Howl o Scream worth going to?

cameroon95 · 18 May 18, 12:32 PM

Hi Guys,

I love HHN but I have never been to busch gardens howl o scream.

This time around we were thinking of driving up to do busch gardens then stay in a hotel nearby so we can go to howl o scream.

How is it in comparison to HHN?

Is it worth staying around for?

Many thanks

chaddymatt · 18 May 18, 01:30 PM

We go to HHN every year and also HOS as well. It's pretty different in the fact it's a lot quieter and much more intimate. BG usually do a cheap ticket for a day to get park entry after 5pm, so you can do a few rides beforehand and it's pretty good value ($30 iirc). I would recommend.

Whitequeen · 18 May 18, 05:51 PM

We do HHN & HoS and I much prefer HoS as it's not so crowded. I would highly recommend.

disjunkie · 19 May 18, 08:17 AM

We�ve done HOS twice and really enjoyed it. As they repeat houses we go every few years but it�s much less crowded than HHN and they tend to pulse the lines so it hasn�t been as conga lineish so more scary. The theming on some of the houses has been excellent in the last couple of years. motel hell last year was my favourite house and beat most of the HHN houses in terms of scares and amazing theming. Definitely worth a visit if you enjoy HHN.

Forkbeard · 19 May 18, 11:42 AM

HoS is way better imo.

We did it for the first time last year having done HHN many times.

The room layouts can be large and non-linear. They feed in guests in groups, rather than a conga line like HHN. The scare actors are much better at getting the most out of you, and especially in the outdoor zones.

Don't believe the hype about it being quiet. It's true it is a little less crowded for the first hour, but it becomes packed very quickly. Best advice I can give is buy the express passes, they were super cheap as I recall. Last year we picked a day that was less busy and had other significant events happening, sporting events on the box as I recall. The staff were saying it's going to be empty... not a chance. It was so packed we couldn't do everything, admittedly we didn't have the express passes, and by the time we realised we'd messed up by not buying them, we'd done enough and some of us were exhausted.

Not all houses are equal, get a feel for the houses with past reviews of similar houses.

**Wobbles** · 21 May 18, 01:31 PM

We also prefer it.

They do a Fright Feast option, which gives you front of the line pass to all the houses before 8pm and a meal for about $30. You get to go into the houses before they even open to general public and it is possible to be the only ones let in to a house at time using this option.

We go a couple of times each year

Forkbeard · 21 May 18, 02:02 PM

Originally Posted by Wobbles

We also prefer it.

They do a Fright Feast option, which gives you front of the line pass to all the houses before 8pm and a meal for about $30. You get to go into the houses before they even open to general public and it is possible to be the only ones let in to a house at time using this option.

We go a couple of times each year

I wish we'd done this.

I was sceptical about how good HoS was, and it turned out to be excellent.

We were told it would be empty, and it wasn't.

What made it worse is that BG was ridiculously empty before HoS began. A couple of us rode Sheikra, over and over. In fact the staff allowed us to stay up top and not have to keep coming down and going back up again via the normal route.

All in all I got to see and do a lot and that was great, but it was somewhat frustrating to queue for over an hour for the last house of our visit, and then discover that the express passes were so cheap at the gate

josie112 · 21 May 18, 03:11 PM

Haven't been since 2014 but really enjoyed it. As most posts have stated is different from HHN and does feel more intimate. If you go, don't expect a HHN 'clone' and you won't be disappointed.

Shooby doo · 22 May 18, 09:11 AM

Well worth going to & also worth the Fright Feast if you are going all day anyway! Be warned, not sure they still do, but they basically use the whole park, including the train,so there is a lot of walking. Doing the coasters in the dark is also excellent. We haven't been for a couple of years, as they weren't changing the Houses enough but as others I'd say as good if not better than HHN.
SD