I love Nightmare Fuel and Death Eaters in Diagon Alley. Plus, not having to go to the “lower” lot and such makes my want to favor UOR
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Yeah that is the better show (Nightmare Fuel over the dance show in hollywood). I also feel the houses in Cali focus more on jump scares and the set design is more complex over in Orlando (which is curious given Cali is the more active soundstages). There have been exceptions where I have really loved a house in Cali like the Season 2 Stranger Things was great and then one where you went inside someone’s box was cool. And I think the tram tour thing in Hollywood is fun/unique. But overall Florida won for me too and yes the layout of Cali is insane on the hill.
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I never manage to see any Death Eaters. They must not have as many scare actors
About every 60 - 80 minutes they come out to the DA stage. They do a show then rush off into DA where they’ll mingle and take quick selfies for about 10 minutes
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And the rest of the mazes/terror tram themes are announced:
Originals that remind me of a scary Nightmare Before a Christmas and a Latina twist on Carrie
And this one I’ve seen so it’s a repeat but the film is a gift to mankind LOL:
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Yep! I am so jealous!!
Today is the day for us. I got us day tickets. Aiming for 2pm arrival if my daughter is ready soon. (We’re coming from Orange County and with traffic it says 1 hour and 37 min). Want to knock out some things not open during the event and mummy cuz it’s my fave. So Pets, backlot tour and Jurassic world at least. We have single express and an RIP tour for its inclusion of F&F at 8pm but I learned from Molly we can check in at 6pm and get our VIP lanyard and ride F&F at 7pm when event kicks off in a special VIP tour line which will give us two line free rides (or shorter line anyway). So that’s the goal. I’ll put a post trip report one when we arrived and what we accomplished.
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My vote is for WaterWorld stunt show, Pets and JW. I do love the Backlot Tour as well, but it’s such a big time commitment.
Nice!!
Yes! Please!! Thanks! I’m so jealous! I should’ve gone, but just couldn’t make it happen. (Going to Epic in December to “make-up” for missing HHN! 
)
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Took 2 hours and lots of stop and go traffic to get here from Laguna Niguel. Arrived about 2pm and valet parked in Jurassic park. Used day entrance and headed street to Pets which was very short express wait. Then went to three broomsticks and mobile ordered and chilled on the back porch. All the indoor tables were taken. Mom got a beer from hogshead and we ate two chicken plates and one sheperds pie (which I got over bangers and mash cuz of the salad). The salad was excellent as was the sticky toffee pudding with the buttercream meringue/whipped cream on top. The pie, meh, salty and the potatoes on the top were way overcooked and dry and crunchy and chewy somehow at the same time. But mom and DD said the chicken was good. Then we did the backlot tour followed by mummy (both walk on with express). Mario kart followed, where the only real wait was the room before the preshow where they merge with regular line. I won in the car and we beat bowser. Then we rode FJ where I got sick in the final tv room but made it until then. One thing I think is wrong is they close everything at 5:30 to day guests and I think that’s wrong as the park is open till 6 and on a normal day they could get in lines till 6. We went to checkin to rip tour and to my astonishment they no longer have water bottles here for guests. This actually upsets me a lot. It’s a small thing. Their excuse is they take you to F&F first and you’d have to put in locker but they tell you to check in 30 min early so you have lots of time to hang out in vip area sans any drinks. They also don’t have snacks like they used to (but I can’t remember if they had snacks for RIP or for daytime VIP since I’ve done both before). But we were able to get our lanyard. We went and bought water from minion cafe where we chilled for a bit till 6:30 when we were told they’d let us on F&F. From my 70yo Mom and to DD19 and me, the one who grays out on coasters, That is the best coaster I have ever ridden and we all loved it Better than velocicoaster to me. Unique and incredibly smooth with lots of air/hang time. Stunning ride. We had front car. They only have it open for RIP people during event so there is no line. We then went and killed some time riding hippogriff and are now chilling in vip lounge sans any frikkin drinks or snacks. (Come on universal, you can’t take things away from what is a premium and incredible product). But don’t want to be to complainy because overall a very successful and fun day so far. I will say JW was closed which i didn’t see when i bought tickets way back this summer which is disappointing a teeny cuz I love that ride here.
Seems reasonable to me.
Also being here makes me miss Epic and I need to take my mom who hasn’t been yet. I’ll have to figure that out lol
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Tour started with F&F, Sinners (one of the best houses), and Killlcineria, then dinner with Art which was very good. Then ze had extra time and she offered FJ, one of those houses again or downtime and we chose downtime so I bought some lemon sherberts and then we got on the tram (there was bottled water for the taking at dinner and on the tram). From the tram we did Hellraiser, evil dead, tram tour, and then we were done with tram and we walked from killer clowns to stranger things, deadest, and ended with Ozzy. My fave houses were sinners, killceneria, klowns and Ozzy. Then she was taking everyone to purge show but we bowed out as it was midnight and we had an hour drive and we were shot. Very successful day but hands down F&F was the best part of that day. (Which in the days that meant the family and a party tram ride if I had heard myself utter those words lol). There’s this part where you’re upside down facing the valley and it’s stunning both at sunset and after dark. Gorgeous. You kind of float there for a minute with the negative g’s. Best part of the ride.
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I’m soooo jealous! I’m definitely going back for FanFest next May. I can’t wait to ride it!
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I’ve been thinking about doing a one day trip to Hollywood HHN next year. Do you think if I went on a weekend, I would NEED Express Pass or a VIP tour to see all the houses?
I’d get there by Noon to ride F&F and for my other priorities. Plus, I will definitely stay at HHN until 2am. (I’d be heading back to the airport right afterwards)
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The waits I was seeing posted were usually about 45 min. Times 8 mazes that is 360 min so about 6 hours of line if that’s about the average wait. If you get the 5:30pm entry ticket which is only like $30 I think that’ll give you a jump too. But if you started at 7pm and hit that wait for everything that’d put you at 1am ish plus the terror tram so prolly just enuf time. If you’re strategic about it you’d probably be fine. Also given you like water world if they bring it back their show was The Purge in the waterworld theater which is why that wasn’t on my daytime list as I planned to do it that night with the theming change. But I was zombie tired and had to drive home which was already tuff for me. But if you can make it the last one of those was at 12:45am.
Consider the 2pm with express ticket versus buying a separate daytime ticket and getting there at noon? Might give you the best of daytime and nighttime and with express you could fit in more in less time. I think Jurassic World will likely be a HHN ride again next year (I think it wasn’t this year cuz it was down for refurbishment). There was also a maze over there. They seem to move them around based on what’s open cuz when the nighttime show was in that building that I think is now F&F there was a house by waterworld but now that the purge happens they moved that house location to the closed Jurassic world.
Literally every single express line for the mazes was posted at 5 min
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Thanks! I’ve been watching “strategy guides” for Hollywood HHN the last couple of years. Seems like you have to get to the lower lot ASAP to knock out those mazes before the crowds get down there.
I’ll definately consider a 2pm with Express Ticket! I’ll just have to be be more “focused” about which rides to do before 4pm. I’ve got an entire year to figure it out! 
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