HHNH Planning & Tips (The 2014 Edition)

[DTH316]

Looks like some people are already planning their trips to HHN Hollywood this year. With tickets soon to go on sale, it's about time we make this thread!

For those who don't know, every year we reveal our secrets, tips, and etc. to help newcomers and fellow members figure out their game plan for the evening. In all honesty, going to HHN is not um, a walk in the park. If you want to experience absolutely EVERYTHING, you're going to need to follow a very strict game plan. It's not a place you can just walk into and expect to see every maze. There is a STRATEGY.

I will start... and I will explain each thing in detail. I will bold the most important parts, but the detail will be for those who are VERY SERIOUS about their Haunting and WHY it must be done that way.

I want to first start this off by saying you do not need a Front of the Line pass or VIP to experience everything. If you want to be a bit lazy and not worry about seeing everything, then sure, but if you want to save LOTS of money just by hustling and doing some research, you can EASILY see everything with a general admission ticket.

If you want to see some of the things that Universal Studios has to offer during the day time, then I recommend a Day & Night Combo ticket. This comes in handy if you're with people who want to do the rides or of course see some of the shows or the Studio Tour (shows & ST are NOT available at HHN). Doing these during the day will get them out of the way at night and save you even MORE time (my game plan INCLUDES the rides and it has worked every year).

In fact, the Day & Night Combo ticket is about $20-40 cheaper than a Front of the Line pass and you would get to be at the park ALL DAY with it and will see EVERYTHING if you follow my game plan. On the same accord, if you picked two cheap days to go to just HHN, that would STILL cost less than a FOL pass. With an FOL pass, you only get entry into the mazes/rides ONCE, while two separate trips while following my game plan would obviously be twice or more.

Now that I think about it, buying a FOL pass would be pretty stupid unless you have a good reason for why you need one. Anyway, here we go...

GENERAL INFO:

- Keep your group as small as possible. I know it's fun to go with your buddies, but the sad reality is, the more people there are, the more you'll get slowed down. Everyone has a different agenda, will want different things at different times, and sometimes there's silly drama. Since I've been taking people for awhile, I've successfully done this with a group of about 12 (with a group of additional people who weren't with the game plan coming later, making a group of about 20). But I've realized for me, I should keep it at an 8. If you're new to leading a group, start with 2 - 4.

- Be sure to go with people who know what to expect. If you bring a big cry baby, you'll have a tough time dragging them through the scare zones and into the mazes. Also, explain your strategy beforehand. I recommend doing that DAYS before you go, so they know about the Early Access situation (we'll get to that in a moment) and everything else. Don't even invite people who are wishy washy, "oh, I get out of work late," "maybe," and all that. Get a group of DOWN friends and just say "we're trying to keep the group small" if someone else asks to join you. It sucks, but if you want to do this, do it RIGHT. And I know it's weird, but if you have friends who are inviting people you don't know, INTERROGATE THEM! Sometimes your friend will spring on you at the last second some crap about the person they're bringing that'll totally ruin everything, like "oh, they gotta go home at 11." In fact, I even recommend taking separate cars and only getting there with the people you really know. Sometimes you'll be with someone who can't handle their shit and will do something stupid, like God forbid, punch a scare actor and they'll get kicked out of the park. If that happens, at least now you don't have to drive them home.

- Buy your tickets in advance. The event generally sells out. I recommend buying at least 3 - 5 days before hand, especially to plan for the final total of people in your group. There's sometimes a weird "airline" like situation with the price of the tickets. Sometimes it goes up, sometimes down, depending on different factors. However, to stay on the safe side, buy early.

- If you can, go on a Thursday or Sunday when the park is not so crowded. Since the Terror Tram closes early, park capacity is less, so lines inevitably won't be so bad.

- If you absolutely have to attend a Friday or Saturday, DO NOT GO during peak season where it's most crowded AND most expensive. Peak season this year will be: Oct 17th, 18th, 24th, 25th. Since Halloween lands on a Friday this year, I'd avoid that too, but that's just my hunch.

- Buy a souvenir cup and get 99 cent refills. Towards the end of the run, they usually do deals, like buy 1 or 2 and get one free.

- Be sure to grab a map! It's always nice to know where you're going and any additional info.

- Use the universalstudioshollywood.com mobile app or website to track wait times for attractions. This will save you time instead of searching for a wait time board. You can also use this BEFORE you go to track wait times on certain nights and see their average lines so you can have an idea of what to expect.

- The park is split into three sections this year --

Upper Lot (Face Off, Dracula, Terror Tram, [Despicable Me, The Simpsons])

Lower Lot (American Werewolf in London, original maze, [Jurassic Park in the Dark, Transformers, The Mummy Ride])

Backlot (The Walking Dead, Alien vs. Predator, From Dusk Till Dawn)

- I mention a lot of this because a lot of this has actually happened to me or has happened to someone I know who didn't go with me. These are all in the realm of a reality and don't think for a second it won't happen to you. PREPARE FOR THE WORST and HOPE FOR THE BEST. Also, I know this is a STRICT guideline, but don't a drill sergeant to your friends about it. It's a back pocket advice kinda thing that if you study well enough, when your friends ask "where to next, captain?" You can easily reply or at least politely tell them, "just a sec, let me look." Speaking of which, you may want to download, print, or commit this page to memory. If you're there and totally forget what to do next, chances are you might make ONE wrong step and be completely SOL. At HHN, so much as going to the bathroom at the wrong time can really jeopardize everything.

1) ARRIVE EARLY - BETWEEN 4:30 - 5:30. THE EVENT STARTS AT 7.

This is probably the most important thing to understand, but you not only must be there on time, but in fact, very early. Most people see that it starts at 7 and plan to arrive AT 7. But what ends up happening is you hit Los Angeles traffic, have to wait to get into the parking structure, find a parking spot, most likely walk across City Walk, wait in security check, wait in line to get in and by than, it very well could be as late as 9 PM. If you do this, I promise you, you will not see everything. Even if you're 20 minutes late, I cannot guarantee you'll see everything. So be there EARLY. Enjoy the City Walk, have dinner, get drinks, shop, whatever -- just be there EARLY. Then, go to the far left for the security check in - there is usually NO line over there since people just stop at the first ones they see at the right. [If you want to shop, the Universal Store just outside the gates has basically everything inside the park, so get your souvenirs now instead of during your time in the park, and also you can take your bag back to the car so you won't have to carry it with you later -- HHN has NO re-entry.] Then, get in the line to enter HHN by 5:45 - 6. This next part has to be split into two, depending on what you want to see --

1B) EARLY ACCESS - PICK THIS!

Early access gets you onto the backlot mazes before park opening, generally around 6:30, an entire half an hour before the park even OPENS. The line is to the RIGHT of the entrance near Waterworld. If you can't find it, ask someone, because it is IMPERATIVE that you find it. It takes a good 20 minutes to even get to the backlot which is why this is very useful. You have to walk across the park, down the Starway escalator, across the lower lot, get on trams, and be dropped off, so it takes quite awhile. There are THREE mazes down there this year. There is another early access route that will take you to the Terror Tram. Trust me when I say this is a bit of a waste of time. The line for it never gets that bad - so being the first to get to the backlot to do 3 whole mazes before the rest of the park gets there at around, say 7:20, will be a Godsend as you'll probably be on your way back to the main part of the park by than. I can not stress this enough, but DO EARLY ACCESS. If someone suggests doing the Terror Tram instead, SLAP THEM. It's also important to note, that if you're late to Early Access, even if it's only 6:32, it will close up and you're stuck with regular entry. Again, BE EARLY. If you're smart, and will do early access, you can skip to number 2. (However, I suggest you read the rest, in the event you're not lucky enough to do this)

1C) OPENING SCARAMONIES.

If you want to see the opening scaramonies, being there early is the only way to see it. A line will often accumulate and getting there too late will ruin your chances of seeing or hearing pretty much anything. You are let into the park and stopped before NY Street (you'll basically be in front of the House of Horrors/Face Off maze). Opening scaramonies isn't a well known thing to the masses and mainly only to the fans or the punctual -- it's RIGHT BEFORE the park opens. A cast of characters come out, announce the park is open, and all the scare actors run at you with chainsaws revving while flames shoot up in the air and a barker taunts you. It's a pretty intense experience, especially since you'll be in a very big crowd like cattle. Unless you're right up front, it'll take you a few minutes to get out of it, but it's sometimes worth it. This year, the Opening Scaramonies is themed to the Purge. If you do the Early Access route and follow my game plan, you won't see The Purgers until much later in the night until around midnight. Oh, and there's go-go dancers in regular entry. If you're a pervert, you won't want to miss that. I didn't even see them last year because they're gone by around midnight. So if you're a WEIRDO and absolutely HAVE TO see The Purgers and your go-go dancers early in the day, then regular entry is the way to go. Personally, I'd rather do early access, but I know some people LOVE THIS. I just watch it on YouTube and I'm fine with that. After this is over, rush and do the rest of this game plan (skip to number 2).

1D) OR LAMELY BE THERE LATE. IN THAT EVENT, THIS IS WHAT YOU DO.

Sometimes you're screwed and you come late - it inevitably might happen to you and you might be crying and saying, "but the game plan thread said now we won't see anything!" Well, kinda true, but don't worry - your night isn't completely lost yet. You are going to miss some things, but first things first, if you want to at least attempt seeing everything, understand seeing any of the rides is now out of the question. And you'll have to pick one or two things you can live without seeing. This is actually not the best thing to do since mazes will often surprise you, but it is what it is. Now, I still recommend you pretty much follow the game plan below anyway. It'll still work for the most part. However, if you're reading this still, I assume it's because you're the type of person who can't get places early and I want to enforce how important it is that you not be that person THE NIGHT YOU GO. Let's just say you don't get there at 7, maybe at 8. An hour late? Not bad, right? WRONG. You'll look at the time board and see the mazes are about 20-40 minutes each and say, "hey, not bad!" Now, you get to your first maze, and by the time you get out, it'll be about 8:50-9. Look at the time board, lines are about 40 - 60 minutes each." Hey, not bad! Wrong! (You getting the picture yet?) You wait for your second maze, and when you're out, it's now 10:20 since you had to walk to find the maze and the time it took you to conga line through it. You get out the maze, see the time board -- holy shit, every maze is almost like an hour and a half to two hour wait! Yeah, now you realize you're screwed. You have 5 mazes left with roughly only 3 and a half hours left to do them. If you do the math, that's maybe only 2 more mazes you can hit, 3 if you're lucky. Oh, and there's also the Terror Tram. Make that 6 attractions you still need to see. I'll keep this scenario going: let's say now you decide to do Terror Tram since it'll inevitably have the shortest line out of everything, maybe 20 minutes. Terror Tram takes 30-40 minutes in of itself as an attraction since it requires lots of walking. By the time you're out, it'll be about 11:20. You make your way to the lower lot, wait an hour and a half for the original maze and it'll be 1 AM by than. Now you only have time for ONE MORE MAZE. At this point, you'll only see 4 out of 7 mazes and the Terror Tram. Let me help you a bit on what you should skip -- skip Face Off, which is the House of Hororrs overlay. I would say, "it'll be there during the day" but really, it's closing after HHN. But with that said, it's not that great of a maze to begin with. After that, you can either choose the original maze or a few of the name branded mazes to skip depending on your interest in them. If you get to the park at 9, make that another maze or two off your list that you won't see. If you get there at 10... God help you, but you basically just wasted your money. IF FOR WHATEVER REASON you are THAT person who is late EVERYWHERE, I recommend going on a Thursday or Sunday when the park is less crowded. Do not attempt being there late on a Friday or Saturday, or you'll be screwed.

I'm gonna take a moment to reinstate how important the very first hour of the event is. The reason you want to do Early Access and get most of these mazes/rides done in that time is because most people finally arrive at 9. Meaning the first two hours will have the least lines. Don't wait until 12 thinking "it'll clear out because people will go home." That like... seriously does not happen at HHN. This isn't Disneyland so there's no kids to make sure need to be in bed. You can get the majority of the event done within the first hour of the park being open and after that, the lines increase dramatically. The 7-8 PM block is the absolute most important and crucial time in making sure you do everything.

2) GO TO THE BACKLOT FIRST.

I know what you're thinking... "hey, there's all these mazes we're passing with no lines, let's do these first" or maybe even "we should hit a maze here before we follow the rest of the game plan that DTH made." NO. You STOP! LISTEN TO ME NOW! You do the damn backlot first or it will HAUNT YOU FOR THE REST OF YOUR NIGHT or maybe even LIFE! For my smart, early access choosers, you can basically skip this since it'll be a free haven of no-line-land. But if you did opening scaramonies instead, or got there late, you either RUN or FAST PACED WALK to the Starway escalators towards the back of the park by The Simpsons. Go all the way down and now CROSS THE LOWER LOT to the BACKLOT TRAMS by Transformers. This tram will take you to the backlot (NOT TO BE CONFUSED WITH THE TERROR TRAM) where there are 3 mazes. Now, my suggestion is to get in line for whatever maze that has the longest queue already. Even if it's early access and there's 5 people in one line, 7 in one, and 10 people in the other, choose the one with 10. This is a good indicator of what will be the most popular maze down there. Last year, it was The Walking Dead. The year before that when The Walking Dead was on the upper lot, it was still the most popular maze. Since it's the most current and popular show still this year, chances are it'll be the Walking Dead maze that you'll have to do first. After that, I recommend Alien vs. Predator, which will probably also be horribly popular. I think it's a safe bet to save From Dusk Till Dawn for last down here, but who knows, I could be wrong, which is why I suggested doing whatever is most popular first. If you wait to do the most popular maze down there either second or third, the line could be much longer by the time you're out of your first or second maze and you may have to wait quite awhile. Early access people, you'll be done down here by 7:20-7:30. Everyone else, good luck, but it could be 8 or maybe even 9 by the time you're done. Or who knows, maybe the extra maze down there this year will space out the lines pretty well. [The lines down here get JAM PACKED all night long, almost IMMEDIATELY. Last year, I believe The Walking Dead reached up to 2 hours and 40 minutes at one point, while Black Sabbath was 2 hours. I am not exaggerating, but the sooner you are done and finished with the backlot, the better.]

3) NOW GO BACK TO THE LOWER LOT.

If you so much as think, "hey, let's go back to the upper lot or do The Simpsons up there, or go on Terror Tram now," I will find you and stomp on your foot. Whoever is trying to kill your game plan, you spit on their elbow and call them Ginger. Get your group's head in the game! If you did Early Access, on your way back to the lower lot, you'll notice a herd of people on their way to the backlot and you basically just dodged a bullet. IF, and ONLY IF, you did Early Access and want to do some rides, I recommend that be NOW and/or before 8 PM. Hit Transformers while it has no line. Once you're out of that, American Werewolf in London. Then after, the exit will put you in front of The Mummy. Then do the Original maze, and the exit for that will put you back towards Transformers. Now if you have time, you might as well Jurassic Park in the Dark. If you didn't do Early Access, I suggest doing basically the same route, except skip the rides. If it's still before 8 PM, I say it's pretty safe to do at least one of those rides though, as long as the line isn't longer than 15 minutes and only AFTER you've done the mazes down there.

4A) DINNER/RESTROOM BREAK.

If you DIDN'T DO Early Access and it's already close to 8:45 - 9 PM, skip this step. You are not rewarded with dinner or a potty break and you have to hustle and continue! If it's a Thursday or Sunday night and the Terror Tram closes early, do this AFTER the Terror Tram. If for whatever reason you're still worried about seeing everything despite all you've done already, do this AFTER the Terror Tram. Or maybe you're trying to get a repeat of every maze -- again, skip this step. If you're a trooper, already ate, and have no need to release your fluids and want to keep going? GO FOR IT! Basically this step is pretty interchangeable/skippable depending on how you're feeling at that moment. The rest of you, take a nice break and realize you are practically done with all the mazes. You have done 5 mazes and possibly 3 rides in approximately an hour and a half's time. Congratulate yourselves. Personally, I like to indulge at this time of the night and reflect on everything so far. I also like to space out the night so I'm not done TOO early. Do not dilly dally for too long though. Try to restrict this time to about 45 minutes. Once you're done and if you've done everything right (such as either Early Access or Opening Scaramonies) it should be about 9 - 9:30.

4B) TERROR TRAM.

Unless it's a Thursday or Sunday, the line never gets that long. Even if it is Thurs or Sun, I still recommend holding this off until you've at least done the backlot. Terror Tram takes approximately 30-50 minutes to get through, even without a line. It'll usually have a 15-40 minute line though, sometimes even an hour, but it doesn't go much higher than that. On a Thursday or Sunday, it can be about an hour and a half (although the last two years I've gone on a Thursday, it was maybe 20 minutes at the most, but weird things happen). Either way, with the backlot first, you'll still have time to do this.

4C) DESPICABLE ME and/or THE SIMPSONS.

I will take the time here and now to say that I have absolutely no idea how popular the Despicable Me line will be. If you want to risk it (I will, since I haven't done this yet), go ahead. However, skip The Simpsons. It's a time sucker. The line is always 45 minutes, even when there's literally no line, it will take at least 15 minutes. I do it every year and still have plenty of time, but since DM is here now, I'd rather do that. It's probably possible to do both and still see everything, but TO BE SAFE... well, don't do either. But TO BE SAFE and if YOU HAVE TO DO ONE, I recommend Despicable Me and skipping The Simpsons entirely.

5) DRACULA.

More than likely, at this time of night, more than likely this maze won't be too popular anymore. I'll say an hour at the most while everything else is verging on an hour and a half.

6) FACE OFF.

If you've done everything correctly, it'll be approximately 11:30 - 12:30 (or earlier, if you're lucky). At this time of the night, this location will be pretty barren of people by now and at most will have a 20 minute line. There's been several times where I've literally walked into it, but I just want you to be prepared. Since this is the first maze people see, people get it out of the way early in the night or skip it entirely.

7) ROAM THE SCAREZONES.

It is my understanding that at this point, the Bill & Ted show isn't happening this year, which this time is usually reserved for. But since you still have time and now that you're DONE (yayyyy) go roam the scare zones or re-visit your favorites.

8) CHAINSAW CHASE OUT.

It's basically the reverse Opening Scaramonies. Starting at about 1:30, chainsaw minions will line up on two sides all the way to the exit and chase people out. Either walk through and/or sit back and enjoy the show

Basically, my game plan looks like this...

5:30 - ARRIVE

6:00 - LINE UP

6:30 - EARLY ACCESS TO BACKLOT

6:50 - THE WALKING DEAD

7:00 - ALIEN VS. PREDATOR

7:10 - FROM DUSK TILL DAWN

7:20 - RETURN TO LOWER LOT

7:25 - TRANSFORMERS

7:35 - AMERICAN WEREWOLF IN LONDON

7:50 - THE MUMMY

8:00 - ORIGINAL MAZE

8:20 - JURASSIC PARK IN THE DARK

8:35 - DINNER

9:15 - TERROR TRAM

10:00 - DESPICABLE ME

11:00 - DRACULA

12:00 - FACE OFF

If I missed anything, or if you have any further questions, just let me know!

And everyone else, be sure to leave any game planning tips or suggestions here! Everyone has a different game plan! Some for different needs or different experiences and have different outcomes!

Edited August 10, 2014 by DTH316

[ferox]

This should be made into a flowchart.

[Mr.HHN]

Each year since my second visit in 2012 I've been doing a chart that's kinda like a graph that I like to call the "Scaring Schedule" What it basically is, is a detailed chart which shows the activity we will be doing and at what time. I'll share it with you guys this year, it's like a fun treasure map that helps you see everything at HHN!

[Ridesandstuff]

do you...take it with you?

[DTH316]

I used to do that too when I was a kid when I went to Disneyland and Knotts! People thought I was crazy bahahaha. So now I just um... keep it on my phone and only do it for HHN.

[djevilclown]

Great plan... mine is all up in the good ol noggin its changed very little from 07 so I stick to it like an itinerary

[Doctor Jeffula]

I'm too fat to hustle ill just get FOL lol

[Mr.HHN]

do you...take it with you?

I used to but now I do it on my phone

[Freak]

I always go with someone every opening night how has bad knees so she has to walk. That's where the guest assistance pass is helpful for us. lol

[JGmoney1996]

DTH, I did Early Entrance last year but was wondering your opinion on taking Early Entrance and doing every backlot maze twice. Do the lines get long that quickly? Also, I've done Despicable Me already (If lines are long, highly suggest single rider), and while I enjoyed it a lot, I don't feel the need to do it again. If that was taken out of your schedule, would it still be feasible to do the backlot twice and finish everything else?

[foodstampsFTW]

I'm going to be one of the people who decides to watch opening scaremonies, I did early access last year, and while I went on the night where there was like no waits for anything, I still feel that if your only going once you need to see scaremonies, it's something that you need to see at least once every year, you're not getting the full experience if you don't do it. And if you follow every thing else you should get everything done easily. By the time you get to the upper lot the wait should be 30-40 MIN MAX, no way Dracula will be an hour, I'd say all the mazes that aren't on the backlot goes for same, 30-40 min

[JGmoney1996]

I'm going to be one of the people who decides to watch opening scaremonies, I did early access last year, and while I went on the night where there was like no waits for anything, I still feel that if your only going once you need to see scaremonies, it's something that you need to see at least once every year, you're not getting the full experience if you don't do it. And if you follow every thing else you should get everything done easily. By the time you get to the upper lot the wait should be 30-40 MIN MAX, no way Dracula will be an hour, I'd say all the mazes that aren't on the backlot goes for same, 30-40 min

I personally wouldn't agree completely with that. I think it sets an absolutely fantastic tone for the event, but it's pretty much the same every year. I think what you're getting from being on the backlot with very few people is much more valuable than seeing the opening scaremonies. From experience, it feels like once you get to the lower lot scarezone (however lame it is), and through the backlot scarezone, you have effectively been put in the mood for HHN. That being said, nothing can top the adrenaline rush of the fire towers coupled with chainsawed people running at you, just not sure if it's totally worth it.

[foodstampsFTW]

I personally wouldn't agree completely with that. I think it sets an absolutely fantastic tone for the event, but it's pretty much the same every year. I think what you're getting from being on the backlot with very few people is much more valuable than seeing the opening scaremonies. From experience, it feels like once you get to the lower lot scarezone (however lame it is), and through the backlot scarezone, you have effectively been put in the mood for HHN. That being said, nothing can top the adrenaline rush of the fire towers coupled with chainsawed people running at you, just not sure if it's totally worth it.

My point is that there really is no reason to do early access, you only get about 10 min to do anything early and part of that is walking to the tram, and you can do everything without it. Like I said I went on the night where there was no waits for anything, but I still think I easily could've gotten everything done if I had gone at a later date. Waits were longer in 2012 and I could've gotten everything done if I hadn't be hesitant to go in Texas because I heard about that awful smell and one of my group members didn't want to go in La Llorona.

And btw, my schedule would something like this

Walking dead

AvP

FDTD

AWIL

Original

Terror tram

Face off

Dracula

Bill and Ted if it comes

Repeats

Chainsaw chase out

I'll probably do JP in the dark, Sometime when I get to the upper lot I'll probably get dinner, and might switch Dracula and face off depending on wait times

[Atlas]

Whoever is trying to kill your game plan, you spit on their elbow and call them Ginger.

Excuse you! We Gingers are a proud people!! A proud, pale people.

As for me, while I did find success using this strategy in 2012, I'd rather just relax and not have to worry about keeping track of a schedule all night. And I will pee and eat whenever I damn well please! Perhaps even at the same time! Kidding though. I'm very normal ._. Anyway, FOL pass for me. Nice game plan though.

DOWN!

[DTH316]

DTH, I did Early Entrance last year but was wondering your opinion on taking Early Entrance and doing every backlot maze twice. Do the lines get long that quickly? Also, I've done Despicable Me already (If lines are long, highly suggest single rider), and while I enjoyed it a lot, I don't feel the need to do it again. If that was taken out of your schedule, would it still be feasible to do the backlot twice and finish everything else?

You could def do them all twice and since the lines will be super short, I doubt it'll even make that big of a bump in the game plan. Since you've gone multiple times, I think you'll know when to get out of dodge depending on the time or how crowded its getting down there. This game plan was mostly written for first timers or people who've horribly done HHN before, with caution in sake of being on the safe side and with lots of wiggle room in event of an error or setback. Lines will build up SLIGHTLY more for those mazes down there, but you shouldn't wait longer than 5 minutes on your repeats.

And you get way more than 10 minutes in Early Access. Like I said, mathematically, it takes people about 20 minutes to get there. If Early Access starts at 6:30, you'll get there at 6:50. Meaning regular entry won't get there until 7:20. Meaning you have 30 whole minutes to you and other Early Accessers before anyone else even arrives. Also keep in mind, a lot of people in the holding pit for Early Access split off to do Terror Tram.

Here is my review for last year, which includes the exact times everything occurred and the wait times they had. Take special note to the beginning of the night and the whole Early Access experience.

In case you're feeling lazy, this is just the times. Also keep in mind, this was a VERY CROWDED opening night!

BLACK SABBATH: 13 3D

Advertised Wait: 15 minutes

Actual Wait: 10 minutes

Entered the Maze at: 7:00 PM

Walking Dead: No Safe Haven

Advertised Wait: 10 minutes

Actual Wait: Walk On

Entered the Maze At: 7:03 PM

TRANSFORMERS

Advertised Wait: 10 minutes

Actual Wait: Walk On

Time On: 7:22 PM

INSIDIOUS

Advertised Wait: 10 Minutes

Actual Wait: 5 minutes

In the Maze At: 7:33 PM

THE MUMMY

Advertised Wait: 10 minutes

Actual Wait: Walk On

On Ride At: 7:43 PM

EVIL DEAD

Advertised Wait: 10 minutes

Actual Wait: 2 minutes

In the Maze At: 7:51 PM

JURASSIC PARK IN THE DARK

Advertised Wait: 10 minutes

Actual Wait: Walk On

On Ride At: 7:58

DINNER AT PANDA EXPRESS

8:15 - 8:50

TERROR TRAM: INVADED BY THE WALKING DEAD

Advertised Wait: 40 minutes

Actual Wait: 29 minutes

In the Attraction at: 9:34 PM

EL CUCUY: THE BOOGEYMAN

Advertised Wait: 45 minutes

Actual Wait: 40 minutes

In the Maze At: 10:58 PM

UNIVERSAL MONSTERS REMIX: RESURRECTION

Advertised Wait: 10 minutes

Actual Wait: 8 minutes

In the Maze At: 11:14 PM

THE SIMPSONS

Advertised Wait: 30 minutes

Actual Wait: 18 minutes

On Ride Time: 11:42 PM

BILL AND TED

SHOWING: 12:30 AM

Edited August 10, 2014 by DTH316

[deliciousoatmeal]

You could def do them all twice and since the lines will be super short, I doubt it'll even make that big of a bump in the game plan. Since you've gone multiple times, I think you'll know when to get out of dodge depending on the time or how crowded its getting down there. This game plan was mostly written for first timers or people who've horribly done HHN before, with caution in sake of being on the safe side and with lots of wiggle room in event of an error or setback. Lines will build up SLIGHTLY more for those mazes down there, but you shouldn't wait longer than 5 minutes on your repeats.

And you get way more than 10 minutes in Early Access. Like I said, mathematically, it takes people about 20 minutes to get there. If Early Access starts at 6:30, you'll get there at 6:50. Meaning regular entry won't get there until 7:20. Meaning you have 30 whole minutes to you and other Early Accessers before anyone else even arrives. Also keep in mind, a lot of people in the holding pit for Early Access split off to do Terror Tram.

Here is my review for last year, which includes the exact times everything occurred and the wait times they had. Take special note to the beginning of the night and the whole Early Access experience.

In case you're feeling lazy, this is just the times. Also keep in mind, this was a VERY CROWDED opening night!

BLACK SABBATH: 13 3D

Advertised Wait: 15 minutes

Actual Wait: 10 minutes

Entered the Maze at: 7:00 PM

Walking Dead: No Safe Haven

Advertised Wait: 10 minutes

Actual Wait: Walk On

Entered the Maze At: 7:03 PM

TRANSFORMERS

Advertised Wait: 10 minutes

Actual Wait: Walk On

Time On: 7:22 PM

INSIDIOUS

Advertised Wait: 10 Minutes

Actual Wait: 5 minutes

In the Maze At: 7:33 PM

THE MUMMY

Advertised Wait: 10 minutes

Actual Wait: Walk On

On Ride At: 7:43 PM

EVIL DEAD

Advertised Wait: 10 minutes

Actual Wait: 2 minutes

In the Maze At: 7:51 PM

JURASSIC PARK IN THE DARK

Advertised Wait: 10 minutes

Actual Wait: Walk On

On Ride At: 7:58

DINNER AT PANDA EXPRESS

8:15 - 8:50

TERROR TRAM: INVADED BY THE WALKING DEAD

Advertised Wait: 40 minutes

Actual Wait: 29 minutes

In the Attraction at: 9:34 PM

EL CUCUY: THE BOOGEYMAN

Advertised Wait: 45 minutes

Actual Wait: 40 minutes

In the Maze At: 10:58 PM

UNIVERSAL MONSTERS REMIX: RESURRECTION

Advertised Wait: 10 minutes

Actual Wait: 8 minutes

In the Maze At: 11:14 PM

THE SIMPSONS

Advertised Wait: 30 minutes

Actual Wait: 18 minutes

On Ride Time: 11:42 PM

BILL AND TED

SHOWING: 12:30 AM

This was roughly my schedule, only without dinner, rides, or Bill and Teds. Does this include scarezones though?

[DTH316]

Yeah, I didn't keep track of the specific time I went into the scare zones though haha

[StraightEdge]

Would it be bad if I went to AvP first then TWD

[Arsik_22]

Would it be bad if I went to AvP first then TWD

As long as you do the backlot mazes first, it doesn't matter in what order you go through them.

[foodstampsFTW]

Would it be bad if I went to AvP first then TWD

No, but the reason people say walking dead first is because it's going to be the most popular

[Hatchet]

We dont really have a general ticket question thread so I thought id toss these questions out here if anyone could answer.

If I wanted to purchase 2 FOL tickets for October 31st and I waited till around late september do you think they might be sold out by then?

I have to wait that long because my girlfriend gets her class schedule late in the month of september and I dont know if shes gonna have late classes on Friday and we gotta drive 6 hours to get to USH.

Also if I buy a ticket for someone and put their name on the ticket but they cant go and I bring someone else is that okay? In years past they never checked ID but I was looking at the killer deal nights pass page and it said must have ID and will finger scan. Im wondering if thats just for those tickets because they dont want different people using the tickets on different nights nights?

Edited August 15, 2014 by Hatchet

[DTH316]

FOL usually does sell out early, but I don't think a whole month early.

And the fingerprint is just for the pass. I'm not sure about ID though for FOL, but they say the same for general tickets and never check. But FOL might be different, I'm sure someone knows!

[Freak]

You're not going to believe this, but the Multi-night passes are STILL ON SALE!!!! If you have any interest in wanting those, get them now before they're gone!

[JGmoney1996]

DTH, we're gonna need a new game plan this year. No early entry it seems. We're screwed.

[Hatchet]

Where did you hear this?

Edit: Nvm saw it in the spec thread

Edited August 16, 2014 by Hatchet