Halloween Horror Nights 33 (UOR) - Reviews, Photos, & Videos

[Wesker69]

The pre-mixed crap is, well, crap. I can’t imagine they used to be any better than they are now.

Pre-mixed drinks WERE actually good back in the day & by that i mean 10-15years ago (same applies to Mardi Gras' "Voodoo Juice"). The pre-mix was quite tasty, but once we figured out what the recipe more or less was, we just went to Finnegan's (after acquiring the annual blinky cup) & had them make it (which resulted in a much stronger drink )

My daytime/nighttime cocktail:
Myers, Malibu, Captain, orange juice, pineapple juice, grenadine & Monster.

Anytime I'd walk into Finn's the bartenders would ask "Your usual sweetie?" depending on who made it made a difference in how strong it was lol

 

[daboswinney]

Did my annual trip to HHN this weekend. Been going since 27. Wanted to share my house rankings.

1. Insidious-the music and scares in this house were relentless.
2. Mostruos- Went through this house twice and got really good scares both times, especially the stilt scares.
3. Slaughter Sinema 2- Just a blast, like the first one
4. Uni Monsters- Had my best scare of the event in this house
5.Museum-I honestly really enjoyed the concept of this house and thought it was a good house
6. Ghostbusters- This house was just a really fun time
7. A Quiet Place- Good concept, just not the scariest. That first scare tho. Omg.
8. Major Sweets-Solid house
9.Goblin's Feast- Not scary, but cool sets
10. Triplets of terror- went through once, and it was agreed with my buddy that we did not like it and found it very repetative.

Overall, really great house showing this year. Already can't wait for HHN34!

 

[amar831]

Part 1

This is gonna be a long one: My full in-depth event review and rankings.

Opening Weekend + Premium Scream rankings

So I had my week 1 rankings set for some time, I prioritize scares in a house, but also take into account the ambiance, cohesion, storytelling etc. The way I ranked here essentially is, if I had one last chance to go through any of these houses, what am I going for. The ranking is solely based on my experience within the first week.

1. Insidious
2. Quiet Place
3. Ghostbusters
4. Major Sweets
5. Goblins Feast
6. Universal Monsters
7. Slaughter Sinema
8. Triplets of Terror
9. Monstruos
10. Museum

Rapid Fire Rankings

For the days I attended last week, I essentially just made a rapid fire ranking as I was going through each house every night. If I had multiple runs of a house, I took the best run into account. Really interesting to see how things changed up from day to day, and really shows how good all of these houses are/can be. Except you Insidious, thou shall not be dethroned.

9/19/2024

1. Insidious
2. Major Sweets
3. Slaughter Sinema 2
4. Goblins Feast
5. Ghostbusters
6. Quiet Place
7. Museum - 2 runs - 1 cast change
8. Triplets
9. Monstruos
10. Monsters - cast change

9/20/2024

1. Insidious
2. Quiet Place
3. Ghostbuster
4. Goblins Feast - 2 runs
5. Slaughter Sinema
6. Major Sweets
7. Monstruos
8. Triplets
9. Museum
10. Monsters - 2 run's

9/21/2024

1. Insidious
2. Ghostbusters
3. Goblins Feast
4. Slaughter Sinema
5. Major Sweets
6. Quiet Place
7. Monstruos
8. Triplets
9. Museum
10. Monsters (Random thought- it’s just not locked in)

9/22/2024

1. Insidious
2. Goblins Feast - 4 runs
3. Quiet Place
4. Ghostbusters - 2 runs
5. Monstruous
6. Major Sweets - 2 runs
7. Slaughter Sinema
8. Museum
9. Monsters (Random thought - much better with timing)
10. Triplets

Overall event thoughts

-Food lines are absolute insanity opening weekend, much more manageable last weekend.
-Year after year, entertainment in the queues feels like an afterthought, glad to see the projections up near Monsters and Goblins, but it is dead silent in the lines for those soundstage houses. Glad they’ve added the projector back there now, but again it feels like an afterthought. I don’t know how difficult it would be to just even have the park loop playing back there or along the walkway back to the new tents etc., but theres almost no feeling of Halloween when you’re in most lines.
-Express lines are being handled MUCH better this year. Haven’t run into a situation where they let swarms of people in through regular and about 10 through express (looking at you Last of Us and Beetlejuice). I don’t mind waiting, but when you’re only putting three parties through every 1-2 minutes, somethings not right. Glad they’ve smoothed it out.
-Fanta Bar is the kind of corporate synergy im not a fan of. Loved the theming to conjuring the dark at the bar behind lombards, and peacock bar was a lot of fun but I’m not too sure about it moving forward. HHN bar might have been more of a hit if they had a better selection of drinks. Having food there helped it last year too.


Premium Scream Night

-I’d do this a million times, though I fear it will not be the experience that it was this year. Word has to have gotten out that this was an HHN fans dream night at the event
-The first time I walked through central park at around 8PM, my jaw was practically on the floor, I was essentially alone walking through and it was just something that I have never experienced before. (This may also sound strange, but I took a picture of the inside of the Fallon Bathrooms, empty. Never have I been alone in that bathroom, I was shocked)
-Initially I was going to log the entrance and exit times for each queue/house throughout the nights to log the waits for each house, soon found it to be pointless. Essentially no waits, looped the park during the last hour and a half non stop just to get one last run of every single house, I was exhausted but so elated.
-Staggered entry got off to a little bit of a strange start at Ghostbusters. They were sending in 1 party at a time. A little bit of a line built up (naturally at the beginning of the event only) and then they decided to start sending in multiple parties at a time. I could see where the TM demeanor changed as if it were like a supervisor directive, and they were not happy about it, but my party walked in to the facade, stopped and waited for the party in front of us to move through the next room and then started our run. No TM ever made us feel rushed, and it was amazing going through these houses alone. Towards the end of the night, even my party was splitting up to have full solo runs of the houses.
-TM demeanor was through the roof. Every interaction was filled with joy and excitement. You could tell they had a genuine happiness that this event was happening for us fans, and we’d even be in line talking about how much fun we were having and how great it was and TMs would just pop up and have a conversation with us about how great it was.
-Some food lines were pretty long- walking taco- but for the most part it was great to just walk up and grab some food. Desserts across the board did seem to run out pretty early on.


Food

Definitely hit or miss with some items, but I’ll go booth by booth with everything I tried and give my thoughts

General

-Twisted taters were good as always, both the garlic parm and sour cream and chives were great. Perfect walking food.
-Pizza fries, always solid, can’t go wrong.

Quiet Place

-Corn Chowder had a good taste, but when I got it it was like the chowder was hot, but the shrimp may have still been frozen. The shrimp was still a little cold on the inside and soup was lukewarm at best while eating it. Wouldn’t spend the money on it again but it was fine.
-Baked beans were delicious, the cornbread was the perfect pairing for the beans and mashed potato, really enjoyed it.

Ghostbusters

-Slimers Korean Corn dog was delicious. I heard a lot of people very iffy because there was something blue/green inside, but look up sage derby cheese y’all, its green. Would definitely get again, another great walking food choice.

Insidious

-The Red Door was ok. Definitely needed a bit more flavor, but a pretty decent option for vegans (I’m not vegan myself just open to trying new things, and this I had a premium scream so it was free)

Monsters

-In The Fog fish and chips were amazing. I love fish and chips and these were some of the best I’ve had, love them from finnegans too. Wouldn’t spend the money on them personally at the event, had this during premium scream.
-The Bride’s Cake was very delicious. Nice and moist on the inside, possibly my favorite dessert at the event. Could be biased slightly since this was my birthday cake on opening night, my Mom had it ready with a candle right at midnight, sitting privately behind Richters, and I had my friends on facetime so it was a pretty great moment to ring in my birthday at HHN for the first time ever. Core Memory.

Slaughter Sinema

-Ropa Vieja walking taco was surprisingly good. Had this last weekend and it seems like the issues I heard previously (chunks of meat instead of ropa vieja, not enough meat) were resolved. Good balance of ingredients and flavors. Wasn’t sure how i’d like it with dorito’s since frito’s are my favorite chip and last years was so good, but I was pleasantly surprised
-Rocks from Hell - Yes - Always yes - Once a night. I do not like spicy food, so I was nervous about these, but it is very light. The taste and texture of these are great, just little crunchy gooey cheeseballs. I couldn’t get enough. 10/10

Monstruos

-The Heart Beet Tostada is the most delicious vegan food option I’ve personally had at the parks. Refreshing, light, and perfect for a hot day. Really wanted to have this again, just ran out of time and space
-Spinal Column Pinchos were really juicy and delicious. The sauce on them was great definitely something I would not mind having again. Perfectly cooked.
-Chocolate Tres Leches was good, but I don’t know if I personally would have called the piece I got a tres leches. The cake itself was pretty dry, and I’m used to it essentially being a soaking wet sponge. Taste was good, so as a cake I enjoyed it. As a tres leches it misses the mark.

Triplets of Terror

-Say Cheeseburger was quite delicious. Cheesy, greasy, and really hits the spot after a few adult beverages. A little pricey for the size, but one of the best cheeseburgers I’ve had in a theme park.
-Bloody Goody bag has me on the fence. On premium scream night, it was fantastic, with nice chunks of fried chicken, and the peppers and sauce really brought it all together with the fries for an explosion of flavor. After that though, the next one I got essentially just had fried chicken skin I think and nearly not enough sauce, they also ran out of peppers. Was not a fan the second time and I will not risk the money with even a possibility of that chicken skin being on the plate again. Big drop.

 

[amar831]

Part 2 (only double posting due to length)

House Reviews (not my final ranking order though)

1. Insidious - Relentless with scares and so absolutely creepy. The cast in here is doing such a fantastic and CONSISTENT job of trying to target absolutely everyone. Really great house, one of my all time favorites. I now have PTSD from red curtains, it’s great. The brides in black are doing a fantastic job too, personal space has to be afraid of them.
2. Quiet Place - Really enjoyed the premise here, and going through on premium night was A+, these monsters are everywhere and it was such a good use of animatronics. Got a little bit more inconsistent especially last weekend, but sometimes thats the nature of a conga line. Still a very good and beautiful house. That opening into the title card is top notch.
3. Ghostbusters - I did not have high hopes for this house after 2019, but I don’t like setting expectations, good or bad, before I go to the house. To my surprise, an actual scary Ghostbusters house is possible. Garraka in the frozen room somehow always knew I was coming, ready to send me to the floor at any given moment. The one at the exit was pretty relentless to. Containment room was a pretty vicious and aggressive room as well. Very good mixture of scenic, scares, and humor. Loved seeing the little stay pufts and the firehouse freezing is such a cool projection mapping effect. Bring back Acid Assault cowards!
4. Major Sweets - Give me the GATs! Felt like an oldschool disaster/jaws queue house. Really enjoyed this, super fun, some long ish triggers, but I really didnt anticipate just how gory and bloody this would be after hearing Triplets was the gore house. The music choices are hilarious, perfect juxtaposition to the horrors youre walking through. The taffy in the cieling was a great little effect. Smells pumping through as well. Really liked this and glad to see Major Sweets and Ms. Treats again.
5. Goblins Feast - No longer my number five but won’t be re-ranking until the season is over. So fun, so creative, whimsical and terrifying all at the same time. Super cool effects going on here with the Giant on the screens, and that trio of goblins in the middle are relentless with their ping pong scares. Fun and scary, loved the sets, and that last SA is hilarious “the food is escaping”. Really enjoyed this.
6. Universal Monsters - I had much better runs of this house during premium scream than at the rest of the event, some pretty good scares, and didn’t have awful runs like I did last weekend. I also had no idea Saskia died until I read it here. Complicated story that not even the podcast can help you understand. She-mummy and She-wolf kind of feel shoe-horned in, but If you just leave Draculas daughter and brides, its essentially the same cast as Bride Lives so I kind of get it. The timing was just miserable Thursday-Saturday of last week for me, and thats with multiple runs on some days. Lots of holes as well. The scares on Sunday the 22nd still were either in front of or behind me, but I could tell it was an improvement from the night before timing wise.
7. Slaughter Sinema - Might get a little heat, but another one I didn’t know how I would feel about since the OG Slaughter Sinema was my least favorite house that year. Never had a good run out of the 4 or 5 times I was able to do it. The cast is killing it here, and I love the variety of movies. Took some time to stand and watch the trailers and it just adds so much to the run, like knowing the character’s name in the zombie section. The chromadepth really elevates the Heavy Metal Hell section, but at the suggestion from someone else, decided to do a few full runs with them on. Doesn’t always add something, but doesn’t take away from anything. And the cast absolutely loved seeing them, the jesters and bro dude in Mardi Gras just started poking fun at me and my mom wearing the glasses one night, it was great. Really enjoyed it and definitely won’t have any doubts if they ever give us a number 3
8. Triplets of Terror - Gruesome, gory, aggressive, but somewhat telegraphed scares. I feel characters don’t have too many opportunities to get right in your face since theyre travelling so far from their booholes. The podcast element feels like its only there to show the plot that A&D set out to make, but it’s just one room and never mentioned again. You’re also not in that room for too long so you may not even really get the gist of it. Music in this house was great though, felt very Ho1C. Very short, and could have benefitted from a few more scenes in the sewer and maybe some conclusion audio from the podcast playing to wrap the story up.
9. Monstruos - Very inconsistent runs with this one. Felt a little low on actors some nights. The animatronic La Muerte at the end is so cheap, would have made such a big difference to have an actor there given how animated that character is throughout the rest of the house. The El Silbon section is by far my favorite. They come at you from so many different levels and always agressive. Whoever is manning that huge head puppet deserves an award because they are SO aggressive with it.
10. Museum - Kind of just a hodgepodge of stuff with no real direction. Would have liked less human/guard SAs and more exhibits come to life. The first 5-6 runs of this house, those wallpaper SAs just did not move or try to scare me and my group at all. Such a good scare in the weeknd house a few years ago, but just not effective here. Really enjoyed the big ship room, and did have some ok runs of the house, last weekend. Still not my favorite but to the cast’s credit there is some improvement.

Scarezones (Rank and Reviews)

1. Demon Queens - simple yet ambient, the casts are really playing on the surreal psychological horror with their scares and menacing looks. Costumes and makeup were great, and I just really enjoyed the vibe here. Walked out of this zone creeped out more times than I care to admit
2. Torture Faire - Fun zone, love the soundtrack and how it changes from the medievel to heavy metal every so often. The cast here is killing it, and really hamming it up. Very cool vibe and feels like such a big change from what we normally have here. Solid zone.
3. Swamp of the Undead - Dark, wet and atmospheric. What this zone lacks in space it makes up for in ambiance. The cast is really good at finding their hiding spots and catching you by surprise. Hard to see at times so I feel it could use some adjustments with the lighting.
4. Blumhouse - Photo op zone, but some character on the actual street are trying to go for the scares, sparse but present. Definitely could have had more specifically themed stages a la crypt TV and that would have changed this one for the better. Pretty bland, but serves it’s purpose.
5. Duality of Fear - I would like to hear the conversation around this zone where it was decided that they could just throw a curtain on either side of the trusses and say bam, scarezone 5. Disappointing to even be called a scarezone. Sinister and surreal are great for the combined hour that theyre up there though.

Honorable Mention

HHN Bar - Really enjoyed having an actual out of the way and not a scare zone photo op location. But my honorable mention goes to the trick or treater SA from Major Sweets. Consistently high energy, unhinged, and so much fun. Highlight of every trip with my mom was seeing them there, I’d like to hope they recognized us after the first few times because we were just always genuinely happy to see their enthusiasm. Great job to that actor.


Final Thoughts

-Can’t speak on Nightmare Fuel, but It was just never a priority to wait half an hour before the show starts and lose so much time of the event.
-Overall fun year with some solid houses and no true stinkers
-Scarezones need to be scarezones. A truss doesnt make something a scarezone especially when its the same truss thats been there for the past 3 years. What a disservice to these icons to call this the icon zone. At least they have Torture Faire and Demon Queens to act as their zones.
-Keep giving us icons, it’s fun. They’re not gonna be used in marketing at this point anyway.
-At the end of the day, it’s HHN, and I had a great time.

***Photos from premium scream night that really show how low the crowd level was. Fallon bathroom I had to take a picture of because I have NEVER been alone in there before.

 

[Crypt Keeper]

PICKLE BARREL!!!!!

 

[RGMick77]

I completed 4 nights with my Rush of Fear pass this year. Overall, it felt like the event was being held back from hitting the normal high spots.

ZONES:

The scarezones had a negative impact on the atmosphere in the park. Somehow, Torture Faire was the most fun, but it was way too crowded. Demon Queens tried, but the concept just didn’t land. Blumhouse was mostly just good for getting pictures. Swamp was just okay. The 5th zone didn’t actually exist. The parkwide music was fine, but I do miss the horror synth.

HOUSES:

1) Insidious - Most people seem to agree that this is the house where the actors really worked hard for the scares. It was a simple, but effective house.

2) Ghostbusters - This was much better than the movie it was based on. It was a fun and nostalgic trip seeing a bunch of classic ghosts from the original movies.

3) Major Sweets - I really enjoyed the scarezone in 2022, so I was happy to see them take the same basic concept and make it more like an old school haunted house. It was grimy and campy and I loved it.

4) Goblins - This one had great set designs and some fun character moments. Highly enjoyable.

5) Slaughter Sinema 2 - I was a fan of the original house and this one was pretty close to meeting my expectations. It was a nice touch to do a spin on various old concepts from around the park.

6) A Quiet Place - I enjoyed the movies and their gimmick, but I don’t like the Death Angel character designs. The house was a very expensive recreation of the movies, but it just doesn’t work for me.

7) Monstuos - I thought the monsters were cool, but I had a hard time keeping the stories straight in my head. I had no familiarity with these characters at all and had to do my own research. It didn’t resonate with me.

8) Bloodlines - The story was confusing. The actors weren’t aggressive. I like the characters they picked, but it all felt rushed and disconnected. I wanted to like this one more, but I never felt hyped for it.

9) Museum - I liked the concept. There were a couple of good rooms where the concept felt like it paid off. The rest of the house was lacking. I wanted more interesting exhibits to comes to life.

10) Triplets - I understand that they wanted to create their own slasher house, but it all felt so generic to me. Even the weirdly complicated backstory didn’t make the characters any more interesting to me.


FOOD:

I tried the Slimer Korean Corndog, Stay Puft S’more, twisted taters, and pizza fries. No complaints. The rest of the event food looked a little too weird for my taste.

SHOW:

Nightmare Fuel was great, as always. I just wish we had more variety in shows being offered. They desperately need that Lagoon Show back.

FINAL EVENT GRADE: C+

 

[Lucky Planet]

This was probably the worst HHN I’ve been to. I’ve been going every year since 2008. Just didn’t love it. Goblin’s Feast and Sinister Sinema were fun at least. The streets felt kind of bare. Also them not having Transformers open screams saving money.

TLDR - I did not care for this year.

Now that our season is done in 6 nights for our RoF + Express, I've been looking back and thinking about my experience and also seeing what everyone else is thinking. It definitely is a very very different year this year and I still can't put my finger on why it feels that way for me.

Just going to be blunt, this year sucked. For me three things broke the pattern
1) It was great seeing our friends in the fog and I felt like we ran into almost everyone this year
2) Ghostbusters (house, merch, smore) was the only thing that felt good and reminded me of HHN and made me smile
3) New sprung tent locations were very well done and I appreciated not having the hell or death march, bathroom area over there was surprisingly nice and clean. only negative is that black asphalt is a bit on the warm side.

Everything felt confuddled, confused, reused, thrown together, and without care.
The scarezones were photo ops and didn't seem to feel connected or spooky at all.
The houses were all over the place with very easy to predict scares.
The food and drinks were mostly not great.
Nightmare Fuel was neat but it felt like the same show I've seen before but with clown paint on it.
Icons were throw away.
Ops overwhelmed and poorly managed and staffed.

I think I'ma just leave it at that to keep this sort of short and not put out additional negativity for others that have a different opinion

Just returned from a full 4 days with Express. Some good yes, but the bad/worries I had throughout the spec season were cemented and very prevalent throughout. There were times when plenty of the *bad* was forgotten about, but more so due to being with friends there rather than the actual event making it special.

The disconnect with everything was the biggest miss that was felt for me. I have a friend in my group who goes, not as a fan but just to hang with us, and he told me unprovoked "This feels like **** compared to the last few years, does it not" - which was super telling to me. Really hope next year gets that step back to making HHN what it can, and should be, all aspects as a whole.

Zones: What has already been said. As expected too. Swamp not returning to form post-storm was a true bummer, Torture music was excellent, and well, we know the rest. I am curious how "successful" they'll deem the photo ops from the HHN bar, as every time I walked by Thur-Sun, it was empty as all hell. That's 4 more actors that can be in a zone actually scaring. I get it for some sure, but just feels like an overall swing and a miss, especially with how bare the "bar" is with the drink options they have there.
Not having entrances on that right side of the park hurts the amount of traffic that Hollywood has, which I thought found their stride and had some fun watching it for a good hour (also the area I saw Teens touch and harass scare actors the most all weekend in that hour, that's another conversation entirely).

Houses:
Fine? As others have said, the stinkers could have been incredibly worse off.
Insidious getting back to just true uneasy, unnerving, stacked house of scares, was great. Maybe they will see those wait times it has had all event and look into having more than one house with that intensity. People love it.

Did a consensus ranking within my group, many die-hard fans, but also a few casuals:
1. Insidious The Further
2. Goblins Feast
3. Major Sweets Candy Factory
4. Slaughter Sinema 2
5. Triplets of Terror
*drop off*
6. Universal Monsters Eternal Bloodlines
7. Ghostbusters Frozen Empire
8. Monstruos The Monsters of Latin America
9. A Quiet Place
10. The Museum: Deadly Exhibits

Did not fit in Nightmare Fuel this year, but looked to be another solid rendition, which makes me happy. Always have liked their shows, always a good time in that sauna of a venue for 45 minutes lol.

Tribute Store/Merch/Dead Coconut/Food/Vibe
For every positive and smile I had, felt like I got counterpunched from the other direction.
Clearly, the merch designs were a miss, and it was prevalent throughout the weekend based on what people were wearing and whenever I went into the store. Rough. The over-done Lil Boo merch was a choice all year, where it has very much overstayed it's welcome. Wonder how they'll pivot next year.

Dead Coconut was fun, while the Blumhouse section was forced into it, still nice to have some props there (should have just put the "scarezone" into the entire club if they had to go the Blumhouse route) - force people to get some drinks there too for those photo ops

Some food was a hit, some a miss, and while they went with fewer items and seemingly fewer booths this year compared to the last few, still had some booths with absolutely no lines when I would walk by. Always interesting to see what food items are absolute misses this early in the year, knowing how doomed they'll be the rest of the season, while the few hits (fish and chips, ghostbusters, monstrous) will have insane lines nightly.

Express did mitigate a ton of that "teen invasion" I have heard about, which was amazing compared to last few years, usually was 80-95% off the wait times every night, with half of the waits being under 6 minutes in prime time. Ops killed it there. Outside of that though, especially Thursday + Sunday nights with fewer teens, you could feel a weird vibe with everything. And sadly I don't have the perfect answers, but do know that improvements can easily be made next year. Am hopeful they can make them.

Bring back the Lagoon Show, fully fleshed out scare zones, Cabana Bay photo ops/fun exhibits, improve the merch, snack offerings, quality of drinks/options, and some more intensity to the houses again.
The watered-down offerings and quality really showed up this year for me, and on top of price hikes, am cautiously hopeful there's some return to form next year. Who knows with Epic.

ive talked to some other people outside this forum and everyone seems to be saying the same and being kind of disappointed.
did they get new designers this year? I keep hearing that the entire event feels off. is it a new team? and 8 keep seeing disappointment for the same houses, what could be happening?
I'm waiting to go in late October but I keep hearing the same disappointments.

 

[Crypt Keeper]

ive talked to some other people outside this forum and everyone seems to be saying the same and being kind of disappointed.
did they get new designers this year? I keep hearing that the entire event feels off. is it a new team? and 8 keep seeing disappointment for the same houses, what could be happening?
I'm waiting to go in late October but I keep hearing the same disappointments.

It's personal taste. But I also think it's the aftermath of having a ridiculously strong IP line-up last year and the problem of expecting certain IPs (like Nightmare On Elm Street because it's the 40th anniversary and it was on speculation maps). I cannot count how many times I've been in line for a house, especially Triplets of Terror, where people are talking about how Universal lost an IP or lost NOES or whatever. People seem to really hate the merch as well.

For me, this year is fantastic. Sure, there are problems, notably a non-existent zone (probably plays a role in the hate) and one clunker house imo, but everything else is great. I was bummed out by the tribute store when it was announced, but it has turned out to be one of my favorites and I've been to every HHN tribute store lol.

 

[SeventyOne]

ive talked to some other people outside this forum and everyone seems to be saying the same and being kind of disappointed.
did they get new designers this year? I keep hearing that the entire event feels off. is it a new team? and 8 keep seeing disappointment for the same houses, what could be happening?
I'm waiting to go in late October but I keep hearing the same disappointments.

(I posted this on Reddit maybe a week back in a thread similar to your question, after hearing the same thing from enough people who've gone over a decade, sometimes two -- "something's missing," "off year," "not working" -- that there's clearly a pattern...)

Some thoughts:

* Lot of parity in the houses. Nothing horrible but not sure even Frozen Empire cracks the all-time great list. Often one or two bangers push the whole event, but there's none this year.

* This actually reminds me of the mid-2010s, and another aspect of that era that has returned is houses that feel about two scenes too short and effects that are slow to re-set, so most guests miss half of them. Hasn't been an issue for at least the past 5 years or so, but felt like a lot of backsliding in house design this year.

* The houses that were supposed to be good aren't. Classic monsters is the most successful IP in the history of the event, but Bloodlnes' execution just failed. Triplets should've been an all-timer but it feels like a generic slasher rip-off with recycled sets. Meanwhile the best houses are from mid, somewhat forgettable IPs. I think AQP is a solid house, but does that really excite anyone?

* Scare-zones are weak. And the opening zone is barely there. Weakest of the HNF shows (still ok but harder to justify 2 hours of your evening on it). Weakest tribute store since the concept was created -- feels more obligation than labor of love. Even the food is kind of forced: "It's an eclair shaped like a board with a nail in it!"

* Prices are out-of-control. $17 for a flat Dufftoberfest from a tap that needs its lines cleaned. Always going to be a theme park premium, but hard to have a good time when it feels like you're being ripped off.

* Haven't seen it myself, but dozens of reports of out-of-control teen guest behavior on weekend nights.

There's still some good this year. Reconfiguration of the queues has gone well, I love the placement of the two new tents. Frozen Empire and Goblins are fun houses, well worth your visit, and Insidious is very effective at scaring even if you don't really remember much about the movies. The Ghostbusters S'more is textbook what the event should be doing with food -- but maybe not every house needs that? Only where it works? Overall the weakest year in close to a decade, maybe longer. And worse, evidence of an event backsliding.

 

[Crypt Keeper]

(I posted this on Reddit maybe a week back in a thread similar to your question, after hearing the same thing from enough people who've gone over a decade, sometimes two -- "something's missing," "off year," "not working" -- that there's clearly a pattern...)

Some thoughts:

* Lot of parity in the houses. Nothing horrible but not sure even Frozen Empire cracks the all-time great list. Often one or two bangers push the whole event, but there's none this year.

* This actually reminds me of the mid-2010s, and another aspect of that era that has returned is houses that feel about two scenes too short and effects that are slow to re-set, so most guests miss half of them. Hasn't been an issue for at least the past 5 years or so, but felt like a lot of backsliding in house design this year.

* The houses that were supposed to be good aren't. Classic monsters is the most successful IP in the history of the event, but Bloodlnes' execution just failed. Triplets should've been an all-timer but it feels like a generic slasher rip-off with recycled sets. Meanwhile the best houses are from mid, somewhat forgettable IPs. I think AQP is a solid house, but does that really excite anyone?

* Scare-zones are weak. And the opening zone is barely there. Weakest of the HNF shows (still ok but harder to justify 2 hours of your evening on it). Weakest tribute store since the concept was created -- feels more obligation than labor of love. Even the food is kind of forced: "It's an eclair shaped like a board with a nail in it!"

* Prices are out-of-control. $17 for a flat Dufftoberfest from a tap that needs its lines cleaned. Always going to be a theme park premium, but hard to have a good time when it feels like you're being ripped off.

* Haven't seen it myself, but dozens of reports of out-of-control teen guest behavior on weekend nights.

There's still some good this year. Reconfiguration of the queues has gone well, I love the placement of the two new tents. Frozen Empire and Goblins are fun houses, well worth your visit, and Insidious is very effective at scaring even if you don't really remember much about the movies. The Ghostbusters S'more is textbook what the event should be doing with food -- but maybe not every house needs that? Only where it works? Overall the weakest year in close to a decade, maybe longer. And worse, evidence of an event backsliding.

Many of your points are completely subjective. Prices and out-of-control teens aren't subjective points cause they're the two things everybody complains about every year and rightfully so.

No houses are carrying the event? Insidious is the clearest case I have ever seen. I agree that Bloodlines sucks, but "the houses that are supposed to be good aren't" is just your opinion. The same goes for saying "the best houses are mid". Again, it's subjective. Some people have Bloodlines, Triplets, and AQP at the top, while others have them at the bottom or varying.

I agree that HNF this year is the weakest so far, but based on how many people flock to the show super early and how powerful the crowd reaction is during the show, it's not the weakest for everyone. I've heard many say it's the best version so far!

 

[Midnight Detective]

OK so I had a SIGNIFICANTLY better return trip. I am now extremely up on this year in what is probably the biggest whiplash between two nights I've ever had at HHN.

My first trip included Monstrous, Museum, Bloodlines, Goblins and Insidious. On to round 2:

Ghostbusters 2 - I am Ghostbusters 1 disrespecter. I thought it was fine in concept, but it fell off significantly as the event went on, and made no attempt to be scary. Ghostbusters 2 on the otherhand is on par with Stranger Things Part 1. Loved it!

2. Major Sweets - Classic HHN Glory. I LOVE this house. I don't understand why the candy makes children murderous but kills other people. I don't understand Major Sweets goal or how killing random adults qualifies as revenge. I don't think the factory will financially recover from this. I don't care this house is SO GOOD. There's so much too look, see and smell.

3. Triplets - I don't think the house is the train wreck people are describing but I will echo that the house ends right when it's going off.

4. A Quiet Place - They now tell you to be silent when you enter. When I went I through the entire conga line was quiet making the house extremely freaky. I liked it a lot and will never discourage new approaches.

Final thoughts on first runs - there's a lot improvements in zones and on the single repeat I did. I think it should be illegal to review the event in the first few weeks. Things change a lot when the actors hit their strides. My group and I had a lot of fun!

 

[HandsomePete]

Many of your points are completely subjective.

That's kinda the point of a review.

I think it should be illegal to review the event in the first few weeks.

This gets at an issue I had with the event over the last few years - house staffing was clearly worse in September than October.

It's not that it should be illegal to review the event in the first few weeks because a number of people have already one-and-done it... if Universal short-staffs the first few weeks then they deserve the "meh" reviews. And I don't see how it can take a few weeks to hit a stride, maybe a few days - I get that it's physically demanding and long hours but I don't see how this is a "play yourself into shape" sort of thing.

 

[Midnight Detective]

It's not that it should be illegal to review the event in the first few weeks because a number of people have already one-and-done it... if Universal short-staffs the first few weeks then they deserve the "meh" reviews. And I don't see how it can take a few weeks to hit a stride, maybe a few days - I get that it's physically demanding and long hours but I don't see how this is a "play yourself into shape" sort of thing

Hyperbole lol

The event is usually not firing on all cylinders until close to October. Scares and effects are added while scareactors get comfortable in their roles.

The event can and should be judged based on the experience had at the time, but I personally don't judge a house's quality until I've seen the final product.

 

[Brian G.]

Alright - we're getting away from the Reviews aspect of the Review thread...

 

[Chumpieboy]

Did the house a bunch of times, and felt like I missed the new videos a lot! I saw Pumpkin Guts more than I saw anything from this year. At the end of the 4-row switchback, they really needed a second screen and speaker so that you could get up to speed with what was in the house.

Yes would have liked the chance to see all the videos from the XP line

The timid/un-kinetic scares coupled with the impossible to follow narration really made this house the worst Monsters house BY FAR in my opinion.

Agreed as well.

Both of these issues are part of a larger continued theme from the last few years where the designers and ops/logistics folks don’t seem to work together or keep each others’ needs in mind when planning. And it makes it a bad show for the guests.

- “We have this great idea for a house with convoluted lore that we will explain to the guests over the course of the house.”
- “Counterpoint - need to rush people through since the line is 2 hours long.”

 

[Hockeyman55]

I'll spare you my review and instead leave you with some pretty pictures from our trip during the second week of the event

HHN 33 by Mike Sperduto, on Flickr

HHN 24 by Mike Sperduto, on Flickr

HHN 24 by Mike Sperduto, on Flickr

HHN 24 by Mike Sperduto, on Flickr

HHN 24 by Mike Sperduto, on Flickr

HHN 24 by Mike Sperduto, on Flickr

HHN 24 by Mike Sperduto, on Flickr

 

[ssirin88]

Saturday wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be, Express moved well for all houses.

Did all houses at least once, Goblins and Monsters twice. Can’t say I hated or was severely disappointed in anything, but at the same time felt like a very middle of the pack year overall.

Insidious and Cinema2 I enjoyed the most. Probably lowest rated was Sweets but another run would’ve helped. I actually really liked Monstrous visually and the costumes.

NY and Central Park scarezones were fun, but nothing amazing.

I’d say a C to C+ overall.

 

[TheCodeMan95]

It's personal taste. But I also think it's the aftermath of having a ridiculously strong IP line-up last year and the problem of expecting certain IPs (like Nightmare On Elm Street because it's the 40th anniversary and it was on speculation maps). I cannot count how many times I've been in line for a house, especially Triplets of Terror, where people are talking about how Universal lost an IP or lost NOES or whatever. People seem to really hate the merch as well.

For me, this year is fantastic. Sure, there are problems, notably a non-existent zone (probably plays a role in the hate) and one clunker house imo, but everything else is great. I was bummed out by the tribute store when it was announced, but it has turned out to be one of my favorites and I've been to every HHN tribute store lol.

I agree with all the points here. Coming off the high of HHN 32, it was going to be hard to follow it up.

And I loved the Tribute Store as well. Really don't understand the hate for it.

 

[ssirin88]

I agree with all the points here. Coming off the high of HHN 32, it was going to be hard to follow it up.

And I loved the Tribute Store as well. Really don't understand the hate for it.

It was fine, just felt a little lacking in the design dept. I liked the first room convenience store but it felt too small.

 

[Casper Gutman]

Speaking of the Tribute Store, I really miss the constantly changing Mold-a-Rama machines around the resort. They were a relatively minor thing, but they were fun souvenirs to track down. Another of the small things that used to make Uni special that have been disappearing.