Monsters, Candy Apples, Pumpkins, Vampires, Witches, Haunted Houses, Scares Zones and more. HHN 31 trip.

[Robo56]

I’m going to be honest, I think I might like the Tribute Store most of all

The Tribute Stores are beautiful. I remember attending a questions and answer session in 2018 with some of the Creators and Artists involved with the Houses for HHN and they said as soon as one year ends they immediately start again for the next years houses. Lots of talented people.

The Designers and Artist that create these designs are very gifted.

I’m especially loving the photos, it’s all coming alive (intentional pun ) for me

Thank you, I’am so glad your enjoying the photos and it is coming alive for you….LOL

The UMH Tour is a great tour. I have grown to enjoy more each year I have done it. Yep, Lil Boo is cute.

 

[Robo56]

Some more photos in the Universal store.

They had the Scarecrow Stalk again this year. It has gotten a little more elaborate each year. This year you could buy the map in a package that came with a ornament. Each place on the map had a Halloween Pumpkin vignette like the one below and there were 12 ornaments sold at different stores to collect.






The old hearse in this vignette had been over in the beautiful Halloween Boutique in IOA last year.










I loved the little Skeleton Pumpkin with the mini skeleton pumpkin in its arms.


We found this cute little T-shirt and knew exactly who needed it. My sisters little grandson J.

Again the design reminded me of old nostalgic Halloween and of course it had Lil Boo on it.

 

[Robo56]

This was a cool sign.


We also had a look at some of the goodies as we walked out of the back of the store. They had really cute candy apples.








It was time to head back to the boat. It was already almost 10 pm and I had a Tour to do the next day.

A breeze kicked up later in the evening after the rains and it turned out to be a pleasant night.

Thankfully the water taxi for Protofino was at the dock and we were off back to the resort.

I took a nice bath and put my jammies on and it was time for bed. I was out when my head hit the pillow. My sister reminded me again the next morning how amazed she was that I could fall asleep so quickly…..I’am not sure if that could be considered a talent or not……LOL


to be continued

 

[Worfiedoodles]

This was a cool sign.
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We also had a look at some of the goodies as we walked out of the back of the store. They had really cute candy apples.

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It was time to head back to the boat. It was already almost 10 pm and I had a Tour to do the next day.

It was a bit hot and humid and our feet had had enough.

Thankfully the water taxi for Protofino was at the dock and we were off back to the resort.

I took a nice bath and put my jammies on and it was time for bed. I was out when my head hit the pillow. My sister reminded me again the next morning how amazed she was that I could fall asleep so quickly…..I’am not sure if that could be considered a talent or not……LOL


to be continued

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Oh wow, those candy apples look amazing! Actually, all the treats would be hard to resist -- so why bother?!
I love the advice to pace yourself. I'm long past going all day and all night...

 

[Robo56]

Oh wow, those candy apples look amazing! Actually, all the treats would be hard to resist -- so why bother?!
I love the advice to pace yourself. I'm long past going all day and all night...

Yes, those apples were very enticing looking.

Yep, you just can‘t do a full day in the parks and an enjoyable night of HHN. It is to taxing for sure.

I remember a few years ago it was about 1:30 in the morning after a full night of HHH and my niece and I were waiting for the boat to arrive to the dock to take us back to Portofino. There were youngsters in their 20’s moaning sitting on the dock saying their legs and feet hurt. I probably would have been sitting on the dock moaning to, but at that point I don‘t think I would have been able to get back up again….LOL

 

[Robo56]

Continues Prayers for everyone in Florida



Friday, September 9th


I woke up before the alarm. I’am usually a early riser at home so was not a problem. I give the old bones a good soak in the tub. I brought along a big bottle of the Marshmallow Pumpkin Latte shower gel from Bath and Body works. It is only out in the Fall and it smells glorious. My little sister bought me some a few years ago and I have been a fan every since. It is great for showering and bubble baths.

I then got dressed and out the door I went. I ran into the maid Zelia who would be the one caring for our room the majority of our stay. She was so nice. My sister and I really enjoyed talking to her over the course of our stay. She was wonderful.

I made it in time to catch the water taxi fairly quickly. I stopped at the Starbucks in CityWalk and got my favorite drink of the Halloween season. The pumpkin cream cold brew.

This was the morning of the Unmaskimg The Horror Tour I had booked. The tour was supposed to start at 9:15 am.

I had a nice walk over to the Blue Man Group Theatre. This is were the UMH Tour check in and start is.

There was a sea of humanity coming across the bridge so the parks were going to be busy today.

Interestingly in the past the houses that were being presented on the UMH Tour were never released ahead of time. This year they did release the houses on the 6 house tour and the 3 House tour. I was doing the 6 house tour. I was really looking forward to the Tour. I have been to the UMH Tour for a few year now and I really enjoy it.

What is the Unmasking the Horror Tour? It is a daylight tour of houses Universal has selected for you to view with the lights on.

You have a guide that you will meet at the theatre when you check in. The Tour guide will take your group to all the houses and explain the back story on houses as well as share little tidbits on construction etc.. There were 12 in our group.

This year an added benefit was each person was given a mini pac to clip onto your belt or carry and earbuds that secured to you ear. The guide was able to make sure everyone could hear all he was sharing about the houses. This was a great addition to the tour. These were returned to the guide at the end of the tour.

You are allowed to take photos in some of the rooms of the houses and the guide will let you know what rooms you can take pictures in.

The tour is a wonderful opportunity for you to really see and enjoy all the artistry that went into creating the houses. They really are something to marvel for sure.

You receive a Lanyard as part of the Tour as well as a nice pin for your lanyard.



David who is a legendary Tour Guide at Universal and has been a guide at HHN since its inception was in the Theatre rounding the tables handing out lanyards and pins. I have been on a few of his tours and if you have been on one of his tours you know why he is a legend. He is a wealth of knowledge and he is an all around nice guy.

I wanted to take the time to give some much deserved credit to Mac on the Universal Disboards. She was very instrumental in educating me a few years ago about all things HHN. I owe her a debt of gratitude like so many others on the boards do for her helpful direction. She is the one who told me about the UMH Tours and I went to my first tour with her a few years ago and I have been going every since.

Our Tour guide for the day was Zac. He was awesome and fun. He was very informative about all the houses. He was so kind and helpful.

6 House Tour Houses




The 3 House Tour was

Halloween,
Spirits of The Coven
Fiestade De Chupacabras


Our first house of the day was


This is a Universal original house.

The back story on this house savage monsters are being held in a special prison. They break free from their cells and everyone dies. They first turn on the guards then on each other.

This sign shows the different languages spoken by the creatures.


What is interesting is this house was according to the guide thrown together in less then a week. There had been an IP there and do to some things that did not work out. They needed an alternative house. I have to say for a house that was pulled together in less than a week it was impressive.





Nice to know the creature got it too in this scene.

 

[Robo56]

Looks like one of the creatures from the Depths of Fear House from HHN 29.


All the intricate details that go into creating the story that is the house are incredible. Like one of the prison guards photos of his dog on the wall











There were also spiders planted in various places in the houses for you to find. Last year it was butterflies.

 

[Robo56]

I thought this was pretty cool. It was a schematic of the prison










to be continued

 

[Robo56]

Continued from Friday, September 9th








This is a device the scare actors can step on that triggers some part of their particular scare area of the house. These can trigger, sound, air, water etc..









This was one of houses where you could definitely see plenty of carnage and gore.

 

[Robo56]

Now on to what was becoming one of my favorite houses.

“Dead Man’s Pier: Winter’s Wake“ a Universal original house.

You did feel as though you were being transported to a New England fishing town.




















Inside the Captain’s Widow

 

[Robo56]

The Scare Actor that played the barman in the bar was fantastic.

 

[Robo56]

This did look like an old New England Boathouse.



















The guide shared with us that this boat was actually supposed to be floating in water, but there was a leak that showed up close to opening and they had to show it without the water.

 

[Robo56]

Notice the name on the boat hanging in the Boathouse. “The Orca” which was the name of Captain Quint‘s boat in the movie “Jaw’s”













On the tip of the bow of the boat is were the light shines on the woman playing the violin singing her Erie song to bring her lost love up from the sea. When you entered this section of the house it was cold and there was a mist blowing as if you were out at sea.


As you entered the ship through the door above there were port holes (round windows on boats) that had water in them making you feel as though the boat was partially submerged with water flowing by.



The amount of detail in this house was mind boggling. The fake water looked so real. The boat appeared to be wrecked and dusted with snow and ice.

Many years ago when I started going to haunted houses it was to be scared of course by frightening creatures and unexpected things at every turn. There was always gore and chain saws ect…

Universal changed the way I looked at Haunted Houses. Not only do they do a wonderful job of bringing IP Houses to life, but their creativeness in bringing life to their own original houses Is off the charts.

Universal has created a following of haunted house connoisseur’s. I again will liken it to a great wine. If you tasted the best you will not want to settle for a lesser quality tasting wine. They have set the bar high in their past creations and every house they do in the future is going to be measured on those past creations.

That being said there is a house for every palate.

That doesn’t mean my take on a specific house makes it the best or anyone else’s opinion on a house makes a house the best or worst it just means that some houses speak more to them then it does to someone else.

A house should evoke the senses. I think Universals creative team did a wonderful job of that in this house. This house looked like a New England fishing town with it’s old wooden structures and Boathouse. The wrecked and sinking boat with water flowing past the portholes. The lady on the bow of the boat playing her violin and singing her song was incredible. The misty cool spray did remind me of the Ocean on a blustery wet winter’s night.

This house did have some good scares, but it was the artistry of this house that was for me a stand out.

Zac our guide also helped to bring this house to life for us. He was awesome.



To be continued

 

[Worfiedoodles]

I love to hear you discuss the artistry! I think it’s amazing with the level of creativity and detail. HHN is really next level.

Love all the photos. Fake water is not easy to do well!

 

[Robo56]

I love to hear you discuss the artistry! I think it’s amazing with the level of creativity and detail. HHN is really next level.

Yes, Universal does have very talented artists behind those incredible houses.

I’am always amazed at what they think up for the houses each year.

Love all the photos. Fake water is not easy to do well!

Thank you. I’am so glad you are enjoying the photos.

 

[Robo56]

Continued from Friday, September 9th

It was 11:15 am and the tour guide said it was time to break for lunch. I had wondered how lunch would be handled this year on the 6 house tour.

Last year for the first time since I started doing the UMH tour we were given an option of choosing from some items at Monster's Cafe ahead of time. Then when we arrived at Monster‘s Cafe for lunch we just went up and picked up our order and paid for it. It was the best venue ever for lunch and very fitting.

In years past we returned to Blue Man Group theatre and were given an hour to go get food in CityWalk. Which would be cutting it close getting back in time. Another time we pre-ordered a pretzel or hotdog at BMG.

Of course Monster‘s Cafe was not an option this year as it is under construction being turned into something else.

I hope they use the photos and props in someway over in Epic Universe Monster’s Land. I always enjoyed coming in and looking around.

Some photos of Monster’s Cafe from last year.


My avatar







I always thought hanging the Dracula chair upside down from the ceiling was clever of whoever thought of it.


So we went back to BMG and went our separate ways to go and find lunch and get back.

I went to The Today Cafe. It was close and I was hoping it would not be busy and it wasn’t bad.

I have had desserts there before, but had never tried a sandwich. I ordered the 30 Rock Midtowner Platter. It was a grilled sandwich with shaved turkey, smoked gouda, tomato aioli on cranberry artesian bread. It came with a small serving of potato salad.

The sandwich tasted like a turkey sandwich with pimento cheese. It wasn’t bad, but it was one of those flavor combinations enjoyed in small amounts.
The sandwich was big enough for two people to share. The potato salad was dry and it had tarragon in it. I’am not a fan of tarragon so one taste of it was enough.



Half of the sandwich was filling, but I also bought the fruit tart and it was filled with blueberries, pineapple, blackberries, kiwi and strawberries and it was delicious.



The desserts looked beautiful and it seemed like a lot of the folks around me were enjoying the baked goods instead of the sandwiches.

Some pics of the food case.







After lunch I scurried back to BMG theatre and had a bathroom break to put my hair up in a ponytail. The sun was out in full force and it was humid.

Our Tour group was back together and off we went to the back of the park for our last 4 houses.


To be continued

 

[wdwrule]

Oh how I miss Monster’s Cafe! Awesome pics! We are big fans of Today Cafe, especially for their desserts and breakfast sandwiches. When the weather is nice, it’s also enjoyable to sit at their outside tables and people watch while eating/drinking.

I don’t always go for the fruity desserts but that tart looks divine.

 

[Worfiedoodles]

Continued from Friday, September 9th

It was 11:15 am and the tour guide said it was time to break for lunch. I had wondered how lunch would be handled this year on the 6 house tour.

Last year for the first time since I started doing the UMH tour we were given an option of choosing from some items at Monster's Cafe ahead of time. Then when we arrived at Monster‘s Cafe for lunch we just went up and picked up our order and paid for it. It was the best venue ever for lunch and very fitting.

In years past we returned to Blue Man Group theatre and were given an hour to go get food in CityWalk. Which would be cutting it close getting back in time. Another time we pre-ordered a pretzel or hotdog at BMG.

Of course Monster‘s Cafe was not an option this year as it is under construction being turned into something else.

I hope they use the photos and props in someway over in Epic Universe Monster’s Land. I always enjoyed coming in and looking around.

Some photos of Monster’s Cafe from last year.
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My avatar
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I always thought hanging the Dracula chair upside down from the ceiling was clever of whoever thought of it.
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So we went back to BMG and went our separate ways to go and find lunch and get back.

I went to The Today Cafe. It was close and I was hoping it would not be busy and it wasn’t bad.

I have had desserts there before, but had never tried a sandwich. I ordered the 30 Rock Midtowner Platter. It was a grilled sandwich with shaved turkey, smoked gouda, tomato aioli on cranberry artesian bread. It came with a small serving of potato salad.

The sandwich tasted like a turkey sandwich with pimento cheese. It wasn’t bad, but it was one of those flavor combinations enjoyed in small amounts.
The sandwich was big enough for two people to share. The potato salad was dry and it had tarragon in it. I’am not a fan of tarragon so one taste of it was enough.

View attachment 707887

Half of the sandwich was filling, but I also bought the fruit tart and it was filled with blueberries, pineapple, blackberries, kiwi and strawberries and it was delicious.

View attachment 707897

The desserts looked beautiful and it seemed like a lot of the folks around me were enjoying the baked goods instead of the sandwiches.

Some pics of the food case.

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After lunch I scurried back to BMG theatre and had a bathroom break to put my hair up in a ponytail. The sun was out in full force and it was humid.

Our Tour group was back together and off we went to the back of the park for our last 4 houses.


To be continued

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Today Cafe looks delicious! I've had breakfast there but not lunch, and it seems like an excellent choice. What a shame they don't organize something so you can order ahead and be seated. That seems like a missed opportunity. I can't wait to see what they do with the classic Monsters in Epic Universe!

 

[Robo56]

Oh how I miss Monster’s Cafe! Awesome pics! We are big fans of Today Cafe, especially for their desserts and breakfast sandwiches. When the weather is nice, it’s also enjoyable to sit at their outside tables and people watch while eating/drinking.

Thank you, yes the Monster’s Cafe will be missed. I did like walking through It.

I have sampled a few of the Today Cafe desserts and they are as good as they look.

I will have to try one of the breakfast sandwiches on my next trip.

I don’t always go for the fruity desserts but that tart looks divine.

It was very good. Not overly sweet.

Today Cafe looks delicious! I've had breakfast there but not lunch, and it seems like an excellent choice. What a shame they don't organize something so you can order ahead and be seated. That seems like a missed opportunity. I can't wait to see what they do with the classic Monsters in Epic Universe!

The Today Cafe is a nice option for quick lunch or snack. I will have to try some of their breakfast options next time.

I think Universal needs to come up with a plan for the 6 House UMH Tour lunch. Having a pre-order meal option at one of the Restaurants in the Park would be ideal. It worked really good last year at Monster’s Cafe.

Your right it will be fun to see what they come up with at Epic Universe for the Monster’s land there.

I’am a big Universal Monster’s fan.

 

[Robo56]

Continued Form Frida, September 9th

Our group was back together and we were off to the back of park for our remaining houses.

We walked past Optimus Prime as he was doing a meet and greet. My grandson educated me on the good and bad Transformers a few years ago. I remembered Optimus Prime was a good one.




Who doesn’t love walking past a fish on roller skates.


Sponge Bob characters were out.

Then through the Scarecrow: Cursed Soil Scare Zone











I began to appreciate this Scare Zone the more I walked though it as they had really packed a lot in a small space and the story really comes alive at night during HHN.