Absolutely! They used to offer Buy one night, get a second Su/Wed/Thu night free ticket and we did that the first year we went, but it was only like $30 more to get Rush of Fear (and the price has remained stable) so we did that ever after. It’s so much nicer being able to not rush or worry about fitting things in, and know that if it gets busy or rainy we can just leave until it’s better.
Last year we had a nearly 3 hour visit to Pat O’Brien’s in the middle of the evening on Friday. That was a surprisingly good Citywalk experience… the food is decent, and we got two different sets of performers. They never pressured us to finish up and leave (we were buying drinks and apps/desserts steadily though… we more grazed between the 5 of us than had a solid meal), even when we asked if they needed our table because we saw spaces open up at the bar. The manager even came and chatted for a good 10-15 minutes or so… I guess most people were requesting to be seated not in the piano room that night because there were a few large bachelorette parties in and out all night, but they really weren’t that obnoxious.
I’m planning on stopping into Rising Star to do karaoke and the “dead coconut club” those first couple of “solo” nights to keep the temptation of going into houses away until DD gets there mid-week… 2 more weeks!
So early returns on sold out opening night are mostly “I was able to do a LOT without Express” and just a few “OMG the lines were looong”.
One response to a guy complaining about Express making the lines too long was
“Dude, we showed up after 7:30, didn’t rush, got snacks, and easily made it through five houses and saw all the scare zones. We’re leaving early, but we could easily have gotten through 2-3 more because wait times are so short now. If we’d been there for the opening, been less casual, and stayed till the end, we could easily have done all of them. I never waited in anything over an hour, and all the lines were relatively continuous. Idk what you were doing to have the experience you did.”
And that was at 1:15am, so they did that in 5.5 hours.
If going to HHN from either of the Endless Summers, what’s the bus situation like at 2-3am? I accept some inconvenience in getting back to the resort for the lower room rate, but if it’s terrible, I may want to figure out something else for that night.
I’ve always been told that buses run 1 hour past CityWalk / Park closing. I’m planning on staying out as late as possible and catching the shuttle back to Dockside and Cabana Bay. I hope to make it until 2am!!
I’ve noticed that Mummy hasn’t been open most of the week. I know that last week was a rehearsal. I had hoped that would lead into a permanent opening…
Orlando Informer & ThrillGeek are reporting that The Dark Arts at Hogwarts Castle is returning select nights September 16 - October 31 at Universal’s Islands of Adventure! (Including roaming Death Eaters)
I’m guessing it will be happening on any night IOA closes at 8pm or later and weather permitting. They have a few 7pm closing nights in Sept. & Oct. when the sun may not be totally set.
I arrive on Saturday and I’m not going over to HHN until I see this first! Plus, with the rainy Sept. weather, I’ll prioritize all the shows the first couple of nights that the weather permits. I’m as excited for roaming Death Eaters as I am any HHN scare zone!
Indeed. Actual costumed characters roaming around is awesome and essentially creates a HP themed scare zone in the other park! Hoping to experience it during the couple nights I’m there in Oct.
