Halloween Horror night question

alissafalco

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
I want to plan a girls trip/long weekend in October except I do not want to do HHN. Every Thursday, Friday and Saturday has HHN starting at 6:30pm. Is it even worth it for me to plan a trip then? Would we have to leave the park at 6:30? Or not be allowed on rides after 6:30?
 

dreynolds1982

Active Member
Yes, the Studios part would close at 6:30 for HHN. They have to clear the park of regular guests and allow the HHN guests to enter, since it is a separate ticketed event. Of course, IOA would still be open, since HHN only takes place in the Studios park.

I will also say that US tends to be considerably busier on HHN days, even though it is a separate event, as a lot of locals (and visitors too) will come to the park during the day with the intention of staying and doing HHN that night.

Are you planning on getting park hopper tickets or going multiple days? If so, you should still be fine with a little game planning.
 

71jason

Well-Known Member
You'll be cleared out of the park starting at 5 on HHN nights.

The hard close is at 5. Traditionally they've started pushing guests out of back areas even earlier. Not sure how that works with Diagon Alley this year.

That said, if you go on a Thursday or Friday in October, you shouldn't have an issue seeing most everything by close (except Diagon at night, which is amazing). The reason HHN and Food & Wine and Not So Scary were created was that these are the dead times of year in Orlando. Even on HHN nights, crowds don't generally start building at US until mid-afternoon.
 

Milla4Prez66

Active Member
I would suggest getting a two park pass and starting my day early at USF. You can probably do most of the things there you want by 2-3 then park hop by walking or HE to IOA and end your day there. IOA is usually open later than USF most HHN nights. Sometime around 6-8 they close.
 

DisneyDaver

Well-Known Member
I want to plan a girls trip/long weekend in October except I do not want to do HHN. Every Thursday, Friday and Saturday has HHN starting at 6:30pm. Is it even worth it for me to plan a trip then? Would we have to leave the park at 6:30? Or not be allowed on rides after 6:30?

You didn't ask the question, but I highly recommend HHN. In general, my wife and I are not the type of people who enjoy haunted houses and being "scared", but the immersive experience at HHN is so amazing that we loved the event (even though getting scared was part of it).

As for your actual question, would you be staying on-site at one of the deluxes? With EPA and the express passes, I think you would get through most (if not all) of what you wanted to do at the parks even with Universal Studios closing at 5:00.
 

JT3000

Well-Known Member
I heard there were testings recently that would allow IOA guests with park-to-park tickets to head into DA via the HE and only stay in DA....not sure what the current news on that is though

Since DA is closed for HHN, they're apparently keeping it open for day guests until 8:00. You need to leave through IOA though. HHN guests cannot enter.
 

MichWolv

Born Modest. Wore Off.
Premium Member
The hard close is at 5. Traditionally they've started pushing guests out of back areas even earlier. Not sure how that works with Diagon Alley this year.

That said, if you go on a Thursday or Friday in October, you shouldn't have an issue seeing most everything by close (except Diagon at night, which is amazing). The reason HHN and Food & Wine and Not So Scary were created was that these are the dead times of year in Orlando. Even on HHN nights, crowds don't generally start building at US until mid-afternoon.
I can report what happens with Diagon Alley, as it worked out great for me tonight. Universal Studios closed at 5 for Holloween Horror Nights. We went to Islands of Adventure at 4. Unannounced, however, they kept Diagon Alley open until 8, but you could only access it via Hogwarts Express from IoA -- HHN guests at Universal Studios could not enter Diagon. Since it was not announced, and we stumbled on it by accident, we rode the Hogwarts Express both ways with no wait, rode Escape from Gringotts with no wait, did the wand show at Ollivanders with no wait and walked around a deserted Diagon Alley in the dark for an hour triggering all of the wand special effects. What a stoke of good luck.

So, if you don't want to do HHN, head to IoA on HHN nights, and then take the express over to Diagon to have the place to yourself.
 

MichWolv

Born Modest. Wore Off.
Premium Member
Since DA is closed for HHN, they're apparently keeping it open for day guests until 8:00. You need to leave through IOA though. HHN guests cannot enter.
Confirmed. I did it today. Even the map/times guide does not say this is happening. You can go to DA after 5, but only from IoA. Then leave via IoA. DA was a ghost town. Walk on everything. No wait for ice cream. No crowds triggering the interactive wand stuff.
 

alissafalco

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
I can report what happens with Diagon Alley, as it worked out great for me tonight. Universal Studios closed at 5 for Holloween Horror Nights. We went to Islands of Adventure at 4. Unannounced, however, they kept Diagon Alley open until 8, but you could only access it via Hogwarts Express from IoA -- HHN guests at Universal Studios could not enter Diagon. Since it was not announced, and we stumbled on it by accident, we rode the Hogwarts Express both ways with no wait, rode Escape from Gringotts with no wait, did the wand show at Ollivanders with no wait and walked around a deserted Diagon Alley in the dark for an hour triggering all of the wand special effects. What a stoke of good luck.

So, if you don't want to do HHN, head to IoA on HHN nights, and then take the express over to Diagon to have the place to yourself.
So you can ride back and forth from IOA to DA and ride Gringott's up until to 8pm? That sounds good to me.
 

Scuttle

Well-Known Member
Confirmed. I did it today. Even the map/times guide does not say this is happening. You can go to DA after 5, but only from IoA. Then leave via IoA. DA was a ghost town. Walk on everything. No wait for ice cream. No crowds triggering the interactive wand stuff.
Funny you mention the ice cream. The salted caramel and strawberry peanut butter are two of the best ice creams I've had at any theme park. Just wanted to chime in with that.
 

DisneyDaver

Well-Known Member
Funny you mention the ice cream. The salted caramel and strawberry peanut butter are two of the best ice creams I've had at any theme park. Just wanted to chime in with that.

Are they only great for "theme park" ice cream? ... Or great in the overall ice cream world? I'm looking forward to trying it during my November trip, but it would be a bit disappointing if it only stacked up well against other them park ice cream options.
 
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71jason

Well-Known Member
Also, in order to stay in DA until 8 you must get a blue wristband that they give you after checking for your p2p ticket or AP.

Sunday night, closing was dropped back to 6--with Gringotts queue closing by 5:25 and ice cream shop closed by 5:45. Also when I got the wristband they told me I'd have to leave via train--only mentioned HHN access when I asked.

It sounds like the IoA crowds never materialized and they realized they have a new de facto HHN holding area on their hands.
 

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