HHN Hollywood General Discussion - 2017

[MacMillian Crew]

Man, all this talk of an overabundance of black walls is really bumming me out. I'm hoping I still have fun with the RIP experience.

Speaking of which, did anyone here go and do RIP last night? If so, I have a couple of questions because I know RIP has been gone for a couple years and I want to see if things have changed.

Specifically, are you able to re-enter the lounge/buffet area to get more food and (non-alcoholic) drinks after your initial tour time? I want to know, because if that's the case, they're gonna lose money on my appetite.

Did RIP experience with GF and two of our friends last night. The answer is no, mainly because along with the pass they give that has the bar code for attraction scanners, they give a bracelet with removable tabs, 3 of them. They are Meal and 2 Drinks. When you check in at the computer desk in front of the buffet, they remove the meal tab and therefore are able to keep count of who has already eaten. They do the same of course with the bar and the 2 alcohol tabs.

 

[CowMissing]

Halloween Horror Nights opening night festivities on the Blood Red Carpet at Universal Studios Hollywood.

 

[upsidown]

They do the same of course with the bar and the 2 alcohol tabs.

It would be nice if we could at least go back for water or sodas.....

 

[Presto95]

Did RIP experience with GF and two of our friends last night. The answer is no, mainly because along with the pass they give that has the bar code for attraction scanners, they give a bracelet with removable tabs, 3 of them. They are Meal and 2 Drinks. When you check in at the computer desk in front of the buffet, they remove the meal tab and therefore are able to keep count of who has already eaten. They do the same of course with the bar and the 2 alcohol tabs.

How was the RIP experience overall? Was the food good? I know there's no special RIP backlot experience this year, so how was the tour itself? Do you know if they were strict about sticking with the tour group for the full four hours?

Thanks in advance for whatever answers you feel like providing!

 

[javierm27]

How was the RIP experience overall? Was the food good? I know there's no special RIP backlot experience this year, so how was the tour itself? Do you know if they were strict about sticking with the tour group for the full four hours?

Thanks in advance for whatever answers you feel like providing!

I definitely enjoyed it. I think the downside as noted, you are not allowed to go back to the dining area once you have eaten. It was nice in prior years to be able to go back to sit, grab some water or dessert, but I understand why they stopped that. The food was good, definitely on par as prior years. The tour was good, they walked you to each maze, so it was nice not having to think about what you were going to do and so on, instead there was someone planning out the mazes, and you just followed along. They also provided some information about the mazes/backlot, etc. They are not strict about sticking with the tour group, in fact you do not have to go with them to begin with and you are able to leave at any point on the tour, all they ask if that you let them know, so they aren't looking for you, or waiting on you. Overall, I was definitely happy with the experience, and I hope they continue it. I really missed not having it these past couple of years.

 

[MacMillian Crew]

How was the RIP experience overall? Was the food good? I know there's no special RIP backlot experience this year, so how was the tour itself? Do you know if they were strict about sticking with the tour group for the full four hours?

Thanks in advance for whatever answers you feel like providing!

I personally enjoyed the experience. Like I mentioned before, the first time we went through a few mazes, it was kind of a slow line, resulting in some missed scares. So the second and third times we went through them, my group got all of the scares. The food was definitely delicious, as well as the dessert. Far better than what was being sold in the other restaurants. We didn't do the tour because my gf and I honestly think that's the one annoying part of the experience; instead we all just ditched the lounge after we all finished eating and drinking, before they called our groups name, so that we could do the mazes a lot quicker. However, my gf talked with another woman in the FOL/RIP line for Ash vs Evil Dead that was also doing RIP, and she said she and her husband were originally on the RIP guided tour, but they ditched after going through Titans of Terror maze. Definitely liked this year, probably my 2nd or 3rd favorite year out of the 10 years I've been coming to HHN. The only weird thing that happened in the event was this large group of young adults, probably all early 20s and based on their language were foreign, about 11 of them, were ahead of my group the first time we did The Shining. They did the most annoying thing possible; they would stop before doorways because they were afraid to through because of the actors, and just clump together blocking anyone from passing. It got to the point that the part in which you get to the bathroom ghoul scene, they all huddled around the door in the bedroom part to just stare and point at the bathroom ghoul, that the 4 of us just pushed past them and basically experienced the other half of the maze by ourselves.

 

[Red Carpet]

Does anyone know what time the Toxic Tunnel and Urban Inferno scare zones get populated with scare actors? I want to go to the backlot during early entry but I am concerned about missing the "full experience" when taking the hike over there.

 

[Wesker69]

Well since the event opens at 7pm... you can expect scareactors at 7pm...

Don't waste your time worring about scarezones being populated by scareactors, worry about getting the mazes done. Thats the beauty of scarezones, they'll still be there without a waittime after you've done everything. You'll get the "full experience", whatever that even means this year.

 

[Presto95]

Thanks for the responses, guys! Still debating on whether or not my gf and my friend and I will partake in the actual guided tour or for how long, but good to know that the buffet's definitely worth it.

The only thing I love more than Halloween is a good buffet.

 

[ush.hacker]

The only thing I love more than a good buffet is Halloween

 

[Teebin]

What is this all about? Please direct me to the correct thread if is the wrong one.

 

[HorrorNightsFan13]

What is this all about? Please direct me to the correct thread if is the wrong one.

Academy of Villans is a show in Orlando (not Hollywood, this is the Hollywood thread. I wish we had Academy of Villans. Stupid Jabbawockeez) but their stage for the event was dismantled in preparation for Irma and I believe there’s news of another hurricane heading towards Florida again so they have kept the stage dismantled

 

[Rideguy70]

I had a unique situation, but one that may apply to others here. I hold both a Platinum AP and a Frequent Fear Pass. As you know, the Platinum includes a free night for HHN. But it's only for certain nights, and as many of you probably know, it's the exact same nights as the FFP.

We ran into this problem last year, and went to guest relations to see if there could be some sort of other benefit, because the FFP effectively made our Platinum benefit useless. They said this doesn't happen often, and last year they gave us an extra night for free, which was extremely kind.

This year, it's a bit worse because they were relatively generous on the FFP already, and there really aren't that many other nights left that we can attend. So this year we kindly asked if instead of using the extra night, we could get FOL for one night only. And they generously agreed!

Given the unusual circumstances, others may get other answers depending on who you ask. We had the fabulous Melanie who helped make this happen (although she did need to check with a manager, and it took some time to put this exception into their system), and I will be giving her a compliment to USH for her above and beyond customer service in getting us this benefit. She said it was guaranteed we could get it even if FOL is sold out on a given night. Way to go Melanie! :clap:

Just thought I'd pass this info along in case anyone else here was in a similar situation.

 

[DTH]

Why is the Terror Tram line 100 minutes right now, what the heck?

 

[chris.g]

Last I heard they're at capacity tonight and sold out.

 

[LSK]

Ho boy. Just got back from HHN. Got there around 4:30pm and closed it down after 2am. Also did RIP. With the capacity crowds, it was definitely worth the price tag. Last year we went to HHN twice, but I think we are good with just the one time this year. Random tips/observations for those still planning to go:

--Wizarding World of Harry Potter closes at 5:30pm, and employees check to make sure you don't have an HHN early entry wristband. Because our RIP bands weren't the same color as the early entry bands, we were able to slide in and get some frozen Butterbeers before heading to the Lower Lot.

--We were too early for Insidious to give the password of the day, and too late by the time we returned. This maze had waits of over two hours by the middle of the evening, as well as a longer wait for FOL/RIP.

--Our RIP meal time was for 7:30pm with a tour time of 8:30pm. If they have this next year, we will probably schedule an hour later, so as not to feel rushed to make it upstairs in time. The buffet had decent variety. Beer and wine for the alcoholic drinks. The desserts were quite cleverly horror themed. And it was great to snag water bottles before heading out on our tour.

--No extras or special transportation for the current RIP tour but depending on your guide, it may be worth sticking around for some of it. It lasts between 3 - 4 hours, depending on the lines and how quickly your group moves. The FOL/RIP line was insane for the Terror Tram, but our guide worked magic to have our group skip it and load almost immediately. Although in the end, the actual Terror Tram experience was skippable due to the overcrowding. One upside was seeing the Log Bunny prominently displayed in the War of the Worlds scene.

--RIP tour begins with all the Upper Lot mazes first, then Terror Tram, then the long trek to the Lower Lot and beyond. We followed the tour through the Toxic Tunnel and Urban Inferno, since they were not open prior to 7pm, before parting ways. Our tour guide warned us the scarezones were not worth it (hahaha), but we wanted a bit of the ambience that we missed when arriving so early. He was a great guide, and we left him a compliment at Guest Services.

--For those with GA tix and have buyer's remorse, they were selling discounted FOL to use from 11pm to closing. It was $50 a person. We saw plenty of people lining up to purchase this, even after 11pm.

--I'm actually a fan of the Jabbawockeez, so we got there about 30 minutes early to get a spot for the 12:30am show. The place filled up fast, especially the FOL/RIP section.

--We did all mazes twice, except TWD and Terror Tram. Our favorites were Titans of Terror and The Shining, which we did three times each. Terror Tram was definitely the worst.

--Watching a few cycles of Chainsaw Chase-Out is always a fun, cathartic way to end the evening.

 

[HereWeGo]

--We were too early for Insidious to give the password of the day, and too late by the time we returned. This maze had waits of over two hours by the middle of the evening, as well as a longer wait for FOL/RIP.

Are you saying that the FOL had a longer wait than the normal or it was just longer than you were expecting? How long were you waiting for each maze with FOL? I have it for next Saturday so just curious how it's been going. Thanks!

 

[LSK]

Are you saying that the FOL had a longer wait than the normal or it was just longer than you were expecting? How long were you waiting for each maze with FOL? I have it for next Saturday so just curious how it's been going. Thanks!

Sorry - sleepy brain!

The only time where the FOL/RIP line ended up being several minutes (or potentially several minutes) was Insidious, Terror Tram, and The Walking Dead later in the the evening. So, if you really don't want to wait at all for these, go early.

The FOL/RIP line for everything else was minimal throughout the entirety of HHN. We waited merely seconds for the mazes. I think this is why Universal is now selling discounted FOL for the last three hours of the night. We saw at least two kiosks for this near the front of the Insidious FOL line (which is why it probably got longer later in the night) and by American Horror Story.

Although the execution and quality of the mazes isn't up to par with previous years, still had a blast this season. But, FOL/RIP is the way to go if you can swing it. Early entry is basically regular entry time now...

 

[Timberfellingrobot]

Which mazes get completely ruined by the sunlight? I want to know ahead of time before I make the mistake of not getting the full effect of a maze.

 

[LSK]

Which mazes get completely ruined by the sunlight? I want to know ahead of time before I make the mistake of not getting the full effect of a maze.

Not totally ruined, but the light leaks within Insidious are hard to ignore. This maze was the one we saw reach a two hour wait last night, so unless you have FOL/RIP, I would still recommend getting through Insidious early.