HHN Tips & Tricks

[Spaulding]

Use that EP on every house. I was over confident last year and decided we could wait in the standby line if it was under 30 minutes (I had the grand idea of going back through houses we liked the first time with the left over EP). Yeah, don't be like me.

This was my plan as well for this year. Why would you not recommend?

 

[Joel]

This was my plan as well for this year. Why would you not recommend?

Our plan is to start in Springfield S&S and hit the 3 house cycle immediately with no express, usually can get the 3 houses done within 20 minutes without express. Then express every house until the end of the night and when you're done, the lines usually start going down enough to hit more houses without express.

 

[Spaulding]

Our plan is to start in Springfield S&S and hit the 3 house cycle immediately with no express, usually can get the 3 houses done within 20 minutes without express. Then express every house until the end of the night and when you're done, the lines usually start going down enough to hit more houses without express.

We are planning Springfield as well. Trying to do Ho1C at least twice. Hoping for once in normal queue and once with express. Same for Monsters and possibly Klowns.

 

[SeventyOne]

We are planning Springfield as well. Trying to do Ho1C at least twice. Hoping for once in normal queue and once with express. Same for Monsters and possibly Klowns.

If I had to bet, I'd say you should have good luck with HO1C, maybe even three runs if your legs are up for it. Monsters should drop by end of the night, too, unless it proves to be house of the year.

 

[MrRoamer]

Yeah.

Also with opening night there WILL be operations issues. There always is and everyone says its the end of the world and Universal is incompetent but then by the end of the weekend it's totally resolved. Don't sweat it you'll be fine.

Adding onto this, Express is normally a train wreck the first couple nights, especially opening night. I would recommend against getting it those nights because your wait times will be all across the board and in my experience the odds of getting a dramatic improvement over standby is slim.

When it comes to wait times on the app (sometimes even the posted wait) are typically wrong. There were several times the past few years where we diverted from our plan because of what was being reported by the app, only to have it be completely wrong. We're not talking an extra 5-10 minutes, there were times that it reported a 15 minute wait and when we got there it was over 60.

 

[UniversalRBLX]

Adding onto this, Express is normally a train wreck the first couple nights, especially opening night. I would recommend against getting it those nights because your wait times will be all across the board and in my experience the odds of getting a dramatic improvement over standby is slim.

When it comes to wait times on the app (sometimes even the posted wait) are typically wrong. There were several times the past few years where we diverted from our plan because of what was being reported by the app, only to have it be completely wrong. We're not talking an extra 5-10 minutes, there were times that it reported a 15 minute wait and when we got there it was over 60.

Yes sir, imagine all the people with Frequent Fear + Express, RIP Tours, Media Tours and regular express on opening day.

And don't trust the app... like ever.

 

[MrRoamer]

Yes sir, imagine all the people with Frequent Fear + Express, RIP Tours, Media Tours and regular express on opening day.

And don't trust the app... like ever.

Not to go off to far on a tangent, but I really think the major inaccuracy of the app is a big deal. Universal is selling something saying we know your time is important and has a high cost attached to it, but at the same time giving bad information and wasting large amounts of customer time. I'm curious how much the app actually increases wait time across the event.

Learning to be able to look at a line from a distance and nope it real quick based on actual wait vs posted wait is a good skill to develop.

 

[Grabnar]

To reiterate, the sunglasses tip on page 1 is a MUST.

Additionally, you'll really want to dress for the weather, and dress in layers if you'll be staying the whole night. It'll be almost certainly sweltering at 5 PM and has a chance of being relatively cool at 2 AM when you're headed back to the hotel (particularly on the water if you're taking a boat).

 

[faceleg]

I only got FFP this year and will be doing Sun, Wed, and Thurs. I have been planning to splurge on an EP for just Sunday, and then just make due on the 2 week days. Is that still a viable plan or should I pay to upgrade my pass and do Wed-Fri?

ETA: I'll be there the first week of Oct. Sept 29 would be my first HHN night.

 

[Maria Jose]

Starting to panic a little bit :afraid:

Quick background- I've wanted to got to Halloween Horror Nights for ages but never had the time/money/people to go with. This year I'm FINALLY going with my friend and my boyfriend- and it'll be the first time for the three of us. Because of scheduling issues, the only night that would work for the three of us is opening night. So far we've purchased our tickets for that one night, as well as express passes. I asked if they wanted to get tickets to be in the park during the day, but overall we all felt it was very expensive and decided against it.

Ideally we really want to go to all 10 houses once. Since we're not really interested in doing a house more than once (unless the lines are ridiculously short for some magical reason), I figured we would just use the express passes instead of using the old "don't use if the wait is 30 minutes or less" rule. But now I'm worried that even with the passes it might be too busy on opening night to see every house (what with the RIP tours / media tours and potential logistics issues mentioned above in other comments).

Thoughts? If we plan this out carefully, can we do all 10 houses in one night with just our express passes, despite not doing S&S? Or do you think being inside the park early is absolutely necessary? (Or worse, do you think that even with S&S it would be impossible to get everything done on opening night?)

 

[UniversalRBLX]

Starting to panic a little bit :afraid:

Quick background- I've wanted to got to Halloween Horror Nights for ages but never had the time/money/people to go with. This year I'm FINALLY going with my friend and my boyfriend- and it'll be the first time for the three of us. Because of scheduling issues, the only night that would work for the three of us is opening night. So far we've purchased our tickets for that one night, as well as express passes. I asked if they wanted to get tickets to be in the park during the day, but overall we all felt it was very expensive and decided against it.

Ideally we really want to go to all 10 houses once. Since we're not really interested in doing a house more than once (unless the lines are ridiculously short for some magical reason), I figured we would just use the express passes instead of using the old "don't use if the wait is 30 minutes or less" rule. But now I'm worried that even with the passes it might be too busy on opening night to see every house (what with the RIP tours / media tours and potential logistics issues mentioned above in other comments).

Thoughts? If we plan this out carefully, can we do all 10 houses in one night with just our express passes, despite not doing S&S? Or do you think being inside the park early is absolutely necessary? (Or worse, do you think that even with S&S it would be impossible to get everything done on opening night?)

Head to the back of the park, most people will head for Ghostbusters and Stranger Things. Everyone using Stay & Scream will be heading over there first. Originals will be empty. You can do all of those without express. Once wait times start to pick up, use express. I recommend you do Stranger Things with express for last.

There will be some operational issues, but express should get you through all the houses.

 

[MrRoamer]

Head to the back of the park, most people will head for Ghostbusters and Stranger Things. Everyone using Stay & Scream will be heading over there first. Originals will be empty. You can do all of those without express. Once wait times start to pick up, use express. I recommend you do Stranger Things with express for last.

There will be some operational issues, but express should get you through all the houses.

I think it may be better to do the opposite, since its opening night you may get more bang for your buck hitting the sound stages as soon as possible to reduce the amount of time ops is trying to figure out what to do with express vs standby. Use your express passes each time, then if you have extra time you can try to do more with whatever you liked and what the lines look like.

You're trying to get it all done in one night, you bought express. Don't be afraid to use it. Its way better making your wait shorter, than hoping you may be able to hit a house another time later in the evening.

 

[faceleg]

I only got FFP this year and will be doing Sun, Wed, and Thurs. I have been planning to splurge on an EP for just Sunday, and then just make due on the 2 week days. Is that still a viable plan or should I pay to upgrade my pass and do Wed-Fri?

ETA: I'll be there the first week of Oct. Sept 29 would be my first HHN night.

I think I solved my own problem, just upgrade my pass and do Sunday AND Friday lol

 

[sjago13]

Only thing with opening night is the ap event for the back houses. They usually dont let others back there until 630. So if the gates open around 6 I'd say go for one or two of the ss houses using Express then go to the back.

 

[Brian G.]

I do wanna clarify - so I don't scare any more readers....

You CAN do 10 houses in one night. Express is the best way, of course. 2nd is S&S and hitting the houses hard. 3rd is half and half - doing S&S and then buying Express at half price later on in the night. My original point was that there is no set route, IMO. Crowds and flow can be different each night, so just try to go with it.

 

[ChaseTuff]

I do wanna clarify - so I don't scare any more readers....

You CAN do 10 houses in one night. Express is the best way, of course. 2nd is S&S and hitting the houses hard. 3rd is half and half - doing S&S and then buying Express at half price later on in the night. My original point was that there is no set route, IMO. Crowds and flow can be different each night, so just try to go with it.

The unique fourth way is literally being a wizard and hitting everything at the exact right time...you will not accomplish this fourth way.

 

[MrRoamer]

The unique fourth way is literally being a wizard and hitting everything at the exact right time...you will not accomplish this fourth way.

and when you do have one of these insanely rare moments where it all just somehow works, don't ever try to recreate it.

All of it will seem like a dream, but one that you were lucky enough to have.

 

[Joel]

Starting to panic a little bit :afraid:

Quick background- I've wanted to got to Halloween Horror Nights for ages but never had the time/money/people to go with. This year I'm FINALLY going with my friend and my boyfriend- and it'll be the first time for the three of us. Because of scheduling issues, the only night that would work for the three of us is opening night. So far we've purchased our tickets for that one night, as well as express passes. I asked if they wanted to get tickets to be in the park during the day, but overall we all felt it was very expensive and decided against it.

Ideally we really want to go to all 10 houses once. Since we're not really interested in doing a house more than once (unless the lines are ridiculously short for some magical reason), I figured we would just use the express passes instead of using the old "don't use if the wait is 30 minutes or less" rule. But now I'm worried that even with the passes it might be too busy on opening night to see every house (what with the RIP tours / media tours and potential logistics issues mentioned above in other comments).

Thoughts? If we plan this out carefully, can we do all 10 houses in one night with just our express passes, despite not doing S&S? Or do you think being inside the park early is absolutely necessary? (Or worse, do you think that even with S&S it would be impossible to get everything done on opening night?)

As Brian said, with express you will be fine. You may not be able to hit an Academy of Villains show but not the biggest loss for a first timer. Don't try any fancy non-express rules because without S&S, all lines will be express worth by the time you get there. It is very manageable with only 3 people and express passes, just don't get to the Stranger Things / Ghostbusters too late; at the beginning of last year, the ST closed it's line early for the first few days because the actors would have had to stay until 4am to close out the entire line. Something I learned last year is whichever shift is scheduled to close the normal closing of the event, stays for the entire rest of the line no matter how long it goes.

 

[Maria Jose]

I do wanna clarify - so I don't scare any more readers....

You CAN do 10 houses in one night. Express is the best way, of course. 2nd is S&S and hitting the houses hard. 3rd is half and half - doing S&S and then buying Express at half price later on in the night. My original point was that there is no set route, IMO. Crowds and flow can be different each night, so just try to go with it.

Okay, feeling a little better now, hahahaha- I'm just so excited to go and was really worried about not being able to make all the houses, I'm actually pretty hyped for the entire lineup this year and would hate to miss the chance to do one of them!

As Brian said, with express you will be fine. You may not be able to hit an Academy of Villains show but not the biggest loss for a first timer. Don't try any fancy non-express rules because without S&S, all lines will be express worth by the time you get there. It is very manageable with only 3 people and express passes, just don't get to the Stranger Things / Ghostbusters too late; at the beginning of last year, the ST closed it's line early for the first few days because the actors would have had to stay until 4am to close out the entire line. Something I learned last year is whichever shift is scheduled to close the normal closing of the event, stays for the entire rest of the line no matter how long it goes.

I'm honestly way less concerned about the show (shows?) than I am about the houses. That tip about ST closing early is good to know- I thought the lines for the houses all stayed open till the park closed, but I guess that makes sense. Do you have any idea how early it might close? I was considering leaving one of the big houses for the end of the night since once you're in the queue you're good to go regardless of how late it is, and I thought lines might be shorter than in the middle of the event- but I don't want to leave something big for the end only to find out it's already closed!

 

[Spaulding]

Another way to ensure you get to do all houses is the RIP Tour. Expensive, but an option. We considered it this year but went for a second night instead