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Howl-O-Scream 2013 Reviews & Photos

HOS 2013 opening day review.

The two new houses first, they were really good, BGTs last houses have certainly stepped it up. The Basement had parts of Alone and was a pretty long house that they were pulsing which made it nice. The first part was pretty empty but the second half was jamb packed with scareactors.

Black Water Bayou was very well done and very atmospheric, loved all the swamp areas, the façade and the opening rooms.

Vampire Casino employed the old HOS standard for old houses and ran us through it backwards and instead of Vamps the Warewolves have taken over.

Blood Asylum was the same, starting to like this house more.

Nevermore, had a few minor changes and added some pages to the beginning.

Zombie Mortuary is still a great house and just alot of fun!

Circus of Superstition in 3-D was the same.

Pain Lane and the Haunted harvest marks the return of the true scare zones and both were enjoyable, but it just reminds me of when there were SZs all over the park and how the event feels lacks something without them. Speaking of which... big disappointment (bad HOS bad) there were no-zero-zilch decorations around the park that weren't in a SZ! That was beyond sad. No Hoards either. There were several stalk around guys and a group of bush whackers but that was all I had seen.
The front gate area was slap full of the 13 and doors! Great photo op area.

I had a fun time the crowds were mild to say the least.

Pics when they upload.
 
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HOS 2013 opening day review.

The two new houses first, they were really good, BGTs last houses have certainly stepped it up. The Basement had parts of Alone and was a pretty long house that they were pulsing which made it nice. The first part was pretty empty but the second half was jamb packed with scareactors.

Black Water Bayou was very well done and very atmospheric, loved all the swamp areas, the façade and the opening rooms.

Vampire Casino employed the old HOS standard for old houses and ran us through it backwards and instead of Vamps the Warewolves have taken over.

Blood Asylum was the same, starting to like this house more.

Nevermore, had a few minor changes and added some pages to the beginning.

Zombie Mortuary is still a great house and just alot of fun!

Circus of Superstition in 3-D was the same.

Pain Lane and the Haunted harvest marks the return of the true scare zones and both were enjoyable, but it just reminds me of when there were SZs all over the park and how the event feels lacks something without them. Speaking of which... big disappointment (bad HOS bad) there were no-zero-zilch decorations around the park that weren't in a SZ! That was beyond sad. No Hoards either. There were several stalk around guys and a group of bush whackers but that was all I had seen.
The front gate area was slap full of the 13 and doors! Great photo op area.

I had a fun time the crowds were mild to say the least.

Pics when they upload.

woah!!! they did some of these houses last year???? now im really confused!!!do they do this each year... repeat houses...
 
Yep, they replace two houses a year they just don't have Uni's budget to rebuild houses every year.
But correct me if I am wrong but you have never been right? If not, good news, they are all new to you! :lol:
 
So how did HOS pair with HHN...well to say the least both of them stepped up their game this year and reclaimed their spot as the number 1 theme park haunts...I will say that I see HOS continuing to change a lot of things and I appreciate and like what I’m seeing..btw do the Fright Feast if you can...the front of the line pass is worth the price alone! That’s my commercial now onto the review..

Death Water Bayou: This house was absolutely awesome! I loved the spinning tunnel and all of the effects. I love to see that HOS is trying a lot harder to work in more sound effect scares to their houses rather than the traditional making a loud noise on your own scares they do..and that is a huge plus...btw you WILL hit the ground in this house a few times..I won't spoil it but that is one of the best scares I’ve received at HOS since my beloved Escape From Insanity..
Rating:: 9/10

The Basement: This house is also a great one and I see it only getting better in the next few years as it returns..the falling box scare is fantastic, and the mini maze also made this an exceptional house..Also loved the feeling of going down into the basement that you get at the very beginning of the maze
Rating:: 9/10

Ultimate Gamble: This house was already kind of trivial because of what they did last year...now with the addition of werewolves (and of course AWIL being the best werewolf house ever made) this house really just falls flat...time to get rid of it.
Rating:: 3/10


Zombie Mortuary: I love this house as it is really excellent as far as design..the dog at the beginning scared the crap out of me, and the rest of the house really delivered on the scares as well..Someone brought up an interesting point about this house that I had never realized before...there are very few zombies in the house..hmm
Rating:: 8/10

Circus of Superstition in 3-D: This house was great last year...not sure what happened..I feel like they removed some of the best elements for some reason, and although it had some great moments it still felt like it was missing something (the giant bunnies maybe?)..I want to see this house be scary again!
Rating:: 6/10

Blood Asylum: So who turned on the terrify switch? I remember thinking this house was great last year, but whatever happened this year made it so much better...that’s why I love the returning houses at HOS as it gives time for the houses to be the best they can be..and certainly this house has become great..I got a lot of great scares in this house and am excited that it will return next year…
Rating: 9/10

Nevermore: Great retelling of Poe’s tales..and it delivers again this year..I wouldn’t mind seeing it go next year though..
Rating: 7/10

So obviously I’m a huge fan of HOS and HHN...I’ve been going to HOS since it started though and have seen it grow to where it is now..I must say that I see a trend with it becoming better and doing some neat things with the houses...I also see a throwback to the old style of scarezones with them as well (The scarezones were great)...however..the streets felt empty this year and a lot of the time it felt like BGT in the dark..I wouldn’t mind seeing some zones return to the back of the park as it is a long way around and some entertainment in the back would be cool...otherwise I had a blast at HOS and they did a phenomenal job this year!
Rating: 8.5/10
 
From the VIP area called the Howl-O-Scream Vault that featured items from past events, instead of the presentation that had been done in the past and is done at cons now anyway, that were some pretty good photo ops.

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Clowning around...
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The ViP check in and pre-tour area

There are a couple tents set up, after you check in, with props and a bar while you wait for HOS to begin they have tables on display with items related to each of the 13 with portraits of each above.

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I went to the event and I'm glad I did, which is how my Howl-O-Scream review typically goes. That's to say the least about the event this year. I was blown away by HOS and thought they honestly stepped the event up since I had gone in 2011. The energy was astounding and I felt like the event had really been improved upon all around. My house ranks in order, I did not get to go through The Experience. There will be some spoilers in this review, the event ends tonight, 10/27, so if you plan on going next year and didn't go I guess don't read. :lol:

1. The Basement: Holy sh**, what an awesome house. So much energy, good story line that is easy enough to follow, and lots of scares. I loved how loud this house was, it offered a lot of scares and was reminiscent of older HHN houses from around when I started going. Loud, high energy, cohesive original story. All around a great house. I went back to HHN the following night and was like, okay, I'm ready to go back through The Basement. Unbeknownst to me this house had large portions of Alone worked into it, and I think that has a lot to do with it's enjoyment factor. Still an awesome house. I hope this is the future of the event.

2. Bloodwater Bayou: Let me preface with I really, honestly, enjoyed this house. The hype hurt it though. I expected to be blown away with the quality from what everyone was telling me, and don't get me wrong, I REALLY enjoyed this house, it was awesome, but there was a bit of hype around it and it hurt it a bit, for me at least. Don't get me wrong, this is an awesome house, on par with everything HHN has this year. The scene where you were actually going into the swamp was AWESOME, seriously awesome scene. I don't know why but I fell in love with that scene. The bungee actors added so much to this house as well. You'd never expect that in a house and then, bam, there it is. Once more, if this is the future of the event HOS might be seeing more haunt fan dollars.

3. Superstitions in 3D: Once more, cohesive story line, high energy, decent thrills. I personally am not afraid of clowns, but my significant other is, and from what I saw from her (not even wearing the glasses) if you were even remotely afraid of clowns this house will terrify you. So much energy and the props and scenes were awesome. It reminded me a lot of Jack's Fun House, a house which I personally enjoyed. This house has the effects, the energy and the scares.

4. Zombie Mortuary: Another house that just happens to work. I'm not sure why, but I really enjoy this house. Maybe it's because it feels a lot like Trapped while it being it's own unique house. The scares are there, energy is there, and some people in my party who never get scared at HHN got a scare. Lots of really good detail and just an all around fun house. Nothing to complain about it just has a lot more of the old school HOS feel and not as much of the transitional houses that we're seeing now. That's not a bad thing, they've interjected it with new breaths of life.

5. Nevermore: I honestly feel that this house improved since I went in it in 2011. I thought there was a Poe in front of the house, but maybe there wasn't. Lots of fun though. My friend who never gets scared got the **** scared out of him by the actor covered in book pages in the book page scene. A lot of what I say from Zombie Mortuary applies to this house. It feels fresher than it did in 2011 but it's still far from the quality of the new houses.

6. Blood Asylum: This is not a bad house, the detail is there, and a couple of the physical effects were AMAZING, especially the guy going into the incinerator. Other than that the house that is typically located here just doesn't do it for me for scares. I've been basing HOS off scares and I'm going to continue to do that. This house is fun, but honestly it is not scary. Not for me at least. It's really cool, I would encourage every one to go into it, some might get some good scares, but Akhbar hasn't really worked for me in the past and it doesn't as much now either. Really cool house, just not a lot of scares.

7. Ultimate Gamble Reversal: They neutered this house. This house was actually pretty decent in 2011, but the addition of werewolfs and going through it backwards killed it. It makes way less sense for the story going through it backwards and why the hell are there werewolfs here. I got few scares, but the 13 year olds behind me sure thought it was the scariest thing ever. I hope this is this houses last year, it needed to be set out to pasture. This location can support decent houses, the biker house was really good, and I've been told Corporate Nightmare before the hurricane was amazing. Hoping that this is replaced next year and we get something really good like my top 3.
 
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