Hhn ???'s

[macraven]

i am about a 35 minute drive from milwaukee. i am halfway between chicago and milwaukee. best of both worlds living here

i grew up in the st. louis area, illinois side

 

[faindrops27]

Yup, I had to do it. I looked on this disboard and because macraven, and phantom's postings. I decided hey, let me just go to this years hhn. I have never been, this is my first time, and now I'm terrified. Especially hearing from a universal telephone operator, that people chase you around with weapons. So, can someone tell me what should I expect. I cannot believe i purchased these tickets.

 

[macraven]

Yup, I had to do it. I looked on this disboard and because macraven, and phantom's postings. I decided hey, let me just go to this years hhn. I have never been, this is my first time, and now I'm terrified. Especially hearing from a universal telephone operator, that people chase you around with weapons. So, can someone tell me what should I expect. I cannot believe i purchased these tickets.

don't be afraid to go. i am going solo and have no fears. i went solo last year and didn't have a heart attack so doing it again for 05.

the scareactors that are in the scare zones almost always go after the cutesy teen blondes that are in a girl group. also the couples when the gal is clinging to the guy. if you don't fit into those categories, it will be smooth sailing.

there have been in the past hhn, areas you can choose to walk thru that have the scareactors. one year the chainsaw crew would reve up and make lots of noise and go after the people that took off running.

at anytime you are really freaked out, just tell the actor to tone it down and go away from you. you will be accomodated in most cases.

the scareactors in the streets, designated areas and houses are not allowed to grab or touch you. if you do that to them, i would suppose they could touch you back. not sure on that part but do know for a fact, they have NO physical contact with the park guests.

the chainsaw groups do not use real working chainsaws. that is the only "weapon" i could think of that you might have heard of.

if you go the weekend i do, you can join me and i will protect you............

the blind leading the blind here............

 

[phamton]

I go solo all the time and I'm a 54 old year woman and can't run as fast as I used to. Just don't go expecting Mickey's Not so Scary Halloween Party. There are no singing, dancing pumpkins at HHN.

No real weapons are used by the scareactors and the scareactors cannot touch you. You are perfectly safe and it is really a lot of fun. If you don't want to go alone, just give any of us a holler and we will meet you somewhere.

 

[F-L-A]

the scareactors in the streets, designated areas and houses are not allowed to grab or touch you. if you do that to them, i would suppose they could touch you back. not sure on that part but do know for a fact, they have NO physical contact with the park guests.

I wouldn't say they have no physical contact at all. Most scareactors aren't allowed to touch you, but that doesn't mean they won't occasionally make contact with you. It's usually by accident, or they are a character that has permission to fool around with the guests (like the Treaks & Foons who would dance with guests). You're not supposed to touch them either, unless it's one of those cases.

As far as violent situations go, I think they are advised not to retaliate unless they have no choice. If they get intentionally smacked, for example, they have the full right to swing right back, but they are told to back away from the situation and point the person out to a fearcilitator or security.

 

[macraven]

just want to add in the past 4 years of hhn i have attended the only time i was touched, if you want to call it that, is when i bumped into a scareactor.
i wasn't watching where i was going....walking and looking back over my shoulder........

even when i got turned around in one of the houses last year at 1:50 in the morning......place deserted except for me and the actors........one employee just tapped me on the shoulder then pointed in the direction to go out.
i wouldn't call that what you consider a touch though.

go, you will have so much fun.
if you go the second weekend i will be there........i will pave the way for you.

 

[faindrops27]

Well, thanks to you all putting my mind at ease. I feel much better. Thank you all so much. Anyhow, Macraven I wish I was going when you go. So we could meet up. But, I am going on Oct 23rd(sun). I got two tickets, and two Ep passes for me, and my cousin (lady also) we are both in our early thirties. We decided to go on our own because my husband, her boyfriend are the real scardycats. Well, now I'm excited to go. Thanks again everyone

 

[macraven]

Well, thanks to you all putting my mind at ease. I feel much better. Thank you all so much. Anyhow, Macraven I wish I was going when you go. So we could meet up. But, I am going on Oct 23rd(sun). I got two tickets, and two Ep passes for me, and my cousin (lady also) we are both in our early thirties. We decided to go on our own because my husband, her boyfriend are the real scardycats. Well, now I'm excited to go. Thanks again everyone

you will have a great time!
sorry we can't hook up, it would have been fun.

 

[chainsawwolf]

As far as violent situations go, I think they are advised not to retaliate unless they have no choice. If they get intentionally smacked, for example, they have the full right to swing right back, but they are told to back away from the situation and point the person out to a fearcilitator or security.

Actually, we are not to retaliate no matter what. If we get intentionally smacked, we do NOT have any right to swing back. In fact doing so is immediate termination, no questions asked (I've seen it happen on a couple of occasions). Also, if you swing back, in most cases they have to let the other party (guest) go, and they have the right to file assault agains the scaractor.

Wolf

 

[F-L-A]

Actually, we are not to retaliate no matter what.

What if the person is on top of you?

 

[2BigKIdz]

I have never been to the Halloween activities at BG Tampa but I have been to the same thing at BG Williamsburg, and although it was a lot of fun, it it no way compared to HHN. I LOVE horror movies and have since I was very young and I was scared at HHN last year (yes, I am an adult), but was not scared in the "scariest" house at BG, which was rated for ages 17 and older, it was fun but not scary. If you can only pick 1, I'd go with HHN without a doubt.

 

[chainsawwolf]

What if the person is on top of you?

We are allowed to defend ourselves, but that is quite different than retaliating. If it gets to the point where you are on the ground and the guest is on top of you, believe me it will draw attention.

For the most part, the people that will mess with scaractors are basically chicken $#!%s (apologies if this violates board rules, but people who pick on scaractors really tick me off) who have gotten embaressed by being scared in front of their friends. They usually hit and run, and rarely stay around long. Occasionaly a beligerant drunk will hang around and try to pick a fight, but they are for the most part so off balance that the only thing going to the ground is usually them.

 

[hslin]

i have only attended hhn the first 14 days of the event, never at the end as the crowd level is too great.

with that in mind, i can only say, if it was me, i would chose the thursday and definetely avoid the friday, saturday and monday the 31st.

if you buy a multi day ticket for the daytime, you can buy the ADD ON for the hhn ticket. it is cheaper. go in the daytime, stay in the park at the designated stay and scream area, and be able to start the hhn event at least 1 to 1 1/2 hours before the general public gets in at 7.

i suggest that once you know the date or dates you plan to go, buy the express pass then. they do sell out. do not wait to buy it at the gate since you are going at the end of the month. buy it in advance thru the toll free number. only a limited number are sold per day over the phone. if you call and are told they are out of them that day, call back the next day.

OT: honolulu eh........my brother lives there since 1988. it's a great place to go visit family. beautiful place.

MACRAVEN, Thanx for your quick response! I took your advice and we're going on Thursday, the 27th. Will be spending the whole day at Universal and bought the express passes for HHN. Thanx again!

 

[macraven]

hslin...........i just like to share my experiences and hope the 411 i gave, helps you.

like i said before, i would do the thursday rather than the weekend.
most teens under 17 won't be there due to high school.
the next day is a work day for most so that weeds out more potential guests not there.

hopefully, with the express pass, your line waits will be minimul.

let us know how the event goes for you.

 

[VanishedPsycho]

Long time veteran of HHN here, figured i'd throw a few possible helping ideas out there and maybe answer a few questions as well:

Best time to go: When it comes to the HHN crowds, the earlier in the event you go, the less crowded it will be. Also, any weeknights or sundays will be slower as well. Just keep in mind on the non-peak nights the staffing in the houses may be lighter as well, universal loves to save a buck any time they can, and if the crowds are lower, the house staff will be lower as well. Any of your friday or saturday nights and the nights as you get closer to the 31st will be busier and busier. it is not unusual for crowds of 36,000 to 38,000 people to be in the park on a busy HHN event night.

FOTL: as for everyone's much desired front of the line access, the only way to achieve this is to be on one of the guided vip tours. express and express plus do not get you or guarantee you fotl. all express and express plus guarantee is that you will wait in a line that is shorter than the main line. yes this line can sometimes be extremely short to almost non-existant, but when it comes down to it, vip tours guests get priorty entry before any guest assistance passes or express passes, including on site-resort express passes. yes the vip tours can be expensive, especailly on peak nights, but if you want to just follow along, not have to worry about maps and showtimes and how to fit it all in, then its definitely the way to go. the guides do their best to make sure you see all of the available haunted attractions, the bill & ted show and any additional rides there might be time for, without you having to wait in a line at any of them. vip guides bring their group into an attraction or haunted house, tell the loader how many people they have and their group is put right into the house or onto the next available vehicle in a ride. you can book vip tours in advance ( which i would advise ) or you can sometime book them on a walk-up basis on the evening of the event but these walk-up spaces can go very very fast. they will most likely start taking reservations for hhn vip tours in the third or fourth week of august. you can call the reservations office at 407-363-8295 or you can also email their office via the universal orlando website, just click on the theme park tickets tab, then over on the left look for vip tours, click on it and at the bottom, after the various tour descriptions, will be their email link.
If you send them an email before they start taking reservations they will put you on a list and contact you when the reservations open up for hhn, before they take any new reservations coming in.

what to see: well if you're coming for HHN then you should be concentrating on the haunted houses and shows. yes the rides are open, but they are really not what HHN is all about. be prepared for long lines, crowded conditions and more than one seemingly out of control guest along the way as well, especailly on peak nights. if you're not into the haunted houses and scareactors then i would say come to the park during the day as during hhn there are scareactors everywhere and those who scare easily can find themselves a perpetual target the entire evening.

scareactors: as many have already stated, the scareactors are not allowed to touch, grab or hit any guests, and the is expected in return, do not touch, grab or hit a scareactor as you could be immediately ejected from the park or worse yet, find yourself down at 33rd street being booked and spending the night in jail.

hope this has been of some help

 

[macraven]

thanx norman for all that you said.

i think it is great when an universal employee gives imput to these threads.
they know a lot more than we do.

last year on the second saturday of the month/hhn.....there were 41000 people there.
universal did oversell........the online sales and front gate sales exceeded the number that was to be sold.

it was packed and crowded.......too crowded.

 

[macraven]

did you see that the hhn site is up?

hours have changed this year........saw that it opens at 6:30....woo hoo


it is a skeleton website right now.........i am sure they will add to it over the weeks.

 

[F-L-A]

Didn't it say 6:30 last year? It usually opened like 15 minutes late anyway.

 

[macraven]

last year stated 7......

i was at capt americas for the stay and scream at 5.
you should do that if you are going to be at the park that day prior to hhn.

the website lists the gory getaway for floridians. it includes day tix, hhn tix and get this........be at the gate between 4-6 to enter for selected houses and attractions.

i think this is really a stay and scream thing. attractions will be open at 4.
houses open when the day guests clear out.

 

[the Dark Marauder]

scareactors: as many have already stated, the scareactors are not allowed to touch, grab or hit any guests, and the is expected in return, do not touch, grab or hit a scareactor as you could be immediately ejected from the park or worse yet, find yourself down at 33rd street being booked and spending the night in jail.

In addition, AP's get cut up, refunds are NOT given, etc.

Also, do not take flash pictures of scareactors in houses. It's supposed to be dark and scary. Flash pictures blind the scareactor, which means they can't do their job safely. Flash pictures inside a house = expulsion from HHN.