HHNH Planning & Insider Tips (The 2016 Edition)

[DTH316]

Any game plans and tips you guys have, please post them here!!!

 

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. 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.

 

Now, for my ultimate SURVIVOR GUIDE!!!!

 

I want to first start this off by saying you do not need a Front of the Line pass 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 (Harry Potter, Despicable Me, regular 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 $60-80 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 three 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 three separate trips while following my game plan would obviously be three 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 8-10. 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 21, 22, 28, 29. Halloween is on a Monday this year, which may be pretty good for crowds!

 

- 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 (Texas Chainsaw Massacre, The Walking Dead, Terror Tram [The Simpsons Ride])

Lower Lot (The Exorcist, Halloween [Jurassic Park in the Dark, Transformers, The Mummy Ride])

Backlot (American Horror Story, Freddy vs. Jason, Krampus)

 

- 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 be 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 ENTRY - PICK THIS!

Early entry gets you into mazes before park opening, generally around 6:30, an entire half an hour before the park even OPENS. Last year, they had a system where you could go in during park hours and be wristbanded. Before that, the line for Early Entry was to the RIGHT of the entrance near Waterworld. If you can't find it, ask someone, because it is IMPERATIVE that you find it or know the Early Entry system (I'll update you on the situation as soon as I find out). Sometimes there is another early entry option that will take you to the Terror Tram or to see Jabawockeez early. Trust me when I say that is a waste of time and you can do them later. I can not stress this enough, but DO EARLY ENTRY. If someone suggests doing the Terror Tram instead, SLAP THEM. It's also important to note, that if you're late to Early Entry, even if it's only by 2 minutes, it will close up and you're stuck with regular entry. Again, BE EARLY.

 

1C) OPENING SCARAMONIES.

If you don't want to do Early Entry and want to see the opening scaramonies instead, being there early is still 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 Walking Dead Attraction). 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: Election Year. Oh, and there's go-go dancers in regular entry. So if you're a pervert and absolutely HAVE TO see your go-go dancers early in the day, then regular entry is the way to go. Personally, I'd rather do early entry, but I know some people LOVE THIS. The last few years, there's been go-go dancers on the backlot while waiting in lines also, but non-themed ones. After this is over, rush and do the rest of this game plan.

 

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 a maze and it'll be 1 AM by than. Now you only have time for ONE MORE MAZE. You can either choose whatever maze 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 Entry 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 that 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 entry 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. Now, my suggestion is to get in line for whatever maze that has the longest queue already. This is a good indicator of what will be the most popular maze down there. 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. Up to 2 hours and 40 minutes at one point. 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 Entry, 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 Entry 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, The Exorcist. Then after, the exit will put you in front of The Mummy, which you can quickly do. Then do Halloween. Now if you have time, you might as well do Jurassic Park in the Dark. If you didn't do Early Entry, 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 most of the mazes down there.

 

4A) DINNER/RESTROOM BREAK.

If you DIDN'T DO Early Access and it's already close to 9:45 - 10 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 3 hour'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 Entry or Opening Scaramonies) it should be about 9:45 -10:00.

 

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 three 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) THE SIMPSONS.

Honestly, I wouldn't do this ride. The Simpsons is a time sucker and will take at least 25 minutes to do, even if it has no line because it's whole pre-show elements are 15 minutes in of itself. Why waste that much time? Come back to this after you're done with everything you've needed to see.

 

5) TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE

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) THE WALKING DEAD/JABBAWOKEEZ

If you've done everything correctly, it'll be approximately 12-12:30 (or earlier, if you're lucky). If you wanna reward yourself and your feet with a show, now would be the time. If you haven't seen the Walking Dead Attraction (which you can see YEAR ROUND), now would be a good time for that, too. Otherwise, you can get back to doubling up on your mazes.

 

7) ROAM THE SCAREZONES.

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 AM, 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 FOR EARLY ENTRY

6:50 - FREDDY VS. JASON

7:10 - KRAMPUS

7:30 - AMERICAN HORROR STORY

7:40 - RETURN TO LOWER LOT

7:45 - TRANSFORMERS

8:45 - THE EXORCIST

9:45 - HALLOWEEN

10:00 - THE MUMMY

10:10 - JURASSIC PARK IN THE DARK

10:35 - DINNER

11:15 - TERROR TRAM

12:20 - TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE

12:30 - JABBAWOKEEZ

1:15 - THE WALKING DEAD

 

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!

[foodstampsFTW]

Great post DTH as always, my game plan is slightly different

 

EARLY ENTRY

AMERICAN HOROR STORY

FREDDY VS JASON 

KRAMPUS 

EXORCIST 

HALLOWEN 2

TERROR TRAM/DINNER, DO ONE FIRST THEN THE OTHER

TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE 

WALKING DEAD ATTRACTION

 

You can do rides if you want.

[StraightEdge]

I have a quick question. Since I have Front of The Line Tickets for opening night, I want to watch the scaramonies. The first maze or first thing I want to do at the event after the scaramonies is The Exorcist because IT'S THE EXORCIST. But I don't want to use my Front of The Line entry for it. I want to hit The Exorcist again as the last thing I do for the night with my Front of The Line, you think I'll be good? Will the first general entry after running to the maze when the scaramonies finish be good?

[foodstampsFTW]

You'll probably be good

[deliciousoatmeal]

I think I know the answer but does everyone in my party need FotL or only one person?

[HorrorNightsFan13]

16 minutes ago, deliciousoatmeal said:

I think I know the answer but does everyone in my party need FotL or only one person?

Everybody needs one 

[DTH316]

3 hours ago, StraightEdge said:

I have a quick question. Since I have Front of The Line Tickets for opening night, I want to watch the scaramonies. The first maze or first thing I want to do at the event after the scaramonies is The Exorcist because IT'S THE EXORCIST. But I don't want to use my Front of The Line entry for it. I want to hit The Exorcist again as the last thing I do for the night with my Front of The Line, you think I'll be good? Will the first general entry after running to the maze when the scaramonies finish be good?

To get the most out of you front of the line pass, I advise following the usual game plan and skipping opening scaramonies. I mean really, it is NOT that great, even if you've never done it before. And it's the same thing every year. This way you can hit every maze once with decent lines and then between 11-2, get your repeat of every maze in. That's just my advice though, because those FOTL tickets are hella expensive and I would want every damn penny put to good use.

[AsylumSB]

5 hours ago, StraightEdge said:

I have a quick question. Since I have Front of The Line Tickets for opening night, I want to watch the scaramonies. The first maze or first thing I want to do at the event after the scaramonies is The Exorcist because IT'S THE EXORCIST. But I don't want to use my Front of The Line entry for it. I want to hit The Exorcist again as the last thing I do for the night with my Front of The Line, you think I'll be good? Will the first general entry after running to the maze when the scaramonies finish be good?

 

1 hour ago, DTH316 said:

To get the most out of you front of the line pass, I advise following the usual game plan and skipping opening scaramonies. I mean really, it is NOT that great, even if you've never done it before. And it's the same thing every year. This way you can hit every maze once with decent lines and then between 11-2, get your repeat of every maze in. That's just my advice though, because those FOTL tickets are hella expensive and I would want every damn penny put to good use.

 

Last year we completed three mazes and three rides before 7pm without having to use our FOL!  Take advantage of early entry.  I was pleasantly surprised. 

[dereksdominance]

Thank you for takin the time to give such a detailed survival guide! Going for my first time this year and I have a few questions. Would it be better to go the first Saturday, the 17th of September, or the second  Saturday, September 24th? Which will be less crowded? We are only doing general admission and can't stay till closing, but we are fine with that. As long as we can do AHS, Freddy V Jason, and either Exorcist or Halloween, we will be satisfied. Also, where do we go for Early Entry? Is it in front of the entry turn stiles or near the ticket windows? 

[DTH316]

15 hours ago, dereksdominance said:

Thank you for takin the time to give such a detailed survival guide! Going for my first time this year and I have a few questions. Would it be better to go the first Saturday, the 17th of September, or the second  Saturday, September 24th? Which will be less crowded? We are only doing general admission and can't stay till closing, but we are fine with that. As long as we can do AHS, Freddy V Jason, and either Exorcist or Halloween, we will be satisfied. Also, where do we go for Early Entry? Is it in front of the entry turn stiles or near the ticket windows? 

There's no official way to know crowd ordinance, BUT if I were to guess, I would say the first Saturday. I always talk to people and tell them I went to opening weekend of HHN and they go, "what, it's open already?" So by the second Saturday, more people will have caught on. Keep in mind, the difference won't be that much, maybe a 5-15 minute less time difference on some of the lines. Most people don't even think of Halloween stuff until mid-October, which is why the two weekends before Halloween are peak nights (which could be a 30-45+ min plus on average wait times). When HHN is less crowded, they pulse the mazes better for a more personal experience so even on empty nights (like the After Party weekend last year), the waits are still pretty long at some points in the night in certain locations at their specific peak hours.

 

Luckily, the mazes you want to hit are all in the same area. AHS & FVJ can both be hit within the first hour. If ya wanna skip Krampus, you can prob do Exorcist and Halloween by 9:30. I don't know how early you have to leave, but with Early Entry, you will definitely see all four of those mazes.

 

As for Early Entry, they've done it two ways. I'm not sure how they'll do it this year, but my guess is how they did it last year since it seemed to work pretty smoothly.

Last year, they had a wristband method where you just enter the regular park around 5 PM. Before you reach the end of the street of the plaza, they hand out the wristbands which they grill you to put on immediately. You were then forced to go on a specific route as daytime guests were leaving on another route. Then before you reached the escalator, there were people to check if you had your bands on. Then you can just stay when the park closes for regular guests and head down to do whatever you wanted. Smart people went to the lines for the mazes to be at the front instead of hitting a few rides. This ofcourse means you're waiting an hour and a half even if you're the first one in line, without moving an inch for your first maze because the mazes generally opened between 6 - 6:30 at the latest.

Prior years, instead of going through the turnstiles into the park, you'd go to the far right toward the VIP/FOL pick up area and be let in the park on the side of Waterworld. They would then inch guests further and further into the park until the escalators. At which point, they'd let people loose and they can run down to the backlot to hit the mazes first at about 6:30.

[Hanniel]

I read from John Murdy on @horrornights that there would be a red carpet event on opening night (I assume Friday Sept. 16).  Would I miss that if I did Early Entry, and anyone know anything about opening night festivities?

[Grindhousehero13]

2 hours ago, Hanniel said:

I read from John Murdy on @horrornights that there would be a red carpet event on opening night (I assume Friday Sept. 16).  Would I miss that if I did Early Entry, and anyone know anything about opening night festivities?

Regular guest are not allowed to be near the red carpet only media and celebs. Other then that opening night is just like any other night your not missing anything anyways it's just celebs promoting their stuff.  

 

The only thing is the nightly opening but tbh it's not that important if you wanna get everything done just do early entry. 

[DTH316]

You'll prob catch some celebs around the park easier. But that can happen any night.

From what I noticed, they do the mazes in the reverse order that we do them, basically from the upper lot and down. Because they have VIP passes and are being toured through and such. So I've actually never ran into celebs on opening night, because I'm always in a completely different part of the park than them. I'll be on the upper lot while they're on the lower, and vice versa. It's not really important to me to spot famous people, since I work in the industry, and just assume I'll work with them one day anyway. Plus I would never ever bug them, or even take a picture of them -- they're just regular people trying to enjoy their time.

[Bourgeoised]

I'll be going on the 6th, but can't get there until about 8 PM. Should I just bite the bullet and do what I was going to do and get FOtL?

[deliciousoatmeal]

Bought my FotL tickets for the 17th. So excited, this will be the first year I'm not tempted by walkthrough videos! Is there any gameplan for FotL or is it pointless because you have unlimited time now?

[Arsik_22]

2 hours ago, deliciousoatmeal said:

Bought my FotL tickets for the 17th. So excited, this will be the first year I'm not tempted by walkthrough videos! Is there any gameplan for FotL or is it pointless because you have unlimited time now?

Early entry is still a good option so you can go through a handful of mazes once or twice even before using your FOL. 

[DTH316]

20 hours ago, Bourgeoised said:

I'll be going on the 6th, but can't get there until about 8 PM. Should I just bite the bullet and do what I was going to do and get FOtL?

Yes. 8 is pretty late, and there's so many factors that might make you later. So FOL just to be safe.

19 hours ago, deliciousoatmeal said:

Bought my FotL tickets for the 17th. So excited, this will be the first year I'm not tempted by walkthrough videos! Is there any gameplan for FotL or is it pointless because you have unlimited time now?

As he said above, follow game plan and get doubles in on mazes. If you don't care for multiple go throughs, then it doesn't matter (but imho, you would have wasted a lot of money for no reason).

[RBZ]

I have always gone the same weekend for years which is the weekend of 10/16 but due to circumstances such as work and living in Chicago now I can't seem to go in october this yer which breaks my heart. I am looking at going on 11/04. 

I know last year they had the "After Party" or whatever which was not announced till last minute but I was wondering if anyone had crowd predictions for the last friday of the event. 

 

Thank you! 

[DTH316]

It depends considering people know about it way in advance now. They prob learned from their mistake last year when it was EXTREMELY EMPTY. However, after Halloween has always been empty even back in KSFs prime, so i imagine it'd be the same for HHN. I plan on going that night too.

[Ghostsarejerks]

20 hours ago, RBZ said:

I have always gone the same weekend for years which is the weekend of 10/16 but due to circumstances such as work and living in Chicago now I can't seem to go in october this yer which breaks my heart. I am looking at going on 11/04. 

I know last year they had the "After Party" or whatever which was not announced till last minute but I was wondering if anyone had crowd predictions for the last friday of the event. 

 

Thank you! 

I actually went the last weekend last year on the final day. The last day was moderately crowded with hour+ waits for mostly all the mazes but from what all the employees were saying, the day before was very light in terms of attendance

[HorrorNightsFan13]

Planning on going a couple times this year, and for the first time one of the visits won't be with FOL or VIP so I came up with a game plan based off of all of this and in assumption that the backlot will be open for early entry, anything I should move around? 

Early Entry

American Horror Story

Freddy Vs. Jason

Krampus

The Exorcist

Halloween: Hell Comes to Haddonfield

Texas Chainsaw Massacre: Blood Brothers

Terror Tram

Roam the streets/scarezone gauntlet/possible repeats

[foodstampsFTW]

You probably should put terror tram and eating before Texas but other than that perfect

[XNaut]

Last time I went to Halloween Horror Nights, I went on Terror Tram first and I still managed to see all the mazes, went on 3 rides and this was on a Thursday.

 

Terror Tram

American Horror Story

Krampus

Freddy Vs Jason

Halloween

Walking Dead

Texas Chainsaw Massacre

The Simpsons

Despicable Me

Transformers

[foodstampsFTW]

You forgot the Exorcist and that would only work on a Thursday

[XD005]

I've always done things in this order and usually have enough time for one or more re-visits.

(Backlot w/early Entry)
747 Area (Freddy v. Jason)
FDTD Area (American Horror Story)
Urban Backlot (Krampus)
Back to Lower Lot ->
Exorcist
Halloween
If your not going on a Saturday, you should have time to squeeze in Mummy and Transformers, if the line is longer than 20 minutes, come back later.
Terror Tram
Texas Chainsaw
Walking Dead

Everything else is whatever. But then again, I usually go alone to Uni so I do have Single Rider for Mummy and Transformers.
But I've gone with this route or similar for years and have always seen every maze, every night I've gone. I also don't spend much time eating though.

 

Edited September 12, 2016 by XD005