2012 Event Planing, Tips and Tricks Of The Trade

[Grindhousehero13]

This is around the time when everyone starts planing there trips and a handfull of threads pop up asking questions about how to plan so instead of having a thread for each question if you need help planing your trip or have general questions from your fellow HNN'ers post them here and we will help.

[Freak]

I think this year, now that the event has gotten far more popular, I'm going to eat out at CityWalk about an hour or two before the event opens. That way we can all run to the lower lot, and do the Terror Tram, watch B&T, and then do the last four houses.

[Grindhousehero13]

I think this year, now that the event has gotten far more popular, I'm going to eat out at CityWalk about an hour or two before the event opens. That way we can all run to the lower lot, and do the Terror Tram, watch B&T, and then do the last four houses.

Thats Ideal but what I learned is it depends on what you eat if you go to places like KFC, Taco Bell, or Pizza Hut they don't have the full menu and have mostly snack sized items which will just leave you hungry and the oppisite if you got places like Tommy's or Pink's you get too full, or one of the actual "Resteraunt" resteraunts you end up either not finishing your expensive ass food and end up having to leave it in the car (since no outside food is allowed they make you dump it at the security check) which is the same as tossing it away espeacialy if you go early on in the event when the days are still hot. Trust me I learned all of these the hard way in 07 we ran late because we ate at Bubba gumps and ended up tossing our food when we got back to the car and in 09 half my group got KFC express and some got Tommys the ones of us who got KFC were still hungry the whole time and ending spending more cahs then expected, and the ones who ate Tommys (bathroom break every half hour), my brother and one of my friends got Subway and panda (Respectivly) and that seemed to be the best choice it keeps you full but energized.

so Grindhouse Tip # 1: If Your Gonna eat at citywalk right before the event Try Subway or Panda Express

[Colorblind Guy]

What do i expect, as far as wait times, on friday night? My family is going oct. 12.

I am going with a person who has parkinson disease. He says he gets a disability card at disneyland, but did not know about HHNH. He says, we may not need front of the line tickets. Universal says they do not have any info yet. Thank you in advance.

[Grindhousehero13]

This is not my first time to go, but its my first time to go on a friday night. Any tips for friday night? Also i am going this year with someone who has parkinson disease, is there a disability card for HHNH? And how does it work?

ok Colorblind I been going on a friday ever since 2007 and to me its the best night to go if you do it right! and for your friend all you have to do is visit Guests services, as soon as you enter the gate past the gogo head to the doors to your right across from the universal store (it kind looks like a hotel lobby) they will hook you up, or even call ahead of time and get set up.

Grindhouse tip # 2: Last Two Fridays are the best- if you have the choice go on one of the later fridays like the 19th or the 26th personaly I recomend the 26th if you read our reviews you'll notice that the closer to halloween the better the time that was had this usualy as Murdy says the bugs are always being worked out misstakes from earlier in the run are corrected changes are made, and Scar-actors get a handle on their chracaters. A better time is had.

Grindhouse tip #3: The Early Bird Gets The Scare- now Friday can be the perfect day to go but you gotta be smart about it or end up a member of the undead horde that is the General Public try to start heading over there from 3 to 4 on fridays you'll have people who go straight from work or school on top of rush hour trafic wich starts around 5 you wanna try to be at citywalk by 5:30 at the latest trust me last year we were 2 hours late cuz I had to pick up my ex girlfriend at 5 we were stuck on the freeway for two hour because of a accident off sunset. your gonna want as much time as you can get.

Grindhouse Tip #4: Avoid The Horde- The Event starts at 7:00 but they will let you in around 6:30 this is preciouse time you can use for photos, Bathroom, buy a snack or drink, buy some merch or in your case visit Guest services to get your friends handicap pass, now first thing you wanna do is hit Alice Cooper (T2 Queue Maze) that will be the longest line of the night if you dont hit it between 7-7:20 or you can do the earlybird showing of Bill and Ted they will tend to stand outside and offer a one shot front of the line pass for your choice of lowerlot attraction trust me this will help but if you dont hear anyone making that offer skip it for now. next thing you wanna do is rush over to the lower lot it will be nearly empty, if your gonna do rides I would suggest you only hit two Transformers and either Jurassic Park or the mummy. Hit Transformers first (Unless you have that pass from Bill and Ted) since its new it will gain a line FAST the minute your done get in line for Silent Hill (Mummy Queue Maze) then over to quigly (JP Queue maze) once you knocked out all the lower lot mazes you can hit your second Ride (Jurassic Park or The Mummy) If you can stand getting a little wet I recomend Jurassic Park over The Mummy. Once you finish up down there head back up you should be doing this around 8:30 or 9 and youll notice alot more people going down then up the front part of the park will be thinned out by then.

Grindhouse Tip #4: Food-if you dont choose to eat in city walk there will be two perfect time to eat that wont take up your time either a.) eat in the lower lot once your done with your second ride at the jurassic cafe (great food and great selection) there will be no line and plenty of room, or grab some food as your waiting in line for Bill and Ted. also Splurge and buy the HHN sipper cup the refills come in hanndy.

Grindhouse Tip #5: Bill and Ted-if you didnt get offered the Fast Pass deal when the gates open the best times to go are around 10:30 (in that case you wanna be there at least 20 minutes before the show starts if your gonna eat or 10 minutes other wise) or like DTH has mentioned the very last showing.

Grindhouse Tip #6: Terror Tram & House Of Horrors- best time to do Terror Tram if you plan on hitting everything is around 11 there will be little no line and it wont be as clustered as earlier. but be there by 11:20, and make sure HOH is the last thing you do the perfect time is around 1:30 there will be no line (litteraly) and plenty of energy.

just follow this plan and you'll find yourself with a ton of free time and can possibly hit every maze and ride and end up with time to kill.

[Grindhousehero13]

What do i expect, as far as wait times, on friday night? My family is going oct. 12.

I am going with a person who has parkinson disease. He says he gets a disability card at disneyland, but did not know about HHNH. He says, we may not need front of the line tickets. Universal says they do not have any info yet. Thank you in advance.

Alice Cooper: at start will be like 5 to 10 minutes the rest of the night it will litteraly be a hour to an hour and 20 minutes.

Lower lot mazes and rides (Quigly, Silent Hill Jurassic Park ect) will stable between 5 to 10 minutes from 7:00 to 9:00 after that it can get up to an hour.

La Llorona and Walking dead will peak at 45 minutes and the lowest it will get is between 15 and 25 min.

HOH will get up to an hour untill after 12 then it will gradually go to down to no wait.

Terror Tram will get up to 1o minutes they handle this pretty quick.

[Kurseddragon]

What do i expect, as far as wait times, on friday night? My family is going oct. 12.

I am going with a person who has parkinson disease. He says he gets a disability card at disneyland, but did not know about HHNH. He says, we may not need front of the line tickets. Universal says they do not have any info yet. Thank you in advance.

Well, I've ONLY gone on Fridays and Saturdays. Never on any other day of the week.

My main advice, get there SUPER early if your'e really concerned about wait times.

I mean SUUUPER early. I literally leave my house around 3:30-4:00 and get to the park around 4:30-5:30.

It gives you some time to walk around City Walk as soon as you get there and then be one of the front people for the metal detector lines.

It may seem like too much, but if you're worried about wait times, it's a good idea. You should be first to the front gate lines, and possibly first if you cut through the VIP members. Just like I did.

My friend and I went on a Friday night and did this. This wasn't our first time going and not even the first time going that year. We were heading straight for the lower lot, as that's the smartest choice to avoid wait times, then we passed by The Thing and were like "Screw it, let's go." Went inside, came out, and went straight to HOTC. We THEN headed downstairs. It was basically completely empty. We went through Hostel and Alice Cooper and then got on the Mummy Ride twice before things started getting packed. We were done with downstairs though. I'm assuming we went up and went to La Llorona or Terror Tram after. Maybe even HoH. Doesn't matter, though, we had so much time to spare. We literally went through four mazes and two rides by 8:-8:30 when the park opens at 7.

Maybe it was just luck.

Skimming over Grind's tips. There's quite a few ways to get through your night the best you can.

Terror Tram is best to be done in the middle of the night, but don't go from upstairs to downstairs back to upstairs for Terror Tram and then back downstairs.

To play it safe, especially with the Transformer's ride, I'd agree with Grind's tips. Alice Cooper upstairs, then STRAIGHT downstairs. Even if another maze has a five minute wait and is right there in front of you, just don't go in it. Go straight down.

If you're worried about riding all the rides, I'm not sure how you should handle it. Personally, I choose maze > rides. I suggest going in the all the mazes downstairs and then going in the rides. Maybe try to go back and forth. One maze, then ride, then maze, then ride, etc. It really depends on the wait times. If it has 10 minute wait or more for a ride, I'd skip it 'til you're done with the mazes and then choose whether or not to wait.

As for food, a lot of people seem to think this is an issue. Maybe they take a longer time to eat. I again agree with Grind, get the sipper cup. Not only is it a nice souvenir, but it's really convenient. As for food, idk, I've been to nearly every food place at least once during HHN on different days. I don't feel it's really a problem with timing. I only suggest eating once, though. Lol. Find a nice time around 9:30 or so. You should have about 3-5 mazes done by then and a few rides so you shouldn't be too upset with taking a 15 minute break to eat.

Keep an eye on the time boards, they're super helpful. You could be heading for a maze assuming it'll have a short wait because it normally would at that time, but all of a sudden be crowded.

You shouldn't have a problem, really. I've gotten there a few minutes late on a Friday and had to leave at midnight and still was able to get most of it done. I'm not sure which day is more crowded, Saturday or Friday, but I've been there late on both days and had to leave early on both, and still got most, or sometimes even all of it done.

Just don't worry, keep an eye on wait times and trust your instincts. If you feel like you can add a ride in while heading to a maze, just go for it. But if you have that slight feeling it might screw things up, don't risk it.

Sorry, this was a bit confusing.

[Grindhousehero13]

if you wanna do ride and all the mazes likelyhood is your gonna have to skip one and I suggest you skip the simpsons unless you ahv'nt been on it at all, it is the biggest time waster in the park the lines get up to 50 minutes and will just feel like a waste when your done.

[djevilclown]

Ok so we've gone every year on the first sat. In Oct and weve done the same attack plan each time with no problem

1. We get there early about 4 pm hang out in line and send a person to get snack and stuff

2. We do get FOTL passes cause I hate to wait in an hour line...

3. Hit in this order mummy maze, jurassic maze, transformers, jurassic ride (to get wet), mummy ride (air dry), Simpsons ride, TT, shrek maze, eat at flintstones, t2 maze, HOH maze, wild west maze, walk around and laugh at people, b & t last showing

4. It's worked every year perfectly....

Sorry couldn't edit my post for some reason

We don't use FOTL in the lower lot at all cause there's no wait we go down later and go again with FOTL double the scare

[Freak]

if you wanna do ride and all the mazes likelyhood is your gonna have to skip one and I suggest you skip the simpsons unless you ahv'nt been on it at all, it is the biggest time waster in the park the lines get up to 50 minutes and will just feel like a waste when your done.

Yeah, skip the Simpsons. That's the lowest capacity ride in the park. Waiting in line for that will be a HUGE time-suck.

[Kurseddragon]

In 2010, my friend and I were rushing from downstairs to TT.

He hadn't been to Universal for years and wanted to go on the Simpsons. My first thought was "No, skip it, TT and mazes are better."

Then I thought, "Well.. He hasn't ever been on it and it's only like a 5-10 minute wait."

My instinct told me to just go in. So we did. Was not a waste of time. We still got everything done that night.

[Colorblind Guy]

Thanks for everyones help. Although this question still remainss.

How does the handicap pass work with mazes? And would it be a waste of money to buy front of the line if we had a handicap pass? My disabled friend says the pass disney gives him work like an unlimited fastpass. I need the most information i can get before we buy tickets.

[Kurseddragon]

Thanks for everyones help. Although this question still remainss.

How does the handicap pass work with mazes? And would it be a waste of money to buy front of the line if we had a handicap pass? My disabled friend says the pass disney gives him work like an unlimited fastpass. I need the most information i can get before we buy tickets.

I think it works the same way since someone I know's mom uses a handicap pass to get FOL.

At least, that's what they told me, I've never actually seen them there.

I suggest waiting for the day tickets go on sale. I'm sure they'll have an FAQ for your question.

[djevilclown]

Sorry I could've answered that... A handicap pass is just like a FOTL pass the handicap person gets one and the person pushing the handicap person in the wheelchair... The only reason I know is because last year we were going into the thing and we had FOTL but I saw that person in the wheelchair went in before us in the FOTL line too

[DTH316]

Alright, I've devised my game plan for this year now that I know all that's coming. With Transformers added in, and going with people who've yet to go on it, I have to include it. Another issue? Not only have they not been on Transformers, they haven't been to Universal in general. Which means I have to squeeze The Simpsons in there too. This year, I'm limiting my group to 6 people though. Maybe 8 at the most. It's a triple, maybe quadruple date.

We're looking at the first weekend here, so I'm going to plan it around the idea that the T2 Venue (ACGTH) will be closed for the first hour of the night like usual. Also, most of ya guys know how I operate: I space out my mazes. I hate hitting them back to back and trying to rush it all in. I like to actually be in the park until it closes! So keep that in mind if you're gonna try and help me in case you see room for improvement on my game plan. Okay, here we go:

- First stop of the night: Silent Hill. The exit route leads us directly to --

- Transformers. Walk straight down across to --

- Jurassic Park. Exit from there and go across the way to --

- The Mummy. Ya gotta air dry. After exiting, immediately back toward --

- The Texas Chain Saw Massacre. Once finished, check the time. If we're doing good, eat. If not --

- Rush back up the escalators. This takes some time...

- Head for the Terror Tram. (Check The Simpsons wait time. 20 minutes or under, hit it.) Hopefully it's 8 - 8:30 at the most by now.

- While exiting Terror Tram, make an immediate left to La Llorona.

- Exiting from La Llorona, pass by Universal Monster Remix. Over 15 minutes? Pass it and head for Alice Cooper Goes to Hell.

- Return back to Universal Monster Remix. This is it's official spot on my list, regardless of wait time (unless we're seriously out of time and only one maze is left...)

- Last maze for the evening, The Walking Dead.

- Head to Castle Theater for the final showing of Bill and Ted. Grab a souvenir cup before heading in. And enjoy

I'll break it down for time later, but this is the tentative schedule for now...

[Grindhousehero13]

Thanks for everyones help. Although this question still remainss.

How does the handicap pass work with mazes? And would it be a waste of money to buy front of the line if we had a handicap pass? My disabled friend says the pass disney gives him work like an unlimited fastpass. I need the most information i can get before we buy tickets.

it works as a FOTL pass but is free and unlimited, you just enter the FOTL pass lines and entrences show and inform the Universal workers you have the pass and they will escort you to the maze/attraction entrence, and you get to sit in the handicap seat in bill and Ted which is front row. so yes waste of money to buy the FOTL pass since they are limited now to one attraction each.

[Freak]

I forgot that Alice Cooper will be closed for the first hour on opening night because of the Eyegores! I guess I'll do Walking Dead first THEN go to the lower lot and work from there up.

[AsylumSB]

I'm going to to HHN for the first time next month.

I'm super excited!!

Can any one here offer any tips? Which mazes are the best...etc.

Also, how about hotel recommendations for the area? I'm looking at the Hilton Universal City. It looks to be very close to the park.

I'll be coming driving down from SF Bay Area.

When do tickets usually go on sale, and what is the VIP package?

Thanks!!

I will post this on this topic and the related thread created by Grindhouse:

The VIP package is the only way I will attend Halloween Horror Nights. All of the admission tiers are worth entry to the event. However, after two years of Front of the LIne, I decided to try the VIP in 2011. At this point, I just cannot go back to any other admission:

• Parking is included in the price, and yes, its valet!
  
• Getting through security is the same for FOTL, however, there is a quicker entrance through the gate, which means prime viewing for the opening scaremonies.
  
• Last year, VIP included access to the Vampire Blood Lounge. This was in a secluded courtyard dressed up to look like a "Gothic/Old World" castle setting, including wood stakes on display as if it was set up for impalings. There was one or two costumed perfomers; a Gothic looking vampire who played the Harpsicord or "Rat Lady", a vampire bride in a glass coffin accompanied by a horde of live rats.
  
• Your group was pre-selected during a specific time to board a tram for a modified "Terror Tram". This included Jaws/Amity, Flash Flood, various soundstages, and the King Kong attraction. Then, each tram had a different stop so HHNers could actually walk around a certain set. For our group, it was the Clocktower Square from BTTF (among other films)!
  
• Almost forgot to mention that the VIP Lounge was open for just about the entire night, and included a buffett, bar, and dessert course. Food and non-alcoholic drinks were unlimited!
  
• Unlimited Front of the Line access to all attractions.
  
• 20-25% discount on merchandise (do not remember the actual amount)
  

Some of the VIP content or theme will probably change, but I think the core of the package will remain intact. Sure the cost may seem prohibited but other people on these forums have broken down the worth of VIP and its actually a huge bargain. If you are attending HHN only once this season, I highly recommend it. If you are coming from out of town (which I do), I highly recommend it. If you attend under any of the admission tiers, its worth it any way you slice it. Even if you plan for possibly doing the VIP next year, its worth saving a few more dollars until next HHN.

[Trevler]

And the food in that VIP lounge is.. gooooood. Also, if you are into celebs, thats where they hang out too.

[AsylumSB]

^^Was pleasantly surprised!!

I get hungry with your posts, Trevler. You tried your best to coax me to Knotts Scary Farm with the suggestion of eating at the Ghost Town Grill/scarezone. Ha Ha .

[Grindhousehero13]

what included at vampire lounge as far as drinks and food?

[AsylumSB]

what included at vampire lounge as far as drinks and food?

Two "adult beverages" (beer, wine, some mixed drinks), unlimited various sodas and bottled water. The buffet was well presented and stocked regularly with meatballs, tortellini pasta, salads, cheeses, vegetables, various "finger foods", and Turkey or Roast Beef sandwiches. After 10pm or so, they then changed out the main food for various desserts.

[Ridesandstuff]

I heard somewhere that if you have a pass, you get early access to HoH. Does the whole party have to have APs, or can just one person have an AP.

[Trevler]

^^Was pleasantly surprised!!

I get hungry with your posts, Trevler. You tried your best to coax me to Knotts Scary Farm with the suggestion of eating at the Ghost Town Grill/scarezone. Ha Ha .

If there is one thing I know, its food.

[Grindhousehero13]

Two "adult beverages" (beer, wine, some mixed drinks), unlimited various sodas and bottled water. The buffet was well presented and stocked regularly with meatballs, tortellini pasta, salads, cheeses, vegetables, various "finger foods", and Turkey or Roast Beef sandwiches. After 10pm or so, they then changed out the main food for various desserts.

WOW

I'm buying the VIP pass next year!

also On the subject of food, lets talk HHN grub

Im pretty sure all the resteruants are open during HHN, which you guys say are the top places to eat.....

since 06 I either ate at Louie's or Jurassic cafe I remember my group hitting food coma at Jurassic cafe but I was wondering if I should switch it up this year.