HHN17 - Are shops open, and best place for a birthday dinner?

[dreamseeker9]

Hi all - my friend wants to go to HHN for his birthday, so we're going Sunday, October 15th. There will be 4 of us, and only my friend has been to USO and to HHN. We are only going to HHN because we will be with his young kids at Disney World earlier that day. We aren't planning to buy Express Passes.

I'm going to do my best to enjoy myself, even though I'm not a horror movie fan. I am looking forward to The Shining house! I'm most interested in seeing Diagon Alley. Will shops or restaurants be open there? I must ride Escape from Gringotts!

Also, where is a good place to go for my friend's birthday dinner? We're hoping to arrive early enough to grab drinks at the CityWalk, should we eat dinner there as well?

Thanks!

 

[Robo56]

Yes, all the shops will be opened as well as the Leaky Cauldron will be open in Diagon Alley.

I would try to figure out from your friend whose birthday you will be celebrating what his fav food is, then look at the restaurant choices. They are listed on Universals website with all the menus.

I like Toothesome Chocolate Emporium in CityWalk, but they are busy at dinner time. It might work if you do a early dinner or lunch there.

You will be attending HHN on the weekend. It will be busy and without having Express it's going to be hard to see all the houses if you are not in holding area inside of park or at front of line when HHN opens that evening.

HHN is not geared towards younger children as there is alcohol served during the event and scare actors in different scar zones thoughout the park during HHN as well as haunted houses. Of course this is left to parental discretion. Would not want to see the littles traumatized if they are not used to scarey movies and haunted houses.

Last year Diagon Alley was almost empty while others where doing the HHN houses so that will be an advantage for you.

No matter what you choose have a lovely time at Universal

 

[dreamseeker9]

Yes, all the shops will be opened as well as the Leaky Cauldron will be open in Diagon Alley.

I would try to figure out from your friend whose birthday you will be celebrating what his fav food is, then look at the restaurant choices. They are listed in on Universals website with all the menus.

I like Toothesome Chocolate Emporium in CityWalk, but they are busy at dinner time. It might work if you do a early dinner or lunch there.

You will be attending HHN on the weekend. It will be busy and without having Express it's going to be hard to see all the houses if you are not in holding area inside of park or at front of line when HHN opens that evening.

Last year Diagon Alley was almost empty while others where doing the HHN houses so that will be an advantage for you.

No matter what you choose have a lovely time at Universal

Thanks very much! I'll ask him his dining preferences. He mentioned that it's fun to eat in Springfield.

Very happy to hear that the Leaky Cauldron will be open, and that Diagon Alley was nearly empty!!!

You are right, it's going to be so busy, Orlando schools have that Monday, Oct. 16th off! We're going to pick our top houses and accept that we won't be able to see them all.

 

[flortlebap]

Are you definitely set on no EPs? They absolutely made the night for us. No two hour waits. They're honestly a game changer and make for a much better evening

If not, and assuming you have a day pass(?) then try and get into the park before it closes and wait in a holding area so you get a head start on everyone else at the front gates. If not, get there as early as possible.

And if you're like my DH, drink heavily the second you get through the gates so that you can face walking through the scare zones

 

[dreamseeker9]

Are you definitely set on no EPs? They absolutely made the night for us. No two hour waits. They're honestly a game changer and make for a much better evening

If not, and assuming you have a day pass(?) then try and get into the park before it closes and wait in a holding area so you get a head start on everyone else at the front gates. If not, get there as early as possible.

And if you're like my DH, drink heavily the second you get through the gates so that you can face walking through the scare zones

Maybe I'll buy EPs for his birthday gift. Thanks for the advice! I may need some liquid courage to face those scare zones!

 

[keishashadow]

Suggest arriving early & eating somewhere in Citiwalk. The lines to enter the park can be very long. I wouldn't 'burn' actual HHN event time on TS dining. If simpson's will fit the bill, you can easily work it in during the evening.

 

[macraven]

Sundays have become extremely popular and hhn tickets cost less than fri-sat

Many do the park early to hit the rides and stay at one of the holding zones and have a head start for the houses

Better to eat a late lunch at City Walk and return to the park after

If you rather eat inside the park , Finnegans is a table service place and will have no crowds in it at 7:00 pm

I favor the Simpsons food area and there will be many food choices there


Check out the public hhn rip tour
Get the prices on the website and see if it is affordable for your group

Or buy the ep so you will be able to go thru all the houses

Once hhn opens, read the reviews on the houses
You might want to plan doing the popular ones early
Crowd lines grow usually around 8:30-9:00

If no ep, be prepared for line waits the later into the night

 

[Gruff320]

You are right, it's going to be so busy, Orlando schools have that Monday, Oct. 16th off! We're going to pick our top houses and accept that we won't be able to see them all.

I've been a couple different years on the Sunday before Orange County schools were out on that Monday and it was crazy-busy both times (the last time was 2012). Without EPs, we only got to do three houses and they even extended the hours due to the large crowds.

I would highly recommend the EPs if that's the night you're going!

 

[schumigirl]

We wouldn't do any night without EP.

So called quite night queues at times are just as bad as peak nights......