Hi everyone:
We just returned and thought I would post some comments on our recent visit to HHN27. My husband, brother in law and I attended on Sunday the 23rd and we signed up for the RIP tour. We entered the park at around 4:00 and scanned our tickets at the Simpson's holding area. There we had a beer and chatted until about 4:45 where they started to let people in to the Moe's dining area. We grabbed some dinner just in case as we were not sure what type of food would be available at Cafe La Bamba when we checked in. They opened up two houses early and were allowing people to go towards the Men In Black direction but not towards the rest of the park. At exactly 6:00 they opened the gate for the rest of the park. Since we were doing the tour we just people watched and looked at the scare zones on the Hollywood and Kid Zone areas. What was a little confusing was the check in process. Cafe La Bamba was closed off. We asked a person how do we check in for the RIP tour and they said we had to go to the front gate and wait there so we went to the front gate customer service line and asked. They said that they think we need to leave the park and go to VIP guest services. I saw that you can enter via inside the park so i went upstairs to the VIP guest service area and they said we could stay there or go back to Cafe La Bamba. So back to Cafe La Bamba we went and there they said we can check in no later than 30 minutes before our tour. We walked around some more to waste some time and then returned to Cafe La Bamba where the attendant looked on his Phone for when the time was exactly 30 minutes prior. He said they were very strict. We were finally let in where they had appetizers and drinks cafeteria style. The served meatballs, mini quiche, stuffed mushroom for hot food. Then they had veggies and cheeses with crackers for cold options. They served coke product sodas and bottled water. Around the corner they had desserts like brookies, mini pumpkin pies and cupcakes as well as alcoholic drinks for purchase. We were given a card with the name of our group and our attendant Kate greeted us. She was nice and professional but not particularly vibrant. Our group was decent enough, nice but somewhat introverted and kept to their respective groups.
Kate went over the plan and walked us through the houses. The temp even in the evening was ungodly hot and humid so I cannot express enough the gratitude to go straight to the front of the line of the house. They take you through some back lots which were interesting to see. I don't recall the order of the houses but we managed to see them all and see all the scare zones quite efficiently. Additionally, we saw the Bill and Ted show which was their finale and quite entertaining. Poor people dancing about in the heat, they are champs! There were 3 bathroom breaks and 2 areas to purchase drinks. Once in the San Francisco area and the other inside a building in the New York Area. These areas have little food except chips so the snacks were limited. We finished the entire tour around 11:00 and made our way back to Cafe La Bamba where they only had a few desserts left and hard alcohol. I am embarrassed but I was exhausted by then so we just walked around and made our way back to the hotel earlier than expected. I had ridden all the rides earlier in the day so there was no real desire to re-ride them and while I would have like to see Diagon Alley in the night one more time, my feet would not comply. It seems that no matter where I am, what I want to see is always at the other side of the lake when I am most tired.
Final Thoughts:
- I believe if we would have asked Kate would have stopped so we can get something to eat but I recommend eating something before the tour. Our tour was at 7:15 and with all the walking and sweating I can see how you can get hungry by the end of the night. I think it would be great if the Cafe would have a few more offerings when we returned.
- The tour was great and I would do it again in a heart beat. It didn't bother me at all that it ended early nor that my group wasn't animated. It was quite efficient and since I didn't nap and ran around with the kids in the morning, I was grateful to end before midnight.
- 4 people from my party left the tour guide before the tour ended and didn't tip her. She was so professional but I can see it in her face that she was frustrated. They also didn't attend the Bill Ted show. Essentially they used her as a fast pass system which I thought was quite rude. I felt for her because she did her job, was friendly and asked our input.
- Houses - So happy to see all the houses in this fashion. Ironically, I was more impressed with the non intellectual property houses. Dead Water and Fallen being my favorite and Shining my least favorite of the IP houses.
- Scare zones - I think I like last years a bit better but all were fun in there own way.
- If you stay in the park to avoid chaos please note that you can't check into your tour until exactly 30 minutes before so use the time to grab another drink at Moe's or Finnegans in an air conditioned environment or people watch during the cooler times.
Overall a very good experience. A bit confusing at first which I would expect being our first time going through the experience. I would recommend it to others that desire to see all the houses in one day for sure.
