Halloween Horror Night - Universal About This Page:

[Mommyof2NJ]

This was a total waste of $, time and energy. This place was so packed estimated 40,000 people and we were not able to get on any of the special attractions for the evening. Everything was a 160 minute wait and then when you thought you were almost there they told you it was at least another hour. Besides the wait there were nothing but a bunch of drunk, rude, ignorant (some underage drinking) people. There were fights breaking out in lines, people cutting and and the staff were not saying anything to them. This place was totally ridiculous! It wasn't worth the money and if I hadn't already bought tickets for Universal Studios I wouldn't even return. I felt so unsafe at this event it wasn't funny. I would not recommend this to anyone!!!! Don't waste your $$$$$!!!! I plan on calling and sending letters to try and get my money back but I'm sure it will be a waste of time like the entire night was.

[snoozin]

Gosh; that sounds awful! I would call and ask to speak to a supervisor at Customer Service while you're still there.

Sorry you had such a terrible time.

[GoofyMom]

I'm sorry to hear you didn't enjoy it. Some of those lines really can get long and crazy.

[Lemap760]

Sorry to hear about your bad experience. Sounds like Universal needs to get their act together.

[tdandboys]

Sorry to hear about that. I would call and write a letter. It does get to someone, and they do read them.

[lonereb]

A friend of mine just went down to WDW and Universal and asked me which Halloween 'party' they should go to. Of course, I said Disney's. Really glad I did too. Sorry you had such a bad time. But it's not fun to feel unsafe.

[Brettchief]

I went a couple weeks ago, on a Sunday night. Extremely long lines all night. We only got into 3 haunted houses before it was closing time. Did you go on a Fri or Sat night? I never felt unsafe, nor ever have at US/IoA regardless of crowds, or time of night.. I've been to HHN for the last few years and I have never seen crowd sizes like I did this year. I will definetly be going next year, but probably only after buying the Express passes offered. As far as being unsafe, I in fact felt very safe, as there were endless OPD and US security members all over the place, even in lines. Now if you had young kids with you, I could see what you are saying. I wouldn't recommend HHN for anyone under 13. Sorry you had such a bad time... mine was just so-so

[LizardCop]

They don't advertise it enough, but HHN at US is an adult event. If it's your plan to hit all the haunted houses, then you must hit them early, as soon as the gates open. We did this last year with friends, and hit 3 houses with minimal wait. The last house they hit had a wait time of 60 minutes plus, which turned into 90 minutes just after they got in line and eventually turned into 120 minutes.

Anytime you have that much alcohol available for people, including jello shooters, you're going to have problems. Eventually, the alcohol is going to take over and it turns into a drunken free-for-all.

Having said that, we didn't feel "unsafe". They set up metal detectors for entry and collected more knifes and what-not in one night than they usually get in a week.... And there were plenty of staff personnel around, though you couldn't always tell they were staff. A lot of the "bouncers" I saw were zombies, and they did an excellent job if interdicting between possible problems and diffusing them

The party description does let you know it's an adult party with alcohol readily available...

BUT, having said all that, I did enjoy it, I just won't go back. It's a one time experience for me, but that probably has to do with the fact I don't drink and what my job is

[ilovedisney0_0]

I am so sorry you had such a stinky experience! I remember reading Bill's TR notes from last years' event, and knew my DD would hate it. It's really a bummer to spend money on a specially ticketed event, though, and have lines that long!!

[BarryH]

Funny, I went to HHN and I had a great time! I was able to do all the houses, the two shows, and some rides. Of course, I shelled out the $ and did a RIP tour.

I'm just wondering...

1.) When did you arrive at HHN?
2.) Did you go on a Saturday?

The key to surviving HHN is to arrive early or do Stay and Scream. Lines get long pretty fast. Also, a good idea is to purchase the Express passes. You'll need them!

Even with the RIP tour I did on Friday, 10/26, I was able to do 2 houses with miminal waits. After 1 am, the waits for the houses averaged 15-30 minutes. Only the three "name" houses (with Freddy Kruger, Jason, and The Texas Chainsaw Massacre) had long waits all night. I saw waits of 75-100 minutes.

I didn't see too many drunk people. I didn't see anyone fighting in line when I waited in a 30 minute line. There was a group of line jumpers and security took care of them quickly. Two employees were in a high position and watched the lines.

I'm sorry you did not have a good time, but you can survive HHN if you arrive early and do the houses early, use Express passes, or take the RIP tour.

[Angileyze1]

This does not sound good. I can only imagine waht spring break is like. Is it too late to change my mind?!?!?!?!

[Shell_of_the_South]

I've been during Spring Break - and it's not bad at all. Don't change your mind yet!

[Tinkerbelly]

Yikes! I'm so sorry! That's awful!

[Mommyof2NJ]

Hi Everyone, Thanks for all of your input. I did speak to a customer service rep for Universal Studios and they did verify that on the night we attended they surpassed their expected number of visitors. They were very understanding and did agree that that night was absolutely crazy. They did say that they have made some changes regarding their alcohol policy so they were hopeful that would eliminate some of the problems that have occurred.

They offered me 2 passes for Universal or Islands of Adventures to use with no expiration. I was felt satisfied after speaking to customer service. The night we went was an exception and it wasn't always that busy.

[GoofyMom]

Very nice resolution. I'm glad they were able to make you feel better and I hope they use your comments to help them keep things under control in the future. It's only from feedback that they know if something is working or not working. I bet they heard a lot about the night you went!