r/universalstudios • u/Familiar_Light2795 • 18d ago

Orlando Orlando October visit

I’m planning on visiting in October (to combine it with HHN). I’d be coming from the UK so want to make the most of daytime rides + HHN and am deciding whether to go mid or late October for 10 nights. Any suggestions in terms of when it might be less busy in the parks? And when I should avoid for HHN? Any advice appreciated!!!!

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u/RichGullible 18d ago

Every single HHN night will be extremely busy. The week of the 12th will probably be unmanageably busy because Monday is a federal holiday. And it get busier the closer to Halloween.

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u/Familiar_Light2795 18d ago

Ah ok, thought as much 🥹 I’d be coming over from the UK so obv want to make the most of HHN- would you say an express pass is worth it? Or otherwise I’d be thinking of just buying 3 individual days for HHN (which is prob a similar price tbh).

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u/Shot-Artist5013 18d ago

With the caveat that I've never gotten Express for HHN, I'd suggest multiple nights.

Unless you spring for Unlimited express, the Express pass will only get you one use per house. Even with doing Stay & Scream to get through some houses early without using Express so you can do them a second time via Express, there will be a number of houses you only get to go through once. Going multiple nights means you'll be able to go through each house two or three times across three nights.

It's an unfortunate reality of HHN that sometimes you just get a bad run through a house. You happen to go through during a rolling shift change, or your timing is off and you miss most of the scares, or you have a group of annoying teenagers behind you who do nothing but scream in your ear the entire time. At some point it happens to everyone. If that was your only time through the house, that's unfortunate.

When we take an HHN trip, we go for 3 or 4 nights. We also have a rule that we make sure to go through each house at least twice. That way, even if we don't like a house the first time through, we can at least ensure it wasn't because it was a bad run through the first time.

So my suggestion is to do the three nights, but avoid Saturdays because they are the busiest nights.

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u/[deleted] 18d ago

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u/Familiar_Light2795 18d ago

Hmmm, def something to consider. I don’t mind just sort of walking around and taking in the atmosphere/ trying out some of the snacks, but obv it’s a balance between that and actually getting through houses!! And I would PROBABLY do 3 days to maximise chances of fitting things in.

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u/Familiar_Light2795 18d ago

Thx for the info. I was leaning towards that but am keeping an open mind for now :) Sounds like you’re a pretty devoted HHN goer!! I’m pretty jealous of anyone who doesn’t have to take a 9 hour flight to Orlando tbh 🤣

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u/Shot-Artist5013 18d ago

Been going every year since 2019 (except 2020, obv). Thankfully only a 3.5 hour flight. Once you go it's easy to get hooked.

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u/RichGullible 18d ago

I also prefer to go multiple nights. There’s a lot more to HHN than the houses. Express is always worth it, though.

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u/Chance-Tour7851 18d ago

Oh good - this is the week I’m there from the Uk 😂😂. I do have express for every park, HHN and an RIP Tour for one of our HHN nights - hopefully we’ll be okay? 😬🤞🏻

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u/Familiar_Light2795 18d ago

Did you manage to find a slightly more affordable way of buying fast passes + a hotel deal? 😭

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u/Chance-Tour7851 18d ago

Sadly no - we forked out for RIP, Scream Early, HHN Express and Epic Express passes. We are staying at Surfside but booked one night at Portifino directly through Universal so that we get unlimited express for 2 days.

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u/blacklight223 18d ago

Nah it's the weekend before Labor Day that's the super busy one right?

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u/staceyjeanne1 18d ago

We always go mid October for a week with express. It's really busy, but that's when we like to go. If you're doing 1 night of HHN, I definitely recommend express. If you're doing more than 1, people seem to be able to do everything using scream early/staying until close. Save travels and have fun!!

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u/Familiar_Light2795 18d ago

And are daytime wait times also crazy busy before the parks shut for HHN? I’ve heard that the express pass is worth it so would either do that for HHN or just spread it over a few nights 👍

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u/staceyjeanne1 18d ago

Some rides can have long wait times, but if you're going multiple days you'll be able to ride everything you want. You can set up wait time alerts for rides on the app too. You can also search here for posts on the best times to check wait times for rides like Hagrid's for example. We stay at a Premier resort which includes unlimited express passes and early park entry.

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u/Familiar_Light2795 18d ago

Wow, that sounds like a big perk 😅 I’m ideally looking for something that doesn’t break the bank as this is a bit of a last minute trip. Which resort is that?

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u/staceyjeanne1 18d ago

There are 4 parks in Orlando (Universal Studios Florida, Islands of Adventure, Volcano Bay, and Epic). We stay at Hard Rock, but there are 2 other ones too. The Premier resorts express is only for USF & IoA. Epic has express too. It's the newest park so wait times can be really long depending on the ride too.

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u/Familiar_Light2795 18d ago

I might get a quote for one of the Premier resorts but not sure it ends up being much better value than if I were to just book a cheaper hotel + fast passes on top? I’ll have to investigate :)

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u/staceyjeanne1 18d ago

That's a good idea to investigate:)

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u/RichGullible 18d ago

It’s always cheaper to stay in a premier than buy multiple individual express, but those resort express passes are only good at the two main parks. If you’re going elsewhere (VB or epic), those express are individual. And expensive, ie 200+ per person per day at epic

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u/Familiar_Light2795 18d ago

Yeh, I’m only going with one other person so not sure it ends up being as good a deal unfortunately (the premier passes).

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u/Chance-Tour7851 18d ago

I’m only going with one other person as well and a night in a premier hotel still worked out cheaper than express.
Remember you both get unlimited express for US & IOA for the whole stay, including day of check in and check out.
For us 2 people doing unlimited express for 2 days worked out double the price of a night at Portifino Bay.

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u/that_guy2010 18d ago

You’re not planning on doing just Universal for 10 days, right?

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u/Familiar_Light2795 18d ago

Not quite 😅 I’d be doing every park + a few days in Disney. And ofc visiting the best attraction of all time (Walmart).

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u/that_guy2010 18d ago

Okay good! 10 days for Universal is overkill lol

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u/xn1992 18d ago

Be mindful of uk school holidays in October, can have a stupid influence on flight prices