Halloween Horror Nights 32 (UOR) - News & Info

[sparky]

For me it's better than bill and Ted or academy of villains lol.
When I watched bill and Ted the only good parts were the dance numbers at the beginning and at the end.
And academy was pretty cool at first but then it got old. For now, fire show is pretty good so far, 2 years in a row. (Better than cirque DU Soleil for me lol )

I told husband about Bill and Ted being the show for years, he is bummed he missed it. This will be my second year and his first.

 

[Casper Gutman]

It doesn’t need to be the main show, but they really need an improv heavy show to boost repeatability and eat return guests.

 

[sparky]

It doesn’t need to be the main show, but they really need an improv heavy show to boost repeatability and eat return guests.

Rewatchability is a good point. They sell lots of the frequent/rush of fear tickets so they know we are going multiple days.

 

[Brian G.]

Love the discussion but this isn’t the thread for it. Please continue it in the Wish List thread.

 

[DTH]

Hey y'all, long time Hollywood vet, making my first Orlando trip! I only plan to do one day/night. What's the best ticket for me? I always remember hearing Express is a bit different out here and isn't as "front of the line," but more of just a shorter line. I also plan to try and knock out most of the day time park in one day as well. I'd love to do a tour or even RIP, but not sure. I'm only in town for a short time (I'm thinking most I can do is 4 days), so the other 3 days, I was thinking I could do Disney (but that's for a different sub). What can I do to maximize my time and get the most bang for my buck with USO/HHN?

 

[RGMick77]

Hey y'all, long time Hollywood vet, making my first Orlando trip! I only plan to do one day/night. What's the best ticket for me? I always remember hearing Express is a bit different out here and isn't as "front of the line," but more of just a shorter line. I also plan to try and knock out most of the day time park in one day as well. I'd love to do a tour or even RIP, but not sure. I'm only in town for a short time (I'm thinking most I can do is 4 days), so the other 3 days, I was thinking I could do Disney (but that's for a different sub). What can I do to maximize my time and get the most bang for my buck with USO/HHN?

My suggestion for doing HHN Orlando in a single night: If you have the money to do an RIP Tour, definitely do it. You’ll be able to see the entire event in a single night and legitimately get straight to the front of every line. Plus you’ll have built-in breaks to help you rest up (doing the daytime park and the full event in a single day can be overwhelming). That would eliminate the need for express passes. You would just need a single night ticket and a daytime ticket in addition to booking an RIP Tour.

 

[SixBillium]

Hey y'all, long time Hollywood vet, making my first Orlando trip! I only plan to do one day/night. What's the best ticket for me? I always remember hearing Express is a bit different out here and isn't as "front of the line," but more of just a shorter line. I also plan to try and knock out most of the day time park in one day as well. I'd love to do a tour or even RIP, but not sure. I'm only in town for a short time (I'm thinking most I can do is 4 days), so the other 3 days, I was thinking I could do Disney (but that's for a different sub). What can I do to maximize my time and get the most bang for my buck with USO/HHN?

From my personal experience in the last decade- go during the day and get yourself a scream early ticket for stay-and-scream, and stay until HHN close. (I personally recommend Express just because it's a pretty safe guarantee that you'll be able to experience everything, but not necessary if on a budget).

Try and do whatever stay-and-scream area is towards the back of the park so you can knock out the back-of-the-park haunts ( 2 parades, 2 tents, and F&F) in the first hour or so- I've always had more success there than doing New York. Also- get yourself an eye patch so you can have one eye adjusted to the dark so you can see those first few haunts in better detail instead of just blindly wandering through.

Once the park "officially opens" and you've only got the Soundstage haunts left in NY and since the entrances are closer together, it's easier to find the shorter waits and jump right in line without having to run across the park or rely on the app. Take a semi-leisurely pace if you'd like and enjoy the scarezones and/or shows.

After midnight waits will start to die down, and you can hit up anything you haven't seen or revisit favorites as long as you don't mind all of the extra walking, especially during the last 30 minutes or so.

Of course, if you can splurge for Express or RIP so you can get multiple runs guaranteed I highly recommend it. But if you're on a budget, you can still see most things a couple of times as long as you maximize your time.

 

[Bort]

Hey y'all, long time Hollywood vet, making my first Orlando trip! I only plan to do one day/night. What's the best ticket for me? I always remember hearing Express is a bit different out here and isn't as "front of the line," but more of just a shorter line. I also plan to try and knock out most of the day time park in one day as well. I'd love to do a tour or even RIP, but not sure. I'm only in town for a short time (I'm thinking most I can do is 4 days), so the other 3 days, I was thinking I could do Disney (but that's for a different sub). What can I do to maximize my time and get the most bang for my buck with USO/HHN?

I think HHN is doable in one night without express, but I can also tell you there's been a point in every trip that I've made where I've thought to myself "I really wish I just dropped the money on express". RIP Tours look fun, but are far out of my price range, so can't comment beyond what the YouTube vlogs show.

If you have daytime admission, take advantage of Stay & Scream, but also be aware that you could be in for an incredibly long day/night if you do the park and HHN all at once (I've done 30k steps on those 16 hour park days and my feet screamed at me for the next week).

My other piece of advice would be to keep an eye on what nights TMs have comp tickets available. A random Wednesday night may appear like it should be slow, but then with comp tickets it turns into a really busy night. Same thing in regards to fall breaks for local counties (someone who actually lives in the area could speak more to that).

TL;DR -- I finally caved and bought express this year, I suggest you do the same.

 

[Tobias]

Hey y'all, long time Hollywood vet, making my first Orlando trip! I only plan to do one day/night. What's the best ticket for me? I always remember hearing Express is a bit different out here and isn't as "front of the line," but more of just a shorter line. I also plan to try and knock out most of the day time park in one day as well. I'd love to do a tour or even RIP, but not sure. I'm only in town for a short time (I'm thinking most I can do is 4 days), so the other 3 days, I was thinking I could do Disney (but that's for a different sub). What can I do to maximize my time and get the most bang for my buck with USO/HHN?

Since you're only going to be there for one day/night, for HHN I'd highly recommend getting a single night ticket and booking a RIP Tour. That tour is the best way to see everything in one night without worry, and those tours are the only thing which has honest-to-god front of the line access.

If you're not doing a RIP tour, get HHN Express. This is NOT a suggestion; this is a requirement. Yes, it's been possible to hit up everything in one night without express...however those were sans the two biggest IP's the event could have right now. You'd have to really stick with a firm plan with little to no wiggle room if you're doing one night without express, and that's no fun. Having express can make things a lot more breezy.

On top of that, you'll wanna' utilize Stay and Scream (you will need a daytime park ticket for the Studios, or a Park to Park ticket.) AND plan to stay the entire night. S&S is a great way to get a head start on houses (as well as trying some of the specialty food, if you're in the NY holding area.), and hitting up a good chunk of houses without express before 8pm which is usually the start of peak crowds and wait times.

In terms of timeframes S&S/6:30 - 8pm is a lighter period to hit up houses without express. After 8pm - 11pm is more of a peak time, that's best for seeing the scare zones, eating/drinking, seeing a show etc. As well as using your express to see whatever houses you want.

Now for the last couple hours of the event, that's when lines will drop quite a bit for the houses. It's the best time to hit up houses for a second time, especially the originals which can be walk ons. And it's the best time for the more popular IP's. And before the event officially closes, make sure you're in line for your last house to finish out the night good and proper.

 

[Galactus]

So I decided to splash out for a private RIP tour for opening night of HHN after doing public RIP for the last few years and wanting to have a little more action and a little bit more pace through the houses. I'd love to get hear from people that've done private RIP tour before:

- Do you have full control over the pace of your night? Like if I was strange, could I go through one house back to back to back to... all night if I wanted barring the one mandatory break? Or would the tour guide eventually tell us we had to move on?
- Are there any special HHN related behind the scenes tours we can do during RIP the way that you can do the immigration tour at MIB, Mummy tour etc at daytime VIP? I already have my UTH tix for the next day but wondering if there's anything extra I can do the night of.
- What's the situation for tipping like? I hate tip culture in this country and I'm really lost for how much to tip. I've heard 15-20% (which on a four figure tour is $$$) but then I've also heard like $20/person which seems a little low considering we're very south of the full 10 person party.
- I'm guessing there's no such thing as VIP access to food stands for pizza fries and the like? I know the lines get crazy and I'd hate to waste my time standing in line when I could do that another night.

Thanks for your help!

 

[elusivceceo]

So I decided to splash out for a private RIP tour for opening night of HHN after doing public RIP for the last few years and wanting to have a little more action and a little bit more pace through the houses. I'd love to get hear from people that've done private RIP tour before:

- Do you have full control over the pace of your night? Like if I was strange, could I go through one house back to back to back to... all night if I wanted barring the one mandatory break? Or would the tour guide eventually tell us we had to move on?
- Are there any special HHN related behind the scenes tours we can do during RIP the way that you can do the immigration tour at MIB, Mummy tour etc at daytime VIP? I already have my UTH tix for the next day but wondering if there's anything extra I can do the night of.
- What's the situation for tipping like? I hate tip culture in this country and I'm really lost for how much to tip. I've heard 15-20% (which on a four figure tour is $$$) but then I've also heard like $20/person which seems a little low considering we're very south of the full 10 person party.
- I'm guessing there's no such thing as VIP access to food stands for pizza fries and the like? I know the lines get crazy and I'd hate to waste my time standing in line when I could do that another night.

Thanks for your help!

- Do you have full control over the pace of your night? Like if I was strange, could I go through one house back to back to back to... all night if I wanted barring the one mandatory break? Or would the tour guide eventually tell us we had to move on?

When we checked in the guide asked us what we wanted to focus on and we were able to change throughout the night. We were able to get the show done, all scare zones, and all houses twice plus squeezed in transformers, the mummy and gringotts She did have a 30 minute break for her to be able to eat so we went back to cafe la bamba to cool off and get some dessert.


- Are there any special HHN related behind the scenes tours we can do during RIP the way that you can do the immigration tour at MIB, Mummy tour etc at daytime VIP? I already have my UTH tix for the next day but wondering if there's anything extra I can do the night of.

not that we were aware of. only the day time tours of the houses. "unmasking the horror"

- What's the situation for tipping like? I hate tip culture in this country and I'm really lost for how much to tip. I've heard 15-20% (which on a four figure tour is $$$) but then I've also heard like $20/person which seems a little low considering we're very south of the full 10 person party.

We were a party of 4 and tipped $250 and gave her a very high review, I've heard the whole 20% thing on here, but tipping $1k seems a bit excessive.

- I'm guessing there's no such thing as VIP access to food stands for pizza fries and the like? I know the lines get crazy and I'd hate to waste my time standing in line when I could do that another night.

unfortunately not. we filled up at cafe la bamba before. I did mention this in my survey after the event, they have private bars, there should be a way to avoid a 30-45 minute long food line.

 

[Rikku]

Just watched a Vincent Vision video and he talked about a Unlimited Express Pass for HHN which I have never heard of that is sold at the park, not online. I know of the regular daytime one but never of one for HHN and he specifically mentioned it as part of the Express Pass options not a RIP tour. Any intel on this? If true is news to me

 

[Galactus]

It exists, I bought it for a night in 2021. I don't remember how much it cost relative to regular Express but I do remember thinking that I thought it would have cost more than it did.

 

[Rikku]

It exists, I bought it for a night in 2021. I don't remember how much it cost relative to regular Express but I do remember thinking that I thought it would have cost more than it did.

Very interesting it is very hush hush then, or at least it seems to me!!! Wonder why it would be an option but not advertised anywhere

 

[sparky]

Very interesting it is very hush hush then, or at least it seems to me!!! Wonder why it would be an option but not advertised anywhere

Do they offer it every year? '21 would have been the first full event year after covid, right?

 

[Beeble]

Do they offer it every year? '21 would have been the first full event year after covid, right?

They had them last year, too. Unlimited express is definitely my favorite when it's available. I would love to be able to buy it online before the day of.

 

[Rikku]

This shocks me that this exists. But it isn’t available every night? Whats the reason they will or wont sell it on a particular night? Like if the ticketing windows or wherever have a long line would hate to wait to be told no or it isnt selling that night. This opens so many can of worms for me

 

[amar831]

Based on my experience, they’ve had the unlimited express option since at least 2019 when I went with a few friends who flew down from Colorado but hadn’t gotten their express pass yet. We stopped at the express cart in front of the arches to get theirs since I already had mine, and the team member asked them if they wanted regular or unlimited express. Had to do a double take and clarify a few times because I’d never known it was a thing before, and they were able to upgrade my express pass to the unlimited by just paying the difference.

Side note though, I had ff w/express last year and just wanted to try and see if I could upgrade to unlimited for one of the nights I was going to be there, but you can only upgrade a single night express.

 

[Brian G.]

Figured since y'all have been discussing it...

Halloween Horror Nights 32 (UOR) - Tips, Tricks, & Planning

Since the discussion has been coming up lately... Here's a dedicated thread for it.

forums.insideuniversal.net

 

[ParkRumors]

This is new... but hardly seems worth $160