Halloween Horror Nights 27 General Discussion

[Tobias]

So when it comes to the media videos, they're allowed to post all the houses as a highlight reel. After seeing all of them via Inside the Magic, Attractions Magazine and Behind the Thrills, I have to say house-wise this year looks really solid!

The originals look great, and IP-wise I think the team did a damn good job with the Shining and Ash Vs. Evil Dead. As for Saw, it looks fine. An' as for Blumhouse, well it's not the mess I thought it would be. I will say it's heavy on the strobes, but at least it actually has a decent finale. (If you're gonna' see a video of this, see the one from Attractions Magazine since it's hilarious.)

All in all, I really don't got any complaints from what I can see. An' as for non-spoilery IP comparisons with Hollywood...(I'm only gonna' do AvsED, Shining and Saw since those are the only ones I can do a direct comparison with.)

Ash vs Evil Dead: Orlando is the better version, no contest.
The Shining: While Hollywood has the better Jacks and Here's Johnny scene, I feel Orlando edges HW out with everything else, especially the elevator!
Saw: It's a toss up, from the videos I saw, Orlando's looked a bit more intense. Though Hollwood put in a neat hallway I don't think Orlando has.

 

[OhHaiInternet95]

^From what I saw from the POVs, our Grady twins are much better!

Totally called that they'd be a mirror trick.

 

[JMalez]

Just some quick notes from last night. ( No order for the houses or zones)
(Did all but Shining, Saw, Scarecrow, and the shows)

Blumhouse was WAY better than expected.. by no means my favorite but had some really solid scares. Too much Insidious though and not enough everything else
The Fallen was cool... not much more than that, blame it on a bad run through but there were very little scares (and no flying scareactors that I was able to see)
AHS: Awesome maze. Not quite as good as last years but still really good. Great use of smells
Dead Waters: Super short but is still (so far) my favorite. The sets rivaled Ghost Town and the scares were definitely there.
AvED: Fun but no where near as gory as I expected. Pulls a lot of great stuff from the show
Hive: Was really fun to walk through even though we missed some scares. Sets and the makeup were great and the soundtrack / sounds in the house were great.

Invasion: pretty cool, not enough aliens imo and less humorous than I had hoped
Altars: No set pieces, hardly ANY scareactors... Didnt have high hopes but it still didnt meet my expectations
Festival: Had really cool costumes and makeup and some good scares but the zone itself looked incomplete and forgotten
Purge: Enjoyed it.. fun to hang out in
Trick 'r' Treat: One of my all time favorite zones. Looked amazing, costumes were amazing. Had everything you could imagine from the movie. All around a perfect zone
EDIT: The roaming horde was FANTASTIC

Tried the Candy Corn frozen drink: Was pretty good. Brother had S'mores drink, neither of us liked it and it got thrown out.
Sidenote: Got to meet Matt from COHHN so that was pretty cool

 

[Lucky Planet]

are the clowns with chainsaws the only horde this year?

 

[UniversalRBLX]

Pretty good first nights for HHN
Scare boy was weird and they really need to add louder speakers so everyone can understand what is happening.

American Horror Story: What a terrific maze. Long and lots of scares and better than last year's maze.

Dead Waters: What a facade. Not a lot of scares.

The Hive: What is going on, and missing scares.

Ash v Evil Dead: An exciting maze.

Blumhouse: Should have just been Insidious

 

[Returning-The-Reaction]

I definitely didn't come in during a cast change as I was one of the last people through the house, but maybe I just had bad timing like you said.

And I agree that Blumhouse, while disjointed, actually has a lot of great scares throughout the house. The house does suffer from identity crisis though. It's like it wants to be Insidious so bad but Purge and Sinister forced their way in.

It shouldn't be used as an excuse, more a possible explanation, but sometimes the actors are just wiped out by the time the final guests come through at closing.

 

[Brian G.]

Guys, there is a review thread.

 

[horrornights789]

Just saw Attraction Magazines Blumhouse footage, finale is good but the Purge was soooooo obviously Ouija. The hanged person wasn't taken down, the font on the transition of Purge was Ouija's, and the dinner scene looked exactly like the movie. Anyways, Hive looked like a Conjuring house too, but still delivered. Overall besides the reskins(which were still pretty effective), HHN27 looks amazing and every house looks solid

 

[epcyclopedia]

Some pics from a Behind the Screams tour today from a friend on one as we speak.

 

[Jessabelle]

So last night (I only saw the last 2 mins) AOV wasn't on the big main stage like last year, however I saw the other stage across from Mel's with the lights and whatever equipment down. I'm assumimg it's temporary and they'll eventually be back on their stage. Was this because of Irma or is there another reason for this?

 

[Nick]

So last night (I only saw the last 2 mins) AOV wasn't on the big main stage like last year, however I saw the other stage across from Mel's with the lights and whatever equipment down. I'm assumimg it's temporary and they'll eventually be back on their stage. Was this because of Irma or is there another reason for this?

Yes, this was due to Irma. They had to take the entire stage down for the hurricane, although they've had since Tuesday to get it back up, which normally for the tech team is more than enough time, so I am actually wondering if something is structurally wrong or if there's a problem they are still sorting out.

 

[Parkscope Joe]

Yes, this was due to Irma. They had to take the entire stage down for the hurricane, although they've had since Tuesday to get it back up, which normally for the tech team is more than enough time, so I am actually wondering if something is structurally wrong or if there's a problem they are still sorting out.

I think they set priorities for getting the resort back up and running. Same reason why Alters and Festival were incomplete too.

 

[Imagineer83]

Can we stop calling Scare Zones by that name? Can we just call them what they are - Show Zones and Selfie Zones. This has been a major trend for the past 3-4 years and this year seems to be the worst so far. I know its only one night but the vibe is there.

Based on every walk around from opening night there were no scares taking place, just mini shows and pictures. I miss the days of dense fog in the streets and getting anxious walking around the park not knowing what would happen around the corner or who was mixed into the crowd. Now its just streetmosphere, good streetmosphere, but its just not 'scary'. The mini shows are nice if you catch them but they aren't scary. The scare zones have become more like living art. I would almost rather they setup these mini shows in the house queues instead of the streets. At least then we would have entertainment in the long lines and more people would see the hard work everyone has put into the experiences.

Not trying to be negative, just trying to say that scare zones are no longer scary. They have become a different type of entertainment that I wish they would utilize differently and go back to a more scary vibe throughout the park.

 

[orlandoiloveyou]

Can we stop calling Scare Zones by that name? Can we just call them what they are - Show Zones and Selfie Zones. This has been a major trend for the past 3-4 years and this year seems to be the worst so far. I know its only one night but the vibe is there.

Based on every walk around from opening night there were no scares taking place, just mini shows and pictures. I miss the days of dense fog in the streets and getting anxious walking around the park not knowing what would happen around the corner or who was mixed into the crowd. Now its just streetmosphere, good streetmosphere, but its just not 'scary'. The mini shows are nice if you catch them but they aren't scary. The scare zones have become more like living art. I would almost rather they setup these mini shows in the house queues instead of the streets. At least then we would have entertainment in the long lines and more people would see the hard work everyone has put into the experiences.

Not trying to be negative, just trying to say that scare zones are no longer scary. They have become a different type of entertainment that I wish they would utilize differently and go back to a more scary vibe throughout the park.

I can see this. I've only been going since 25 but my favorite zones have been Psychoscareapy and Vamp 55. The rest were mostly fine but very forgettable. Those two seemed to strike a good balance between mini shows and chaotic streetmosphere and people could still get selfies without being obtrusive.

I also think the zones should have more obstacles in the bigger areas to allow for actors to hide or at least be harder to see. There's just nothing scary about the people walking around that try to get up in your face all the sudden.

 

[Legacy]

I can see this. I've only been going since 25 but my favorite zones have been Psychoscareapy and Vamp 55. The rest were mostly fine but very forgettable. Those two seemed to strike a good balance between mini shows and chaotic streetmosphere and people could still get selfies without being obtrusive.

I also think the zones should have more obstacles in the bigger areas to allow for actors to hide or at least be harder to see. There's just nothing scary about the people walking around that try to get up in your face all the sudden.

They used to. Older scarezones were downright laberythian. They'd really go at it in Shrek Alley and Avenue of the Stars. Crowds are too big for it now though.

I remember saying like five-six years ago that, eventually, every zone would have more scareactors on stages than on the ground. I was told Universal would never go that route...

 

[WAJAS]

They used to. Older scarezones were downright laberythian. They'd really go at it in Shrek Alley and Avenue of the Stars. Crowds are too big for it now though.

I remember saying like five-six years ago that, eventually, every zone would have more scareactors on stages than on the ground. I was told Universal would never go that route...

Is there a good place to find videos, photos, or good descriptions of these old scarezones?

 

[Legacy]

Is there a good place to find videos, photos, or good descriptions of these old scarezones?

That site YouTube has some stuff. The trick searching for specific years.



Here's a decent video of the streets from 2008.

 

[Returning-The-Reaction]

Can we stop calling Scare Zones by that name? Can we just call them what they are - Show Zones and Selfie Zones. This has been a major trend for the past 3-4 years and this year seems to be the worst so far. I know its only one night but the vibe is there.

Based on every walk around from opening night there were no scares taking place, just mini shows and pictures. I miss the days of dense fog in the streets and getting anxious walking around the park not knowing what would happen around the corner or who was mixed into the crowd. Now its just streetmosphere, good streetmosphere, but its just not 'scary'. The mini shows are nice if you catch them but they aren't scary. The scare zones have become more like living art. I would almost rather they setup these mini shows in the house queues instead of the streets. At least then we would have entertainment in the long lines and more people would see the hard work everyone has put into the experiences.

Not trying to be negative, just trying to say that scare zones are no longer scary. They have become a different type of entertainment that I wish they would utilize differently and go back to a more scary vibe throughout the park.

I haven't been yet this year, so I won't comment specifically on HHN27, but I totally agree with the bolded in general.

 

[orlandoiloveyou]

That site YouTube has some stuff. The trick searching for specific years.



Here's a decent video of the streets from 2008.

Funny because that's the year I really became obsessed with the event. I wouldn't end up going for another 8 years but Asylum in Wonderland (the zone) looked incredible and I even remember the actors were a lot more resistant to taking pictures, if not encouraged to not stop for photos. But it's clear the event has grown and had to adjust significantly.

 

[Lucky Planet]

Can we stop calling Scare Zones by that name? Can we just call them what they are - Show Zones and Selfie Zones. This has been a major trend for the past 3-4 years and this year seems to be the worst so far. I know its only one night but the vibe is there.

Based on every walk around from opening night there were no scares taking place, just mini shows and pictures. I miss the days of dense fog in the streets and getting anxious walking around the park not knowing what would happen around the corner or who was mixed into the crowd. Now its just streetmosphere, good streetmosphere, but its just not 'scary'. The mini shows are nice if you catch them but they aren't scary. The scare zones have become more like living art. I would almost rather they setup these mini shows in the house queues instead of the streets. At least then we would have entertainment in the long lines and more people would see the hard work everyone has put into the experiences.

Not trying to be negative, just trying to say that scare zones are no longer scary. They have become a different type of entertainment that I wish they would utilize differently and go back to a more scary vibe throughout the park.

i never understood this, every year it comes up. the streets are not scary. but, I cant recall a time when they were ever scary (In the same level of the houses) you are surrounded by dozens of people and theres loud music blasting out of the speakers and you have people walking with drinks in their hands and UNI Security... how were the zones ever "terrifying?"
Unless you did the zones alone without people, I cant think of a time when the zones rivaled the houses in scares.
Sure you can get startled and surprised by the actors if you are not paying attention, but, were the zones really ever scary?

Also, I dont take selfies and i dont like selfies, i really never cared for selfies. But even if you banned selfies or pictures, the event is so crowded that you will never get the same feeling as before. that will never happen. the zones get so crowded now (Like the pirate zone last year) that people cannot even walk in the zone.... so many people that you cant even walk.

the magic of HHN of the past is gone. it is now a fully corporate event. I wish we had icons, I wish we always had good original houses, I wish the park Played Midnight Syndicate. but the event is turning. it is not just the scarezones, it is the whole thing.
the whole event is changing into a big party.