Halloween Horror Nights 33 (UOR) - Reviews, Photos, & Videos

[Lucky Planet]

Speaking of the Tribute Store, I really miss the constantly changing Mold-a-Rama machines around the resort. They were a relatively minor thing, but they were fun souvenirs to track down. Another of the small things that used to make Uni special that have been disappearing.

maybe they never sold well. but I too enjoyed seeing them

 

[TheCodeMan95]

maybe they never sold well. but I too enjoyed seeing them

This is the only reason I could think of. As cool as they were, we only ever bought one. And I never saw anyone buying one lol

 

[Lucky Planet]

This is the only reason I could think of. As cool as they were, we only ever bought one. And I never saw anyone buying one lol

they looked beautiful and the machine itself reminded me of Frankensteins laboratory but I never saw anyone buying them.

 

[Brian G.]

Alright. Reviews.

 

[Brian G.]

Enter the Blumhouse

 

[gbird]

Unfortunately, back home in UK after another great trip. We did 3 nights Weds to Friday with Express passes

Really enjoying the reviews as most have different top 10

1) Monstrous – This was a surprise and we had 3 great runs really enjoyed puppet effects and animatronics with big head getting me on one occasion. That being said I have 10 week baby so the start was horrifying and I am glad I didn’t go through with my wife.

2) Insidious – We didn’t have great runs the first 2 times but 3 was ace. Very intense house. Hype was correct for us

3) Slaughter Sinema 2 – Was looking forward to this one and was fun, house seemed to go on forever and some great rooms. The scary elf face was highlight for me

4) Goblin's Feast – Wasn’t scary at all but was great fun, laughed a lot and had great interaction with actors. Costumes were great and more variety than I expected

5) Ghostbusters – Watched the film on plane out which helps understand a lot, my brother who was with me didn’t and he didn’t enjoy as much as no clue what was going on

6) Major Sweets – One really good run and was fun overall, again not scary but was what expected

7) A Quiet Place – Was a good idea but bit disappointing. Death Angels were huge but were quite repetitive

8) Triplets - My biggest disappointment, Had high hope and number one on hype list but was too short and cant remember any scares in three runes

9) Museum – They missed a trick with this one and was quite boring only went through twice and skipped third night

10) Eternal Bloodlines - Previous monsters houses set the bar high bit didn’t enjoy the story or the sets on this occasion

We have visited since 2018 and overall this year was OK but was no wow moments that we have had in previous years such as Deadmans Pier/ Blood moon and Darkest. Also something felt off this year and was hard to put finger on it but I think it is down to it feeling a bit disjointed and didn’t flow as well as previous years attended, from the merchandise (main house shirt was punk rocker from small scene in a house etc) to the icons with split scare zones etc was not as good as previous year

Surprise we had was the Dead Coconut club, never visited before but was great to spend an hour before HHN chatting and drinking with other HHN enthusiasts. The sirens were good as was the atmosphere was one of the highlights of trip.

 

[saint.piss]

Night 5 Rankings

1. Universal Monsters Eternal Bloodlines - 10/10
2. Insidious The Further - 10/10
3. Major Sweets Candy Factory - 10/10
4. Goblins Feast - 10/10
5. Slaughter Sinema 2 - 10/10
6. Ghostbusters Frozen Empire - 9.5/10
7. Triplets of Terror - 9/10
8. A Quiet Place -8/10
9. Monstruos The Monsters of Latin America - 7.5/10

(Skipped Museum, lol)

 

[Brian G.]

Some musings from my Wednesday night experience:

• It felt like it was busy at times, but also empty. Weird.
• A Quiet Place and Ghostbusters runs seemed like the actors were just going through the motions, with GB missing every Garraka actor. Really rough runs.
• Goblin's Feast is awesome, with the actors seemingly finding the right rhythm.
• Slaughter is still fun, but lacks the magic the first one had. I'd be shocked if we get any spin-off houses TBH.
• While Demon Queens may not have the sets or props, the actors are really making that zone shine.

 

[saint.piss]

Some musings from my Wednesday night experience:

• It felt like it was busy at times, but also empty. Weird.
• A Quiet Place and Ghostbusters runs seemed like the actors were just going through the motions, with GB missing every Garraka actor. Really rough runs.
• Goblin's Feast is awesome, with the actors seemingly finding the right rhythm.
• Slaughter is still fun, but lacks the magic the first one had. I'd be shocked if we get any spin-off houses TBH.
• While Demon Queens may not have the sets or props, the actors are really making that zone shine.

It's funny, I went Wednesday as well but I never felt it was really ever "empty". It was so busy lol. Almost as bad as a Saturday for me but I still had fun.

 

[Brian G.]

It's funny, I went Wednesday as well but I never felt it was really ever "empty". It was so busy lol. Almost as bad as a Saturday for me but I still had fun.

I guess I should clarify we arrived at 9:45p

 

[TheCodeMan95]

I think everyone can agree at this point that Goblin's Feast is the biggest surprise of the year.

 

[UniversalRBLX]

After a few weeks, I think it's time to give a more proper/final review of the event. From now on, actors start to drop unfortunately so we're at the "height" of the event's quality.

Overall Thoughts: I'm quite disappointed in this year's disjointedness. Not the biggest fan of the punk rock aesthetic, but somehow it felt like they changed their mind after they ordered all the merchandise and switched it to the lackluster/poorly executed Sinister & Surreal idea.

I've been attending since 2013, and this is possibly my least favorite year. Just ok houses that I'll forget about in the long run (excl. Insidious), only 2 really solid zones, a show I've seen before and an aesthetic/theme mess across the event.

Houses

1. Insidious - as mentioned by others, solid scares with all of the actors acting insane. A fan of the movies, and they did a terrific job bringing it to life.
2. Goblin's Feast - great sets and terrific actors, but on the short side. There's a set of goblins in one cast here that absolutely demolish me each run.
3. Ghostbusters Frozen Empire - better than the first, better scenic design with an actual firehouse this time. A surprisingly amount of good scares here.
4. Monstrous - went from the bottom of my list to the top with a few actors here really testing the limit of how close they can get to you.
5. Major Sweets Candy Factory - finally a house that utilizes the F&F space to its advantage. Loved the concept, hope it returns in a sprung tent or soundstage.
6. Universal Monsters Bloodlines - my least favorite of the UM series, but a few actors are doing a terrific job lifting the house status'. Some great sets as well. Good use of this new tent's space.
7. Slaughter Sinema 2 - it was ok, just not a huge fan of multiple themes in one house. Undead Clowns and Mardi Gras murders would be a great future house or zone.
8. A Quiet Place - not a fan of the film, but I did enjoy the house more than I thought. Some scenes were great, but wasn't the biggest fan of the animatronics.
9. Triplets of Terror - love the idea, but the house design places actors far away from the main path, so actors have to walk quite a ways to get to you. Felt like a Halloween house, without Myers.
10. The Museum - my number one most hyped, and unfortunately led to the biggest disappoint for me this year. The walkways are wide and scenic design wasn't the most eye-catching. I'd like for them to revisit the concept a few years down the line and give it a proper attempt.

Overall House Notes: I feel like the houses this year (except Quiet Place/Insidious) were brighter compared to previous years and pathways were made wider, most noticeably in Museum. While not a single house was entirely bad, only one real standout that I'll remember.

Scare Zones

1. Torture Faire - great sets and the actors are killing it.
2. Swamp of the Undead - great sets and the actors are, like always, using the darkness/size of this zone to their advantage.
3. Demon Queens - great actors, but just kind of "there". Not a fan of how it shrunk in size a bit this year.
4. Enter the Blumhouse - photo op zone that has maybe 2-3 scare actors actually roaming the zone and scaring you.

Overall Zone Notes: Two solid HHN zones, paired with a decent zone in Hollywood and a photo op. I refuse to label Duality of Fear as a zone.

Nightmare Fuel - great show, but has become stale. Definitely fits HHN, but a 2nd show offering is desperately needed.

Merchandise - least favorite assortment of merchandise. While theme park pricing is expected to be inflated, way too many items are being marked at outrageous prices. $95+ for a GB jacket?

Food & Beverage - not the biggest fan this year. They've finally solved the issue of slow operations, but the quality this year is not that great. Pizza Fries are still great, but the lack of an house entrance back there has resulted in little to no crowds. Wouldn't be surprised to see this location close or moved elsewhere. (Or add a new menu to increase interest). Only standout was the Ropa Vieja Walking Taco. Everything else is either wayyy overpriced (Fish n' Chips for $17?!) or not repeatable (Ghostbusters Death Chill).

Note: Found out why the blinky cups were recalled ("sold out"). If what I was told is true, I'm surprised Universal hasn't made a public statement.

Other Reviews & Observations

• Wait-time accuracy this year is all over the place this year. I understand why they exaggerate an additional 10-20 minutes, but labeling Insidious as a 75 minute wait and only waiting 30 in the middle of the night is not right. I've done it multiple times now and it's not fair for those who don't know how to judge wait times. Most GP will move on and avoid a house entirely for that. It's not just Insidious, but its been this year's outlier.
• Sick and tired of the lack of preparation each year by Universal when it comes to not providing coverage for TMs from inclement weather or rain in general. Too many TMs are being held outside in the cold rain with no umbrellas/structure to hide in. Being forced to work express scanners or merge without any protection.
• Music is solid this year, even with the lack of a proper identity for this year's event.
• The tribute store this year is well designed, and actually navigable during the event. Very few people are checking out stuff this year. No checkout line going through multiple rooms.
• Parking - has gotten way better compared to the past few years.
• The use of AI in the event - shameful, whether it's the Fanta bars or app related.
• HHN Bar - I like the idea, but there's no real décor. It's time for them to actually theme the bars like SeaWorld does with actual décor versus just a graphic or two. Didn't see much of a crowd here outside the first 2-3 weeks.
• Pre-Mixed drinks, I enjoyed that they brought back handmade drinks, but they still lean on the sugary side. Pricing has also gone ridicously understandably. Basically $20 for a drink this year with tip, bought my blinky cup and that was it.

What I hope Universal takes from this year is that you can't allow corporate to force synergy and then "pass" with the bare minimum. If Universal has a quota to force Blumhouse down our throats each year, can they at least do it tastefully?

 

[Chumpieboy]

After a few weeks, I think it's time to give a more proper/final review of the event. From now on, actors start to drop unfortunately so we're at the "height" of the event's quality.

Overall Thoughts: I'm quite disappointed in this year's disjointedness. Not the biggest fan of the punk rock aesthetic, but somehow it felt like they changed their mind after they ordered all the merchandise and switched it to the lackluster/poorly executed Sinister & Surreal idea.

I've been attending since 2013, and this is possibly my least favorite year. Just ok houses that I'll forget about in the long run (excl. Insidious), only 2 really solid zones, a show I've seen before and an aesthetic/theme mess across the event.

Houses

1. Insidious - as mentioned by others, solid scares with all of the actors acting insane. A fan of the movies, and they did a terrific job bringing it to life.
2. Goblin's Feast - great sets and terrific actors, but on the short side. There's a set of goblins in one cast here that absolutely demolish me each run.
3. Ghostbusters Frozen Empire - better than the first, better scenic design with an actual firehouse this time. A surprisingly amount of good scares here.
4. Monstrous - went from the bottom of my list to the top with a few actors here really testing the limit of how close they can get to you.
5. Major Sweets Candy Factory - finally a house that utilizes the F&F space to its advantage. Loved the concept, hope it returns in a sprung tent or soundstage.
6. Universal Monsters Bloodlines - my least favorite of the UM series, but a few actors are doing a terrific job lifting the house status'. Some great sets as well. Good use of this new tent's space.
7. Slaughter Sinema 2 - it was ok, just not a huge fan of multiple themes in one house. Undead Clowns and Mardi Gras murders would be a great future house or zone.
8. A Quiet Place - not a fan of the film, but I did enjoy the house more than I thought. Some scenes were great, but wasn't the biggest fan of the animatronics.
9. Triplets of Terror - love the idea, but the house design places actors far away from the main path, so actors have to walk quite a ways to get to you. Felt like a Halloween house, without Myers.
10. The Museum - my number one most hyped, and unfortunately led to the biggest disappoint for me this year. The walkways are wide and scenic design wasn't the most eye-catching. I'd like for them to revisit the concept a few years down the line and give it a proper attempt.

Overall House Notes: I feel like the houses this year (except Quiet Place/Insidious) were brighter compared to previous years and pathways were made wider, most noticeably in Museum. While not a single house was entirely bad, only one real standout that I'll remember.

Scare Zones

1. Torture Faire - great sets and the actors are killing it.
2. Swamp of the Undead - great sets and the actors are, like always, using the darkness/size of this zone to their advantage.
3. Demon Queens - great actors, but just kind of "there". Not a fan of how it shrunk in size a bit this year.
4. Enter the Blumhouse - photo op zone that has maybe 2-3 scare actors actually roaming the zone and scaring you.

Overall Zone Notes: Two solid HHN zones, paired with a decent zone in Hollywood and a photo op. I refuse to label Duality of Fear as a zone.

Nightmare Fuel - great show, but has become stale. Definitely fits HHN, but a 2nd show offering is desperately needed.

Merchandise - least favorite assortment of merchandise. While theme park pricing is expected to be inflated, way too many items are being marked at outrageous prices. $95+ for a GB jacket?

Food & Beverage - not the biggest fan this year. They've finally solved the issue of slow operations, but the quality this year is not that great. Pizza Fries are still great, but the lack of an house entrance back there has resulted in little to no crowds. Wouldn't be surprised to see this location close or moved elsewhere. (Or add a new menu to increase interest). Only standout was the Ropa Vieja Walking Taco. Everything else is either wayyy overpriced (Fish n' Chips for $17?!) or not repeatable (Ghostbusters Death Chill).

Note: Found out why the blinky cups were recalled ("sold out"). If what I was told is true, I'm surprised Universal hasn't made a public statement.

Other Reviews & Observations

• Wait-time accuracy this year is all over the place this year. I understand why they exaggerate an additional 10-20 minutes, but labeling Insidious as a 75 minute wait and only waiting 30 in the middle of the night is not right. I've done it multiple times now and it's not fair for those who don't know how to judge wait times. Most GP will move on and avoid a house entirely for that. It's not just Insidious, but its been this year's outlier.
• Sick and tired of the lack of preparation each year by Universal when it comes to not providing coverage for TMs from inclement weather or rain in general. Too many TMs are being held outside in the cold rain with no umbrellas/structure to hide in. Being forced to work express scanners or merge without any protection.
• Music is solid this year, even with the lack of a proper identity for this year's event.
• The tribute store this year is well designed, and actually navigable during the event. Very few people are checking out stuff this year. No checkout line going through multiple rooms.
• Parking - has gotten way better compared to the past few years.
• The use of AI in the event - shameful, whether it's the Fanta bars or app related.
• HHN Bar - I like the idea, but there's no real décor. It's time for them to actually theme the bars like SeaWorld does with actual décor versus just a graphic or two. Didn't see much of a crowd here outside the first 2-3 weeks.
• Pre-Mixed drinks, I enjoyed that they brought back handmade drinks, but they still lean on the sugary side. Pricing has also gone ridicously understandably. Basically $20 for a drink this year with tip, bought my blinky cup and that was it.

What I hope Universal takes from this year is that you can't allow corporate to force synergy and then "pass" with the bare minimum. If Universal has a quota to force Blumhouse down our throats each year, can they at least do it tastefully?

What’s with the blinky cups shortage?

::where’s my eBay password?::

 

[UniversalRBLX]

What’s with the blinky cups shortage?

::where’s my eBay password?::

Not a shortage, a recall.

 

[Captain Spaulding]

Not a shortage, a recall.

I heard it was a copyright thing (something with the artwork?), but just hearsay. When I was there last week they were also out of the Quiet Place Lightbulb souvenir drink cup as well.

 

[Brian G.]

If you want to talk about the Blinky Cups - please take it to the General/News thread.

 

[UNIrd]

Goblin's Feast - great sets and terrific actors, but on the short side.

OFFENSIVE.

Kidding!

Here are my rankings based on my runs this past weekend. Overall another fantastic year with really solid houses:

1. A Quiet Place
2. Slaughter Sinema
3. Insidious
4. Universal Monster Bloodlines
5. Major Sweets Factory
6. Ghostbusters
7. Monstrous
8. Goblin’s Feast
9. Triplets of Terror
10. The Museum: Deadly Exhibits

 

[saint.piss]

Night 6 Rankings

1. Universal Monsters: Eternal Bloodlines 10/10
2. Insidious The Further 10/10
3. Goblins Feast 10/10
4. Major Sweets Candy Factory 10/10
5. Ghostbusters Frozen Empire 9.5/10
6. Slaughter Sinema 2 9/10
7. Triplets of Terror 9/10
8. Monstruos The Monsters of Latin America 8/10
9. A Quiet Place 8/10
10. The Museum: Deadly Exhibits 5/10

 

[rhino4evr]

Hi. Was there last night … which appears to be one of the busiest nights of the year. I had express and got to the park around 5:30, and entered thru the hotel entrance. Was able to casually walk house to house, get some food / drinks , watch the show, and ride some rides by close. Left at 1:30.

Here are my thoughts as someone that only goes once a year, but has been many times .
We went counter-clockwise

House ranking
10. - Museum - first house , and by far the worst: I actually got nervous. Literally no scare actors in the entire maze. That never happened before. I assume this is a fluke
9. - Triplets of terror - felt a bit generic overall , had a few good scares though.
8. - Quiet Place - I’m sure they spent a fortune on this house , but I’m just not as scared of puppets and animatronics as I am actually scare actors
7. Goblin Feast - a bit disappointed here , mainly because I thought the goblins were goofy and not scary looking at all. Not a bad house , just expected a bit more .
6 - Latin America monsters - creepy at parts , and wasn’t sure what to expect which is what made it fun.
5. - major sweets - a silly but pretty gory and gross house . My 14 year old thought this was the best house.
4. - blood lines / this one took me by surprise based on the early reviews. Easily one of the more intense houses of the night, and one of the biggest scares for our party personally . I won’t spoil it.
3. - Ghostbusters - an improvement over the original house: a great house based on a really mediocre movie: makes me want to see the movie again. Loved the references to the original movies ; and some really cool effects in general .
2. Insidious - worth the hype , scariest house by far. Only one where I literally felt uncomfortable .
1 slaughter cinema - I just loved this house , it wasn’t the scariest ; but it was definitely the most fun. It helped that I didn’t spoil myself on the movie themes. The house felt like it was just throwing more and more at you. I hope they do a slaughter cinema 3 in the future .

Other thoughts…
I actually really liked the sinister scare zone: the actors were on point. In fact all the scare zones were great last night. Even the Blum house one. Maybe all the people helped .

The circus show was great , but man the crowd control techniques are just terrible. I feel like this is heading to an eventual disaster. There has to be a better way. Possible this should be a reservation only show .

Best beer of the night was the 3 Daughters Orange IPA , close to Springfield . I was sad when they had run out by the end of the night.

 

[rhino4evr]

Oh and we had a great time at the dead coconut club on Friday night. The DJ was pumping 80s new wave and r&b and the dance floor was full. I also really enjoyed all the drinks I had downstairs. A tip, the drinks upstairs are premixed garbage. Order from
The menu downstairs. I almost left after having the first drink upstairs but was super happy to see a much better cocktail menu downstairs. The night elixir was basically a martini and was delicious.