Official 2019 HHN-29 Thread

Sorry, one more Unmasking the Horror tour question. I have a tour already booked, but unfortunately the confirmation email has precious little info on it... not even the tour start time. Luckily I remember which time I chose. But anyway... the website says to check in at the "Blue Man Group Entrance" 15 mins prior to the time listed on the ticket... but I don't actually have a ticket, nor does the confirmation give any information about ticket pick-up (it just says shipping method is "VIP Tours." So if my tour is scheduled for 10:45 am, do I just show up at the entrance and tell them my name or something, or do I need to pick up a ticket somewhere first? Thanks.
 
I'm googling these questions but can't seem to find a definitive answer.

- HHN will be my only time in the park this vacation. Are ALL the stores open in Diagon Alley? I'm trying to find a specific wand and I'm worried I won't be able to get it during the evening.
- with EP, do you get only one skip the line entrance per maze / ride? Or is it one entrance per maze and unlimited entrance for the open rides?

This year, they are selling an unlimited express pass, that will get you through as many times as you want. I was offered it several times, last week it was $30 more than the regular EP. Because it’s new and experimental, I would expect that price to fluctuate.

And yes, the shops in DA are all open.
 
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Yes, check in 15 minutes prior to your booked time

You only need to give your name

They have a list of all that booked the tour
They will tell you which group you will be in

I do this tour each year and it is awesome for behind the scenes info!
 
This year, they are selling an unlimited express pass, that will get you through as many times as you want. I was offered it several times, last week it was $30 more than the regular EP, because it’s new and experimental, I would expect that price to fluctuate.

And yes, the shops in DA are all open.

Thank you!
 


Sorry, one more Unmasking the Horror tour question. I have a tour already booked, but unfortunately the confirmation email has precious little info on it... not even the tour start time. Luckily I remember which time I chose. But anyway... the website says to check in at the "Blue Man Group Entrance" 15 mins prior to the time listed on the ticket... but I don't actually have a ticket, nor does the confirmation give any information about ticket pick-up (it just says shipping method is "VIP Tours." So if my tour is scheduled for 10:45 am, do I just show up at the entrance and tell them my name or something, or do I need to pick up a ticket somewhere first? Thanks.
You will get an email a couple days prior giving details. Will tell you start of check in time and where to go. If you have 6 House tour will give you option of preordering and paying for lunch. Our tour was at 9:45 and check in started at 9:15. Signs by Blue Man group directing you where to go too. Have fun! We loved our tour!
 
A week from today we’ll be experiencing our first HHN! We’re going with the public tour, our start time is 7:00. Couple of questions for those who might know:

1) our HHN tickets will apparently be at will call as well as our tour check in - can we do the whole pickup at the VIP entrance or do we need to go somewhere else for the entrance ticket (bought all together)?

2) what’s the earliest we can check in/get to the appetizer bar before the tour? We’ll be traveling straight over and probably will not have eaten much.

3) What amount would suggest tipping for a non-private tour group of 4?

Thanks!!
 
We just got home from the airport from our Universal/HHN trip this weekend. We went to HHN on Friday night (the 20th) and truly had an absolutely fantastic time. We had express passes as well as the Scream Early ticket. We arrived at the front gates at about 2:55pm and they let us in. We went over and rode Gringotts before heading over to the New York/Finnegan's Stay and Scream area. We got there at about 3:50pm and the scanners and team members were already set up but they didn't let us in until exactly 4pm. We rushed over to Finnegan's and got a table and had a few drinks and a really solid meal to get our evening off on the right foot.

Firstly, the Marathon of Mayhem show was amazing. One of the best water projection style shows I have seen. The music, the lighting, the selection of footage was all perfect and it didn't overstay its welcome. We saw the midnight show and the crowd was sparse so we had a perfect spot right in the center.

We were able to do all 10 houses with relative ease. We took plenty of stops for drinks and snacks (including pizza fries, yum!) and never felt too rushed.

And now my thoughts/rankings of the houses, in reverse order. Keep in mind that I basically loved (to varying degrees) 8 of the 10 houses, so only the bottom two weren't great and even then I still had fun going through them. Please note that there are some MINOR SPOILERS below, so if you want to know nothing about the houses don't read any further.


10. Nightingales: Blood Pit - This one really didn't click with me for some reason. It felt like the laziest and most simple of the houses and I didn't particularly care for the smell. There is one awesome animatronic but that's about the extent of it.

9. House of 1,000 Corpses - I may be a bit biased because I think the movie is awful, but this house was merely okay. Certainly the recreation of sets and scenes from the movie are spot on, but I mostly found it annoying with only one good scare. The opening scene is the best part.

8. Jordan Peele's Us - I'm surprised I ultimately ended up with this so low, because I love the movie and thought it was a really solid house. I think it just speaks to the overall quality this year. It's a terrific recreation of the film, dealing more in overall creepiness than scares. The performers were all on point. And that final scene... one of the best scares of the evening.

7. Depths of Fear - This house may have been higher if not for the creature design, which I honestly found kind of silly and they made me laugh a bit? Yet the overall production design and concept are so sharp, with increased intensity thanks to the countdown clock and a few really good scares. The water elements are a great touch.

6. Stranger Things - A blend of scenes from season 2 and 3, this house is low on scares but high on production value (the mall scene, wow!) and attention to detail. As a fan of the show, walking through this was pretty awesome... they nailed it.

5. Ghostbusters - Although there are actually a few pretty good jump scares, this may have been the least scary house of the night with perhaps the most overall love and affection for the source material. This house is just pure fun and like stepping right into the movie. I don't think the entire point of HHN needs to be being scary, and this house proves it.

4. Graveyard Games - Without a doubt the scariest house of the night, certain scenes in this left me truly chilled and terrified and it was awesome. A masterclass in misdirection, sustained tension, and the variety of scares that can be achieved in an HHN maze. The entire cast was on point, and there's one really dark hallway... ooh boy, watch out.

3. Yeti: Terror of the Yukon - I went back and forth between this and Graveyard for number 3, but I ultimately had to choose this as my favorite of the original houses because while it's also quite scary (the Yetis are huge and threatening) with some really clever and inventive scares (from every possible angle with great misdirection) it's also really fun. I love the snowy setting, the production design, the huge sets, and the cold temperatures.

2. Killer Klowns from Outer Space - Is it scary? Maybe a bit more than you'd think. There's some really good jump scares. But this was also such a joy for me, such glorious neon, candy colored goodness with buttons to push, silliness abound, and some fantastic design elements. I love this IP and I think this does a great job of nailing it. Every year needs at least one silly/comedy houses, and this is one of my favorites. I didn't expect to rate this so high going into the evening, so it was just a wonderful surprise and delight.

1. Universal Monsters - An HHN masterpiece, plain and simple. This is the perfect blend of design, attention to detail, scares, intensity, and love for classic characters. There's a new character and a new room lurking around every corner and it just gets better and better until reaching one hell of a crescendo. The performers are incredible. Everyone clearly loves working in this house and it shows. Wow.

I hope to make a return trip in a few weeks if I can manage to fly down again. I'm so envious of those who are local and get to go frequently.
 


A week from today we’ll be experiencing our first HHN! We’re going with the public tour, our start time is 7:00. Couple of questions for those who might know:

1) our HHN tickets will apparently be at will call as well as our tour check in - can we do the whole pickup at the VIP entrance or do we need to go somewhere else for the entrance ticket (bought all together)?

2) what’s the earliest we can check in/get to the appetizer bar before the tour? We’ll be traveling straight over and probably will not have eaten much.

3) What amount would suggest tipping for a non-private tour group of 4?

Thanks!!
You can get both your tour tickets and your regular HHN tickets at the VIP check-in; I just did it last week.

Unlike the regular VIP tour, with the RIP tour you eat at the time your tour starts. I had a 7:00 tour time, and they would not let me into Cafe LaBamba until 7:00 PM, then the tour left at 7:30 or so.
 
A week from today we’ll be experiencing our first HHN! We’re going with the public tour, our start time is 7:00. Couple of questions for those who might know:

1) our HHN tickets will apparently be at will call as well as our tour check in - can we do the whole pickup at the VIP entrance or do we need to go somewhere else for the entrance ticket (bought all together)?

2) what’s the earliest we can check in/get to the appetizer bar before the tour? We’ll be traveling straight over and probably will not have eaten much.

3) What amount would suggest tipping for a non-private tour group of 4?

Thanks!!

I'm going to my first HHN on Wednesday doing an RIP tour. I had those same questions! So thank you for the answers. My tour is at 6:30, so now I know that we will go in at 6:30 and get to eat. That means we have from 6:00 to 6:30 to wander a little. Here is what I'm wondering now... I really wanted to get my husband on Gringotts on this trip. He's never been on it. I'm an AP holder but he is not. I just realized that Gringotts will close at 11 pm. So we probably won't have time to get on it after our tour, right? I'm assuming that the tours don't usually include time for rides. What is the deal with shows on RIP tours? DH doesn't really seem keen on seeing Academy of Villians, so I'm wondering if we would be able to sneak off and do Gringotts during that time and rejoin the tour? I really don't know what to expect.

I'm considering getting the Scream early entry for him so that we can go in early and ride gringotts. It will just mean we have less leisure time before heading out of the hotel that day and more waiting outside in the heat. He is not a fan of theme parks, so I was trying to make this as simple as possible for him. But $25 is pretty cheap to get him in the park for a couple of hours, so maybe we just suck it up and head out early and get sweaty :) During that 5-6 hour when you have to wait, is there anything to do besides drink? Cause I guess that's fine. Would you recommend the Simpsons area then? We won't eat since we will be getting our RIP included food at 6:30.
 
I might be going to HHN for the first time next week with some friends. I've just started doing research to figure things out, but there are two points I'd like some clarification on so far:

1) I'm a passholder, and I was trying to look at the discounted (single-night) ticket, but it seems like you have to buy two at a time - is that accurate? I only need a ticket for myself, but I can't find a way to only get one at the passholder rate; it's automatically listed as two tickets when I try. But none of the information on the site I've found so far seems to state outright that you have to buy two to get the deal, so I just want to be sure before I give up on it and pay the regular ticket price (it's only a few dollars different for the night we're looking at, but any savings would be nice if I could get it).

2) Where does Universal draw the line with "costumes"? I have a dress from Hot Topic based on Robin's Scoops Ahoy uniform in Stranger Things that I would love to wear if I can, but I don't want to be denied entry for it. [This one -> https://www.hottopic.com/product/stranger-things-robin-scoops-ahoy-dress/11893439.html]. I wouldn't wear it with the hat, but would that still be considered too much of a costume or would it be okay?

Thanks for any input!
 
You can get both your tour tickets and your regular HHN tickets at the VIP check-in; I just did it last week.

Unlike the regular VIP tour, with the RIP tour you eat at the time your tour starts. I had a 7:00 tour time, and they would not let me into Cafe LaBamba until 7:00 PM, then the tour left at 7:30 or so.

Thanks!!
 
Yes, check in 15 minutes prior to your booked time

You only need to give your name

They have a list of all that booked the tour
They will tell you which group you will be in

I do this tour each year and it is awesome for behind the scenes info!

Thanks! We’re really looking forward to it.
 
I might be going to HHN for the first time next week with some friends. I've just started doing research to figure things out, but there are two points I'd like some clarification on so far:

1) I'm a passholder, and I was trying to look at the discounted (single-night) ticket, but it seems like you have to buy two at a time - is that accurate? I only need a ticket for myself, but I can't find a way to only get one at the passholder rate; it's automatically listed as two tickets when I try. But none of the information on the site I've found so far seems to state outright that you have to buy two to get the deal, so I just want to be sure before I give up on it and pay the regular ticket price (it's only a few dollars different for the night we're looking at, but any savings would be nice if I could get it).

2) Where does Universal draw the line with "costumes"? I have a dress from Hot Topic based on Robin's Scoops Ahoy uniform in Stranger Things that I would love to wear if I can, but I don't want to be denied entry for it. [This one -> https://www.hottopic.com/product/stranger-things-robin-scoops-ahoy-dress/11893439.html]. I wouldn't wear it with the hat, but would that still be considered too much of a costume or would it be okay?

Thanks for any input!
For the passholder discount, click the "2" under "number of passes" a drop down menu will appear and let you change the quantity of tickets to purchase. There you can select 1 ticket.
I did see plenty of people wearing Eleven's romper and the Scoop's Ahoy hat the night I went. But I'm not sure about the uniform.
 
For the passholder discount, click the "2" under "number of passes" a drop down menu will appear and let you change the quantity of tickets to purchase. There you can select 1 ticket.

Oh, wow, thank you! *facepalm* I feel silly now, but it definitely didn't look like something that could be clicked for more options, especially on my phone.
 
2) Where does Universal draw the line with "costumes"? I have a dress from Hot Topic based on Robin's Scoops Ahoy uniform in Stranger Things that I would love to wear if I can, but I don't want to be denied entry for it. [This one -> https://www.hottopic.com/product/stranger-things-robin-scoops-ahoy-dress/11893439.html]. I wouldn't wear it with the hat, but would that still be considered too much of a costume or would it be okay?


It should be fine. Wear the hat to if you want. They are selling the hats at HHN. I saw two guys yesterday evening dressed like Mario and Luigi from Super Mario Brothers.
 
Hi all...not sure if this needs to be a separate thread or not...but this will be our 1st HHN (we leave in 2 days!!!) and I'm totally overthinking all of this. :/ lol!

It's a quick trip bc we have a 3 day weekend with school. :) So we have 2 day park-to-park tickets. Only 2 had planned to attend HHN (first night on their own, second night with a RIP tour), but after reading the boards we've decided for the other 2 to attend the 1st night to check things out (with those 2 not planning on going in any of the houses).

So...all that to say/ask...what do you seasoned HHNers recommend on park day visits?

I was thinking that we do IofA the 1st day and then take the Hogswart Express over to US. I can't find exactly when that stops running over there though...does it vary by day? So then we get over to US before the 5pm park closing.

Then we do US on 2nd day (opens early at 7am...although I doubt that we get up that early) :) We spend the day there and then 2 of us take Hogswart Express over to IofA so we can see the dark arts light show while the other 2 stay and get some park time prior to the start of their RIP tour. (it's late...8 or 9ish...I don't know if I even realized that there was a time associated with it when I booked this in July). And if we're all in the park already, can we print out the HHN tickets before we get there that day?

Does the train run later from US to IofA? Or is it a set time both ways? I looked it up on the app today, but it only provides a wait time, not when it stops running.

Thanks!
-Lea
 
I might be going to HHN for the first time next week with some friends. I've just started doing research to figure things out, but there are two points I'd like some clarification on so far:

1) I'm a passholder, and I was trying to look at the discounted (single-night) ticket, but it seems like you have to buy two at a time - is that accurate? I only need a ticket for myself, but I can't find a way to only get one at the passholder rate; it's automatically listed as two tickets when I try. But none of the information on the site I've found so far seems to state outright that you have to buy two to get the deal, so I just want to be sure before I give up on it and pay the regular ticket price (it's only a few dollars different for the night we're looking at, but any savings would be nice if I could get it).

2) Where does Universal draw the line with "costumes"? I have a dress from Hot Topic based on Robin's Scoops Ahoy uniform in Stranger Things that I would love to wear if I can, but I don't want to be denied entry for it. [This one -> https://www.hottopic.com/product/stranger-things-robin-scoops-ahoy-dress/11893439.html]. I wouldn't wear it with the hat, but would that still be considered too much of a costume or would it be okay?

Thanks for any input!
I was at HHN on the 12th and I saw at least 2 people wearing Scoops Ahoy uniforms so you should be fine.
 
Just back. Did HHN on Sunday and did RIP for the first time. It was so awesome - I will always do it. Houses were great. The scarezones were kinda a bust, but still fun.
 
a mini trip report for Sept 18-21

I bought a UOP AP so I could go to parks during the day. And I think I will be back next year so seemed like thing to do. Saved $20 on ROF pass. And got AP rate at Cabana Bay.

Wed Sept 18 - Did Stay and Scream. Got in queue for Ghostbusters a little late, about 5:30 I think, long line ahead. I probably didn't gain much advantage other than I stayed out of the sun. After GB I walked over to hogsmeade in IOA and watched the DeathEaters come out twice and caught the second castle show, so cool! That night I did everything but Killer Klowns and Yeti. No express pass. Including the two shows. I thought everything was outstanding and exceeded my expectations. Stayed till 1AM close.

Thurs Sept 19 - Did Universal parks in the morning. Got on Hagrid's twice! Went to StarWars over at DHS left at 10pm. Due to where I parked at Beach Club I did not leave there until 11pm, drove to Cabana Bay and was at the Studios gate at 12am. So I had one hour no express pass. Did Killer Klowns, Yeti and Ghostbusters before 1AM close.

Friday Sept 20 - Rope dropped Hagrids again. Did a few more things in IOA. Went to the pool. Went to Stranger Things photo op in cabana bay. Went to AK. Left AK after Rivers of Light. Had parked at AKL so got back to US at 10:30. Bought Express Pass. Did Graveyard Games, House of 1000, Us, Yeti, Stranger Things, Killer Klowns, Ghostbusters, Rip Ride Rocket. Grabbed Snack at 2am in Bayliner Diner.

Saturday Sept 21 - Did a few things in IOA and US then headed to airport. I was able to get on Hagrid's one last time thanks to some CM magic.

Transportation to and from Cabana Bay was outstanding. Barely a wait and so close to parks.

Walked over 45 miles during these 4 days.
 
Looking to join someone's private RIP on either oct 19 or 20. There are 3 of us. Is this the only site where people post open slots or are their other places I could post? Thanks
 

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