Universal Studios Hollywood HHN Tickets on Sale

[Fishbulb]

The tickets have finally gone on sale for Universal Studios Halloween Horror Nights 2012.

It has gone up considerably from last year. Tickets start at $46 and go as high as $66.00. Front of the line access will now be a whopping $79.99-$109.00, one time use, depending on the night you choose to go.
2012 Halloween Horror Nights - Tickets


What are your thoughts on the pricing for this year? Do you feel that it is worth the money? If not, what WOULD you pay?

[Jayce]

They figured if Disney can do it so can they :-Þ

[BC_DisneyGeek]

My impression was that the event is so busy that I would likely not get my money's worth or have a great time unless I had the front of the line pass.

From that perspective, I find it too pricey. If the crowds were a bit more manageable, $46 to $66 would be fine for what they offer.

[sir clinksalot]

I agree with BC_DisneyGeek. Without the FOTL pass there is absolutely NO WAY you can get everything done in one night. Most lines hovered around the 90 minute mark.

Also, you consider that most people aren't just buying 1 ticket and this event has now, sadly, become too rich for my blood this year.

[Alexshow]

actauly its pretty cheap and its although one dollar over bcs its good

[Soulquarian]

I've only been to HHN once back in 2009, but it was SO crowded that I didn't really enjoy myself. While the mazes were well done, the constant stream of people killed any sort of scare factor. Either the people in front of me were getting scared or the ones behind me were. I like to walk through the maze and feel like everything is unexpected.

Maybe I should go earlier... I think Universal should just hold HHN every night and reduce some of the crowds. There are many nights at Knott's that you can really take your time and see everything.

[JerrodDRagon]

I agree with BC_DisneyGeek. Without the FOTL pass there is absolutely NO WAY you can get everything done in one night. Most lines hovered around the 90 minute mark.

Also, you consider that most people aren't just buying 1 ticket and this event has now, sadly, become too rich for my blood this year.

Wait wait wait...Can't let this slide

IF YOU get to the event early and get in when it opens and do the mazes in the RIGHT order then you can easily do everyone maze (and the Terror Tram and House of Horrors twice) along with Bill and Ted and the Rides

MY friends and I have done it 3 years now and NEVER have missed a maze and never waited over an hour in line...I will post the best plan I know soon but right now..too tired too but it is possible

[BC_DisneyGeek]

Wait wait wait...Can't let this slide

IF YOU get to the event early and get in when it opens and do the mazes in the RIGHT order then you can easily do everyone maze (and the Terror Tram and House of Horrors twice) along with Bill and Ted and the Rides

MY friends and I have done it 3 years now and NEVER have missed a maze and never waited over an hour in line...I will post the best plan I know soon but right now..too tired too but it is possible

This is true. We headed down to the lower lot first thing last year and were able to do the first few mazes with no wait, which meant being able to save the front-of-the-line passes to do a second walk-through.

That still doesn't change the fact that later on the evening you're spending an unbearable (to me at least) amount of time waiting in lines.

Take Disneyland - yeah you can get a lot done in that first hour, and the park gets busier later in the day, but never to the point of misery. At HHN, it just stops being fun once the crowds build up.

You should be able to have a good time and get your money's worth, even if you don't know and execute the best possible plan.

---------- Post added 08-24-2012 at 08:54 AM ----------

I've only been to HHN once back in 2009, but it was SO crowded that I didn't really enjoy myself. While the mazes were well done, the constant stream of people killed any sort of scare factor. Either the people in front of me were getting scared or the ones behind me were. I like to walk through the maze and feel like everything is unexpected.

I agree. Unfortunately, reducing capacity for the mazes would reduce capacity for the event, and it probably just wouldn't be financially feasible. The parks that now offer an up-charge, quieter maze, often charge quite a bit extra for the privilege.

These low-capacity walk-through mazes don't lend themselves very well to theme-park crowd levels. Still loved them and had a great time, but it's not the same as when you go to a smaller venue of this type and have a more intimate experience.

[JerrodDRagon]

^well unless allot more people are let in/come

Transformers should help with keep the mazes down since people will go wait 2 hours for that (or longer)

While yes it sucks you need a plan.....it is an even not something "normal" and I'd rather just make a plan then pay double to keep people from coming

Anyway here's what I would suggest for anyone going this year....Start at Alice Cooper, move to the Walking Dead, then La Lorna, then move down to the lower lot (lines down there should be still low since people are in the upper lot) and then go on Transformers, Chainsaw maze and Silent Hill in what ever order of rides that have a shorter line first....then move back up do the Terror Tram (it closes at midnight) then Bill and Ted and by then the house of horror's is a 20 min wait max (around midnight) and bam..you've still got an hour or two and really you did not wait over 30 mins in a line...but you did get a lot down and if you want go wait for a maze again..or go ride the Simpsons or JP...or what ever you want

[dth316]

I find this "can't do everything" and "the park is too crowded" talk just silly. I've been going every year since 2007 and have done every single maze AND ride in the park each time. For one, you want to show up early. Not, "well it starts at 7 and I got there at 7:30." No, I mean, "it starts at 7 so I was waiting outside at 6:30."

That first hour is the most crucial time. Losing 30 minutes of it is detrimental. Personally, I head to the lower lot first. In 2010, I did the T2 venue first and THEN went to the lower lot but I didn't do that last year since I went opening night and on opening nights, T2 venue is closed until 8 due to the Eyegore Awards. ANYWAY, run to either the T2 venue, WWW venue or the Shrek venue first. After you're done with one of those, head to the lower lot.

The entire lower lot will have 0 - 15 minute waits for the entire first hour. Meaning you can get done Silent Hill, Texas Chain Saw Massacre, Transformers, Jurassic Park & The Mummy all done by the time it's 8. That's 2 mazes and all the rides but one (other being Simpsons, which I recommend you avoid since it takes FOREVER no matter the wait).

After that, I recommend hitting the Terror Tram. Lines should still be fairly low for it and they never get long to begin with because it's a capacity eater. By this time, it'll be about 8:45 - 9. Lines will have now started to get longer. Do the two mazes you didn't do earlier in the night on the upper lot. Let's pretend you did Alice Cooper (T2 venue) and now all that's left is La Llorona (Shrek) and The Walking Dead (WWW). Choose whichever has a longer line first. The one with the shorter line will either hover around that time all night or get shorter. It usually doesn't get longer and if it does, not by a large margin. So get the longer one out of the way, let's just say it's La Llorona and let's just say it's a 70 minute wait. By the time you're done, it'll be 10:20 at the latest. Let's say TWD is an hour wait. When you're done with that, also counting going through the maze time, it'll be 11:30. You now have 2 and a half hours left to do whatever you want but let's just say you're hungry, so - eat for thirty minutes. Basically wait until Universal Monster Remix (the HoH) has a line no longer than 15 minutes. By 12, that should be the case. Run through. After that, all that's left is Bill and Ted. They usually have very late showings, sometimes even after the park is closed, so feel free to do any between 12:30 - 2:05 AM because now you're done. If doing The Simpsons is your thing, feel free to do that too.

I always get scared that I won't have enough time for everything but by following this plan, it always works out and my friends all thank me for getting them through it all since they never could before in years prior. It takes some rushing, some hussling and making sure nobody does a 20 minute gift shop merchandise spree but it's worth it. You're there for the mazes and for the scares, so make sure everyone knows that's priority.

In fact, if you have any spontaneous shoppers in your group, take them to the gift shop just outside the entrance of USH before the event starts -- ANOTHER benefit of arriving early. They have everything in here that they have inside the park. Another perk? You don't have to carry around that stuff with you all night. Since you're there EARLY and still outside the park (since there's no re-entry), someone could go back to the car and drop it off so you're hands free for the rest of the night.

And I know this is obvious so I'll just say it last: Sundays, Thursdays and Halloween are the least crowded nights. However, if attending one of those nights, I still recommend going by my plan. I went twice last year: once on the crowded opening Friday night and the second time on an empty(ish) Thursday. Opening night, I had about 40 minutes to spare at the end of the night and spent it waiting for seats for the last Bill and Ted show. On that Thursday, I had two hours to spare and just lazied about, eating snacks, did a repeat and THEN waited for seats for the show.

Get there early and do the lower lot first. There should be no excuse!

[DannyLand]

I NEVER went to HHN but Here's my plan. First timer

Upper Lot (Walking Dead, Alice Cooper, La Llorona)...
Lower Lot (Silent Hill, Chain Saw Massacre, Transformers, Mummy, Jurassic Park)...
Upper Lot (Terror Tram, Simpsons, Bill n Ted, House of Horrors)

I really don't know if I can do all that in 7hrs?? This might be unlikely to do everything according to my plan but

[Disney Ninja]

Too much walking, too crowded, too far away, and they don't,serve alcohol during the haunt but allow everyone and their grandmothers to smoke in line. NO THANKS! Queen Mary is awesome! That's where I will be ...and... Oh yeah, at Micechat's Knotts's event.

[JerrodDRagon]

I find this "can't do everything" and "the park is too crowded" talk just silly. I've been going every year since 2007 and have done every single maze AND ride in the park each time. For one, you want to show up early. Not, "well it starts at 7 and I got there at 7:30." No, I mean, "it starts at 7 so I was waiting outside at 6:30."

That first hour is the most crucial time. Losing 30 minutes of it is detrimental. Personally, I head to the lower lot first. In 2010, I did the T2 venue first and THEN went to the lower lot but I didn't do that last year since I went opening night and on opening nights, T2 venue is closed until 8 due to the Eyegore Awards. ANYWAY, run to either the T2 venue, WWW venue or the Shrek venue first. After you're done with one of those, head to the lower lot.

The entire lower lot will have 0 - 15 minute waits for the entire first hour. Meaning you can get done Silent Hill, Texas Chain Saw Massacre, Transformers, Jurassic Park & The Mummy all done by the time it's 8. That's 2 mazes and all the rides but one (other being Simpsons, which I recommend you avoid since it takes FOREVER no matter the wait).

After that, I recommend hitting the Terror Tram. Lines should still be fairly low for it and they never get long to begin with because it's a capacity eater. By this time, it'll be about 8:45 - 9. Lines will have now started to get longer. Do the two mazes you didn't do earlier in the night on the upper lot. Let's pretend you did Alice Cooper (T2 venue) and now all that's left is La Llorona (Shrek) and The Walking Dead (WWW). Choose whichever has a longer line first. The one with the shorter line will either hover around that time all night or get shorter. It usually doesn't get longer and if it does, not by a large margin. So get the longer one out of the way, let's just say it's La Llorona and let's just say it's a 70 minute wait. By the time you're done, it'll be 10:20 at the latest. Let's say TWD is an hour wait. When you're done with that, also counting going through the maze time, it'll be 11:30. You now have 2 and a half hours left to do whatever you want but let's just say you're hungry, so - eat for thirty minutes. Basically wait until Universal Monster Remix (the HoH) has a line no longer than 15 minutes. By 12, that should be the case. Run through. After that, all that's left is Bill and Ted. They usually have very late showings, sometimes even after the park is closed, so feel free to do any between 12:30 - 2:05 AM because now you're done. If doing The Simpsons is your thing, feel free to do that too.

I always get scared that I won't have enough time for everything but by following this plan, it always works out and my friends all thank me for getting them through it all since they never could before in years prior. It takes some rushing, some hussling and making sure nobody does a 20 minute gift shop merchandise spree but it's worth it. You're there for the mazes and for the scares, so make sure everyone knows that's priority.

In fact, if you have any spontaneous shoppers in your group, take them to the gift shop just outside the entrance of USH before the event starts -- ANOTHER benefit of arriving early. They have everything in here that they have inside the park. Another perk? You don't have to carry around that stuff with you all night. Since you're there EARLY and still outside the park (since there's no re-entry), someone could go back to the car and drop it off so you're hands free for the rest of the night.

And I know this is obvious so I'll just say it last: Sundays, Thursdays and Halloween are the least crowded nights. However, if attending one of those nights, I still recommend going by my plan. I went twice last year: once on the crowded opening Friday night and the second time on an empty(ish) Thursday. Opening night, I had about 40 minutes to spare at the end of the night and spent it waiting for seats for the last Bill and Ted show. On that Thursday, I had two hours to spare and just lazied about, eating snacks, did a repeat and THEN waited for seats for the show.

Get there early and do the lower lot first. There should be no excuse!

Problem is going to the lower lot first means you miss 3 mazes up top... that get crowded by the first house....while the lower mazes don't get crowded for 2 hours meaning

If you hit the top 3 mazes (T2 Q, Western Stage and behind Shrek) you go down to the lines are still 20 mins or less for 2 mazes....

Go to the lower lot first and come back up I grantee that every maze will be 20 mins or more and once you get down with the first one..the second one will be 30 mins long..and your third one 40 mins

This is what I've seen is it just takes too long to get to the bottom to be worth it to get on two mazes walk on

[Ryan120420]

Haven't done a Theme Park Halloween Event since Knotts in 2004. $40.00 for Halloween night seems like a great deal. Really tempted.


Sucks that they don't offer the Horror Nights Season Pass like they do in Orlando, or at least a 2-Night ticket. I would definitely buy that knowing if I didn't do every thing I could always come back another night.

[Linus]

I think House of Horrors will post a longer wait this year due to the extensive theme.