Halloween Horror Nights 32 (UOR) - Reviews, Photos, & Videos

[UniversalRBLX]

Still have a month to go, but I feel like we've hit "peak HHN" where my rankings probably won't change.

Overall
The event is solid this year and feels like a pre-COVID HHN. Same as every year, the event's quality and design are top-tier, yet held back from their atrocious operations in all aspects (outside of the houses/zones themselves). Crowds this year are no joke, and honestly, not fun during that 8-12 peak time.

Quick Summary
Overall: After 3 years of Covid, HHN finally feels normal
Houses: solid lineup - best overall lineup since 29
Scare Zones: decent
Shows: solid as always, but the biggest standout point is that the event needs (and has the demand) more stage shows
Food & Drinks: drinks suck, food is ok - I'll be bringing my popcorn bucket from now on to snack lol

Houses
1. The Darkest Deal - a run through this house when your eyes haven't adjusted is a top-tier experience. This was at the bottom of my hype list, actors took that personally
2. Oddfellow - felt like a soundstage house, just amazing what they can fit into these tents. Loved some of the creative scares/effects in the house
3. Exorcist - was dead last in my hype list, was worried they would go cheap, I was wrong. Solid scares, sets, and some of the actors here are killing it
4. Universal Monsters - another solid Monsters house
5. YETI - was at #9 on my list in week 1, since then the yetis have been more aggressive
6. Last of Us - loved the huge sets, felt like a Walking Dead house
7. Blood Moon - just like Dead Man's, great atmosphere, but suffers from repetitive/bland scares
8. Dueling Dragons - great idea, (would probably rank 3-5 in other years), but something felt off.

Spoiler: Dueling Spoiler

Loved the dueling idea, BUT the timing of the actors is off. You have to look back often to see the actors since they have to wait to recognize someone is walking their path lol

9. Stranger Things - not the worst house, but definitely the biggest "miss" in HHN history? Some of the sets are fine, but a good chunk is cheap. Shame since, in my opinion, the first ST house was the 2nd best adaptation of an IP property (Halloween 2014 was the best)
--- the far reaches of hell---
10. Chucky - just an embarrassing effort (actors are the only saving grace for the house)

Scare Zones
1. Dark Zodiac - similar to Graveyard last year, love the atmosphere and costumes
2. Vamp '69 - great atmosphere, perfect for HHN and its location
3. Jungle of Doom - loved the idea, but not a huge fan of some of the costumes (though other "safari" guide characters would allow actors to be a bit scarier/move faster) Actors do their best with the size restrictions of the zone
--huge gap--
4. Shipyard 32 - I get the idea, but it just doesn't work well. They need to stop artificially causing bottlenecks in this zone... it's not fun when actors intentionally place themselves off to the sides
5. Dr. Oddfellow - a poor excuse for an HHN zone. It's not a bad zone, actors are great, but it's not the "tentpole" scare zone HHN deserves

Shows
Nightmare Fuel - still a great show, should (or something similar) be at HHN each year... BUT the event needs another stage show and lagoon show.
M3GAN - don't understand why a small temp stage wasn't built for them. Hard to see them even if your near the front of the crowd lol

Pros & Cons
Pros

• Loved the Peacock bar idea - but the event could probably support another one in the NY area
• Creating a "new" icon (or general theme) tying the event together is a good sign for future HHNs
• House operations - no longer annoying
• Scare Actor staffing - haven't seen empty boo holes outside of cast changes
• Death Eaters - loved it, hopefully they expand on the idea next year

Cons

• HHN capacity is far below what it needs to be for the current crowds in every aspect (food, seating, shows, etc.)
• Lots of heat-exhausted guests/vomiting this year - probably due to a lack of shade/misters during stay & scream and the heat this year
• Lack of queue entertainment, felt like TheWeeknd queue last year made them realize people wouldn't complain too much if they had something to do while in the queue. No idea why projectors aren't used from Day 1 at the very least
• Crowds - how HHN didn't implement a chaperone policy after last year's incident was an interesting choice
• Stroller Parking - HHN apparently needs to start implementing dedicated stroller parking for next year's event at this rate

Great year, but I feel like the next big step for the event is to figure out the capacity/operations issue next year.

 

[brkndwnbus]

This was only my third time experiencing HHN. I’ve done the past three events. My first time, I got all houses done without Express. Last year, I intentionally didn’t do one house but I definitely could have if I wanted to get I a run - and again without Express.

This year, I missed two houses and ran out of time. I was there Sunday night and thought the crowds were rough to deal with. It felt far more crowded than my last two experiences. I think next year might need split into two nights to better deal with high wait times and crowds.

My enjoyment wasn’t ruined by any means. I do wish I saw the original Stranger Things house as I liked this one, but everyone really seems to prefer the other one.

Child’s Play was my first horror movie I saw as a kid, so it holds a special memory of me being terrified and I liked the house for the nostalgia.

Yeti was a lot of fun. The bear walked out past the crowds later in the night and was jumping up and down behind the fence and everyone was cheering. That was pretty funny.

 

[Bruisewayne]

• Lots of heat-exhausted guests/vomiting this year - probably due to a lack of shade/misters during stay & scream and the heat this year

I don't understand why they don't just open the Springfield Houses at 5:15 instead of 5:45 or later. The wait in the sun is brutal. They do it for Stranger Things and I'm pretty sure they did it for Halloween last year. I also feel the line management as far as express goes is not great this year. Especially for the four houses in the back of the park.

 

[UniversalRBLX]

I don't understand why they don't just open the Springfield Houses at 5:15 instead of 5:45 or later. The wait in the sun is brutal. They do it for Stranger Things and I'm pretty sure they did it for Halloween last year. I also feel the line management as far as express goes is not great this year. Especially for the four houses in the back of the park.

Monsters/Tents don't have the demand to open that early... but Last of Us does have that demand and it should be opening at 5:15PM.

Opening Last of Us at 5:45 saves margins by 0.034%! When will HHN fans start to consider gross margins in their discussion?!?!

 

[Legacy]

I don't understand why they don't just open the Springfield Houses at 5:15 instead of 5:45 or later. The wait in the sun is brutal. They do it for Stranger Things and I'm pretty sure they did it for Halloween last year. I also feel the line management as far as express goes is not great this year. Especially for the four houses in the back of the park.

They stagger cast arrivals so things don’t get overwhelming backstage. It can already be hectic with the daytime workers leaving. Putting a 30 minute gap between scareactor call times throughout the park helps employee flow. But it also means some houses open later.

 

[Clive]

Pivoting us back toward reviews... I just got back from five nights at the event, 9/20-9/25.

The headline is this is probably the best year for houses, in my opinion, since 2021. Only one really weak one in the bunch, and even that has its charms. Many are so strong that it's difficult to rank them, often coming down to run timings and personal preference. With that said, here would be my "ranks" (using the same system as I did for my Hollywood review).

Superior
The Darkest Deal. By far and away the best house this year and the one we will likely continue to talk about in the decades to come. I ranked this fairly low on my anticipation list in part because I feared they would shy away from the satanic imagery needed to make this work. I am pleased to admit I predicted wrong. This house has it all: A clear, easy-to-follow story that also rewards repeat runs, disturbing masks and makeups, and claustrophobic (and occasionally innovative) scares. Fantastic vignettes throughout, including some terrific show moments that are very fast to reset. I think this one also has by far and away the best finale of any of the houses this year. I get the criticism that it feels short, but when it's firing on all cylinders (which was frequent on my runs), you don't really care. It knocks the concept out of the park.

Blood Moon: Dark Offerings. Wicker Man meets Over the Garden Wall. I'd argue this did the open layout better than Dead Man's Pier did (and I say that as a huge fan). One of my favorite moments of the event featured an actor presumably on the way to their hide pausing in the main courtyard, deliberately making herself visible from down an adjacent alleyway where I was standing. She suddenly turned to stare me and would not break her gaze until I moved out of view. These sorts of interactions were par for the course for me, as I found the cast consistently aggressive and unnerving. Almost everyone was making strong, bold acting choices (necessary for a house with so few masks) and were hitting their triggers hard. The scenic and soundscape are spectacular, with so many vertical visuals and a fiery finale that befits such a disturbed environment. Gotta love it.

Universal Monsters: Unmasked. It's kind of clear to me that Orlando is most interested in the Phantom, who seems to take up about 60% of the house until the designers realized they needed to include everyone else on the marquee. That means Hunchback is reduced to a bungee scare that, while still impressive, can't compete with Dracula's flight last year and another quick pop. Invisible Man gets more than Hollywood but still feels like an afterthought. And Hyde feels like he deserves his own house, or at least one that can give more space for his arc to breathe. Despite all this, I couldn't help but fall in love with the exquisite environments, punchy scares, and surprisingly nasty gore. The Phantoms and Hydes I saw were relentless, and the Invisible Men really got into their roles. It all left me both satisfied and wanting more, which isn't a bad place to be.

Excellent
Dr. Oddfellow: Twisted Origins. Finally, a good standalone icon house after so many years.A rock solid carnival clown house packed with dedicated actors (many with fast resets) and macabre visuals. Like many houses this year, it takes a while to get moving, but once you hit the beheading, this finds it groove and stays in the right gear. The lion and beast actor combo offer one of the most potent ping pong scares in the event if you get the timing right. Great cameo by Jack that doesn't detract from Oddfellow being his own thing. My one main quibble is the ending, which feels a bit cheap and underwhelming, especially after the rising anticipation of the preceding room. We could've used something a little more like The In-Between and less like a Six Flags house.

Dueling Dragons. Yes, it needed dragon head scares. But yes, I still dug it, especially the more I visited. When this thing is fully staffed, it's like running through a high-fantasy epic with more teeth than usual. Special commendation goes to the transforming ice warlock - who has one of the most disturbing trigger sounds at the event this year - as well as the skeletons and first burn victim, who all somehow managed to nail me repeatedly despite my knowing their vague locations. The story is very clear and progresses with good momentum, though the house could have been superior if not for casting issues later in the weekend. On more than a few visits, there was only one or two warlocks in the early half of the house, leaving many of the scenes vacant aside from the occasional troll or fairy. Still, a great effort that largely delivers on the promise the title makes.

The Last of Us. Who knew this would be the true monster hit this year? Getting on this one was a beast, even with express, and that may color my perception a bit, but I still have to give this house kudos for its sense of scale and marvelously aggressive cast. As some have suggested, it does feel like the performers in the first half are directed to keep their distance and not go too hard, but once you cross into clicker territory, all hell seems to break loose. I was in awe of some of the clickers who were doing full-body contortions and getting inches from my face at the end of what was assuredly a long, long night. The bloaters are also relentless, with the one in the finale charging across the room with remarkable speed and control. I also thought we got the appropriate amount of Joel and Ellie, both of whom are actually permitted to acknowledge us in the Orlando version of the house, so I think I do have to give the edge to Orlando when discussing which coast had the better version - though it's close.

The Exorcist: Believer. The women portraying the possessed girls in this house deserve awards. They were giving 200% on every single run of this thing, including a double-jointed performer who was literally bending over backwards and spider-crawling across walls. I don't know how they keep up that energy every single night, but color me supremely impressed. Enormous commitment that carries a house that could have been a total dud. There is quite a bit of lovely scenic work here, and the demon scares hit as hard as some of the more ferocious ghosts in The Haunting of Hill House. I just wish there weren't so many "dead" moments that break up the pacing - things don't really escalate until you hit the (brilliantly staged) double scrim moment, and the momentum stutters when you have to go down a long hallway or two without anything really happening. These are ultimately minor quibbles, however. The house admirably does its job of working as a haunted house and getting you excited for a movie you otherwise might've skipped.

Yeti: Campground Kills. If not for my last two runs, this probably would have slipped down to the "very good" category, potentially below Stranger Things. Sacrilege, maybe, but I have not seen any of the other Yeti installments and have no particular affection for them. The scenic is good, if a bit familiar, but I just could not see many of the scares to save my life. Despite not having a lot of big show moments outside the "baby bashing" bit, the reset times for this were largely rough. I blame this on how cumbersome these costumes likely are, but it ultimately does start to negatively affect the house experience if the big guys can't come out very hard, very often. Finally, I did get two runs where everything seemed to come together, and I started to get it. I'm not sure the human element of it all quite worked for me - the attempts at humor didn't really go far enough, in my opinion - but when those Yetis do hit, they pack a wallop.

^I would stress that I think Dr. Oddfellow, Dragons, and Yeti are pretty locked in their positions, while Last of Us and Exorcist are toss-ups that could switch.

 

[Clive]

Very Good
Stranger Things 4. Someone said that a lot of the scenic felt substandard to HHN standards, and I have to agree, especially for such a headlining property. The "forest" backdrop near the horizontal clock, for example, looked egregiously rough, and I don't think the Master of Puppets bit was successful despite their best efforts. I was always aware I was in a soundstage looking at Stranger Things-themed stuff and not particularly immersed in the story, which is weirdly something I felt less during Hollywood's version. The Orlando version has a great lineup of characters, though, brought to life by some fairly strong lookalikes. I also have to hand it to the cast, who largely seem to understand how long folks have been waiting and are thus ready to ensure they are seen by as many excited fans as possible. There were still some troubling staffing issues that left many large scenes - or the literal finale - vacant, which combined with the shoddy scenic brought this down a few pegs.

Okay
Chucky: Ultimate Kill Count. It's not a total trainwreck, but it's not very good, especially when we know Universal is capable of a good Chucky house. I think the premise makes more sense on paper than it does in execution - Hollywood somehow threaded the needle better, perhaps because they largely ignored the "this is an existing HHN house that Chucky took over" element outside of a few easy-to-miss gags. Orlando doesn't make the most of the new Dourif material, and I can't wrap my head around what's going on with the screens everywhere. The random clip art - some very pixelated - thrown up on half the walls is maybe meant to feel ironic, but instead it feels like something Six Flags would do. With this house we also really see the limitations of the Fast & Furious venue, as there's really no space to do a major setpiece. Adding the Big Chucky Heads improved things, I loved seeing Gigi and Kyle, and some of the puppet scares are quite good, but the bottom line are the bones of a good house just aren't here. There are very few creative scares, there's no exciting scenic, and the concept feels too convoluted to enjoy.

Additional thoughts on zones, shows, and general event observations to come.

 

[Clive]

So, zones... not a lot to talk about. Outside of VAMP, they aren't very good. VAMP finally fulfills the promise of the New York zone area by flooding the streets with what felt like 45 actors, many of whom are great at blending into the crowd and getting quick strikes. I wish the stage had been used a little more, though the quick little bit vignettes they did do were neat. The go-go's kind of felt like a half measure to me, and I'm not sure the effect really works if you have a PA with a glowing wand standing next to them the entire night.

Shipyard is a mess. More PAs and security than actual actors. They got this right last year when they put an eye-catching stage off the main path, pulling people toward it and out of traffic. This year, the set pieces force people into a narrow slice, giving the few remaining actors no room to work. I also expected to see a much wider variety of characters, but outside the welcome return of the bat and a Tooth Fairy, there wasn't much to see.

Zodiac had some really impressive costumes and masks, but the concept felt muddled, and I never got the sense of place or unease that permeated Graveyard last year. Jungle of Doom definitely did capture a sinister atmosphere, and I loved the show moment with Young Oddfellow (plus the red eyes that turn green during his immortality speech). Still, all the usual criticisms that apply to Central Park zones apply here, though the costumes are way more interesting and out there than I expected.

The Oddfellow zone at the front of the park isn't really a zone, and we shouldn't call it one. There were really only four zones this year. With that said, the performers playing the speaking Dr. Oddfellow are fantastic - great stage presence, poise, and improvisational abilities. Loved that he switched between spending time on the stage and roaming on the ground when it wasn't too congested. Can't say anything for other actors, though, who were total non-entities.

Scare zone actors across the board need better show direction and lessons on how to effectively (and safely) scare people. Couldn't count the number of times I traveled through a zone and didn't see a single effort at scaring, though I will note this got much better on the last two nights of my trip.

Dementors were awesome when you were lucky enough to find them. Having only one cast - and I think only six total performers - is a mistake, though. They need to do whatever it takes to get WB to approve two, larger casts that can adequately fill the space, because right now the scant few performers are getting mobbed. I also think they need to incorporate something like what Hollywood does with one or two Death Eaters standing on platforms with mood lighting. This guarantees that you get to "see" a Death Eater and can grab a quick pic without disturbing the flow of the rest of the space. They also need to keep this running until the end of the night.

M3GAN is way too popular for its own good. By now the approximate showtimes have gotten around, meaning there are a bunch of people waiting to crowd to the front as soon as they appear. So few people can see them actually dance, and the meet and greet gets mobbed and shut down within seconds of the line forming. We happened to get the chance to get a pic completely by unintentionally standing in the right place at the right time. Hollywood had this right - put these guys on a stage (Mel's plaza is... currently vacant), provide showtimes, and just let them stand on that stage so folks can get pictures afterward. Trying to do this in the Fast and Furious courtyard during the heat of the night is downright negligent.

We didn't have too many issues with food and beverage. Sure, there were major lines from 8pm to 10pm or so, but they tended to move quickly, and we never had the issue of a booth running out of something. We liked the Last of Us offerings the best, particularly the ravioli and beef stew.

Express queues were kind of a disaster, and you had to be able to gauge the line/merge strategy to see if it made sense to stay in the line or try again later - which should not be the norm when you're paying as much as you are. Yeti, The Last of Us, and Chucky were the worst culprits for us, while Stranger Things managed to keep things balanced and moving. The issue isn't the scanner - it's the merge. There doesn't appear to be any set ratio or adjustments made when express backs up, and I'm convinced some of the merge TMs are anti-capitalists who resent express. Hyperbole, maybe, but I struggle to find another explanation for how ridiculous some of the operations were.

In-house ops were mostly fine. They're doing the whole "stay with the party in front of you, single file" barking out front, but once you're in there, they tend to leave you alone. Some will poke their head in and motion you to come a certain way, but I got the sense that was largely happening to prevent folks from getting lost, not to rush them, as no one really yelled at me when I took my time moving through a scene.

Holes in the houses were a consistent problem throughout the event. I had runs through Dragons where you'd only see three performers before you hit the fire dragon scales, and it wasn't necessarily at the beginning of the night. Chucky seemed to be a complete shrug of whether scenes would be staffed or not. Stranger Things was a roulette wheel of which characters you'd get to see - and not just the lookalikes, there were times where you'd only catch one or two Vecna's.

Makeup and mask quality felt drastically improved over previous years, with much of Orlando's executions comparable to Hollywood's. This, to me, is a big deal, as Hollywood has by far and way been superior in this area historically. The Monsters, for example, all felt more or less identical to their Hollywood counterparts.

Not necessarily a critique, but an observation - lot of houses have the "actor hiding behind a trick mirror that extends the scene." I believe there's at least one in Blood Moon, Last of Us, Exorcist, and Monsters.

One thing I did not care for was the number of actors who were positioned after the "end" of the house and just in the soundstage void before you exited the building. When one house does it, it's a fun surprise, but when many of the houses do it, it gets repetitive, predictable, and even lazy, especially because the reset times seem to be significant for some reason. I counted this tactic in Yeti, Stranger Things, Exorcist (arguably), and Last of Us.

Nightmare Fuel: Revenge Dream is the best incarnation of the show yet. Banger soundtrack, sophisticated stunts, and some great new tricks. Works if you've never seen any version of the show but definitely rewards returning audiences. The event desperately needs more shows, though. Hopefully we'll get the lagoon back next year, but I think it's time to consider running Bourne and doing something with Horror Makeup Show, even if it's just the usual show with a few extra expletives.

May add more as I think about it!

 

[sparky]

So, zones... not a lot to talk about. Outside of VAMP, they aren't very good. VAMP finally fulfills the promise of the New York zone area by flooding the streets with what felt like 45 actors, many of whom are great at blending into the crowd and getting quick strikes. I wish the stage had been used a little more, though the quick little bit vignettes they did do were neat. The go-go's kind of felt like a half measure to me, and I'm not sure the effect really works if you have a PA with a glowing wand standing next to them the entire night.

Shipyard is a mess. More PAs and security than actual actors. They got this right last year when they put an eye-catching stage off the main path, pulling people toward it and out of traffic. This year, the set pieces force people into a narrow slice, giving the few remaining actors no room to work. I also expected to see a much wider variety of characters, but outside the welcome return of the bat and a Tooth Fairy, there wasn't much to see.

Zodiac had some really impressive costumes and masks, but the concept felt muddled, and I never got the sense of place or unease that permeated Graveyard last year. Jungle of Doom definitely did capture a sinister atmosphere, and I loved the show moment with Young Oddfellow (plus the red eyes that turn green during his immortality speech). Still, all the usual criticisms that apply to Central Park zones apply here, though the costumes are way more interesting and out there than I expected.

The Oddfellow zone at the front of the park isn't really a zone, and we shouldn't call it one. There were really only four zones this year. With that said, the performers playing the speaking Dr. Oddfellow are fantastic - great stage presence, poise, and improvisational abilities. Loved that he switched between spending time on the stage and roaming on the ground when it wasn't too congested. Can't say anything for other actors, though, who were total non-entities.

Scare zone actors across the board need better show direction and lessons on how to effectively (and safely) scare people. Couldn't count the number of times I traveled through a zone and didn't see a single effort at scaring, though I will note this got much better on the last two nights of my trip.

Dementors were awesome when you were lucky enough to find them. Having only one cast - and I think only six total performers - is a mistake, though. They need to do whatever it takes to get WB to approve two, larger casts that can adequately fill the space, because right now the scant few performers are getting mobbed. I also think they need to incorporate something like what Hollywood does with one or two Death Eaters standing on platforms with mood lighting. This guarantees that you get to "see" a Death Eater and can grab a quick pic without disturbing the flow of the rest of the space. They also need to keep this running until the end of the night.

M3GAN is way too popular for its own good. By now the approximate showtimes have gotten around, meaning there are a bunch of people waiting to crowd to the front as soon as they appear. So few people can see them actually dance, and the meet and greet gets mobbed and shut down within seconds of the line forming. We happened to get the chance to get a pic completely by unintentionally standing in the right place at the right time. Hollywood had this right - put these guys on a stage (Mel's plaza is... currently vacant), provide showtimes, and just let them stand on that stage so folks can get pictures afterward. Trying to do this in the Fast and Furious courtyard during the heat of the night is downright negligent.

We didn't have too many issues with food and beverage. Sure, there were major lines from 8pm to 10pm or so, but they tended to move quickly, and we never had the issue of a booth running out of something. We liked the Last of Us offerings the best, particularly the ravioli and beef stew.

Express queues were kind of a disaster, and you had to be able to gauge the line/merge strategy to see if it made sense to stay in the line or try again later - which should not be the norm when you're paying as much as you are. Yeti, The Last of Us, and Chucky were the worst culprits for us, while Stranger Things managed to keep things balanced and moving. The issue isn't the scanner - it's the merge. There doesn't appear to be any set ratio or adjustments made when express backs up, and I'm convinced some of the merge TMs are anti-capitalists who resent express. Hyperbole, maybe, but I struggle to find another explanation for how ridiculous some of the operations were.

In-house ops were mostly fine. They're doing the whole "stay with the party in front of you, single file" barking out front, but once you're in there, they tend to leave you alone. Some will poke their head in and motion you to come a certain way, but I got the sense that was largely happening to prevent folks from getting lost, not to rush them, as no one really yelled at me when I took my time moving through a scene.

Holes in the houses were a consistent problem throughout the event. I had runs through Dragons where you'd only see three performers before you hit the fire dragon scales, and it wasn't necessarily at the beginning of the night. Chucky seemed to be a complete shrug of whether scenes would be staffed or not. Stranger Things was a roulette wheel of which characters you'd get to see - and not just the lookalikes, there were times where you'd only catch one or two Vecna's.

Makeup and mask quality felt drastically improved over previous years, with much of Orlando's executions comparable to Hollywood's. This, to me, is a big deal, as Hollywood has by far and way been superior in this area historically. The Monsters, for example, all felt more or less identical to their Hollywood counterparts.

Not necessarily a critique, but an observation - lot of houses have the "actor hiding behind a trick mirror that extends the scene." I believe there's at least one in Blood Moon, Last of Us, Exorcist, and Monsters.

One thing I did not care for was the number of actors who were positioned after the "end" of the house and just in the soundstage void before you exited the building. When one house does it, it's a fun surprise, but when many of the houses do it, it gets repetitive, predictable, and even lazy, especially because the reset times seem to be significant for some reason. I counted this tactic in Yeti, Stranger Things, Exorcist (arguably), and Last of Us.

Nightmare Fuel: Revenge Dream is the best incarnation of the show yet. Banger soundtrack, sophisticated stunts, and some great new tricks. Works if you've never seen any version of the show but definitely rewards returning audiences. The event desperately needs more shows, though. Hopefully we'll get the lagoon back next year, but I think it's time to consider running Bourne and doing something with Horror Makeup Show, even if it's just the usual show with a few extra expletives.

May add more as I think about it!

Is there an ops reason horror makeup doesnt run during the event? Staffing? I swear I saw a rip tour guide who worked at makeup show

 

[UniversalRBLX]

Is there an ops reason horror makeup doesnt run during the event? Staffing? I swear I saw a rip tour guide who worked at makeup show

Not really. At the moment they use it as a base for RIP Tours... but Cafe La Bamba across the street already does that as well (not to mention Fallon lounge/Lombard's and the failed attempt at using the Coke Refresh station by MIB lol).

It's a cheap show to run and while it won't be a massive capacity boost, it'll at least give you something to do during busy times. You can probably run 7-8 shows a night spaced out every 45 minutes like on any normal day. Should give around 4K people an extra thing to do each night.

 

[GentleArt309]

Will post more complete thoughts when I get home and sleep, but my immediate thoughts after being there this week is:
I felt like ops had most things on point
Best tribute store
I’m done with stranger things
Most of the food was ass. Again. I’ve learned my lesson.
Odd fellow is perfect. No notes.
Dead Coconut Club is perfect. No notes.
Too many people, and most of them are insanely stupid and rude.

Im with you 100% on all of this!


Also next year I think will be the first year we take my daughter. She will be 11. I always told her once she can walk 10 miles a night she can come. Well after 3 years of soccer non-stop the kids a little machine. But no way am I going to take her on a friday or saturday night. I feel the crowds will be too much. I have enough of a time keeping track of my 5' wife LOL This year Wednesday and Thursday were awesome. But man once that weekend rolled around.... yikes.

 

[Grabnar]

Hopefully we'll get the lagoon back next year, but I think it's time to consider running Bourne and doing something with Horror Makeup Show, even if it's just the usual show with a few extra expletives.

I could see them importing the Blumhouse concept to the Pantages stage.

 

[Alsands]

Quick thoughts still in the middle of my trip.

Really love the event this year , The houses are really strong this year besides 1.

Seems to be more Scareactors in the houses than the past couple years (which I believe makes/breaks a house).

Scareactors/TMs are awesome, they work so hard and all my interactions have been extremely pleasant.

Is it a conscious decision to have less Scareactors in IPs not owned by Universal?

 

[OhHaiInternet95]

Pivoting us back toward reviews... I just got back from five nights at the event, 9/20-9/25.

The headline is this is probably the best year for houses, in my opinion, since 2021.

Did you mistype the tens digit? Because there's only been one year between this year and 2021.

 

[Clive]

Did you mistype the tens digit? Because there's only been one year between this year and 2021.

Whoops, I sure did. I meant 2011!

 

[OhHaiInternet95]

So I bit the bullet for a single night tonight, went in with a blank slate. As a result I enjoyed a fairly low-stress visit very little pressure. Hit five of the houses. Quick thoughts:

Worst to best
-Stranger Things--Sigh, way too many "non-villain" scares, from a season that could've so easily made for a legit scary house.
-Yeti--Smelled and looked sooooo good but way too timing dependent/could see all the SAs a mile away.
-Darkest Deal--Loved the theme and soundtrack, told a pretty clear and compelling story from start to finish, at least one scare that legit got me (hard to do). But way too short (what is it with "southern" houses [Dead Waters] and being short?).
-Dueling Dragons--This house single handedly got me to go to an event I wasn't really planning on going back to for the foreseeable future. Not scary in the least but I don't care. Gave me basically all the member berries I wanted.
-Unmasked--OMG, simply awesome. Wonderful scare tactics, an aggressive cast, beautiful sets, an impressive length, rain effects...only downside was the usual long walk back.

 

[Alsands]

Houses were all good it’s really hard to even place them on a list but I will try. Scare zones might have been the weakest I seen. Maybe it was intentional but ,there was a lack of any Fall/Halloween theming at all in the park.

I didn’t notice too many empty boo holes. In fact besides the big IPs , I was impressed by the number of Scareactors in the houses. The lack of Scareactors last year really hurt.

1) Bloodmoon
2) Exorcist
3) Yeti
4) Universal Monster
5) Oddfellow
6) Darkest Deal
7) Stranger things
8) The last of us
9) Dueling Dragons
10) Chucky

Fun year! Don’t know why last year just felt off but HHN is back on track! If they can combine the SZ’s of 31 and the houses of 32 next year , we are in for a treat!

 

[OrlandoGuy]

Having been very low on HHN 31, to the point I ended up l visiting just twice on an Ultimate FFP, I had very, very low expectations for this year. Hearing some preliminary complaints about ops issues didn’t help, and hearing no buzz about any “standout” houses made me wonder if this would be the year I finally stopped making HHN an annual tradition 15 years in the making.

Well, I’ve never been happier to be wrong. This is a very, very fun year and notable step up from last year (for me). I’ve been having a great time and feel solid about being able to write a review…


Houses: the way I see it, there are two bad to mediocre houses, two standouts, and a bunch of good to great all hanging out in the middle. No GOATs on the level of (most recently) Wicked Growth or Slaughter Sinema, but a strong house year overall.

1. Blood Moon - horror movies about cults are the ones that get to me…entering the first room during my first walk-through immediately put me on edge and that sense of dread followed me through the whole house. The scares are strong, but it’s the set design and composition of the scenes that really do it for me. The intro, town square, church, and finale are all bangers and stand out as all-time memorable scenes…plus, is this officially the return of good old fashioned nasty gore to HHN? Dead Man’s Pier fell really short for me last year, and I still don’t know if I’m sold on these types of houses (the bigger sets just draw attention to the natural shortcomings of haunted house design IMO), but this one was compelling enough to be my unchallenged #1 for this year.

2. The Exorcist - I think the movie will be trash, but after a few times through the house I may just go check it out. Aggressive actors, scary devil costumes, and some nice, understated effects to complement the larger set pieces put this in the top tier for me.

—

3. Dueling Dragons - thought this would be stupid and to be fair it was so cheesy…but I loved it. Thought the special effects work was really impressive and I got surprisingly excited seeing little touches from the old ride queue (plus the Enchanted Oak facade). This is the first “versus” house that feels like you’re in a battle, and the split path at the end is an underrated feature—if you go down the empty path, you get a built-in pulse experience otherwise missing from modern HHN.

4. The Darkest Deal - I think this is my favorite house concept this year and the story is executed very well. It’s just a little too short to be in the top tier and not quirky/unique enough to overtake Dragons for me.

5. Monsters - I can’t think of anything “wrong” with this house (maybe the black curtain hallway but whatever). And the facade, Invisible Man, and Hunchback rooms are real solid. But the monsters have just never moved the needle for me. Nothing against the house design or actors themselves, though.

6. Yeti - again, nothing wrong with this one but Yeti’s don’t really do it for me. I kind of wish they leaned a little bit more into the campiness but the scares are good enough for this to work as a more straight-edged house if you’re freaked out by Bigfoot.

7. The Last of Us - not a gamer and the pilot of the show didn’t grab me. With a better affinity for the source material I’d probably enjoy this more because it is a beautifully-designed house in terms of sets and costumes. For a non-fan, it just comes off a bit generic. Also that acoustic guitar loop in the queue is a major buzzkill.

8. Oddfellow - a solid, if not forgettable circus house. There are good scares (love the lion) and a nice length. Just don’t think it’ll be remembered in years to come.

—

9. Stranger Things - I don’t love season 4 but can acknowledge it had some strong moments…unfortunately, I think the house whiffed on those. I like the idea of the big screen backdrops, but they’re executed a little sloppily. Everything about this feels like going through the motions.

10. Chucky - I actually enjoyed this in a “wtf did someone really sign off on this” kind of way. The first puppet (animatronic?) is good. The concept and queue video work. But it just doesn’t come together—the puppets are laughably bad.




Scarezones: I’m not really a scarezone guy and they’ve never made or broken an event for me. This year they’re pretty mediocre and not scary, but for me personally that’s not much different from the “good” zone years.


Ops: I’ve had absolutely 0 issues. I made one visit with Express and waited maybe 15 minutes at most (Last of Us). Every other night (granted I missed the first couple of weekends), the standby lines have moved smoothly and quickly, and most of the wait time estimates are super conservative. Never had a single issue waiting for food (either in line to pay or to collect) and the longest bar wait was maybe 10 minutes at the Animal Actors bar. Security and park entrance lines were breezy as ever and even Parking has gone surprisingly smoothly. It feels like the only thing that has changed in the last couple of years have been the goalposts for what’s considered problematic; my first couple of years going it wasn’t uncommon for multiple queues to run over 120 minutes, yet so far this year I haven’t seen anything higher than 90.


Maybe I’m pleasantly surprised because of low expectations…maybe I’m just looking for different things…maybe I’m just lucky. But all in all, I’ve got HHN 32 going down as one of the upper tier years for me.

 

[Crypt Keeper]

FINAL RANKINGS

Haunted Houses:

1. Dueling Dragons: Choose Thy Fate - This was my number one most hyped house for this year and it did not disappoint! While I did expect more appearances of the Pyrock and Blizzrock dragons, I think it worked well for the story Universal was trying to tell. The black hallway with Merlyn speaking really sets the story up and immerses you in the world of these warlocks. Turning the corner to see the Enchanted Oak never disappointed! I loved seeing the progression of Pyrock and Blizzrock being turned into dragons, especially the Blizzrock screaming scare. Universal did an amazing job recreating the ride queue and it felt nostalgic! Some of the best costume designs are in this house and it felt like a hybrid of a VS and a traditional haunted house. The sets in here were beyond incredible and the Choose Thy Fate finale was fun. Here's to hoping Poseidon's Fury gets the HHN treatment.

2. Dr. Oddfellow's Twisted Origins - It's always what I've wanted from a circus/carnival-themed house! The music leading up to the facade is perfect and completely sets the mood. The circus tent projection is genius and I knew there was no way Universal would miss the opportunity to do something like that. There were awesome scares in here, the highlights being the lion, the decapitated body, and the masquerade guy. Seeing Jack through easter eggs so many times was great, and he didn't steal the show at all. I loved the clown facade right after the lion and buffalo guy scare. Universal really used this Sprung to the max!

3. The Last of Us - One of the best IP houses I've been through. I've only seen clips of the game, especially for Chapter 5, but I've been familiar with TLOU for quite some time. The Infected have always been really interesting monsters and I've agreed with anyone who has said this game deserves to be a house. The house follows Chapter 5 very well and captures the scale of the game. You really do feel as if you're following Joel and Ellie through this broken-down version of Pittsburgh. It's extremely long, has great scares, and is incredibly atmospheric. I do believe this isn't the end of TLOU, as Chapter 9 would be a pretty cool setting for a house and would feel completely different from this year's house.

4. Universal Monsters: Unmasked - Might get some hate for this, but Unmasked is my favorite UM house so far. Big fan of Phantom and Invisible Man, so seeing them get the spotlight was awesome. This house is also surprisingly scary, especially the Hyde scenes and the finale triple scare! The scale of this house was insane as well. The facade alone was impressive, but the Paris street scene was crazy. The Quasimodo scenes were cool as well, with the falling Quasimodo being one of the most memorable scenes this year for me. This house makes me excited for what Universal has in store for the Monsters next year!

5. Yeti: Campground Kills - This and Terror of the Yukon are completely different imo, so I can't really say which one was better. They did play into the dark comedy much more than Yukon was going for. This house had some of the coolest scares this year, including the window and lake scares. The lake scene was awesome and the ranger tower was a cool sight. This house made me realize why I loved Yukon so much. The Yetis were aggressive, especially the finale Yeti. The Yetis all looked different, had such personalities to them, and were just fun to be around. Of course, I had to mention HHN Bear lol. Loved seeing him again and I hope he continues to show up in the future.

6. The Darkest Deal - This is def the sleeper of the year. The facade is phenomenal and the ambiance of it is incredible. While I did expect more grand scenes, this house was awesome from start to finish. It's full of scares and it doesn't let up until you leave the Sprung Tent! The finale had aggressive scares and a "meet-and-greet" with The Collector, which was freakin awesome! The Collector is an interesting character I hope he takes on a bigger role within HHN lore. It also smelled great in there lol.

7. Bloodmoon: Dark Offerings - Scenically impressive just like Dead Man's Pier, but slightly scarier! The facade is stunning and a complete tonal shift from Pier. It felt extremely long, which was quite a surprise. The entire house looked red as if the Bloodmoon was bright as can be and it really helped immerse me into the story and setting of this house. The town scene with the children was surprisingly eerie, but I wish the children were running around lol. The Church and "Wickerman" scenes were my favorites! The finale scares can get you pretty good if you're alone.

8. Stranger Things - I still believe the 2018 house remains superior, but this year's is MUCH better than 2019's house. I was so glad to see a Stranger Things house finally get a proper facade with Eddie's trailer. Vecna looks a lot better than I was expecting and he offered some pretty good scares. It seems like Universal was testing out screenz with this house, which I guess makes sense, but it worked for the most part. This house had some pretty impressive scenes like the Mind Lair and the Eddie/Dustin scene. As a huge fan of Metallica and as a guitar player, hearing MoP in a house was f**king cool!! The finale was great as well. Even tho it's lower on my rankings, I would love ST to return again.

9. The Exorcist: Believer - Went in expecting this was going to be the scariest house of the year, but it wasn't that scary to me lol. It's surprisingly long and is very good at not spoiling very much at all! Hearing the Exorcist theme always gives me goosebumps, and it really builds tension for the facade, leading up to the first scare. The two demons are really cool looking as well, and they were a complete surprise to me! It was repetitive in some spots, but I still enjoyed the hell out of this house! This house also got me hyped for the movie. I wasn't even planning on seeing it!

10. Chucky: Ultimate Kill Count - This is the only house I did not enjoy very much. Confusing story with too many human characters and nowhere near enough of Chucky. I fully believe this house would've been better if it focused on the movies or just the show. Is it the worst house I've ever been through? No, but it isn't very good.


Scarezones:

1. Jungle of Doom: Expedition Horror - Been a fan of the house for a while, so I was super happy to hear they were revisiting this Original house in scarezone form. The creature designs were cool and the set pieces were interesting, especially the crashed plane. Really liked the glowing bat eyes in the trees.

2. Dark Zodiac - The Zodiac creatures were a little bizarre-looking, but I think that added to the intensity of this zone. Really happy to see that this zone was the substitute for no chainsaw horde this year. Their march during cast change was cool.

3. Vamp '69 - The music and vibes of this zone were immaculate. I 100% enjoyed this more than '55, but not '85. Some of the Vampires were surprisingly aggressive and weren't afraid to strike up a conversation with you.

4. Shipyard 32: Horrors Unhinged - They weren't lying about new and old creatures appearing lol. Interesting concept for a zone, but it didn't hold up. The actors were aggressive here and the set pieces were pretty cool. Super happy to see the new Sculder design being used again.

5. Dr. Oddfellow's Collection of Horror - 30 Years 30 Fears and Horrors of Halloween were peak "Table of Contents" zones. Not a bad zone, but it really is a downgrade from the last two zones. Dr. Oddfellow got the Pumpkin Lord treatment, which was cool.


I've been attending since HHN 25 and I believe this is one of the best years yet! HHN 30 reigns supreme, but 31 and 32 are neck and neck for the 2nd place spot! Overall, I really enjoyed this year and I can't wait to see what Universal has in store for HHN 33.....

 

[JohnHammondsCane]

My review for our trip 9/23 - 9/30 with HHN on 9/24 and 9/27.

This trip was our fourth in 5 years. 2019 was fantastic, 2021 I had an emergency appendectomy and had to go to the ER at Orlando Health, and 2022 we were there when the hurricane hit and I got COVID on the last day of our trip, yay! Safe to say, I was worried about how it would turn out this year after so much bad luck the previous two years.

We attended Sunday and Wednesday nights, without express, but my brother qualifies for the Attraction Assistance Pass. For those who don't know, it's not a front of the line pass. It works very similarly to Tapu Tapu at Volcano Bay - get a return time, then go through the express queue.

With all that out of the way, let's start the review!

Scarezones
Not much to say here, I thought Vamp and Dark Zodiac were good, but everything else was downright bad. Shipyard???? Jungle of Doom???

Houses (no order)
1. Bloodmoon (A-)
-I think this house is a dark house top 3 of the year for me. Maybe I just had a couple good runs with all of the scares hitting, but the scare actors were great here, along with the sets.

2. Stranger Things (C-)
-Really disappointed in this house. The facade was great, but it seemed like I saw 2 Vecnas in the entire house and they just stepped out from behind a wall and did the "come here" motion with their finger. Nothing else. The MoP scene was a big failure IMO. Seemed like they knew that they needed to have the scene in the house and threw it in without much thought. Eddie and Dustin just grunting while fighting off invisible bats? Yikes. As others have commented, no Hopper was a big whiff too. Also, enough of the scare actors at the exit. I think 3-4 houses did it this year. I think it works in a less is more type of way, not when you're expecting it.

3. Darkest Deal (B)
-I think the story to this house is great, along with the sets. Just didn't seem scary.

4. Oddfellows (C+)
-Again, the sets were fantastic, but I think I had a run where I had bad luck and missed some scares. Also, the finale left me completely unsatisfied, with a "that's it" reaction

5. Last of Us (A+)
-Fantastic house. Maybe HotY for me. Seemed like I hit every scare and the scareactors in this house are fantastic. Really aggressive, especially the big guys in the latter half of the house. The sets were amazing. Can't say enough good things

6. Monsters (B)
-Had two runs, first one the Quasimoto falling effect was being worked on so I missed that the first time and the second I was a bit too late to get the full effect. Invisible man didn't do it for me. Just not a scary entity IMO. I still think the 2019 Monsters house is king, but this was a very good house. The facade was really cool.

7. Yeti (B-)
-Not as good as Yukon, but Yeti Campground was a good house! Very cool sets and the costumes are great.

8. Dueling Dragons (D)
-This house just didn't do it for me. The blizzard scare actors were scary, but the fire were a let down. I really like the split ending idea and hope HHN utilizes it in the future.

9. Exorcist (F)
-Awful. The scare actors playing the girls were incredible, but it seemed like there were stretches in the house without any scares. Then, it seemed like the majority of scares were the demon just stepping out from behind a door. Really thought the Exorcist IP would have a lot more to work with in terms of scaring.

10. Chucky
-We decided to not go through Chucky, as we were running out of time, and I remember how abysmal the reviews were on here and Reddit

HHN Nightmare Fuel
Fantastic show. Music, pyro, fire, stunts, everything was great in our 3 viewings. The cast is fun and the story has changed this year. I'll definitely make a point to hit the 12:30 show in the future as the crowd was AWESOME. Definitely got me hyped up before and during the show. In the 4 HHN I've been to, I'd put this right after AoV: Altered States.

General Comments on HHN
-I'd echo what others say about Express, as it seemed a couple houses were plagued by uneven distribution of Standby/Express at the merge.
-Universal has got to do something about vaping/cigarettes in line, the park, and at resorts. We stayed at Sapphire Falls and the amount of people vaping/smoking heaters in the pool area was shocking. I don't appreciate people blowing their smoke in my face or general direction, clearly in violation of property rules. At HHN, I lost count of the number of people vaping, even right in front of staff who did nothing. Instead, staff was hellbent on not letting me go into Monsters at 1:50 with no one in standby or express, after leaving Last of Us. Telling me that I had to walk through the entire queue again. Fine, but if we're going to worry about "line jumpers" (again, there was no one in line as the event ended in less than 10 minutes), then staff needs to crackdown on people breaking all of the rules. It has got to the point of making me consider staying on WDW property outside of nights I'm going to HHN. A guy was smoking outside of the Hagrid's queue, then told by staff not smoking (the one time I saw staff intervene) and he proceeded to throw his cigarette on the ground in Hogsmeade without being reprimanded. It really seems like Universal needs to be more strict with guest behavior, as they let too much slide.
-With that rant over, I thought the food was good this year. I know it's not HHN-specific food, but the banana popcorn at Popanana is fantastic. Definitely recommend. Universal needs to figure something out with the Coke Freestyles, whether it's adding more machines or having more places to fill up the souvenir cups at a regular fountain machine. The lines are really bad and it's a total crapshoot if they actually have ice or not.
-Merchwise, I was pretty underwhelmed this year but I understand it's completely based on someone's taste and others will disagree.