HHN 27 House Route/Strategy

[jrn14]

There was a dedicated thread to this last year and I just wanted to create one for this year. Just figured we could put the discussion here for those who might only be going for one night with or without express pass. I won't be there until mid-October but will only be there one night and most likely with no express pass. So everyone please share your strategies for getting the most of out of HHN and once the event starts you can share how they worked and give advice to others.



Adding the map for reference

 

[RedRightDan]

I've used a similar strategy every year so far. It looks like I might have to adjust a little this year due to the Scarecrow entrance being in a different place than last year.

Previously, I would have done the following:

-Ash Vs Evil Dead
-Scarecrow
-Hive
-Blumhouse

The adjust the following based off what the wait times look like, but the general order is...

-Dead Waters
-Fallen
-Shining
-Saw
-AHS

The second half can probably stay the same this year, but I'm thinking about starting further back and doing the following:

-Hive
-Scarecrow
-Ash Vs Evil Dead
-Saw
-Shining
-Dead Waters
-Fallen
-Blumhouse
-AHS wherever I can fit it without waiting 2hrs.

 

[Legacy]

Buy the RIP tour.

 

[RedRightDan]

Buy the RIP tour.

Or for those not looking to spend $500...

 

[ThemeParks4Life]

Or for those not looking to spend $500...

Buy Express

 

[mbrou24]

I live in Mass so I only have had one night to go. This will be my third year. The first year we went on the last night with no express and did stay and scream at Finnegans. That was no bueno. Didn't get everything done. Last year did stay and scream at the Lucy/Hello Kitty area and had express. This was on the second weekend. We hit AHS FIRST, then Exorcist without express. Then continued down that New York line with Walking Dead and Ghost Town. Again no express Then we went more towards the back where Halloween and Texas Chainsaw was using express. Then we circled back around after doing the rest of the houses and used express on the houses we didn't. By the end of the nights the waits on the originals were virtually nothing so we redid some of those as well. All in all if you can swing it express is so worth it for one night. If not I would still do stay and scream, hit horror story first and go down that New York line. That will put you ahead of most of the attendees that are entering at open

 

[pastis]

I am def going with the Hello Kitty S&S, AHS, Shining plan to start the night. The other IP's are not as strong this year, i.e. no Halloween or TCM that are recognizable names for casual fans. I think the lines this year for AHS/Shining will be even longer then last year. If you can ony go 1 night and not use express...kock these 2 out ASAP, or be prepared to stay till the end on the night and jump on the last line.

 

[kingcooger]

Where do Scarecrow and Hive exit?

 

[WAJAS]

Where do Scarecrow and Hive exit?

Right next to their entrances.

 

[kingcooger]

Right next to their entrances.

Awesome, thank you! I am surprised they had the queue space over there.

 

[sjago13]

Awesome, thank you! I am surprised they had the queue space over there.

They laid more concrete and carved out some of the berm there to widen it. Really like the change since it makes it easy to repeat the tent 1 house which is also the best house. Also down the line it would allow them to put in 2 houses in nintendo/kidzone area to the new parade building in the back corner.

 

[bob albert]

What I seem to have found that if you do hello kitty S&S and are among the very first people to get into the A maze, it may be possible to beat the bulk of crowds down the line A B C D H G F I/E. I haven't tested it completely that order yet, but from the way the crowd flows along with maze opening times I think I could make it work this year. In the past I was able to do 7 of 9 by about 9:30 PM with a show/ride, but didn't do everything in favor of multiple nights and doing things during the day.

Also I have to remember the shades this year. Could not see a thing in exorcist and was running into team members when I did that one first.

 

[Jones14]

My strategy is to always get there right when the park opens and work my way counterclockwise around the park. If they let us in early, we usually keep walking until we get to a house that is up and running for the night, so that we're more effectively using our time (ie getting to the back of the park) rather than waiting in a queue that has yet to start moving.

When lines start to get crazy, we watch the shows and do a few rides, and then hit whatever houses we've missed until we run out of time. Never used Express, so I can't really speak to it.

Sidenote: don't miss Scarecrow or Dead Waters.

 

[jrn14]

Ok after getting confirmation on which houses open when thinking maybe Stay and Scream in Springfield. Then doing

Blumhouse
Hive
Saw-6:30 opening
Ash
Scarecrow 6:30 opening
and then either Bill and Teds or Dead Waters...and then just buck up and wait in line for the ones near the front?

Do you think it would be wiser to put Ash in front of Saw? I feel like the Saw line will build up fast where as the Ash line will probably stay shorter longer.. but if we could get through Blum/Hive and Ash and still get a manageable line for Saw I guess I'd prefer that.

 

[sjago13]

Ok after getting confirmation on which houses open when thinking maybe Stay and Scream in Springfield. Then doing

Blumhouse
Hive
Saw-6:30 opening
Ash
Scarecrow 6:30 opening
and then either Bill and Teds or Dead Waters...and then just buck up and wait in line for the ones near the front?

Do you think it would be wiser to put Ash in front of Saw? I feel like the Saw line will build up fast where as the Ash line will probably stay shorter longer.. but if we could get through Blum/Hive and Ash and still get a manageable line for Saw I guess I'd prefer that.

It was relatively light this weekend. Was able to do AHS twice mid-night with 20 min waits and saw with a 30. Fallen seem to be the one original that seems to keep the longest line. I would say stay and scream either AHS and shining then do the other, hit dead waters and then fallen and saw as close to 6.30 as possible and then go to the back. Ash seems to stay short for a while then wait for the last 3. U can prolly do it all and be able to see the 8.30 or 9.45 Bill and ted.

 

[EasternShoreGal]

It was relatively light this weekend. Was able to do AHS twice mid-night with 20 min waits and saw with a 30. Fallen seem to be the one original that seems to keep the longest line. I would say stay and scream either AHS and shining then do the other, hit dead waters and then fallen and saw as close to 6.30 as possible and then go to the back. Ash seems to stay short for a while then wait for the last 3. U can prolly do it all and be able to see the 8.30 or 9.45 Bill and ted.

Do you think this was because of Irma? Folks from out of town postponing their trips and locals being involved in clean up? Did you use express? Going last weekend in September and planning to go all three available nights. Want to do as much as possible but trying to decide if the express option on the ROF ($200 extra bucks) is worth it for the three nights we plan to go.

 

[sjago13]

Do you think this was because of Irma? Folks from out of town postponing their trips and locals being involved in clean up? Did you use express? Going last weekend in September and planning to go all three available nights. Want to do as much as possible but trying to decide if the express option on the ROF ($200 extra bucks) is worth it for the three nights we plan to go.

I would assume it is in part due to irma and possibly since this is the first time opening weekend has had a Sunday. Did not have express and left at 9.15 on sunday. If anything I would say go expressless the first night and see how it is and if you didn't do as much as you wanted get an after 10 express which is half off the regular express cost and can be purchased at the beginning of the night cause they do tend to sell out i think.

 

[Stairyo]

I would assume it is in part due to irma and possibly since this is the first time opening weekend has had a Sunday. Did not have express and left at 9.15 on sunday. If anything I would say go expressless the first night and see how it is and if you didn't do as much as you wanted get an after 10 express which is half off the regular express cost and can be purchased at the beginning of the night cause they do tend to sell out i think.

Am I reading that right, that you can buy the after 10 express pass before 10? I thought they started selling that at 10 based on how many express passes had already sold at full price.

 

[Rideguy70]

I'm a Hollywood local with lots of experience at our HHN coming to Orlando's HHN for the first time. (I have been to USO/IOA many times before, so I'm not new to the parks.) That said, what the heck is this Stay and Scream you're all talking about? We don't have that our way.

We do have a RIP tour, seeing as we only have one night there, so we want to make the most of it. Are there any tips in best using the RIP? We're ideally hoping for multiple maze experiences, and B&T and AoV.

 

[Returning-The-Reaction]

I'm a Hollywood local with lots of experience at our HHN coming to Orlando's HHN for the first time. (I have been to USO/IOA many times before, so I'm not new to the parks.) That said, what the heck is this Stay and Scream you're all talking about? We don't have that our way.

We do have a RIP tour, seeing as we only have one night there, so we want to make the most of it. Are there any tips in best using the RIP? We're ideally hoping for multiple maze experiences, and B&T and AoV.

I don't think it's technically called that anymore, but it's still the same process. If you're in the USF park before they close (5pm) *and* also have a valid HHN ticket for that same evening, you can wait in one of the holding areas from 5 until about 6 as they clear out the day guests and get the park ready for HHN. You'll get a headstart on the people entering through the front gates by about 15-30 minutes.