Dark Horizon

[Viator]

From the creators of Queen Mary's Dark Harbor, Dark Horizon's has been officially announced for the Orlando area.



This marks the first time that the team responsible for Queen Mary's Dark Harbor to expand from it's landmark location at the Queen Mary.

 

[Legacy]

From the HHN thread.

True, but still it’s probably the first real alternative high-budget haunt in Orlando since Terror on Church Street

Terror on Church Street was not “high-budget.” And this also ignores Skull Kingdom (and to a lesser extent Shallow Grave).

Orlando, as haunt goers, are spoiled to a weird degree. The vast majority have never been to a haunt other than HHN. The structure and standards need to be “re-taught” to the locals.

Local haunts, even the headliner ones, lack the polish that HHN oozes. There’s an appeal in that “roughness,” but it’s not for everyone.

If the only meal you’ve ever eaten is a perfectly cooked filet, it’ll seem special when you get a chicken nugget. But you’ll still go back to the filet.

I don’t see this lasting very long.

 

[SeventyOne]

From the HHN thread.

Terror on Church Street was not “high-budget.” And this also ignores Skull Kingdom (and to a lesser extent Shallow Grave).

I'd throw in Mortem Manor/The Haunt, which has somehow survived at Old Town for years now. Closest of the local competitors I've found to HHN-level polish, but to use your analogy, a chicken sandwich--more than a nugget, but still nowhere near filet.

I don’t see this lasting very long.

I think a variation on Howl-O-Scream, despite being rough around the edges, might work in Orlando if done at Sea World. I think anything else just lacks the marketing power/infrastructure to compete with the big boys here.

---

My Google Fu fails me--where is this supposedly going? Clearly anticipate some sort of stage show in addition to mazes.

 

[Legacy]

My Google Fu fails me--where is this supposedly going? Clearly anticipate some sort of stage show in addition to mazes.

That’s the biggest question. Orlando is so sprawled out, they could say “Orlando” in an announcement and it could end up in Lake Mary.

Based on the scale of what they typically do, the Fairgrounds is the only place that would really work. But Queen Mary hasn’t even updated their website for 2019 yet.

 

[SeventyOne]

From Twitter,don't know poster. Definitely playing up the party aspect, also taking a couple pages from Phantasmagoria (unless Phantasmagoria is tied into this somehow?). Curious to see where and how this turns out.

ETA: full reveal coming July 23 apparently

 

[RedRightDan]

So, it looks like the website is updated with details on location and all the haunts/attractions/bars.

Right around the corner from Disney Springs, but it sounds a little cash-grabby to me. Lots of "exclusive" bars etc.

 

[SeventyOne]

So, it looks like the website is updated with details on location and all the haunts/attractions/bars.

Right around the corner from Disney Springs, but it sounds a little cash-grabby to me. Lots of "exclusive" bars etc.

I'm excited. Looks like they're going all in on the party crowd even as HHN steps back on that. Love the idea of a bar hidden in a maze. And any form of real competition should up the haunt game in Orlando. Hope these guys have the marketing budget to become a legit player.

20/20 hindsight, the Holiday Inn still has plenty of entertainment space from when it was Nickelodeon, should've thought of this one.

 

[Viator]

I'm a bit surprised to see the location being the Nick, but in a funny way more than a surprised way.

Love the lineup, I really can't wait to see what the Dark Harbor creative teams do with the Orlando scene.

 

[Nick]

I'm excited. Looks like they're going all in on the party crowd even as HHN steps back on that. Love the idea of a bar hidden in a maze. And any form of real competition should up the haunt game in Orlando. Hope these guys have the marketing budget to become a legit player.

20/20 hindsight, the Holiday Inn still has plenty of entertainment space from when it was Nickelodeon, should've thought of this one.

The Holiday Inn did a really, REALLY lame thing that was only $20, but probably shouldn’t have cost more than $10.

 

[Brian G.]

My interests have certainly piqued.

Dark Horizon: Point of No Return Haunt to debut this Halloween season in Orlando | Inside Universal

 

[SeventyOne]

My interests have certainly piqued.

Dark Horizon: Point of No Return Haunt to debut this Halloween season in Orlando | Inside Universal

Everyone who has seen the west coast version seems impressed by it. And while a lot of out-0f-the-way places have tried being scarier than HHN, this is the first I can recall that's tried to compete buy partying harder and being equally convenient (in tourist town on a major road with parking...).

I know they are learning a new market, but I would've hoped for a multinight option. Maybe one still coming.

 

[MrRoamer]

Everyone who has seen the west coast version seems impressed by it. And while a lot of out-0f-the-way places have tried being scarier than HHN, this is the first I can recall that's tried to compete buy partying harder and being equally convenient (in tourist town on a major road with parking...).

I know they are learning a new market, but I would've hoped for a multinight option. Maybe one still coming.

While a multinight would be nice, I think it makes more sense to just try to come in, start making a name for themselves, and act as an add on to HHN for a majority of people. If they were to offer a multinight too soon, they would be creating longer lines that may push new-comers away. I'd think all they need to do is have some fairly small fraction of HHN goers attend to be considered a success.

 

[SeventyOne]

Word on Twitter is this was pushed back to an October 10 opening, with a couple weekdays added in later in the month.

 

[RedRightDan]

Word on Twitter is this was pushed back to an October 10 opening, with a couple weekdays added in later in the month.

Whelp. I guess I'm not going this year...

 

[Nick]

Word on Twitter is this was pushed back to an October 10 opening, with a couple weekdays added in later in the month.

I heard most people that got hired don't even know their roles or anything yet, so this makes sense.

 

[SeventyOne]

Welp ... I know they did a social media preview last night. I think I've seen a grand total of 3 tweets since. Either it was incredibly underwhelming or they picked the wrong influencers.

 

[ghostsarejerks]

Yeah I saw a bunch of hullabaloo about the opening scaremony and nothing else all night lol

 

[Nick]

I’ll be going on Thursday, so I’ll report back. Will also be going to Scream-a-geddon next week so will compare.

 

[ghostsarejerks]

Here’s a review- sounds pretty fun, like Freakling Bros in Vegas or Screamageddon

 

[Brian G.]

Welp ... I know they did a social media preview last night. I think I've seen a grand total of 3 tweets since. Either it was incredibly underwhelming or they picked the wrong influencers.

Working on our stuff now. :thumbsup:

It's fine. Parking will be a major complaint. Vodou is great (We even joked we enjoyed it more than the Us house), while the other 2 are OK. The hidden bar was a mess, mostly because everyone was trying to get there at the same time.