5 do Florida for the 1st time - October 2018 - Day 13 - Cracker Barrel and HHN RIP Tour

[Milpston]

Index

So this morning we had always planned to do a SeaWorld trip. However Chloe and I were booked to do the RIP Tour at Hallowe'en Horror Nights tonight. Our tour was booked for 19:15 and we just felt with the driving backwards and forwards along the I4 and after a couple of long days it would be too much to try and do today. It was a unanimous decision to have a rest day and cut our time at SeaWorld down to one.

With a relaxed start to the day we decided to go out for breakfast. I had a few places in mind that I had seen reviews of on The Dibb. I'm pretty sure we were planning on going to Bob Evans but ended up missing it due to some questionable navigating from my passengers we ended up at Cracker Barrel on the US27.

It was definitely a more relaxed morning as we arrived here at 10:15. It was almost like we were on holiday!

We made our way through the little store and into the restaurant and were shown to our table.

We were brought our dinks first. We had orange juices and water for the kids.

I remembered seeing the little game on trip reports and soon set about having a go myself.

*The result was as expected and as seen in the picture above.. First /985620time and wondered what the point in that was as it was ridiculously easy

This obviously spurred Cloe and Sally into having a go.

As you can see they both failed miserably. I then said I would show them how it was done. Well I must have had about 10 more goes and didn't get close to just leaving one peg again. I gave up. Sally and Chloe then decided they didn't see me do it the first time but we all know they did.

Benjamin and Emma even had a go.

To our amazement Benjamin managed to complete it on his first attempt! Well... if picking all the pegs up and throwing them on the floor he definitely managed it successfully.

Food arrived after a while.

I had the gammon/ham. It was Ok.

I'm not sure what the others had as I just have the following pictures of their food.

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What is it with the biscuit things? Completely pointless in my opinion.


We also had …. I think they were called 'grits'. Urgh!

Anyway, the food here was OK. It wasn't our favourite and we wouldn't rush to go back but there wasn't anything wrong with it. I can see we spent £52 in here. I recall walking around the little shop afterwards but can't recall if Sally bought anything so I'm not sure if that was just for food or not. However, £50 seems to be about the average of what breakfast out was coming to.

We called into Target to grab something easy for lunch by the pool.

It was a flying visit where we picked up some pizzas and salad etc and we were back for some pool time.

Glorious weather again yet again and I couldn't believe how long ago it felt when we were panicking that we wouldn't be here due to hurricane Michael.

At about 14:30 we had lunch on the deck.

The other reason we called into Target this morning was due to still not getting any Halloween costumes for MNSSHP tomorrow night. We had obviously left it very late and there were pretty slim pickings by now. Sally, Chloe and I had now decided against dressing up... probably my miserable influence. The only costume Emma really wanted was Shimmer and Shine outfit. Despite it not being Disney (I don't think) we bowed to her wishes. We got Benjamin a little Yoda costume.

The next picture I took today was of this.

It was to remind me that this afternoon Sally gave the kids a bath in one of the other bathrooms. When I enquired it was because there was no hot water coming to the bath in our en suite.
I emailed Debra to let her know. It was a bit strange that hot water was fine everywhere else in the villa. Anyway, I thought it best to let Debra know but that it was nothing urgent and wouldn't cause us a problem. I got a swift reply from Debra as usual asking a few more questions and whether it was intermittent etc. I thought I'd best check with Sally and we went into the bathroom so she could show me. As it turns out, the only problem was that there was no hot water coming out of the cold tap. Sally was sure the cold was the hot the day before so unless someone had come in and switched the taps round whilst we were out Sally was mistaken
I quickly sent an apology to Debra to let her know. She must have thought we were seriously thick... not too far from the truth

Chloe and I were off to HHN this evening. This wasn't in our plans at all for a long time due to it not being suitable for the kids. I had a brain wave one day that it would be nice for Sally and Chloe to have a girls night at HHN whilst I have an evening in with the kids. Sally wouldn't go but Chloe really wanted to go. Sally was scarred by an experience in 'Saw - The Maze' at Thorpe Park where she was became hysterical years ago (it was really funny) and so wouldn't go but said I should take her. I didn't really want to split from the kids and wasn't sure how much we could get done in on visit. That's why I decided on The RIP tour so we could see it all in one visit. It was quite expensive but took a punt. We never really got any communication from Universal at the time and didn't even have anything of use to print out to take with us. Whilst we had been away I had finally received an email from them with some instructions of where to go etc.

We weren't sure how long it would take us to get to Universal at this time of day. Sally had planned a nice quiet evening with the kids at the villa with some snacks and movies and a nice bottle of wine for her. Chloe and I set off at 16:45 to head to Universal. The I4 was really busy but no solid traffic jams. I felt we were a little up against it timewise for most of the journey but it worked out fine.


I followed he instructions on the email and arrived at the Valet parking in plenty of time. Valet parking was included as part of the RIP tour and it was nice to not have to go to the Universal car parks at all on this trip and it save most of the trek along the moving walkways to the parks. We pulled up at the valet parking, handed our keys over and took our receipt.

We were soon walking along City Walk towards Universal Studios.

We had to go to an entrance over to the right for the special events. It was only 17:55 now and it was 18:30 official opening. It was nice to just walk around the normal queue and head into a different entrance.

I showed them my email and we were invited inside to a small room where we checked in at the desk. We were provided with a park entry ticket and a n RIP lanyard which we would need to check in for the RIP tour.

We were way too excited to have our lanyards.

Within a few minutes we were shown out of the back door and into the park where the main queue was filtering in.

The queues for the more highly anticipated houses like Stranger Things and poltergeist were already shown as being pretty lengthy.

I decided that we had time to have a look at couple of the scare zones before checking into Café La Bamba. Chloe wasn't keen on this idea as I think she thought there would be safety in numbers being in our tour group. I didn't give her much choice and we had a wander anyway... OK I dragged her along.

Just near to Café La Bamba was the 'Twisted Tradition Scare Zone' so we had a walk through there and back again.

We then had a walk into the 'Revenge of Chucky' scare zone which was nearby. The Scare Actors don't touch you but they do get very close and jump towards you as you pass them or they sneak up behind you or chase you if they get the chance.

This girl was actually an amputee at the elbow on one of her arms but I never got a decent photo.

I was playing it cool while Chloe was pretty much hanging on to me as we were walking through. I think she was starting to wonder if she had bitten off more than she could chew. As I was trying to get a photo of one of another one of the Scareactors another one jumped out from nowhere and made be jump out of my skin. I almost threw my phone across the park. She then approached Chloe and said something to the effect of, "I don't think he's going to be able to protect you". It was really funny apart from the fact Chloe was doing a bit of Facebook Live so a couple of friends and Sally could follow along a little.


It was no time to head into Café La Bamba for our tour.

We checked in at the entrance and were told the name of our tour guide to look out for.

There was a complimentary buffet and drinks laid on. Unfortunately I didn't get many pictures but there were some lovely themed sweet treats and some hot items. We hadn't long eaten really which was a shame. The mini Beef Wellingtons were lovely so I did go back for more of those... a few times

This lady was walking around inside keeping people on their toes whilst they ate.

It wasn't long before were herded together by our tour guide. I can't remember his name but the more I think about it I think I was even getting in wrong on the night.

If I had known the dress code I may have followed suit!

There were 12 of us in our group and we were led round for the night by our guide. We were told at the start that there was no photography allowed in any of the houses and as he would be taking us on lots of shortcuts that included areas not open to the public that no photography was allowed when we were back stage.
<y photography for the rest of the night was almost nothing as there wasn't really the opportunity and it was nice to just enjoy it.

When we came out we were soon saw the scare actors with chain saws marauding around. I thought these were awesome due to the noise from the chain saws and the screams around them whenever they were around.

I have no idea what order we did the houses in but we had done 5 by the time we had our break. Chloe was really funny. Literally as soon as we got near the entrance to a house she pretty stuck to me. I swear if I was wearing shoes one size bigger she would have been wearing them with me. She would also continually circle me as we walked through the houses to try and get away from the scare actors. I felt like I could hardly walk without tripping over her. The houses were really well done. Our guide would walk us to the front of the queue. The Cm at the front of the queue would halt the main queue and we would just walk straight in.

Our break was at a bar that was just open for us. We walked in got a drink and had a bit of peace and quiet from the rest of the crowds. We then stood out on the terrace so I could enjoy a couple of smokes with my beer and watch people being chased down the street by chain saws

After Our break we were taken to The Academy Of Villains Shown. We were shown to reserved seats central at the front just before the show started.

The show was basically a dance act. It was ok. Chloe really enjoyed it but I thought it was a bit like every other 'Britain's Got Talent' type dance act you see dozens of on the tv every year. Probably a bit harsh really but I was happy enough when it was done.

After the show we did the It other 5 houses and the rest of the scare zones we hadn't seen. It was so lovely just being walked past all the queues and getting those filthy looks of everyone that had been waiting for hours at times

This rubbish picture gives you an idea of the queues and how we were just guided down the side of them.

Before each house and scare zone our guide would bring us together and give us the backstory of what we were about to see which really added to the enjoyment.

The last two houses we did were poltergeist and Stranger Things which I thought were both awesome. In fact I enjoyed all of the houses. I don't scare easily but I am jumpy which is a bit of a recipe for disaster at these things.

By just before midnight all of the queues were pretty sizeable.

Once we had finished the tour we had another little wander through a couple of the scare zones... much to Chloe's disgust. Some were really good. Chiucky was hilarious. The Killer Klowns from outer space one was pretty rubbish as there was nothing scary about it. A coupe of pictures from our wander

After our tour ended we went and had a ride on Rip Ride Rockit. The RIP passes doubled as express passes for the rides that were open. It was nice to do this one again at night. The park was open until 2 but we wee quite happy with our night's work left quite a bit earlier.

We walked back to the valet parking. Handed over our ticket which we earlier had endorsed at the RIP check in, waited a few minutes for our car to be delivered, tipped them and left. We arrived back at the villa at 00:45 so not too bad at all. The only annoying thing is the Valet had changed my radio station and the sat nav settings in the car and it took me days to get it back to how I wanted I

My summary of HHN is that I think, from what I have read, it has now got a bit too popular. Each house you go through in a continuous moving chain of people. It meant you could see a lot of the scares coming. It didn't stop you getting frights as actors popped out in different places all the time but if they let much smaller groups win with gap between them it could be amazing. Having said that the queues would be utterly ridiculous if they did it like that.

The RIP tour was exceptional. It was a true VIP experience where you did everything HHN had to offer in one night with no queueing and you were well looked after. From memory this was one of the cheaper nights to do it in our 3 week holiday and it was just over £450 for Chloe and I. It was some of the best money spent on our holiday and I wouldn't hesitate to do it again if I could find the cash. I honestly couldn't see the fun in standing in 2 hour plus queues for some of the houses and I don't think I would do it without the RIP tour. We had a great night and if asked I think Chloe would say it was her favourite park outing of the holiday.

It would have been lovely to have had Sally there too but it's certainly not for young children. We did manage to face time Sally during the 2 breaks we had though and she was enjoying her quiet night in with the kids. It gave us the opportunity to get a feel for a bit of the atmosphere which was really good. Maybe another year when the kids have moved out and Sally and I are about 80

[Milpston]

Edited as I somehow managed to post this when I was only half way through writing it initially!

[DisneyDaffodil]

HHN looked so scary, great fun though. The vip tour seems a good idea, although it’s pricey. Poor Chloe stuck close to you, I’m sure my daughter Georgia would be the same, except if it were just the two of us we would be clinging to each other in fear 😀

[Milpston]

Originally Posted by DisneyDaffodil

HHN looked so scary, great fun though. The vip tour seems a good idea, although it’s pricey. Poor Chloe stuck close to you, I’m sure my daughter Georgia would be the same, except if it were just the two of us we would be clinging to each other in fear 😀

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We both really enjoyed it. It was something different for us. Although pricey I would actually say it was one of the best value things we did on the trip. I would definitely consider it again. Having said that if it was ever for 5 of us I may just skip paying out that kind of money for one night!

[caitlinsmummy]

Way to go Benjamin ... that would have been my tactic too

Oh my word poor Sally, I'm sure Debra had a good laugh about it.

So jealous of HHN, I love horror things but there's no way Mr Grump would have let me go on my own Sounds like the actors are fab at their jobs.

Walking past all the people waiting sounds fab I loved doing that in the FP or Express queue lines I didn't even realise they did a 'VIP' for HHN, definitely sounds like my cup of tea!

I know what you mean with the scare houses, it's very similar at Alton Towers now too. No fun following a line of people through a maze as it's mainly the first or last that get the most scares.

You definitely need to do it again in a few years! Sounds like an amazing day and night xx

[Milpston]

Originally Posted by caitlinsmummy

Way to go Benjamin ... that would have been my tactic too

Oh my word poor Sally, I'm sure Debra had a good laugh about it.

So jealous of HHN, I love horror things but there's no way Mr Grump would have let me go on my own Sounds like the actors are fab at their jobs.

Walking past all the people waiting sounds fab I loved doing that in the FP or Express queue lines I didn't even realise they did a 'VIP' for HHN, definitely sounds like my cup of tea!

I know what you mean with the scare houses, it's very similar at Alton Towers now too. No fun following a line of people through a maze as it's mainly the first or last that get the most scares.

You definitely need to do it again in a few years! Sounds like an amazing day and night xx

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I came close to doing the same as Benjamin on my further attempts! I think Debra just thought we were very thick which wouldn't be too far wrong

As an experience I would definitely recommend HHN and the RIP Tour was brilliant for us having the guarantee of getting it all done in a night. They really looked after us.

I'm sure we will do it again when the kids are older if we ever go back at that time of year

[Tetrarch]

Originally Posted by Milpston

I came close to doing the same as Benjamin on my further attempts! I think Debra just thought we were very thick which wouldn't be too far wrong

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I'm just catching up on your trip report but have to comment here to say I didn't think anything of the sort! Believe you me, us villa owners are very used to receiving all kinds of weird and wonderful emails and questions/queries. This particular one had us baffled though and we were glad to find out quite quickly that nothing was wrong.

Debra

[Milpston]

Originally Posted by Tetrarch

I'm just catching up on your trip report but have to comment here to say I didn't think anything of the sort! Believe you me, us villa owners are very used to receiving all kinds of weird and wonderful emails and questions/queries. This particular one had us baffled though and we were glad to find out quite quickly that nothing was wrong.

Debra

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Oh I’m sure you get some great messages! However, this would definitely take some beating in the stupidity stakes 😂🤪

[Goldia]

I'm not sure if I'd love or hate the hhn, I'm a real scaredy cat. One day we will have to give it a go. It sounds like you made the right choice in the end to sack off Seaworld in the morning. The pool looked lots of fun.

[Milpston]

Originally Posted by Goldia

I'm not sure if I'd love or hate the hhn, I'm a real scaredy cat. One day we will have to give it a go. It sounds like you made the right choice in the end to sack off Seaworld in the morning. The pool looked lots of fun.

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I would recommend it even if only as a one off. We really enjoyed it.
I think we definitely got it right on this holiday by, despite having loads planned, if we felt we needed a rest we had one. It made it feel like we never did too much to it.