Howl-O-Scream 2018

[Octobers Fade]

So depressing to HOS, keep slipping a little more every year.

Insomnia: Some pretty cool features, one of the most brightly lit houses you will find.
Slaughter House: Simon says this house was a little lackluster and the Basement wasa lot better at it

Fright Feast: The menu is average you get four choices of a dinner plate and some basic desserts, another step down from past years. The show is a just Fiends dance number to classic rock hits, just to have some kind of dinner show and lasts about 15 minutes.

Opening weekend and it showed, Waited 20 minutes for Insomnia to open as they said they were waiting for the Fire Marshall to walk it. Appeared like a lot of understaffing as it took forever to do anything, especially rides.

 

[Octobers Fade]

Oh.... And no Pumpkin Cheesecake which was the true crime against humanity!!!

 

[Brian G.]

Went twice over the weekend. Here are the rankings:

1. Motel Hell
2. Death Water Bayou
3. Insomnia
4. Unearthed
5. Simon’s Slaughterhouse
6. Black Spot

Our final run of DWB was fantastic though.

Some thoughts:

Simon's was OK on Friday, but very mediocre on Saturday. The whole "separation" gimmick at the entrance is silly. However, I love the Meat Market. There is one guy who just cranks it up to 11 and goes all out. He needs a medal. I don't know if this needed the "Only for 17+" tag line, but it was pretty gory.

They love that poop smell. 5 out of the 6 houses featured it.

Some of the zones were tooooo dark. It needs lighting, specifically in the Deadly Toys zone. The Dia de los Muertos was probably the weakest zone though. Not scary, not atmospheric.

Insomnia has some highs, which shows they have the ideas and talent, just not the budget. Sorta telling that 2 of their oldest houses still are considered top 2 by a lot.

Fiends is terrible. Jokes went for lowest hanging fruit. If you’re gonna tell the shock jokes, be funnier than that. Some of the segments were laughable, including Vlad dancing with his "light up thumbs".

 

[MakoMania]

I just watched a video of 2018 Fiends on Youtube and I don't know what people are complaining about. I watch it every year and this year looked very similar to previous years, fantastic as always. The audience really got into it as well.

 

[Brian G.]

I just watched a video of 2018 Fiends on Youtube and I don't know what people are complaining about. I watch it every year and this year looked very similar to previous years, fantastic as always. The audience really got into it as well.

and people watch Michael Bay movies. Crazy world we live in.

 

[MakoMania]

Good in depth review of this year's event

 

[shiekra38]

Good in depth review of this year's event

I don't agree with the "strongest house line up ever" line...This year feels like the HHN22 or HOS

 

[Lucky Planet]

Good in depth review of this year's event

that was a really great video, but where are those 25 dollar tickets he was talking about? ive never heard of such thing

I really liked HOS last year, it was really nice, i might go back this year if i can find those 25 dollar tickets lol

 

[Brian G.]

that was a really great video, but where are those 25 dollar tickets he was talking about? ive never heard of such thing

I really liked HOS last year, it was really nice, i might go back this year if i can find those 25 dollar tickets lol

It was a special sale they offered when tickets became first available around July-ish.

 

[Tobias]

Good in depth review of this year's event

It's a nice video, but I too have to disagree with the "Strongest House Line Up". I know it's one's opinion, but there's far too much going against that for it to hold weight.

- The Black Spot, which has been terrible from year one. It doesn't help it replaced DeadFall which was solid each year, but shockingly was replaced by this dud early in it's lifespan.

- Unearthed, which hasn't been on fire like it's first year...and there's a good amount of people who aren't fond of the changes this year.

- Simon's Slaughterhouse, which is a whiff in more ways then one. Not just the house itself, but also the stigmata of the "17+ recommended" warning which everyone is still trying to figure out why it has that.

An that's half of the houses, unless your event has been consistently not very good, you can't have the Strongest House Lineup with half the houses being duds. This isn't even getting into the fact that people who've enjoyed the event for years are admitting the event has been slipping, and they haven't made any truly awesome houses since DWB and Motel Hell. (Which is a factor on both of those houses still being the best the past several years.)

 

[Lucky Planet]

It's a nice video, but I too have to disagree with the "Strongest House Line Up". I know it's one's opinion, but there's far too much going against that for it to hold weight.

- The Black Spot, which has been terrible from year one. It doesn't help it replaced DeadFall which was solid each year, but shockingly was replaced by this dud early in it's lifespan.

- Unearthed, which hasn't been on fire like it's first year...and there's a good amount of people who aren't fond of the changes this year.

- Simon's Slaughterhouse, which is a whiff in more ways then one. Not just the house itself, but also the stigmata of the "17+ recommended" warning which everyone is still trying to figure out why it has that.

An that's half of the houses, unless your event has been consistently not very good, you can't have the Strongest House Lineup with half the houses being duds. This isn't even getting into the fact that people who've enjoyed the event for years are admitting the event has been slipping, and they haven't made any truly awesome houses since DWB and Motel Hell. (Which is a factor on both of those houses still being the best the past several years.)

Do u recommend skipping it this year?
Is in not worth it to go from orlando?

 

[ProColor]

It's a nice video, but I too have to disagree with the "Strongest House Line Up". I know it's one's opinion, but there's far too much going against that for it to hold weight.

- The Black Spot, which has been terrible from year one. It doesn't help it replaced DeadFall which was solid each year, but shockingly was replaced by this dud early in it's lifespan.

- Unearthed, which hasn't been on fire like it's first year...and there's a good amount of people who aren't fond of the changes this year.

- Simon's Slaughterhouse, which is a whiff in more ways then one. Not just the house itself, but also the stigmata of the "17+ recommended" warning which everyone is still trying to figure out why it has that.

An that's half of the houses, unless your event has been consistently not very good, you can't have the Strongest House Lineup with half the houses being duds. This isn't even getting into the fact that people who've enjoyed the event for years are admitting the event has been slipping, and they haven't made any truly awesome houses since DWB and Motel Hell. (Which is a factor on both of those houses still being the best the past several years.)

Agreed on all counts. I've only been going since 2016, and even I've seen a drop in quality, looking at it from a somewhat newbie perspective....

-2016 had a triple threat of what I thought were great houses. Motel Hell was brand new, DWB was there of course, and Zombie Morturary (a house i loved and remember even though I went through it only once) had it's last year. Though insomnia is good, I don't think they've found a good replacement for Morturary yet.
-Circus of Superstition, even though it was cliched, was still relatively well done and I think it was better than either house in that spot the last two years.
-Unearthed was still solid even though it apparently lost some of its luster from its first year.

Idk, when I went in 2016 I though Howl o Scream was a solid alternate that could compete with HHN on a certain level. 2017 knocked that opinion down a lot (Undead Arena was awful imho), and, though I still like Insomnia, HOS has really just become the event that I can go to between HHN and the local haunts. And that's really a shame.

 

[sonoma15]

I'm just angry they removed Demented Dimensions after only one year. That side of the park now feels empty except for the scarezone with barerly any actors in it.

 

[shiekra38]

Guess they shouldn't have fired their creative director who was responsible for building the events identity from the beginning

 

[Octobers Fade]

Guess they shouldn't have fired their creative director who was responsible for building the events identity from the beginning

Yep, it's been downhill since then.

 

[Legacy]

I’ll do it.

 

[shiekra38]

I’ll do it.

Haha, I'd love to be on the team...Even with the limited budget

 

[Octobers Fade]

I'm just angry they removed Demented Dimensions after only one year. That side of the park now feels empty except for the scarezone with barerly any actors in it.

That's where the Rudolph meet and greet is so, most likely, it's another cut that benefits Xmas Town. That is also the reason there isn't a haunt inbetween Jambo and Animal Care anymore.

 

[BrenRays]

I thought the projections at the front of the part were a nice touch this year. I hate to say this but I feel like they need to go back to having a theme. I used to dislike the mascots or the theme of the year because sometimes they’d fall flat, and hard. But this year I think really could have used something to tie it together.

 

[shiekra38]

I thought the projections at the front of the part were a nice touch this year. I hate to say this but I feel like they need to go back to having a theme. I used to dislike the mascots or the theme of the year because sometimes they’d fall flat, and hard. But this year I think really could have used something to tie it together.

I think the event definitely has a tone problem...Just look at all the new houses and you'll feel it...Also, the choice to blast Skrillex throughout the park is a very odd one

It used to feel like the park had morphed into something terrifying when HOS opened
Now it feels like Summer Nights, but with Zombies

Again, I've been going to HOS since 2000...I see some scary things in its future, not the good kind