Halloween Horror Nights 22 Reviews & Photos

[Hockeyman55]

Yes an I was always curious why it was a big deal to take pics/videos in the house besides the privacy thing but I went in Silent Hill an the A** hole kept taking pictures stopping an going throughout the whole house. I wanted to deck the guy.

Wooo that would have drove me nuts Im surprised none of the CMs said anything to him. I have even witnessed scare actors in the houses even tell people to stop taking pictures.

 

[SeventyOne]

I have never had a problem taking pictures with scare actors out and about in the park over the years. In the houses though photography is a big no no.

As I expected, Universal has even set up two de facto photo ops in the park. One in front of Kid Zone, one between Mummy and Finns.

 

[Brian G.]

^ I have never had a problem taking pictures with scare actors out and about in the park over the years. In the houses though photography is a big no no.

It's all a matter of how you go about it. By Universal "law", they are not there to pose. However, if you ask nicely, and aren't trying to consistently flashbulb their face off, they'll pose.

 

[Hockeyman55]

It's all a matter of how you go about it. By Universal "law", they are not there to pose. However, if you ask nicely, and aren't trying to consistently flashbulb their face off, they'll pose.

Yeah we always went about it nicely and would asked them to take a pics with us and everyone we asked was cool about it and would even kick up the dramatic poses for us lol. Now granted im talking about maybe 8-12 pictures with different ones over a 6-7 year period of going to HHN so rather infrequent.

 

[Cecilia]

It's all a matter of how you go about it. By Universal "law", they are not there to pose. However, if you ask nicely, and aren't trying to consistently flashbulb their face off, they'll pose.

This. I managed to get pictures with basically every character from the Traditionals and the Vampires. And it was simply by saying, "Picture, please?" Some even posed without me asking.

 

[Brian G.]

This. I managed to get pictures with basically every character from the Traditionals and the Vampires. And it was simply by saying, "Picture, please?" Some even posed without me asking.

Only ones who didn't pose for me were the zombies. Jerks.

 

[Octobers Fade]

Only ones who didn't pose for me were the zombies. Jerks.

Yeah they wouldn't for me either, and some of the reapers in Hollywood were stuck up on Friday but not so much on Saturday...

 

[Octobers Fade]

^^ What was the mix up with your stay and scream ticket if you don't mind me asking?

- - - Updated - - -

I had them print all our tickets, after the kiosks were acting up, in the morning when I got there for the tour and when I went to use my ROF it read as invalid. The early entry were problematic as well but we able to get in with out much problem.

 

[Hatetofly]

Only ones who didn't pose for me were the zombies. Jerks.

Brains! Brains! No photos please. Brains!

 

[photoguybry]

How high of an ISO did you shoot with? My Sony A55 gets pretty noisy at 1600 and drives me nuts. Your camera seem to handle it a lot better.

I had the ISO at 2500. They are actually terribly noisy when you expand them larger than that :bang:

 

[UNIrd]

I felt like this year was only okay but Universal did a great job bringing more people in thanks to Walking Dead. That show has a serious cult following and and a lot of people I met were fans of the show traveled from all over just to attend for the first time.

Gothic was easily the best house, followed by Dead End. Both were fantastic in their set design, although I didn't actually get a scare in either one. Alice Cooper was loud and intense, Penn and Teller was a lot of fun, and Walking Dead should have been a lot better but I loved the nods to the show too much to dislike it.

House of Horrors was cool, Silent Hill was pretty unimpressive. The scare zones were SORELY missed and Universal didn't put much effort in queue videos or outside theming either so I can't help but feel that it was slightly half-assed this year.

 

[Captain Tragedy]

Some other thoughts on my experience. I got picked out at the exit to take a survey and gave them a pretty honest opinion I think. Definitely mentioned the lack of themed scare zones as a huge minus. Also, staying at the Hard Rock apparently gave me early access to some of the houses at 6PM (Passholders got in at 5:30) while the event was supposed to open up to the rest of the guests at 6:30. Well my group got there at around 6 to wait in line for the priority access for resort guests and they were letting EVERYONE in. And I mean EVERYONE. This was last Saturday, btw. Don't know if they just did away with that, but it seems kind of crappy to tell guests that they get in before the general public and then get there only to see everybody allowed in. Not trying to sound elitist or anything, but we paid a premium price for the Hard Rock and yet the benefits weren't delivered. Maybe I was confused about the perks, too. I don't know, it was weird. :shrug:

 

[Zyzzbrah]

Some other thoughts on my experience. I got picked out at the exit to take a survey and gave them a pretty honest opinion I think. Definitely mentioned the lack of themed scare zones as a huge minus. Also, staying at the Hard Rock apparently gave me early access to some of the houses at 6PM (Passholders got in at 5:30) while the event was supposed to open up to the rest of the guests at 6:30. Well my group got there at around 6 to wait in line for the priority access for resort guests and they were letting EVERYONE in. And I mean EVERYONE. This was last Saturday, btw. Don't know if they just did away with that, but it seems kind of crappy to tell guests that they get in before the general public and then get there only to see everybody allowed in. Not trying to sound elitist or anything, but we paid a premium price for the Hard Rock and yet the benefits weren't delivered. Maybe I was confused about the perks, too. I don't know, it was weird. :shrug:

Me and my friend said the same thing while waiting in line at the hotel guest entrance at 6.It didn't really take away from the experience at all,we were just wondering why it was done that way.

 

[captainjack]

Politeness goes a long way into getting a scareactor to pose for a pic or two. I got a pic with one of the chainsaw women just by being pleasant and asking nicely.

 

[georgemoe]

I was extremely happy to get a few photos of my wife and some of the Vampires Sunday night. They were accommodating where they could be and we were extremely appreciative of it. Thank you!

 

[Captain Tragedy]

Me and my friend said the same thing while waiting in line at the hotel guest entrance at 6.It didn't really take away from the experience at all,we were just wondering why it was done that way.

Oh I still absolutely had an amazing time for sure. The whole process just sort of threw me for a loop.

 

[floridakid]

I only say "scareactors aren't allowed to pose for pictures" because I was firmly told not to pose for pictures this past saturday. Now, I don't know if that rule applied only to the walkers, but I was stopped by my asm after I had posed for a picture and got a whole speech about it creating a major mess. I guess different hordes have different rules.

 

[YETI PINTRADER]

I only say "scareactors aren't allowed to pose for pictures" because I was firmly told not to pose for pictures this past saturday. Now, I don't know if that rule applied only to the walkers, but I was stopped by my asm after I had posed for a picture and got a whole speech about it creating a major mess. I guess different hordes have different rules.

Could this rule have come directly from AMC in the agreement for the walkers. It seems to be the only reason, since I've seen other actors that really get into the picture and can usually get a scare out of the situation.

 

[TheDecemberists]

I just got back from a fantastic trip to Universal with my boyfriend.

September 30th was the most eventful theme park day of my life. We...
- arrived at universal at 8:45 in the morning
- hit up every single ride, several of them twice
- managed to pull THIS off on my second try!

- had an early supper at Finnegan's while waiting for HHN
- walked straight on to Gothic
- short wait for Dead End
- by this time Silent Hill was packed so we headed over to House of Horrors and walked straight on
- short wait for Alice Cooper
- we really lucked out for Penn and Teller, someone pulled the fire alarm and they had to close it down briefly, we sat and watched the hordes do their thing for about 10 minutes when the reopened it and we walked straight on to it
- finally we had to wait about 50 minutes for The Walking Dead but that is expected, it was alright
- waited 45 minutes for Silent Hill
- got something to eat and saw the Bill and Ted show, better than I was expecting since all you guys do is complain about it
- hit up Dead End and Gothic again
- rode RockIt at night while listening to Rainbow Connection
- managed to get in line for Silent Hill with 5 minutes left
- arrived at hotel and passed. the. hell. out.


I thought you guys might like a review from an outsider who's never been before.

Simply put: you guys are a spoiled.

Yes, I know I would have loved last year's event a million times better, but I still had a blast and got a ton of good scares. Maybe we got lucky, maybe it's because I ignored the team members yelling at me to pick up the pace, but we were constantly getting hit with scares. The only house that I didn't luck out on was Silent Hill, but oh well, the set alone was good enough for me.

As most have repeated on here, Gothic and Dead End were both fantastic. The facade for Dead End was beautiful, and I loved the roof scene from Gothic. I got some good scares in House of Horrors, but I wasn't a fan of the set. Alice Cooper, again, good scares, okay set, and... I thought it smelled pretty janky in there. Penn and Teller was fun but I wish I could have experienced The In Between. The Walking Dead... Nope. Zombies aren't scary. The barn scene was alright but with it having the longest wait time in the park it definitely isn't worth it. Silent Hill was the only house that I didn't get many scares in. Apparently I'm blind, because my boyfriend told me Pyramidhead's sword shot through the wall right at me and I didn't even see it! The only scares I got from this house were the nurses.

My ranking:
1. Gothic
2. Dead End
3. Silent Hill
4. Penn and Teller
5. Alice Cooper
6. The Walking Dead
7. House of Horros

I will say that, compared to Netherworld, HHN has some crappy costumes and makeup. But I realize that with an event this huge it's ridiculous to expect that kind of detail for hundreds and hundreds of scareactors.

Overall though, I loved it and would really like to make it back again next year if I can.

 

[floridakid]

Could this rule have come directly from AMC in the agreement for the walkers. It seems to be the only reason, since I've seen other actors that really get into the picture and can usually get a scare out of the situation.

This is what I'm thinking. Weeks before the event started we were told that we were allowed to pose for pictures, so they either changed the rules last Saturday, or the walkers are never allowed to pose for pictures.