Need US travel advise

[thisblonde]

Hi Gang- New here! Haven't been to US in years. Going this Oct 14-19, 2010 offsite -(arriving late on the 14th) and need some insider info on the best way to go...on a budget unfortunately!

Need to purchase tickets, probably the 3 day park to park (only interested in doing US events -not a Disney fan) and possibly Wet n Wild one day, with their $25 add on special. After reading a good number of posts here, I checked out HHN, and think that could be a great event to attend. But then again, if it's really that crowded, and only open such a short time (and I read somewhere it's hell week)- how much use will be get out of it without express passes? Is it worth the cost of regular HHN tickets under the circumstances? Or is the event so great you should just bite the bullet and go for it? Would you leave off the Wet Wild purchase to help with HHN costs? It just me, my spouse and our teenage son- so we would enjoy ALL of these things, but just can't swing the $$.

Then the question is which days to do what? And which day/time should we try the new HP ride? Does it make sense to purchase an Express pass for one of the days just to make sure we get to ride everything? I've read here that it's best to purchase at park day of for best rates. I just don't know if I would know what the "best rate" is as I've got nothing to compare it to. What $ range could I expect to pay for EP at the park?

Finally, I have a relative in FL, not close to the parks though, can they purchase resident passes for us? Is that allowed, or an option? If not, is it worth getting the Premium pass in order to get EP after 4 each day, and one ticket each to HHN? I saw 2 different descriptions of the benefits of this pass- one stated that the EP was good after 4 for one ride each, the other stated unlimited. Which is correct?

Thanks a bunch! Trying to make the most out of this trip!!!

 

[Metro West]

First off....

to the boards!


I would skip Wet 'n Wild and stick with HHN. You never know what the weather will be like in October and going to a water park when it could be cool isn't my cup of tea.

As far as the HHN tickets go...Since you will have your park tickets in hand, you can purchase the discounted HHN tickets (Stay & Scream upgrade) for the night you want to go provided you will be in the park that day. You can stay in the park after closing and will get a jump on the lines. Express would be a good idea since there isn't a slow day anymore.

The Premier AP is not a bad choice normally but since the parks close early in October, you probably won't get the best use out of it. IOA stays open until 7pm and the Studios is open until 5pm on the nights when HHN is staged. The Express you get with the Premier does not cover HHN...it's a completely separate event. You might want to decide when you're going to HHN and see what the S & S discount would be. You can purchase the HHN tickets for as little as $34.99 depending on the night you want to go. Then you could get the EP for the night you're going.

October isn't usually busy so I doubt you would need EPs during the day for either park...except for WWoHP. But the EP doesn't cover the Forbidden Journey so there's no real advantage. You can wait until you arrive to see how the lines are before purchasing the EP for the day. They are available at both parks so if the lines look too long, purchase the EP then.

FL resident tickets can only be purchased and used by FL residents so you could not use them. However, if your relative has an AP they could purchase up to six tickets at the AP rate.

The Premier AP used to offer unlimited Express after 4pm but that's been changed now to once through the line.

Hope that helped.

 

[thisblonde]

Thanks M- Such as thorough job on a host of questions all over the place! Well done and much appreciated!

Let me see if I have this down correctly. If we are at the park and decide we want to do HHN that night, provided its operating, we can get our tickets at a discount at that time, or is this something we have to do in advance? If we go ahead and buy our US park to park tickets now- not through Universal, can we still purchase the HHN tickets down the road and at a discount? We are thinking of doing HHN on Sunday 10/17, since it seems to be the least expensive, and maybe the least crowded during our stay and we will be at the park that day? Do you have to get your Park to Park tickets through Universal in order to get the discounted HHN add on? Just not sure how to piece this together. Hope you are a mind reader, so these questions make sense!

Am I following you? Also, one last thing- I've gotten myself confused in reading all the HP threads. We want to try and hit that first thing on Friday 10/15, and I'm not sure which way to go once you get into the park. Being offsite, we won't have early entrance. Any suggestions on directions, and which path/way to go to find the best line?

Thanks so much!!!

 

[Metro West]

Thanks M- Such as thorough job on a host of questions all over the place! Well done and much appreciated!

Let me see if I have this down correctly. If we are at the park and decide we want to do HHN that night, provided its operating, we can get our tickets at a discount at that time, or is this something we have to do in advance? If we go ahead and buy our US park to park tickets now- not through Universal, can we still purchase the HHN tickets down the road and at a discount? We are thinking of doing HHN on Sunday 10/17, since it seems to be the least expensive, and maybe the least crowded during our stay and we will be at the park that day? Do you have to get your Park to Park tickets through Universal in order to get the discounted HHN add on? Just not sure how to piece this together. Hope you are a mind reader, so these questions make sense!

Am I following you? Also, one last thing- I've gotten myself confused in reading all the HP threads. We want to try and hit that first thing on Friday 10/15, and I'm not sure which way to go once you get into the park. Being offsite, we won't have early entrance. Any suggestions on directions, and which path/way to go to find the best line?

Thanks so much!!!

As long as you're in the park, you can purchase the HHN tickets at the S & S discount and if you're going on Sunday, that would be the cheapest rate of $34.99/per person. You don't have to purchase the park tickets from Universal to get the HHN tickets. They won't even ask to see them since you will be in the park when you purchase the tickets. Just go to Guest Services and purchase them there. In years past, you could purchase the HHN tickets before the night you actually wanted to use them but I'm not sure if that has changed or not.

Hopefully the crowds will have calmed down by that time and you could go in first thing but I just don't know. I've heard people say to go in the afternoons instead of first thing if you don't have early entry. I guess we'll have to wait and see what happens when summer is over.