HHN 2019 Sep 6 - Nov 2

[Tom Morrow]

I disagree...I think the event has changed to the point where the audience attending doesn't want scares they want Instagram-able moments and the places that have scares, are the houses the general public don't have interest in.

I'd guess that it's a little of both. The event was beginning to get a bad rep because of how rowdy it would get. The alcohol was cut back in 2016 and ever since then the atmosphere around the park has been toned down as well. I would say that the change in scare zones from being intimidating to photo/selfie ops and performances is in part due to this and also changing with what people want out of the event. Social media has had a heavy influence.

The houses are a bit more PG-13 than they used to be as well. This has been a very gradual trend over the last decade and made a noticeable jump last year with Stranger Things. I've never really thought the HHN houses were scary, but they're noticeably less gory than they used to be. This I believe is both for the event to have wider appeal and also because Universal recognized that because of the scope of the event and how they operate it, intimate scares are not really possible, so they focused more on atmosphere and immersion in the houses.

 

[Benjamin_Nicholas]

I disagree...I think the event has changed to the point where the audience attending doesn't want scares they want Instagram-able moments and the places that have scares, are the houses the general public don't have interest in.

Bottom line, it's a money-maker for them and will continue to be.

The scares in the houses flew the coop the moment they stopped pulsing people. I've been going since it was Fright Nights.

I do think the idea for less booze was a good one. While HHN should never be kid-friendly, the drunks were out of control and USO security couldn't keep up with their stupidity.

 

[JT3000]

I don't think alcohol plays into it at all. Sure, there's less places to find booze than before, but if someone wants to get plastered while at HHN, they still have ample opportunity to do so.

The scare zones being turned into photo-ops are because of all the kiddies running around with their smart phones, asking every single scareactor they encounter for a picture. There was an unfortunate demand, and now there's an even more unfortunate supply. I wish the event had never attracted those sorts of people in the first place, much less catered to them.

 

[Benjamin_Nicholas]

I don't think alcohol plays into it at all. Sure, there's less places to find booze than before, but if someone wants to get plastered while at HHN, they still have ample opportunity to do so.

The scare zones being turned into photo-ops are because of all the kiddies running around with their smart phones, asking every single scareactor they encounter for a picture. There was an unfortunate demand, and now there's an even more unfortunate supply. I wish the event had never attracted those sorts of people in the first place, much less catered to them.

Alcohol was an issue, years back. Before the selfie crap. It was a real thing.

At one time the streets were not photo friendly. Now, the street scareactors have give into pictures immediately.

It's clearly a directive and sadly, it's good for business when posted on social media.

 

[General Mayhem]

Bottom line, it's a money-maker for them and will continue to be.

The scares in the houses flew the coop the moment they stopped pulsing people. I've been going since it was Fright Nights.

I do think the idea for less booze was a good one. While HHN should never be kid-friendly, the drunks were out of control and USO security couldn't keep up with their stupidity.

As a more recent fan of HHN (since 2015), I can't tell you how much better the atmosphere got after these changes. I used to feel unsafe at HHN after the first two hours because a lot of guests would be so out of control. Now I can stay well into the night and it's much more pleasant.

 

[JT3000]

Alcohol was an issue, years back. Before the selfie crap. It was a real thing.

At one time the streets were not photo friendly. Now, the street scareactors have give into pictures immediately.

It's clearly a directive and sadly, it's good for business when posted on social media.

Alcohol was (and probably still is) an issue, but one that's completely unrelated to what the scare zones have become. The event's intensity had already been toned down for the sake of scareactor safety a long, long time ago. You can blame the drunkards for that. But turning every scare zone into a photo-op is a recent development, as is HHN turning into a late-night middle school recess. I think you're seeing less people getting hauled off for intoxication mainly because most of them aren't even old enough to drink.

 

[Tom Morrow]

It used to get pretty out of hand. Police typically made several arrests every event night. It's MUCH calmer now, even if it still does get a little crazy. I'm 100% okay with this, but I wish the content hadn't also been toned down too.

 

[General Mayhem]

It used to get pretty out of hand. Police typically made several arrests every event night. It's MUCH calmer now, even if it still does get a little crazy. I'm 100% okay with this, but I wish the content hadn't also been toned down too.

I remember when they made the alcohol changes and so many people were raging mad about it. I was just like if you want to drink go to a bar not HHN.

 

[Benjamin_Nicholas]

Uni didn't lose any money toning down the alcohol anyway. People have just moved it to pregaming in CityWalk.

The new game seems to appear sober enough to get through security

 

[champdisney]

Attending this Friday (the 13!). A full moon will also be on full display according to my local news. Can’t wait, I’m hearing a lot of good things about this years event via Twitter.

 

[Gaston's gal]

HHN is going to have four Signature drinks this year with four souvenir cups to collect. Does anyone know if you can purchase the cups even if you don't drink alcohol?

 

[Tom Morrow]

A couple more thoughts after another visit:

- the lagoon show is much better than the normal show, with the exception of not having pyro (probably because it's performed three times a night). The pacing is much better and the energy is higher. It's also helped by not being too long.

- these have to be the worst, most uninspired scare zones ever. Vanity Ball is alright, and seems to take inspiration from the game Bioshock. The Viking one is also okay but the path looks the same purple and orange as it does every year. Rob Zombie's is literally just a strip club. Zombieland is so unbelievably uninspired. It looks like a bunch of performances were supposed to happen, but were cut. The faux Space Shot ride looks like it was supposed to do something but instead it just sits there. The first time a scare zone has ever felt like blatant advertising and nothing more.

- maybe I'm just getting old, but I don't remember the event being so overrun with teenagers 5-10 years ago. The atmosphere all around is calmer than it used to be which is welcome, but man is the high school vibe kind of off-putting.

 

[Disney Maddux]

A couple more thoughts after another visit:

- the lagoon show is much better than the normal show, with the exception of not having pyro (probably because it's performed three times a night). The pacing is much better and the energy is higher. It's also helped by not being too long.

- these have to be the worst, most uninspired scare zones ever. Vanity Ball is alright, and seems to take inspiration from the game Bioshock. The Viking one is also okay but the path looks the same purple and orange as it does every year. Rob Zombie's is literally just a strip club. Zombieland is so unbelievably uninspired. It looks like a bunch of performances were supposed to happen, but were cut. The faux Space Shot ride looks like it was supposed to do something but instead it just sits there. The first time a scare zone has ever felt like blatant advertising and nothing more.

- maybe I'm just getting old, but I don't remember the event being so overrun with teenagers 5-10 years ago. The atmosphere all around is calmer than it used to be which is welcome, but man is the high school vibe kind of off-putting.

Oh yeah, there is a TON more middle school kids this year, and most of them are being completely immature.

 

[JT3000]

Oh yeah, there is a TON more middle school kids this year, and most of them are being completely immature.

Try to eliminate drunk adults who do dumb things.

Bring in throngs of sober teenagers who do dumb things.

It's the circle of life... or something.

 

[macefamily]

We'll be in Orlando this Friday and Saturday. It's going to break my heart because we just don't have the time to squeeze HHN in. My son is also very upset because it has become his favorite Halloween tradition. It sucks.

 

[champdisney]

My house ratings from best to worst.

1 - Graveyard Games: The best house this year goes to this one for its eerie atmosphere, outstanding sets and entertaining scares.

2 - Universal Monsters: A very impressive house. Entering through detailed areas to showcase each iconic movie monster of the black and white era, combined with a few good scares. It was cool seeing some of the more forgotten monsters like the Hunchback and Phantom.

3 - House of 1000 Corpses: I loved this one. Was it at all frightening? Nope. A bit grotesque (like the film but HHN tamed it here). The maze was true to the film, confusing in some parts but so was the film. The transitions from one room to the other by walking past static screens was a cool little thing to see as it was pulled right from the film, an element that would confuse those who haven’t seen the movie. The outside facade was awesome! So was the music.

4 - Ghostbusters: I can see why the tweet peeps were calling this house a “loving tribute” as some key components of the film were beautifully recreated, impressive sets and overall just a fun maze. Awesome to see Ghostbusters hanging out at Universal again.

5 - Killer Klowns From Outer Space: I specifically watched this film for the first time just for this event. It was wacky, loud and lots of fun.

6 - Us: It’s true. This maze is an exact shot-for-shot replica of the film. Don’t expect much here.

7 - Yeti: Terror of the Yukon: This one was alright, I loved the concept and sets. However, the Yetis themselves were funny looking... like the giant purple gorillas from Batman & Robin funny looking. Again, didn’t hate it nor loved it. It was alright.

8 - Nightingales: Blood Pit: I expected much from this house and sadly, it did not deliver. The sets and costumes were all fine and dandy but that was it, I found this house to be lame. The ending got better but then... it was the end?

9 - Stranger Things: Season 2: This maze was out of control in stupidity. I did not understand it. It looked as if they did a recap of season one at the very start of this maze, then dove into season 2 (which by the way was a terrible season) and towards the end gave us a sneak peak into next years house with season 3? To hell with that!

10 - Depths of Fear: This one felt like the Journey to Atlantis ride at SeaWorld turned into a terrible haunted house. This fish monster was the dumbest looking creature I have ever seen.

 

[Tom Morrow]

Depths of Fear is the best house, even with the lame looking monster. It's the only house that has the sense of danger and intensity the houses used to have.

 

[raven]

Depths of Fear is the best house, even with the lame looking monster. It's the only house that has the sense of danger and intensity the houses used to have.

The monsters look like a cross between a fish and a parrot.

 

[Disney Maddux]

Depths of Fear is the best house, even with the lame looking monster. It's the only house that has the sense of danger and intensity the houses used to have.

I think Yeti has that sense of danger too. Lost in the snowy woods with no communication to the outside world, and Yetis everywhere.

 

[champdisney]

Depths of Fear is the best house, even with the lame looking monster. It's the only house that has the sense of danger and intensity the houses used to have.

Your opinion. Not mine.