Halloween Horror Nights 34 (UOR) - Reviews, Photos, & Videos

[Frank Drackman]

 

[johnathanm]

Quite an impressive year for me. I don’t consider any of these bad. And quite frankly, I think 9 of these houses would be at least middle of the road for me in a normal year. I won’t rank explicitly yet (I like the grouping approach someone else started employing for now):

Great / Blown Away:

El Artista - beautiful from start to finish, eerie, melancholy, and slightly scarier than I was expecting (though more consistent + intense scares would lock this in as #1). Houses like this are why I come to HHN.

Hatchet & Chains - maybe got lucky on timing, but this was more intense than I was hoping for, action packed, and just fun. Not to mention, sets are awesome for this tent location imo. Lose some narrative in here, but I didn’t need it.

Jason Universe - truly awesome use of the F&F space. Does get repetitive, but didn’t bother me. Lots of intensity, great duration, great actors, felt like lots of heart, and great to see a classic slasher back at HHN. Simple premise, and it works.

Terrifier - think I had this higher than most in anticipation, and it delivered for me. I was most looking forward to seeing how well they pulled off portraying Art and the funhouse scenes, and they nailed both (+ the facade). Would like a few more Arts in villain mode (vs. silly), but the house doesn’t need that to be great.

Galkn: Monsters of the North - some of this house felt similar to vibes in the past (Goblins/Dragons) but much darker. Creature design was largely scarier than I expected. Awesome set pieces. Great finale. All around, this delivered.


Good / Loved:

Grave of Flesh - I really wanted to put this one in the top category. I think it’s got an unsettling vibe, a great facade, cool creatures, and… just not a coherent enough story to be at the top end. Would love a breakdown from the creatives on what they were going for in the second half here, but the first half saves it for me.

Dolls - much scarier than I was expecting given the “horror comedy” comments from the design team. Feels like a loose dollhouse of the damned sequel to me, which is exactly what I wanted. This may be the creepiest house this year. Some fun scenes too, and interesting costumes. Could end the year in the tier higher, but this one does feel a bit less staffed than others.

Five Nights at Freddy’s - only a very casual fan of the franchise. Never played the games, thought the imagery of the movie was pretty cool (forget the story..) and they translated that PERFECTLY. Facade nailed it and set the tone well. Despite not being the true target audience, walking into a franchise this iconic was a cool experience.


Okay / Liked:

WWE - not a fan of wrestling at all, but no shade: this was a pleasant surprise. I don’t follow the story here in the way that it resonates with fans, but there are some truly unique scenes and costumes here, so it gets props for that.

Fallout - this one lands about where I expected. Despite the fact that the show didn’t feel like horror, the house probably could have… but it doesn’t. That said, I enjoy the property, and there are redeeming qualities here in terms of sets, so it isn’t a complete dud for me.

 

[Timchat2]

Just wanted to shout out the "Why Not Have Both" Pizza & Pasta at Louie's/Freddy's as a perfect HHN food...shareable, filling, and tasty. It might seem basic but we'd love to see it stick around for future HHNs.

 

[Frank Drackman]

 

[Captain Spaulding]

Sorry, but after 1 night color me not as impressed as the hype, and hype being key. Nothing this year so far beat Insidious or even GB. Only 1 run in every house and this is house only review as hub access ruins scare zones aa you don't go thru them to visit the houses.
Jason needs a sound stage. WWE is on spirits of the coven level as im not a WWE fan. Loved GOF. TERRIFIER is not scary but very FUN, FNAF, meh. Artists is not better than DW.
Sorry, just a 1 run opinion. I just dont buy the hype going on. I even prefer Major Sweets to most houses.
Hope multiple runs proves me wrong, but WWE is a Huge Bust even if I appreciate the effort.
If the over the top hype wasn't here id probably keep my big mouth shut

 

[Rikku]

Sorry, but after 1 night color me not as impressed as the hype, and hype being key. Nothing this year so far beat Insidious or even GB. Only 1 run in every house and this is house only review as hub access ruins scare zones aa you don't go thru them to visit the houses.
Jason needs a sound stage. WWE is on spirits of the coven level as im not a WWE fan. Loved GOF. TERRIFIER is not scary but very FUN, FNAF, meh. Artists is not better than DW.
Sorry, just a 1 run opinion. I just dont buy the hype going on. I even prefer Major Sweets to most houses.
Hope multiple runs proves me wrong, but WWE is a Huge Bust even if I appreciate the effort.
If the over the top hype wasn't here id probably keep my big mouth shut

I think with some of the most popular IPs in years, over-hype is very real. Also while I am in the camp that this year is amazing during my weekend I did experience "bum" runs of houses that I think are stellar and a bad run no matter the design of a house always dampers the experience so if you had a lot of those then sure your experience unfortunately wasn't as good, I'm sure you know this but still bears repeating. I think also what helps this year is that I think there were a lot of complaints about half the houses last year (Triplets, Bloodlines, Monstrous, Quiet Place and Museum) while this year there only seems to be two (Fallout and Grave of Flesh) that are struggling to keep up with the rest of the pack. Your opinions still valid but just some thoughts I had. Hope you have better runs soon!

 

[Brian G.]

 

[Frank Drackman]

 

[Frank Drackman]

 

[Tingus Pingus]

Some updates on my thoughts for the event after 5 visits:

New Rankings with some notes for houses that moved through it.

1. Terrifier: Still incredible, still fun, and the Art performers are somehow even more in your face and charismatic. This might be a hot take, but Art is what I consider an Icon for the event. He isn't original, but between his interactions in the park, the top tier performers, and the house itself, his presence really make for a compelling pseudo-icon this year.

2. El Artista: Still don't know how this house gets scarier and is just as masterful as the last runs.

3. Jason Universe: I got all the scares in the hallway gauntlet and is now in the hall of fame of houses that genuinely scared me.

4. Hatchet and Chains: The performers are really getting aggressive in this one, just an excellent close quarters original.

5. Wyatt Sicks: Something really clicked with this one for me after my first run through, the sets were always great, but the mood has become a lot more oppressive and sad? Got some insane double scares and the actors playing the Fiend are going nuts here. Still not converted to being interested in WWE at all, but this house went from a dud to genuinely great within a span of 2 weekends. I think it helps to see this house as entering the domains of the title characters rather than a straightforward story, and it really works for me now.

6. Galkn: Still a great house, but the initial awe I had for it has been dampened by missing scare actors and bad timing on later run throughs.

7. Dolls: Some great new scares added week to week. Wish it was a bit longer and got more scares from Lyla herself (either by objects she uses to maim the dolls or oversized hands maybe).

8. Five Nights at Freddy's: I am slowly seeing more of the love for this house than I initially did. The opening sequence is downright jaw dropping execution-wise with the animatronics syncing to a scare setup (even if the scare itself isn't that good) and music. The rest of the effects like the puppets and animatronics are awesome, I just wish this house had any sense of tension or scares at all. The victim scares do nothing for me and the animatronic scares are more impressive than imposing.

9. Grave of Flesh: Only have done it twice, and the 2nd run was definitely an improvement, but I do not see this house really getting any higher than 8 for me. The house reminds of Spirits of the Coven but scarier where the first half and setup is really good, but the 2nd half gets bogged down by confusing, empty set design and missing scares. Still a solid house, just not one that really has done much for me.

10. Fallout: Oof, what a definitive last place. Not one of the worst houses I have done, as it still features elements from a series I love, but the execution feels so neutered. The Gulper being the size of a normal gator, the leaving the vault scene with a scenic view of... a curtain, the scares being random Wastelanders screaming a quote, and the lack of grand set pieces really make for a whatever house. I think the main culprit might be whoever gave Creative the rights might have been too controlling because this being in a Soundstage would not help much. I think it's crazy that literally every other house this year feels like it got a way bigger budget, even the smaller tents and even Jason Universe, which had a half comprised of a long dark hallway.


Scarezones are mostly the same, Catlady is a modern classic, Toxic Twenties is awesome, and Masquerade is getting better vibes-wise.

Operations are better as well, still don't love the Soundstage hub but with experience is easier to navigate now, and food stands while still ludicrously long seem to be running way quicker. I like the Twisted Tater chips way more than on a stick even if visually they are step down, the WWE sloppy joe was surprisingly delicious, the fried carrot cake rocked, and walking taco is as tasty as last year.

This event is inching closer to overtaking 31 and 32 as my favorite since 29 and is firmly in my top 5 of the last decade now.

 

[hunnylvr]

Just a few comments from our two visits this past weekend:

1. My biggest surprise so far is Hatchet & Chains. When it was originally announced, I was like - what?? I didn't even remember the scene in SS2. Maybe that's a good thing because I went in not really expecting much. I ended up LOVING this house! The couple times we went through, the actors were really aggressive, and we got some decent scares. It's a FUN house.
2. El Artista was listed on my initial list as #1, and it still sits firmly at #1 for me. It is jaw-droppingly gorgeous with its huge detailed sets throughout the whole thing! I mean, I cannot even imagine the $$ they put into building this. There is so much to see which then generates into decent scares as you walk through looking up and down and around with your mouth hanging open ripe for even a mediocre scareactor to nail you. LOVE it!
3. Galkn is also in my top 3. I think it has the best scares of all the houses. It's also gorgeous and just really well done. I will be spending a lot of time there.
4. Another surprise was Jason. I was kind of meh about it because he's not my fave horror slasher (maybe because I think it's ridiculous how many movies they've made which just gets boring and tiresome after decades of the same crap). However, this house? This house impressed the hell out of me - especially the second half of it where you really have nowhere to go - you're going to get it from one or more of them - possibly at the same time. Excellent use of space for that tight, claustrophobic feeling followed by some very large, very aggressive scareactors. So, Jason is now my #4.

We got lucky and found a lull in the hours long wait times for FNAF - walked by and saw it at 75 minutes. We have express, so we jumped on it. I absolutely hated it. I mean, I understand they replicated the characters and the scenes perfectly - good on them, and good for those who love it. However, I hated the movie, so I guess they did it well enough that I hated the house. haha I'm glad to have knocked this off my list as a one and done. This is my 20th year in a row attending, and I've never missed a house, so I needed to hold my streak.

I didn't get Dolls at all. All four of us had the same response after leaving it - which was what the hell was that? Nobody wants to do it again, but maybe we'll give it one more shot during one of our next three visits.

I went thru WWE. I tried to go with an open mind as I know nothing about WWE (and don't care to). So, I was just going to absorb the scenes and hope for a scare. I'll give them credit - they managed to do a WWE house that an old broad like me didn't absolutely hate. Some of the guys in there were big - and the makeup/costumes were cool. I'm actually going to put this one somewhere in the middle for me. Never thought I'd say that.

Fallout was a book report. Zero scares, and even some of the scenic seemed a bit cheesy (looking at you giant curtain/screen). We've done that one twice, and unless we are bored with an empty queue line, I think we are done with that, too.

Grave of Flesh - I wanted to like this so much. I thought the effect at the beginning was cool when you first walk in, and you feel a drip of water hit you, so you look up to see where it came from and you notice you're IN the grave because you can see the top of another tombstone sticking out next to the hole you're in. However, after that, it was just downhill. No idea what the point is, and frankly, rather boring.

We thought we were going to get lucky and get through Terrifier with a lower wait time (75 minutes - but again we have express). As we walked toward the queue entrance, the wait time screen literally spun like a slot machine and jumped to 120 minutes in the span of 10 seconds. I was like NOPE. I'm not a gore person, and I don't really care for this franchise, but I have to see it at least once. Will wait for an opening next round.

The scarezones?? Oh my god! What a vast improvement! These are some of the best since HHN25! Cat Lady is my fave, for sure, but I really like them all! I finally feel like I can do what we used to do - which was to take some time and find a spot to sit and watch.. these are worth watching. The stilt walkers in Masquerade and in Origins are gorgeous! They are all just so much fun again!

The music is finally back to what it should - atomospheric, appropriate and immersive. It was the first thing I noticed walking in and was thrilled to find that it was like that all around the park. LOVE IT!

Looking forward to going again in two weeks!

 

[Spooky_Bitz]

I went for my first night of the year Tuesday and wow, I really enjoy this event a lot this year. This is year eight for me(started in 2017) and even though I’ve only done one night, I can see this being one of my favourite years. And I did RIP tour.

What I loved:

Terrifier- As a fan of the franchise and Art the Clown as a character, this house gave me everything I wanted. It was funny, scary, and diabolical. This is honestly the IP house out of the eight years attending that I enjoyed the most.

The Catlady of Crooked Lane- My favourite scarezones have always been the traditional Halloween style ones and this one didn’t let me down. I loved the costuming, the scenic, the mini show, and it felt nice having pumpkins in the trees for the first time since 2018.

The Horrors of the Wyatt Sicks- I think they did a great job paying tribute to Bray Wyatt as well as making a genuinely unsettling haunted house. I loved that each member of the Wyatt Sicks got their own “realm” that we explored.

Dolls: Let’s Play Dead- I never got to experience Dollhouse of the Damned but that is a house I really wish I got to experience. However, this house does scratch that itch. I loved how messed up the house gets, there are great scares throughout and I really appreciate the scenic here.

Hatchet and Chains: Demon Bounty Hunters- My biggest surprise for sure, as I thought this section in Slaughter Sinema 2 last year wasn’t the best. This house has a lot of great scares as well as some really funny moments. It gave me wild west Evil Dead vibes and I’m here for it.

El Artista: A Spanish Haunting- This house is gorgeous and it gave me Graveyard Games and Haunting of Hill House vibes. I missed a lot of scares but I was still able to take in and appreciate the scenery around me.

Masquerade: Dance with Death- This was a really pretty scarezone. The set pieces and costumes blew me away and there’s something happening all around with the show moments on the stages or the vampire and victim scareactors interacting right in front of you.

Grave of Flesh- I know not a lot of people love this house but I personally did. This house scared me the most in the night, I loved the look of the Flesh Eaters, and I interpreted the ending as us being in some sort of messed up purgatory.

Galkn: Monsters of the North- This gave me Blood Moon and Yeti: Terror of the Yukon vibes. It was cool to experience Nordic monsters in a haunted house for the first time and I had a blast throughout this house. The “belly of the beast” moment made my jaw drop.

Nightmare Fuel: Circus of Decay- It’s funny that Nightmare Fuel is in my loved section as I started out not really caring too much for this show. But last year and this year’s show were great to me. I like the switch ups from last year and the contortionist returning from past shows was a great addition.

What I liked:

The Origins of Horror- This is my favourite entrance scarezone since Anarch-Cade. I like how it stretches down the street instead of being confined to a smaller space and I got some really good interactions with the crows and gargoyles.

Mutations: Toxic Twenties- The vibes were great in this scarezone and got some great interactions with the mutant scareactors. There were some comedic elements that I really appreciated.

Five Nights at Freddy’s- This is honestly surprising that I liked this house as I hated the movie but I think they did a pretty good job here. It’s not a particularly scary house but the scenery is great, the puppets and animatronics were impressive, and the show element in the beginning blew me away.

What I thought was okay:

Jason Universe- This was my first time ever seeing the character at the event and I thought this house was just okay. I got some decent scares throughout the Camp Crystal Lake parts but the gauntlet in the second half didn’t really do it for me.

Mel’s Die-In Zombies & Club Horror- I thought both street experiences were fun and I fully expected to not treat these like traditional scarezones but I don’t think I’d spend a lot of time in either.

What I disliked:

Fallout- I only watched two episodes of the show and got bored of it so I wasn’t very hyped for this house. Ended up walking out of the house bored as well, the scares were very repetitive and it was mostly just raiders/scavengers which didn’t really help. Even the die-hard Fallout fans in my tour group admitted they weren’t big on this house.

What I didn’t experience:

Haunt-O-Phonic: A Ghoulish Journey- I will definitely check this show out at some point in the season, as I loved the previous lagoon shows. The only reason I didn’t this time was because I wanted to spend more time in the scarezones.

 

[Legacy]

The last time I attended HHN in Orlando was 2011. Various things in life kept me from attending but, there was largely a frustration with how the event was ran back then. I (we) just couldn’t deal with the lines and crowds anymore. Even Express wasn’t worth it for us. So I appreciated (promoted) the artistry from a distance. Because I could. And, I feel, it helped me stop becoming the jaded, cynical fan I sensed myself becoming.

But, I was still a fan (obviously). We went to Singapore in 2023 because we could. This year, I happened to be in Orlando during HHN. We could go, we could go the way we wanted to go (R.I.P. Tour), and I needed the soul-boost. So, we went.

A lot of backstory, sure, but this review is going to be a little different. I’m going to focus on the differences we (my wife and I) noticed about the event since the last time we attended. Sometimes, when you attend every year, it’s hard to get a sense how drastically things are changing. A decade-plus gap makes it obvious.

The biggest thing we noticed is how much BIGGER the event is. We’re not talking numerically (which is something), but the houses themselves are to-a-man grander in scale than back then. More pneumatics, more effects, larger monsters/puppets, taller/encompassing sets… the floor for house designs is largely higher than back then. Now, there are downsides to that. Even though I had largely good runs where I’m confident I saw more effects than not… I also saw a lot of not working effects that made individual experiences suffer.

With that increase in scale, Universal has increased the space it uses in almost every house. Old house designs almost always had a gap between set walls. I think it was to give the lighting and audio designers more flexibility, but it caused almost every scene to feel “isolated” from the overall house. It was something I always felt could be improved. I even wrote the idea of seeing other scenes in a house in a Hunger Games concept in like 2012. Now? The houses are full of those sorts of moments. I love it. It’s such a small thing, but it really really makes things feel more “integrated.”

The extra space doesn’t always mean things are maximized though. Scenes are bigger and more open, which can make things feel less claustrophobic (than I want). I understand why paths are wider than before. There were always ADA accessible, but it definitely feels like paths are designed for more “side-by-side” guests movement than single file. That could just be nostalgia playing tricks too. It also felt, to a degree less “gritty” than before, but that could just be nostalgia.

But… my favorite design change… MULTIPLE BOO HOLES FOR PERFORMERS!!! For a long time, house performers were stuck with one hole and one trigger. In Catacombs, I had two holes and I thought it was the greatest thing ever. Seeing so many spots where performers had 2-4 holes (some across two rooms) made me so happy. It’s actually a big thing. Giving performers multiple holes gives them way more creative flexibility than they would otherwise have and helps alleviate injuries from repetitive motions. So so great.

Zones are zones. I’ve never liked zones where the performers have the same silhouette as a guests. It’s still an issue. But props to Masquerade! I have never, personally, been targeted more in a zone. I’m typically ignored. Those vampires took me as a challenge and I appreciate it.

And lastly… operations. Now, granted… I was on an R.I.P. Tour… so my view is observational and not experiential. But, with everything HHN offers, the operations for the event are as good as they can be. It’s a little chaotic, and issues will always arise, but no where else (I feel) could work it as well as they do in the space they have.

It was a great experience, and we’re likely to go back (especially since we’re back on the East Coast for a couple of years).

And house thoughts… largely in order of preference:

Spoiler: Spoilered for space

Dolls - Simple concept executed with a twisted humor and creativity… especially the yarn room and the “spider”

Hatchet and Chains - Scale with claustrophobia and great effects. Hatchet on the horse gave one of the best scares of me I can recall.

WWE - Honestly, just a fun house. Some fun scenes that make it feel honorable but accessible.

FNAF - The animatronics are the house. Everything after that actually works far better than it *should.* A good time.

El Artista - Absolutely gorgeous house that feels remarkably reminiscent of Screamhouse (literally, my wife described it as, “Screamhouse, but make it Spanish”). That’s good! Screamhouse a great house. But it results in a concept that (for me) feels done before and doesn’t really capitalize on the “art” aspect.

Galkn - Phenomenal creature designs, and a great story. The house really demonstrates the height of the new tents. I just wish some if the designs were more “readable.”

Jason Un1v3rse - I rarely like slashers, though Jason is a top for me. Unfortunately, it just felt one note. The labyrinthine layout is what puts it higher than the others.

Terrifier - See slasher thoughts. Add a general aversion of “gratuitous gore” houses. Honestly, this felt less gory than promised but still included the situational discomfort of the kills.

Grave of Flesh - I wanted to like this more. Conceptually, it reminded me of Singapore’s “DIYU: Descent into Hell.” Just… not Asian. I could tell some effects were broken and I like the monster designs. But it’s a high concept not fully fleshed out.

Fallout - I like the hacking screen. This house is just… it feels like a throwaway which is insane.

And Nightmare Fuel was absolutely insane. Probably the best part of the night. My wife is hard to impress when it comes to these sorts of shows and I have never seen her react like this to a show. That contortionist…

 

[TheCodeMan95]

I did NOT have a @Legacy HHN review on my 2025 Bingo card!

I'll try to keep this somewhat short - my rankings:

1. Wyatt Sicks
2. El Artista
3. Terrifier (shocker, I know)
4. FNAF
5. Dolls
6. Jason
7. Galkn
8. Hatchet and Chain
9. Fallout ( )
10. Grave of Flesh

1. Crooked Lane
2. Toxic Twenties
3. Masquerade
4. Origins of Horror

Didn't want to include it in the zone ranking, but Mel's Zombies were a blast and I hope they're a permanent fixture of the event moving forward!

The food I had was good - Birria Walking Taco, Cram Tots, Yum Yum Deviled Eggs.
Cram Tots were the best here!

Nightmare Fuel was a lot of fun, but I prefer last year's version. Ghoulish was cool as well, but.. I wish they had incorporated IP here.

The new Stay and Scream process is AMAZING and they better keep it this way forever - and the soundstage "hub" area actually went better than I expected. A bit of a bottleneck, but it wasn't terrible.

All in all - this is the 2nd best year I've attended (right after 2019), and I hope they keep this momentum going into 2026.

(@Brian G. might murder me for this - but I think we may get an FNAF2 house announcement at the end of the season ala Chucky in 2022)

 

[Parkscope Joe]

And Nightmare Fuel was absolutely insane. Probably the best part of the night. My wife is hard to impress when it comes to these sorts of shows and I have never seen her react like this to a show. That contortionist…

I KEEP SAYING

 

[trinitron7]

I was at the event from 09/11 - 09/14, and after mulling it over for a week, this is easily the best year I've attended so far (the others being 27, 30, and 33). What a refreshing feeling it is that even this year's last-place house for me ranks in the top half of last year's lineup! Keeping it relatively short:

1. Dolls - The more time passes, the more this house grows on me. Simple horror comedy done right.
2. Terrifier - Maybe the best-paced house I've experienced with the extra space. The cast absolutely killed it.
3. Galkn - Like Goblins' Feast last year, this house felt truly "lived-in." The creature designs blew me away.
4. Jason Universe - Having done Stay & Scream for this house really upped the experience in the back half, as my eyes had to readjust to my surroundings. Scarier than Insidious for me, and hard to imagine having a "bad run" based on the design.
5. El Artista - Undeniably a beautiful house, but ultimately feels like you need more than one run to really take everything in both plot and scare-wise (I saw a lot of long resets).
6. WWE - Just a good old-fashioned fun haunt! I thought the characters fit right into the world of HHN, and the way they blended the real and the kayfabe elements was impressive. I think this house is heavily cast-dependent, and we're lucky we got a good one.
7. FNAF - I was really worried about this house because of the budget required to pull it off, but they really threw the financial kitchen sink at this. I wish I could hang out in that first room!
8. Fallout - I wish it were more creative with its scares, and that it weren't beholden to the events of the show. But the sets and general atmosphere were on point.
9. Hatchet & Chains - Probably the biggest letdown for me - I liked how claustrophobic it was, and the house features some stand-out puppetry moments. But the creature designs and the rooms blended together, making the plot hard to follow.
10. Grave of Flesh - Some terrific scares, some cool sets, but it desperately needed some kind of throughline. I still couldn't give you a book report on this one.

Zones: Crooked Lane > Masquerade > Toxic Twenties > Origins of Horror
Nightmare Fuel: 7.5/10. I'm still a big fan, but I preferred last year's.

See you all in the fog for next year's anniversary!

 

[Frank Drackman]

 

[Tobias]

Another HHN has come and gone for me, HHN 34 was my 7th year and just myself this time as my parents were down at Knott's this year. The build up to this year was quite interesting to say the least, coming off a year which admittedly wasn't as strong as the very enjoyable 32, and a wild spec season with multiple big IP's joining the line-up along with intriguing originals, zones and the long-awaited return of the Lagoon Show. Was it a comeback or should it have gone back from where it came? Let's dive in, starting with the houses from the bottom up!

10.) Fallout - While I enjoyed the sets, look-alikes and various touches, this house felt more like a really neat walkthrough rather than a haunted house. The scares just weren't baked into it, unlike Hollywood's version which does look better in that regard. That all said, I still enjoyed this house and the tweaks they've made to punch up the scares did make my runs a lot more fun. Anticipated House Rank - #6. (Little bit of a bummer it lacked the scares, but still a fun house to go through.)

9.) Grave of Flesh - This house definitely has an interesting concept, along with a great facade, some unique sets and appropriately freaky creatures in the form of the Flesh Eaters who provided wonderful scares. Though where it falters for me is the story can get lost pretty quickly and it just kind of ends, and it's one of the few houses this year which has this issue, so it sticks out all the more. Anticipated House Rank - #7. (I wasn't quite initially hyped on this one so it's not a big drop. Though this house does deliver some great scares, so it's still a fun experience.)

8.) Terrifier - While the series may be very polarizing (As you know, I'm not a fan.), something I think a lot of us can agree on is the house is actually pretty darn fun. There are multiple things I do respect with it. I think they did a nice job with the funhouse aspect, I like them taking risks with the wet/dry path for an ending, and something that honestly makes the house are the various Art's who're able to ham it up in very playful and silly ways. That's the side of Art that I prefer and that's what the house delivered plenty of. Anticipated House Rank - #10 (I honestly didn't think this house would climb out from the #10 spot, but the Art's were fun to interact with and that wet path made me laugh hysterically when I went through it. So this rank is a W in my books.)

7.) Dolls: Let's Play Dead - Out of all the houses this year, this is the most unsettling. It got under my skin and creeped me out something fierce, so props to the designers and casts for that. There's a lot of clever, playful and genuinely f'd up stuff in here. Plus some fun GAT's which I always appreciate! Anticipated House Rank - #2 (While it's the biggest drop from anticipated to actual this year, it's not a bad house whatsoever. This year is full of surprises and in getting to the nitty gritty, this is a house which felt a little short and none of the houses above this felt that way for me.)

6.) Jason Universe - Speaking of surprises, this house was one of them! I think a lot of us were wondering how this would fare in the Supercharged location and holy crap does this make fantastic use of the venue! There's a ton of scares in here, taking great advantage of the claustrophobic setting to put us through one heck of a chase. And then you've got the killer second half which is a blast from the series past. Definitely a wonderful return for our hockey masked killer! Anticipated House Rank - #5 (This house can deliver on the scares something fierce, though since the focus is the scares, it is possible to have run throughs which might not hit as hard.)

5.) Five Nights at Freddy's - After years of waiting, this IP finally makes it to the event, along with the monster waits to boot! This house is all about the set design and the iconic animatronics, and they did a fantastic job in that regard! The facade and intro scene gave me chills and I was all smiles from there. It may not be a scary house, but the scares are there and it maintains the creepy vibes of the IP as it should. Anticipated House Rank - #9 (I purposely kept that rank low to avoid overhype, and it did the job as I really enjoyed this house! This is absolutely a W for me.)

4.) El Artista: A Spanish Haunting - HHN generally knows how to do a good ghost house, and this one is no exception. It was beautiful with plenty of creepy details and plethora of effects and scares to keep one on their toes. Not to mention a killer set design which some stunning scenes which spanned multiple places due to their design. Anticipated House Rank - #1 (Any other year, this could've been #1. But there was some really good competition for me and that's a fantastic sign of how good this year was for me!)

3.) Galkn: Monsters of the North - Being a fan of big, beastly creatures, and puppets...this house just delivered on all fronts for me! I love the sets, I love the creatures, I love the puppets, and this house has one of the more memorable finales this year. Anticipated House Rank - #3 (This house was a blast to go through every time, and I can reveal this house was my actual #1 anticipated house. So this house still delivered for me, and like with El Artista this could easily be #1 in any other year...but there were two big surprises which edged it out.)

2.) Hatchet and Chains: Demon Bounty Hunters - The irony is not lost on me that I picked the Western House as my Dark Horse house, but this house was a blast! On Opening Night the couple run throughs I had were fun, and I got a little taste that it could end up being really intense later on. And last weekend I got those intense runs! The cast was killing it, easily the most consistently intense runs I had out of any house this year. So when you add that into the great sets and cool effects, you've got a heck of a good time! Anticipated House Rank - #8 (Those intense runs shot this way up for me, and I'm glad it did. This theme may not have been most folks first choice to return as a full house from Slaughter Sinema 2, but the cast is showing it absolutely should of!)

1.) WWE Presents: The Horrors of the Wyatt Sicks - I've already spoken plenty about this house in its respective thread, but to reiterate. Knowing the IP and those behind it, I had a feeling this would be good. But nothing could prepare me for it not only being a good house, but for it to become a rare comfort house. So far the only other time that happened was Case Files back in 2021. Once it clicked for me last weekend it was that kind of house, I knew I had to soak it all in on my short trip. This house was so much fun to go through, and it many ways it was more than a house. It was a loving passion project to pay tribute to Bray Wyatt, and from the designers to the cast and ops, I feel they truly nailed it. I would not have gone through the house 15 times if I didn't feel that way, and it's one of the many reasons it was a no-brainer this is my number one house of 34! Anticipated House Rank #4 (At this point, all I can say is YOWIE WOWIE!!!)

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All in all, this is an incredibly solid line-up! I wasn't quite sure how it would be with all the heavy hitters, but the creative teams clearly had a blast designing them and the casts are bringing them to life. Well done everyone! In the next part I'll get into the zones, shows and everything else.

 

[Tobias]

Pt. 2

Zones

After last years zones being a tad disappointing compared to the stellar zones from 31 and 32, it's clear A&D took the criticism and put some TLC into this year's zones, as they're all fun! The Cat Lady of Crooked Lane is an obvious stand-out for being a pure campy blast, but I also enjoyed all the others as well. Origins of Horror has great visuals with the statues along with the Gargoyles and Crows, Masquerade is flat-out pretty with vamps that'll catch you off guard, Toxic Twenties was a blast to go through and interact with the cast who were really having fun with their roles.

And the extra experiences were nice additions as well. The Mel's DIE-In zombies were always fun to interact with, and even Club Horror was a nice little thing to walk through. Add in the Death Eaters in Diagon and it really felt like there were less dead zones, the atmosphere was all over the park.

Shows

It was very nice to have two shows again, and both were quite nice this year! Nightmare Fuel: Circus of Decay was a very good continuation of last year's story and I felt it wrapped it up nicely. And Haunt-O-Phonic: A Ghoulish Journey was a great return of the lagoon show with Ghoulish getting the run it deserves.

UTH (6 House)

For the first time, I finally did the 6 house tour, and it was totally worth it! My tour guide was Kristi, and she was flat-out awesome. There was a lot of great insights to the houses on the tour, such as finding out how much of a maze Jason Universe is in the first half (seriously, you can get easily lost with that layout with the lights on.), and it was cool seeing the mechanisms for Terrifier's wet finale. We also met and bumped into the scenic team multiple times, showing how much TLC is given to the houses during the event.

Also, the provided lunch buffet was pretty darn good as well, something that everyone in the tour agreed on.

Memorable Moments and Scares

Naturally a year like this is gonna' provide a lot of fun memories and scares, so here's a few that I experienced.

Hatchet and Chains - Hearing bloody murder from one woman behind me for the entire run, and after she caught her breath outside she said incredibly composed to her friend. "I really don't like monsters." The sheer juxtaposition of sheer loud panic to calmly saying that was hilarious.

This house also has a really fun ops team who had little choreographed dances to the facade's music loop.

El Artista - Last Friday night I went through with some friends, and the stilt-walker ghost got my friend real good on their first scare...but not as good as the scare they got me on their 2nd. Some scares can send me down low to the ground and touch it with my hands, Graveyard Games infamously sent me flat on my side thanks to the candle scene. But with this ghost? For the first time in Drag Race herstory...wait...for the first time, I got a scare which sent me right on my @$$. I jerked back and my legs shot out in front of me and that was it. It stunned my friends, and the stilt-walker was looming overhead to make sure I was alright. I just laughed, clapped a few times and shot them a double thumbs-up with a "THANK YOU!" to let them know I was fine.

?!?! - Hey @Brian G. , I seem to recall you and the gang had a very memorable moment one year in a house, especially due to a woman's reaction behind all of you. Something similar happened to me in a pretty spectacular fashion. One of the gutsiest scares I've gotten from someone, and it was an all timer since it got me real good...but it really got the couple behind me who witnessed it, and got the psychological scare of wondering if it would happen to them for the rest of the house. XD

Wyatt Sicks - Getting a perfectly timed two at once scare from Howdy and Fiend in the TV hallway is an insane scare, sent me right into an unexpected back bend that the Fiend would be proud of.

And in terms of funny, being a haunt actor going on 15 years, various costume, prop and set malfunctions are bound to happen. It's nature of the beast with the environment, and I was lucky to witness a Howdy who somehow lost his hat. So what was on his head could be best described as a Yamaka with a rim of dreads. Even better was the comedic timing of my friends and I reacting to the scare and then looking confused at his head, then Howdy reaching up and touching his head and giving a real funny "Whoops" face before slinking back into his spot.

Finally, seeing a HHN crowd take-over E.T. during stay & scream (which I fully enjoyed the new process this year) is always a treat!

Final Thoughts

With a great line-up of houses with multiple heavy hitters in the mix, zones that were flat-out fun, two great shows, and overall theme that was really cohesive and throughout the event...this was one heck of a comeback! I'll still have to muse on where I'd rank this year overall, but this is the first year to rival 32 which is my current favorite. Hat's off to everyone involved as this is clearly a big year for the event, and I truly look forward to seeing what next year's anniversary will bring!

Lastly, talk about a return to the helm for Aiello, huh?