Halloween Horror Nights 2013

[Metro West]

I haven't been to this in probably 10 to 15 years. Is the express pass really worth it? Will I be disappointed if I don't do it? What is this RIP tour you speak of? LOL

If you are going for only one night, you should invest in the EP. If you are going multiple nights, skip it.

 

[Deanie1]

I've been trying to find out the dates for "hell week" and hoping we will miss it but I am thinking that Sun. Oct 20 will be either the start or end of it. Please tell me that I am wrong! (No, really, I would rather you tell me the truth).

 

[Tinachichi]

Don't want to sound like an idiot but this is our first HHN and can someone tell me....what exactly is hell week? We are booked for Oct 18th for HHN.

 

[DisneyInfinityFan]

Don't want to sound like an idiot but this is our first HHN and can someone tell me....what exactly is hell week? We are booked for Oct 18th for HHN.

Hell week is the worst week to go to HHN because it is very crowded. Most of the skool kids are out in HHN. Long wait times for everything even getting food. If you happen to go during this week, express pass or rip tour is very recommended. Otherwise you have to expect 120 minutes wait times for some houses. It is hell because you spend most of the time standing in line to get inside the house. It is also elbow to elbow.

 

[PammyK]

And so it begins...

Tonight's crowds were, in a word, ugly. A stark contrast to last Sunday. By 6:30pm, the queues for CitW and AWiL were over approaching 45 minutes and RE and ED already were building even though the houses hadn't opened yet. At 11pm, pathways were extremely crowded and it was getting really difficult to navigate through the crowds. We finished our assignments from the LT game and got the heck out of Dodge because of the crowds. From here on out, I think we can only expect it to get worse. The exceptions may be Halloween itself and possibly the November dates. As much as I hate Express Pass, for anybody who is only visiting on one night, I strongly suggest the investment if you want to be sure to see all 8 houses, enjoy both shows and spend some time in the Scare Zones.

The only other way to possibly visit every house is to take advantage of Stay and Scream and knock off 3 or 4 houses before things start getting busy. If you plan to do this, your best bet might be to S&S in the Kid Zone/Animal Actors holding area where you can quickly hit WD and LaL. Next, hit Afterlife and then make a quick march past London and San Francisco to Havoc. Because Havoc and Afterlife are post-show dump houses, it will be important to try to get to them BEFORE the first B&T and RHPS shows end. When these shows dump, the start a domino effect that the houses really don't recover from until maybe the very end of the night. If you are able to get through your first 4 houses by 8, you should be okay to get through the remaining houses. You'll probably have really long waits, but you should be able to get through them all. For the front houses, save RE for last unless you are an uber-Fan of the games.

 

[macraven]

I was at hhn last Sunday and tonight.
Big difference in the crowds....
I had express and used it early tonight.

Unbelievable crowds tonight!
Walking dead at 8:50 was at 115 minutes yes almost 2hour wait in the regular line....
laLlorona at 9:15 was at 80 minutes

At 9:35, Afterlife, was packed.
I was in the express line for 27 minutes .......goodness gracious!

When I was leaving around 12:35, I saw American werewolf had a wait time of 90 minutes.

If you are going hell week, get the express pass, we'll worth your money!
Hell wk starts the 16th.
The next week will also be busy.

Tonight's crowd, caught me by surprise, did not think the crowds were would be this high.
Have been doing hhn since 1999, and have been surprised on dates a few times for crowds, but tonight was not one I suspected.

If you want to do all the houses the next two weeks, the express pass will be your best friend.

Tonight was a lot more crowded than Friday, which I never would have expected.

 

[Deanie1]

Macraven, you have been at least a couple of times to HHN this year, I believe. Do you have an order that would suggest that we do the houses in? We are hoping to do all the houses (but may need to miss one or two) and also see Bill and Ted. We have the express pass and stay and scream. This is our first time for this. TIA

 

[macraven]

Do stay and scream for sure!

If you do the back section at the back of the park, by the Kid zone, ET area,
You can beat the crowds.
WD do first.
It will empty out back where you started.
Then do the house LaLlorona.
This will let out near Afterlife .
Do that house then.

At this point, the 3 houses near the entrance, might not be as crowded.
Work on that front set ion then.
Look at the hhn map online to get the layout of the houses.

Hope you do not have large crowds when you go.
If you do, have patience...

 

[patrickpiteo]

So avoid hell week is when again???

 

[Metro West]

So avoid hell week is when again???

This week and next...whenever you see a Wednesday on the HHN calendar, it's Hell Week. Plus...this Sunday night is UCF night which means LOTS of college students at the event.

 

[TaylorsDad]

Wow! That is the best way to describe it. Who would have thought last nights crowd would be so much heavier than Fridays. We did stay and scream and and when halfway thru Awil Queue heard people say line was already 50 minutes. Last night we changed things up and after Awil walked around to Havoc and it was walk on. Then did Llorona with only about 15-20min wait. I know this was unnecessary walking but allowed us to get the two houses we missed. By 7:00 we had the 3 houses on our to do list completed and just wandered around for awhile taking in shows and things missed Friday.

 

[DOOM1001]

OK so I'm going this Wednesday and I'm hearing the Hell Week explanations but honestly isn't it still a Wednesday and I'm sure it being Hell Week will mean extra crowds but I just want to hear it won't be insane,I mean it's a Wednesday.I've only missed like 4 years of the 22 years and I only remember 1 or 2 visits that the day I chose got to be completely out of control crowded.In the last 10 years or so I know I've pretty much only gone on non peak dates,that's why I went with Wednesday but now I'm hearing this Hell Week talk,but it's still a Wednesday,isn't it??

 

[patrickpiteo]

This week and next...whenever you see a Wednesday on the HHN calendar, it's Hell Week. Plus...this Sunday night is UCF night which means LOTS of college students at the event.

Oh oh I'm there 10/24 doing SS with FP

 

[patrickpiteo]

Wow! That is the best way to describe it. Who would have thought last nights crowd would be so much heavier than Fridays. We did stay and scream and and when halfway thru Awil Queue heard people say line was already 50 minutes. Last night we changed things up and after Awil walked around to Havoc and it was walk on. Then did Llorona with only about 15-20min wait. I know this was unnecessary walking but allowed us to get the two houses we missed. By 7:00 we had the 3 houses on our to do list completed and just wandered around for awhile taking in shows and things missed Friday.

Which plan did you use... Start SS at kids Zone?

 

[patrickpiteo]

OK so I'm going this Wednesday and I'm hearing the Hell Week explanations but honestly isn't it still a Wednesday and I'm sure it being Hell Week will mean extra crowds but I just want to hear it won't be insane,I mean it's a Wednesday.I've only missed like 4 years of the 22 years and I only remember 1 or 2 visits that the day I chose got to be completely out of control crowded.In the last 10 years or so I know I've pretty much only gone on non peak dates,that's why I went with Wednesday but now I'm hearing this Hell Week talk,but it's still a Wednesday,isn't it??

Which touring plan did you use? SS from the kids zone?

 

[DisneyInfinityFan]

OK so I'm going this Wednesday and I'm hearing the Hell Week explanations but honestly isn't it still a Wednesday and I'm sure it being Hell Week will mean extra crowds but I just want to hear it won't be insane,I mean it's a Wednesday.I've only missed like 4 years of the 22 years and I only remember 1 or 2 visits that the day I chose got to be completely out of control crowded.In the last 10 years or so I know I've pretty much only gone on non peak dates,that's why I went with Wednesday but now I'm hearing this Hell Week talk,but it's still a Wednesday,isn't it??

I will not assume that it will not get crowded just because it is a Wednesday. You never know what will happen during Hell Week. You may think it is going to be a good crowd until you show up at the event like last night. Last night, it was insane. Long lines at all houses and food stands and bar stands. I didn't know what the hell happened last night at HP construction area, but it was very hard to move. We had to push through to get through. Otherwise, we would not move at all. Elbow to elbow, body to body. Thank God, the chainsaw drill team was not in that area during that time. It would be worse. Just be prepare for anything.

 

[palmtreegirl]

My DH & DD went last night and had a blast!!

Following the advice on this thread they were able to see ALL the Haunted Houses and ride Despicable Me, Transformers & The Mummy! With NO express passes!

The longest line they waited in was for The Walking Dead, at like 10:30, it was about 100 minutes long.

The parks hours were extended from 1am to 2am last night as well.

They LOVED every minute of it last night, arrived at 5pm to get in line and didn't leave till 2:30am or so, they were on the last Despicable Me ride of the night.

 

[heidijanesmith]

I haven't been to this in probably 10 to 15 years. Is the express pass really worth it? Will I be disappointed if I don't do it? What is this RIP tour you speak of? LOL

We went on Thurs the 10th and it was not a peak night, nor was is during Hell week. We still thought the park was crowded. The original closing time was midnight, but US extended the closing time to 1AM due to "pre-sale" numbers.

It was not horribly crowded, but enough that we were telling ourselves all night that we were so glad we booked the RIP Tour. Waits for the houses ranged from 75-90 min at the max.

The RIP Tour we booked was a non-private tour. We had 12 people in our group and it was fun to meet everyone in our group. We went through all 8 houses, saw Bill and Ted's show, The Mummy and Transformers in 4 hours. I heard some other parks goers say that they did not have an Express Pass and they saw 4 houses total.

The official Universal Horror nights website has the RIP tour info, cost, dates and number to call. I will do the RIP tour again next year for sure!

 

[donaldduck352]

I was really surprised at the amount of small children there this year more then I ever seen before.

 

[DCTooTall]

Ok... Quick question for those of you who have already been....


I'm bringing my wife with me to the event this year for her first HHN. She's not a huge horror or haunted house type person. With all the licensed houses this year, I'm wondering if the fact she hasn't seen most of the source material would cause an issue with her ability to enjoy the event?

With our EXTREMELY limited time available which we can use to watch any source material (movies, or TV Shows), Is there any opinion on if she'll be fine not knowing the original when she visits a house? or maybe a list of houses, movies, or Walking Dead Episodes, which we should try and find the time for her to watch before attending so she isn't completely lost?


(With walking dead, I've now seen everything up thru the end of Season 3, and she understands the idea behind Zombies... so I might be able to help bring her up to speed on any details that people think might help. I'm wondering though if I should have her watch Cabin in the Woods considering how "odd" that movie was, so depending on how they did the house it might be osmething to help her not end up completely confused....)