Dick

Just curious, does the ROF or FFP with the added Express option allow you to skip the line of each house once every time you attend? Or is it limited to one line skip for each house over the entire event?

Well, I went through the Walking Dead again last Sunday, and I must say... MUCH BETTER! I actually got a few legit scares in the house as well. Walking through at night, you can't really see the bad necklines either. All in all, I was pleasantly surprised this time and I have to say that I've enjoyed all of the other houses this year as well.

I'm sure everyone is tired of reading reviews by now, but I thought I'd do one anyway. I'll keep it short with little to no spoilers. STREETS Friday night, as I'm sure most are aware by now, was an absolutely horrible night to go. If I had written a review that night, I don't think I would have found anything positive to say. Obviously the parade and construction have created problems for the streets this year and because of the rain, it didn't feel like HHN at all. However, Saturday night was a hell of a lot better. I saw hoards all over the place and I don't get why people are saying the groups are small because I was completely surrounded by them. Some of the costumes are lacking but overall I thought they did a great job and it really helped the atmosphere. Personally, I like the elaborate street decor but it doesn't really bother me if it isn't there. The street experience wasn't the greatest ever but it wasn't nearly as bad as 2007 and doesn't hinder the event in anyway. Anyone who hated the street experience on Saturday night probably had their mind set before the event started. HOUSES DEAD END- As of right now, THIS is my favorite house of the event so far. I didn't really get scared in there but the house is absolutely stunning and for some reason, I'm rarely targeted for scares anyway (which is crazy, because I get startled rather easily). I love the effects this house used and this is so much better than Legendary Truth. A+ GOTHIC- Again, very stunning house. Not as scary as I hoped but this could easily be my favorite by the end of the event. A+ SILENT HILL- Friday night, I would have said this house was awful... However, Saturday night was a completely different story. I don't know if the house wasn't finished but there were a lot of things in the house on Saturday night that weren't there on Friday night. The house did a fairly decent job of matching the video games and movies but I think the nurses could have been better utilized. Pyramid Head, I think, was FAR TOO skinny but he definitely had the movements down. This house didn't exceed my expectations but it certainly has a lot of potential to get better than it already is. B+ PENN AND TELLER- This house is so much fun and the queue video is great. I love the Penn presence throughout the house and I had fun finding all of the buttons. Can't wait to experience this house again! A ALICE COOPER- This house is way better than people are making it out to be and you don't really have to "analyze" Cooper's lyrics to understand it. I seriously don't get what people don't understand about it, but that's me. That having been said, I think it could have been better. Either way, this was a very fun house but the Hollywood houses look far better. B- HOUSE OF HORRORS- I actually enjoyed this house a lot. Could be because I had little expectations for this house being that it was such a last minute replacement, but for what it's worth, they did a very good job with the time they had. B WALKING DEAD- Maybe I went through at a bad time but this house seemed empty to me. I personally prefer makeup to masks, especially when they make no attempt at blending the necks but I didn't enjoy this house much at all. I'm sure it will be a favorite and hopefully I'll make it through again, but it's getting huge lines and I can't see myself waiting over 120 minutes for it. D (for now.) UPDATE- Much better on the second run through. Quite a few great scares, lots of walkers. Sets feel as though they're taken right from the show. B+ Overall, I enjoyed the weekend and will hopefully make it out there again this Sunday. It's not the greatest year ever but it's still a very solid year with some amazing houses. One thing I will say is just like in 2010, there are little to no victims and death scenes. Personally, I think it takes away from the event. The spine ripping scene from Body Collectors is forever embedded into my brain and I seriously don't know why they don't do more of that. There also needs to be more distractions. I'm sure it sucks as a scaractor to be a distraction but it's too easy find where the scares are coming from, even if you're not trying to. Thanks for reading! The Great Dicktator

I think lines will basically be the same as always with the exception of The Walking Dead. I have a feeling that line will be as bad as Saw was!

I'm not worried about the streets at all. Hell, I remember when there was absolutely no theming at all; just a ton of fog! THAT was awesome. You had to walk through slowly with your hands straight out to make sure you didn't run into anyone.

I've actually stayed away from the forums due to the overall lack of enthusiasm toward the event this year. Yes, I was a little disappointed to find out there'd be one less house, but it's really not that big of a deal. And, the idea that there should be no IP houses is absolutely ridiculous. The event is not meant to cater to one specific audience. This is Universal Studios, as someone has previously mentioned, and a lot of guests get more excited for things like "The Walking Dead" and "Saw". Hell, I've never seen a line nearly as long as the one for Saw. Universal has provided us with the best Halloween event for years. Why would this year be any different?

1. Welcome to Silent Hill (One of the scariest games I've ever played) 2. Alice Cooper: Welcome to my Nightmare (Huge fan of Cooper's music) 3. Gothic (I think I'm going to shit my pants in this house!) 4. Penn and Teller: New(kd) Las Vegas (This house will be fun(ny)) 5. Universal's House of Horrors (Nosferatu!!!!) 6. Dead End (Looks promising) 7. The Walking Dead (Highly overrated show. Never read the comic.)

Something worse than "not having roofs" is an employee with a staff shirt and flashlight informing you to "keep walking" or "pick up the pace." That is far more damaging to the illusion or your suspension of disbelief than a roof is.

Amen!!!! The victims used in death scenes provide the best distractions.

I think the only thing that scares me about this house is the image of the masks that are being used in this house. They look like cheap, store bought masks from Spirit. Maybe they'll look good in the dark.

Yeah, that image is REALLY what has me most intrigued about this house.

Big fan of the comical houses and also loved "Home for the Holidays." I can't wait to meet our blood sucking host!

I have a feeling this will be the most frightening house at the event this year. I'm hoping those masks will look incredibly scary in the dark.

I think that I am most excited about "The Forsaken." That leaked image looks amazing. As does the Poe house.

Nightmaze just because of the concept behind it. Hopefully the execution will be well done. I also think the Canyon of Dark Souls will be great.

I'm extremely excited about all of them, but after that first image from The Forsaken, I think that I am most excited about that one. Though I think Nightingales may be the scariest. H.R. Bloodengutz sounds like it's going to be really cool and I like "cleave" reference. I'm also super excited about Nevermore as I feel a Poe house is long overdue. I'm not big on 3D houses but I think The In Between is a rather cool concept. The other three I'm probably the least excited about. 1) The Forsaken 2) Nightingales: Blood Prey 3) Nevermore: The Madness of Poe 4) H.R. Bloodengutz Presents Holidays of Horror 5) The In Between 6) Winter's Night: The Haunting of Hawthorn Cemetary 7) The Thing 8) Saws N' Steam

I kind of miss when they used the entire New York street for one complete scarezone. I remember in 2000, the scareactors all had trash can lids and would scratch them against the street while running to make a pretty intense scare. When did they stop using those?

People pissed they couldn't go through the house. There was a couple of drunk guys yelling about it. Some tried to sneak in line, obviously they waited like 15 minutes to find out they couldn't go through which inevitably pissed them off for waiting. Just stuff like that.

I agree, I think that could be cool. Even if it's just a haunted house that was built over an Indian burial ground.

Agreed. I think the complaints more than anything though. Universal has significantly more guests than Busch Gardens. If the house sells out, there are going to be a lot more people pissed off and making a scene over not being able to visit the house. I remember seeing problems at Busch Gardens last year while waiting in line for the house. I just think it would be way too much of a hassle for Universal to put forth the effort into getting a little extra cash. I'm hoping to be wrong, however. I'd love to see what Universal could pull off. I was probably the only one disappointed with the Alone house at BG.

What about when Freddy ripped the heart out of the screaming girl? AWESOME!!!!

I hope they bring back victims this year. I love the death scenes!

Very painful indeed. Agreed! I've never been a fan of the 3D houses. I've been through many of them and just end up taking the glasses off anyways.

I thought it was cheesy. He didn't really "pop" out at you. They came out everywhere playing "We're Not Gonna Take It" by Twisted Sister. It definitely wasn't scary at all.

I went on "Bloody Waters" or whatever they called it in 2000. It was pretty lame. I'd rather have those scareactors utilized somewhere else in the park. The walk through of Kongfrontation was kind of cool though. They had Kong going along with a ton of scareactors as you walked through. I remember them popping out of trash cans and everything.