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I've attended every HHN from 1996 with the exception of the past 3 years. So I've been going when the houses and streets were more extreme and when they still broke up the lines for the houses. This may affect my opinion from someone who has only been recently attending HHN. I have to say that I think the event has really gone downhill and has been tamed and watered down from the past. I'm not going to sugar coat this review just because I'm a fan. Despite that, I'll try to be fair from my own personal experience. First of all, I went on a Thursday night on Oct 11th. Don't even think of going without buying an express pass. In the later hours, the park was so packed that you could barely move or see the scareactors, the streets were literally a sea of people. I guess this could be because so many of the park areas were closed off including Amity. I'd hate to see the park on a weekend. I went with my girlfriend and since we were staying at the hotels we were able to get into the park at 6. Even then it seemed like large crowds were pouring in and they were all heading left towards the soundstages so I decided to take us to the right. The first 3 houses we were able to go through with no conga lines: House of Horrors - Despite many of the bad reviews of this house this one was actually my favorite of the night, not based off how elaborate it was or the set, but just off scares and fun. Perhaps us walking through it by ourselves contributed to it. This house was DARK and I like dark houses (Pitch Black from 2001). For a few moments I couldn't even see where I was walking at all. Then out of nowhere a light would flash and the scareactors were right in our faces. This was pretty awesome. I give credit to the great scareactors in this house, my girlfriend was screaming the whole way through. There was also a really interesting part that I never seen in a house before . 9/10 Alice Cooper - Not much to say here, barely any scares, and the concept didn't seem to work out. The music was there and some of the effects but it didn't come together. 3/10 Penn and Teller Nuked - I was excited about this one because I like "fun" houses. The 3D effect did not work at all. The house seemed poorly put together. No good scares. Seemed cheap and cheesy. I understand that it was going for a fun and entertaining feel but it didn't seem to pull it off. 2/10 After that the lines started getting really long (1 hour+ wait for regular lines). Good thing we had Express or I think we would have only been to see the rest of the houses. Bill and Teds - My hopes were up since I read some reviews on here saying how the show has really improved and was so much better than previous years. Maybe that was for the Hollywood show. Unfortunately that doesn't seem to be the case in Orlando. I've disliked all of the Bill & Ted shows ever since they changed it from a stunt/comedy show to a dance show with pop music. This year was just terrible. Also the portrayal of the political candidates was very awkward. They had a chance to really make that a funny part of the show and make fun of both candidates like past years and blew it. Overall, the jokes fell flat, the "conflict" was weird, no real good pop culture icons and the show was all over the place. This was absolutely the worst one I could remember. 1/10 Walking Dead - I thought the house design was awesome but that's where this house ends. It felt short, didn't flow together, and anti-climatic. Was expecting a lot more for this year's flagship house. A lot of others on here seem to express disappointment too. 5/10 Dead End - The feel, look, and the effects were great. I think this one has a lot of potential but maybe we didn't have the timing right in the line since we didn't get a lot of scares. The video effects were really neat though. 7/10 Silent Hill - This house was BRIGHT. You could see everything. Combined with the slow moving conga line we didn't get one scare since you could see where all the scareactors were at ahead of us. Also the last 1/3rd of the house has no scareactors, maybe because of a rotation, but it was very anti-climatic. The positives: the design and feel of the house was very well done, I liked the siren sound effects, and the detail. If they would darken the house a bit and have some better scares I think it would be a lot better. 4.5/10 Gothic - I had high expectations from this one from reading the reviews for this house. It fell flat immediately though. All I got from this was a "pretty" set design. There was no immersion. It wasn't scary (probably the least scariest house of the night). It was bright in a lot of parts. The scareactors didn't seem to be putting in much effort on this night either. 4/10 All in all, the prices have gone up ($230 for my girlfriend and I with express passes and discount), crowds have gone up, houses have been toned down, there was barely any street scenery, and it just doesn't hold that feel of some of the previous years. It was as if they were working with a much smaller budget when creating this event. I don't think I'll be going next year unless they make some serious improvement, but when something becomes too commercialized and popular, the opposite usually happens. It's as if they cut their budget and tried to squeeze as much profit as they could this year. I still had fun but the event just seems to have lost its magic.

Very true statement. As soon as whatever piece of entertainment you can think of hits it big, the powers that be dumb down the material (or in this case neuter it) for a general audience in an attempt to make the proceedings as inoffensive as possible. I can recall the event in the 90's and though it was a much smaller venue then... it was much more aggressive. On the streets and in the houses. In later years the only house I can recall that had the feel of an earlier haunt was FRIDAY THE 13TH from 2007. I'm not a fan of the series at all. As such I didn't expect much from the house but man oh man(!) were the cast members viscous! All the Jasons invaded your personal space more than once so I refuse to believe that it was a mistake when one of them pressed his mask against my face and yelled something inaudible (out of character but who cares!?). With that exception, yes, the past decade or so has changed scare wise. Nowadays, there seems to be an invisible, impenetrable bubble around you that the scareactors cannot enter. This is Universal's attempt at not trying to be sued. I guess one can't blame them for that but it has hurt the event.

A lot easier if you do Stay and Scream

Nothings free is in the finale. They took out the chorus and overlaped that onto the full song with out the lyrics. The song is good. However I cannot listen to the chorus for obvious reasons. And the stripper room is cold ethyl.

Now that sounds like a lot of fun.... Hmm... I am already planning on buying a big bag... Halloween night can't come any faster!!! And I didn't forget Valdez... He got some skittles from me the other night...

I love Fox Boy too! I love foxes in genereal....hence my username. xD I would bring him candy but out of nowhere sounds kind of weird...lol. I kind of want to buy a huge bag of candy and throw it in the middle of all the Traditionals (when they are standing around - waiting for the cast change) and shout: "FIGHT TO THE DEATH."

After years of waiting, I finally experienced my first HHN! Having read reviews for years, it's my pleasure to post one. General Overview My lovely girlfriend and I decided to go on Sunday Oct. 21 in order to avoid crowds. Ha!...looking back on the event, that statement is an oxymoron. Lucky for us, we experienced heavy crowds at the parks the day before and decided to purchase HHN Express. I 100% recommend doing this. We were first in line to get into the event and were redirected towards Hollywood Blvd. due to the already huge Stay and Scream crowds. By the time we swung back around to the sound stages, we were only able to hit Gothic before every house had a 45 minute wait. To summarize this overview: IT WAS PACKED! Houses Gothic - - This was clearly the best house. I'm really happy we walked through twice; there's SO much detail! From the facade to the illusion of elevation, there's a lot to take in. The gargoyles did a good job of scaring the crap out of us too. Dead End - - We hit this during a cast change, so I feel like we didn't get the full effect. It's a shame I couldn't give it another shot. The scareactors we did encounter were well hidden. I have a question, though: what the hell is the conclusion to the house's story? Is it the children took over the house? Ghosts with a spooky tunnel? Our walk through left us with more questions than answers. Silent Hill - - This house is packed with pros and cons. The former includes a real maze feel and creepy costumes. The latter is a lack of real scares and way too much lighting. I really liked the entrance to the house where the cop popped out to shoot the creature. Thought it was a nice touch. The Walking Dead - - Everyone seems to hate this one. Personally, I loved every second of it. The zombies-eating-squirting-intestines gag was one of the most grotesque things I saw/felt all night. At the end, about 30 zombies were all lined up trying to grab us. I could tell this doesn't happen all night since they quickly spread out soon after we exited. When I think of TWD, I think of hordes of zombies. The way we experienced the ending made it perfect. House of Horrors - - This was one hell of a concept, which, I thought, was well executed. There were times I was face to face with a scareactor and had no idea due to their quickness in the dark. Their costumes blended in well with the black and white lighting. Alice Cooper - - Everyone has said this, and I'll say it too: Turn the music UP! I could barely hear it in most of the scenes. Although I'm not sure it would have made this house any better. There were a couple good scares--mostly at the end--but I felt like this one was thrown together hastily. Penn & Teller - - Someone described this one to me as a funhouse. I thought of it more like a acid trip gone horribly wrong. Loved the 3-D, scare actor costumes, and buttons. It was nice having some commentary to the house by P&T; it gave a unique feel to the concept. Streets I can't help but feel disappointed over my street experience. At first, there were lots of characters roaming near the gates waiting for the crowds to be let in. Then, it became a mission to spot a scareactor in the enormous crowds. There were tons of scareactors, but patrons still vastly outnumbered them. The theming also seemed lacking. I loved the tombstones on the grave yard props (Jaws, Xena, ect.), but hated the idea the whole park had them. I really think I missed out on not having themed scare zones for my first HHN experience. On a positive note, the lighting effects were superb. Same with the lagoon show. Shows Bill & Ted had me crying from laughter. It also had a few sentimental (to me) parts including tributes to Jaws and MCA. I've never enjoyed an amusement park show so much. The actor playing Lincoln had the best facial expressions. If you get the chance, watch him closely. 20 Penny Circus was definitely questionable. While entertaining, the dialogue sounded like it was written by a horny 8th grader. Didn't quite like this show, but it wasn't that bad either. Critiques To conclude, here's a list of things I would change/add. More haunted houses to handle crowds and/or move back to IOA until construction is finished. Return to themed scarezones. Less light in the haunted houses. More theming/story in the queues. Treehouse of Horror Simpsons Ride. More scareactors in the houses.

I did go one last time on sunday totally impromptu... Honestly... I don't think I have ever been this late in the year. Unfortunately it was really bad this time around and I only made it to 4 houses. HOWEVER... I will say this walk through of Gothic had to be the most AMAZING yet. literally scare after scare after scare. They were seriously working it.

anyone else feel its being sarcastic when you get 23 points and it says: "you make us all proud"

Was able to go with two other friends. It was really fantastic,

I think we have all had bad walk throughs in houses. It's hard when some of us can only go once a year. I could only go once and that's it...which is what most of the gp do. I had a horrible time through Dead End even though mostly everyone likes it. It happens. I'm sure you put in 110% every night. This is a place for everyone to express their opinions. He wasn't trying to be malicious in any way. Like most of us, he has been attending this event for a long time and is simply stating his thoughts on the event.

I'm jealous.

its called.... - Studio Sweets (front of the park) - San Francisco Candy Factory (next to Richter's/across from the restrooms)

This is from our resident forum member Dave M... some of you know him for his amazing photography skills. Anyway, he is at that HHN Q&A thingy where TJ Mannarino is talking about the event. According to Dave, TJ had this to say about Horror Unearthed...

All this love to Rosie, we must not forget her "brother".

Not that I'm biased or anything, but I think the chainsaw prisoner horde would make an awesome house. Enter Carey Women's Correctional Facility (think Hellgate Prison with women) and see the brutal events that led to the fire (ala Orphanage) that killed everyone inside. Witness the crazed, burned inmates rise from the dead, steal saws, and come after you!

Long time lurker, first time poster here. Saw the new version last night, first show. I am beyond appalled, and so were the hundreds of others who complained last night. I am an Obama fan, but I could care less if the show skewed toward Romney. But now it's just not funny. It's like a big dead zone in the middle of the show, IMO. More to the point, though, I think Universal should take a lesson from Alice Cooper--never let anyone know you DIDN'T kill a chicken and drink its blood onstage. Bad press from Fox News is GOOD press for HHN. It's supposed to be controversial, and it's supposed to piss some people off. Some would come to find out what all the buzz is about. Some would come to heckle. Some would come to complain. Why cares? Their money's just as good as anyone else's. And yes, some wouldn't come at all. But how many of those "boycotters" would have come anyway, before the story broke? Just a guess, but I would imagine that the vast majority of HHN's audience isn't the same as Fox News' audience. And I'd also hazard a guess that the diehard fans will be the most upset by the changes, while the "one and done" visitors are most likely to either support them or not know the difference anyway. So, in my opinion, Universal's forgotten which side its bread is buttered on here.

red by mwjw, on Flickr vampire by mwjw, on Flickr buncha vampires by mwjw, on Flickr traditionals by mwjw, on Flickr the traditionals by mwjw, on Flickr

Yay Corey! You better be washing that shirt so you can wear it again!

SPOILERS AHEAD Saw it Friday, not since. The Mormon wife dancer changed outfits so now she's in a "Capt. America"-esque leotard matching the other back-up dancer. But the rap was unchanged--I listened carefully because I was curious after the wardrobe switch--and he still made the "posse of wives" joke at the end. Did they change it further Saturday/Sunday? As to the alleged bias, as a far right-winger, I still don't think it's all that pronounced. The skit begins saying ObamaCare requires children to kill each other, and I somehow doubt the President would appreciate being called "Insane in the Hussein". In other words, the show gets some digs in. I think the problem is Obama is played by a dancer most likely cast because he (sort of) looked the part, while Romney is played by one of the more gifted comic actors this show has featured in years. Romney gets more jokes--and they stick with the audience better--because he's the funnier actor.

I saw the new stilt walkers going down Hollywood Blvd. around 11:15 PM or so and tried to catch up and see just who or what they were... but my attempts were severely hampered by several Prisoners who nailed me big time with terrific scares. Sorry I couldn't stay a bit longer, ladies... but I was so curious about those new guys.