Halloween Horror Nights

[fredflintstone]

All over now for another year and I might be getting old but had my first taste of this on the last night. The queues for the houses were around the 90-120 min mark and the park was packed. Not sure if this was because of the last Bill and Ted show. I was glad we had booked the VIP tour. Our tour was at 7.30 and went on till about 12.15. The park was open until 1.00 but we decided against doing any rides even though we had fast passes. They laid on some nice food for the reception prior to the VIP. We did 4 houses before going to the bar area posters have mentioned but were only there for 20 mins before heading to Bill & Ted. And I enjoyed the show. A little wait for this but then on to the other 5 houses and finish of the scare zones which we had also done on park entry. We did stop off for Men in Black during the tour. Our tour guide had previously been one of the dancers in the scare zone and was very enthusiatic on the houses history etc. Just walking to each of the houses and the queue being held whilst we entered gave a slightly guilty feeling but seeing some 'fast pass' people complaning why we were getting in took away some of the guilt as I know what it is like in the normal queue to see fast pass go past you We did use some back lot routes to get to the houses which was mentioned but we also went through the normal park routes many times and all of the scare zones so I really enjoyed the mix.

Due to being one of those people who if took the warning advice on the rides would not be able to ride anything I was a little worried I might get a few heart stopping moments but I thought it was a little lame on the scare side. Knowing it is no touch gives a calming influence as you get older. As it was like a prosession you could often see what was going to happen next and I had no scare incidents although a few in our group seem to get scared easily whih helped with the atmosphere. Plenty of ushers to make sure you kept moving which due to the queue sizes made sence but reduced the suspence. DD loved it though and said many times better than any UK one (Thorpe Park etc).

Really happy we went for the VIP passes because at 4.45hrs of tour with only a 20 min break (which we would have done anyway) meant that we would not have got through all the houses if we had just gone with fast passes. Even if I had a few nights to do it rather than 1 I think I'd do the VIP tour again. This front of line rather than express pass was a massive bonus that allowed us to do every house with no queue fatigue.

Being the last night they were also selling the T-shirts off cheaply at the exit.

[Gillybean08]

We also did the rip tour on the 3rd Nov and it was very busy still despite being after Halloween. So glad we did the tour as I was nervous after reading some negative reviews. We had a 7.30 tour booked, seperate entrance to enter the park just before the masses at 6.30. We wondered around the scare zones for 40 minutes, loved the trick or treat section, then checked in for our tour. Good selection of hot buffet food and free water and coke bottles. We started our tour with two scare zones then 3 houses, toilet break, another house, drink break but only 15 minutes. We then went to ride Escape from Gringotts. Loved the fact Kreacher was pearing out of the window at Grimauld Place! The tour guide mentioned it was my sons 14th birthday and the rest of the group who were in a band together from all over the US made a fuss over him it was a great touch. We watched Bill & Ted, had another quick drink stop and went on The Mummy ride before doing the last 5 houses with a quick drink break before the final house. The normal queues were huge even at the very end of the night, so glad we did it this way! The houses were great but I wouldn't queue like they were that night as you really aren't in them all that long. My feet were sooo tired by the end of the night so we had a quick drink when the tour was over in Diagon Alley which was relatively quiet and great after dark. Great experience and I am a wuss! My DS loved it 😊

[Wembleygal]

I did the 7:15 PM RIP tour on the 31st. It finished around 12:15 (so I missed my free shuttle bus back to my hotel). We stopped off twice for about 10 minutes each for a drink / loo break.

Sadly, I had a really annoying guy on my tour who just would not shut up.

I would liked to have spent more than 30 minutes at the pre-tour reception.

Other than that, it was an enjoyable night, but I could have done without having to do a ride in the middle of it. We were also offered a ride at the end, but by the time, I was shattered.

Ash was my fav.

[RandomBunny]

Gosh it sounds like queues are massive towards the end of the run, vip sounds like a must! That said, I loved going early in the season and having a good few visits whilst it was quieter. We did each house twice and I'm glad we did as most felt different each time. The timings of scares and people around you really does make a difference. I thought my florida trip would be a once off but I loved HHN so much I'd love to visit again! That and Busch Gardens as it's supposed to be even better.

Question - is diagon alley always a calm haven for horror nights or do they ever have death eaters and dementors? It felt like a missed opportunity this year.

[JediMuM]

I haven't been on as much as usual this year as just been mega busy but I had to come on to say a BIG CONGRATES to Christopher Ripley .. well done hun .. gotta say I love the books .. always a must read before any trip !

[Wembleygal]

Originally Posted by RandomBunny

Gosh it sounds like queues are massive towards the end of the run, vip sounds like a must! That said, I loved going early in the season and having a good few visits whilst it was quieter. We did each house twice and I'm glad we did as most felt different each time. The timings of scares and people around you really does make a difference. I thought my florida trip would be a once off but I loved HHN so much I'd love to visit again! That and Busch Gardens as it's supposed to be even better.

Question - is diagon alley always a calm haven for horror nights or do they ever have death eaters and dementors? It felt like a missed opportunity this year.

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It is a gift that Diagon Alley is even opened during HHN. I don't think Joanne Rowling would allow anything too scary.

[babekel]

Hi all,

I have just planned our next trip to Orlando in 2018 and wondered if there was any news on when HHN '18 will start? Will this be towards the end of Sept '18 as usual? I am crossing everything, hoping it does!

[Wobbles]

Merry Christmas to all our fellow HHN nuts

[StorybookCircus]

Originally Posted by Wobbles

Merry Christmas to all our fellow HHN nuts

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I think you mean Gruss Von Krampus

[JediMuM]

Eeee I'm proper excited .. now booked for HHN Hollywood in September then HHN Orlando in October .. gonna be a busy few weeks but never done Hollywood before ... anyone have experience of how this compares to Orlando ?

Lisa x