Univeral Horror nights - 7 year old!

[paulfoel]

Hmmm. Not so sure but he wants to go.

Hes a pretty tough 7 yr old and understands the difference between real and make-believe. Not sure about the wife though !!!!

Been many years ago when we didnt have him but whats it like these days? Also, express pass worth it?

Which rides are open as well?

 

[Metro West]

If you think he can handle it, go for it...although that's young to attend. I think 13 years old would be about the youngest I would consider. You know him better than we do so again...if you think he can handle it, take him. I've certainly seen younger kids there in the past.

The EP is definitely worth it as the lines get very long and wait of two hours is not unusual. Last year MIB, Jaws, The Simpsons and the Mummy were open and the EP is good for those too.

 

[macraven]

Hmmm. Not so sure but he wants to go.

Hes a pretty tough 7 yr old and understands the difference between real and make-believe. Not sure about the wife though !!!!

Been many years ago when we didnt have him but whats it like these days? Also, express pass worth it?

Which rides are open as well?

i wouldn't take a 7 year old. i made mine wait until they were 17 before they went. i wanted them to be older so they could handle the situation of when someone sloshed their beer on them they didn't fly off the handle......

universal lists on the hhn site that the event is not recommended for those under 13.


they don't sell children tickets, only adult ones for the HHN event.


being pretty tough may not be enough for your son.
your son will be exposed to many adult activities you may not appreciate.
heavy drinking, female adult clothing, or lack of it, puking, language, heavy crowds, drunkiness, 2 people becoming 1 in a line.....etc.

if you take him and you leave the park early, there are no refunds.


watch some youtubes and catch some of the activity in the parks for lines and everything else before you make a decision.

the scareactors do not dummy down their role when someone is frightened.

it is your choice but hhn is really not a place or atmosphere for a young chid.

 

[MichelleXL]

I would not recommend it for younger children. I was 16 when I first went, and my brother was 13 for his first visit.

With that being said... My aunt wanted to go with us back in 2005, and my 7 year old cousin begged to go. He is pretty tough as well, and ended up having an amazing time. Although, there was an imaginary target on his back the whole night, because the scareactors seemed to be drawn to him.

That was 6 years ago though. Guests have gotten rowdier, and scares have gotten more intense. It's definitely up to your discretion.

 

[Zim]

Hm... tough call. But like others have said, only you know what your child can handle. And if he does your local haunts without blinking maybe he'd be fine with these.

However, if you take him and he's NOT fine with the houses... are you willing to fork over that kind of money just to do the scare paths and more comical shows like Bill & Ted? Or have enough family / friends there to tag team sitting outside Houses with him? (that's what we did on our second HHN)

The first time we went we talked my DD11 into going. She really didn't want to go, but we really did, so we showed her the map and how we could avoid most of the scary stuff if we wanted to by walking around scare zone paths and not going into houses. So that's what we did that first visit... we didn't see a single House. She only had to walk through one scare path and did pretty good (the actors in the warped Wizard of Oz were kind)... She LOVED the shows - particularly Bill & Ted - that's the only thing that got her to go again the next year...

However, our second visit last year they didn't have much in the way of a safe connection of paths to avoid scare zones. But she realized they were pretty tame relative to the houses, and actually enjoyed a few of them. But Bill & Ted's show last October was lame (mostly due to a dismal year in movies).

As for drunken and disorderly... he'll definitely be exposed to that, but the security staff is amazingly fast at attending to those disturbances, so it could be a positive experience to see that sort of cause and effect.

I think if you feel he's ready, he will probably do fine - especially since you already know kind of what to expect. I find even the actors in the houses are pretty tame with their jumping out and then retreating to their scare spots. Your biggest irritation might be the looks you get from people who think you're tormenting a child too young to be there. I saw a few people my daughter's age, but I can't recall seeing more than one or two younger.

Hope that was helpful

Also, I only recall MIB and Simpsons being open - I'm sure there were a couple others.

 

[4greatboys]

I wouldn't have taken any of my boys at 7 and they love all kinds of creepy scary stuff. I wont take either of my youngest ones til they are atleast 13 and before we commit to HHN I'm going to take them on the UTH tour so they can see the houses and get a feel for what they are like and what's going to take place.

 

[Neil Patrick Harris]

I don't think there's any seven year old who can handle it.

 

[paulfoel]

To be honest we dont think we;re going to take him. Trouble is hes at the age now where Mickeys halloween is a little lame for him.

What about busch gardens Howl-o-scream ?

 

[SharkyGoddess]

Depends on who you ask and what their personal level of "scare" is. IMO, I thought HHN was very tame. Last year was my first time going though, and I have been involved in haunts for about 10 years. Some of my friends put on some pretty intense scares and my youngest has already performed as a scare actor. Nothing freaks people out like a child scare actor With that said, last year my husband and I made our visit to HHN our 'date night' so we didn't even take our teens LOL

BG may be your better bet if you are worried about his, or your wife's reaction.

 

[Jason71]

I agree 7 is too young. Keep in mind, it's not just the "scariness," although HHN can be intense (and for every scare-actor who gives an obviously terrified kid a break, there's one who goes twice as hard, probably to teach the parents a lesson). There's a ton of alcohol--you can't walk 20 feet without passing a bar--and a lot of drunks. You're going to hear cursing everywhere, even in the shows. A lot of sexually explicit material, especially in Bill & Ted. HHN is definitely an R-rated event.

 

[Cdn Friends of Pooh]

To be honest we dont think we;re going to take him. Trouble is hes at the age now where Mickeys halloween is a little lame for him.

What about busch gardens Howl-o-scream ?

I agree with the others ... I've always said kids don't belong at HHN, it's scary as hell, alcohol is freely flowing and overall just not a kid friendly environment.

If you do take them to the event, I can almost guarantee it will end in tears. There are no "safe" zones for kids that get scared. Scareactors feed off of fear and will continue to scare your child, even if they are frightened.

No part of the event is family friendly, even the shows. Shows, such as Bill and Ted, contain loud music, crude language, women in skimpy clothing, and sexual references.

Both Halloween Horror Nights at Universal Orlando and Howl-O-Scream at Busch Gardens Tampa are NOT recommended for young children. It says so right on the literature and ads.

I would try Seaworld's Halloween Spooktacular instead.

 

[SharkyGoddess]

I agree 7 is too young. Keep in mind, it's not just the "scariness," although HHN can be intense (and for every scare-actor who gives an obviously terrified kid a break, there's one who goes twice as hard, probably to teach the parents a lesson). There's a ton of alcohol--you can't walk 20 feet without passing a bar--and a lot of drunks. You're going to hear cursing everywhere, even in the shows. A lot of sexually explicit material, especially in Bill & Ted. HHN is definitely an R-rated event.

I had to respond.

The bars are in the parks during the day and alcohol is served during the day inside the parks, so seeing a person with an alcoholic drink is something a child can experience all day, every day not just at HHN (not to mention if the family has ever visited a restaurant that serves alcohol and has a bar section). As for cursing, something else you hear all day at the parks, especially from younger people and where on earth was all this sexually explicit goings on? Never been to Bill & Ted, so I can't speak for there, but during our two days at HHN we never witnessed any scantly clad women or anything inappropriate.

I'm not against giving people a heads up about events such as HHN, but I don't feel over exaggerating the event is the best way to go.


Not trying to start a debate, just trying to shed some light.

 

[MichelleXL]

where on earth was all this sexually explicit goings on? Never been to Bill & Ted, so I can't speak for there, but during our two days at HHN we never witnessed any scantly clad women or anything inappropriate.

I think Bill & Ted was what the previous posters were referring to.

The Bill & Ted show does have scantily clad women and men. They even make an announcement before the show stating that if guests do not want to see scantily clad men and women, or feel that they would be offended by some of the content, they should get up and leave the theater. If you're lucky enough to see the very last show of the entire event, they throw parts of the script out the window and ad lib. The last show is always my favorite

As for scantily clad guests, there is still a dress code during HHN, and I haven't seen anything extreme. I've actually seen worse clothing from some of the daytime guests.

 

[WWEDUDE]

I had to respond.

The bars are in the parks during the day and alcohol is served during the day inside the parks, so seeing a person with an alcoholic drink is something a child can experience all day, every day not just at HHN (not to mention if the family has ever visited a restaurant that serves alcohol and has a bar section). As for cursing, something else you hear all day at the parks, especially from younger people and where on earth was all this sexually explicit goings on? Never been to Bill & Ted, so I can't speak for there, but during our two days at HHN we never witnessed any scantly clad women or anything inappropriate.

I have yet to see anyone passing out, hitting their head on a curb, from being flat out wasted during regular park hours, or at a restaurant. However I have seen that at HHN. The nurses serving the blood bags are dress very sexualy to sell drinks.

I would strongly, strongly discourage a seven year old from going to this event. It is a lot to handle, and while some seven year olds could handle it, a majority couldn't.

 

[yaytezIOA]

Okay, alcohol and cursing at HHN flows....but no more than it does at Food and Wine Festival at EPCOT. I've seen a lady lose her top and her boyfriend lose his temper there.
BUT...for taking kids. We took my daughter to HHN for 18. She had to see Bloody Mary. She wanted to. My ex gave in...it's one of the reasons she's an ex. She has not been back to HHN since. Though this year she is thinking about it.
I took my big guy when he was 11. He was ready. He didn't think he was, but he was. He loved it. Didn't do many houses, but he did all the zones and shows.
It all really depends on your kids. If they love scary movies, if they don't flinch during the gross parts...they're not ready. They see it on the movies, but seeing it in real life tends to get to them. If they can't stand scary movies, it creeps them out...then chances are...they'll love the event. Odd how it works out. I guess it's because they know that everything in the movies looks real, and the fact that they can reproduce it in real life almost identical puts them more at ease....if that makes any sense. Anyway, that's how it was with my two...plus my girlfriend...hates scary movies, walks through the event without a flinch.
I personally would try the event by yourself first just to see if you think they could handle it. That would require going multiple nights though.

 

[patrickpiteo]

Too young wait till he get older. And then above all make sure they can handle been scared witless.. It is a fun time also as stated above get the FP. Otherwise you wil never get into all the houses.

 

[Jason71]

I had to respond.

The bars are in the parks during the day and alcohol is served during the day inside the parks, so seeing a person with an alcoholic drink is something a child can experience all day, every day not just at HHN (not to mention if the family has ever visited a restaurant that serves alcohol and has a bar section). As for cursing, something else you hear all day at the parks, especially from younger people and where on earth was all this sexually explicit goings on? Never been to Bill & Ted, so I can't speak for there, but during our two days at HHN we never witnessed any scantly clad women or anything inappropriate.

I'm not against giving people a heads up about events such as HHN, but I don't feel over exaggerating the event is the best way to go.


Not trying to start a debate, just trying to shed some light.

I'm well-aware there are bars the rest of the year--I'm a regular at Finnegans practically every weekend. There is FAR more alcohol during HHN. Close to a dozen temporary full bars are set up, and "shot girls" wander the streets. It's not just that booze is available available, it's that it's heavily pushed. I'm not against drinking, being on a first name basis with the bartenders and all, but to pretend HHN is no different than a trip to Olive Garden is the sort of disingenuous thing I'd expect from a Disney fanboi.

The cursing seems worse at night as well. Just the nature of the event, I suppose. I know you'll hear some swearing during the day, but most people do seem to try hold their tongue around the little ones. And you'll never hear the language in Bill & Ted or other HHN shows during Beetlejuice or the Blues Brothers.

The scantily clad women are a hallmark of Bill & Ted (and were also featured in Rocky Horror, which in fairness is not returning this year). Various houses and scare zones have also used sexually charged imagery over the years (I'm thinking the shirtless chained up victim in Saws & Steam off the top of my head, but there have been others over the years).

Just reiterating my point, this is an event for adults.

 

[Marquibiri]

I'm well-aware there are bars the rest of the year--I'm a regular at Finnegans practically every weekend. There is FAR more alcohol during HHN. Close to a dozen temporary full bars are set up, and "shot girls" wander the streets. It's not just that booze is available available, it's that it's heavily pushed. I'm not against drinking, being on a first name basis with the bartenders and all, but to pretend HHN is no different than a trip to Olive Garden is the sort of disingenuous thing I'd expect from a Disney fanboi.

The cursing seems worse at night as well. Just the nature of the event, I suppose. I know you'll hear some swearing during the day, but most people do seem to try hold their tongue around the little ones. And you'll never hear the language in Bill & Ted or other HHN shows during Beetlejuice or the Blues Brothers.

The scantily clad women are a hallmark of Bill & Ted (and were also featured in Rocky Horror, which in fairness is not returning this year). Various houses and scare zones have also used sexually charged imagery over the years (I'm thinking the shirtless chained up victim in Saws & Steam off the top of my head, but there have been others over the years).

Just reiterating my point, this is an event for adults.

I agree... If it were up to me, I'd make it a +18 event.. I was shocked by the number of children I saw last year watching Rocky Horror.. Some parents did leave with the young ones but I still saw many sitting around.

The $$ made in alcohol must be overwhelming... I myself spend above 80 dollars a night...

The sexually charged imagery is everywhere.... from shows to scarezones.. to the jelly shots vendors....

but I dont mind ..... I am 31....

Marquibiri