HHN 30: Tips, Tricks, & Questions

[sjago13]

I'm also wondering about logistics for Springfield stay and scream. Typically new parade (hill house) is the one that opens early and old parade (bettlejuice) doesn't open until 6:30. Will they change this so perhaps they open at 5:45 and 6 this year since they are the two heavy hitters or stay with their typical opening times for those locations? They would let you prewait for graveyard games but with Beetlejuice I could see this line getting to over an hour before it even opens if they do that.

 

[Neo]

It will be interesting to see how the demand for S&S locations is distributed this year.

Many of the less informed (not an insult, but I couldn't come up with a more polite term), seem to think that Finnegan's is the better option. The GP was typically drawn there as well, since the big IPs were usually at least one of the houses that zone released to.

This year, I'd argue that Springfield would be the bigger draw with Beet and Hill House. But, who knows if most will still just go to Finn's because that's what they've been told to do.

I'll be at Finnegan's...so I guess I'm less informed

Why? Because I'm old and like to have an air conditioned quality sit down dinner before the long night. We like the full bar and the drink options. Not to mention the amazing atmosphere of the place and the frequent live music playing at dinner time. The experience can't be beat. We (knock on wood) have ROF+Express so we'll be going multiple nights and with express, all but guaranteed to do every house each night we go. But I guess we're sheep just doing what we're told.

I guess the "more well informed" are smarter than us and would rather wait out in the heat and humidity and/or eat crappy fast food in Springfield or whatever they have in the Hello Kitty / Today Show zone. I guess the pros have to rush to the most popular house the second the holding pens let out.

To each their own.

 

[DannyPowers]

I'll be at Finnegan's...so I guess I'm less informed

Why? Because I'm old and like to have an air conditioned quality sit down dinner before the long night. We like the full bar and the drink options. Not to mention the amazing atmosphere of the place and the frequent live music playing at dinner time. The experience can't be beat. We (knock on wood) have ROF+Express so we'll be going multiple nights and with express, all but guaranteed to do every house each night we go. But I guess we're sheep just doing what we're told.

I guess the "more well informed" are smarter than us and would rather wait out in the heat and humidity and/or eat crappy fast food in Springfield or whatever they have in the Hello Kitty / Today Show zone. I guess the pros have to rush to the most popular house the second the holding pens let out.

To each their own.

See, I knew that my tone would come off harsher than intended. I rewrote that, and couldn't get it to not sound insulting. That's not the way I meant it.

Anyway...All that is assuming that you can get a seat, otherwise you're stuck waiting in an unshaded area with a (usually much larger) mass of hot sweaty bodies. We typically just grab a drink at Duff and sit at one of the tables before the crow decides to start gathering near the ropes, and find it a much nicer experience.

But yes, if you can grab an indoor table and have a sit down diner. That's likely a better experience than the outdoor crowd.

 

[grlhowl]

I’m a first time visitor to HHN this year, but I’ve done some decent research on past events and a lot of the lore. Which house should I be most excited for (or at least interested in)?

 

[reeseyNG]

Man, Springfield Stay and Scream in 2019 was a cake walk. You could hit UCM, Graveyard Games, Nightinggales, Depths, and Ho1C all within an hour.

This is why made 2019 golden for me, opening night I managed to do all of those houses in the first hour and a half of the event… I do wonder if the stay and scream levels will be totally different this time around thanks to BJ and HoHH. Might try Finns this year if traffic moves to Springfield

 

[n i c k]

I’m a first time visitor to HHN this year, but I’ve done some decent research on past events and a lot of the lore. Which house should I be most excited for (or at least interested in)?

Have you seen any of the IP movies/shows? I always find that aides the excitement for specific houses.

 

[grlhowl]

Have you seen any of the IP movies/shows? I always find that aides the excitement for specific houses.

I love beetlejuice, but I understand it’ll probably be less scary than most houses. I’ve never seen Bride of Frankenstein but the premise sounds cool and I understand it’s pretty much an original story. I haven’t watched HoHH or TCM yet. Right now I’d say puppet theatre is my least anticipated with most of the IPs being lower too. The originals sound great this year but I was wondering what I should look forward to as a newcomer

 

[reeseyNG]

I love beetlejuice, but I understand it’ll probably be less scary than most houses. I’ve never seen Bride of Frankenstein but the premise sounds cool and I understand it’s pretty much an original story. I haven’t watched HoHH or TCM yet. Right now I’d say puppet theatre is my least anticipated with most of the IPs being lower too. The originals sound great this year but I was wondering what I should look forward to as a newcomer

Dude, honestly, just form your own opinions, ahah.

I typically do my "HHN Homework", which is to sit down and watch all of the movies/shows that are being featured at that year's event. That'll be a good place to start to form anticipation. And with the originals, really just think about which concepts speak to you the most. Everyone on these threads have different ideas of what they are/aren't looking forward to!

And totally expect the unexpected, for example, Yeti: Terror of The Yukon really wasn't at all high on my hype list but it ended up being in my top 3 of 2019.

 

[Parkscope Joe]

I love beetlejuice, but I understand it’ll probably be less scary than most houses. I’ve never seen Bride of Frankenstein but the premise sounds cool and I understand it’s pretty much an original story. I haven’t watched HoHH or TCM yet. Right now I’d say puppet theatre is my least anticipated with most of the IPs being lower too. The originals sound great this year but I was wondering what I should look forward to as a newcomer

There's a few "History of HNN/Jack the Clown" videos on YouTube you can check out. That'll catch you up on Jack and the icons (one house, three scare zones, and the lagoon show), Legendary Truth (one house), and some other things.

 

[kingcooger]

I love beetlejuice, but I understand it’ll probably be less scary than most houses. I’ve never seen Bride of Frankenstein but the premise sounds cool and I understand it’s pretty much an original story. I haven’t watched HoHH or TCM yet. Right now I’d say puppet theatre is my least anticipated with most of the IPs being lower too. The originals sound great this year but I was wondering what I should look forward to as a newcomer

I guess it depends upon your interests.

If I am reading between the lines correctly, IPs don't strike your fancy while Original concepts do.

The fact that you researched the lore could indicate you care about the history of the event and the stories they have told in the past.

Welcome to Scarey, while based on past houses, is more of a 'best of' style from what I have read, so there's not really a complete 'story' to the house.

By all accounts the Icon house has a complete story, plus the mere presence of the icons implies lore.

But, from a lore perspective, it sounds like the Shrek house is going to be where it is at strongly. The story aspect of that one remains a mystery, but it sounds as if it might have a complete narrative.

We know for certain that Bride of Frankenstein and Tooth Fairy both have complete narratives that flow relatively well based on last year's HHN Lite

Wicked Growth is rumored to also have a strong narrative.

Puppet Theater has a strong sounding story (from the video they put out) and it looks as if the set design/utilization of space is top notch.

That's all I got, so take your pick.

I will say that oftentimes the houses I am most looking forward to do not end up being my favorites (stares at Hades), while ones I think sound lame end up being a lot of fun or memorable (warmly remembers Zombiegeddon)

 

[WAJAS]

There's a few "History of HNN/Jack the Clown" videos on YouTube you can check out. That'll catch you up on Jack and the icons (one house, three scare zones, and the lagoon show), Legendary Truth (one house), and some other things.

@Brian G. has some good HHN History and lore explanation vids on the IU youtube channel.

 

[UniversalRBLX]

With the pent up demand, I hope they allow people inside the park much earlier and get tickets scanned prior to park opening. Use the hollywood section of the park to hold people.

 

[Neo]

See, I knew that my tone would come off harsher than intended. I rewrote that, and couldn't get it to not sound insulting. That's not the way I meant it.

Anyway...All that is assuming that you can get a seat, otherwise you're stuck waiting in an unshaded area with a (usually much larger) mass of hot sweaty bodies. We typically just grab a drink at Duff and sit at one of the tables before the crow decides to start gathering near the ropes, and find it a much nicer experience.

But yes, if you can grab an indoor table and have a sit down diner. That's likely a better experience than the outdoor crowd.

Since this thread is arguably tips for new people, I just got extra cranky to point out that anybody who goes here is NOT dumb and just going because they're told.

All good and no personal offense taken, but did a disservice to some newbies who have different values and priorities than you so wanted to float my opinion out there.

 

[grlhowl]

If I am reading between the lines correctly, IPs don't strike your fancy while Original concepts do.

The fact that you researched the lore could indicate you care about the history of the event and the stories they have told in the past.

You’re pretty much right about the IPs. Don’t get me wrong, all of them sound interesting this year and I’m super excited to experience them! But I’m more interested in the mazes with original concepts/narratives and the mazes involved with the lore and the past events and getting to see the creative potential on display.

 

[Guygas]

Hey everyone!
This'll be my first year attending HHN Orlando (surprise surprise) and I was just wondering if they let anyone with an hhn ticket into stay and scream or if you need to be in the park with a regular ticket prior in order to capitalize on it?
If so does anyone know of any really good layout plans for how to get as much done without express as possible, I have the express pass but I want to make sure to get at least a couple of houses done twice to maximize on it since I only have a ticket for one night, thank you!

 

[kingcooger]

Hey everyone!
This'll be my first year attending HHN Orlando (surprise surprise) and I was just wondering if they let anyone with an hhn ticket into stay and scream or if you need to be in the park with a regular ticket prior in order to capitalize on it?
If so does anyone know of any really good layout plans for how to get as much done without express as possible, I have the express pass but I want to make sure to get at least a couple of houses done twice to maximize on it since I only have a ticket for one night, thank you!

You have to already be in the park to enter Stay and Scream areas

I am not sure when you are going, but my group and I tend to sort of keep an eye on wait times since we don't attend the first two weeks to see what seems to be popular and which houses fill up quickly.

I know that's not really an answer, but with the major IPs being on the opposite side of the park that they usually are, I don't think anyone really knows what area will fill up quick yet.

 

[Guygas]

You have to already be in the park to enter Stay and Scream areas

I am not sure when you are going, but my group and I tend to sort of keep an eye on wait times since we don't attend the first two weeks to see what seems to be popular and which houses fill up quickly.

I know that's not really an answer, but with the major IPs being on the opposite side of the park that they usually are, I don't think anyone really knows what area will fill up quick yet.

No that actually helps a ton, thanks for the tips I appreciate it!

 

[JawsVictim]

Hey everyone!
This'll be my first year attending HHN Orlando (surprise surprise) and I was just wondering if they let anyone with an hhn ticket into stay and scream or if you need to be in the park with a regular ticket prior in order to capitalize on it?
If so does anyone know of any really good layout plans for how to get as much done without express as possible, I have the express pass but I want to make sure to get at least a couple of houses done twice to maximize on it since I only have a ticket for one night, thank you!

Wait a couple weeks for the addition ticket options to get announced. In 2019 they were doing “Scream Early” passes that allowed you into USF a few hours before the park closed for HHN. Good option to hit a couple rides and jump in a Stay and Scream…if it comes back.

 

[Tobias]

Hey everyone!
This'll be my first year attending HHN Orlando (surprise surprise) and I was just wondering if they let anyone with an hhn ticket into stay and scream or if you need to be in the park with a regular ticket prior in order to capitalize on it?
If so does anyone know of any really good layout plans for how to get as much done without express as possible, I have the express pass but I want to make sure to get at least a couple of houses done twice to maximize on it since I only have a ticket for one night, thank you!

Howdy!

So various posters already covered a good chunk of things, but a good tip I have is the last hour or so is perfect for hitting up the tent houses and the parade warehouses (HoHH and Beetlejuice). The crowds clear out pretty nicely around this time, and lines are short all over the place. Since the tent houses are super close to the park itself, you can easily chain all three together and then hustle to Kidzone to take care of the parade houses. As for the parade houses, Beetlejuice first, HoHH second. The parade warehouses are quite the hike to get to and back into the park, Beetlejuice is a tad shorter of the two, so you want to hit that first so you don't have to worry about running out of time once you're in line for HoHH. All in all, it's a good way to hit up 5 houses in a row.

Also, here's the annual reminder that if you're doing Stay and Scream, you'll want to wear your darkest pair of sunglasses! Once you're in line and near the entrance to a house, close your dominant eye for as long as you can and open it once you're in the first room/scene or so. You'll be able to see where you're going and take in a lot more detail. (Granted, if you're going in truly blind it can end up scarier! But for someone who's a 1st timer and trying to see everything twice, you don't wanna' miss out all the great details.)

 

[Moistowlette11]

I'll be at Finnegan's...so I guess I'm less informed

Why? Because I'm old and like to have an air conditioned quality sit down dinner before the long night. We like the full bar and the drink options. Not to mention the amazing atmosphere of the place and the frequent live music playing at dinner time. The experience can't be beat. We (knock on wood) have ROF+Express so we'll be going multiple nights and with express, all but guaranteed to do every house each night we go. But I guess we're sheep just doing what we're told.

I guess the "more well informed" are smarter than us and would rather wait out in the heat and humidity and/or eat crappy fast food in Springfield or whatever they have in the Hello Kitty / Today Show zone. I guess the pros have to rush to the most popular house the second the holding pens let out.

To each their own.

To get a sit down dinner at finnegans, how early do you normally get there?