RIP Tour Questions...Hollywood ONLY

[Tangapika]

Hi everyone, my husband and I will be attending HHN for the first time ever and are interested in the RIP tour.  We don't like rushing around to get anywhere or waiting in lines, and we love guided tours.  

 

What can you tell me about THIS year's tour in Hollywood?  I am not as concerned about how it compares to past years because I personally do not have that comparison...ignorance is bliss!  haha.   So I'm oping those of you who did the tour this year will have some good feedback.

 

I understand that it depends on the guide as to how detailed the background information could be, etc.  Can anyone elaborate on this?  Why aren't all guides trained on this?

 

Thank you!

Edited October 4, 2018 by Tangapika

[zombieman]

Welcome to the forums!

 

There are two main reasons people will opt for the RIP tour at HHN, in my opinion (I have done the tour three times in the past).

 

The main customer is the hardcore HHN devotee (like myself and most others on this forum).  They want the absolute best night possible and are willing to spend the bucks.  Their definition of "best" is being able to go into their favorite houses 20 times each.  They will walk until their legs cramp up.  They don't care about the guided tour.  In fact, they don't even do the guided tour part.  They meet at their prescribed dinner time and just do houses for the remaining time.  

 

To me, this does not sound like your intent.

 

Then there are a few people (I am assuming like yourself) who have done the VIP tour at Universal or some other park and enjoy the leisurely pace of the tour.  Getting to see everything, yet not at a rush.  And hopefully getting to learn some behind the scenes stuff along the way.  For the Hollywood HHN RIP, this is mostly the case.  The place where it may not live up to your expectations is the behind the scenes stuff.  Your guide will be knowledgeable, and will no doubt be able to talk at length about the things you saw in a maze (scenes from the movies, etc), but you won't learn much more than that.  And maybe that's enough for you.  In Orlando, they truly have a Behind the Scenes tour during the daytime where you get to go into up to six houses during the daytime (no actors, just lights on).  You learn endless stuff in those.  How the house is designed, what each scare is, intricate backstory of the house, etc.  This just simply is not the case in Hollywood.  The Orlando tour is not even part of HHN.  It's a ticketed daytime thing.

 

The nice thing about the Hollywood RIP is that once the tour is over, you will have a couple of hours to go and redo your favorite houses (no waiting in lines).  You will have a wonderful buffet meal.  You will get valet parking.

 

If the guided tour doesn't sound like it would be up to what you would like, you can still skip every line (one time per attraction) with the Express Pass.   And you can alternatively get an UNLIMITED Express that can be used for unlimited entries that night for about $100 more.  But at that price point, you are only about $75 less than the RIP price.   When I refer to "skipping the lines" at HHN Hollywood, I mean there is NO WAIT for anything.  Universal Hollywood does a great job of tightly limiting the number of these passes sold, to keep the wait time to a minimum.  In Orlando, "skipping the line" could still mean a 30 minute wait because they sell way too many Express passes.

 

This year's RIP includes something called the "Stranger Things Experience", which includes props from the show.  You get to see it at your meal.  People who have done it this year (I have not) have said it is fantastic IF you are a lover of Stranger Things.  

 

[Tangapika]

29 minutes ago, zombieman said:

Then there are a few people (I am assuming like yourself) who have gone the VIP tour at Universal or some other park and enjoy the leisurely pace of the tour.  Getting to see everything, yet not at a rush.  And hopefully getting to learn some behind the scenes stuff along the way.  For the Hollywood HHN RIP, this is mostly the case.  The place where it may not live up to your expectations is the behind the scenes stuff.  Your guide will be knowledgeable, and will no doubt be able to talk at length about the things you saw in a maze (scenes from the movies, etc), but you won't learn much more than that.  And maybe that's enough for you.  In Orlando, they truly have a Behind the Scenes tour during the daytime where you get to go into up to six houses during the daytime (no actors, just lights on).  You learn endless stuff in those.  How the house is designed, what each scare is.  Intricate backstory of the house, etc.  This just simply is not the case in Hollywood.  The Orlando tour is not even part of HHN.  It's a ticketed daytime thing.

 

Yes, you nailed our type here.  That's really too bad that they don't offer this in Hollywood...we are more into behind-the-scene set-ups, makeup demonstrations, SFX etc.  We throw a Halloween party every year and completely transform the interior of our house, so we were hoping to get some great ideas and maybe some tips to make it even better.  

 

29 minutes ago, zombieman said:

If the guided tour doesn't sound like it would be up to what you would like, you can still skip every line (one time per attraction) with the Express Pass.   And you can alternatively get an UNLIMITED Express that can be used for unlimited entries that night for about $100 more.  But at that price point, you are only about $75 less than the RIP price.   When I refer to "skipping the lines" at HHN Hollywood, I mean there is NO WAIT for anything.  Universal Hollywood does a great job of tightly limiting the number of these passes sold, to keep the wait time to a minimum.  In Orlando, "skipping the line" could still mean a 30 minute wait because they sell way too many Express passes.

 

This year's RIP includes something called the "Stranger Things Experience", which consists of props from the show.  You get to see it at your meal.  People who have done it this year (I have not) have said it is fantastic IF you are a lover of Stranger Things.  

 

 

That's great to know!  I am not seeing a standalone ULTIMATE Express option on the Hollywood website, only the basic Express Pass.  We are going this Sunday and the price difference between the Express (1 entry to each maze/ride) and the RIP tour is $160 pp.

 

So the props from the show sound really awesome, but I can't say that we are "lovers" of Stranger Things...we don't have a lot of time to watch TV series and we haven't started the second season.

 

Thank you so much for all of the detailed information, you answered my concerns very thoroughly.  Now, I just need to go over it with my husband and make a choice 

 

 

Edited October 4, 2018 by Tangapika

[zombieman]

The Unlimited Express is so well hidden, it's as if they don't want to sell them...  Someone else on this board discovered it by accident.

 

In their store, put an HHN Express ticket in your basket.  This ticket will include admission. AT CHECKOUT, it will give you an option to upgrade your pass to Unlimited.

 

 

If you love HHN, you MUST get out to Orlando.  Their event is bigger and better than Hollywood's.  This year they have 10 houses, and most are incredible.  Four of them take place in soundstages.  Plus there's that real behind the scenes tour...  

[AsylumSB]

6 minutes ago, Tangapika said:

 

That's great to know!  I am not seeing a standalone ULTIMATE Express option on the Hollywood website, only the basic Express Pass.  We are going this Sunday and the price difference between the Express (1 entry to each maze/ride) and the RIP tour is $120 pp.

 

 

 

The various perks with RIP is great if it is your first time.  It adds a little bit of structure to your visit.  I found the Unlimited Express to be optimal because it allows a great amount of flexibility to your evening, especially if the focus is enjoying the attractions at your pace.  The Unlimited option pops up after placing your order in the cart.  Either option, in my opinion, is worthwhile.

[zombieman]

What he said!

[Tangapika]

1 minute ago, AsylumSB said:

The various perks with RIP is great if it is your first time.  It adds a little bit of structure to your visit.  I found the Unlimited Express to be optimal because it allows a great amount of flexibility to your evening, especially if the focus is enjoying the attractions at your pace.  The Unlimited option pops up after placing your order in the cart.  Either option, in my opinion, is worthwhile.

 

I think we've decided on the RIP tour, just based on $$.  If we did the basic Express option it would be $378 for our entry, $50 for front gate parking or $65 for valet, and we would probably spend about $80-$100 on dinner, drinks, and tip anyway if we went to CityWalk (which is where we dine when visiting Universal anyway).  So our total cost would be between $508 and $543.  The RIP tour is $698 for both of us, so that's a difference of  $155-$190...at that point it kind of seems worth it to do the RIP, especially since, as you mentioned, it's our first time.

[AsylumSB]

1 minute ago, zombieman said:

What he said!

Stop being so efficient, Zombie Mod-man!  Beat me to the post. Haha.

[Tangapika]

4 minutes ago, zombieman said:

If you love HHN, you MUST get out to Orlando.  Their event is bigger and better than Hollywood's.  This year they have 10 houses, and most are incredible.  Four of them take place in soundstages.  Plus there's that real behind the scenes tour...  

 

I know, I am too jealous of what Orlando offers for this.  October is such an odd time to visit FL though haha!  Someday...

[zombieman]

2 minutes ago, AsylumSB said:

Stop being so efficient, Zombie Mod-man!  Beat me to the post. Haha.

Efficient?  It takes me 1,000 words to say what most others can express in 100...

[Tangapika]

Probably a silly question...but are there areas to get beer once we have left the lounge?  It's a long night!  haha

We should probably renew our passes before we buy these...is the discount pretty good for pass holders or just like 10%

[zombieman]

1 hour ago, Tangapika said:

Probably a silly question...but are there areas to get beer once we have left the lounge?  It's a long night!  haha

We should probably renew our passes before we buy these...is the discount pretty good for pass holders or just like 10%

 

Duff Gardens sells beer, and supposedly there are a couple of new locations as well.  15% discount for most passes, but not all locations take it.  Costco still has best prices for Gold.

[Tangapika]

33 minutes ago, zombieman said:

 

15% discount for most passes, but not all locations take it.  Costco still has best prices for Gold.

I'm sorry, I meant for the HHN tickets

[zombieman]

3 hours ago, Tangapika said:

I'm sorry, I meant for the HHN tickets

 

Then please let us know our discount, because I have found it to be inconsequential.  Even with a Platinum pass, I never got more than $5 off a GA (overpriced) ticket.

[Zulien]

7 hours ago, zombieman said:

The Unlimited Express is so well hidden, it's as if they don't want to sell them...  Someone else on this board discovered it by accident.

 

In their store, put an HHN Express ticket in your basket.  This ticket will include admission. AT CHECKOUT, it will give you an option to upgrade your pass to Unlimited.

 

 

If you love HHN, you MUST get out to Orlando.  Their event is bigger and better than Hollywood's.  This year they have 10 houses, and most are incredible.  Four of them take place in soundstages.  Plus there's that real behind the scenes tour...  

 

Hey all,

 

Long time follower of the board, ever since I started HHN, almost what, 10 years ago now?

 

Just was trying to make the decision for HHN express vs VIP this morning, and saw mention of the Unlimited for $100 more. I was looking and decided to stick with Express.

 

I got home to order tickets, and when I clicked the express, I got a popup saying that Unlimited is only _$40_ more now. I literally saw it at $100 this morning and the change happened between now and then.

 

Just figured others might find this useful, so finally signed up for the board.

Edited October 5, 2018 by Zulien

[zombieman]

Thank you for that information!  For what night were you buying tickets?

Last night (Thursday) was not very busy, and I saw that at 10PM they were selling "After 11PM" Express passes in the park.  I did not stick around to check the price.

 

The $100 upgrade came from whose who mentioned it.  Looks like it's been lowered drastically in the past 24 hours - going into a weekend!

RIP passes are now cheaper than two weeks ago.  They used to top out at $419.  Now $399.

 

I just went to the site and experimented with several dates:

10/5 (Friday) = $199 Express + $50 Unlimited Upgrade.   RIP $379

10/6 (Saturday) = $229 Express + $50 Unlimited Upgrade.   RIP $399

10/7 (Sunday) = $189 Express + $50 Unlimited Upgrade.   RIP $349

10/20 (Saturday) = $199 Express + $60 Unlimited Upgrade.   RIP $399  (this will be about the busiest night of the season)

Remember, in Hollywood Express includes park admission.

 

Something to note here, in addition to the lowered Ultimate upgrade and lowered RIP.  Not a single night is sold out at this point.  

I've been tracking HHN since forever and by now the most popular nights would have been sold out.

 

Last night was not busy at all.  In past years, a FFP Thursday would have been jammed.  Stranger Things was 20-25 min all night.  It is not sustaining the hype.  Purge and Halloween 4 seem to be the consistently long waits.  The first weekend was a madhouse with ST having three hour waits.   It appears to me that attendance is down this year.  Maybe they are paying the price of how bad 2017 was?

 

I don't recall seeing prices EVER drop across the board early into October

 

[Fallow]

2 hours ago, zombieman said:

Thank you for that information!  For what night were you buying tickets?

Last night (Thursday) was not very busy, and I saw that at 10PM they were selling "After 11PM" Express passes in the park.  I did not stick around to check the price.

 

The $100 upgrade came from whose who mentioned it.  Looks like it's been lowered drastically in the past 24 hours - going into a weekend!

RIP passes are now cheaper than two weeks ago.  They used to top out at $419.  Now $399.

 

I just went to the site and experimented with several dates:

10/5 (Friday) = $199 Express + $50 Unlimited Upgrade.   RIP $379

10/6 (Saturday) = $229 Express + $50 Unlimited Upgrade.   RIP $399

10/7 (Sunday) = $189 Express + $50 Unlimited Upgrade.   RIP $349

10/20 (Saturday) = $199 Express + $60 Unlimited Upgrade.   RIP $399  (this will be about the busiest night of the season)

Remember, in Hollywood Express includes park admission.

 

Something to note here, in addition to the lowered Ultimate upgrade and lowered RIP.  Not a single night is sold out at this point.  

I've been tracking HHN since forever and by now the most popular nights would have been sold out.

 

Last night was not busy at all.  In past years, a FFP Thursday would have been jammed.  Stranger Things was 20-25 min all night.  It is not sustaining the hype.  Purge and Halloween 4 seem to be the consistently long waits.  The first weekend was a madhouse with ST having three hour waits.   It appears to me that attendance is down this year.  Maybe they are paying the price of how bad 2017 was?

 

I don't recall seeing prices EVER drop across the board early into October

 

 

Methinks you're on to something.

[Zulien]

3 hours ago, zombieman said:

Thank you for that information!  For what night were you buying tickets?

Last night (Thursday) was not very busy, and I saw that at 10PM they were selling "After 11PM" Express passes in the park.  I did not stick around to check the price.

 

The $100 upgrade came from whose who mentioned it.  Looks like it's been lowered drastically in the past 24 hours - going into a weekend!

RIP passes are now cheaper than two weeks ago.  They used to top out at $419.  Now $399.

 

I just went to the site and experimented with several dates:

10/5 (Friday) = $199 Express + $50 Unlimited Upgrade.   RIP $379

10/6 (Saturday) = $229 Express + $50 Unlimited Upgrade.   RIP $399

10/7 (Sunday) = $189 Express + $50 Unlimited Upgrade.   RIP $349

10/20 (Saturday) = $199 Express + $60 Unlimited Upgrade.   RIP $399  (this will be about the busiest night of the season)

Remember, in Hollywood Express includes park admission.

 

Something to note here, in addition to the lowered Ultimate upgrade and lowered RIP.  Not a single night is sold out at this point.  

I've been tracking HHN since forever and by now the most popular nights would have been sold out.

 

Last night was not busy at all.  In past years, a FFP Thursday would have been jammed.  Stranger Things was 20-25 min all night.  It is not sustaining the hype.  Purge and Halloween 4 seem to be the consistently long waits.  The first weekend was a madhouse with ST having three hour waits.   It appears to me that attendance is down this year.  Maybe they are paying the price of how bad 2017 was?

 

I don't recall seeing prices EVER drop across the board early into October

 

I think you’re right. I’m going the 12th, Friday, and it was $209 + $40

Edited October 5, 2018 by Zulien

[Tangapika]

We are allowed entry as early as 5 pm, and the event officially begins at 7 pm.  Is there anything special at the gates at 7 pm we should be aware of?

Edited October 6, 2018 by Tangapika

[zombieman]

On 10/6/2018 at 10:09 AM, Tangapika said:

We are allowed entry as early as 5 pm, and the event officially begins at 7 pm.  Is there anything special at the gates at 7 pm we should be aware of?

 

Kinda, but in my opinion it is not worth missing the early entry houses.  

There are those people who don't get Early Entry with their ticket.  Honestly I'm not certain who is excluded, because I see them wave through any and all tickets.  However, as 7PM approaches, they allow people into the park, but corral them.  There is a rope drop ceremony at 7PM.  The guests are behind a rope, and beyond the rope a team of chainsaw wielding scareactors emerge from the fog.  There is usually some sort of announcement that HHN is open and they all start up their chainsaws and from at the rope, as it drops.  I made it sound better than it is.  

 

But if you really want to see this, the better way is at the END of the evening.  They call it the chainsaw chase-out and they line the only way to the exit.  

[DTH316]

Tickets not bought from the official Universal website are excluded. I asked them on Facebook a month or so ago because when trying to buy a ticket from a discount college site, it said: "NOT valid for Early Entry." I had a friend who somehow didn't get the memo and bought from the college site and they initially didn't let him in. Basically, they're reading the top of the ticket to see if it's 1) from the official website 2) it will literally say "NOT valid for Early Entry" right on it. When I explained he's the only one out of 9 of us with that kind of ticket, they were nice enough to let him through. I also heard from someone else who just cut out the barcode and put it in a lanyard because they have FFP, they wouldn't let him in at all because they need to see the whole ticket to see where it came from and if it allowed Early Entry.

[zombieman]

That barcode thing almost happened to me.  I have a FFP for myself and daughter so I just cut it to the size of the ticket and stuck it in a lanyard.  On 2nd night of event they started to give me crap about early entry.  I held up the line behind me and asked for a supervisor.  They instead waived me through.  Total BS.  Murdy has spent years training people that any ticket is good for early entry and they try to change the rules this year?  I went last week and they just let me in, no Q's.

 

[DTH316]

The person I heard it from had to go all the way to guest services, reprint their pass, and get all the way back in line, so looks like you were lucky! haha

[CharleneTheDM]

Hi all! I'm just piggy-backing on this forum (or should I post to 2019?)

 

I'm visiting Cali for Halloween season for the very first time, so excited!

Will be going to DLR, HHN and KSF.

 

I have done Universal's VIP tour and am really stoked that they offer it for HHN!

I wanted to ask regarding the RIP tours:

1. Do you get early entry? Or is it a possible add-on? If so, is Hogsmeade open during that time and are you free to explore the park before you meet up with your group?

2. What are the typical nights historically that open for HHN? I'm going from 9/25-29 and am trying to pinpoint which days to do which park.

3. I heard that the park closes at 2AM? Do all the rides run till that late?

4. What were your personal favorites of your previous HHN RIP tour experiences?

 

Thank you in advance!

 

[bggrenville813]

45 minutes ago, CharleneTheDM said:

Hi all! I'm just piggy-backing on this forum (or should I post to 2019?)

 

I'm visiting Cali for Halloween season for the very first time, so excited!

Will be going to DLR, HHN and KSF.

 

Thank you in advance!

 

Hi! You picked great places to go during your visit, thats for sure. 

 

1. I honestly cannot remember if you can get early entry with the R.I.P. tour or if you set up a reservation time. Can someone else help answer this?

2. HHN Hollywood event nights are usually Thursday - Sunday with some random Wednesdays thrown in towards the end of the run. So for the dates your going, it will probably be open the 26th, 27th, 28th and 29th. I definitely recommend Thursday or Sunday, the crowds are much worse Friday and Saturday nights. 

3. Not all the rides are open during HHN, only Jurassic Park (I'm hoping they'll be keeping the new Jurassic World ride open this year too since that will definitely help with crowd control), The Mummy and Transformers. From what I remember, they stay open the whole time. If you are doing R.I.P. though, I highly doubt you will be there until 2am if you go even at regular opening time. 

4. Best part about R.I.P. is definitely not having to wait in the insane lines. Plus you will get to go through mazes more than once with it. Although the buffet/lounge was pretty awesome last year. Food was decent and the photo ops with the Stranger Things props was INCREDIBLE. 

 

Happy to answer any other questions about Disneyland as well if you want to message me, I have lots of tips and tricks.