Halloween Horror Nights 30 (UOR) - News & Info (2021)

[Lucky Planet]

We're approaching our final two weekends. I remember posting here about how weird it was for the event to actually open, now after 2 whole years of buildup and speculation we're almost at the end. That's even weirder.

Enjoy these houses and zones while it lasts! We were all clamoring for it for so long, it'd be a waste not to!

yeah it is insane. the anticipation, the uncertainty of the queue lines, of the giant crowds. the anticipation of seeing how the vinyl sheets would affect the houses, the uncertainty of the maskless crowd,
I never been so nervous for something hhn related lol.

 

[SeventyOne]

Last night (Wednesday) about as busy as I've seen, ever. The hidden back parking gate was 10 to 15 cars deep, which is unheard of even on the busiest nights. Not only were the traditional chokepoints (think SF) impassable, it was hard to get through in places like the circle outside Starbucks. Tooth Fairy managed to get up to 80 minutes.

I arrived an hour early for the 9:30 Nightmare Fuel--it was final week of B&T busy. I got a decent but still less than ideal seat. Credit to the the ushers, they crammed bodies in every inch of space they could right up until showtime. When we let out, the line for the next show already stretched back to Diagon.

Unsure if this is the new normal until the end--a lot of locals seem to be counting on next Tuesday being slow--but this was the second Wednesday in a row that was just too packed to be fun. When you start thinking about your 2022 trips, plan accordingly.

 

[jrn14]

Last night (Wednesday) about as busy as I've seen, ever. The hidden back parking gate was 10 to 15 cars deep, which is unheard of even on the busiest nights. Not only were the traditional chokepoints (think SF) impassable, it was hard to get through in places like the circle outside Starbucks. Tooth Fairy managed to get up to 80 minutes.

I arrived an hour early for the 9:30 Nightmare Fuel--it was final week of B&T busy. I got a decent but still less than ideal seat. Credit to the the ushers, they crammed bodies in every inch of space they could right up until showtime. When we let out, the line for the next show already stretched back to Diagon.

Unsure if this is the new normal until the end--a lot of locals seem to be counting on next Tuesday being slow--but this was the second Wednesday in a row that was just too packed to be fun. When you start thinking about your 2022 trips, plan accordingly.

Agggghhh I'm so nervous... We are doing our one night this upcoming Tuesday... I really hope it's not too busy and that not everyone is thinking it won't be busy so it ends up being way too busy . SCREAM.

On that note if you could only see one of the shows which would you chose and at what time do you think the house lines are the absolute longest? 10pm hour?

 

[ReelJustice]

On that note if you could only see one of the shows which would you chose and at what time do you think the house lines are the absolute longest? 10pm hour?

If you do anything at all (houses included), see Nightmare Fuel. You can always catch bits of the lagoon show at your leisure.

 

[FaceBagman]

Last night (Wednesday) about as busy as I've seen, ever. The hidden back parking gate was 10 to 15 cars deep, which is unheard of even on the busiest nights. Not only were the traditional chokepoints (think SF) impassable, it was hard to get through in places like the circle outside Starbucks. Tooth Fairy managed to get up to 80 minutes.

I arrived an hour early for the 9:30 Nightmare Fuel--it was final week of B&T busy. I got a decent but still less than ideal seat. Credit to the the ushers, they crammed bodies in every inch of space they could right up until showtime. When we let out, the line for the next show already stretched back to Diagon.

Unsure if this is the new normal until the end--a lot of locals seem to be counting on next Tuesday being slow--but this was the second Wednesday in a row that was just too packed to be fun. When you start thinking about your 2022 trips, plan accordingly.

Yeah last night was our first of the year and we called it a day and went back to Cabana around 11. It was just too nuts to bother trying for the rest of the houses and even though we lucked out with a pretty short wait for Bride, the crowd ahead of us in line kind of soured that walkthrough anyways.

We still knocked off Hill House, the 3 tents (Puppet twice), and Brides, plus dinner (with Finns seating us near-instantly around 9ish) and all the scare zones by that point.

We’ll see how tonight goes

 

[JawsVictim]

Agggghhh I'm so nervous... We are doing our one night this upcoming Tuesday... I really hope it's not too busy and that not everyone is thinking it won't be busy so it ends up being way too busy . SCREAM.

On that note if you could only see one of the shows which would you chose and at what time do you think the house lines are the absolute longest? 10pm hour?

Neither show is worth seeing IMO. Just do TCM Stay and Scream, followed by as many runs of Wicked Growth as possible before there’s a line. Everything else is icing.

 

[ThemeParks4Life]

Last night (Wednesday) about as busy as I've seen, ever. The hidden back parking gate was 10 to 15 cars deep, which is unheard of even on the busiest nights. Not only were the traditional chokepoints (think SF) impassable, it was hard to get through in places like the circle outside Starbucks. Tooth Fairy managed to get up to 80 minutes.

I arrived an hour early for the 9:30 Nightmare Fuel--it was final week of B&T busy. I got a decent but still less than ideal seat. Credit to the the ushers, they crammed bodies in every inch of space they could right up until showtime. When we let out, the line for the next show already stretched back to Diagon.

Unsure if this is the new normal until the end--a lot of locals seem to be counting on next Tuesday being slow--but this was the second Wednesday in a row that was just too packed to be fun. When you start thinking about your 2022 trips, plan accordingly.

Agggghhh I'm so nervous... We are doing our one night this upcoming Tuesday... I really hope it's not too busy and that not everyone is thinking it won't be busy so it ends up being way too busy . SCREAM.

On that note if you could only see one of the shows which would you chose and at what time do you think the house lines are the absolute longest? 10pm hour?

Tuesday could go either way. It'll have cheap tickets and Premier access, but I also think it won't be a day some locals expect to be added onto the schedule this late in the season. Next Wednesday is guaranteed to be a nightmare with TM access though. My guess is Tuesday will have the crowds of an early October Wednesday rather than the last two Weds.

 

[SeventyOne]

On that note if you could only see one of the shows which would you chose and at what time do you think the house lines are the absolute longest? 10pm hour?

Nightmare Fuel, no contest, it's a must-see. A couple causal fans I know have ranked it the best thing at the event. Unfortunately that's the one that requires a time commitment. I haven't heard of Marathon actually closing due to crowds (if it didn't last night, it won't). You can walk right in at showtime.

My guess is crowds will take some time to build Tuesday, so maybe 9 - 12 will be worst? But Tuesday opens so rare, and this October proven so busy, it's hard to tell. If you don't have Express, I'd prioritize what you want to do, to ensure you at least hit the highlights. If it ends up being slow-ish, you'll have time to make it further down the list.

 

[jrn14]

Neither show is worth seeing IMO. Just do TCM Stay and Scream, followed by as many runs of Wicked Growth as possible before there’s a line. Everything else is icing.

Thanks for your advice but we won't be doing that ha ha, but if you're saying wicked growth is a must do we will be sure to get there.

Nightmare Fuel, no contest, it's a must-see. A couple causal fans I know have ranked it the best thing at the event. Unfortunately that's the one that requires a time commitment. I haven't heard of Marathon actually closing due to crowds (if it didn't last night, it won't). You can walk right in at showtime.

My guess is crowds will take some time to build Tuesday, so maybe 9 - 12 will be worst? But Tuesday opens so rare, and this October proven so busy, it's hard to tell. If you don't have Express, I'd prioritize what you want to do, to ensure you at least hit the highlights. If it ends up being slow-ish, you'll have time to make it further down the list.

Thanks all... no express for us, but we do have stay and scream

 

[JawsVictim]

Thanks for your advice but we won't be doing that ha ha, but if you're saying wicked growth is a must do we will be sure to get there.

Neither show is worth missing house runs for and Wicked Growth is the house to do multiple times this year. You can easily do it 3x right when it opens. The entire event would be skippable this year if it weren’t for WG. Again, just my opinion.

 

[Bort]

Neither show is worth missing house runs for and Wicked Growth is the house to do multiple times this year. You can easily do it 3x right when it opens. The entire event would be skippable this year if it weren’t for WG. Again, just my opinion.

Law of diminishing returns..I'd recommend a first-viewing of Nightmare Fuel over a first run through house #8/9/10 of the night.

The show itself is great IMO. Even if it's not the favorite thing of someone's night, it helps add variety and makes HHN more than just a plethora of mazes.

 

[JawsVictim]

Law of diminishing returns..I'd recommend a first-viewing of Nightmare Fuel over a first run through house #8/9/10 of the night.

The show itself is great IMO. Even if it's not the favorite thing of someone's night, it helps add variety and makes HHN more than just a plethora of mazes.

Disagree with WG having diminishing returns. Although my first run was pure magic, my last run of a dozen was still one of the strongest. However, it is true of other houses (especially Icons, Scarey, BJ, HH IMO).

 

[Parkscope Joe]

Agggghhh I'm so nervous... We are doing our one night this upcoming Tuesday... I really hope it's not too busy and that not everyone is thinking it won't be busy so it ends up being way too busy . SCREAM.

On that note if you could only see one of the shows which would you chose and at what time do you think the house lines are the absolute longest? 10pm hour?

See Nightmare fuel, line up at least 30 minutes before the performance time. It's one of the best things this event and you get off your feet for a bit.

As for Tuesday, who knows but I don't think you'll have too many problems.

 

[Bort]

Disagree with WG having diminishing returns. Although my first run was pure magic, my last run of a dozen was still one of the strongest. However, it is true of other houses (especially Icons, Scarey, BJ, HH IMO).

By diminishing returns I was referencing an overall number of houses, not necessarily a specific number of runs through any one house, if that makes sense. I think a guest getting through 7 houses and being able to see Nightmare Fuel provides a better overall night than 10 houses but no shows, assuming the “7 house and show” strategy hits the major houses, and not just 7 runs through Tooth Fairy haha.

But yes, I’d say anyone going should prioritize Wicked Growth as one of the “must-do’s” and then work down towards things you won’t be as heartbroken to miss.

 

[DannyPowers]

See Nightmare fuel, line up at least 30 minutes before the performance time. It's one of the best things this event and you get off your feet for a bit.

As for Tuesday, who knows but I don't think you'll have too many problems.

Just in case you needed one more vote for Nightmare Fuel to push you into the "I must see this realm", I'd personally skip MoM, or potentially some subsequent runs through houses to check it out. It really is one of the best shows they've had since we've been going. Probably in the top three.

 

[JawsVictim]

By diminishing returns I was referencing an overall number of houses, not necessarily a specific number of runs through any one house, if that makes sense. I think a guest getting through 7 houses and being able to see Nightmare Fuel provides a better overall night than 10 houses but no shows, assuming the “7 house and show” strategy hits the major houses, and not just 7 runs through Tooth Fairy haha.

But yes, I’d say anyone going should prioritize Wicked Growth as one of the “must-do’s” and then work down towards things you won’t be as heartbroken to miss.

Normally I’d agree with the approach to see everything and double back. However the experience of the houses this year is sub-par, with the exception of WG, which is an all timer. If someone’s going once, and not using express, I would recommend they get to WG right when it opens to hit it without a line and repeat if they enjoyed the experience. It’s the only house this year I repeated back to back because it was that good. Getting to do 4 house runs of WG b2b within 30 min was a highlight of HHN 30 for us.

 

[jrn14]

I don't want to disappoint myself with all these expectations for Wicked Growth... as I've been underwhelmed by "house of the event" in the past ... Ie. Graveyard Games and Scarecrow. Which I thought were fine but in like the bottom 3rd of my house rankings. Probably because my expectations were so high ha ha.

 

[dxwwf3]

I don’t think Wicked Growth is as good as Graveyard Games or Scarecrow, but it’s really hard for me to judge and compare houses this year because the vinyl and plexiglass bothers me a lot more than it seems to bother the majority of people here. It is a huge negative for me

 

[JawsVictim]

I don’t think Wicked Growth is as good as Graveyard Games or Scarecrow, but it’s really hard for me to judge and compare houses this year because the vinyl and plexiglass bothers me a lot more than it seems to bother the majority of people here. It is a huge negative for me

WG is the house least impacted by vinyl and feels most like a regular HHN experience. Maybe this is why I loved it so much. I honestly wasn’t feeling any of the houses this year until I got to TCM and WG. Those were the only two that held up during repeats for me. Everything else got worse.

 

[HandsomePete]

Not to be that guy because it’s not the same etc. etc., but unlike B&T option 3 in addition to going to the show or not going to the show is to just watch it on Youtube.