[Full Disclosure: I was “hosted” at a media event, did not pay the standard $47 online rate to do this—tho I plan to in October, I enjoyed it enough to return]
If you read my review last year, you know I was pretty high on Scream & Stream, one of two drive-thru haunts that debuted in pandemic-struck Orlando in 2020. That said, even though it sold out several nights, I half expected it would fade away once HHN returned in its full glory. To my pleasant surprise, it’s back for a sophomore year, new and improved.
First improvement: location. No longer 6 miles south of the middle of nowhere, it’s taken over the back parking lot of the dying Oviedo Mall. Still a bit of a haul from the tourist district (about 30 minutes from Universal, with a lot of tolls), but far more convenient for UCF and Seminole County. More importantly, there’s stuff to do there—a Regal, a small but serviceable Dave & Busters clone, and Oviedo Brewing Co, a really impressive microbrewery. You can stop at those and make a night out of it, rather than driving out for the haunt and immediately having to drive back.
Second, S&S now tries to eliminate standby. You check in, then are welcome to chill in what’s left of the mall until you get a text to drive to the entrance. Last night was clearly “oversold,” so still ended up waiting a while in the car (20 minutes before we reached the first gate). However it was a technical rehearsal—I assume they can better gauge times to minimize that going forward. Last year I preferred waiting in an air conditioned car over an HHN line, but this has the potential to be even better.
(Another nitpick—could have used better signage. Drove the wrong way around the dark empty mall trying to find the right lot. But I mentioned it and staff said they’ll work on it, so again, hiccups in a technical rehearsal).
Finally, the show is interactive this year. All passengers are issued a Lazer Tag gun and encouraged to shoot the mutant zombie clowns who have taken over the ersatz Blackwater facility. There’s no real way to keep score that we saw, but the actors do react to being shot, and it’s cheesy fun, like being in a living video game.
FTR, I’ve been over zombies since the mid-2010s. Yet zombie clowns mixed with Dogs of War was just different enough to make me forget that. A weird, high-concept mash-up but it worked for me.
Actors were great, really enjoyed scaring and interaction. And there were plenty of them, another mild criticism I had last year. Each of the 21 mini-scenes had at least one, some had three or four. Lots of well-done special effects, as well, including a fog scene that filled my car. The whole drive lasted probably 30 minutes. It’s a satisfying length. Like last year, always felt safe in a real world sense, even in a conga line of cars driving through an obstacle course.
Is it worth it? Well, even more than last year, not for solos. Driving the car is like being the engineer on Smuggler’s Run. Really you need three or four in your car to maximize the fun here. With four people, it becomes a very affordable local haunt, especially given the 30-minute length. I could see tweens and young teens really getting into this, especially if they’re not quite ready for the full on mature content onslaught of HHN or HoS. I know there’s a lot out there for spooky season this year. But this is definitely a unique experience if you’re a Halloween fan, and a great way to support local haunts.