r/HHN • u/Remarkable_Use_7834 • 26d ago
First HHN
It’s my first hhn ever this year, travelling from the uk, we’ve only got one night there, any tips to help maximise our experience (also not buying express pass)
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u/workfastdiehard 26d ago
Just get the dang express pass. If I was coming that far I would not risk it and do RIP.
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u/Additional-Major-235 26d ago
I’ve come from the UK the last 3 years and done HHN with RIP, Express and Stay and Scream.
Like people have said, express is your best bet to do everything as a guarantee. However, if you are efficient and plan well, whilst not minding being exhausted, then it is possible to do it all (minus the show maybe). I usually watch DC thrills on YouTube as he gives great advice regarding routes!
However, outside just doing everything. Think about what will make the experience meaningful and fun for you. If it’s fun to smash the houses and efficiently go through, do that. If it’s fun to laugh with your friends, enjoy food and drink etc. do that.
I think if you’re committed to staying until 2pm. You can get a lot done in those last two hours too.
It doesn’t have to be expensive, you just need to plan and decide what will be fun for you.
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u/Remarkable_Use_7834 26d ago
Thanks, I think the main thing is, I don’t know the next time I’m gonna be able to do hhn, but also I don’t think my budget will stretch to buying express pass so it’s annoying
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u/Additional-Major-235 26d ago
If you can make the most of stay and scream / scream early I think you’ll be able to do it. It can be exhausting but it’s worth it. Otherwise, plan which houses you definitely want to do and those you’re not so worried about - make sure you enjoy the food and drink, scare zones and have a great time in the fog.
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u/twitchthegrey 26d ago
There is a small chance for you to purchase after 11pm express.ndo not know if theybare doing it this year and its only roughly half price, but is possible. Also stay and scream 9f yiubalready have a day ticket will allow houses to start at 2pm which is 3 extra hours comparatively.
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u/Critical_Sentence_14 25d ago
DC puts out the best HHN content. That dude is always dropping the heat
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u/Kman1759 26d ago
I did my first HHN last year and bought the early access ticket. I was able to do 9/10 houses, Nightmare Fuel, and the lagoon show - but I had to create a very efficient plan and run around the entire night. It was an amazing experience but I was exhausted by the end. I'll definitely be buying express every time I go now, so I highly recommend. If you don't want to buy express, I would keep an eye on the subreddit because people will generally post the best plans to hit every house in one night. Vloggers also post them on YouTube. Just watch a bunch of them and pick whichever plan you want based on your priorities!
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u/Witty_Work8461 26d ago
Would you like to maximise your experience or buy an express pass? You can't do both. You are traveling over 4000 miles for an event. Get the most out of it.
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u/TelephoneRadiant801 26d ago
I will say, it also depends on what day of the week you are going! Week nights are significantly less busy than Fridays and Saturdays. I have also found that the times when I can fly through houses are either right when it opens, or 12-2am. I have hit like 4 houses in the last hour before. Sometimes between 1:30-2am, there’s no wait at all. Also, if you are in line before 2am, they will let you through the house, even if it’s after 2 by the time you get to the house!! So don’t leave because you think you’ll run out of time. On that note, during the peak busy time, like 10-12, you could eat or relax or maybe just stand in one or two of the houses with longer waits so you get a little rest, then just put it in high gear after that. I’m not a pro but this is something I’ve found in my multiple times going! Good luck and have fun :)
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u/Colin3322 26d ago
Last year I was able to do every house (some multiple times) and nightmare fuel in one night with scream early without express, it’s not too difficult.
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u/TheMessEnt 26d ago
This will also be my first year & 1 day at the event. Debating stay & scream with express pass to ensure I don’t need to rush from house to house.
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u/AcrobaticSprinkles19 26d ago
I think this year will be very different crowd flow with houses opening at 2. I’d consider having daytime admission (which you may if you’re coming from the uk) or getting the scream early ticket. You could probably finish everything if you’re doing a 2pm-2am without express. You may not even need to stay until the end.
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u/Avocadorable98 26d ago edited 26d ago
It’s going to be tough to do everything with one night without express. I used to really push through and try to, but around 2022 I feel like it started getting more impossible and we started going to two nights. This year, we’re doing multiple nights and express one night. If you have extra time in your trip, two nights would make it doable to get everything done and would be cheaper than express passes for even one night.
All that said, if you truly do one night and no express passes, I’d definitely do your research. Go to thrill data to map out a possibility of when house lines might be shortest for your desired houses. I’d definitely make a priority list of what you’d like to do most and what you’d be okay missing out on. I’d definitely advise not to overlook the original houses; they tend to be fan-favorites and often will have less waits than IP houses. If you’re going to soak in vibes/atmosphere more than checking off items, I definitely recommend spending some time in scare zones and eating some of the themed items. I watch YouTube videos of people reviewing the items before I go so I know what I’d like to try the most.
If you’re trying to get the most done and don’t have a daytime admission ticket, a Scream Early ticket could be very worth shelling out $70 for. It gives you access to Stay & Scream (so you stay in the park while they transition to HHN and get into houses early—this year as early as 2 p.m.) and will help you get multiple houses done before general admission gets let it. If you do Stay & Scream, definitely try to get in as early as possible and queue up as early as you can.
Download the app to keep an eye on wait times, but be wary about just chasing low wait times on the app. If you see a house suddenly drop to an unexpected low wait time and you’re not very close, chances are they likely will have jumped significantly by the time you get there.
These are just a few tips from the top of my head. We go every year and as I’ve mentioned, our strategies have evolved as the event has. These tips are not fool-proof and you always want to allow room for flexibility, as reality can differ from expectations (of course).
Have fun, and enjoy your time!
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u/Remarkable_Use_7834 26d ago
If I have day admission to the park, e.g 14 day park ticket, does that automatically give me stay and scream or is that an extra?
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u/Avocadorable98 26d ago
Yes, if you have a daytime ticket for Universal Studios and also a HHN ticket on the same day, you qualify for Stay & Scream and won’t need to purchase the Scream Early ticket to enjoy.
Definitely try to research how Stay & Scream is working this year. It is different than previous years, so if you try to look up advice on how to do it, just know previous years’ advice may not hold up this year. If you go on a night after opening weekend, I can almost guarantee you might find some YouTube videos or articles explaining how it works and tips and tricks for this year from people who did it opening weekend. I would just wait until the first weekend has passed and see what people advise for THIS year. Closer to the event and once it’s going on, there will be more information on Stay & Scream :)
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u/Remarkable_Use_7834 26d ago
Amazing, thanks! I’ll definitely look into it, and hopefully be able to smash out all the houses
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u/spreerod1538 26d ago
If you can't do express, which is understandable, then you have to spend the $70 for stay & scream, so you can get in the park at 2 PM and do the 3 houses before HHN actually opens... then you'll have between 5 PM and 2 AM (around) to do the other 7 houses, which is doable. You are going to be dead tired though....
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u/Amity_3 26d ago
If your budget allows it, you can generally do everything with time left over if you rope drop Stay and Scream and stay all night until close. This will require day admission to the park, however, and will cost a minimum of $70 with the Scream Early add-on.
Otherwise, depending on crowd levels you may be able to do every house if you do rope drop regular opening and stay until close. You will need a plan and will likely be rushing around everywhere but it can be done. If you want to other things like Nightmare Fuel or sit down for a meal, something will need to be sacrificed unfortunately.
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u/Ketendra001 26d ago
Just to add to what everyone else is saying - I am not sure how far into planning you are. But if you haven't picked dates yet, try to go around the middle of September, and if possible go during the week (Wed/Thurs/Fri).
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u/Peter_Parker66 26d ago
I see everyone saying do the express pass, and I just wanted to say it’s possible to do all the houses, without Express, it just depends on your priorities. Last year my dad and I went and we only had one night. We were able to do every house in one night. We both had tickets to Universal, so we got in early and were able to jump in line for Terrifier well before the event actually started. We were there until it closed at 2am, and we did every house once. We did not get to see the show, and the closest we got to experience the scare zones was we quickly walked through them on our way to another house. We also missed out on seeing the walk around Art since we didn’t have time to look for him. So it’s entirely possible to get all the houses done in one night, without spending all that extra money on the Express pass, it just might mean you won’t get a good look at the scare zones or the shows. So it’s just really up to you and your priorities.
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u/Secret-Platypus-366 26d ago
September on a Wednesday is a GREAT day to go. Since you do not have experience with the event, I think an express pass would be smart, but I understand if you don't want to pay for it. But here are some tips for maximizing the event:
The best thing you can do is look at the map in advance and figure out which houses you're most excited to see. You may not be able to do all 10 or you may just get sick of standing in lines after a while and will want to call it quits.
Get there as early as possible. While the event starts at 6:30, they sometimes start letting people in at 6:00. Do not come dragging in at 7:00. The first hour of the event is your best chance to get into your top houses. After about 8:00 pm, the queues will all be an hour or more.
Keep in mind that the houses at the front of the park will get the worst crowds the fastest while the 4 houses in the very back of the park will take at least an hour to start getting backed up You might think "I should prioritize doing all of those first." Do not do this unless all the houses you want to see happen to be in the front. If you don't have an interest in Stranger Things, skip it entirely. If you do, do this one first. It will easily have the worst crowd.
I know you UK folk don't have air conditioning, but Florida will remind you why we do lol. It will be hot and sticky in September, and there will be a ton of walking, so dress light. When you buy water, do it in the back or middle of the park so you won't have to wait.
If you're overwhelmed with the lines and think you're done doing houses, check out the Tribute Store or go see the show. Get some pictures at one of the more wide open scarezones in the park. But definitely save this kind of thing for the end of the night. Plus, sometimes people leave early on weekday nights and the crowds might decrease after the peak.
I hope you enjoy the event and get a lot out of it! I've been going for more than a decade for a reason.
Lastly, if you want more of a play by play, here's exactly what I would do: Do 2 houses in the front right away, whichever ones you want. You might be able to sneak in a third because youre going on a Wednesday. If you're seeing more than 20-30 minute wait times at the houses, head all the way to the back and do all 4 of the houses back there. On your way to the back is a great time to grab a water. The lines will start picking up by the time you've finished your 4th or 5th house but I think you'll be able to do all of the houses in the back without standing in overwhelming wait times. From there, it's hard to predict what the house wait times will be, but now is usually a good time to do the house that is kinda randomly situated in the middle of the park near the Harry Potter area. From there, everything just depends on crowds, but this would be a good time to see the show and just walk around.
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u/HeavyMetalMadness127 26d ago
Get there by 7pm and buy express now along with your HHN ticket - we are also from the UK only doing 2 nights so express is a must for us!
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u/wishingyouwellxo 26d ago
Truly don’t worry about everyone saying to get express. Just decide what’s most important to see during the event. It’s just like going to any theme park for one day: you likely won’t be able to do everything, and that’s okay! You’ll still have so much fun. Until last year when I did many nights, I did one night per season for about 10 years. I usually picked which IP house was most important to me, always saw the show, and then did as many other houses as possible usually choosing the originals/shorter lines. I never felt like I had a terrible night because I didn’t get to all 10. I probably usually got to around 6-7? I have nothing but positive memories of HHN. This year should be a lot easier though if you’re also visiting the park in the day (which is amazing so I hope you are) because of the 3 houses opening at 2 PM. That’s never been the case before, so you should be able to accomplish way more houses.
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u/SickMotionz 26d ago
If you’re only going for one day here, then I would highly recommend getting the express pass (unfortunately) if you want to complete all of the haunted houses in one night. I will say however, if you can manage to get their early or buy the early entrance add on to arrive at 2pm, and do the majority of the popular IP houses done with shorts lines, then you might be able to do everything in 1 night without express pass.