Halloween Horror Nights 34 (UOR) - Reviews, Photos, & Videos

[johnathanm]

I’ve seen a lot of chatter about the AAP but still can’t quite pin what the issue seems to be. All of the houses and queues are fully accessible to wheelchairs; mobility issues would not traditionally qualify for one of these passes. So I’m not sure what exactly Universal did wrong here. Having to get a return time from the end of a walking path without shade or seating shouldn’t impact an AAP user any more or less than a non-AAP user.

(I know I’m picking apart one minor part of your otherwise glowing review, this is just the most detailed version of AAP angst I’ve seen so far).

A member of my group uses an AAP - it’s not a huge complaint but the basic idea is rather than having an AAP return time retrieval table in a more centralized place (near minions like last year), they have it in the back of house near the soundstage house entrances. That means in order to do any one house with a backstage entrance, those with AAPs must do that walk twice (barring they used the table near MIB to snag a return): first to get a return time, and then to return to the house. I get what they were going for having it back there, but I think the best solution is a third table somewhere in the vicinity of minions or HHN bar.

P.S. mods sorry for the off topic conversation, but thought this warranted a response.

 

[Tobias]

Back home from my convention trip, and I was able to drop by for Opening Night, so here's my quick first impressions.

I'm absolutely a fan of the new Stay and Scream wristband process. Was super easy getting the wristband at Villian-Con, and it was really nice being able to walk around, hit up E.T. and MIB, take shelter in a shop or Fast Food Blvd to get out of the sun/rain. I will happily do more Stay and Scream's with this process!

As for my first impressions house rankings...

1. El Artista - This house is absolutely gorgeous, you can see very quickly why they had the overall theme revolve around the conservatory and had this house as the first original announced.

2. Jason Universe - Easily gave me the biggest scare of the night, fantastic use of the location, too.

3. Galkn - I love me some good creatures, and this house was chock full of them with some great sets and puppets, too! Very aggressive and memorable finale as well.

4. FNaF - Being a fan of the series, I wasn't expecting to get scared, I was just hoping for great animatronics and atmosphere, and they delivered that for me!

5. Dolls - Oooh, this house is unsettling, disturbing and I did NOT do well my first time through as the mannequins/dolls struck that serious uncanny valley which creeps me out. Great time overall, though!

6. Grave of Flesh - Love the creatures, the sets can get very cool, and when the scares hit, they hit pretty darn good. Definite room for improvement, though the story does get lost on me with how weird the sets get.

7. Hatchet and Chains - To preface, this was my first house and it was missing actors in a good chunk of spots and that's where it landed at 7. I went again later around 11 and this house absolutely kicks butt with great scares, sets and a lot of neat effects. Definitely a sleeper/dark horse for me!

8. Wyatt Sicks - Timing was a tad off for me on this, so there's room for improvement. Overall I really enjoyed this one. Lot of neat sets, some wonderfully creepy segments and a bunch of little touches which I appreciated.

9. Fallout - Great sets, lookalikes, I did enjoy it though there's other houses which I just personally enjoy more.

10. Terrifier - I will say I did enjoy this one more than I thought, so that definitely is a plus! There's some pretty neat sets in here, and the actors are going for it. I did enjoy the wet path as that was pretty refreshing to be honest. But for me, it's an IP I don't really care for, plus it's the kind of gore house I thought it would be, so it just doesn't hit like the other houses for me.

This is a very solid house line up! Well done to A&D and the casts, and I can't wait to see how they improve in a couple weeks!

Scare zones are a massive 180 compared to last year, they're all fun!
I did enjoy the roaming Art's, they really are the most effective like this be it creepy or goofy.
Haunt-O-Phonic/Ghoulish was great, loved all the little tweaks and the couple song changes they made.
Didn't see Nightmare Fuel, but I will in a couple weeks.

Like what a lot of folks have already mentioned, we are so back! From the houses, to the zones, to the overall atmosphere, this is a far more cohesive and promising year compared to last year's half-baked execution.

 

[UniversalRBLX]

I’ve seen a lot of chatter about the AAP but still can’t quite pin what the issue seems to be. All of the houses and queues are fully accessible to wheelchairs; mobility issues would not traditionally qualify for one of these passes. So I’m not sure what exactly Universal did wrong here. Having to get a return time from the end of a walking path without shade or seating shouldn’t impact an AAP user any more or less than a non-AAP user.

(I know I’m picking apart one minor part of your otherwise glowing review, this is just the most detailed version of AAP angst I’ve seen so far).

A member of my group uses an AAP - it’s not a huge complaint but the basic idea is rather than having an AAP return time retrieval table in a more centralized place (near minions like last year), they have it in the back of house near the soundstage house entrances. That means in order to do any one house with a backstage entrance, those with AAPs must do that walk twice (barring they used the table near MIB to snag a return): first to get a return time, and then to return to the house. I get what they were going for having it back there, but I think the best solution is a third table somewhere in the vicinity of minions or HHN bar.

P.S. mods sorry for the off topic conversation, but thought this warranted a response.

Main issue I have (mobility issues have nothing to do with it), as johnathanm mentioned, is that you have to walk all the way back to FNAF/WWE to receive a return time. Sort of have to go out of the way to do it, only to then return back to the main park (since there's no seating back there) and wait out however long your return time is. Really all they need to do is move that table over to Villain-Con, not a big deal. Easy to fix.

The other issue is the lack of communication when it came to how AAP is utilized during S&S. Saw lots of guests just waiting out in the sun over by the FNAF/WWE table not knowing about the change when they could have been told in advance and wait it out somewhere more comfortably.

I understand they want to curb abuse (and they've done a decent job at it), but I don't think this was the right approach IMO.

 

[Frank Drackman]

Main issue I have (mobility issues have nothing to do with it), as johnathanm mentioned, is that you have to walk all the way back to FNAF/WWE to receive a return time. Sort of have to go out of the way to do it, only to then return back to the main park (since there's no seating back there) and wait out however long your return time is. Really all they need to do is move that table over to Villain-Con, not a big deal. Easy to fix.

The other issue is the lack of communication when it came to how AAP is utilized during S&S. Saw lots of guests just waiting out in the sun over by the FNAF/WWE table not knowing about the change when they could have been told in advance and wait it out somewhere more comfortably.

I understand they want to curb abuse (and they've done a decent job at it), but I don't think this was the right approach IMO.

just curious, do they still give times at the houses themselves? Just sounds like the issue is the first time they get as I assume (the thought or plan) would be to pick up a time for the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th sound stage while still back there -- but then again, I am sure the wait time is spent in the park proper so it would still be just as easy to leave the 'sound stage hub area' and use a table out there w/o needing to get it before leaving the 'hub' area -- just thinking (if they do not give times out at the queue themselves) it could force you back to the park -- say one house has a short enough line to handle to wait out a return time --

methinks the real answer is to have more to do back there -- food/drinks/restrooms but that would not make way for seating -- so the easy answer is more place to get return times! (or adjust the VQ software to enable to AAP/HHN uses)

 

[Brian G.]

 

[Chumpieboy]

Main issue I have (mobility issues have nothing to do with it), as johnathanm mentioned, is that you have to walk all the way back to FNAF/WWE to receive a return time. Sort of have to go out of the way to do it, only to then return back to the main park (since there's no seating back there) and wait out however long your return time is. Really all they need to do is move that table over to Villain-Con, not a big deal. Easy to fix.

Is there only one table? Would that same issue exist if you had to go from the back of the park to the hypothetical villaincon table then back to the tent house locations?

Genuinely curious not trying to start nothing…

 

[coastercody]

Is there only one table? Would that same issue exist if you had to go from the back of the park to the hypothetical villaincon table then back to the tent house locations?

Genuinely curious not trying to start nothing…

There's a table in the back of the park as well

 

[johnathanm]

just curious, do they still give times at the houses themselves? Just sounds like the issue is the first time they get as I assume (the thought or plan) would be to pick up a time for the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th sound stage while still back there -- but then again, I am sure the wait time is spent in the park proper so it would still be just as easy to leave the 'sound stage hub area' and use a table out there w/o needing to get it before leaving the 'hub' area -- just thinking (if they do not give times out at the queue themselves) it could force you back to the park -- say one house has a short enough line to handle to wait out a return time --

methinks the real answer is to have more to do back there -- food/drinks/restrooms but that would not make way for seating -- so the easy answer is more place to get return times! (or adjust the VQ software to enable to AAP/HHN uses)

Is there only one table? Would that same issue exist if you had to go from the back of the park to the hypothetical villaincon table then back to the tent house locations?

Genuinely curious not trying to start nothing…

Yeah - the issue is with the house exit routes. Most of them don’t exit near where they enter. FNAF and WWE in particular (the closest portals to the AAP table in question) are the furthest walk possible from the existing soundstage exits, three of which spit you out effectively right at the Fallon bathrooms.

So effectively, if the table was at minions, you could exit a house, get the return, hang in the park, then return to your designated house at your time. In this case, you’d have to take the long walk back around to get a return at a portal (or the table), then return to the park to wait out your time, then take the long walk back to the house at your designated time.

 

[UniversalRBLX]

So effectively, if the table was at minions, you could exit a house, get the return, hang in the park, then return to your designated house at your time. In this case, you’d have to take the long walk back around to get a return at a portal (or the table), then return to the park to wait out your time, then take the long walk back to the house at your designated time.

Yeah, issue is once you utilize an AAP for one of the houses, you now have to go back to either the house entrance itself or to that AAP table back by WWE/FNAF.

Heck, I think the best location would be right at the exit of FNAF/WWE as it will be close to a major resting/F&B area and not require guests to make that long walk back to FNAF/WWE or deal with that annoying walk to get to Terrifier/Grave.

 

[johnathanm]

Yeah, issue is once you utilize an AAP for one of the houses, you now have to go back to either the house entrance itself or to that AAP table back by WWE/FNAF.

Heck, I think the best location would be right at the exit of FNAF/WWE as it will be close to a major resting/F&B area and not require guests to make that long walk back to FNAF/WWE or deal with that annoying walk to get to Terrifier/Grave.

That location would be perfect except it’s unfortunately so crowded right there

 

[Brian G.]

Review tomorrow.

 

[Rikku]

First time attending opening weekend and did Premium Scream Night and my only operations complaints really stem from PSN as many others have discussed that it was oversold resulting in lines that didn't feel worth the price. Especially after utilizing Express the rest of the weekend and had similar or less waits it just soured the experience and think PSN needs a lot of re-working if they are to bring it back next year. However I feel I always remember reading about how Express doesn't work that well opening weekend as ops is still figuring it out however I had no trouble with utilizing it anywhere and found tons of value in it. Everything else worked just as how I expected it too and how it feels when I normally attend the event at the end of October and was pleased. However I saw lots of ops complaints, as mentioned here the AAP tables and of course the soundstage paths are truly crazy this year which are all fair critiques that Universal needs to hear but I certainly hope the creative teams get their flowers and hear the compliments as this is truly one of the best line-ups in years, easily best since COVID for sure. My top 6 houses I think could've been HOTY if they appeared separately one of these past few years.


I found ranking the houses this year the hardest in a long time and think the top 6 are interchangeable just pending on the run you have. It just truly highlights how weak last year was when I had a clear bottom 5 and this year I only have one clear dud.

1 - Jason - Obviously not the strongest house with visuals, but it is the house I had the most fun in. Consistently got got in this house and found the actors impressively aggressive. I just always left the house with a smile and the point of being at HHN is to have fun and I felt that in this house.

2/3 - Terrifier - Same thing as Jason I just have fun with this house and it did what HHN does best, turn a property I don't care for into an amazing house. Consistently got the scares, just truly I don't think there is anything else I think could've been asked from this house.
2/3 - Artista - One of the most stunning houses ever but also supplies the scares, which is something I think beautiful houses like Dead Man's Pier suffer to balance with. Just truly an immaculate house and even when I had a few "miss" runs I was never disappointed to walk through it and just take it all in.

4/5/6 - Galkn, Hatchet & Chains, Dolls - I can't rank these three as I find them all on the same level and just truly superior originals. Gorgeous set pieces, scares are there, fun ideas, I am just happy to go through them anytime. I think even on some nights when I had a perfect run they could crack top 3, but I had enough inconsistent runs that I put them in the bottom half of the top 6.

7 - Wyatt Sicks - I think this house looks great, I have fun with it but as someone who isn't familiar with the property I do think it is confusing on what exactly I am seeing. Never a bad time just don't get what's happening.

8 - Fallout - The opposite of Terrifier this was the property I am eager to see that fails as a HHN house. Not a complete loss I do have some fun moments in the house but too many missed opportunities to rank it any higher. The one I think really stands out to me is the amount of Lucy scares was the wrong choice as she isn't threatening, it should've been loaded with Ghoul scares and the hallway with refrigerators should've had the doors opening as I think that would've had a bigger impact. Just missed opportunities on both fronts of making it scarier or making it more visually striking.

9 - FNAF - The animatronics are absolutely amazing and impressive. Truly applaud the team for their efforts but that's it. The actors just being victims screaming feels like a waste as basically we are all just here for the animatronics. Not scary and I appreciate the efforts but once you've seen it there isn't much else to get from it.

10 - Grave of Flesh - The only true dud of the season I'd say. This house gives me such Spirits of the Coven vibes in design and feel. While it is nowhere near as bad as some all-time lows like Chucky but doesn't stack up against the other 9 by a mile. It commits the sin of being repetitive and boring on all fronts.

Scarezones feel the best they have in a long time with I think undisputed GOAT being Cat Lady zone. Mel's zombies are a nice touch and while I think it does leave a lot on the table I think Club Horror the idea is correct for this area just needs some fleshing out for Club Horror volume 2 next year, it is just too barebones in it's current form.

The houses feel intense and same time high production value and gorgeous. Also love how close all the actors get, especially when they felt a mile away in houses like Monstrous last year. I just hope the appropriate teams get the feedback that this is the path I want HHN to pursue moving forward, it is a great year. Food leaves something to be desired but if that is the one sore spot we are doing good. Please keep this momentum HHN, this is the HHN I fell in love with.