Halloween Horror nights..

[Crow]

never been to it. I have been to MNSSHP once.
will be on a short trip in October at WDW Im not sure if I will have the time in 4 or 5 nights to do both of these. Is it worth trying to see H Horror nights after doing both Universal parks in a day. then probably having to drive back to Disney area. Not sure if my budget will allow both of these also. I know its completely diff from MNSSHP.

[Crow]

also how do the tickets work for Halloween Horror nights. we still have a Universal pass w a day on it for both park. how much is it for just the HHN

[Capt_redshirt]

Halloween horror nights is a special ticket like MNSSHP. But the info has gotten a bit more confusing ... i recomend going to the halloween horror night site and look it up ... it looks like if your there you can add it on from 40 -60 dollars. if i read the site right its 92 dollars if you just want to go to HHN which if its true thats absolutly crazy

Im not sure you could do both parks plus HHN in one night that would be an undertaking

[NJGIRL]

The first thing you should know is that IOA is not opened during HHN.

HHN is great if you like scary. If you have done Disney's party before I would do this one instead. It is worth every penny.

There are around 7 haunted houses set up and they are unbelievable. Once outside cast members in costumes follow you around. The costumes are movie quality IMO. There are also a few shows that are usually pretty good.

A few things to remember/ tips:

You are NOT allowed to wear a costume for obvious reasons.

If you have a ticket to the park that day you can buy a "Stay and Scream" ticket to the party at a discounted rate. Weekends are less of a discount, as is the closer dates to Halloween.

Make sure you are in the Studio before it closes to the general public. This way you don't have to wait in line to get in. You also have a 30 min head start to the houses that outside people do not get.

Some regular attractions are opened that night so if you go during the day keep that in mind. BUT if you want to hit every house and see the two shows there is not much time to do rides.

They do sell upgraded tickets to the party but we have never spent the extra money.

last year we got to all of the houses (except for one) and the two shows by 12 midnight. We did not do any attractions or stop to eat. We were tired so walked back to the hotel...but could have stayed longer if we wanted to do the last house.

[Crow]

yes I would be at the parks during the day and already have a ticket for those.I looked at the site and didn't quite understand the pricing either. this is a shorter trip, just 4 or 5 nights so im trying to see what we can fit in. I would probably try to do either this or MNSSHP on a Thursday so its not quite as busy.
and ill b staying at WDW or nearby so that's another consideration.

[NJGIRL]

The two parties are so totally different, there is no comparing the two.

Disney's party is basically trick or treating with a great parade.

Universal's party is all about being scared. Haunted Houses like you have never seen before and walking down dark,foggy streets with monsters following you.

Fun fact....years ago when the parties first started you were followed anywhere in the park (now there are scare zones). There weren't as many people and sometimes you walked down a street without other people around and cast members would jump out of no where and chase you down the dark street.

[Pally]

The two parties are so totally different, there is no comparing the two.

Fun fact....years ago when the parties first started you were followed anywhere in the park (now there are scare zones). There weren't as many people and sometimes you walked down a street without other people around and cast members would jump out of no where and chase you down the dark street.

Last year cast members were walking around everywhere scaring people. Even at the end of the night when it was pretty quiet at the exit there were scare characters.

We enjoyed the night. We did buy fast pass in addition to our entry ticket. Well worth it. The lines were the only pitfall. You seem to walk forever to get to the Houses. The paths seemed endless. The lines for those without fast pass looked discouraging to me. One line up area in front of the Rip Ride Rocket was a field of people waiting to get into a house. We were able to walk right by and get in to the house in about 10minutes.

We used Mears to get back and forth when we went about $19.00 return. It worked out well.

[Mfarquar]

I agree! DEFINITELY try out Halloween Horror Nights if you have never been. It is extremely well done and a fantastic time if you like the scary and macabre!

Go with the Stay and Scream ticket for Halloween Horror Nights (these do not include tax):

Sun., Mon., Tues., Thurs. = $38.99 to add to your existing ticket

Fridays = $53.99

Saturdays = $69.99

So, as long as there is a HHN night scheduled for the Thursday you're interested in, this will be a great way to try to beat some crowds and also save some $$.

Undercover Tourist is also selling a 2 day, park to park pass plus 1 night of Halloween Horror Nights for $186.99 inclusive of tax. I know you're only planning on 1 day at Universal, but I thought I'd mention this since it would save you at least $2 per ticket off the cheapest Universal prices plus all the tax associated with it.

I have done 2 parks in 1 day plus Halloween Horror Nights. It's definitely something you want to get a good night sleep for beforehand! But, it is completely do-able. I suggest the following:

As NJGirl mentioned, Islands of Adventure will not be open during HHN. It will probably close around 6 or 7pm. Universal Studios will probably close at 5pm.

- Arrive a little bit before park opening. Universal usually opens the gates early and the Universal crowds usually don't show up until 11am. You can get a TON done before lunch. Start the day off at Marvel Island then move to Harry Potter. You should be fine with Dragon's Challenge, but Forbidden Journey may have quite a line. Go to Forbidden Journey and ask a Universal worker to take the "castle tour". This will allow you to experience the incredible queue this ride has at your leisure. It is not to be missed. Once you do this, return to the front of the line and join the single rider line. You'll save 75% of the wait, easily, and you can't see your friends on the ride anyway (not a group experience).

- Try to get all the things you want to hit up at Islands of Adventure by 1pm. A locker is very helpful to have, especially considering that Jurassic Park, Popeye and Dudley Do Right will get you very wet. We always wear our bathing suits and flip flops and bring a change of clothes and sneakers for later on (I CANNOT survive in flip flops all day). You may get lucky - We have successfully done all the major rides at Universal except Cat in the Hat and Dr. Doom's Freefall by 1pm in late September.

- Head over to Universal Studios around 1 or 2pm. This will probably cause a challenge with the new Transformers ride, but you may have luck with this late in the afternoon RIGHT before the park closes. Same goes for Rip Ride and Rockit. The good news is that most of these rides will be open for part or all of Halloween Horror Nights with pretty much no line. Usually you can ride Men in Black and the Mummy during HHN with a 10 minute wait or less. I don't recommend making a plan to ride the rides during HHN because you'll miss too much of the event. However, it's perfect for fitting in a ride or two you missed during the day time.

- At 4:50/4:55pm head over to Finnegan's restaurant in the New York section (near the Mummy, just across the street). There will be a holding area in that alley for Stay and Scream guests. You can go into Finnegan's for dinner and they will either check your tickets in the restaurant or in the ally beforehand. Keep an eye out around 5:50 - 6:10pm. Finnegan's will get you in and out in less than an hour and this is a good thing. Universal will start the event early for those of you inside the park and you can head to the 2 sound stages nearest Rip Ride and Rockit for the first 2 haunted houses. These will get very crowded during the 1st two hours of the event and you'll be able to check them off your list before the event even officially starts!

- You will probably encounter at least 1 terribly long line for a house during a Thursday evening. We find it's best to hit up the 2 houses that open early, then move ahead to the next few moving, clockwise. If you find one early on with a long line, move along to the next couple (clockwise) and then go back later to the ones you missed. Sometimes the crowd catches up with your clockwise movement and it pays to skip one and go back when the masses have moved forward toward the park exit.

I hope this helps! We have gone every year since 2005 and these strategies have worked pretty well for us!

[Mfarquar]

Also, I should mention my opinion on shows for a first-time attendee:

Bill and Ted's is a great show that's been running since the inception of the event. It pokes fun at the pop culture events in the past year and has PG-13 humor. It is in a VERY crowded bleacher stadium and is a tradition for locals and those that go every year. That being said, I personally don't feel like this is a MUST DO for first time visitors. You waste a lot of time queuing up and exiting the packed theater.

I especially apply this to the Rocky Horror Show. I really feel like that you can see the movie at 12am at any major city, especially around this time of year. Maybe it's because I've seen it on Broadway a couple of times, but I feel like it's not something unique to this event whereas the scare houses are. Unless you are a big Rocky Horror fan, I say skip it in favor of making it to the houses and enjoying the scare zones.

Unless you're tired and want to sit OR are finding the event too scary, I think you get more bang for your buck by skipping the shows and hitting up the houses and scare zones. Skipping this should give you time to take a quick break for a drink or snack and see all the houses.

[Crow]

lots of good info! thanks a lot
we did use Mears on a previous trip. just have to check how late they would pick up for trip back to Dis area.
I have a day left of my Universal ticket, if I can find it. Previously did Harry Potter and Spiderman and a few things then went to the other park. Having done both parks in one day before I think its doable.
Ill see if by chance we can do Universal HHN & MNSSHP.

[NJGIRL]

Last year cast members were walking around everywhere scaring people. Even at the end of the night when it was pretty quiet at the exit there were scare characters.

We enjoyed the night. We did buy fast pass in addition to our entry ticket. Well worth it. The lines were the only pitfall. You seem to walk forever to get to the Houses. The paths seemed endless. The lines for those without fast pass looked discouraging to me. One line up area in front of the Rip Ride Rocket was a field of people waiting to get into a house. We were able to walk right by and get in to the house in about 10minutes.

We used Mears to get back and forth when we went about $19.00 return. It worked out well.

I was there last year also and on that night they were only in the zoned areas. I actually like when they free roam because you never know what to expect.

We did not have an express pass. The first two houses we only waited about 15 mins, because people were still filtering into the park. After that the next couple of houses were 30 to 45 mins. The last two houses were a little longer.

[NJGIRL]

- Arrive a little bit before park opening. Universal usually opens the gates early and the Universal crowds usually don't show up until 11am. You can get a TON done before lunch. Start the day off at Marvel Island then move to Harry Potter. You should be fine with Dragon's Challenge, but Forbidden Journey may have quite a line. Go to Forbidden Journey and ask a Universal worker to take the "castle tour". This will allow you to experience the incredible queue this ride has at your leisure. It is not to be missed. Once you do this, return to the front of the line and join the single rider line. You'll save 75% of the wait, easily, and you can't see your friends on the ride anyway (not a group experience).

I love the idea of doing the tour then getting in the single rider line. I never thought of doing that.

As far as letting people in early, that is only for guests of Universal hotels. Everytime we have gone in early they have checked our room key or FOTL cards to make sure we were staying onsite.

[Mfarquar]

I was there last year also and on that night they were only in the zoned areas. I actually like when they free roam because you never know what to expect.

We did not have an express pass. The first two houses we only waited about 15 mins, because people were still filtering into the park. After that the next couple of houses were 30 to 45 mins. The last two houses were a little longer.

Last year, one of the big themes of the event was that there were "no scarezones" that the actors were everywhere. As a result, the theming was greatly reduced within the park with the exception of the outside of the Walking Dead house. Universal marketed it as: "A completely reinvented street experience will unleash scareactors in an all-new, terrifying way. Roaming legions of menacing beasts, vampires, prisoners, warriors and more will inhabit every corner of the park. They will find you and invade your personal space like never before. There will be no boundaries. The rules of the past will no longer apply."

I actually had one scareactor follow me into the main area of the restroom. Another one was waiting for me behind an ad board by a garbage can in a poorly lit area. It was totally unexpected! A lot were in the gift shops as well. They also seemed to really like to slam their bodies up against the windows of Mel's Die-In to scare unsuspecting diners (especially since the windows tend to fog up at night from the humidity vs. air conditioning).

They must have been having an off night when you visited, NJGirl, which is really disappointing! You think for the hefty price they would have been spot-on EVERY night!

[Mfarquar]

I love the idea of doing the tour then getting in the single rider line. I never thought of doing that.

Definitely give it a try!

I've found that if you're a party of 2, you'll be seated together about 1 out of every 3 times anyway. There are a lot of 2 person parties that wait in the regular line and Universal fills in that bench with 2 people from the single rider line

[NJGIRL]

Maybe there weren't enough actors there that night to roam free. Maybe they called out sick


I definitely like when they roam free better than the zones. When they first starting having the parties that's the way it was done. Can't remember when that changed.

[Crow]

guess I will have to decide. If I do HHN on Thursday I either cant do MNSSHP or will have to try to get it on Friday when its busier and may sell out.

[Mfarquar]

If it helps in your decision, I've done both.

It's no secret that HHN is a favorite of mine. MNSSHP is a cool event in its own right, but the two are just extraordinarily different. I think that's why they are both so successful.

MNSSHP is just that by definition - a party-like atmosphere. All the fantastic rides are open, there are dance party locations and trick-or-treating. Special fireworks and parade. It is truly a family atmosphere.

HHN is more of a different experience. The existing rides at Universal Studios take a backseat to the 8 haunted houses there. The majority of the park is also transformed into themed zones with additional scares. The complete focus is on the experiences that are added to the park. Bars and specialty food kiosks are setup in addition to the restaurants. This is definitely a more adult experience and it really varies year-to-year as far as themes and experiences.

It's just my opinion, but I would go with trying HHN since you haven't seen it before. The only way I wouldn't recommend this is if you are concerned about not being a fan of scary experiences.

[DizneyFreak2002]

Crow, if you do HHN on a Sunday night, the Stay and Scream option is only $39.99... You do have to have purchased at least a 1 day park ticket though... That is what I did in 2011 and doing again this year... Stay and Scream... I'm going October 27, and paid only $39.99 for the Stay and Scream option... You can knock off two houses before the gates open if you do Stay and Scream...

[Crow]

thanks
at the moment I will be in Orlando tues thru fri or sat night. so no sunday.
but I may have to change my dates so will see what happens. I wouldn't mind doing both

[Mfarquar]

That would be very cool to be able to do both!