HHN 27 House Route/Strategy

[LieutLaww]

This is my first year of HHN so snagged express for 1 day but still have 2 more days planned for HHN so I can do things slower the next couple of days.

 

[Frank Drackman]

I am only there for one night, traveling from Los Angles, so I am doing RIP. But in terms of tips, I've heard: even the front of line access lines can get up to 30 minutes each. Is that true?

Also wondering how realistic it is that we can see all mazes multiple times, as we typically like to repeat all mazes as we know the experience can vary widely due to time, plus catching details.

It's unclear if we have any sort of priority for the AoV show. Plus, since we're not locals, we have no idea if there's anything else we shouldn't miss (merch, events, etc). We're not big drinkers, so the alcohol isn't much of an appeal for us.

For instance, I've only recently heard about the Tribute store. If it weren't for this thread, I wouldn't have known about it. Now I know to go!

RIP is a step above Express (which is what ran into problems Friday night). With RIP, you bypass the regular line AND the Express line.

Yep, what @SeventyOne said! I believe you get Bill and Ted too, AoV was a bit odd the other day, not sure what they will have going.

Anyway, I have not done RiP, but they look to get right in to the mazes. I assume if the tour ends before the event, you are free to do as you please, I just assume you will see each house and a B&T. I did read that you get ride Express, so I assume the tour gives you time to explore on your own!

 

[LieutLaww]

From what I have read and been told you are taken around and get to do the houses multiple times and I think someone said you get to go front seats at B&T but not sure on that point.

 

[s8film40]

I never bring sunglasses, but when I do houses before it gets dark outside, my eyes never adjust quickly enough to see all the houses have to over...and I tend to walk into things or go the wrong way...so I try to hold off on houses until it is dark.

If you close one eye continually for about 5 minutes before you go in it gives your one eye enough time to adjust and both eyes will balance out enough for depth perception. It looks silly, but it works.

 

[Nick]

Honestly, you can do all 9 houses and both shows without Express. Without much difficulty too. Basically, I would pick the Hello Kitty S&S and knock out the big IP houses (AHS and The Shining), then start to work your way back. Immediately hit Saw up after those two and have a minimal wait for it, and then get back to the MIB area where you have entrances to Hive, Scarecrow and Blumhouse. I would try to do Scarecrow ASAP as that normally builds a decent line. Hive is usually pretty short so you can hit that once you're done with Scarecrow.

At this point, it's probably not too far into the event, but you may want a slight break. Nearby you have The Simpsons Ride, Roaming Clown hoards, MIB, and B&T. Pick one (or a few), rest and then do Blumhouse once the line is manageable.

Going this route is ideal because then the only house you haven't done are Ash, The Fallen and Dead Waters. All of those houses wait times get shorter and shorter the later into the night it gets. I would suggest hitting Ash, maybe seeing AoV, and then knocking out your final two houses over in New York. Now the event hasn't been that busy so far, but i've been able to do two houses in the last 10 minutes of operating hours three times already, twice being Dead Waters and The Fallen. Once was Ash and then Saw... not an easy feat and included a lot of running

Doing this type of a plan also leaves a decent amount of time for rest, dinner, a few rides, etc so you don't feel like you ran a marathon by the time you get home. The most crucial part of the plan though is making sure you do the Stay and Scream.

 

[LieutLaww]

That sounds like a great plan, I only got express as it is my first HHN and wanted a backup incase times get too crazy, and also as it is my first time I am not sure what crowds will be like when I go.

 

[Frank Drackman]

Honestly, you can do all 9 houses and both shows without Express. Without much difficulty too. Basically, I would pick the Hello Kitty S&S and knock out the big IP houses (AHS and The Shining), then start to work your way back. Immediately hit Saw up after those two and have a minimal wait for it, and then get back to the MIB area where you have entrances to Hive, Scarecrow and Blumhouse. I would try to do Scarecrow ASAP as that normally builds a decent line. Hive is usually pretty short so you can hit that once you're done with Scarecrow.

At this point, it's probably not too far into the event, but you may want a slight break. Nearby you have The Simpsons Ride, Roaming Clown hoards, MIB, and B&T. Pick one (or a few), rest and then do Blumhouse once the line is manageable.

Going this route is ideal because then the only house you haven't done are Ash, The Fallen and Dead Waters. All of those houses wait times get shorter and shorter the later into the night it gets. I would suggest hitting Ash, maybe seeing AoV, and then knocking out your final two houses over in New York. Now the event hasn't been that busy so far, but i've been able to do two houses in the last 10 minutes of operating hours three times already, twice being Dead Waters and The Fallen. Once was Ash and then Saw... not an easy feat and included a lot of running

Doing this type of a plan also leaves a decent amount of time for rest, dinner, a few rides, etc so you don't feel like you ran a marathon by the time you get home. The most crucial part of the plan though is making sure you do the Stay and Scream.

Great advice! But I realized something last night. The exit queues are a part of the parks flow that helps manage capacity. You mention needing to run, but people are really slow...there is a pace that gets slower and slower as the night goes on...and you are forced into this slower pace as you leave the houses as the exit queues waddle and crawl their way out.:dance:

 

[Nick]

Great advice! But I realized something last night. The exit queues are a part of the parks flow that helps manage capacity. You mention needing to run, but people are really slow...there is a pace that gets slower and slower as the night goes on...and you are forced into this slower pace as you leave the houses as the exit queues waddle and crawl their way out.:dance:

Oh you don't need to run with what I laid out. I was just saying that I personally have been needing to run as I only get about 15 minutes of park time per night. And yes, people are slow.

 

[Frank Drackman]

I did not pay much attention to crowds last night, but things change so quickly.

we got there around 6:30, we went ahead and used the hotel entrance gate, AHS was at
35 minutes, we walked to the Purge zone.

spent about 10 minutes there, walked back to the front of the park and AHS was at 100 minutes already.

we saw ASH go from 5 minutes to 45 minutes in a blink of an eye around 7:10.

just amazes me how much timing and crowd flow plays into ones experience.

 

[SeventyOne]

I did not pay much attention to crowds last night, but things change so quickly.

we got there around 6:30, we went ahead and used the hotel entrance gate, AHS was at
35 minutes, we walked to the Purge zone.

spent about 10 minutes there, walked back to the front of the park and AHS was at 100 minutes already.

we saw ASH go from 5 minutes to 45 minutes in a blink of an eye around 7:10.

just amazes me how much timing and crowd flow plays into ones experience.

Walked into Fallen last night with a posted 30 minute wait. Instantly recognized that was way off. Walked out, was 60.

Similarly, at the start of the event, Dark Water went 10 to 20 to 30 in the course of 30 seconds.

 

[MattA]

I've been 4 nights now and haven't done Saw. I've gotten in line for it every time when it says 40 on the sign and it'll be through every single switchback. Me and my friends dip under the rope by Shrek. I'm beginning to think that's a house you have to do as soon as you get there or you're not doing it.

 

[s8film40]

Walked into Fallen last night with a posted 30 minute wait. Instantly recognized that was way off. Walked out, was 60.

Similarly, at the start of the event, Dark Water went 10 to 20 to 30 in the course of 30 seconds.

I never trust the wait times. I typically try to get a good look at the queue setups my first time through so I can gauge the wait myself. Some of course you can't see until you've already walked a good bit to get to them. I did Ash vs. Evil Dead a couple days ago. Sign said 10 minutes, as soon as I got behind the E.T. building I could see the line was all the way down the road just about to the E.T. building. I decided to still go for it, was about 30 minutes.

I've been 4 nights now and haven't done Saw. I've gotten in line for it every time when it says 40 on the sign and it'll be through every single switchback. Me and my friends dip under the rope by Shrek. I'm beginning to think that's a house you have to do as soon as you get there or you're not doing it.

The great thing about the Shrek house location is you can see the whole queue from the street. I always walk around from the other side so I can see the queue before getting to the entrance.

 

[FFSoftPres]

I went last night (Sunday) for S&S and hit the Hello Kitty into AHS first. I noticed there was an area sectioned off within the S&S holding that was let in before the larger group. Any idea what special access these people had or did they maybe just get there first? I should've asked. They let in around 5:50pm and I still didn't get through the house until around 6:05 or 6:10. Upon existing AHS The Shining was already looking like a lengthy wait (probably a good 15-20 minutes). I had done it before and planned to leave early so my goal was to get through the maximum number of houses. I skipped Shining and went right to Dead Waters...5 minute posted wait that was probably more like 10 minutes. I got out of there and into Fallen at 6:25 (sign showed Delayed since its a house that opens at 6:30). Wait time was probably 10 minutes with the 5 minute delay before opening. After that I assumed that Saw would have a pretty long wait so I headed to the back and did Blumehouse (no wait at all) followed by Hive (10 minutes wait). After exiting that Scarecrow showed a 35 minute wait so I headed to Ash that showed a 5 minute wait but was probably more like 10-15 min. I entered my 6th house, Ash, at 7:30. After that I got back to Scarecrow and it showed 55 minute. I got in line to see if that was accurate and it was moving very slowly, so I think it was. I bailed on the line and did MiB, B&T at 8:30, then headed out. On facebook someone was bragging they did 7 houses and then got into the 7:30 B&T. If that's true my route wasn't the best but I think hitting the houses up front first is probably the way to go. If I were to do it again I'd try The Shining first since I'm thinking you can get in and out of that faster than AHS (and AHS has been showing shorter wait time at random points in the night compared to Shining). I'd also try doing Scarecrow as my first house in the back and see how that goes since it gets busier quicker than Blumehouse and Ash.

As far as getting stuck behind people at the exit, the houses in the back are far worse for that due to the narrow and long exit paths, especially for Ash.

 

[pastis]

The special section in the HK S&S was just first come first serve, the right hand side is filled first, then the rest of the area. No special access at all.

 

[FFSoftPres]

The special section in the HK S&S was just first come first serve, the right hand side is filled first, then the rest of the area. No special access at all.

Good to know...nice they do that to prevent last minute people pushing their way to the front. I don't remember them doing that in past years but I also don't get the opportunity to go to S&S much. I did Rip Ride Rockitt at the park was closing so I didn't get there too early.

 

[Frank Drackman]

I went last night (Sunday) for S&S and hit the Hello Kitty into AHS first. I noticed there was an area sectioned off within the S&S holding that was let in before the larger group. Any idea what special access these people had or did they maybe just get there first? I should've asked. They let in around 5:50pm and I still didn't get through the house until around 6:05 or 6:10. Upon existing AHS The Shining was already looking like a lengthy wait (probably a good 15-20 minutes). I had done it before and planned to leave early so my goal was to get through the maximum number of houses. I skipped Shining and went right to Dead Waters...5 minute posted wait that was probably more like 10 minutes. I got out of there and into Fallen at 6:25 (sign showed Delayed since its a house that opens at 6:30). Wait time was probably 10 minutes with the 5 minute delay before opening. After that I assumed that Saw would have a pretty long wait so I headed to the back and did Blumehouse (no wait at all) followed by Hive (10 minutes wait). After exiting that Scarecrow showed a 35 minute wait so I headed to Ash that showed a 5 minute wait but was probably more like 10-15 min. I entered my 6th house, Ash, at 7:30. After that I got back to Scarecrow and it showed 55 minute. I got in line to see if that was accurate and it was moving very slowly, so I think it was. I bailed on the line and did MiB, B&T at 8:30, then headed out. On facebook someone was bragging they did 7 houses and then got into the 7:30 B&T. If that's true my route wasn't the best but I think hitting the houses up front first is probably the way to go. If I were to do it again I'd try The Shining first since I'm thinking you can get in and out of that faster than AHS (and AHS has been showing shorter wait time at random points in the night compared to Shining). I'd also try doing Scarecrow as my first house in the back and see how that goes since it gets busier quicker than Blumehouse and Ash.

As far as getting stuck behind people at the exit, the houses in the back are far worse for that due to the narrow and long exit paths, especially for Ash.

yep, My comments about the exit line came from me going to Ash near the end of the night on SAT. I spent more time leaving Ash than I did getting to/going through. I found that funny then figured I'd stumbled on how capacity/crowd control is being orchestrated by queues.

 

[jrn14]

Where does Ash exit?

 

[s8film40]

Where does Ash exit?

Same place it enters, through the E.T. queue.

 

[JawsVictim]

Attending HHN as a guest Friday night! I'm a performer and have only seen Blumhouse and Hive thus far. This is my only night off, so I splurged on express passes.

Game plan is to hit Shining, Dead Waters, and Scarecrow without express, catch Bill and Ted, then hit all 9 houses using express.

Edit: Also wanted to give everyone a heads up...the gate between Bill and Ted and Blumhouse will supposedly be permanent on 2 AM closes.

 

[Parkscope Joe]

Houses have been over estimating their wait times this year. Only one time did friends go into a line and find the wait to be longer than advertised (it was for The Fallen).