes because it is hot in September.

Stay hydrated.

You will love HHN

 

[imprint]

Hey All, In orlando for a conference during late Sept. I've never been to a HHN before, but might take the opportunity.

Going solo for one night, would be a Friday, Saturday or Sunday.

Anyone been solo? So no one to jump behind and throw them out as sacrifice? Whats the deal with EpressPasses? Also seeing some guided tours, maybe that would be good for me, but they are expensive (close to $300 w/o park ticket)

any advice appreacited

Given it is your first time at HHN and you will be solo, I would recommend getting a public RIP tour. You will be guided from house to house in a front of line style. The tour guide will give you the back story before entering each house. The group stays together until the tour is over. You are guaranteed to go through each house once. You will probably stop for a ride or two (depending on time). You will walk through each of the scare zones. Historically, you will get to watch the live show, too. Then when the tour is over, you can use your RIP credentials to express ride once per ride. You could also go through houses again, but you'd have to use the regular stand-by lines.

For one night, you really need either express pass or RIP tour. Again, since it is your first time, I recommend the RIP tour, so you'll get the hang of things and get to see it all. As others said, Sunday should be your cheapest ticket (vs. Friday and Saturday), if that works best for you.

I absolutely recommend going to the event, since you are at all interested in it. Express would help facilitate seeing it all, but the RIP would guarantee it. I would not want my first experience to be in stand-by line all night trying to figure out how the flow works. Some people use stand-by and see it all in one night, but it takes a lot of pre-planning and strategy to do so.

You will have fun, but if RIP is not out of budget, I think you'll have the best first experience. Personally, the one time we only had one night, even as HHN veterans, we got RIP tour. Express and (even better) RIP are worth their weight in gold.

 

[macraven]

I booked 4 tours for hhn

I set them up the day they were released to be booked

Paid for the 6 house tour during the day with lights on in the building, two public hhn tours for two different Sundays and one private tour for October 4 Friday
Private tours end at 2:00 when the park closes

I have openings for the private hhn tour if anyone is interested
Just contact me by pm

If anyone has booked the public tour and going as a solo, I hope you are in my group
I do sundays for my solo rip public toirs
The park gets crowded on Sundays and it’s a nifty way of seeing all the houses within 4 hour or less
Beauty of it is very short waits to do the houses

 

[imprint]

Hey All, In orlando for a conference during late Sept. I've never been to a HHN before, but might take the opportunity.

Going solo for one night, would be a Friday, Saturday or Sunday.

Anyone been solo? So no one to jump behind and throw them out as sacrifice? Whats the deal with EpressPasses? Also seeing some guided tours, maybe that would be good for me, but they are expensive (close to $300 w/o park ticket)

any advice appreacited

After re-reading your original post, I thought of another thing that might need to be clarified to help. Your parenthetical "(close to $300 w/o park ticket)" is interesting. If you opt for an RIP tour, all you need is an HHN ticket and RIP ticket. You would not need a daytime park ticket. Of course, you might have meant "park ticket" to mean the HHN ticket, but I want to make sure. If you go RIP, and you do not have a daytime ticket or annual pass, you do not need to buy a daytime ticket and utilize Stay and Scream. You could, of course, stay in park for Stay and Scream, if you have a daytime ticket, but with a tour, you would not have to at all. If you arrive at the gate 30 minutes before your tour, you will enter through a separate door and go straight to the meet-up. Hope that makes sense. I might be off-base with what you said, but I want to make sure you (and others reading in your same situation) know your full options and pros/cons. This board helped me understand HHN before my first time, and I want to help pass along all info I can to other new visitors.

Another thought: Since you are going late September, also check the price of Rush of Fear with Express Pass. It is the cheapest way to visit HHN multiple nights with EP. If you could go 2 or 3 nights with RoF+EP, then I would go for that over one night with RIP tour. Being a first visit, it's a close call though. The "unknown" aspect of how the event runs, might still make a single night with RIP better. If you have more questions, please ask here. We're glad to help!

 

[glvsav37]

thanks @imprint
I was looking at Sundat Sept 29th. The RIP ticket is $249 + $70 for HHN the entry ticket. If I do just the express ticket its $140. So its between $320 and $210. IMO, if its one night, the $100 extra seems worth it to ensure I see everything, but I'm also spending a good amount on the conference (I work for myself, so I don't have a bigger company picking up the tab), so I need to weigh my options.

Yes, was not planning on going to the park in the day b/c I'll be in sessions.

I greatly appreciate the info from everyone here. I have read the HHN can be busy and chaotic, esp if you have never been there, so I would hate to invest in the night and make every rookie mistake in the book. lol

 

[macraven]

I have used the hhn ep most years and some years do a few public tours

Each year has been different for me in house wait times

Last two years I had only the ep and some of the popular houses I waited 20-25 minutes in the lines.
A lot depends on when you go
Date, day of the week..

The TMs alternate regular line and express lines for entering the houses

Just because you are in the express line does not mean it is a complete walk in

Stranger Things house was never a short wait in the ep line last year


This year I booked some public tours and a private tour, believe I will have less line waits over using the ep

Tours use a back way into some of the houses
You avoid the crowded walkways for reaching some of the houses
This is how you can see every house and scare zone in the park in less than 4 hours

TG will give basic info/background on each house before you enter it

I know hhn can be expensive and not be in everyone’s budget
For me, if I go for a two week stay, I buy the pass for hhn admission plus ep
If I only plan on 6 hhn nights or less, I book public rip tours plus one private tour

I enjoy doing multiple nights so I can see team A and B in action in the park (houses and zones)

I get different experiences and opinions then of everything at hhn

So do what works best for you!

 

[imprint]

thanks @imprint
I was looking at Sundat Sept 29th. The RIP ticket is $249 + $70 for HHN the entry ticket. If I do just the express ticket its $140. So its between $320 and $210. IMO, if its one night, the $100 extra seems worth it to ensure I see everything, but I'm also spending a good amount on the conference (I work for myself, so I don't have a bigger company picking up the tab), so I need to weigh my options.

Yes, was not planning on going to the park in the day b/c I'll be in sessions.

I greatly appreciate the info from everyone here. I have read the HHN can be busy and chaotic, esp if you have never been there, so I would hate to invest in the night and make every rookie mistake in the book. lol

The RoF+EP would be $335. If you wanted to go Friday, Saturday, and Sunday nights, then that would be the way to go, if you were going to be able to use Stay and Scream. If you're going Sunday night only, then the HHN + RIP would be the way to go. Since you're new to the event, not going to be in park before daytime closing, and going solo, I think you'll have a better experience with the HHN + RIP tour. You'll see it all, not have to worry about planing and rushing, and you'll be with the same folks during the tour. Have fun, it's a great event!

 

[macraven]

I paid $238 tax included for my public tour hhn
So you know anyone that will buy the AP tour ticket and you can pay them
You save a little that way
That might help some in cuttimg
Costs down

You get free food, desserts and water and soda at la bamba as being in a tour group

It will save you some money

 

[MyOnlyHope]

I’ve only ever been to HHN for one night during the season and have always been able to get through every house plus some rides with an Express pass and not going on a Friday or Saturday. The tours sound amazing but I’ve never been able to justify the $ when we’ve made it work with Express passes multiple times.