HHN Spoiler free review Round 2

S0 tonight I will finish up my spoiler free review of HHN 29 with a review of the zones, shows, food and merchandise. I have thoroughly enjoyed this season and love the creativity and 80’s vibe and all of the fun that it has to offer. Lets start with scare zones though before we get into anything else. We will start in the front and go around.

In the front you are greeted by the neon glow of Anarchade. In this zone you walk by a bunch of arcade cabinets and its game over if the scareactors get you. I personally like this zone but at night when the colors pop the best. It is totally fun and gives the 80’s right at the front.

The next zone will take you into the glitz and glamour of Hollywood’s plastic surgery side in Vanity Ball. This zone has scareactors walking down a runway after having their work done and also has people having operations performed on them. Overall it is interesting and fun if you catch the shows.

The next has you entering into a group of zombie vikings and they do not want you interrupting their rituals. In Vikings Undead, you can see them attack their victims and performing a very famous ritual that is fun to watch. Overall it is a cool take on that area of the park so I enjoy it.

Next up you get to check out Rob Zombie’s Hellbilly Deluxe. It is based off the album and has all sorts of fun photo ops and creepy people ready to jump out at you while you are rocking out and getting some fun photos. This is cool to have in the back area of the park and its mood definitely works with the area.

Last but not least is Zombieland which is in promotion for Zombieland 2: Double Tap. It has scenes from the first and second movie. There is also a fun cameo from a certain actor in the first movie that ties in to one of this years houses as well. It is fun when the Zombie kill of the week is happening, and hopefully the zombies get their groove throughout the season.

For the merchandise, you have all sorts of cool things from cups to lanyards to little pop vinyy Killer Klownz. If you go into the HHN tribute store, you can see some cool things that tie into the IP’s this year and even some tributes to HHN past. Overall, I love the merchandise this year and will be buying a lot of things.

The food is very similar to last year except for a few new additions. We have Pizza Fries, but now we also have Smores Fries which uses sweet potato fries. They seem to be a big hit among most people and of course, we have twisted taters again. We also have the Starcourt Mall from Stranger Things to fill you up with unique foods to snack on.

Check out all of the food and merchandise on halloweeenhorrornights.com/orlando for further looks and details at the merchandise and food.

Overall, we have another strong season of HHN so make sure not to miss it! Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoyed it. Until next time, see you in the fog!

The Killer Klowns have returned!

This afternoon, Universal Studios told everyone the seventh house in it’s lineup for Halloween Horror Nights. They announced that Killer Klowns from Outer Space will be back after the popularity of the scare zone. While most people were expecting this to be a house this year, people are excited and I believe it will be entertaining.

In the announcement, it states that we will be getting some new experiences with the Klowns including baby Klowns, Boco, and Klownzilla. We will also get scenery like the Klowns’ circus-tent spaceship and the cotton candy cocoon storage room where they keep the bodies. They also stated we will have scents and smells too like cotton candy, stale buttered popcorn and ice cream, so it will be a treat for all senses!

After finally getting the announcement, I couldn’t be more excited. I liked the scare zone last year and felt that it would be an even stronger house if they ever did it. I think that the concept of scarezones turning into houses the next year is a fun concept that I hope they continue to do. The event will be going from September 6th-November 2nd, so make sure to check out the event and go see the Klowns!

Thanks for reading and make sure to comment below with your thoughts and opinions on this house announcement! Until next time, see you at the parks!

HHN29 Announcement…who you gonna call?!?!

Today Halloween Horror Nights Orlando announced the sixth house in their lineup for this year. Grab your proton packs, because Ghostbusters has finally been announced! This has been a rumor for a while this year, so it is exciting to see it finally official. In this house we will follow Peter, Ray, Egon and Wiston in the streets of New York after the rip between worlds has opened. You will watch them fighting specters, spirits and other ectoplasm-covered creatures of all shapes and sizes. They also confirmed that we will see Slimer, Gozer the Gozerian and even the Stay-Puft Marshmallow Man!

Many people are questioning whether this falls under the category of “horror,” or “comedy,” but with the 35th anniversary this year and Universal having strong ties to the franchise, it makes sense and I look forward to it. Plus with Stranger Things having a house this year, it will cool to see them together. In season 2 of Stranger Things the boys dress up as the Ghostbusters crew for Halloween so it will tie the eighties theme in a neat little bow. Plus, if they utilize the different creatures from the franchise right it will have a creepy factor while you are walking the streets of New York.

This event starts September 6th and ends November 2nd. Make sure to get your tickets while they are available. We now have four more houses to go, so stay tuned as they are announced!

Thanks for reading and feel free to comment below with your opinions! Also, stay tuned for another article this week for more updates about the other parks.

Until next time, see you at the parks!

Happy Anniversary Diagon Alley!

This week we have a lot to celebrate! Universal Studios Florida replaced Jaws and Amity Island with a new land five years ago that was themed to one of the most magical places on earth…and it includes one of the safest places as well. Lets take a trip down memory lane of the second phase of the Wizarding World of Harry Potter: Diagon Alley!

Diagon Alley opened July 8th, 2014 and became the second phase of the Wizarding Word of Harry Potter at Universal Studios Florida. This land has shops, food, shows and pretty incredible rides. Plus, with the addition to interactive wands, it was and still is one of the most advanced lands in the theme park industry. It has even gone through some changes over the years, but it is truly fun to venture in and experience it all.

For dining, you have the Leaky Cauldron which has many british-inspired meals like “Bangers and Mash” and “Shepherds Pie.” They have some deserts there, but if you are looking for a special treat, there is always Florean Fortescues Ice Cream Parlour or The Fountain of Fair Fortune for your drinks, beer and butterbeer alike. You also have a few other spots and carts to get drinks like “Gilly Water” and butterbeer too.

You also have many shops you can get all the Wizarding World gear to get ready for school. There is an Ollivander’s wand shop where “the wand chooses the wizard,” and there is a part where someone is chosen to pick their wand in front of a group which everyone gets excited to be picked. You can even take the wands and do spells all throughout the land and a map shows you where you can perform them.

You can also get your robes and many character outfits at Madame Malkin’s Robes for All and at Quality Quidditch Supplies. They even have Weasley’s Wizard Wheezes where you can get all of your gags and you can get your school pet at Magical Menagerie. If you are feeling bold and into the dark arts though, take a tour down Knockturn Alley and check out Borgin and Burkes. Of course though, you will need money for all of this so do no forget to see the goblins at the Gringotts Money Exchange where you can talk to a teller and receive your wizarding bank notes.

Lets not forget the shows that are put on in the courtyard like the amazing Celestina Warbeck and two puppet shows based on stories from within the book “Tales of Beetle the Bard” called “The Fountain of Fair Fortune” and “The Tale of Three Brothers.” They even have an interactive show with the Knight Bus located on the London waterfront that hides Diagon Alley from muggles. Overall, if you need something to relax these shows can help and give you a moment to check out the scenery while getting an experience.

The ride “Escape from Gringotts,” is the main attraction of the land and it truly is a fun dark ride/coaster. You basically enter the vaults of the goblin-run vaults with Bill Weasley and things go wrong when Bellatrix sees you and thinks you entered her vault. Harry and his gang are there at the same time and Voldemort ends up showing up alongside Bellatrix and they try to kill you for answers about why muggles are at Gringotts. At the end, Harry and his crew save you and fly you out on a dragon and all is well. While this is not my favorite ride of the park, I do love it and enjoy the effects every time. There is even a dragon on top of the ride that goes off every few minutes and scares unsuspecting guests and delights others that know its coming.

They also built the Hogwarts express at this time that helps you get back and forth between the two parks (provided you have a two-park ticket). You have situations arise throughout the ride like dementors, the knight bus, the flying car and many more. Both rides have a different story going to and from London or to and from Hogwarts. Truly find this to be cute and a nice way to relax instead of having to walk all the way to the other park.

Overall, as a Harry Potter fan I love going in and feeling the magic. To this day, I still get chills when I first walk in and see the dragon and the Weasley’s bright orange building. I think that this is just one of the steps in the direction that helps make theme parks better by having so much interaction and options and not just attractions. Here’s to another five years for Diagon Alley and many more!

Thanks for reading my article and I hope you enjoyed. Please feel free to comment and follow my posts as I write weekly. Until next time, see you at the parks!

Hagrid’s Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure full review

Yesterday, I had the opportunity to get in line with my cousin and try to ride “Hagrid’s,” for the first time. After four and a half hours in the sun, another hour and a half inside the ride queue and becoming part of the nice family in front of us who was in town from Ireland, we made it! I have to say that while I would not wait six hours again, the ride was amazing,

First off, I would like to say that Universal has an operating system for waiting that may need some fine tuning and better shade but overall works in this situation. They are not opening the ride until the afternoon after they test it a few times and each day that opening time varies. In order to accommodate people who want to wait and be in line for the moment it opens, they have a roped off section over by Poseidon’s Fury and behind the talking water fountain.

They had water coolers set up and passed out water and they had a food cart with snacks so everyone could stay hydrated and fed. Now yesterday they estimated two o’ clock, so after four rolled around, they gave everyone in line a fast pass for the inconvenience. I cannot speak to this being a regular thing, but it was nice of them to acknowledge those of us that waited. They basically kept us there until it was open, then they moved some barriers around and closed off a section while we walked over. Once you put your stuff in the lockers that are for the ride, you get in the queue and that is where the ride truly begins.

We walked up the long path up to the queue entrance that was full of homage to the dueling dragons coaster and showed Hagrid’s creature collection all throughout the halls. While we did not get to see the pre-show for the ride with Arthur and Hagrid, we did see Fang the dog walking around on the screen. We also were stuck in a room with all sort of eggs from different dragons and different pictures and creatures all across the wall. Then we walked through the halls and got to the pre loading dock area that had all sorts of effects going on too. Personally, the queue is fun in certain spots but bland in others. Once the ride has the kinks worked out and the pre-show is consistant it will be better. Not to say that is bad though, plus it leads to a great ride with a fun story.

So once you board and are either on the motorbike or sidecar (I was on the Motorbike) you take off through the forest to find Hagrid. Now being on the motorbike gives you the higher spot to see, but I think having the height difference helps get different perspectives, but next time I will ride sidecar. You also have an interactive part on the motorbike having to hit a button which is fun. Personally I can see where the sidecar would feel more secure but the motorbike is more fun.

Now the ride starts with you finding Hagrid and he has a Blast-Ended Skrewt standing next to him. He starts his lesson of running you through the forest. You see fluffy the three-headed dog and then the Ford Anglia covered in Cornish Pixies and the bike stalls. You fly backward and you run into a centaur and while trying to dodge him, you end up in some Devil’s Snare. Hagrid teaches you an incantation to say and once you both say it, the bike drops. As the motorbike driver, you hit a purple button and the bike blasts through and Hagrid ends the lesson and gets you out of the forest.

The technology is so advanced on this ride that I can see why it takes some time to get this thing running. The track has amazing speed and the feeling of the ride is smooth. I also like the different forces you feel going backward and when you drop, so if you like coasters, you cannot go wrong. I also love the story and how it feels perfectly Hagrid as you go through all of the different scenarios. Hagrid would put himself in these situations but would also remain calm and manage to get out, and I totally love and felt like this would be a class with him if he had control.

Overall if you can get out there and ride it, go. This is a great coaster and a great addition to the Wizarding World of Harry Potter. As if you needed me to tell you…

Well that is going to be it for today folks. Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoyed my review! Please feel free to comment and tell me how you felt about my review and the ride itself if you have gotten to go. Until next time, see you at the parks!

Universal Orlando’s HHN 29 House Alert!!!

Today we were graced with yet another house announcement. While the last one had us going under the sea for scares, this has us venturing into the arctic tundra in “Yeti: Terror of the Yukon.”

This house is inspired by the scene in last year’s grindhouse/b-movie house “Slaughter Sinema,” titled Attack of the Swamp Yeti. This will have a colder vibe though so it is a little different.

The story goes that these loggers and trappers were trying to get out of the cold and seek shelter in a campsite they found, and they stumble upon the Yeti. As you try to run away, there are caves you will have to survive. As you try to find your way out though, you will hear the screams of the other victims who won’t make it. He will be out for blood, so be careful!

Overall I am truly excited to see what Universal has in store for us with this original plot. Everyone wanted to see a house stem from Slaughter Sinema last year, and the Yeti is a perfect choice. I always love the “cold” houses and this sounds like there will be blood all throughout so it could also be gory. So far, this year’s line up is not disappointing.

Tickets, passes and packages are all available now so do not forget to get your ticket on https://orlando.halloweenhorrornights.com/site/hhn/products/event-tickets and the event will be running the longest it ever has going from September 6th-November 2nd.

That is going to be all for today’s post, but stay tuned this week as I will write another about other news in the passhole world. Thanks for reading and hope you have a great week and I will see you in the parks!

This week in Passhole land…

The world of “passholes,” has had a busy few weeks. At Disney, California had the opening of Galaxy’s Edge, they announced a preview for the one in Orlando, and they also gave us an increase on all Florida annual pass-holder prices. Universal Orlando had Hagrid’s Magical Creatures motorbike adventure opening to amazing reviews, and they had to update their operating procedure for it. Busch Gardens has new animal encounters and Discovery Cove is offering a Florida resident discount now. Lets get into the details!

So for Disney, everyone loves Galaxy’s Edge in California. They had a system for return times for people staying on site and for people going to the parks during the first month that gave people four hours to explore the land. In Orlando, they announced they are going to schedule passholder previews for the top three tiers and will probably do something similar for the rest as well and announce it as we get closer to the opening date of August 29th. Personally, I cannot wait to see what we have in store. They also made an announcement that each pass had an increase overnight from between $9 for the water park pass to$225 for the Passport that covers California and Florida. The price change varies between what kind of pass you have, so go to Disney’s website and it will go into further detail about how much each pass increased.

For Universal Orlando, it has been a magical week. They opened to rave reviews on Hagrid’s Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure. It has been opening with lines out to the Port of Entry and Seuss Landing with a 600 minute wait opening day. They had to make an announcement this week that they will no longer be opening Hagrid’s for the entire day and only opening it in the afternoon in order to make sure the ride maintains its performance because it is such sophisticated technology. Overall, people will have to be patient while they sort out the technical and weather factors for this coaster.

At Discovery Cove, Florida residents receive a 30% discount of their ticket if they book for 2019-2020 between now and June 30th. Visit the Discovery Cove website to book now and get more details on pricing. Busch Gardens Tampa has new animal tours as well. You can see the “Sloth Encounter,” which is a 30 minute tour and “Rhino Encounter,” which is a 45 minute tour. They now have 10 experiences for you to get up close with animals now and these new tours cost $59.99/ person. Book on Busch Gardens website or call 813-884-4FUN (4386) to get more details.

So as you can see, all of the parks have a lot going on and there is fun to be had by all! Thanks for reading my post and getting the updates. I cannot wait to review the rides for myself very soon! Until next time, see you in the parks!

Live Stream for Hagrid’s Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure

After a brief delay, I was able to catch the live stream for Hagrid’s Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure. I thought it was great and had a celebration of Harry Potter vibe to it which we missed this year. It was very short and sweet which I can appreciate for everyone there that wanted to get on the ride and for everyone watching as well. I will give a rundown in case you missed it.

At the event tonight, a lady named Jemma hosted and she got the crowd together and started after the brief delay. She introduced Chairman and CEO of Universal Parks and Resorts Tom Williams first and he came out and said thank you to all of the teams and people that were involved in making this “StoryCoaster,” happen. He handed the mic back to Jemma, and that is when the fun started.

She then started to introduce parts of the cast to help her with the ceremony and Warwick Davis (many characters, but for tonight I will just say Professor Flitwick) and Evanna Lynch (Luna Lovegood) were first on stage. Then all of a sudden the Ford Anglia (Aka: The Flying Car) rolled up and Tom Felton (Draco Malfoy) and Rupert Grint (Ron Weasley) came out and joined them. Jemma then introduced a brief video of Robbie Coltrane (Rubeus Hagrid) explaining the magic of the forest and once he was finished, the motorbike pops up with non other than our favorite twins, James and Oliver Phelps (Fred and George Weasley) to help in the mischief .

The final step Jemma had was to move the boxes out of the entrance to the ride and she needed help. Davis comes up with a clever idea to make the boxes levitate out of the way with his incantation, “Wingardium Leviosa.” They count to three and the cast holds their wands up and says it with the crowd, the boxes moved and lights started to glow over the house banners with their respective colors (Blue, Green, Red and Yellow). Jemma told the crowd to look around and have fun and that was the end of the show.

Personally, I love when Universal does stuff like this and I cannot wait to experience the newest attraction. Based on previews from people who have already rode it, this ride is fun and intense.

The coaster opens to the public Thursday, June 13th so sooner than later, this girl is going to be on it. I will give my ride review as soon as I get across.

That’s gonna be it for tonight folks. I hope everyone enjoyed that quick review I appreciate the read. Until next time, see you at the parks!

Halloween Horror Nights 29 announcement!

This past week Universal made their third house announcement out of ten for Halloween Horror Nights 2019, and I must say I am truly excited. They announced they are going to have a house called “Universal Monsters,” which will bring back some classics. In their announcement they stated we will see Dracula, the Wolfman, Frankenstein, the Creature of the Black Lagoon, the Mummy and “more,” which leaves some surprise.

While they have done this before, the announcement they released makes you feel like we are going to get a more modernized version and get to see each creature in their element individually. We will see Dracula’s gothic castle, the Bavarian forest of the Wolfman, Frankenstein’s lab and the tomb of the Mummy.

I think it will be cool to have these monsters come back in their own elements since it has been a few years since we have seen them in Orlando. While have been used before, a new take on an original Universal intellectual property (or IP for short) is always great to me!

As these announcements keep coming, I will keep posting and telling you the details of this awesome annual event. Until next time, see you at the parks!

A week in review: We have got a lot going on!

As a pass holder, there is no better time than when all of the parks have a lot of announcements to tell us about. This week, we had a coaster open at Busch Gardens Tampa, Universal announced creatures we will be seeing in their newest Harry Potter addition (Hagrid’s Magical Ccreatures Motorbike Adventure) and their christmas festivities, and Disney announced an update to the rivers of light show at Animal Kingdom and it is called: ‘Rivers of Light: We are One.” With so much going on, its hard to keep up!

As of April 19th, 2019, Busch Gardens Tampa now has Florida’s tallest launch coaster. With Tigris being officially open, it gives a unique experience for its riders. It launches you back and and then shoots you more than 150ft forward forth through the gate and takes you through its loops and twists at over 60 mph. I personally cannot wait to go tackle Tigris and feel the power and adrenaline coming from this coaster.

Now at Universal, Hagrid’s Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure has announced what creatures we will be introduced to. They have told us so far we will have Centaurs, Cornish Pixies, Fluffy the Three-Headed Dog, Devils Snare and also revealed what a Blast-Ended Skrewt looks like. The teases and information the teams at Universal are releasing just make it that much harder to wait until June 13th.

We have the dates for Universal holidays going on from Nov 16th to Jan 5th. Christmas in “The Wizarding World of Harry Potter,” will be transformed again into a wonderland of magic with the Christmas lights show in Hogsmeade and all of the christmas performances in Diagon Alley. We will also once again have Universal’s Holiday Parade featuring Macy’s and everyone’s favorite mean one The Grinch will be back in his Who-liday spectacular; and of course Manheim Steamroller will be back to perform their amazing hits.

We also have Disney updating the Rivers of Light show to “Rivers of Light: We are One.” It will debut as an update tying in the original music score and some new themes to create a new arrangement. They are trying to go for a more emotional story that brings together the story of man and human. It is planned and set to release Memorial Day 2019.

As more things are revealed, I will keep you posted on all things new. As this busy week comes to a close, I appreciate you reading and look forward to my weekend at Epcot Flower and Garden Festival! I will review it next week and give you “the dish” on all things food and drink there. Until next time, see you at the parks!