JillValentine Posted September 19, 2018 Share Posted September 19, 2018 Hello everyone! After a couple of years away, my mini me (she's 20 - not so mini anymore! Lol) and I are coming back to HHN for a night of thrills and chills! The last time we went, a few years back, I sprung for the VIP (the bonus tour was the Insidious scene on the backlot),. It seemed like a lot of money then, but I can't believe the prices now! Buuuut... my daughter is a HUGE Stranger Things fan, and since this is a special mom and daughter trip - Should I spring for the RIP? I'd really appreciate it if someone who does this year's RIP could post a review, or at least provide some details specifically around the ST experience and the buffet (great food can definitely be a dealmaker! lol). Thanks in advance!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bggrenville813 Posted September 25, 2018 Share Posted September 25, 2018 If you can afford it, I would do th RIP, especially if your daughter is a big Stranger Things fan. It’s definitely worth not having to wait in the 2 1/2 hour lines alone and then you can do the Stranger Things maze as many times as you want! Not to mention the lounge. Theres a big room before you enter the RIP lounge to take some awesome photos, complete with bikes from the actual set the cast used that you can sit on, a life sized demogorgon statue, the Byers couch in front of the light/ouija board wall that you can sit on and even a Barb shrine. The food is also really really good. There’s different salads, yummy sides, some amazing buffalo wings that I’m dying for right now lol, chicken and eggo waffle sandwiches, create-your-own tater tots with a bunch of different toppings, and you can make Eleven’s Waffle Extravaganza as well. They also have other cookies and cupcakes for dessert, plus plenty of soda, water, lemonade, tea and coffee. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zombieman Posted September 25, 2018 Share Posted September 25, 2018 Can you describe the "special room" at the end of the stranger things house that is only for RIP? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fallow Posted September 25, 2018 Share Posted September 25, 2018 3 hours ago, zombieman said: Can you describe the "special room" at the end of the stranger things house that is only for RIP? This isn't a thing. I'm not sure what you thought you saw, but there are no hidden/VIP rooms contained in the Stranger Things maze. There are special Stranger Things photo ops at the lounge - I believe it's the bikes, a Demagorgon sculpt (same one used in the school hall scrim effect), and the Christmas lights. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zombieman Posted September 25, 2018 Share Posted September 25, 2018 Just now, Fallow said: This isn't a thing. I'm not sure what you thought you saw, but there are no hidden/VIP rooms contained in the Stranger Things maze. There are special Stranger Things photo ops at the lounge - I believe it's the bikes, a Demagorgon sculpt (same one used in the school hall scrim effect), and the Christmas lights. My daughter and I were in line and the people in the group in front of us had RIP lanyards. one of the characters at the lab entrance handed each member of that group a flashlight. At the last room, they showed the flashlights to another character and they were led off into a side room. When we exited the house, we hung around and saw them come out a few minutes later. The exit they came out of was easily the size of an entire house room. So what do you think we were seeing? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bggrenville813 Posted September 25, 2018 Share Posted September 25, 2018 I went through the maze on opening night with the some of the cast (Gaten -> Dustin, Caleb -> Lucas, Sadie -> Max, and Priah -> Erica Sinclair) but we didn’t go through any special room or anything. People may be getting that confused with the photo op room in th RIP lounge that I describe above 1 minute ago, zombieman said: My daughter and I were in line and the people in the group in front of us had RIP lanyards. one of the characters at the lab entrance handed each member of that group a flashlight. At the last room, they showed the flashlights to another character and they were led off into a side room. When we exited the house, we hung around and saw them come out a few minutes later. The exit they came out of was easily the size of an entire house room. So what do you think we were seeing? Huh strange, the cast group I was with didn’t go through that. I know someone who helped design the maze though, I’ll ask what they know about it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fallow Posted September 25, 2018 Share Posted September 25, 2018 1 minute ago, zombieman said: My daughter and I were in line and the people in the group in front of us had RIP lanyards. one of the characters at the lab entrance handed each member of that group a flashlight. At the last room, they showed the flashlights to another character and they were led off into a side room. When we exited the house, we hung around and saw them come out a few minutes later. The exit they came out of was easily the size of an entire house room. So what do you think we were seeing? No idea, but I guarantee it wasn't an extra room. It doesn't exist. My only guess is you thought you saw RIP lanyards that were actually staff lanyards (from a distance they look similar) and a lab goon handed them a non-working flashlight to be replaced. No idea who you're referring to in the "last room" - that's the blackout space with the final two Demagorgons - but if it was another lab goon, chances are they were examining the flashlights, which are having issues. Lab goons physically do not have enough flashlights to hand out to every member of a group and are certainly not equipped to take on that sort of additional task work (they can barely see faces, much less whether or not someone is wearing an RIP lanyard). The alternate exit you saw could either be the initial forest or the Hawkins lab entrance, both of which run parallel to the maze entrance/exit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zombieman Posted September 25, 2018 Share Posted September 25, 2018 17 minutes ago, Fallow said: No idea, but I guarantee it wasn't an extra room. It doesn't exist. My only guess is you thought you saw RIP lanyards that were actually staff lanyards (from a distance they look similar) and a lab goon handed them a non-working flashlight to be replaced. No idea who you're referring to in the "last room" - that's the blackout space with the final two Demagorgons - but if it was another lab goon, chances are they were examining the flashlights, which are having issues. Lab goons physically do not have enough flashlights to hand out to every member of a group and are certainly not equipped to take on that sort of additional task work (they can barely see faces, much less whether or not someone is wearing an RIP lanyard). The alternate exit you saw could either be the initial forest or the Hawkins lab entrance, both of which run parallel to the maze entrance/exit. Your explanation makes perfect sense! I'll tell my daughter they got pulled into the Upside Down. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shanew29 Posted October 1, 2018 Share Posted October 1, 2018 Can't wait for RIP this year. The Stranger Things stuff seems really cool. I just hope we have enough time before and after to utilize the unlimited Express passes like last year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zombieman Posted October 1, 2018 Share Posted October 1, 2018 1 hour ago, shanew29 said: Can't wait for RIP this year. The Stranger Things stuff seems really cool. I just hope we have enough time before and after to utilize the unlimited Express passes like last year. You are not required to stay with the tour at all. You may want to go off on your own. Just make sure you have an assigned time for the buffet (which I think you can go back to as often as you want). I've been on the RIP tour several times and never once stayed with the group. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shanew29 Posted October 1, 2018 Share Posted October 1, 2018 I gotcha. My mom really enjoys the tour part, me not so much. I’m just in it for the unlimited express and buffet LOL Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JillValentine Posted October 25, 2018 Author Share Posted October 25, 2018 Thanks for the info , guys! I've decided we're going to forgo the RIP this year, and just make do with the passes. This is going to be a busy weekend for us - we fly down tomorrow night, hitting up HHN Friday night, Disneyland Saturday, then flying home Sunday. I was trying to decide what to do tomorrow night - Anyone have an idea how crowded Knott's will be? I wanted us to go to Creep LA, but I slacked and didn't get tix in time.. Now I'm looking at Zombie Joes Urban Death Tour of Terror. Any thoughts? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DTH316 Posted October 25, 2018 Share Posted October 25, 2018 KSF will be it's peak most crowded, same with HHN, since it's the final weekend before Halloween. I imagine Disneyland will be pretty bad, too. Just get there early for everything and you'll be fine! And remember for HHN, EARLY ENTRY EARLY ENTRY EARLY ENTRY. It's the only way to survive! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zombieman Posted October 25, 2018 Share Posted October 25, 2018 It sounds like you are trying to do this schedule: Thursday: Fly in and then *Something* Friday: HHN Saturday: Dland Sunday: fly back So about this *something*.... KSF will be crowded, but you will be able to buy Fright Lane at the park if the lines are too bad. They are sold everywhere. Zombie Joe's - know that this is NOT a haunt. It's a theater (big empty room). They do have a teeny tiny maze before the show. Blink and you will miss it. The show is a bunch of really weird vignettes. There is no seating. You will sit on the uncomfortable floor. The little shows range from very creepy to WTF was that? There is no plot. There may be nudity. This show is presented all year long, along with other shows they do. If you want something different, then do it. But it sounds like you have an action packed trip, so this may be a pretty weird detour for you. Don't skip Knotts for this... Other options to recommend for THURSDAY: Dark Harbor in Long Beach. Not "that far" from D-land and Knotts. The fact that these are houses that take place on an actual SHIP is very cool. Something to consider. Sinister Pointe in Laguna Hills. Pretty far... but worth it You can do ONE of those things for Thursday. Doing two will be very difficult, unless they are close together and you have VIP passes for both. But I'm crazy and would try to do two of them on a Thursday. Here's what I would do if I was flying in ( have no idea when you will land or if you will be jetlagged): Go to Queen Mary Dark Harbor first (because Knotts is open later). Get there at the front gate no later than 6:30 and have the Evil Express ticket. You should be able to knock out all mazes in 2 hours. Don't see shows. Just march from house to house and VIP it all the way. Drive to Knotts and buy Fright Lane. Be in the park no later than 10PM. You should be able to do all the houses with the Fright Lane before the park closes at 1AM. But you will need to skip shows and rides. If you needed to skip any houses due to time, skip Red Barn and Special Ops. You could probably substitute Sinister Pointe for Dark Harbor, but the drive is very far. You would need to VIP Sinister Pointe. It closes at midnight. When you bought your HHN express, did you opt for unlimited Express? Definitely worth it if it's < $60 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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