Official 2023 Halloween Horror Nights 32 (Orlando)

[SPINster]

Hi- I can some dumb questions… We would like to do a Universal day during our October Disney trip but our only real option is a Friday. So my questions are these:

1) will the parks be insanely busy on a Friday in late October/HHN night?
2) is IOA part of HHN or do all non-HHN guest hop over there at night?
3) Does IOA stay open late on HHN nights to absorb the non-HHN crowd?
4) How scary is HHN truthfully because I’m a wimp?

2. All HHN is at UO, no events at IOA.
3. I believe IOA is usually open until about 8pm on HHN nights, I can't speak to crowds.
4. I guess it depends on what scares you? I was worried going into it, but I didn't think it was that bad. Yes there are a LOT of jump scares in the houses. You can usually see where they are going to come from and prepare yourself. Some of the houses last year, like Chucky, were not the least bit scary. The Scare Zones-if you avoid the heaviest fog they aren't too bad. Also, truthfully, the scare actors seem to favor certain types of people to target-In one house we were behind a gaggle of teenage girls who screamed at the tiniest thing-every jump scare targeted them and not us.

At one point we had to visit First Aid to get some Advil and one of the scare actors was sitting there, in full costume, filling out paperwork. Honestly seeing that in full light sort of took the wind out the terror

 

[CAPSLOCK]

1) More so in the afternoon after people are out of school/work. FYI Orlando kids are out of school Fri 10/25 if that's your Friday, more likely to be swamped with locals. I hit that Orlando-vacation-day Friday once; it was noticably much busier than the Thursday.
2) HHN is only in US - yes, crowds do head to IoA after 3-4pm. People with single day tickets will obviously not be able to hop. IoA will be less busy after 6pm than during the day, just as crowds naturally begin to ebb for the evening. Do not attempt to take the train from US->IoA in the afternoon of a HHN night, the line for gets atrocious as so many people do that.
3) Yes, IoA stays open to 8-9 or so (probably 9pm on the Friday night).
4) A bit less scary than your typical well-done local haunt. It's much more crowded so it's generally less likely that you'll be the one to get the scare. You can most often see where to expect the scares. There are a few good effects in a few houses but most are so timing dependent it's unlikely to really get you. The Scare Zones aren't really much for jump scares, more for creepy vibe, gross/scary scenes, neat costumes, photo ops, scare actors wandering around being creepy.

 

[AustinTink]

1) FYI Orlando kids are out of school Fri 10/25

DANG IT!!!

 

[CAPSLOCK]

Yeah, the one year I hit that Orlando-school-vacation day I did a premier hotel the Thurs night for the Thurs/Fri EP. And of course Thursday it hardcore stormed/downpoured / tornado warning most of the day so EP was utterly useless. But the Fri was very busy and the EP was fantastic for that day. This year we're going Halloween week & were pleasantly surprised that the Friday crowds will be the week before.

 

[keishashadow]

1) will the parks be insanely busy on a Friday in late October/HHN night?
2) is IOA part of HHN or do all non-HHN guest hop over there at night?
3) Does IOA stay open late on HHN nights to absorb the non-HHN crowd?
4) How scary is HHN truthfully because I’m a wimp?

1. Check out any of the free crowd calendars for predictions for specific dates. Studios has a definite bump in attendance on HHN days.

2. IoA is a separate park, requires its own admittance media or P2P ticket. No idea how busy it gets as when we are there those days are @ HHN

3. Define late, usually open 2 hours or so after Studios officially closes

4. Up to the individual, seasoned HHN attendees feel the scare factor has been reduced to appeal to wider audience since they initially brought in the Stranger Things franchise.

My suggestion is for those whom have never experienced any sort of haunt, to start out with a local one to see if it’s something you like, as HHN is indeed well produced. Especially, with jump scares in the houses and overall atmosphere is intended for adults, not children.

 

[AustinTink]

1. Check out any of the free crowd calendars for predictions for specific dates. Studios has a definite bump in attendance on HHN days.

2. IoA is a separate park, requires its own admittance media or P2P ticket. No idea how busy it gets as when we are there those days are @ HHN

3. Define late, usually open 2 hours or so after Studios officially closes

4. Up to the individual, seasoned HHN attendees feel the scare factor has been reduced to appeal to wider audience since they initially brought in the Stranger Things franchise.

My suggestion is for those whom have never experienced any sort of haunt, to start out with a local one to see if it’s something you like, as HHN is indeed well produced. Especially, with jump scares in the houses and overall atmosphere is intended for adults, not children.

To the last paragraph of your post… I’ve definitely been to enough big haunted houses to know I don’t like them. That’s why I was asking here about the scare factor.

We might try to avoid the party by just hopping to IOA when they kick us out and then calling it a day. Hopefully with express passes we can get everything done even on a party day.

 

[keishashadow]

I’ve definitely been to enough big haunted houses to know I don’t like them. That’s why I was asking here about the scare factor.

There is your answer.

Either plan on walking or Don’t wait to try to take the train over to IoA, long waits before 4 pm on HHN days.

 

[bavarian princess]

Quick question about the RIP tour. There are several starting times available (6.00, 6.30, 7.00, 7.30, 8.00, 8.30pm) and I have a hard time to decide which one to choose. Should I choose based on personal preference or is it better to start early/late? Tia!

 

[Bird003]

Quick question about the RIP tour. There are several starting times available (6.00, 6.30, 7.00, 7.30, 8.00, 8.30pm) and I have a hard time to decide which one to choose. Should I choose based on personal preference or is it better to start early/late? Tia!

We always do the earliest ones. The start time is for your pre reception at cafe la bamba. We like to sit and relax and then head over to start our tour right at 7

 

[bavarian princess]

We always do the earliest ones. The start time is for your pre reception at cafe la bamba. We like to sit and relax and then head over to start our tour right at 7

I didn’t know that this is the start time for the pre reception. Good to know thank you so much the pre reception comes with a buffet, right?

 

[Bird003]

I didn’t know that this is the start time for the pre reception. Good to know thank you so much the pre reception comes with a buffet, right?

We just always preferred early so we can do our tour first as well. We usually finish up around midnight so we still have a few hours on our own to explore. Yes, there is a buffet . It’s pretty decent. Also free water and soft drinks. There is a cash bar as well

 

[bavarian princess]

We just always preferred early so we can do our tour first as well. We usually finish up around midnight so we still have a few hours on our own to explore. Yes, there is a buffet . It’s pretty decent. Also free water and soft drinks. There is a cash bar as well

Thanks again. It’s always good to hear why people choose certain things. Love that there is a decent buffet

 

[mamapenguin]

Sorry wrong year.

 

[namelessoracle]

Quick question about the RIP tour. There are several starting times available (6.00, 6.30, 7.00, 7.30, 8.00, 8.30pm) and I have a hard time to decide which one to choose. Should I choose based on personal preference or is it better to start early/late? Tia!

Earlier is almost always better. Your tour starts when you leave the reception area and head to horror makeup and they leave once they get enough people to go as a group. Not at that time. Last call is something like 850 to give people with the 850 slots time to snack. If you do a 6 to 7 slot your guide will have you event complete by midnight. Giving you time to hit a house again or hit up food options with the lines starting to decline.

 

[bavarian princess]

Earlier is almost always better. Your tour starts when you leave the reception area and head to horror makeup and they leave once they get enough people to go as a group. Not at that time. Last call is something like 850 to give people with the 850 slots time to snack. If you do a 6 to 7 slot your guide will have you event complete by midnight. Giving you time to hit a house again or hit up food options with the lines starting to decline.

Thank you so much. Unfortunately, the RIP tours for our trip dates booked up fast and we could only get a 8:30 slot. The day we had as a fall back option was completely booked. Not that I want to complain - I am happy that we get to experience it quick question: how early would you arrive for the tour?