Well, I was so stressed out about the general admission lines, we went with express and then stress upgraded to the RIP tour. Are we rich? No, just financially irresponsible. I’ve done RIP once before (so sorry bank account), and my god is it worth it. With that said, here is my ranked list of RIP tour perks at Universal Halloween Horror Nights in Hollywood:
1) Unlimited RIP Lines
While you’re with your tour, you will get to go through each house one time, but before, after, or if you break off from the group, you get unlimited access to the RIP line. This is line gets priority over general admission and express. I don’t think I waited more than 3 minutes at most.
2) The Trolley
For the terror tram and transportation to the Curious George tent houses and lower lot, you take a little VIP trolley. I’ve been going to HHN for almost 20 years, and not walking up and down the hill to the houses behind the Curious George parking structure is such a treat.
3) Valet Parking
While it is not the Front Gate Parking, which I have done once and is amazing after a night of walking, the valet parking included with the RIP tour is a good second. It’s in the Jurassic Parking structure, so still a little walk to the entrance, but the drop off is so quick, especially compared with general parking, and the pick up is pretty easy too.
4) Free Water & Soda
Water at tour reception while you wait for your tour to start. Water and soda at the Moulin Rouge dining experience. Pop in and out of there all night. On the trolley parched from screaming your heart out? Water bottles for days. Pit stop at the themed bar above Jurassic Park? Make sure you’re in the RIP section to get more free water bottles and soda.
5) Super Nintendo World Access from 7-10 PM
If you’re with your tour group, they may or may not stop by Super Nintendo World depending on the schedule, but if you take off to do your own thing, you can make a pit stop here. My group did make a pit stop here and we got to ride Mario Kart™: Bowser’s Challenge! I was more focused on the houses, but ended up loving this whole experience. I am sure it’s packed during the day, but while we were there it was pretty chill and more magical than I ever could have imagined.
6) Express Entry to Attractions
If there’s an express entry lane for a ride, you get to use it. We also bought early entry, so we snuck in a few Harry Potter Rides at the beginning.
7) Personal Tour Guide
Both times we’ve done the tour our guides were amazing. Clearly people who love their jobs, sharing great stories, prioritizing what the group cares about, and making people feel special. Genuinely made our trips so special.
8) Freedom
On the flip side, if you’re not super into the group aspect, you can break off from the tour group and access the RIP lines at your own pace. While I love the tour, this year, my friend and I had early entry, but our tour started at 6:20 pm. When we checked in at the reception building, we chatted with our tour guide and planned to meet up with him at Moulin Rouge (the dining experience) so we didn’t have to walk back to the front of the park. By the time our group arrived, we had already eaten, so he sent us off to the upper lot houses (Fall Out and Monstruos 3) to check out while our group was eating. He let us know these would be the final two houses of the night, so if we didn’t want to revisit later, we could break off. We did, it was great.
9) Phone Charging
Available in the VIP dining area, there’s a station with a ton of different chargers to keep your phone from dying. As a girly that completely forgot her fuel rod charger this year, this was actually really clutch.
10) Free Food
Available throughout the night including before your scheduled RIP tour time, there’s a buffet style dining experience available. The food isn’t gourmet, but it also isn’t bad! There are a lot of options, hot and cold, and it’s nice to not spend even more money after draining your savings account for a meal. You can go back throughout the night, but if you’re with your group, you probably won’t make it back until later when it switches to just desserts.
11) VIP Seating at “The Purge: Dangerous Waters”
This show has been around forever, but it’s so good. I think I’ve only missed it once in all the years I’ve gone. I’ve never had issues finding an okay spot, but it is pretty nice not even having to think about it and having a great spot reserved for you.
12) Special Photos Ops
There are a few fun photo ops you get with the RIP tour, and this year it was Art the Clown in the VIP dining area and towards at the end of the terror tram, a few Blumhouse movie characters (The Exorcist: Believer, The Black Phone, and Megan).
13) Walk Through Jupiter’s Claim
After the terror tram and special photos ops, you cross the street (where the trams pick everyone up) and walk through Jupiter’s Claim to get to your trolley. There are no scare actors or special effects, but I loved Nope and getting an empty, close-up, at night view was pretty cool.
14) Special Section at Bar
Every year there’s a bar above the Jurassic Park area with special themed drinks and food. This year it was the Slash Bar, and with the RIP tour, there’s a separate section with a dedicated counter for RIP tour guests. It’s cool to have a shorter line and easier access to table space and the very few seats provided, but the real perk here is if you’re in the lower lot and thirsty, this is one of the other areas in the park that you can grab bottled water and sodas for free.
Is The RIP Tour Worth It?
All in all, Universal puts on one of my favorite haunts. Is even the general admission price expensive? Yeah. Do they oversell and cram the park? Also yeah. Do I think $450 is worth avoiding the long lines and these perks… It’s hard to outright say yes, but I’ll tell you it’s a pretty amazing experience. My bestie and I don’t have the amount of free time we did when we were younger, so paying a lot of money for a perfect night is something we will continue to try and justify to ourselves.
