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!

HHN Orlando Spoiler Free Review of the houses!

After a brief hiatus and a fun weekend vacation to check out opening weekend and going a third time last Saturday, I feel like I am ready to tackle a spoiler-free review of Halloween Horror Nights Orlando or HHN29. I missed a few announcements, but I cannot wait to get into it so lets start with this.

This year, I feel there is a large variety of stories and opportunities for everyone to enjoy it. The line up is very strong on the originals side and has some great IP’s to draw the crowd in. While I will not rank them yet until the end of the season, I want to break each house down for you and show how different they all are. I am going to go down the list in order of how I typically would go through the houses.

First stop is Graveyard games. The story deals with modern day teens messing with a local graveyard and they end up getting attacked by the ghosts. If you follow the Halloween Horror Nights messenger, you definitely get more out of the house as it ties the whole story together, but it is fun either way! I love the scares and traditional haunt vibe mixed with some modern day technology which does not take away from it if you do not want to follow along. Overall, a very strong house.

Universal Monsters is just amazing. In this house, you go into the layers of the Universal Classic monsters and some you did not even think you would see. The effects in this house are so much fun and a lot of the scenes are just beautiful. One of my faves is phantom in this personally, but the mummy gets a lot of likes too. This is definitely an awesome house that puts all of the monsters together very well and gives them a fresh look.

Nightengales: Blood Pit is a continuation of a Horror Nights original Nightengales, but in ancient Rome. This house has an awesome facade and has a lot of gore as the name implies. It delivers on the gladiator theme and a has a couple of cool effects but I would still say the original Nightengales: Blood Prey in 21 was a bit more fun. I love this house for what it is though and I enjoy it every time.

Depths of Fear is you in a submarine being attacked by fish creatures and the submarine you are in is going to explode as you are trying to be evacuated in escape pods. It also has some cool effects in a few rooms with screens and a couple of cool rooms, but the fish people are funny to me. I can see where people like this house, but I cannot take the creatures seriously and if the timing is wrong I feel like you miss out on a lot.

House of 1000 Corpses based on the Rob Zombie movie from 2003. I have to say that this house ties enough of the movie into it and it is a great house. While I enjoy the movie, I have heard people who do not like the movie and think it is too gory have still enjoyed the house. It has every scene from the movie you want and everyone’s favorite clown Captain Spaulding. This is the fun house to me and I love the music as you walk through as well.

Stranger Things is here for its second round and it has seasons 2 and 3 in it. While I enjoyed seeing some of the scenes from both seasons, I felt a stronger presence of season 2 and most of it was effects and not enough scareactors. I think the scenes were fun and that it must be tough to get people who look young enough and can work this event so I can understand why it is set up how it is. I wish they had not combined both seasons because I believe that could’ve helped it but the new things they try for this property are fun to watch but that each run through has gotten better.

US was a house that I am most surprised about for me. I did not have high expectations for it walking in but ended up enjoying it. I love how they utilize music and scenes from the movie to coordinate the scares and it was fun. I love the final room of this house and how creepy it is and I would say that its gotten better each run through as well the more I see.

Yeti: Terror of the Yukon is just fun and horror all mixed into one. The huge yetis and townspeople throughout this house are awesome and I believe the facade is cool as well, literally and figuratively. You can see the effort put into this house and the effects and scares are awesome.

Ghostbusters was the most anticipated house this year I would say if you are looking for the movie in this house, it won’t disappoint. It has all the scenes you want and all of the characters, and one cool room with an interaction with a certain receptionist that’s fun. I loved the beauty of this house and all of the scenes and the detail they put into it. The house brings me right in like I am going through it with the guys and my proton pack is on and ready to go.

Final stop is Killer Klownz from Outer Space. This is another intellectual property that was at Halloween Horror Nights last year as a scare zone and it is even better as a house. While I do not get any scares in this one myself, I love all of the smells and buttons you can push throughout that trigger things. It also shows and gives everything from the movie that you would want. If you are a fan of the franchise, you will enjoy going through this house and the facade is a cool photo op so don’t forget to check that out.

Well for tonight that is going to wrap things up. Tomorrow I will discuss scare zones and the shows and break down food and drink as well. I hope you enjoyed my thoughts and hopefully I did not spoil anything for you. Thanks for reading and until next time, see you in the fog!

Halloween Horror Nights update: Final Houses

As the clock strikes closer to the witching hour, Halloween Horror Nights Orlando made some announcements to give us a final taste of what is in store over the past week. They gave us the final three houses and all of the scare zones, and in this review I will talk about the houses. Personally, I am excited for two of these final house announcements and the third I know they will do a good job with and will bring in the crowds because it was so popular. I will dive right in and tell you all about US, Graveyard Games and House of 1000 Corpses.

So after having such a positive review in theaters this past year, Jordan Peele and Universal paired up and gave us, well, US. According to the review, in this house you will walk through the Wilson family beach house and Santa Cruz Pier “where you might spot a familiar character outside of the Fun House.” Rumors seem to be going towards The Lost Boys which was famously set at the Santa Cruz Pier or it could everyone’s favorite clown Jack, and personally I would love either one. We will also go through the tunnels that are apparently below America and come face-to-face with “The Tethered” who are doppelgängers of every living person.

The concept will be as if you are in the footsteps of Adelaide Wilson when she meets and deals with her tethered double, Red. After that you will be transported to modern-day and we will see “The Tethered” come up and try to kill their look-alike from above ground. Overall, I am hoping that this will be a good house but since I had low expectations and experiences with this movie, I will wait until I see it.

Next up we go to another original IP to play some games. In the Ascension Parish Cemetery we will end up seeing the aftermath of two teens who were disrespecting the dead and they are mad and seeking revenge. As we walk through the cemetery we will be going through mausoleums and decaying piles of coffins and we will see ghosts of every shape and style. By the end of this house, they say you will learn not to mess with graveyards anymore.

One cool feature of this is house though will be the social media aspect before you enter the haunted house. With Facebook messenger you can talk with a few of the local teens and storytellers of the town by having it opened to the Halloween Horror Nights page. You’ll learn the history and background of the story through this feature which will definitely be cool. I think this extra feature will be cool and it has been a while since they have done a graveyard so having that vibe back will be awesome.

Last but not least, Rob Zombie’s House of 1000 Corpses was announced. We will apparently be able to come face to face with the firefly family and their home of horrors. We will get to be victims of Dr. Satan this go around and as if that is not enough, we will get to go through Captain Spaulding’s Museum of Monsters and Madmen. pay attention though to his newest addition which is a certain fish boy we know and love! Of course, according to them that is if we survive all of this and make it to the end. While it might the least detail from the three I have discussed tonight, I remember watching this movie as a child and being terrified. I cannot wait to see how they portray this and I am excited to get to go through some of Rob Zombie’s most twisted thoughts that he put on screen.

So after tonight, we finally have all of the houses. Starting September 6th we will get to see all of these fun and scary mazes. Make sure to get your tickets before it it sold out at https://orlando.halloweenhorrornights.com/site/hhn/products/event-tickets and make sure to come find me opening night!

Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoyed. Comment below and tell me what house you are looking forward to the most this year! Until next time, see you at the parks!

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!

Passhole Announcements!

These past couple of weeks have had a few announcements and updates. Although I have been writing about Halloween Horror Nights and going on Motorbike Adventures, I have not missed them. Lets take a look at the parks and see whats been going on.

At Busch Gardens, they have made some announcements towards their Halloween event Howl-o-Scream. The event is running from September 20th until November 2nd and they have a ticket promotion going on until 07/21. Depending on group rates, single night or multi-night you can find a ticket ranging from $24-$59. This is very exciting and new and although there were rumors of free entry with a park ticket had circled around, this is still a very reasonable price and I cannot wait to go. Right now they have only announced two repeat houses “The Black Spot” and “Simon’s Slaughterhouse” but stay tuned as they announce more.

In the house of mouse, Disney has a lot going on too. Magic Kingdom is celebrating its 64th anniversary and the construction for Tron is going up fast. We also have announcements for when Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge will open the second installment in the lands in California and Florida. Rise of the Resistance will open in Hollywood Studios in Florida on December 5th 2019 and in Disneyland in California on January 17th 2020. So while California got the whole land first, Florida will get the second installment first which seems fair. Overall it is an exciting time there too.

Last but not least, Universal has had some openings as well as their Halloween Horror Nights announcements. The first installment of the Endless Summer Resort called “Surfside Inn and Suites” is now open and has been getting good reviews for a value hotel. They also had a restaurant open in CityWalk as well. Bigfire American Fare is now where Emeril’s used to be and it has also opened to good reviews and I cannot wait to try it.

So as you can see there is quite a lot to do and explore in the parks and a lot of things coming up as well. Stay tuned here for more updates and reviews as I venture around the parks and try new things.

So that’s it for now folks. Thanks for reading and feel free to like and comment below. Let me know what you are looking forward too most or where you have gone that’s new and enjoyed! 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!