Halloween Horror Nights

[AceAdventureBecca]

Just went last night, had a great time! Here's my advice: Event opened at 6:30, we got there right after 6 and they were letting people in. When we went in we headed left and went PAST the first haunted house. (everyone stops there) Then we hit them all in order and came back around to the first one which was no longer crowded. We did not wait more than 5 minutes for a house and we road the Mummy ride twice in a row with no wait. Around 9 o'clock we noticed it got packed, most houses had over an hour wait but we already done them. Body Collectors was the best house. Blood Ruins was the worst.
Also just to mention, they had drinks called Bloody Berry...fruity & sweet and tasted like regular fruit punch with no alcohol. Universal scams people with these drink. $9 with cup then $6 refills. I got one, tipped the guy well...took one drink and asked him if I coud get something else. I offered to pay more money also. He puts his hands on his hips and gets sarcastic with me, and let's me know (as if he's my father) what a waste it is to pour it out and how it costs them money. Poor Universal! A whole 50 cents in juice. As expensive as the event is and then paying so much for drinks, food...etc. Give me a break...jerk!!!
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[Metro West]

That's too bad you had that experience. I hope it didn't ruin the overall festive atmosphere for you. I don't buy those WAY overpriced drinks but I will get one of the glow cups this year again...those were cool.

 

[phamton]

As expensive as the event is and then paying so much for drinks, food...etc. Give me a break.

Funny, I never knew that Universal forced anyone to buy drinks or food.

 

[AceAdventureBecca]

That's too bad you had that experience. I hope it didn't ruin the overall festive atmosphere for you. I don't buy those WAY overpriced drinks but I will get one of the glow cups this year again...those were cool.

I let it get to me a little but then realized it was not worth it, he will always be a jerk! Anyways, they have new cups this year. Don't Panic! lol I really liked them. They are clear, tall cups which help with not being stopped at every house to make sure your cup is empty. The bottom has several different colored lights that flash and there is a button to turn it off/on. That way you don't have the effect for a few hours and then it's done, they should keep working for a long time. Hope you have fun this year, Happy Halloween!!!

 

[JoAnnPan]

I am a little confused; you mentioned going on the Mummy twice; isn't HHN only in IOA this year?

 

[the Dark Marauder]

She went on a peak night (Friday/Saturday). On peak nights, ROTM, Shrek, Jimmy Neutron, and Twister are open in USF.

I thought Body Collectors was good, but Where Evil Hides and Demon Cantina were better.

 

[JoAnnPan]

thank you for clearing that up for me!

 

[AceAdventureBecca]

Funny, I never knew that Universal forced anyone to buy drinks or food.

Well considering it is almost an eight hour event in which you are not allowed to bring your own I think it would be quite hard in the heat to go without a drink...wether it be with alcohol or not. I just simply wanted what I paid for, a drink with alcohol...not juice. Oh and forced? Hmmm not sure I implied anything like that.

 

[AceBucsFan]

Funny, I never knew that Universal forced anyone to buy drinks or food.

Sounds to me like she was commenting on how one Universal employee treated her after a simple request. And yes Universal does not force anyone to buy anything ....BUT when they charge the prices they charge (or any theme park, movie theatre, etc) you expect exceptional service or AT LEAST some common courtesy.

Just my 2 cents.

 

[AceBucsFan]

She went on a peak night (Friday/Saturday). On peak nights, ROTM, Shrek, Jimmy Neutron, and Twister are open in USF.

I thought Body Collectors was good, but Where Evil Hides and Demon Cantina were better.

By the way, went there recently as well. Body Collectors and Demon Cantina were my favorites. The Skool and Evil Hides were good ones as well. Blood Ruins (sp?) was the worst ..kinda boring with no real theme to it.

 

[momof3disneyholics]

You can also buy drinks for a much cheaper price without the collector cup.

 

['Canes Fan]

outside the gates last night..

 

[lovetheparks]

We were there Sat night and it sounds like some of the houses are hit and miss. I was pretty disappointed this year (but love HHN in general and will, of course, go back) I loved the whole area of Demon Cantina , that was by far the best scare zone/ambiance in the park and while the house rocked in it's theme-ing there were very little scares, I was sorry we hadn't saved it for later in the night (we went after the first Bill & Teds). Where Evil hides was also very disappointing after hearing so many good things.

Anyway - our strategy worked great and we had very little crowds until the end when we hit the JP area. We started at Bill & Teds, went back to Demon Cantina and then went the opposite way of the crowds and went to Universal side via Seuss Landing. With express we never hit a wait at all until the last 2 houses - body collectors and terror mines.

 

[phamton]

I've never bought an expensive drink at Universal. I bring my refillable cup and get cokes for $1.25. All themeparks charge more for food and drinks than a local bar or Burger King. I don't believe Universal is unique in that aspect. That is the nature of the beast.


It's simliar to when you go to the movies. You expect to pay higher prices for popcorn and drinks because they have a "captive audience." Themparks are the same. They make money on concessions.

Some people like the fruit drinks or they wouldn't sell them. I read on the DisBoard about how great Dole whips are and couldn't wait to buy one. I thought it was nasty tasting and a waste of money. Obviously, I am in the minority.

 

[Slacking]

I love Dole Whips, lol!

If I don't want to pay for drinks while at a theme park, I jsut find one of the many water fountains. May not be the greatest drink, but its free!

I went to HHN last night (Sun.) Overall, I am a bit disappointed in the hosues this year. Most of them just don't have enough scares (WHE, Blood Ruins, CBT), aren't memorable, or a gimmicky and only favor certain people (Terror Mines i'm looking at you)

I don't want to turn this into a HHN vs. HOS argument, but I think HOS is gaining momentum while HHN is stalling a bit (in terms of scares and houses, not crowds, HHN was packed last night)

 

[momof3disneyholics]

Interesting post, Slacking. I was just thinking today that I enjoyed HHN more last year than this year. Some of the houses were just down right annoying to me. I liked the scare zones alot, but the games/party area that is where the corn field was last year is really not that good. I liked the corn field much better. That whole game area just didn't go with the theme of HHN; unless you realize how much money you can waste on those games. Now, that's scary!

 

[hardrockinclub7]

I don't want to turn this into a HHN vs. HOS argument, but I think HOS is gaining momentum while HHN is stalling a bit (in terms of scares and houses, not crowds, HHN was packed last night)

I'm sorry... I'm a whole newbie to this kinda stuff... I know that HHn stands for halloween horror nights... but what does HOH stand for? once again... I'm sorry to be an inconveince... I just dont know what it means.

 

[Slacking]

HOS = Howl-O-Scream. It is Busch Gardens' (Tampa) haunt event.

 

[F-L-A]

Well considering it is almost an eight hour event in which you are not allowed to bring your own I think it would be quite hard in the heat to go without a drink...

Not true. They just don't allow you to bring in alcoholic drinks.

I don't want to turn this into a HHN vs. HOS argument

So why are you even bringing up HOS in a HHN topic? Just because you work there? Cheap plug...

 

[Slacking]

Maybe it wasn't the most appropriate thread for that comment, but it seems to me that HHN is offering a disappointing experience this year for some(and I am saying this as unbiased as I can, I haven't even seen 5 of the houses at HOS, so for all I know they really could be crap), and want to throw out that there are other options for haunt events that aren't quite as crowded but just as well done in Central Florida.