Halloween Horror Nights 31 (UOR) - Reviews, Photos, & Videos

[Alsands]

The thing about Coven is that the house itself looks really good. It's just that the scares don't really work. If they just put more effort into the scares, it would've been a stellar house.

I didn't hate Hellblock. I thought it was fine for a last-minute replacement. It was just doomed to suffer from being just that: a last minute replacement.

I don’t hate any of the houses , I appreciate all of them. Theses were my 2 least favorite. Coven really starts out strong IMO then kinda goes off the rails. I think both houses suffer from casting issues. The scare actors are great , there’s just not enough of them.

 

[Crypt Keeper]

The thing about Coven is that the house itself looks really good. It's just that the scares don't really work. If they just put more effort into the scares, it would've been a stellar house.

I didn't hate Hellblock. I thought it was fine for a last-minute replacement. It was just doomed to suffer from being just that: a last minute replacement.

For being a last-minute replacement, I think Universal knocked it out of the park. I was genuinely surprised by how much I enjoyed it.

 

[Frank Drackman]

 

[Legacy]

I know Hellblock was supposed to be Evil Dead . Is it true that Coven was going to be Stranger things ?

No. Stranger Things (in fact, any Netflix IP) was not intended for this year.

 

[Kichkinet85]

I went to HHN last Sunday night after injuring myself on opening night and I was a blast as always. Did 10 houses (repeated some as I didn’t feel like hiking out to bugs and Weeknd and the lines were to long for my liking) Monsters,
Desendents, and Halloween are my top 3. Hellblock is #10. Also saw Nightmare Fuel Wildfire and it was amazing! Ghoulish was not playing due to damage from Ian (that’s at least what I heard) but luckily I saw it opening weekend.

 

[krazyhorrorkid]

Everything about zones this years is perfect.
To the lighting, costumes, actors, and story, they all fit into a stellar year for Scarezones.

But houses are just so off this year…
Chupacabra, Eaten Alive, and Coven do not even feel like HHN houses. Feels like something I’d see at at C-B list haunt event. Not saying they are trash, but they are not hitting the mark. A lot of effort may have been put into these houses but I feel like nothing really iconic happens in those houses, especially Coven and Chupacabra (Bugs has potential, a little more time in the oven and it would have been much better).

Dead mans and Destruction carried originals.

 

[Darko]

I must say that while I very much enjoyed the houses regardless as even the worst HHN houses I can have fun in, this year was definitely not as good as usual. Not 22, 23 levels bad. But not as good as usual.

The Weeknd, Halloween, Descendants, Dead Man’s Pier, and Monsters were my favorites this year. Bugs was fun as hell to me but I understand it was a disappointment for many. And I personally enjoyed both Chupacabras and Hellblock. Only House I was not a fan of was Coven. That being said I did love the “What’s the password?” line.

Honestly scarezones took the spotlight this year. They were just such a step up from recent years. Graveyard and Scarecrow were just *chef’s kiss* to me. So detailed, atmospheric and spooky. Graveyard’s lighting reminded me of old school HHN lighting. All that fog and darkness gave me some weird nostalgic vibes.

 

[RGMick77]

After 7 event nights, I was able to finalize my rankings:

1) Legends Collide - The actors in this house were relentless! We got double and triple-teamed by the monsters. And the set design was awesome!

2) Dead Man’s Pier - What they did with this soundstage was amazing! The scares weren’t there, but the house was gorgeous and the story-telling was impactful.

3) Halloween - It was exactly what I wanted it to be! It felt like Michael Myers was stalking you in every scene.

4) Descendants of Destruction - The Mad Max vibes were so cool! The actors worked hard for the scares in here.

5) Horrors of Blumhouse - I enjoyed both movies, but the creepiness of The Grabber is what made this work for me as a house

6) Fiesta De Chupacabras - I actually liked the Sabertooth Tiger design for the creatures and the story of the villagers luring the tourists was very fun.

7) Bugs: Eaten Alive - I liked the concept, but I wanted more. The execution felt a bit small.

8) The Weeknd - It didn’t click for me but it was still fun. Highly memorable.

9) Spirits of The Coven - It started off so strong with the first couple scenes and then it just turns so boring and repetitive. Big letdown.

10) Hellblock Horror - Nothing in this house made sense to me. I know it was a last-minute filler, but it really felt like one. Did nothing for me.

Amazing year for the Scarezones:

Sweet Revenge, Graveyard, and Scarecrows all had great costumes and great scares! Spent a lot of time in these zones!

Horrors of Halloween and Conjure the Dark barely registered as zones to me, but they did have mini-performances to stop and watch, so it wasn’t a total waste.

Nightmare Fuel improved from last year and Ghoulish is now my 2nd favorite lagoon show behind the 2019 Marathon of Mayhem.

Overall, I felt the houses were mostly mid-tier and the scarezones were mostly top-tier. Great vibes this year though!

 

[SeventyOne]

Some interesting takes from a long-time observer in Orlando Weekly (who I think used to post here): Howl-O-Scream vs. Halloween Horror Nights is shaping up to be this Halloween's scariest smackdown

I liked his point about actors being reduced to organic audio-animatronics. Which isn't new, but now to a point where the frog undeniably realizes the water is boiling.

 

[OhHaiInternet95]

Some interesting takes from a long-time observer in Orlando Weekly (who I think used to post here): Howl-O-Scream vs. Halloween Horror Nights is shaping up to be this Halloween's scariest smackdown

I liked his point about actors being reduced to organic audio-animatronics. Which isn't new, but now to a point where the frog undeniably realizes the water is boiling.

I agree that the event is due for a shakeup but we all know THAT'S not happening. Why change what's making you $$$ hand over fist.

 

[Mad Dog]

and....Different strokes for different folks......Attendance and revenue are the bottom line when it comes to what works...and Universal is killing it when it comes to that.....If their
attendance and revenue would slip, then they might re examine....The old saying, 'If it ain't broke, don't fix it'.

 

[shiekra38]

Some interesting takes from a long-time observer in Orlando Weekly (who I think used to post here): Howl-O-Scream vs. Halloween Horror Nights is shaping up to be this Halloween's scariest smackdown

I liked his point about actors being reduced to organic audio-animatronics. Which isn't new, but now to a point where the frog undeniably realizes the water is boiling.

HOS SW is far and above more enjoyable than HHN has been in years

If they really want, SW HOS can become Knott's East Coast...we'll see if they want that...

 

[OhHaiInternet95]

HOS SW is far and above more enjoyable than HHN has been in years

If they really want, SW HOS can become Knott's East Coast...we'll see if they want that...

Which do you think is better, HOS BGT or HOS SWO?

 

[Brian G.]

Guys. HHN Review thread. Time to move it to another thread.

 

[mrmagoo22]

Went last night 10/13. My honest review is that this year was kind of lame. Please don’t get me wrong. I went in 2016, 17 and 18 and had a great time at all. This year just felt different. Wayyy too crowded. And we had express.

The scare zones were cool, the house sets were well done, but, the scares were very absent. There was nothing original at all. My wife and I could guess every single scare that was coming every time. I personally got scared maybe 4 times through all the houses. We had express and it took wayyy too long to go through all the houses and I had to wait for the mummy ride where in years past I walked on in 5 minutes.

Again I love this event. I flew from Connecticut to go. But I just wasn’t impressed this year. Lots of empty houses too with few scare actors.

My ranking in order of what I thought was best.

dead man
Monsters collide
Halloween
Weeknd
Blumhouse
Destruction
Bugs
Chupacabra
Coven
Hell block

 

[fryoj]

I wasn't going to write a review as there seems to be blowback at times for not liking some people's favorite things, but my experience was very similar to @mrmagoo22 's. First HHN. Went midweek with express with the wife. Neither of us were ever "scared". Probably less than 5 startles throughout. Very little unpredictability. You could pretty much figure out where the actors were coming from before you got to them. The best scares used misdirection or having identical dummies/actors in a room so you didn't know which was which. There just didn't seem to be enough of that. There was way too much "oh a hole in a wall, I bet theres someone about to jump out. Yup".

Unfortunately, the success of the event is also its weakness. There's just too many people. You are just constantly herded through the houses. You have to keep moving, and there's not time for the actors to really reset. Most of the time you've seen them jump out at a person 3-4 in front of you so you know where they are at. I'm sure the aftermath of covid and just the nature of things today limits what they can do. You know they can't touch you. They know they can't. That has to limit what kind of things they could throw at you and some chances for unpredictability. End effect, most houses you got to the end and was like "well that was disappointing". But as long as they get 10,000(or whatever it is) people to pay the upcharge for the event 5 nights a week for two months, there's no reason for them to change it. It's obviously a huge success.

In discussing it, we probably would have enjoyed it more with a group of friends that had a few easily scared people in the group. Our best house experience was probably Blumhouse because the guy in front of us about lost his mind any time someone jumped at him. We laughed all the way through that house. And because we were watching him, the actors were able to get us a couple times. Unfortunately, it was just us two, so not as easily scared the rest of the night.

All of that being said, we still had a good time. We had express the first night, and am glad we did. We wouldn't do it if we had to wait in those lines. We didn't do any houses the second night. The houses and actors were phenomenally themed. They are on another level on that front. Nightmare Fuel was a great show. We really enjoyed that. Overall ambiance was fun. Glad we went, but probably wouldn't make the trip for it again.

 

[shiekra38]

Which do you think is better, HOS BGT or HOS SWO?

Lengthy response here: Old Vs New HHN

 

[OhHaiInternet95]

Lengthy response here: Old Vs New HHN

I don't see anything there about the two HOSs.

 

[mrmagoo22]

I wasn't going to write a review as there seems to be blowback at times for not liking some people's favorite things, but my experience was very similar to @mrmagoo22 's. First HHN. Went midweek with express with the wife. Neither of us were ever "scared". Probably less than 5 startles throughout. Very little unpredictability. You could pretty much figure out where the actors were coming from before you got to them. The best scares used misdirection or having identical dummies/actors in a room so you didn't know which was which. There just didn't seem to be enough of that. There was way too much "oh a hole in a wall, I bet theres someone about to jump out. Yup".

Unfortunately, the success of the event is also its weakness. There's just too many people. You are just constantly herded through the houses. You have to keep moving, and there's not time for the actors to really reset. Most of the time you've seen them jump out at a person 3-4 in front of you so you know where they are at. I'm sure the aftermath of covid and just the nature of things today limits what they can do. You know they can't touch you. They know they can't. That has to limit what kind of things they could throw at you and some chances for unpredictability. End effect, most houses you got to the end and was like "well that was disappointing". But as long as they get 10,000(or whatever it is) people to pay the upcharge for the event 5 nights a week for two months, there's no reason for them to change it. It's obviously a huge success.

In discussing it, we probably would have enjoyed it more with a group of friends that had a few easily scared people in the group. Our best house experience was probably Blumhouse because the guy in front of us about lost his mind any time someone jumped at him. We laughed all the way through that house. And because we were watching him, the actors were able to get us a couple times. Unfortunately, it was just us two, so not as easily scared the rest of the night.

All of that being said, we still had a good time. We had express the first night, and am glad we did. We wouldn't do it if we had to wait in those lines. We didn't do any houses the second night. The houses and actors were phenomenally themed. They are on another level on that front. Nightmare Fuel was a great show. We really enjoyed that. Overall ambiance was fun. Glad we went, but probably wouldn't make the trip for it again.

Yeah man I agree wholeheartedly. And again I love HHN. Love Halloween in general, but I really hope they decide to mix things up scare wise at some point. Way too predictable in every house and they just weren’t scary. Seemed like they went half assed on some of the costumes and masks. And as a Michael Myers fanatic, nothing annoys me more than when the scare actors don’t tuck the mask in lol.

The set designs were great as always, dead man’s pier was amazing, loved the house in Halloween, but the mazes were just missing something this year.

 

[fryoj]

Universal might say " but how else do you scare people with actors or boo holes ? What else can u do? What else is there?"

But I miss when actors were out in the roof for example. Reaching down at you. I miss different stuff like that.
Maybe there's not a lot they can do with boo holes.

Actually there was one instance in the Weeknd, I believe, where someone reached down from above, but that was the only one I noticed. It was pretty effective actually. Not sure why its not something they don't use more.

Another issue, imo, with the boo holes was a lot of them were canned sounds. And since theres so many of them, they lose their effect. You kinda end up tuning them out. Just another sound coming out of a random speaker. I think it might be better to have some more organic sounds for the actors to produce. Banging metal on metal or things like that.

But yeah, I freely admit, I'm a little stumped on what they can do to be more effective. The things that they could do to add more surprises, would also hurt capacity.