Oh the Horror - Finally! Oct 22

[Rescuer]

Oh the horror - finally!

I don’t know if it’s bad patter to have 2 pre trip reports running at one 😳. If so I apologise and please forgive me but this will be a very different trip for us and will be all about the Halloween and I am so so excited about this!

Finally, fingers crossed, this will be our very first trip for HHN. Something we’ve talked about for a while and now Ds will be old enough it’s hopefully a reality. 🤞

We were booked for October 2021 but this was obviously cancelled due to Covid. 😒

Cast

Me - loves a wee horror movie but also a big feardie at heart so might actually spend my time crying in a corner.

Dh - will watch with me but can take it or leave it. Does love universal though and it keen to see how well they do this event.

Ds - typical teen. Universal is cool, horror is cooler. He’s been dipping his toe into the genre having discovered that teen horror actually makes books enjoyable. Working through a large list of movies and series with me. His favourites so far are the Conjuring movies, zombie land, fear street and all of us are dead.

We are all super excited though to experience something so unique in our favourite place.

The day British Airways cancelled the October 2021 I thought I’d check out virgin holidays just to get an idea of prices, they’d just switched from Glasgow to Edinburgh flights and I was curious of the astronomical cost they’d be looking for.

They fly out on a Saturday but fly back on a Friday and as I only have a weeks school holidays it would mean a 6 night trip. Crazy?

Nah. I don’t know what was going on but the price it popped up with I’d have been happy to pay especially as I really wanted the Hard Rock for the duration of our stay. I got the flying club discount and waited all of about 30 seconds to decide to book.

So direct flights from our local airport for the first time ever, a pool view hard rock room ( all they offered) and home on the Saturday morning with the Sunday to relax before going back to work. What was not too love!

Hard Rock Hotel

When we were booked for October 21 I had booked Aventura which we loved. The more I read about the amount of walking during HHN and the times the parks closed the more I thought that Hard Rock would be an ideal location for a HHN trip.

Also with just a 6 night trip I wasn’t up for any of our split stay plans which we normally love.

We stayed at Hard Rock in February and the building work wasn’t great but that should be done by the time we are back.

To be fair I find it really hard to settle on a universal hotel as they are all amazing in their own way. I didn’t check prices for any of the other resorts on this occasion as I felt the overall price for what I’d class as my bucket list HHN trip was in my budget.

We are normally in a standard or garden view room, I’m not fussed about the fact it’s a pool view but I’m sure it will be nice. Hopefully not too noisy with the music after our late nights mind.

Hopefully we can fit it a bit of pool chilling time as I do like the pool there. We won’t be doing the Kitchen breakfast, as good as it is it doesn’t suit me in the slightest at the moment.

Parks, Tickets and Events

Annual passes for Universal - 2 park.

HHN tickets are on sale but I think the multi night ones will be a better deal for us as we would like to do 3 nights. Sunday, Wednesday and Thursday. So frequent fear is what I’m hanging on for.

We have gone round and round on the best way to do this. Considered it’s our first time. Ds might find it a bit intense, how we will cope with very late nights at the start of the trip etc and came to the conclusion we’d either do a RIP tour with our frequent fear or buy the frequent fear with express.

At the moment I’m fairly set we will go with frequent fear and express so we can take things at our own pace and re do some of our favourite houses over the 3 nights.

Unmasking the horror tour- we have looked at this a few times and thought it sounded great. They do 3 or 6 house tour during the day with the lights on. Talking you through how it was created, Easter eggs and letting you take pictures in some rooms.

This is something Dh was really keen to do and I think it would be really interesting, Ds would find this fascinating as well. I’ve booked the 3 house tour at $80 each for the Wednesday morning. So hopefully we will have been through the 3 houses on the Sunday night and then have the opportunity to do them again on the Wednesday or Thursday after learning more about them.

MNSSHP or Boo Bash

Hoping Disney release some sort of Halloween event and that we can fit it in on the Monday or Tuesday night. It might balance out the gore 😂. We’d just Uber back and forth on the night. Seems a shame to be there in October and not see Disney’s offerings as well. Years ago we did the Halloween Party at Disneyland Paris and had great fun.

No clue when we are fitting in any normal park time 😂 or rides. We are supposed to land at 2.30pm on the Saturday so IOA hopefully that night to see the dark arts castle show and death eaters if they are doing that and a wee Velocicoaster in the dark of course.

[WIGGYSMUM]

Really looking forward to this and I’m for as many pre-trips that are available to read
I love that you are getting to fly direct from your local airport too 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻
Emma x

[Goldia]

I reckon you're allowed as many pre trips as you have trips planned! Sounds like you found a too good to miss out on deal for October. DH loves horror I'm more like your DH and can take or leave it. He's been happily educating our kids in horror franchises. He loves the conjuring movies you mentioned. We're currently watching Aliens, this one that I enjoyed when I was younger so I'm not unhappy to re watch them.

Anyway, I hope you have a brilliant time in October and that Disney have some sort of Halloween party that way you will get to enter one of the parks this year.

A x

[disneywiseowl]

Sounds good. I did a 7day trip once - just Universal - & really enjoyed it. In a way it was more relaxing than the usual longer hols because we weren’t trying to fit in too much.
My DD absolute loves the RIP tours & says she’d rather do 1 night RIP, then 2/3 nights without as it’s so busy. But I do think there’s an element of being spoiled though. Lol.

She’s going on Sept 29th so I can report back (before you go) if you’d like?

[Rescuer]

Originally Posted by WIGGYSMUM

Really looking forward to this and I’m for as many pre-trips that are available to read
I love that you are getting to fly direct from your local airport too 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻
Emma x

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Thanks. I wasn’t sure if it was a bit show offy. A local flight will be such a novelty. We had such a rubbish time coming home via Heathrow with BA in Feb and I’m a bit apprehensive about the summer with the amount of domestic flights to Heathrow they seem to be cancelling.

Originally Posted by Goldia

I reckon you're allowed as many pre trips as you have trips planned! Sounds like you found a too good to miss out on deal for October. DH loves horror I'm more like your DH and can take or leave it. He's been happily educating our kids in horror franchises. He loves the conjuring movies you mentioned. We're currently watching Aliens, this one that I enjoyed when I was younger so I'm not unhappy to re watch them.

Anyway, I hope you have a brilliant time in October and that Disney have some sort of Halloween party that way you will get to enter one of the parks this year.

A x

See more...

Thanks. Oh aliens, I’d forgotten about that. I have done old school classics saved up for him like an American werewolf in London and the original poltergeist which I must have watched around his age.

Definitely hoping for an after hours in the summer or a Halloween thing to see a bit Disney.

Originally Posted by disneywiseowl

Sounds good. I did a 7day trip once - just Universal - & really enjoyed it. In a way it was more relaxing than the usual longer hols because we weren’t trying to fit in too much.
My DD absolute loves the RIP tours & says she’d rather do 1 night RIP, then 2/3 nights without as it’s so busy. But I do think there’s an element of being spoiled though. Lol.

She’s going on Sept 29th so I can report back (before you go) if you’d like?

See more...

The RIP tours look amazing. I am a bit unsure of it would be too intense for Ds to do all 10 houses and the scare zones in one night. Maybe next time 😂

I’d love to hear all about it before we go. I hope she has a great time. Thanks so much.

[Excitedx4]

Told you 2 pre trippies were fine 😉 bring on the October half term 🎃✈️👻

[Rescuer]

Update- Looks like we will fit in a little Disney disneyparks.disney.go/bl...ort-this-fall/

A MNSSHP no less will be on on the Tuesday night. Happy days.
Wonder if Tron will be open by thenn😂

[Sparksy72]

That is always so nice to know that even after your summer trip you still have another one planned! I take my hat off to you, I don’t do anything remotely scary. The boys get cross with me because if I’m watching a film and it starts to get a bit frightening I fast forward it. 😂 The Hard Rock is lovely and close, so that should save your legs after a long day in the parks. Also some great planning if you can fit MNSSHP in as well, that is way more my level of Horror! 😂 I’m looking forward to following along. Xx

[Goldia]

I bet Tron will be open. I reckon they will do everything they can to open it within the 50th celebrations. Great news on the Halloween party for your trip.

[OB1LukeLucas]

You can have as many pre-trips as possible for me …I think I have talked myself back out of the possible holiday I can’t be bothered with the will they won’t they BA situation either and of course the 10 week wait for a passport scenario is not swaying it
I’m excited for your October trip I think it’s my favourite time to visit so far-I much prefer the weather it’s just pleasant compared to sweltering in the Summer We have never done any HHN the girls are still too young/couldn’t cope (not to mention me ) but we love a bit of Halloween Disney style! You will feel a bit spoilt flying direct especially on the way home-I’m sure we got blown back to Newcastle in 6.5 hours