Universal Orlando Resort (USF, IOA, Epic) Discussion Thread

[SharkTums]

See, I think the HHN Orlando houses ALWAYS look awesome, I just wish they had the meat and scares in them that they used to. I feel that they've spent too much time/effort/money on set design and story, and not enough on 'does the house really work?'

 

Kind of know what I mean? Not trying to be negative, this is the premier halloween event on Earth, just want to keep seeing it improve.

[CoasterDude211]

I definitely agree. I've only been going since HHN 14, but the houses seem to lack the "intensity" and "out-of-control" feeling that they used to have. Now, most of the houses are just eerie and not actually scary. Having said that, I still love this event and am very eager to see what this year can offer.

[Hilltopper39]

^ Yeah I agree, for whatever it's worth I've always thought the houses at Busch Garden's Halloscreams for the past few years have been much more intense and scarier than the HHN houses. Last year at HHN it didn't feel like the actors were putting any effort into their scares at all, and to me it wasn't just a couple of actors in a few isolated houses it seemed to be that way across the entire event almost like that was how everyone had been coached to perform. It's still an amazing event and the sets in the houses are worth the price of admission alone but the scares could definitely be better.

[ernierocker]

^I agree with the comparison between HHN and HOS.

 

That was my only beef with the HHN houses, in that you could very easily go through a house and not get a single scare. So many scares have elaborate set-ups and if your timing is not right, you can miss them. I remember going through Wolfman a couple of years ago, and we missed everyone one of the set-up scares. This is why it helps to go through the houses multiple times.

 

HOS, on the other hand, is more about the scares than the elaborate scenes. Really in the end though, it's to each their own, because walking through the HHN can still AMAZING because of the detail and atmosphere.

Edited September 15, 2011 by ernierocker

[Hilltopper39]

^ I had the EXACT same thing happen to me at Wolfman, I missed all of the really cool set-up scare effects at the end of the maze by having bad timing. That maze looked AMZING, but I was kind of bitter because I missed out on the really cool stuff.

 

A couple of the HOS mazes in recent years have really improved their overall quality and I thought were almost on par with some of the weaker HHN houses. The comparisons between the 2 events seem to pop up every year, and even though they are basically the same type of event they are really different. I love the sets, atmosphere, and shows at HHN but I also really like night rides Kumba, so it's a toss up to me.

[cfc]

Although I'm not high on the "Lady Luck" theme (the Web site is fun, though), I'm intrigued by the houses this year with the minor exception of the Thing, because it didn't work the last time they tried it. I'm looking forward to the "dueling Poe houses" at Tampa and Orlando.

[jjune4991]

Same. The character is an ok idea, but I didn't like the actor. She wasn't that scary. And I hope the Thing house is good. I didn't like it last time, what, 4 years ago?

[Hilltopper39]

^^Yeah two houses with almost the exact same theme at both events is very strange but it should be fun to compare the two (and by compare I mean make fun of which ever house sucks the most haha). I'm really looking forward to The Forsaken, the picture of that house they released to Facebook a few days ago looked amazing. It looked like there were some great lighting effects and more light overall in the house. It may just be the picture, but I've thought that a lot of the HHN houses in the past were almost too dark, so dark that I couldn't really appreciate the incredible detail in the themeing.

 

On a side note, what is the correct term for a haunted walk through attraction at a Halloween event, a House or a Maze?

[ernierocker]

^I know this isn't the first time HHN and HOS have had very similar houses.

 

In 2009, there was the Chucky house at HHN and the Toy Factory house at HOS.

 

By the way, the offical HHN website calls them houses, but I don't think it really matters.

[BeemerBoy]

That was my only beef with the HHN houses, in that you could very easily go through a house and not get a single scare. So many scares have elaborate set-ups and if your timing is not right, you can miss them. I remember going through Wolfman a couple of years ago, and we missed everyone one of the set-up scares. This is why it helps to go through the houses multiple times.

 

HOS, on the other hand, is more about the scares than the elaborate scenes. Really in the end though, it's to each their own, because walking through the HHN can still AMAZING because of the detail and atmosphere.

I'm realizing I may be in a minority on this one, but like you said, "to each their own."

 

I'm not a HHN or HOS veteran as compared to many on here, but I've been through a fair share of houses/mazes in my time. On the point of scares vs. overall scenes, the scariest thing I've ever been through didn't have a single actor, nor did anything even happen. It was at Terror on Church Street, which used to be a "permanent" walk through in downtown Orlando where they would send you through in small groups of 5-10 people.

 

The abandoned morgue room was easily the creepiest set. Our group of 6 slowly walked through the room full of tables with covered corpses, our heads on swivels, fully expecting something to happen. We literally inched through that scene, which felt like forever, and in the end nothing happened at all (the only room in which that happened). I was pulling up the rear in our single file line, and even after we had exited the room into the hallway towards the next scene, everyone including myself kept looking back. Sometimes the simple anticipation of something is more thrilling than an actual "scare."

[Hilltopper39]

^Yeah I had a somewhat similar experience at the Mystery Mansion thing at Gatlinburg. It was an off season week day and there were basically 2 actors that worked in tandem with each other and followed you through the entire house. You never knew where they were going to come from but the sheer anticipation of knowing they were there was enough to make it the scariest walk through I've ever done. Unfortunately I don't think the mazes at HHN or HOS can ever be at that level of intensity because of the way everyone walks through the house in a constantly moving non interrupted single file line. I guess the Alone house at HOS last year was an exception, but it was also an upcharge to the regular event.

[cfc]

^In general, the emptier the house is of guests, the better the scares. It must be tough to time scare events when you're dealing with a conga line (this is where having good, creepy atmosphere is a plus). One of the best haunt experiences I've ever had was BGT's toy factory maze a few years ago--we got there early, and were the only three guests walking through it.

Edited September 15, 2011 by cfc

[jedimaster1227]

Universal Studios Florida has sent us a press release about the return of the Ghost Hunters to Halloween Horror Nights!

 

Steve Gonsalves and Dave Tango, from SyFy Channel’s highest rated reality TV show “Ghost Hunters,” will test their luck at Universal Orlando Resort’s Halloween Horror Nights 21 on October 6. And for the first time ever, five “lucky” fans will win the ultimate Ghost Hunters experience: the opportunity to walk through one of the event’s terrifying haunted houses with Tango and Gonsalves.

 

Fans just need to follow Halloween Horror Nights’ official Twitter handle, @UORHHN, for more information about this once-in-a lifetime opportunity. Winners will receive admission to Halloween Horror Nights, an RIP Tour of the event and the opportunity to experience a haunted house with the Ghost Hunters on October 6.

 

Tango and Gonsalves will also host a Q&A and autograph session that evening. Access to these sessions is included in regular admission to Halloween Horror Nights 21.

 

For 25 nights beginning September 23, Universal Orlando’s Halloween Horror Nights returns as the nation’s best and most intense Halloween event. Guests will confront extreme Halloween entertainment that cannot be experienced anywhere else. This year, they will scream as they become prey to fiendish creatures, panic as they come face-to-face with a horrifying “thing,” feel chills as they are haunted by deceased souls – and watch in paralyzing fear as Lady Luck transforms from a tempting seductress to a bloodthirsty beast.

[JT3000]

On a side note, what is the correct term for a haunted walk through attraction at a Halloween event, a House or a Maze?

 

Depends which coast you're on. West coasters tend to say maze. We call them houses.

[RCFreak]

^Not only is it regional, It's also dependent on chain (Busch calls them all "Houses," Cedar Fair's Halloween Haunt events use "Mazes" Cedar Point uses "Mazes for the scare zones, and "houses for the actual attractions Universal Orlando uses "Houses" and Universal Hollywood uses "Mazes"). I think you're not going to go wrong if you use either name.

[FeelTheFORCE]

I finally got to check out the HP section this past week. FJ definitely exceeded my expectations. I went in thinking it was going to be mostly all screens and movie clips with the occasional fireball and/or something that jumps out at you, but I definitely liked the fact that there were more physical scenes than I had originally anticipated, and how close to you they actually got. That far right seat especially gets everything full-blast!

 

I definitely hope to return sometime soon!

[JT3000]

via Twitter:

 

In this cemetery, the deadly spirits beneath the headstones only come to life every 100 years… so you should be safe.

 

THINK AGAIN.

 

Happy 100th anniversary...

Winter's Night: The Haunting of Hawthorn Cemetery

[Zeppelinfreak]

^That looks cool, thanks for posting.

[Hilltopper39]

Was it part of a group ticket?

 

I know when we've done events there before there's usually a 4 - 7pm IOA ticket you can add on to a HHN Ticket for a small amount of money. It may have been something like that.

 

So I was looking at tickets again today for HHN and I'm not crazy! It must not have been available a few weeks ago but they are offering the early access ticket to the Studios again this year and it is called Scream Early. An additional $15 for access to The Studios from 2pm-5 then you will be allowed to stay in the park and be one of the first to have access to the houses when the event opens. Early admission is also available for IOA from 4pm-7 and is $30 (you can enter the HHN event from the gate between the studios and IOA).

 

I would highly recommend the early access to the Studios for anyone who has never done HHN and doesn't want to pony up for the Express Pass, you can see most of the event in a single night this way.

 

http://www.halloweenhorrornights.com/orlando/florida_residents_tickets.html

[ernierocker]

^That really is a fantastic deal.

[Hilltopper39]

^It's an amazing deal, last year I got 2 rides on Rockit, Mummy, and Men in Black in before they closed down to change the park over for the event. Think I might have even squeezed in Terminator or Twister or something else. When the park closes they corner you off in a fenced in section by the Blues Brother Stage and that Irish pub remains open. Last year they had a band playing live music in there as well. I got through 2 of the sound stage houses last year before the main gates were open.

[piers]

^It's an amazing deal, last year I got 2 rides on Rockit, Mummy, and Men in Black in before they closed down to change the park over for the event. Think I might have even squeezed in Terminator or Twister or something else. When the park closes they corner you off in a fenced in section by the Blues Brother Stage and that Irish pub remains open. Last year they had a band playing live music in there as well. I got through 2 of the sound stage houses last year before the main gates were open.

 

If you try to hangout by the back of the park they will hold you in Kidzone which is a much better place to be when the park opens...usually!

You can normally get all the houses at the back of the park before the gates open and be first in line for the Disaster house.

[Porsmond]

I once had the unique pleasure of riding DD Fire on a solo ride, Ice had a delay in the station and so we failed to duel, and I must say, the ride was very plain without the duelling , it really felt like a very average B&M inverter, so I am sad to hear about this news, The duelling definitely "makes" the ride, it is what makes it so special, there is nothing more thrilling(especially on Fire Dragon) flying over that inline, and seeing Ice come from your left and suddenly seeing people's feet literally just below you, Also the full on loop duel is spectacular, its so well done and so well timed that B&M deserve a medal for creating that element.

 

I see it says in that statement, while they fully investigate the incidents, they will be operating on their own so maybe it might actually be temporary for a while just while they are investigating it all. I really hope they dont stop it alltogether, it would be really sad,

[alpengeist04]

I agree the dueling does add a lot to DD, but the coasters are still very good on their own. I still think the first drop on Fire is one of the best on any Invert, especially in the back row on the right side.

[King_K.]

Dragon Challenge was dueling today, hopefully this cheers some of you up. Had a few friends go up for a day and it was dueling the whole time they were there.