Jakemeister

I got the best scare from a chainsaw coming out of Afterlife. I was walking up the ramp heading into the Coca-Cola plaza and out of a hedge a freaking chainsaw flies like 2 feet from me. Best scare I have gotten in years.

I think not enough credit is being given to the chainsaws. On Friday night I got one of the best scares I have gotten in years from an actor while leaving Afterlife. Chainsaw came right out of the hedges walking up to the Coca-Cola plaza.

1. Cabin in the Woods 2. Llorana 3. Evil Dead 4. Resident Evil 5. American Werewolf 6. Afterlife 7. Walking Dead 8. Havoc II

The Terra Queen was supposed to be the official icon of 2005 but marketing opted for The Story Teller. A decent amount of the props seen in the Saw maze were actually donated to Universal Orlando by Lionsgate In 2007 in the Texas Chainsaw Massacre there were initially many more chainsaws but were scaled back to electrical difficulties. Opening night of Screamhouse: Resurrection had Caretaker minions asking guess if they had seen Cindy (Caine) but the reference was lost and later dropped. ScareTales 3 was originally intended to be used in 2006. As far as shows go, anything that eats the crowd is fine by me. I don't care if it's RHPS or not. I watched Penny once last year and it was fairly forgettable, but 2 shows and an actual lagoon show with showtimes could make a difference in crowds.

I personally expect to see a mix. 3 or 4 hordes and 2 or 3 scarezones. Would make a nice mix and if the hordes are done in a fashion like last year could really intensify the event overall.

Candle Cove is scary, like really scary. I don't know how it could translate into a house or scarezone though. The great thing about it is the narrative accompanying.

When we got our first real update in 2011 it revealed a lot and it was even later than this update. I think 2007 handled updates the best. We got them early and frequently after that. I wish we'd have another website like that, but I'll take what I can get.

I think the failing of the community is a lot of them view themselves as too good to do a simple survey, or that they voice their opinion online so they don't have to do one. Terrible logic, do the surveys.

I'd revisit a couple. For years I missed I think I would have to do 2002 and 2005. Years attended I would have to do 2006-08. 2006 was my first year and I missed houses. 2007, I would go back just to revisit houses, especially NOES. 2008, was just a phenomenal event and I'd love to go back to it.

Honestly, the best way to show a business you're not pleased anymore is to A. Quit using their service. B. Tell them you quit using their service. They read that sort of thing. Knowing the life of an HHN Forum Reader, I'm sure everyone will just complain heavily about the event all the way up until it opening and then it will be the best year everyone has ever seen just like last year, and the year before that. Until Nov. 1st when they start complaining again.

With Amanda Bynes recent shit storm I wouldn't be surprised if she was the villain, or atleast working with the villain.

I wish Universal would go back to storytelling in their shows. I would gladly take something like Carnival of Carnage or The Arrival. What would be really cool and would make a lot of sense is if the lagoon show actually told a story and was on the maps with show times.

Despite us "hating" it, Universal realized that IP's sold tickets and that people hated the marketing. I think it's inevitable we'll see a large IP come to the event, but it will be marketed differently. People had mixed emotions on hordes, some found them scarier, others found them less so. Hordes however worked, I think we'll see 3 hordes and 3 scarezones this year. Seven houses probably won't happen this year, I think people were too pissed off about that one. I'm expecting house 8 to come back. Universal spent a lot of money on the technology for the lagoon, I expect something to return there. I hope they actually put showtimes in the guide though. Construction won't be as bad, atleast there won't be light bleeding in NY.

SS23 was being used for other projects. Otherwise they wouldn't have used SS20 at all and just have used 23.

That I can agree with, alteast marginally. The houses last year were definitely grand and there were obvious improvements that could have been done with the 2 main I.P. houses. My guess is that with such popular I.P.'s that their companies did not allow as much creative license. It is quite obvious that AMC did not allow Universal to have face characters in the house, only walkers. So that hurt it, and I'm guessing Konami only allowed certain characters in the house as well. I think that is why in the past, they have used their own films for promotional houses, save for 2009 and 2007. In those cases, I think they were given much more creative license. Nightmare on Elm Street, Friday 13th, Texas Chainsaw Massacre, and Chucky all had fairly independent story lines from their films. Saw, was a "best of" house, but it worked well with what they did. All of my large complaints with 2007, 2010, 2011, and 2012 deal directly with how I felt outside of houses. I almost feel guilty for including 2007, just because of how much they actually did end up doing that year with the event and atleast in 2010 they have the huge Fear Revealed and 20 Years that blended together.

Potter took a park that was in limbo and made it more than attractive to buyers. Universal is scaring Busch, and Disney is so disconnected from their audience that they don't even realize how well Universal is doing. Potter and Comcast are some of the best things that have happened to UOR, and if you're just an HHN fan you might not have a grasp of all the projects Comcast has in store for Universal, but all you have to do is look and you'll see how hard this company wants to play. Am I a little disenfranchised and jaded? Definitely. Do they have a better reason than in 2010? More than definitely. Do I still try to make an effort to visit other haunts so I will appreciate HHN? Of course. There were however mediocre years pre-Potter and Comcast too, and I think they had much less of an excuse in 2007 than they do now.

Oh, I'm right there with you. I think if any year has an excuse to take a bit of a hit it is this one. From a fan perspective I can understand that with the company merger and all the projects going on around the park that HHN is going to take a hit this year. I think it'll even take a hit next year with Wizarding Phase 2 and Springfield Project. The issue is that people are consumers and that as a consumer you don't care about Universal have a better day experience. I do however though, and I'll take 3 or so bad HHN years for Transformers, Springfield, Wizarding Phase 2, and the other refurbs across the resort. I was the first person to say it, and I'll say it again. For a better day in the park, HHN can take the hit.

I can understand mild disenfranchisement with HHN22. It felt like a step back from it's predecessors, as did HHNXX. When people are really jaded towards the event it is typically because they know and have seen or seen footage of haunts on smaller budgets doing a lot more. Universal is a corporate ran event, and it is easy for people to find it lackluster when Netherworld is only 6 hours away and is blowing it out of the water in terms of tech.

And House of Horrors will be #2.

I typically find your reviews hyper-critical but for the overall opinions of the event, I definitely agree. I disagree on some of the content, houses and zones. But other wise, you summed up most people's thoughts.

If the whole run had some of the jokes as the last show it would have been significantly better overall.

I saw the show once, and while it was humorous and I'm really glad it was there, I didn't need to see it twice, nor would I have.

A shoutout to all the Traditionals in Kidzone at 8pm Special shout outs to my owl friend for his scary dance though.

Shoutout to Miguel-The Warrior for giving me the best damn scare I have gotten this year. Shoutout to Elf-The Prisoner for 2nd best scare I've gotten in the streets. Alice Cooper around 11:15, you guys gave me the best run I've had through that house all year. Not sure why you were so on point but you were. If I had only had that run and not the mediocre ones your house would be viewed in a different light by me. Thanks to my Elvis friend as well!