Halloween questions About This Page:

[Marv]

I'm pricing an Oct trip and looking into arriving on a Thursday in mid october so would do party that night and have Friday and Saturday daytimes in the park., but have lots of questions. Or I could possibly arrive on a Wed., do the parks Thurs and Friday if that is less crowded (still doing the party Thurs. night). Is it crowded weekdays mid october?

I did a search here and read some of the things about the halloween party. I have a newly turned 14 year old and a 12th grader and am worried it'd be too scary for my 14 year old (and me). Any opinions? I can't really get a feel for what the party is like. Do they just turn the attractions into scary things or there things added? Can you do the regular attactions during the party or only special things? (I've been to MNSSHP and would consider that as the park decorated for halloween, trick or treating and kids wearing costumes and the fireworks, parades are halloween themed. So is it like that except really scary?)

Is it worth it to buy the halloween party express pass? I realize we would get front of the line for each attraction only once. If we stayed onsite, does the front of the line perks for riding attractions multiple times extend to the halloween party, too or is it only during the day?

I've read you can stay one night on site and go to the parks the day you arrive and also next day with the front of the line perks. So, I'm wondering if it would make sense to reseve a room at one of the partner hotels for the day we fly in (thurs.) and not do the parks but do the halloween party that night. Then stay at Loew's Friday night so we could go to the parks Friday and Saturday during the day and then stay offsite Saturday night. Or is that just too much juggling with offsite, onsite, offsite? Perhaps we'd stay at Loew's Friday and Saturday nights but I know that would be a lot more expensive. I'm trying to make it as cheap as I can. Any input or thoughts would be appreciated.

[Geri Alexander]

It's been a couple of years since I went to the party, but it was pretty scary. Almost all of the attractions were open, and there weren't really long lines. We went on a week night close to Halloween, and it wasn't THAT crowded, but we got there right when it started, and it did get more crowded closer to the end.

When we first walked in, there was LOADS of smoke everywhere. It was difficult to see, and they had "scaries" everywhere. There were 5-7 haunted houses (can't remember how many exactly), all with different themes. One of my FAVORITES was one that was themed like a drive in movie, and as you went through the rooms, they were all done like a different movie scene--Halloween, Nightmare on Elm Street, Texas Chainsaw Massacre. The detail was unbelievable. It was awesome! There were some outside, some inside, some with crazy jungle people, some with clowns. Lots of options, but most of them were pretty scary. The Dr. Seuss area was the creepiest are to me, but that's because there was smoke everywhere and these weird purple lights, and those Dr. Seuss critters were freaky!

There are also chainsaw men EVERYWHERE hiding behind trees, buildings, just waiting for someone to come by so they can jump out and scare you.

I loved HHN, but I love Halloween and I enjoy being scared. It is NOTHING like MNSSHP. It is meant to be scary, and it is. You can go and ride rides and not go into any of the haunted houses, but I don't think you could avoid the scary chainsaw men, smoke, and other creepies who are scattered throughout the park.

I've never stayed on property, so I can't really say much about everything else.

[GoofyMom]

I can't judge how your 14 year old would react because you definitely are the one who knows him best. However, Geri is totally right - there's pretty much no way to avoid the scare-actors and they. are. scary! They place them in areas where you have to walk past them to get to the rides or haunted houses. And they take no mercy. They can't touch you, but they will chase/follow you and scare you stoopid. (ok, they scared ME stoopid lol) The haunted houses are super-scary. One other thing to consider is that there is a lot of alcohol served that night. (That's the only way I survived I think... after a few jello shots I was a little more "numb" to the horror). The night I was there was worse than ANY F&WF weekend night I've ever attended for drunk behaviour. I know a lot of people like that - horror and booze, but I don't find it to be a family atmosphere myself. (Universal agrees that it's not a family atmosphere BTW and don't recommend the party for anybody under 13).

I don't remember the crowds we encountered during the day so I can't help you with that, but the crowds were large during the party. The lines for the haunted houses are really long, so the party express pass would be helpful if you want to do them. The rides don't have long waits because most people are there for the haunted houses.

I don't think the front-of-the-line perk for staying onsite is available at the parties. I think you have to buy the express pass or wait with everybody in the regular lines.

You are right about being able to get 2 days of FOTL perks for staying one night onsite. When you check in, you will receive a room key that you use to get to the FOTL queue. The next day you are allowed to use it until something like 5 pm. I hope somebody can come along and let you know how the day crowds are in October so you can decide if it'll be worth the extra hotel cost to get the 2 "free" days of FOTL.

[Geri Alexander]

Oh goodness! I forgot about the alcohol. It gets VERY wild the later it gets. I have heard there are fights and all kinds of craziness. We got into several of the houses first thing, so there wasn't much wait. But closer to the end of the night, the drunks were in full crazy mode, and the lines were very long!

I am going at the end of September, so I am hoping it won't be nearly as busy!

[Ashli]

We've been to HHN many, many times. Here are some answers to your questions:

It is VERY intense. I personally would not take a 14 yr old (and I am in no way insinuating your 14 yr old is a scaredy cat or anything, it is just THAT intense). In fact, when they send us the "what did you like/dislike" survey after we have gone to HHN, one of the questions usually has to do with "Do you think this should be an 18 and up event?" and I ALWAYS check yes. The alcohol plays a factor in my answer, but actually last year they had toned the alcohol bars down A LOT and added a considerable amount of food carts. (In previous years it was like 10 bars for every one food stand, it got pretty insane) The haunted houses (there are usually 8) are very VERY scary, as well as the "scare zones" where scary dressed up people are all over the place in the street. It is very dark, and like someone mentioned they tend to go a little overboard with the fog machine.

If you do decide that your kids are abnormally brave (I mean REALLY abnormally brave...I went the first time when I was 15. Scared to death and didn't even go in a single haunted house because I was terrified enough just walking around. And i LOVE horror movies...go figure), I highly recommend the Express Pass. Last year was the first time in ten different years of HHN that I got it, and I will never go without again. It is very expensive, but it is very worth it. Last year (and many years prior) there were 90+ min waits on some of the houses. With the Express Pass, the longest wait we had all night was less than 15 min. Even though you only get to use it once on each attraction, there is enough to do to keep you busy all night. Many of the rides (not all, because the lines for the houses infringe on some of the rides) are open - the good ones like MIB, Mummy (my favorite!), and Simpsons are open and the pass is good for a ride on them too. I have not stayed at a Universal hotel, but I am 99% sure that the express pass priveldges that come with staying at the hotel do NOT extend to the HHN hours. I think everyone has to buy the HHN express pass if they want it.

Good luck deciding. If you have any more questions, please don't hesitate to ask. I really do love HHN...but it is incredibly scary.

[BarryH]

The onsite hotel keys are not valid for Express entry during special events, like HHN. I would say it's worth the investment to purchase the HHN passes. Even during a Sunday or Thursday, crowds tend to be massive. I've known people who can do HHN without Express, but I never leave home without it. Even with the sticker shock of the passes, they are worth every penny. Once you see the 120 minute wait for some of the houses, you'd be glad you didn't want that long with Express!

If you do Stay and Scream, you can do a few houses before the big crowds come. Beware, though, the crowds come in fast! Also, sometimes on a Friday night after midnight, some of the houses will have 15 minute waits. I saw a house have a 5 minute wait near 1 am!