Planning to attend Halloween Horror night

[Melisa1]

I love HHN as well. This past year was my first year and I hope that I can get back this year ( we are moving to TX). Youtube is great to look at HHN videos, I still like to look at them.
I don't recall seeing a whole bunch of kids at HHN, but I don't have kids so I can't give any advice there.

macraven - you still need to write a "how to" on planning your trip to HHN. You always have so much info on it!

 

[macraven]

i met up with 3 different universal homies last october.

they contacted me by pm and i gave them the plan.

2 of them spent an evening with me touring.
we saw everything..........

and got great perks with my chainsaw wolf tshirt on........


i would be glad to share my touring ways with anyone for hhn.


there are less crowds at the beginning of the month than the end of the month for hhn.
even with the ep......

 

[macraven]

Doom101 said something everyone should read.

buy the express pass and go early to the stay and scream area.


last year on the second weekend of hhn was when i went.

i was at a chainsaw wolf meet and did not get to the gates until 4:56.

at that point, the security was setting up and starting to refuse people to enter into the park. the park / studios/ closed at 5 and employees had started to move people out of the park in some sections.

a group started to come in and security turned away from me to talk to them and i scooted past very quickly. did go to the s & s area ok then.


universal sells a frequent non peak night pass. that means it can be used on some nights during hell week and on thursdays and sundays.
non peak nights hhn closes at midnight and the hhn tix are cheaper.

used to be in the past years that non peak nights of sunday did not have crowds. last year on the sunday, night before columbus day, that i was there, crowds were happening. unusual for me to see that in the last 6 years i have attended. lines were longer than usual for a sunday that night.

i always plan my trips to attend hhn for the friday, saturday and sunday nights in a row. either i go the first weekend or second weekend.
since 2003 though, i have been attending the second weekend as i book my air and hotel in january. last year when first weekend included a september date, there was no hhn on that sunday. thus the reason of plans going the next weekend for hhn.

 

[tricky1]

I always go during columbus day week with the ffp sun....wed....thur night
for about the price of 1 peak night ticket, I've only been the last 4 years
and the crowds are getting bigger on non-peak nights.
Hey Macraven I spoke to you briefly at the stay and scream oct 8th
at finnagans,the holding area at amity was much better, not as crowded.
I waited to late to get a chainsaw shirt but we did have our hhn vault
shirts and were the targets of many scares and such, we will be
getting our csw shirts early this year. looking forward to oct, we will be there the 7th -12th havent decided on which hotel yet...plenty of time left.

 

[JulieWent]

I just thought of 1 more thing, Has anyone out there ever brought a 12 year old to HHN. I would really like to hear their review.

Okay, I'll be the lone voice here. We took our son -- age 11 1/2 -- to HHN this year. He had the time of his life and escaped without any physical or psychological damage. He laughed and giggled the whole night. Like your son, he talked about it for a year before hand and did lots of research. He knew what to expect. We knew what to expect. He can't wait to go back.

We bought express passes for the evening, did Stay n Scream, went through each house early, and saw everything. We did go on a Sunday night instead of a Saturday, though. We were at US Saturday and saw the HUGE crowd going in. I was glad that we weren't going that evening. Your plan of going on separate evenings allows you more time, though. The Saturday night crowd is much more rowdy, though.

Speaking of which, yes, we saw some drinking. We go to college football games every Saturday from late August until the beginning of December. We didn't see much at HHN that we haven't seen at Saturday tailgating. Yes, there were some PDAs, but we were able to steer away from anything that we weren't interested in seeing. When DH and I were kids, we used to go down to the Mardi Gras parades. (Mobile, AL and Pensacola, FL) Ummmm HHN has nothing on Mardi Gras. So.... I guess it all depends on what you are comfortable explaining to your son and what you've already explained to him.

So, HHN is not a great place for small children, but with pre-teens and teens, you have to use your judgment and think about what they're comfortable with. My son has several friends whom I'd NEVER take to HHN. They would be terrified and probably not sleep for months afterwards. DS, though, loves the whole idea of scary stories, scary movies, and scary theme park events. It was just the thing for him.

Julie, the bad parent

 

[yaytezIOA]

I applaud you Julie....you did a good job putting it into perspective. But all kids are different. You just have to judge it.....I would say pop in a scary movie that is pretty hard to watch and see how he sleeps. But to be ready for HHN, I would say pop in the first Evil Dead...at night, in the dark. To me that movie has a little bit of everything that HHN does, some sexual type scenes, gore, disturbing images, creepy atmosphere.
I know a guy thats been going since he was in 1st grade.....he's a good guy, but very off the wall. He was laughing hard in Trapped Behind the Walls, a house that has been voted by many as house of the year between HHN and Howl O scream.

 

[Scratch42]

I really have nothing against people drinking. I would enjoy a few beers myself, that's not what I meant when I said about the drunks. I saw another post about people barfing out in the open. I don't know how true that is.

The Food & Wine at Epcot really doesn't bother me. I really don't think you can compare HHN to Epcot. After all, HHN is a Halloween PARTY. And I expect allot of partying. The food & Wine has allot of families. You can't compare the 2.

Is there anyone out there who took a child? I really would love to know what they think?

DD and I went for the first time this past October. She was 14 at the time and absolutely hates Zombies! She really, really, really hates Zombies with Chainsaws! She really enjoyed herself, but won't admit it! Just remember to keep telling yourself, it's not real! Most of the stuff is the element of surprise! There was one house where they recreated the smells of certain things that really grossed me out! But that to me indicated a job well done!

If you can get the Express Pass, do so! We didn't and some of the waits were unbelievable! It was also cold that night and thank goodness for the Jekyl and Hides!(shooters that tasted like medicine but kept you warm!) I found the worst thing about waiting in lines were the people that smoked! You weren't suppose to but they did! All in all it was a great time! This year we are joining our friends to the the one at Busch Gardens!

We still make fun of DD and her Zombies with Chainsaws!

Just remember, it's makebelieve and your imagination is your worse enemy!

j

 

[NotAmused]

Although I have no children, in 2004, I went with 2 preteens in our group. One girl was 12 and the other was 10. The 12 year was very nervous about HHN because she thought she was going to be scared. The 10yo, on the other hand, was so excited because she loves scary stuff. Well, after the first haunted house, the two of them were opposites. The 12yo was having the time of her life and laughing at everything, while the 10yo was on the verge of tears and spent the night waiting with her mom(who was also scared to death!) while everyone else went in the houses. While the younger one was scared, it did provide some entertainment as she got "chased" by a short clown and then surrounded by some weird creatures Yes, I know I am mean for laughing But she still laughs about it and she was the one who begged to go to HHN, so it's all good. She even went to HHN the next year (willingly btw) and actually made it into 3 houses.


So the age of the child really doesn't matter because every child and adult is different. As I mentioned, even the girls' mom was scared and she was like 37 So yeah, I think that's a good idea to check out youtube.

 

[macraven]

I always go during columbus day week with the ffp sun....wed....thur night
for about the price of 1 peak night ticket, I've only been the last 4 years
and the crowds are getting bigger on non-peak nights.
Hey Macraven I spoke to you briefly at the stay and scream oct 8th
at finnagans,the holding area at amity was much better, not as crowded.
I waited to late to get a chainsaw shirt but we did have our hhn vault
shirts and were the targets of many scares and such, we will be
getting our csw shirts early this year. looking forward to oct, we will be there the 7th -12th havent decided on which hotel yet...plenty of time left.

you bet i remember you !!!
what a great surprise to met you again here on the threads.

my mistake last year was not to stay at the amity stay and scream area.
i stayed there for the fri and sat night and it was great there.
sunday, as you know, was at finnegans s & s and had to be entertained by the young dude trying to get all of us "behind the invisible lines......" lol

at first i thought i would be at hhn for the columbus day weekend and then though maybe i should go during the week so i can get in a couple more days.

jury still out on it.
more than likely i will hit the columbus day weekend there so you best go then.......

 

[deelam]

All the post here have been so helpfull. Tracy, it's good to hear your child survived & had a good time at HHN.
Me & DS11 checked out YouTube. Now he really wants to go! He can't wait!
I did hear some F words on you tube. That kinda worried me. But DS11 thinks he can handle it. DS11 has gone to haunted house like Eastern State Pen, in PA & haunted woods tours in NJ. He has also seen the Evil Dead movie. We all love that movie! I really have to check out more on Youtube.
IS there anyplace safe from the scare actor's at HHN? Just in case I decide to go.

 

[deelam]

I need a little advice on tickets. I know its too early for HHN tickets. But I'm looking at buying general Universal tickets. Unfortunately, I will only be at Universal 3 days before moving to the Disney portion of the trip. I was just going to buy a 5 day pass for $84, even though we will not need all those days. Do they normally have a combo ticket for HHN. It that what stay & scream is? Does it include your day pass?

 

[JohnnyB2]

HHN is very popular now.The later in Oct. you travel the more crowds there are.The last couple of times we went ,we had passes and saw each house and did some rides, in one night.Get there early!!!,as the lines for express also will get long.

 

[macraven]

All the post here have been so helpfull. Tracy, it's good to hear your child survived & had a good time at HHN.
Me & DS11 checked out YouTube. Now he really wants to go! He can't wait!
I did hear some F words on you tube. That kinda worried me. But DS11 thinks he can handle it. DS11 has gone to haunted house like Eastern State Pen, in PA & haunted woods tours in NJ. He has also seen the Evil Dead movie. We all love that movie! I really have to check out more on Youtube.
IS there anyplace safe from the scare actor's at HHN? Just in case I decide to go.

the only place i found no scare actors was in the RR.
when the crowds enter the park, you probably will not find any scareactors there.


well, you will hear profanity from some guests when they are caught off guard and scared. you will be surprised on what you can hear.

the raw language will not come from the employees but the guests.

 

[macraven]

I need a little advice on tickets. I know its too early for HHN tickets. But I'm looking at buying general Universal tickets. Unfortunately, I will only be at Universal 3 days before moving to the Disney portion of the trip. I was just going to buy a 5 day pass for $84, even though we will not need all those days. Do they normally have a combo ticket for HHN. It that what stay & scream is? Does it include your day pass?

if you only use 3 of the days on those $85 passes, you are still way ahead financially. you are getting 3 full days at 2 parks with those passes.


stay & scream is a holding area for guests that have the hhn ticket.
it opens at 5:00 and guests there are released once the park has been cleared
you do not pay extra for s & s.
day guests that have the hhn ticket do not have to leave the park, just go and wait there.

you will have a head start by not leaving the park.

the line is long outside the gates.
metal detectors are used and that slows down the entrance lines to the park.

there is no combo ticket in the way you are thinking.
i have bought the Add on ticket for hhn in the past.
when i had the multiday pass that i bought on line, i was able to buy the hhn tix as an add on.

i had to call universal and give them the confirmation number of my on line purchase of passes to get the discount for hhn.

last year i used the pap/preferred annual pass discount for tickets.

call universal or check their website when hhn tickets go on sale.

promos come and go.
what was valid last year or prior, might not be in effect for 07.
i always have to check when the hard event tickets come out to see what is the best deal

don't expect to learn ticket prices for it until mid summer at the earliest

 

[deelam]

Thanks for the updates!

On the language, I could see myself blurting out a few choice words if I got a shock or scare. And as far as the restrooms, I would hope they are scare free. But who would want to lock yourself in a stall after paying all that money.
DS11 is soo excited about doing this event. So is DH. For me, if it gets to intense I'll go hangout in the bathroom.

 

[Akdar]

At HHN16 we (myself, DW and 19 year old DS) went 2 nights. The first night (the last Thurs in October) we didn't have EPPs and we only got through 4 houses, (just couldn't wait in an hour long line, knowing I had EPPS for the next night) even though we were at Stay and Scream. The next night we had EPPs and after being let out of the Finnegan's area we did the remaining houses we didn't get the night before, without using the EPPS, before it even got dark. We then used the EPPS to do all the houses, so we actually did half of the houses twice over the 2 nights. It was great! my wife was behind me holding onto my belt as we went through the houses and every time she got scared by a scareactor, she yanked on my belt, it was pretty funny! We had such a great time, and can't wait for this year. October won't be here quick enough! I'm hoping to go 2 nights again (maybe 3??) as we are going to our Timeshare for a week, then 3 days at RPR! Can't wait!

 

[patster734]

stay & scream is a holding area for guests that have the hhn ticket.
it opens at 5:00 and guests there are released once the park has been cleared
you do not pay extra for s & s.
day guests that have the hhn ticket do not have to leave the park, just go and wait there.

you will have a head start by not leaving the park.

Hi Macraven,

Are there designated stay and scream areas at the parks? I noticed that you've mentioned waiting in Finnigan's. When we did stay and scream, we sat at one of the park benches across from the Screamhouse (Twister) entrance.

 

[macraven]

Hi Macraven,

Are there designated stay and scream areas at the parks? I noticed that you've mentioned waiting in Finnigan's. When we did stay and scream, we sat at one of the park benches across from the Screamhouse (Twister) entrance.

last year there were 2 stay and scream areas.
one at finnegans and the other at amity.

if you were sitting on the benches near screamhouse, don't know how that could be as the employees were scooting everyone out of that area and in the park area. maybe you weren't noticed sitting there or maybe you had the VIP pass waiting for the tour to start???

if you were with an employee then they let you stay where you are.

it was enforced by the area of finnegans on the night i was there to stay put or leave the park.

did see a few random people on park benches but was told they were being told they had to go behind the ropes by finnegans.

you know, some employees enforce the rules and others don't.
i should have stayed at amity holding area as they were not strick over at that s & s area.


next year, i'll go to the s & s section that has the less amount of people.

 

[Akdar]

My family and I were one of the first to get our black wristbands, once we had them, we pretty much released ourselves from the Finnegans area, that really helped us get a jump on the houses that night (last Friday in October, can't remember the actual date) Employees would come up to us and ask us what we were doing and as soon as we showed them our wristbands, they let us go. I liked the Finnegans area, I had a few tasty beverages while waiting (I think it was happy hour around 5ish if I remember correctly?)

 

[macraven]

adkar, i have not been to any hhn in the mid to end of october.

for the 1st and 2nd weekends, no wristbands are given out at s& s.

the black bands you mentioned, was that for a promo??? and it was at the end of the hhn season?

can you give more 411 on that? is that part of the VIP touring? i did one tour where i received a wristband but it wasn't during the evening event.
i'm curious ...i'll stick around until i hear from you.
i always interested in learning about hhn on what happens to others.
lot of us have different experiences and i love to learn more