Halloween Horror Nights 31 (UOR) - News & Info

[Jakemeister]

the crowd today was smaller and felt much better. the park today felt better. felt as good as before. it was more relaxed
i definitely enjoyed today much more than previous weeks. smaller crowd, higher quality kinda.

It definitely wasn't dead, but I will say it felt "normal", minus some actors. But even with less pop-up F&B the event didn't feel disgustingly slammed. So I'm very hopeful about next Monday as well.

 

[UniversalRBLX]

Last night felt like a busy September night from like 2014-2017. Shows you how busy the event has gotten.

Nightmare fuel shows were pretty much at capacity throughout the night though.

 

[Darko]

I’m just popping in to say that I’m just going to admit I love this year. This is not a forgettable year to me nor is it just a mid-tier. I loved it.

Been awhile since I felt like the streets were so cohesive and scare zones so good. House line-up to me is solid with some standouts.

Overall I loved the atmosphere. The juxtaposition between cute and terror really worked for me. They really went for a year that encompassed EVERYTHING about Halloween. The cute cartoony character designs in the banners in the stores and some of the merchandise (love the skeleton and the black cat holding a jack-o-lantern banners) and the houses and scare zones filled with horrific denizens of horror and blood.

Even the soundtrack which in hindsight seems so strange is perfect. Again it captures that juxtaposition between playful and evil. Encompassing both sides of Halloween. As someone who grew up and spends all my life in small towns that have fall festivals with music like this, it gives this year a weird feeling of familiarity which I found extremely appealing. My only gripe is the soundtrack is a little repetitive but I think it works.

Honestly, now that I really soaked in the atmosphere, I genuinely believe the “off” feel people have in sort of on purpose in a way. I’m sure there are other factors behind the scenes too, but the juxtaposition of the cute side of Halloween vs the sinister side of Halloween seems to be on purpose. I mean for Pete’s sake they have both Lil Boo and Pumpkin Lord this year, characters that are polar opposites of each other in both size, and appearance, it’s obviously all on purpose. I mean I’m watching horror movies all this month all while having adorable sticky Jack-o-lanterns on my windows.

Personally loved this year. Got some merch that I absolutely love featuring the adorable characters in the 31 logo. This year so worked for me, much better than 29 or 30 did for sure. Solid houses, great zones, and good shows. Overall, great year to me.

That being said however I understand why many people don’t care for it and that’s fine. My favorite years are 17 and 25. I know people personally who don’t like those years. It’s ok, not everyone is gonna be into the same thing. HHN has always been like that and probably will continue to be like. Some years will click with you, others won’t. That’s the way of the beast.
This year clicked for me, it didn’t for others. And that’s ok.

Now I’m going to eagerly await for HHN32 spec season to begin. This year put a lot of joy in my heart about the potential future this event has. I am hoping we are gonna see a new era of original content, like we saw this year. Maybe more interconnected streets in the future like this year? Probably wishful thinking on my part.

 

[ReelJustice]

Charles Gray's sensibilities and style just seem to scratch me right where I itch. I am eager to see what the future holds.

 

[Brian G.]

It definitely wasn't dead, but I will say it felt "normal", minus some actors. But even with less pop-up F&B the event didn't feel disgustingly slammed. So I'm very hopeful about next Monday as well.

I was surprised at how busy 1 am - 2 am was.

 

[Lucky Planet]

Is it true there were so few scare actors the Weekend was closed? Guess because it was added night.

There's a post on Reddit where they said that Weeknd closed for a while last night because someone had a seizure, someone took photos around that time of the area.

But when I personally did Mummy house around 12:30 AM, the Weeknd had a 40 minutes wait time. Queue line looked pretty crowded
I didn't do Weeknd but the line was long


And as for actors missing, Hellblock horror seemed to only have 3 actors near the end lol.
The first half of the house was empty
I was alone when doing hellblock without anyone in front of me or behind, and only the last rooms had actors lol. ( Yeti was there, the Vampire was there at the end, the security guard was there at the end)
It was very funny. I felt bad for anyone doing hellblock after midnight,
But the rest of the houses in that area( chupa, Halloween, coven, the boat house) were well staffed. Mummy was well staffed mostly.

 

[Brian G.]

As far as the "something missing this year" discussion...

It’s a fine year. I think the “issue” is most of these fans that are saying it came on board during HHN 28-29; so they’ve known nothing but that kinda event - which are highly regarded years by many. HHN 30 helped since it involved history that they weren’t a part of, so it helped connect some more dots (also post-lockdown hype).

To us vets, we’ve had average/fine years so it ain’t anything new. To them, it’s uncharted waters.

It's also a transition year. There were a lot of new roles & new faces that are in charge of the event so it's naturally going to feel different than years past.

 

[Lucky Planet]

As far as the "something missing this year" discussion...

It’s a fine year. I think the “issue” is most of these fans that are saying it came on board during HHN 28-29; so they’ve known nothing but that kinda event - which are highly regarded years by many. HHN 30 helped since it involved history that they weren’t a part of, so it helped connect some more dots (also post-lockdown hype).

To us vets, we’ve had average/fine years so it ain’t anything new. To them, it’s uncharted waters.

It's also a transition year. There were a lot of new roles & new faces that are in charge of the event so it's naturally going to feel different than years past.

Yeah that makes sense. That's true

I downloaded the songs from the hhn playlist that I posted earlier of this year and I've listen to them while driving in my car and the songs have grown on me. I like them much more while hearing the in the park. I can see why they chose them by going from the lyrics and song names. Listening to them outside the park felt better.
Kinda feels like a Quentin Tarantino movie soundtrack. Some of them are great for driving.

. I don't know if it's the smaller crowds or that universal fixed some of the smaller problems around the park but I'm enjoying it much more now than in September. Or maybe the actors in the houses got a good rhythm. Some big improvements from around the entire park.
(this is my favorite song from this year )

 

[Jakemeister]

To us vets, we’ve had average/fine years so it ain’t anything new. To them, it’s uncharted waters.

It's also a transition year. There were a lot of new roles & new faces that are in charge of the event so it's naturally going to feel different than years past.

Just remember, nothing was as much of a mess as 23.

As far as mid-years, absolutely.

This reminds me a lot of 2010 or 2012.

• 2010 had VERY mid houses to me, but really fun streets.
• 2012 had okay houses & streets. But had big atmosphere problems ALL around. But it tried a lot of new things.

 

[Casper Gutman]

Just remember, nothing was as much of a mess as 23.

As far as mid-years, absolutely.

This reminds me a lot of 2010 or 2012.

• 2010 had VERY mid houses to me, but really fun streets.
• 2012 had okay houses & streets. But had big atmosphere problems ALL around. But it tried a lot of new things.

I still contend this year was different. 23 was a BAD year. That’s easy to pinpoint. This wasn’t. I think the word “transitional” is key. But transitioning to what?

 

[Lucky Planet]

Just remember, nothing was as much of a mess as 23.

As far as mid-years, absolutely.

This reminds me a lot of 2010 or 2012.

• 2010 had VERY mid houses to me, but really fun streets.
• 2012 had okay houses & streets. But had big atmosphere problems ALL around. But it tried a lot of new things.

I still contend this year was different. 23 was a BAD year. That’s easy to pinpoint. This wasn’t. I think the word “transitional” is key. But transitioning to what?

And the streets are amazing this year because they got rid of the parade, that's the reason these streets are so great. It always makes me sad how the parade hurt the hhn streets. ( I know people liked the daytime parade, but it should have been stopped during hhn to allow for good sets )
Now that it is gone, great streets are back

 

[Tobias]

As far as the "something missing this year" discussion...

It’s a fine year. I think the “issue” is most of these fans that are saying it came on board during HHN 28-29; so they’ve known nothing but that kinda event - which are highly regarded years by many.

Out of curiosity, when did folks decide that 29 was a great year? I personally enjoyed the heck out of that year, it was my current favorite till this year came along...but the general consensus didn't seem too hot about 29 in 2019. Folks were griping there were too many houses which weren't scary, too much comedy etc. etc. But flash forward to now and I'm seeing more and more comments that it was a great year, and I'm wondering where were those comments when the event actually happened?

 

[Lucky Planet]

Out of curiosity, when did folks decide that 29 was a great year? I personally enjoyed the heck out of that year, it was my current favorite till this year came along...but the general consensus didn't seem too hot about 29 in 2019. Folks were griping there were too many houses which weren't scary, too much comedy etc. etc. But flash forward to now and I'm seeing more and more comments that it was a great year, and I'm wondering where were those comments when the event actually happened?

I think the lagoon show has a lot to do with it.
It was very incredible. And all the zones were pretty good. ( The rob zombie zone is a fan favorite)

 

[shiekra38]

Out of curiosity, when did folks decide that 29 was a great year? I personally enjoyed the heck out of that year, it was my current favorite till this year came along...but the general consensus didn't seem too hot about 29 in 2019. Folks were griping there were too many houses which weren't scary, too much comedy etc. etc. But flash forward to now and I'm seeing more and more comments that it was a great year, and I'm wondering where were those comments when the event actually happened?

I would rank 29 higher than this year

Graveyard Games and Monsters were all star houses

But the combo of Stranger Things, Ghostbusters, and Killer Klownz either worked for you or it didn't

For me I greatly enjoyed all three

 

[Midnight Detective]

I saw Halloween Ends and something I noticed was

Spoiler: Minor Spoiler for Halloween Ends

the music throughout the movie was VERY similar genre-wise to the parkwide music lol. Not a critique but when you see the movie you'll know what I'm talking about within the first 5 seconds. Kinda interesting

It's also a transition year. There were a lot of new roles & new faces that are in charge of the event so it's naturally going to feel different than years past.

A LOT of things that were entirely new ground were also pulled off simultaneously. New house location, a very successful music house adaptation from a renowned artist (who specifically wanted to collaborate with the event) and in my opinion, I think how much variance there is in favorite house preferences speaks to the quality of the event. I absolutely love seeing a house that I thought was just ok being someone else's favorite because it shows even if something didn't work for me, the variety in theming and experiences gives everyone something to have a great time with.

Also I loved HHN 23 lmao

 

[Darko]

As far as the "something missing this year" discussion...

It’s a fine year. I think the “issue” is most of these fans that are saying it came on board during HHN 28-29; so they’ve known nothing but that kinda event - which are highly regarded years by many. HHN 30 helped since it involved history that they weren’t a part of, so it helped connect some more dots (also post-lockdown hype).

To us vets, we’ve had average/fine years so it ain’t anything new. To them, it’s uncharted waters.

It's also a transition year. There were a lot of new roles & new faces that are in charge of the event so it's naturally going to feel different than years past.

I’m not sure how many of the older A&D staff who worked on HHN back in the old days are still there (90s and Icon era) but new blood is always welcome. Could freshen the event up a bit. I definitely felt like they did this year. So great start.

 

[Alsands]

As far as the "something missing this year" discussion...

It’s a fine year. I think the “issue” is most of these fans that are saying it came on board during HHN 28-29; so they’ve known nothing but that kinda event - which are highly regarded years by many. HHN 30 helped since it involved history that they weren’t a part of, so it helped connect some more dots (also post-lockdown hype).

To us vets, we’ve had average/fine years so it ain’t anything new. To them, it’s uncharted waters.

It's also a transition year. There were a lot of new roles & new faces that are in charge of the event so it's naturally going to feel different than years past.

I fall into that category and I think you hit it spot on. You always want to compare everything to your first ( not just HHN). Some Veterans aren’t fond of IPs because that’s not what they were use to. The fact that you all went through average/bad years and bounce back years makes me feel better.

 

[shiekra38]

Some Veterans aren’t fond of IPs because that’s not what they were use to.

Since 2001 (when I started going) there was always a presence of horror movie characters and "IP"...it was just kind of...there

For instance, The Mummy house was clearly an IP house, yet, it was simply a part of a greater whole.

I distinctly remember walk around movie characters as well

Back in the day the IP was *part of* the event rather than *the* event.

Even '02, one of the more highly regarded events by fans had a Fear Factor house and Marvel tie-in

Looking back on it, there's only been a handful of HHN years without IP presence, truly

Yet, many of us remember the opposite because it was our formative years and we didn't know what People Under the Stairs was

However, there is a key difference between IP tie-in and "The Walking Dead" years which kicked off whatever "era" we are in now

It seems like they're slowly getting back to the 90's style all things considered. Which is why I kind of view this year as a transition

I know I've labeled this year as "forgettable"...but that's not a huge knock truthfully.

It just takes a lot for a house and/or year to rise up through the ranks at this point.

Yet, there are many positives that this year has and just because I will forget most of the houses on the list,

doesn't mean there aren't some exciting things that happened this year that I see as positive moves

I do appreciate the attempt at some sort of thematic consistency in the streets, for instance

 

[SeventyOne]

Tonight (Sunday 10/16) another sell-out. Odd in that doesn't really coincide with any school closings I know of.

 

[Jeepers Reaper]

Tonight (Sunday 10/16) another sell-out. Odd in that doesn't really coincide with any school closings I know of.

My first visit tonight in 4 years... Didn't realise I was that popular :bonk: but in all seriousness, didn't expect a sell out and having never experienced a sell out I'm really not sure what to expect! Thankfully express already purchased.

First day back on the boards in months, somehow managed to avoid spoilers too.