Official 2024 Universal Studios HHN 33 Thread

[lisam70]

Yay! Thanks for this helpful thread !

I was visiting my sister in Tampa last year and she and my brother wanted to go. So with zero preplanning or research they picked a Saturday in October and we just showed up. I knew without a doubt it was going to be crazy busy and we would get next to nothing done. However I had never been before and was happy to just go with the flow to spend time with my siblings. I didn’t think it was my type of thing anyway.

Well long story short, we got stuck in traffic, missed our Scream Early time and were behind the crowds. We only did three houses all night and it was so busy, but we made the best of it and still managed to have a lot of fun.

This year I will be at Disney with my adult kids and their significant others over Columbus Day week. We’re all going to go and do it right.. research, plan, and have a blast. So this thread will be super helpful. I didn’t think HHN was “my thing” but it turns out I like being scared senseless .

We are buying tickets for Wednesday ,October 16th. I’m really torn on the Express Passes. I think it would make our night awesome. But wow .. the cost. We’re Canadian so add almost 30% to those prices .
I’d love to hear what other people think. Should we get them? Or just go with a good touring plan and see what we see? I don’t need to see every single house but I also would like to see as much as I can. Tough decisions.

You can go with a good touring plan if you don't need to do all houses but the one thing you must take into consideration is the amount of walking and standing you do at HHN. That plan may have you doubling back across the park and for me as I've gotten older that's just a no-go. I know it's really hard to justify the expense but, while not necessary, will really allow you to get the most out of your evening without killing yourself.

 

[pigletto]

Are you willing to get there early and have a solid plan, willingness to adjust as necessary, deal with significant lines, and possibly stay through to the end? No EP can work, and you can still potentially do all the houses - you will be very tired. If thing are going well, try to have a solid sit down dinner/snack break (or show break) sometime during the busiest times of 8-10pm, then come back with a little more umph to finish the night strong. It's much more pleasant to hit a house at 12:15am with a 15min wait than to wait an hour for that same house at 8:30pm. By 1:30am there should be houses with no line at all (even, no conga line for the less popular houses way at the end of the night). So if taking an hour break means you can hang until 2am instead of calling it a night at 12:30am, that's a much better use of your time.

Is this your only Universal time (ie, do you want to also try to do rides)? Do you want to spend significant time at the show and/or scare zones? You will likely need EP to do everything - you will be tired, but less so even though you will accomplish more.

You'll end up at least walking through the scare zones either way, and lines for food will be fairly long either way.

Excellent questions. I will show this post to the group and get their thoughts. It will be our only Universal time on this trip and we will be focusing solely on the event. No rides this time.
I think the only barrier to staying really late would be me ..the rest of the group are natural night owls. But if we plan it well enough and do a pool day and a nap before the party I could definitely stay late.
Thanks for the detailed ideas.. lots to consider.

 

[pigletto]

You can go with a good touring plan if you don't need to do all houses but the one thing you must take into consideration is the amount of walking and standing you do at HHN. That plan may have you doubling back across the park and for me as I've gotten older that's just a no-go. I know it's really hard to justify the expense but, while not necessary, will really allow you to get the most out of your evening without killing yourself.

This is significant. We did a lot of walking and standing in line at the last one and my back was killing me by 11pm. I just turned 50 this year and I don’t think I have the same park stamina as I did 15 years ago. I definitely need to wear better shoes too.
My adult kids are willing to pay the express cost .. it’s frugal mom that is holding us back haha. I think it might be a good idea. I didn’t even think about the back pain from last year until I read your post!

 

[lisam70]

This is significant. We did a lot of walking and standing in line at the last one and my back was killing me by 11pm. I just turned 50 this year and I don’t think I have the same park stamina as I did 15 years ago. I definitely need to wear better shoes too.
My adult kids are willing to pay the express cost .. it’s frugal mom that is holding us back haha. I think it might be a good idea. I didn’t even think about the back pain from last year until I read your post!

I'm 54 and getting old isn't easy on the body lol I don't have the stamina I had even 5 years ago
Good shoes are a must as are breaks to sit and stretch. Don't plan on doing much the day of or the morning after.

 

[CAPSLOCK]

We did all the houses in one night late Oct last year with no EP - we arrived super early, followed a plan from DIS for the first 4 houses, & actually had finished all 10 houses much earlier than I expected (I think it was before midnight). And ended up calling it a night after the last house. Something I hadn't really considered was that with normal park touring, you're sitting on rides which gives your legs rest breaks. HHN is walking to a house, standing/walking in line, walking through the house, walking to the next house, etc.

This year we'll do a nice long break during those busiest hours so that we can enjoy the end of the event with fewer people. That was the plan last year too, but we saw "short" lines for popular houses and took advantage of them, then did the adjacent house to avoid walking back & forth, etc, and our plan fizzled. Will learn from that this year.

 

[disneyjr77]

This is our first year going and I'm so excited!! I didn't think we were going to be able to go until 2026, but DH has training in Jacksonville 10/4-5, so it only makes sense to drive down to Uni after class ends on Saturday and stay until Tuesday. We're only able to Sunday night and no EP, however we know going in that we won't be able to see and do everything so we'll pick our must-do's and go from there.

I just booked our room at Cabana Bay, I was contemplating Aventura or Dockside but CB won out since it's our favorite. Even though the room is booked, I'm still going back and forth between CB and Aventura. Fingers crossed AP rates come out for our dates.

 

[keishashadow]

I have not found 2 nights to be enough to make up for the cheapest multi night ticket.

Yes, generally 3 needed to break even

Cringing at the thought of prices this year,

I could be price blind at this point, haven’t compared the pricing to last year, yet.

The individual tix prices less than I expected

EP higher,

RIP where I had thought

It’s those multi day tix that might be the wild card

Interesting that they are doing the 3 house Unmasking tour a couple of weeks before the event opens. Maybe this is a replacement for that tasting event that they tried last year.

Wow, didn’t catch that! Seems like a great idea, might encourage those on fence to try it, then visit the houses later in the season

Tickets available on Orlando Informer as well.
View attachment 848107

Pricing seemed the same as thru U despite the FB announcement there was $ savings. Perhaps on certain dates.

Have always hesitated to go thru a TA for HHN tix as not sure if they could easily be upgraded at the gate

Oooooooooh, my friend just sent me this, OBSESSED with the neon!!!!


View attachment 848110

Should we assume this will replace the early offering of see you in the fog?

This year I will be at Disney with my adult kids and their significant others over Columbus Day week.

It was soooo busy that weekend last year, then Sunday came around. Was surprised the HHN lines were far less than the two weeks we had done mid September. Never know what you are going to get for HHN

We are buying tickets for Wednesday ,October 16th. I’m really torn on the Express Passes. I think it would make our night awesome. But wow .. the cost. We’re Canadian so add almost 30% to those prices .

With early admission, being in scarezone to hold down spot to an Eticket house, then hustling to knock out two others in that area before general admission enters…would likely do well.

Personally Id recommend against doing the tour before you do a night of HHN.

Same. Fun to do it afterwards to see what you missed, then do a night again

But if we plan it well enough and do a pool day and a nap before the party I could definitely stay late.

Sleep in, pool day with an early break, drive up to U/grab a late lunch, then early admission to park to get into that scarezone.

 

[Angeliamc]

EEK so excited. Currently have Aventura booked, but hoping that Sapphire Falls comes out with a Passholder discount, would love to stay there again. It's such a beautiful resort. Also holding out for multi day tickets since we will be there for 10 days. Hoping to find some comfy shoes for this year, the last few years have been tough as my shoes didn't do much for my back! I like the advice to take it slow in the middle of the night and try to stay until the end for shorter lines!

 

[chad_1138]

Super excited for our first HHN this year!! We did trips summer of '22 and '23 for about 10 days each. Going to be a much quicker trip over fall break. Planning to check in Monday, October 7, spend the 7th and 8th at the parks. HHN on Wednesday, October 9. Went ahead and picked up the Seasonal AP's again on the 15 month deal to use for this year and next year fall breaks. Fingers crossed for some good AP hotel rates!! Looking at the current rates, they look really nice through the end of September. Really hoping that our trip is early enough it October to get some great rates!!!

 

[utlegaleagle]

Excited is an understatement with tickets coming out today! My youngest son (who was 12 at the time and NOT a big scare kid) asked me in 2022 when we were at Universal the first week of October to go to HHN, just the 2 of us. We did, with EP on a Thursday, and had the best time ever. I promised him that we could go back this year, since we already had my wife and my 22nd anniversary trip planned for Labor Day weekend. I’m relieved that they are starting August 30 this year (obviously). I’m leaning towards EP again instead of the RIP. We were able to hit every house last time, plus we hit 5 of them twice.

But I have a question - are there AP discounts for HHN tickets and/or EP? I don’t see them on the ticket site, and OI’s discounts are only a couple of $. I can’t remember if there were in 2022, as that was a spur of the moment addition. We only have the Preferred Pass (so no freebie Premier Pass dates for us).

 

[PA-RN]

Super excited..Booked Royal Pacific back in Jan for September and have been stalking for HHN announcements and tix.. I just got my RIP tour for the 25th of September. HHN is going on every night we are there except for 2 nights so we are definitely going to be doing another night or 2..I saved for 2 years to splurge this year.It is my 50th birthday and my daughter turns 21 and graduates college.

 

[Skippyboo]

Excited is an understatement with tickets coming out today! My youngest son (who was 12 at the time and NOT a big scare kid) asked me in 2022 when we were at Universal the first week of October to go to HHN, just the 2 of us. We did, with EP on a Thursday, and had the best time ever. I promised him that we could go back this year, since we already had my wife and my 22nd anniversary trip planned for Labor Day weekend. I’m relieved that they are starting August 30 this year (obviously). I’m leaning towards EP again instead of the RIP. We were able to hit every house last time, plus we hit 5 of them twice.

But I have a question - are there AP discounts for HHN tickets and/or EP? I don’t see them on the ticket site, and OI’s discounts are only a couple of $. I can’t remember if there were in 2022, as that was a spur of the moment addition. We only have the Preferred Pass (so no freebie Premier Pass dates for us).

No AP discount on tickets. But you can get a discount on food at the booths.

 

[scottishgirl1]

I can go to 3 nights in October so kind of torn as to whether to buy tickets now or wait for the frequent fear pricing

 

[Skippyboo]

I can go to 3 nights in October so kind of torn as to whether to buy tickets now or wait for the frequent fear pricing

I would price out 3 single tickets versus FF price from last year. I remember right FF doesn’t include Saturdays.

 

[scottishgirl1]

Sorry I should have said it will be wednesday through Friday nights

 

[tony67]

I would price out 3 single tickets versus FF price from last year. I remember right FF doesn’t include Saturdays.

Sorry I should have said it will be wednesday through Friday nights

If I recall correctly:

• Frequent Fear did not have Friday or Saturday,
• Frequent Fear Plus did not have Saturday (but includes the First and last Saturday)
• Ultimate Frequent Fear - has every night.

No idea if they will have the same tickets this year and\or what the prices will be - its always a waiting game.
If you want multi night and multiple express pass - its most likely better to but one of the FF passes with express.

 

[zavandor]

Yay! Thanks for this helpful thread !

I was visiting my sister in Tampa last year and she and my brother wanted to go. So with zero preplanning or research they picked a Saturday in October and we just showed up. I knew without a doubt it was going to be crazy busy and we would get next to nothing done. However I had never been before and was happy to just go with the flow to spend time with my siblings. I didn’t think it was my type of thing anyway.

Well long story short, we got stuck in traffic, missed our Scream Early time and were behind the crowds. We only did three houses all night and it was so busy, but we made the best of it and still managed to have a lot of fun.

This year I will be at Disney with my adult kids and their significant others over Columbus Day week. We’re all going to go and do it right.. research, plan, and have a blast. So this thread will be super helpful. I didn’t think HHN was “my thing” but it turns out I like being scared senseless .

We are buying tickets for Wednesday ,October 16th. I’m really torn on the Express Passes. I think it would make our night awesome. But wow .. the cost. We’re Canadian so add almost 30% to those prices .
I’d love to hear what other people think. Should we get them? Or just go with a good touring plan and see what we see? I don’t need to see every single house but I also would like to see as much as I can. Tough decisions.

Every year Orlando Informer publishes a touring plan that would allow to do all houses in one night without EP.
I know it works because I managed once. By the end of the night I saw all houses and... I wished I was dead. The pain on my knees was awful. I managed to finish it just by sheer force of will. I'm glad I did (like I'm glad I run a marathon once), but I swear, never more.
To follow that touring plan you normally have to be one of the first to enter the busiest house, which means getting in line as soon as the holding pen opens. Last year, if you got in line at 5pm for Stranger Things, you'd easily wait 90-120 minutes, the whole plan would collapse before it started. Standing in line and walking non stop from 3pm to 2am is not my definition of fun.
If you can afford it, buy EP.
Or go two nights (it's even cheaper) and plan for half the houses each night.

 

[keishashadow]

Last year, if you got in line at 5pm for Stranger Things, you'd easily wait 90-120 minutes

We experienced one night line being released by 5:30 pm, another 5:40 pm. All depends on how quickly they clear the park and if the house is ready to rock.

 

[Skippyboo]

If I recall correctly:

• Frequent Fear did not have Friday or Saturday,
• Frequent Fear Plus did not have Saturday (but includes the First and last Saturday)
• Ultimate Frequent Fear - has every night.

No idea if they will have the same tickets this year and\or what the prices will be - its always a waiting game.
If you want multi night and multiple express pass - its most likely better to but one of the FF passes with express.

Last year
FF was $230 no Friday or Saturday
FF + was $270 no Saturday
Ultimate was $ 375

So imagine this is bottom of prices for multiple nights pass.

 

[zavandor]

We experienced one night line being released by 5:30 pm, another 5:40 pm. All depends on how quickly they clear the park and if the house is ready to rock.

Yes and it took 30 minutes just to walk inside the line area from the holding pen. What I meant is that getting in the holding pen by 5pm, when the park closes to day guests, it's already too late for the hottest ticket, standby. This means waiting 2 hours in line even before the event starts.