Howl-O-Scream 2019

[MakoMania]

Full Howl-O-Scream lineup announced:

HOUSES:
The Residence (new 2019)
Insomnia
Death Water Bayou
Simon's Slaughterhouse
Motel Hell
The Black Spot

SCARE ZONES:
First Fear (new 2019)
Little Nightmares (new 2019)
Carpe Noctem (new 2019)
Día de los Muertos
Hell on Wheels
Meat Market
Deadly Toys
Camp DOA
Maniac Midway

SHOW:
Fiends

I believe 9 scare zones is the most ever featured at the event! Correct me if I'm wrong.

 

[Journey_On]

Fright Feast is available for purchase now. Prices start at $29.99. Description below, from the website:

Enjoy a delicious selection of all-you-care to eat cuisines and to-die-for desserts and front-of-the-line access to all haunted houses until 8:30 p.m. Fright Feast begins at 6:00 p.m.

• All-you-care to eat dinner buffet
• Front-of-the-line access to all haunted houses until 8:30 p.m.

 

[ChaseTuff]

Also worth noting that Insomia, Motel Hell, DWB, and Black Spot all have new subtitles.

 

[Rideguy70]

Okay, back for more questions, lol. If you recall, experienced Haunt go-er in Los Angeles, but new to HOS. Also, the last time I was at BGT, Gwazi was still a thing, so it's been a hot minute. I appreciate all the help you've given so far. I got a lot more follow up questions, brace yourself:

Is there a hard close between the regular park day and the HOS? Like, is the entire park cleared before they let guests in for HOS?

Most here seem to agree the Fright Fest is a good deal. Is the one hour of FOL time Fright Fest provides enough time to get them all done? If not, about how many can we expect? Is there a suggested house order? What typically served, food-wise? And are soft drinks included?

Because it's been so long since we've been to BGT at all, it's really important to us we get to ride Cheetah Hunt, Cobra's Curse, and Falcon's Fury. Those are top priorities. Tigris not as much as I've been on Skyrockets before--but I wouldn't mind a ride to add to my coaster count if it's possible. Other rides are welcome, but not as urgent as we've been on them before. If we arrive at 5pm, can we reasonably expect to get those rides done before the Fright Feast? If not, are they possible after doing all the mazes?

And how late would you expect it to take for us to arrive at 5pm get those 3 rides, do Fright Feast, and all the haunts? Because we're trying to leave as early as possible to get to Epcot the next morning. Yes, we are crazy, but we only have a limited time in the area, so we gotta do what we gotta do. That said, if Cheetah Hunt is incredible at night, and the line is manageable, we'd try to make it happen. Or is this too much, and we should just get an actual Front of Line pass? Again, any advice or inside is appreciated.

Thank again in advance for your replies! We are going on a Saturday night in late September if that makes any difference.

 

[rockingamer20]

Okay, back for more questions, lol. If you recall, experienced Haunt go-er in Los Angeles, but new to HOS. Also, the last time I was at BGT, Gwazi was still a thing, so it's been a hot minute. I appreciate all the help you've given so far. I got a lot more follow up questions, brace yourself:

Okay.....so:

1. No, they give you a wristband if you get in at 5 so that you can stick around after normal operating hours. As long as you have a HoS ticket you won't notice anything.

2. With Fright Feast, it starts at 6, event starts at 7:30 and your express is good until 8:30. Get there on time, eat quick, and you'll be good with time. Fright Feast is in Pantopia where the new The Residence house is, so do that and what would be smarter I feel is after, head to the front and knock out the 4 houses up there. You should be able to do at least 4 if you move quick. So The Residence, Insomnia, Death Water Bayou, Motel Hell, Simon's Slaughterhouse, Black Spot. Then you can go around and knock out rides. In terms of food, the menu is on the website. Pulled pork, mac and cheese, chicken, etc. Soft Drinks are not included, but you can purchase a feast & beverage package that gives you 3 complimentary drinks (beer, soda, wine w/e you want).

3. To just answer the question: Yes. I did Cheetah Hunt, Cobra's Curse, and Montu before the event last year . So if you do those 2 you wanted and head to Fright Feast you can hop on Falcon's Fury before the feast or right after before the event begins at 7:30. You'll be fine trying to get rides on what ever else you'd like during the event.

4. You'll be fine. Last year for example we got there at 5, did Cheetah hunt, cobra's curse, and Montu. Proceeded to do Death Water Bayou, Insomnia, Motel Hell, Simon's Slaughterhouse, and a ride on Sheikra all by like 9:30. This without any express by the way. We left around 10:30 to drive back to Orlando where we were staying. So getting there early, plus fright feast with an hour of express.... you should be good with everything by like 10.

5. Finally, no doesn't really make a difference. I've gone opening/2nd weekend in September before and last year did final weekend in October. Crowd wise it's relatively the same.

Hope this answers your questions.

 

[biomegaceu]

There has been a noticeable decline in recent years, but it doesn't mean I am a fan/wont be going...It means that I would like to see the event get back on its feet

For a while there it was way better than HHN

I agree so much. My first year was 2007 and I remember feeling like the event was at least as good as hhn when I went that year and I felt like it was definitely 100 percent scarier than hhn. The house line up was fantastic. I loved After Hours, The Hunted, Taste of Blood, and that biker house. I think their good houses continued to roll out and unfortunately suffer from coming back year after year. I remember the first time I went through Nightshade, Zombie Mortuary, Death Water Bayou, and even vampire casino I was very impressed. Even more recently I really liked Motel Hell and Demented Dimensions (why the hell did this not come back). But with the extensive repeats of house (Death Water Bayou) or new houses being really really bad (Undead arena), I feel like the quality of the event has declined a lot. Last year was the first year I have skipped since 2007. I'll probably go again this year because I have hope for the event and I want it to be good so bad. I also go to school right around the corner so it's easy to pop over real quick after class one night. Also now half of the houses will be new to me so I've got new stuff to see.

 

[shiekra38]

I agree so much. My first year was 2007 and I remember feeling like the event was at least as good as hhn when I went that year and I felt like it was definitely 100 percent scarier than hhn. The house line up was fantastic. I loved After Hours, The Hunted, Taste of Blood, and that biker house. I think their good houses continued to roll out and unfortunately suffer from coming back year after year. I remember the first time I went through Nightshade, Zombie Mortuary, Death Water Bayou, and even vampire casino I was very impressed. Even more recently I really liked Motel Hell and Demented Dimensions (why the hell did this not come back). But with the extensive repeats of house (Death Water Bayou) or new houses being really really bad (Undead arena), I feel like the quality of the event has declined a lot. Last year was the first year I have skipped since 2007. I'll probably go again this year because I have hope for the event and I want it to be good so bad. I also go to school right around the corner so it's easy to pop over real quick after class one night. Also now half of the houses will be new to me so I've got new stuff to see.

Thank you for helping me remember The Hunted...That maze was great with the burning hotel lodge and the fake victims.

Houses like The Mortuary, Escape From Insanity, After Hours, Trapped in the Walls (first year)...Will always be scarier and more intense than anything HHN has ever done.

I do hope they get back on their feet...I feel like budgets were cut and the creative team wants to do more than they can.

 

[Nick]

So I haven't been to HOS in about 7 years and am gonna go tomorrow for opening night... for those that are more familiar, do they have a Stay & Scream equivalent as long as you have a day ticket and HOS ticket?

 

[rockingamer20]

So I haven't been to HOS in about 7 years and am gonna go tomorrow for opening night... for those that are more familiar, do they have a Stay & Scream equivalent as long as you have a day ticket and HOS ticket?

There isn't a similar style set up, basically those entering the park for HoS at 5 get wristbands (and I've never done it, but I would assume if you're in the park staying for the event you check in to get a wristband as well) to be allowed to stay. Then when the event officially begins queues and houses just start opening up. You could just wait outside your preferred house like around 6:45 or whatever to just be one of the first people in line.

 

[Nick]

So here's my review from opening night:

My opinion may be a bit different than some of yours as I haven't been as a guest since 2012 (worked the event in 2013), but WOW was I impressed. Every house was new to me except Death Water Bayou (and it's still a great house). There was some noticeable things that caught my attention compared to HHN:

• The streets worked. All streets with the exception of the Toy-themed one was really great. The only one that didn't aim to be scary (Dia De Los Muertos), which seemed the most like an HHN street to me, also worked extremely well. It seemed like what Vamp 85 should've been like. It was uplifting, everyone was having fun and most importantly, ALL Scareactors stayed in character!!! No one was posing for pictures or talking to their friends.
  
• The houses had better and more creative scares. The actors were allowed a lot more freedom in their roles - even more than Universal allows in their originals - and very few people were behind triggers. You could also tell that the casts were having a lot of fun with things and not just going through the motions.
• Fiends... was Fiends. HHN still needs a show like this again though. The writing could've been better, but there was some good laughs and I applaud the cast as there was slight audio issues and they plowed right through it as if nothing went wrong.
• 25 minutes was my longest wait of the night and that was during peak hours. Most house runs were 5-10 minute waits. Ride lines were short too. Made for an enjoyable experience. In the end I got 12 house runs in between when I walked in at 7:30 and left at 1:00am. The only house I didn't do twice was Motel Hell.
• They had scareactors OUSIDE the entrance of the park after 1:00am. Those actors could've been pulled around 11:30 or midnight if they wanted to be cheap, but they kept them there all night and beyond what was even necessary. Would be cool if Universal used the courtyard inside the arches as a mini-scarezone in a similar way.

Here's how i'd rank the houses and zones. The only house I didn't like was Simon's Slaughterhouse. My top four are solidly ahead of every HHN house this year as far as i'm concerned and literally all of the zones were better than the ones at HHN, which was slightly surprising considering I remember the zones at HOS being fairly weak. I loved that the zones squarly revolved around the actors performance rather than a trigger or a set piece (and some of the zones did have some cool sets - far more than HHN has put out in their streets).

Houses:
1.) Insomnia
2.) The Black Spot
3a.) Death Water Bayou
3b.) The Residence
5.) Motel Hell: Infestation
6.) Simon's Slaughterhouse

Zones:
1.) Camp DOA
2.) Little Nightmares
3.) Meat Market
4.) Dia De Los Muertos
5.) Maniac Midway
6.) First Fear
7.) Carpe Noctem
8.) Hell On Wheels
9.) Deadly Toys

In the end, I was left overly satisfied with the event this year and would say that this is a superior event to HHN 29 in almost every way. I was already pretty meh on HHN this year and this event blows HHN out of the water in many areas this year imo. Highly recommend attending, especially if you haven't been in awhile and these houses would be all new to you.

 

[Lucky Planet]

So here's my review from opening night:

My opinion may be a bit different than some of yours as I haven't been as a guest since 2012 (worked the event in 2013), but WOW was I impressed. Every house was new to me except Death Water Bayou (and it's still a great house). There was some noticeable things that caught my attention compared to HHN:

• The streets worked. All streets with the exception of the Toy-themed one was really great. The only one that didn't aim to be scary (Dia De Los Muertos), which seemed the most like an HHN street to me, also worked extremely well. It seemed like what Vamp 85 should've been like. It was uplifting, everyone was having fun and most importantly, ALL Scareactors stayed in character!!! No one was posing for pictures or talking to their friends.
  
• The houses had better and more creative scares. The actors were allowed a lot more freedom in their roles - even more than Universal allows in their originals - and very few people were behind triggers. You could also tell that the casts were having a lot of fun with things and not just going through the motions.
• Fiends... was Fiends. HHN still needs a show like this again though. The writing could've been better, but there was some good laughs and I applaud the cast as there was slight audio issues and they plowed right through it as if nothing went wrong.
• 25 minutes was my longest wait of the night and that was during peak hours. Most house runs were 5-10 minute waits. Ride lines were short too. Made for an enjoyable experience. In the end I got 12 house runs in between when I walked in at 7:30 and left at 1:00am. The only house I didn't do twice was Motel Hell.
• They had scareactors OUSIDE the entrance of the park after 1:00am. Those actors could've been pulled around 11:30 or midnight if they wanted to be cheap, but they kept them there all night and beyond what was even necessary. Would be cool if Universal used the courtyard inside the arches as a mini-scarezone in a similar way.

Here's how i'd rank the houses and zones. The only house I didn't like was Simon's Slaughterhouse. My top four are solidly ahead of every HHN house this year as far as i'm concerned and literally all of the zones were better than the ones at HHN, which was slightly surprising considering I remember the zones at HOS being fairly weak. I loved that the zones squarly revolved around the actors performance rather than a trigger or a set piece (and some of the zones did have some cool sets - far more than HHN has put out in their streets).

Houses:
1.) Insomnia
2.) The Black Spot
3a.) Death Water Bayou
3b.) The Residence
5.) Motel Hell: Infestation
6.) Simon's Slaughterhouse

Zones:
1.) Camp DOA
2.) Little Nightmares
3.) Meat Market
4.) Dia De Los Muertos
5.) Maniac Midway
6.) First Fear
7.) Carpe Noctem
8.) Hell On Wheels
9.) Deadly Toys

In the end, I was left overly satisfied with the event this year and would say that this is a superior event to HHN 29 in almost every way. I was already pretty meh on HHN this year and this event blows HHN out of the water in many areas this year imo. Highly recommend attending, especially if you haven't been in awhile and these houses would be all new to you.

What was wrong with Simon's Slaughterhouse.

 

[Nick]

What was wrong with Simon's Slaughterhouse.

I just wasn’t all that impressed. I went through at the start of the event and then a few hours later. Both myself and my friend agreed it was the weakest. The energy seemed the lowest of anywhere in the park as well.

 

[UNIrd]

How long did Unearthed last? That was the last time I went and I thought was so great. Really detailed, seemed very high-budget and actually scary. Surprised it didn't make it a few more years like some of these houses.

 

[Speed]

How long did Unearthed last? That was the last time I went and I thought was so great. Really detailed, seemed very high-budget and actually scary. Surprised it didn't make it a few more years like some of these houses.

2015-2018 It would’ve survived a couple more years but it was placed in the Gwazi queue which started getting work done earlier this year for Iron Gwazi

 

[UNIrd]

2015-2018 It would’ve survived a couple more years but it was placed in the Gwazi queue which started getting work done earlier this year for Iron Gwazi

Oh that's not a bad run then. Damn, I haven't been in 4 years. I usually wait for all new house line-ups but they haven't been consistent on what returns and what leaves.

This is what... Year 7 for Death Water Bayou? Insane.

 

[MakoMania]

Just got back from Howl-O-Scream and I had a great time! Houses were lots of fun, crowds manageable, rides also had low wait times. Fiends was great. Only complaint is that Falcon's Fury closed its entry 5 mins before advertised, so we did not get to ride.

 

[Rideguy70]

Sounds like some positive reviews! Last time I was at BGT at all, Sheikra was the newest ride, so it's been a hot minute... I'll have a lot of new (to me) rides to catch up on! I assume all the major rides will be open? Because I still need to catch up on Cheetah Chase, Cobra's Curse, and Falcon's Fury. I don't really care about Tigris as much; I've been on a lot of SkyRockets already.

And looking forward to seeing some new mazes, never done their haunt at all! My only complaint so far is I can't believe the Fright Fest doesn't include soft drinks (because I don't drink alcohol, and refused to pay $10 extra bucks just for soda).

 

[shiekra38]

Sounds like HOS is back on its A-game, I'm excited now

 

[Speed]

Sounds like HOS is back on its A-game, I'm excited now

Hopefully they’ll return to either a 7 house event or 2 new houses a year in the next few years also

 

[shiekra38]

Hopefully they’ll return to either a 7 house event or 2 new houses a year in the next few years also

I think once RMC Gwazi is a hit the events will get more attention

HOS truly is the best Halloween event in Florida when it's allowed to be