Halloween Horror Nights 22 Reviews & Photos

[JungleSkip]

Quick Reviews:

Gothic- Amazing, and my favorite house I've seen in the two years I've gone. Amazing sets, amazing details, amazing scares. A+

Dead End- My second favorite house of the year. Terrific setting, and some very innovative scares. A

House of Horrors- AMAZING. Really love the effect of the lightening strikes, and I got some really good scares in some of the rooms. Frankenstein bursting through the wall is great, and the finale room is fun. A-

Penn and Teller- Awesome queue video, but the house was a mixed bag. I thought it was extremely fun, and Penn's commentary was great. But the scares were a bit lacking. And the 3-D really didn't do anything for me. B

Silent Hill- Great setting and some great effects, but the scares were a little lacking. B-

Walking Dead- Really great set design and some great scares. Unfortunately, my only run through of this one was in daylight, which ruined some of the later scares. B-

Alice Cooper- Terrible. Just...bad. No scares, nonsensical "story", and a staff that just wasn't into it. I would give it an F...but the stripper room gets it a D.

Overall the houses were strong...but not as strong as last year's lineup.

Streets: I find it hard to rate the streets. On Friday night, the crowds were manageable, and the streets weren't chock full of people. That night, I thought the hordes did a fantastic job. The Traditionals, Vampires, and Prisoners stood out, and the prisoners were definitely the best. I didn't feel the event lost anything without the scarezones. But Saturday and Sunday night the place was just wall to wall humanity, and the hordes had no space to work with. Overall, I just can't really rank the street experience with a grade due to the crowd levels, but what I saw Friday night impressed me.

I liked Bill and Ted a lot this year. I preferred it last year, but this year's show was still very entertaining. I didn't see 20 Penny Circus.

The lagoon shows were neat. I caught the Hitchcock one and the Uni Monsters one.

Crowds were so high this weekend even ride wait times were long. Mummy, Despicable Me, and MIB I all saw over 45 minutes.

Overall, it was another great year from A&D. The problems weren't necessarily their fault. The product they put out was good. It was just hurt by the overall status of the park, IMO. I think next year with a big E-ticket attraction open and hopefully a completed London waterfront area, they'll have more room to breath with the event.

 

[YETI PINTRADER]

So now that I've been 6 times with rush of fear and have free time I can finally write this review. Overall, I found that this was a better year for houses then last year by far, but 2011 dominated in the streets. And to put these reviews into perspective, this is going from many nights with my max house run of Alice Cooper 8 times and my lowest at Gothic with 3. Reviews in order from favorite to least.
Alice Cooper: The best house of the event in my opinion by far. Every room had a really great scare, delivering some of the most intense moments I've had in HHN history.

Spoiler

The male doctor in the second room backed me against a wall and would not let me go forward until after I went into a near fetal position. The references to the music were great, and Steven hiding was probably my favorite. Also, I think I found something new I didn't notice every time I went through, impressive after 8 runs. It wasn't until my 7th time that Alice Cooper squirted me with the heart.

9.5/10
Dead End: One of the scariest houses hands down. The sets were fantastic and the facade and music set the tone of the house better then most houses I've seen.

Spoiler

This was my personal favorite use of the spinning tunnel in a house and it seemed that every room was set to build on the intensity of the last. Even the rooms with no actors had some kind of sound effects that really built to the coming scares. The bed room was my favorite because I never saw coming a large room like that being used for a single-person scare like that, and of course I got it every time.

The only reason that I put Dead End and Gothic behind Alice Cooper is because I felt like AC had a much more unique feel, that made every walk-through an experience and a haunted house at the same time. If you only have one night, hit Dead End and Gothic on your must-do list first. 9/10
Gothic: On the same level of scares as Dead End with another great facade. The house starts with a surprise scare and ends with a big scare. This was a house that really pulled off the unexpected. Boo-holes were nice but this house really played off some unique tricks and delivered them extremely well. 9/10
House of Horrors: This was the house that was full of surprises because the actors kept getting better and better as the nights went on. I like the build in the first hall and room because it makes the lightning effect surprising. I was not a fan of the new way of "walking" through a house during the mummy scene and a lot of it seemed incomplete, which I've heard it is but this is after three weeks, I think what we have is the final product. What rooms are good are really good and the ending will not be forgotten anytime soon. 8/10
Penn and Teller: The fun house with a few fun scares. If you press the buttons and pull the rope, you'll have a good time. The rooms are interesting and the queue video is one of the best in HHN history. If it weren't just 15 minutes or so long to see the entire video, I'd say it would be worth standing in line to see. This one gets points for being interesting. 7.5/10
Silent Hill: The ultimate hit or miss house. If you're lucky, you'll go through one of the most intense houses in a long time. Too bad the timing is set really bad, rooms seemed like they don't have enough actors, and a few missed opportunities with characters.

Spoiler

Actually this house misses a lot of opportunities with characters. Pyramid Head gets a cameo role at best that's almost weaker then his appearance in Silent Hill: Homecoming. The nurses/staircase scene was way off the mark. I was hoping for something like the film where you would be surrounded by nurses and a few of them are real. Nope. One real nurse on one side of the room. And Hollywood got a great Robbi scare and all we got was a stuffed doll, and what looked like the mistake full Robbi suit from Hollywood.

I loved the sets but I can't see this house getting better than ok in the scares department. 5/10
The Walking Dead: Really I should give two reviews to walking dead, walk-through 2 and 4 would probably get an 8.5/10 while Walking Dead walk-through 1 and 3 probably get a 3.5/10. The only reason I'm keeping it on the bottom is because of what a bad taste that 1 and 3 left. Unmotivated scareactors, generic sets, few scares, and a lack of feeling anything like a zombie-survival show. At least zombiegeddon tried to promote survival before it let the zombies kill you. Now 2 and 4; crazy house, the actors really turned what could have been one of the most generic houses into something intense. Forget thinking about survival, just moving forward and not screaming until you're hoarse seems satisfactory enough. Actors coming out of every corner, and don't get me started on the barn scene. Wow!

Overall I felt that the houses were really solid this year and scared me more then I ever would have expected. Even Silent Hill at least was nice to look at and with any luck Walking Dead can give some of its actors a nice pep talk and this will be something well worth writing home about.

 

[pat_naughty05]

Ok guys, I want to give my quick review of the event. I went last Friday night, 10/5. I'll give the house reviews in the order I experienced them. Here goes:

House of Horrors - This was the first house we went through, and we were able to experience the house completely alone. I have to say that I am absolutely baffled by the negative reviews for the house (and I HATED Dead Exposure, which it has often been compared to). The verdict was unanimous: all five in my group LOVED this house. The design was unique, the actors were into it, and the scares were nonstop. Even much later in the night during our second run-through with the more typical conga line, we had a very consistent experience with our first trip. 10/10

Alice Cooper - I went into this house knowing a little bit about Alice Cooper, but not enough to add to my experience in the house. The entrance with the music blasting definitely set the mood. This was definitely one of the more unique houses that I've been through, and I enjoyed that aspect of it. That being said, I didn't find it very scary during either of my group's two trips through. 7/10

Penn & Teller - Highlight: wife swears she saw Penn & Teller in the slots room, and damn it, I believe her. Like Alice Cooper, this house was a bit different from what you may expect to see at HHN. As many have said, the 3D was practically pointless, and may have even lessened the experience at times. The house was tons of fun both times we went through, but like Alice Cooper, very few scares. 8/10

The Walking Dead - I've seen a few episodes from Season 1, so it was cool seeing a few scenes from the show. That being said, I agree that this house could really have the title of any generic zombie haunt. The Walking Dead IP didn't really add anything for me, but I enjoyed the house from a visual standpoint. I got a few scares as well, so it was worth going through (we only made it through the remaining houses once each). 8/10

Dead End - Man, this house was BEAUTIFUL! Cool effects, impressive sets... but for my particular run-through, no scares at all. I was really looking forward to this house, and I am sad to say that this house was the most forgettable for me. To be honest, I can't figure out why. 6/10

Gothic - This house did not let me down one bit. Gothic was easily my most anticipated house of the night, and I loved every minute of it. While the gargoyle costumes looked corny during the media event, they work in the context of the house. As far as the house itself goes... wow. Visually, I was at times too stunned to be scared, or so distracted by the sets that I was a sitting duck. I will miss this house dearly. 10/10

Silent Hill - This was my second most anticipated house, not because I like the games or the movie (I don't), but because the previews I had seen looked very impressive. To be honest, I was a bit let down by this one. Visually, it was not nearly as epic in scale as I expected. I also seemed to miss all of the scares, though Pyramid Head got my brother pretty good, and that alone made it worth it. 6/10


Streets - So this is definitely a mixed bag. I certainly found myself missing the more diversely themed scarezones. I didn't find the street props to be poorly done, but was a bit disappointed to see that it all just felt the same. Different theming in different areas really do make the difference. The actors were, in my opinion, doing really well. It was so cool sitting in Finnegans for about an hour and watching the actors come through and mess with people. I hope they keep that going forward. 7/10

Bill and Ted - Sucked. Bad. I have never come away from this show feeling so let down.

Spoiler

Whose idea was it to base this thing around a freaking election?

Do they not realize who their audience is? There were so many moments that were obviously intended to be funny during which the audience just sat there quietly. Also, a note to the writer's of the show: a ten-minute musical finale filled with pelvic thrusts and lip-syncing does NOT make up for a bad show. 1/10

As for 20 Penny Circus, we kind of intentionally missed it.

Overall, this year definitely felt different. I look forward to a return to 8 houses and the combination of hordes with scarezones. That being said, we all enjoyed ourselves very much, and I did not find the event to be bad by any means. Looking forward to HHN 23!

 

[SeventyOne]

Dead End - Man, this house was BEAUTIFUL! Cool effects, impressive sets... but for my particular run-through, no scares at all. I was really looking forward to this house, and I am sad to say that this house was the most forgettable for me. To be honest, I can't figure out why. 6/10

This is one of those houses that depends a lot--too much?--on timing. If you hit it and see all the gimmicks, it's amazing. But they are spaced far enough apart, with the orange shirts pushing you through, that you can miss most of them and are left with just the admittedly pretty sets.

Bill and Ted - Also, a note to the writer's of the show: a ten-minute musical finale filled with pelvic thrusts and lip-syncing does NOT make up for a bad show. 1/10

That's pretty much been the finale since 2005 or earlier...

 

[pat_naughty05]

This is one of those houses that depends a lot--too much?--on timing. If you hit it and see all the gimmicks, it's amazing. But they are spaced far enough apart, with the orange shirts pushing you through, that you can miss most of them and are left with just the admittedly pretty sets.

Sounds about right, especially considering some of the really great reviews I read before going through myself. I spent my entire walkthrough marveling at the details, which I would prefer the scareactors not allow me to do.

That's pretty much been the finale since 2005 or earlier...

True, but during me previous visits (2005-2009), the show itself was much better than this year, which kind of makes the overdone finale acceptable to an extent.

 

[knokout1]

Wait wait, I thought only like a county at a time got out of school, some friends of mine don't have school on the 22nd so I was going to go with them on the 21st (I just graduated), is it really going to be that packed? How would Howl-o-Scream be on a Friday night? The 19th in particular. I really don't want to see the idiots that made the hallways horrible, I just got away from them.

 

[Tbad556]

Wait wait, I thought only like a county at a time got out of school, some friends of mine don't have school on the 22nd so I was going to go with them on the 21st (I just graduated), is it really going to be that packed? How would Howl-o-Scream be on a Friday night? The 19th in particular. I really don't want to see the idiots that made the hallways horrible, I just got away from them.

School Closures:

10/19 - Volusia, Seminole, Lake, Osceola, Orange, Pinellas, Hillsborough
10/22 - Polk, Osceola, Pasco
10/26 - Lake, Orange, Sarasota

As for HOS on the 19th, it won't be pretty at all with Pinellas and Hillsborough being out of school.

 

[Hatetofly]

Wait wait, I thought only like a county at a time got out of school, some friends of mine don't have school on the 22nd so I was going to go with them on the 21st (I just graduated), is it really going to be that packed? How would Howl-o-Scream be on a Friday night? The 19th in particular. I really don't want to see the idiots that made the hallways horrible, I just got away from them.

Its going to be HELL

 

[knokout1]

Of course it had to be the two right next to Orlando...and then me in Pasco. Oh well it happens lol.

 

[Hatetofly]

Better than what happened to me at Disneyland last weekend! I went during GAY DAYS!! No I don't have anything against gays, I mean my sister well you know. Its just that add in the fact that it was a holiday weekend on top of that and it created some of the largest crowds I have EVER seen at any theme park. I mean a 180-210 min wait for Space Mountain after 8PM is what I was dealing with.

 

[knokout1]

Lol but I bet those lines were fabulous.

 

[Hockeyman55]

Better than what happened to me at Disneyland last weekend! I went during GAY DAYS!! No I don't have anything against gays, I mean my sister well you know. Its just that add in the fact that it was a holiday weekend on top of that and it created some of the largest crowds I have EVER seen at any theme park. I mean a 180-210 min wait for Space Mountain after 8PM is what I was dealing with.

In 2005 a few of my buddies an I planned a guys trip up to Uni without the girlfriends and unknowing to us when we made the plans it turned out to be during gay pride week lol. Didnt really bother us at all and to tell you the truth it was like any other day at the parks. We sure did hear the jokes from the girls once we got back though

 

[TylerDurden]

Hey, I'm a first time poster but I signed up mainly to talk about this year's HHN...in my opinion the most disappointing event since 2007 (my first HHN).

Though I enjoyed myself and will probably go back again this year (I've already been three times) there is just so much I feel that could've been improved this year. For one, the lack of an overarching theme and icon, in my opinion, really hurt the tone and atmosphere of the event. Though I always took them for granted, this year I realized that icons really set the event apart from other Halloween attractions in that they give it a sense of coherence that really contributes to the overall feel of Horror Nights. Also, the lack of scare zones was disappointing; even though I was pleasantly surprised by the effect of the street experiences, I feel that lack of large set pieces and scare zones really took away from the event's general scary atmosphere. And the biggest problem was that the houses, in my opinion, didn't really make up for these shortcomings. And the lack of an eighth house, scare zones, and Jaws really was felt in the crowds--I actually feel sorry for people who are spending a ton of money just to do two houses and have to leave because of the massive weight times for all attractions. It makes it hard to even have fun!
Anyway, I thought I'd put in my two cents about the houses while I'm here.

1. Silent Hill - wow, what a disappointment. The house does a really good job of setting up a sense of dread and uneasiness in the spectacular facade, but there's no payoff. I got very few scares in here, and I think that's because there really is a dearth of scareactors in this house. Even when there are, there is so much open space that you can see them coming from miles away and it's just disappointing. I feel like there are so many missed opportunities in this house because it really is creepy, there's just not enough scareactors or creativity in the set design to take advantage of this. I did see Pyramid Head both times I went through but he wasn't doing any scaring which is a shame because he was cool looking...could've been a redeeming quality to the house. But he was just another one of the missed opportunities.

2. Gothic - phenomenal house! It was so beautifully done and I don't think it's a coincidence that this house and Dead End were not only my two favorite but also the only two original concepts. This house was so well done and you really do notice new things every time you go through it. But what really made Gothic for me was its scare factor--many of the more beautiful houses (Winter's Night for example) don't really bring a sense of urgency or intensity but this one really did offer some great and creative scares! And the innovative set design alone made this one worth going through multiple times.

3. Dead End - my personal favorite of the event. Though the set design isn't quite as convincing or unique as Gothic's, it is equally beautiful and well-done, but the scares come at you with a bang. This is the only house I went through in which I genuinely felt uncomfortable (which is great for Dead End but not so much for the other houses), and the great special effects really added to the overall experience. Though Gothic was a little more aesthetically pleasing, Dead End really delivered on the innovative scares and for that I feel it's the best of the night.

4. The Walking Dead - I don't quite understand the mixed reception on this house, as I thought it was easily one of the better houses of the night. Sure, there was no real cohesion in the design but it's a haunted house let's cut it some slack--we never climbed any stairs in Gothic yet we end up on the roof and no one seems to complain. The house set out to put you in the world of the Walking Dead and it did a good job with that, especially in the hospital scene. Also, I may have gotten a lucky run through or something but both times I went through this house the actors were aggressive and some of the scares were very well-placed (one of my best scares was actually in the much-hated fence scene in the end). And I also don't understand the hate for the masks...I went once when it was still light out and yet I still thought the make-up and costumes looked convincing. In my opinion, this was pretty well done but I feel like had this house been present last year, I wouldn't have liked it as much.

5. Penn & Teller - the year's funny house worked in some ways to me but not in others. For one thing, the 3-D was a joke which was disappointing, especially compared to last year's phenomenal 'In Between'. But what I really liked about the house was the false sense of comfort it gave off that led to some really great startles (the finale room actually gave me one of the best scares of the night). The problem is that startles and genuine scares are two different things and the sense of dread that's present in HHN houses is what makes them so much more intense. I never really felt a scary atmosphere in this house, and I feel like this is because the comedy wasn't dark enough for an HHN event. It was fun a couple times but it didn't quite strike the right balance of horror and comedy for me.

6. Alice Cooper - I feel like this house has a huge disadvantage because only Alice Cooper's diehard fans must be able to follow it. I only know 'School's Out' so obviously I got little out of it but I can only imagine how any song could make this house have any sense of coherence or storyline. That being said, it did offer some great imagery and was a very stunning house to look at visually. The scares just weren't there though, even though there seemed to be a solid amount of actors in it. Though it's cool-looking, I'd say go to Gothic for your fix of visuals, because that one at least offers some intensity.

7. House of Horrors - I really wanted to like this house, and I did enjoy myself every time I went through. But the cheapness of the whole design is just so distracting. It is very obvious that you're walking through plywood sets with minimal paint, and I get that that's the idea and there was little time to finish this house but I still can't help but feel it takes away from the experience. HHN houses are about the impressive amounts of detail and stunning three dimensional sets, but this house honestly could've been made in someone's garage. The Dead Exposure style did lend some pretty good scares where monsters seemingly appear out of nowhere, and the Frankenstein room along with the finale is great, but essentially what this house comes down to is decent jump scares, which are fun, but by no means up to par with what we've come to expect from Halloween Horror Nights. (oh, and the crouching room is unnecessary in my opinion).

None of these houses really rank on my favorites of all time list and I'll probably have a hard time remembering them for the most part. I will say that the streets succeed this year in being more startling than most of the houses (in my opinion) because the actors can't rely on props and setpieces to scare people anymore. And they really do go for it and no area really is safe (this philosophy has come a long way since the first few nights). While the effort put forth to scare the crap out of guests is really admirable, I do miss the large sets and the way that scare zones were attractions in themselves. Next year, I think it would be great if that 'no safe area' idea was combined with large sets like in the past to give guests the scares as well as the theming.

Also, I didn't see any shows and from what I've heard, I didn't miss out on much. Overall, I think this is HHN's worst year...though it's not a bad event by any means, it fails to reach the standard it has set for itself. This was a huge step backward and I understand there were lots of limitations but I really hope the event returns to form next year (meaning icons with backstories, scare zones, and more impressive houses). It just seems like we really didn't see anything new this year and that's a shame. And the worst part is you can't even say it's simply a fun event because the insane crowds make it almost impossible to enjoy after a few hours. Seriously, Universal has got to limit the distribution on these annual passes, so people aren't getting ripped off to go through two houses. Though I had a good time, this will not be an HHN I remember.

 

[Octobers Fade]

Hey, I'm a first time poster but I signed up mainly to talk about this year's HHN...in my opinion the most disappointing event since 2007 (my first HHN).

Though I enjoyed myself and will probably go back again this year (I've already been three times) there is just so much I feel that could've been improved this year. For one, the lack of an overarching theme and icon, in my opinion, really hurt the tone and atmosphere of the event. Though I always took them for granted, this year I realized that icons really set the event apart from other Halloween attractions in that they give it a sense of coherence that really contributes to the overall feel of Horror Nights. Also, the lack of scare zones was disappointing; even though I was pleasantly surprised by the effect of the street experiences, I feel that lack of large set pieces and scare zones really took away from the event's general scary atmosphere. And the biggest problem was that the houses, in my opinion, didn't really make up for these shortcomings. And the lack of an eighth house, scare zones, and Jaws really was felt in the crowds--I actually feel sorry for people who are spending a ton of money just to do two houses and have to leave because of the massive weight times for all attractions. It makes it hard to even have fun!
Anyway, I thought I'd put in my two cents about the houses while I'm here.

1. Silent Hill - wow, what a disappointment. The house does a really good job of setting up a sense of dread and uneasiness in the spectacular facade, but there's no payoff. I got very few scares in here, and I think that's because there really is a dearth of scareactors in this house. Even when there are, there is so much open space that you can see them coming from miles away and it's just disappointing. I feel like there are so many missed opportunities in this house because it really is creepy, there's just not enough scareactors or creativity in the set design to take advantage of this. I did see Pyramid Head both times I went through but he wasn't doing any scaring which is a shame because he was cool looking...could've been a redeeming quality to the house. But he was just another one of the missed opportunities.

2. Gothic - phenomenal house! It was so beautifully done and I don't think it's a coincidence that this house and Dead End were not only my two favorite but also the only two original concepts. This house was so well done and you really do notice new things every time you go through it. But what really made Gothic for me was its scare factor--many of the more beautiful houses (Winter's Night for example) don't really bring a sense of urgency or intensity but this one really did offer some great and creative scares! And the innovative set design alone made this one worth going through multiple times.

3. Dead End - my personal favorite of the event. Though the set design isn't quite as convincing or unique as Gothic's, it is equally beautiful and well-done, but the scares come at you with a bang. This is the only house I went through in which I genuinely felt uncomfortable (which is great for Dead End but not so much for the other houses), and the great special effects really added to the overall experience. Though Gothic was a little more aesthetically pleasing, Dead End really delivered on the innovative scares and for that I feel it's the best of the night.

4. The Walking Dead - I don't quite understand the mixed reception on this house, as I thought it was easily one of the better houses of the night. Sure, there was no real cohesion in the design but it's a haunted house let's cut it some slack--we never climbed any stairs in Gothic yet we end up on the roof and no one seems to complain. The house set out to put you in the world of the Walking Dead and it did a good job with that, especially in the hospital scene. Also, I may have gotten a lucky run through or something but both times I went through this house the actors were aggressive and some of the scares were very well-placed (one of my best scares was actually in the much-hated fence scene in the end). And I also don't understand the hate for the masks...I went once when it was still light out and yet I still thought the make-up and costumes looked convincing. In my opinion, this was pretty well done but I feel like had this house been present last year, I wouldn't have liked it as much.

5. Penn & Teller - the year's funny house worked in some ways to me but not in others. For one thing, the 3-D was a joke which was disappointing, especially compared to last year's phenomenal 'In Between'. But what I really liked about the house was the false sense of comfort it gave off that led to some really great startles (the finale room actually gave me one of the best scares of the night). The problem is that startles and genuine scares are two different things and the sense of dread that's present in HHN houses is what makes them so much more intense. I never really felt a scary atmosphere in this house, and I feel like this is because the comedy wasn't dark enough for an HHN event. It was fun a couple times but it didn't quite strike the right balance of horror and comedy for me.

6. Alice Cooper - I feel like this house has a huge disadvantage because only Alice Cooper's diehard fans must be able to follow it. I only know 'School's Out' so obviously I got little out of it but I can only imagine how any song could make this house have any sense of coherence or storyline. That being said, it did offer some great imagery and was a very stunning house to look at visually. The scares just weren't there though, even though there seemed to be a solid amount of actors in it. Though it's cool-looking, I'd say go to Gothic for your fix of visuals, because that one at least offers some intensity.

7. House of Horrors - I really wanted to like this house, and I did enjoy myself every time I went through. But the cheapness of the whole design is just so distracting. It is very obvious that you're walking through plywood sets with minimal paint, and I get that that's the idea and there was little time to finish this house but I still can't help but feel it takes away from the experience. HHN houses are about the impressive amounts of detail and stunning three dimensional sets, but this house honestly could've been made in someone's garage. The Dead Exposure style did lend some pretty good scares where monsters seemingly appear out of nowhere, and the Frankenstein room along with the finale is great, but essentially what this house comes down to is decent jump scares, which are fun, but by no means up to par with what we've come to expect from Halloween Horror Nights. (oh, and the crouching room is unnecessary in my opinion).

None of these houses really rank on my favorites of all time list and I'll probably have a hard time remembering them for the most part. I will say that the streets succeed this year in being more startling than most of the houses (in my opinion) because the actors can't rely on props and setpieces to scare people anymore. And they really do go for it and no area really is safe (this philosophy has come a long way since the first few nights). While the effort put forth to scare the crap out of guests is really admirable, I do miss the large sets and the way that scare zones were attractions in themselves. Next year, I think it would be great if that 'no safe area' idea was combined with large sets like in the past to give guests the scares as well as the theming.

Also, I didn't see any shows and from what I've heard, I didn't miss out on much. Overall, I think this is HHN's worst year...though it's not a bad event by any means, it fails to reach the standard it has set for itself. This was a huge step backward and I understand there were lots of limitations but I really hope the event returns to form next year (meaning icons with backstories, scare zones, and more impressive houses). It just seems like we really didn't see anything new this year and that's a shame. And the worst part is you can't even say it's simply a fun event because the insane crowds make it almost impossible to enjoy after a few hours. Seriously, Universal has got to limit the distribution on these annual passes, so people aren't getting ripped off to go through two houses. Though I had a good time, this will not be an HHN I remember.

Agreed. It will be remembered as a off year for me just like XX.

 

[violarum]

Well, TylerDurden basically stole my review right out of my mouth.

 

[TheBigSqueeze]

It seems like the consensus from this thread is that the scarezones are definitly missed. Maybe Uni's going the "New Coke" "Classic Coke" route if you catch my drift.

 

[JungleSkip]

It seems like the consensus from this thread is that the scarezones are definitly missed. Maybe Uni's going the "New Coke" "Classic Coke" route if you catch my drift.

Personally, I saw no difference between last year's scarezones and this year's, and if anything possibly a slight improvement this year when the crowds weren't oppressive. I'd love for them to keep progressing with this set up, or at least doing a mixture of legions and scarezones.

 

[TheBigSqueeze]

And if that's the case then this year was genius! On another note I vaguely remember an interview for last year's event with all the show directors and one of them was asked which year was their favorite, and he said "Next year" alluding to this year which makes me wonder if something more spectacular was planned but fell to the way side. Either that or he was just blowing smoke up our....well you know.

 

[JungleSkip]

And if that's the case then this year was genius! On another note I vaguely remember an interview for last year's event with all the show directors and one of them was asked which year was their favorite, and he said "Next year" alluding to this year which makes me wonder if something more spectacular was planned but fell to the way side. Either that or he was just blowing smoke up our....well you know.

They always say that.

But seriously, I found last year's scarezones to be uninteresting, and not as well "themed" as some people thought they were.

 

[TheBigSqueeze]

They always say that.

But seriously, I found last year's scarezones to be uninteresting, and not as well "themed" as some people thought they were.

Lol I couldn't agree more. I almost forgot there were scarezone's last year with the failed experiment zone (the one that was just a bunch of black panels) And the canyon of dark souls, or should I say "the big tall black things with faces on them".