Official 2025 Universal Studios Orlando HHN 34 Discussion Thread

[keishashadow]

I was staying at BWV and I took a Uber to Universal.

i'm sure it's frowned upon

many indicate they uber to HRH. same for departure

YMMV

 

[keishashadow]

from X
appears an un-named Travel agency has shared info on a FB post

as far as I know, info has not been definitively verified by U

 

[GhostHost24]

Ya that was the rumor going around so I believe this.. It'll be interesting to see. I don't really plan to ever utilize it

 

[Kwami]

It's a great change for me! I'll be in the park all day before the HHN event, so I'll gladly take my wristband, skip the security fiasco, and start visiting houses early! I'm glad that Universal copied the Disney method this time.

 

[GhostHost24]

My only concern is it'll take longer to clear the park and could take longer to open

 

[tony67]

My only concern is it'll take longer to clear the park and could take longer to open

Yeah - I am assuming they will not worry as much about clearing the park - if you don't have a wristband you cant get into a line or purchase things etc... IF Disney can do it on the various event nights I'm sure Universal can do it for HHN. That said I am sure there will be folks who try to stay and it might mean they are checking tickets at every queue all night - assuming they don't give people who come in at 6:30 wristbands.

With the current system they wont let you leave the pens until they have cleared the park - and at least once last year I was in the situation where they were ready to let us go towards major sweets - but there was still a family in the park and they were walking as slow as possible with security to the exit. It was somewhat obvious they were just being difficult and the entire crowd had to wait until they were down towards the Hollywood area. The crowd was not happy to say the least.

 

[SPAM]

Yeah - I am assuming they will not worry as much about clearing the park - if you don't have a wristband you cant get into a line or purchase things etc... IF Disney can do it on the various event nights I'm sure Universal can do it for HHN. That said I am sure there will be folks who try to stay and it might mean they are checking tickets at every queue all night - assuming they don't give people who come in at 6:30 wristbands.

With the current system they wont let you leave the pens until they have cleared the park - and at least once last year I was in the situation where they were ready to let us go towards major sweets - but there was still a family in the park and they were walking as slow as possible with security to the exit. It was somewhat obvious they were just being difficult and the entire crowd had to wait until they were down towards the Hollywood area. The crowd was not happy to say the least.

Yeah once it started raining and there was a crowd waiting to be let into richters for stay and scream and there was one family in there being difficult and giving the employees a hard time and we could see them through the windows and we were like come on you aren’t gonna wait out the rain in there…

 

[Skywalker3]

Hope to finalize some plans this weekend or very, very soon, get tickets, etc. for an early Oct trip, hopefully, that'll include DS. He'll be in college, and only getting 2 weekdays, plus weekend, off for fall break. Looking at flights etc. We have only flown once as a family, we always drive, but the drive is 10-12 hours, so that would eat into a lot of our trip. Thinking just DS could fly, and DD and I drive, but the airport in the city where DS will be is not huge, not a lot of options, but we'll see......
Last year, being there during Hurricane Milton, and seeing that HHN closed a couple days that week, etc. has me more worried about our trip. Our HHN night stayed open, but rained almost the whole time. We only got to experience 2 scare zones w actors, early in the night. Anyway, long story short, I need to commit to one night in early Oct, and just worried about a repeat of bad weather. I think I'll plan on Sat night, with Sun as a backup, instead of vice versa. Cheaper to go Sunday though...and will probably be working in an Epic day.
We do plan on HHN express for the night, but very strong possibility we wont' have day tickets....so it'll either be our first time doing HHN as regular guests entering at 6PM, or we'll opt for this stay/scream tickets, and maybe get to do some of the Universal stuff that not open during HHN.
Decisions, decisions.....so excited about the house announcements.
DS is most excited about Fallout and FNaF, I'm excited for Jason and the originals. DD very excited for Terrifier. So we'll all have something.

 

[LilyWDW]

Well, now I am second guessing not doing stay and scream.

My concerns are that I have some disabilities and pain issues and that starting in the parks too early will cause me to crash out earlier. Especially with the heat (one of my meds makes me more heat intolerant).

 

[GhostHost24]

Well, now I am second guessing not doing stay and scream.

My concerns are that I have some disabilities and pain issues and that starting in the parks too early will cause me to crash out earlier. Especially with the heat (one of my meds makes me more heat intolerant).

Do you have express? Or was the plan just stay and scream.

 

[LilyWDW]

Do you have express? Or was the plan just stay and scream.

I have express.

The plan was to head to Citywalk about 4:30pm either by bus or walking to Royal Pacific and taking the boat.

 

[GhostHost24]

I have express.

The plan was to head to Citywalk about 4:30pm either by bus or walking to Royal Pacific and taking the boat.

My personal opinion has always been you don't need to do S&S If you have express. There's many time we haven't even gone in til 7

 

[tony67]

My personal opinion has always been you don't need to do S&S If you have express. There's many time we haven't even gone in til 7

Tend to agree - the only reason I ever do S&S is to take photos. I'll usually just hang out in a restaurant in CityWalk and then go over to HHN. Drinks and food are usually a better value.

Also - I've said it before but going to the houses that early is mostly a waste of time - I'm always shocked at folks who use their express passes that early as well. Houses are usually not fully staffed and it can be difficult to see since its so bright out and then you enter the dark houses and you eyes really don't have the time to adjust. Can make a big difference to enjoyment of the houses. Scare Zones are also not fully staffed for the most part - so best to just wait till about 7.

If you just want to do the houses so you can say you did them then fine - but I feel like you really miss a lot going early.

Also the food at HHN - it looks good - for Instagram photos - but it tends to disappoint. And they tend to have a ton of it premade and ready to go during S&S so another reason to skip going early.

 

[LilyWDW]

Thanks @tony67 and @GhostHost24 ! So glad we have the 2 of you here to answer these random questions.

I think it is a bit of FOMO. Everyone talks about Stay and Scream so I worry that by not doing it, I am setting myself up to fail. This is only my second HHN and my first solo so I want to make the most of it. Last year my friend and I did not last very long. We pushed too hard early on and crashed early, plus it really wasn't an event my friend was enjoying. So I am trying to come up with a better plan this year for myself.

As for the food, I figure there is enough around if I get snacky. But I do want to try some of the special offerings. Especially if they do another smore or pizza for FNAF. Cause, I have to have Freddy Fazbear's pizza...

 

[GhostHost24]

Always happy to help.

Fully get the pushing too hard etc. I have a bad lower back so I can't be on feet too much at a time. It's why I usually skip S&S with express. Allows me to relax longer and can survive majority of the night

S&S is only worth it if you want to do a house more than once.

 

[LSUmiss]

Do they have any Halloween things during the day at the park or is everything start with HHN?

 

[tony67]

Do they have any Halloween things during the day at the park or is everything start with HHN?

Pretty much starts with HHN - some of the decorations and set pieces that are not gory will be visible - but things that might bother some folks are covered with tarps.

So for example there are a lot of pumpkins in the trees and Halloween decorations around the street by the central park area - so that will mostly be visible.

In previous years they did have a scavenger hunt during the day - but that was not there last year - it's possible it will be back this year.

 

[glamdring269]

This is my 3rd HHN but my first one without doing a RIP tour. Opted for express because I'm doing it with 2 other people this year who didn't want to spend up for RIP.

Would it be reasonable to assume that we could be done by around midnight or so? I'm doing Epic the following morning (early entry) which also means I won't be staying until they kick me out for the first time. Any advice appreciated.

 

[GhostHost24]

This is my 3rd HHN but my first one without doing a RIP tour. Opted for express because I'm doing it with 2 other people this year who didn't want to spend up for RIP.

Would it be reasonable to assume that we could be done by around midnight or so? I'm doing Epic the following morning (early entry) which also means I won't be staying until they kick me out for the first time. Any advice appreciated.

Should be yes... I know in the past we've done all 10 plus the show before 1230