Halloween Horror Nights 32 (UOR) - Reviews, Photos, & Videos

[DonnieBoy]

Quick Review
1. Stranger things (Great Run through and a stranger things fan)
2. Exorcist (Scariest house I've been in besides insidious [25])
3. Last of us (Big last of us fan and great run through)
4. Darkest deal (one of my favorite originals of all time)
5. Oddfellows
6. Blood Moon
7. Monsters
8. Yeti
9. Dragons (did it twice and didn't get a good run through)
10. Chucky

But all the houses besides Chucky are great houses.

Like the merch this year.
Nightmare Fuel this year is my favorite
Parkwide loop is cool. But 28/29 won't be topped. Still loves 30 as well

 

[Tbad556]

After attending Sunday and taking my sweet time for once, I feel like this is the first time I almost can't form an immediate house ranking. I only did the 5 originals and Monsters, but they were all such high caliber houses and seemed like they were on pretty equal footing after one walkthrough. I can say Yeti is my number 1 right now (which I never expected) for the simple fact that it was so damn fun, but that's really about it. Such a strong year for houses (assuming the IPs hold up --- yes, I've seen the Chucky reviews lol).

On the scarezone side of things, Vamp '69 is a blast and the cast is absolutely killing it. Such a fun zone to live in for a bit. Dark Zodiac's cast were really going for it, but the sets are just oddly half-baked. Still a good time though. Jungle of Doom was really fun and the glowing bat eyes were a fun replacement for the old annual pumpkin spot. Shipyard exists, as most SF zones do lol. And Oddfellow is certainly an entrance zone lol. The limited cast seemed like they were having fun with it from what I saw and I really do love Oddfellow as an icon so far FWIW. No sighting of the M3GAN horde and no Death Eaters visit yet.

Looking forward to getting back out there ASAP.

 

[jarmor]

Like it was my first time. . .

Ok, I have been going to HHN since 2004 so I consider myself a veteran and feel I know what I am doing but after this weekend, i'm not so sure. First, where did all those people come from! It was pretty much the same amount of people inside for stay and scream as it were outside the gates waiting to get in! Friday night I didn't make it to the park in time to enter for stay and scream, that's fine as I was like 8th person in line from a ticket scanner. Time comes to scan ticket and told I had to exchange the ticket guest services gave me for another ticket from. . . GUEST SERVICES! Why universal why!?! Anyway, minor setback, got over it. First house. . .

Blood moon: Dark Offerings
Ok, I don't "rate" house because one, it's not serious to me and two, i'm there to have fun not worry about what order a house should be placed in. With that being said, the scenic design was top tier! I love how you can "see through" this house, i mean village, and how it flows. This house also reminds me of how much I miss the gory days of HHN, where a gore house really meant it and everything was smeared in fake blood and the live action "kills". I don't get scared anymore so I can't comment on the scare factor but it was a well designed house.

Next up. . .

Yeti: Campground kills
Universal has come a long way with campground themed houses lol. From Jason to yeti you can see the improvements to actually feeling like you are on an actual campground. Just like with blood moon, the scenic was next level So much was going on and it literally tells a story. The Yeti's looked comical to me though. Looked kinda like shiny plastic and too bulky to take serious but I can say they were being unique in their placements on how to scare, be it above you or below. Very lengthy house and pretty good overall.

Dueling Dragons
This house was everything I was not expecting, and not in a good way. Honestly I was expecting American werewolf in london but with dragons instead I was expecting "near misses" like how things were done in AvsP and Freddy vs Jason. I was expecting jump scares from burnt and frozen knights but what I got was a queue recreation. Now, don't get me wrong, I was ecstatic about the recreation and the entrance but after that it fell real flat. If my memory serves me right, we only saw the dragons once right and that was in a large room. Overall, I appreciate the fan service but I would have rather have had a different house if it meant something more worth while. I miss the queue but not at the cost of a full fledged HHN house.

Stranger things
Fan of the show and the first 2 houses they did were great, like amazing! Unfortunately, yea. . . that word, season 4 lacks a lot of vivid imagery and iconic locations and the house, while true to source material, just didn't do it for me. I remember seeing 11 once. No scenes from russia? I liked the house, it was fun but not an hour and 45 min wait from stay and scream type fun.

Overall I left this weekends jaunt at HHN looking for a different way to approach HHN in the future The crowd levels are insane to me but it is the new normal for the new visitors. They don't mind standing in an hour line while the thought makes me want to throw up lol. I think i'm gonna have to budget in whatever pass I get + express because it's too hot to stand in line and especially i'm usually alone anyway so next year I should have a different sing to sing lol.

 

[snayberry]

I did all three nights opening weekend. Here is my house ranking for this year.

1. The Darkest Deal - My favorite house this year. I went through it three times. I love the facade, the atmosphere of the house, great scares and some cool sets

2. Dr Oddfellow : Twisted Origins - This house is trippy, some really good scares, felt like a long house, classic HHN material right here.

3. Dueling Dragons : Choose Thy Fate - Solid solid house right here. I love the sets, the costumes were really cool. Some good scare effects here. I really enjoyed how you could pick which way to go for your ending. I did both and the ice side was better for me.

4. The Exorcist : Believer - Now this was a sleeper house for me this year. I'm a huge fan of the original, so I wasn't sure how this was going to turn out. It has a scary eerie vibe in the house, solid scares for sure. I think the sets were proper and the music was on point.

5. Bloodmoon Dark Offerings - Another sleeper house for me. I didn't know what to expect. They had some big sets in this house and I really liked seeing the moon in the different scenes. The scares were good and I look forward to going in this house more.

6. The Last Of Us - Never played the game or seen the show. I know of it though and watched Youtube videos about it. The sets were sick in this house. I loved the costume designs and I got quite a good amount of scares here.

7. Chucky - It's definitely not as bad as what some people are making it out to be. I think the Chucky in the beginning of the house is very well done. I like how the house splits in two parts, some good solid scares.

8. Universal Monsters Unmasked - Having done all of the Monsters houses, I think I put this on the bottom of the list. The costumes were cool, dope scares but nothing too crazy this time.

9. Yeti Campground Kills - This one is not even coming close to Terror Of The Yukon. Some cool scenes, amazing scare when he sticks his hand down but other than that, nothing too memorable here.

10. Stranger Things 4 - Now I absolutely loved the first house they did, the second was subpar. Now this one I would say falls right in the middle of the pack. I have not seen season 4, so that could add to my ranking. There was some cool sets, the scares were okay in this house. I will go through it a few more times to see if my mind changes.

Scarezones were okay this year. Nothing crazy for me but still enjoyable. Here is my rankings on the zones.

1. Vamp 69 - Best one for sure. Good atmosphere, scare actors are on point, great music selection and good prop pieces.
2. Shipyard 32 - I liked the vibe here, the scareactors are really into it and it gets foggy.
3. Dark Zodiac - I thought this was just a cool zone, Eddie's zone last year was much better. It's good for what it is this year.
4. Jungle Of Doom - This was a downgrade from last year for sure. I thought this was a generic kind of zone.
5. Dr Oddfellow's Collection Of Horrors - This was okay, something to pull you in and get you into the event. The costumes here are cool though.

 

[wutisgood]

Will update when I go but so far I think some of the wildly different reviews/rankings I have seen probably means this is a good year overall.

 

[Galactus]

A couple of my favorite shots from this event. I feel like this event in particular I'm starting to realize the limit of my current camera bag. I tend to mostly shoot roller coasters in the daytime and find that I'd rather have the convenience of a zoom lens, especially at f2.8. But I need much faster lenses for HHN so the next additions to my camera bag are going to be fast (f1.4+) prime lenses! Next year's pictures will be even better

 

[Lucky Planet]

 

[Coolaide]

Ok here are 3 main issues with HHN 32 and what we are missing:

1. The Opening Production Central Scare Zone (already mentioned but painfully true and obvious)!
2. Monsters café and bar area along with all the carnival games!! Besides waiting on lines to get into houses or spending time in Harry Potter land there is not much else to do at this event (especially now with only one redundant show).
3. ANY mention of actual HALLOWEEN this year!! Where are the pumpkins, witches', harvest, trick or treaters??!! Isn't this why we go to this event.....aren't we celebrating the tradition of Halloween? It's more commercial than ever before...It's IP central and for some reason it seems to have really lost it's way this season.

 

[Jordan]

Ok here are 3 main issues with HHN 32 and what we are missing:

1. The Opening Production Central Scare Zone (already mentioned but painfully true and obvious)!
2. Monsters café and bar area along with all the carnival games!! Besides waiting on lines to get into houses or spending time in Harry Potter land there is not much else to do at this event (especially now with only one redundant show).
3. ANY mention of actual HALLOWEEN this year!! Where are the pumpkins, witches', harvest, trick or treaters??!! Isn't this why we go to this event.....aren't we celebrating the tradition of Halloween? It's more commercial than ever before...It's IP central and for some reason it seems to have really lost it's way this season.

You... actually liked the carnival games? I realize Monsters Cafe was infinitely more suitable for the event theme-wise, but we didn't actually lose a dining location as Minion Cafe is open during the event.

I don't think the event needs an attraction that relates directly to Halloween or the Fall season every year, as the event itself is a celebration of Halloween's main thematic element, but you actually do get some harvest action in Blood Moon.

 

[Wigglepebbles]

3. ANY mention of actual HALLOWEEN this year!! Where are the pumpkins, witches', harvest, trick or treaters??!! Isn't this why we go to this event.....aren't we celebrating the tradition of Halloween? It's more commercial than ever before...It's IP central and for some reason it seems to have really lost it's way this season.

I think you’re clearly forgetting about David S. pumpkins

 

[Brian G.]

REVIEW: Halloween Horror Nights 32 features strong IPs anchored by an impressive original lineup with a charismatic icon, setting up one of the best years of the modern era. #HHN32

REVIEW: Halloween Horror Nights 32 at Universal Orlando

We're back for another season of Horror Nights! The 32nd event is back and better than ever, with BIG heavy hitters featured in the line-up - with the returning Stranger Things and the popular game franchise, The Last of Us. The event has also grown to the point where it is no longer contained wi

www.insideuniversal.net

 

[Drummanmatt]

Quick rankings and thoughts from last night:

1. The last of us - great sets, costumes, and pretty scary in parts. Did the game justice
2. Duelling dragons - was blown away by this one, so much fun and great set pieces. Endings were hit and miss (or non-existent in one run). Might fall down list as run goes on as not that scary
3. Dr Oddfellow - crazy, claustrophobic, and great icon at the heart of it. So much better than I expected
4. The darkest deal - dark, intense in bits and extremely well executed. Forgot was in a tent house
5. Blood moon dark offerings - gorgeous huge set pieces, and aggressive cast
6. Exorcist Believer - really creepy and intense, such a dark house house
7. Stranger things 4 - loved walking through the set pieces, very well done. Probably not one if rush back to do though
8. Universal monsters unmasked - was disappointed with this one. Felt a bit lacking in cohesion and some repetitive stretches of nothing. However when there was action it was very good
9. Yeti campground kills - Yukon far superior for me. Yetis just not that intense here, and not as fun
10. Chucky - opening brilliant. Rest I just did not get at all. And if there’s more than 50 chucky dolls in that house I’ll eat my hat

 

[Lucky Planet]

You... actually liked the carnival games? I realize Monsters Cafe was infinitely more suitable for the event theme-wise, but we didn't actually lose a dining location as Minion Cafe is open during the event.

I don't think the event needs an attraction that relates directly to Halloween or the Fall season every year, as the event itself is a celebration of Halloween's main thematic element, but you actually do get some harvest action in Blood Moon.

I do kind of miss the carnival games, they were fun to see, even if I never ever did any of them lol. But people liked to do them. It was fun to see people play.
The games were visually a lot of fun. Walking by them was really nice. Seeing the horror plushies hanging by the walls was always really pretty to see.

We don't always need fall decorations, but it was really nice when simple places like the bar by transformers had those fall decorations or the hhn store had the huge pumpkin display.
I did always enjoy when small parts around the park had fall decorations going on. It always looked so nice. I miss that.
I think we had pumpkins and fall decorations every single year, even if it was the big UNIVERSAL store by the entrance of the park.

 

[Coolaide]

You... actually liked the carnival games? I realize Monsters Cafe was infinitely more suitable for the event theme-wise, but we didn't actually lose a dining location as Minion Cafe is open during the event.

I don't think the event needs an attraction that relates directly to Halloween or the Fall season every year, as the event itself is a celebration of Halloween's main thematic element, but you actually do get some harvest action in Blood Moon.

The carnival games were a fun token to bring home to kids that are too young to attend....they also were a fun time waster between houses. Of course I miss the Monster Cafe..I think the feeling is "Universal." Sorry Minions is just not my thing and certainly not during HHN. It was also not only a dining location but it had a large outdoor bar/patio as well. And YES I expect some Halloween aesthetic at an event called Halloween Horror Nights! If I want redundant commercialized IP's I can just watch TV.

 

[Brian G.]

ShThe carnival games were a fun token to bring home to kids that are too young to attend....they also were a fun time waster between houses. Of course I miss the Monster Cafe..I think the feeling is "Universal." Sorry Minions is just not my thing and certainly not during HHN. It was also not only a dining location but it had a large outdoor bar/patio as well. And YES I expect some Halloween aesthetic at an event called Halloween Horror Nights! If I want redundant commercialized IP's I can just watch TV.

How long have you attended the event? The Halloween aesthetic was never really a thing for event until they went all out last year.

Also - the event has been commercialized for the better part of a decade so… I don’t get the gripe.

 

[Coolaide]

This is our 10th year. I think everyone can agree the same IP's repeating themselves is not ideal....How do you make a season 4 Stranger Things without Russia and Hopper? If your going to repeat them at least repeat them correctly. Maybe it was the strike this year...who knows...My feelings are shared by more than just myself unfortunately.

 

[Clive]

This is our 10th year. I think everyone can agree the same IP's repeating themselves is not ideal....How do you make a season 4 Stranger Things without Russia and Hopper? If your going to repeat them at least repeat them correctly. Maybe it was the strike this year...who knows...My feelings are shared by more than just myself unfortunately.

Holy moving goalposts, Batman...

You don't speak for everyone, and I don't agree. There are no - zero - repeat houses at Horror Nights this year. Stranger Things hasn't been seen since 2019 and is an entirely new house. Chucky hasn't had a house since 2009. Universal Monsters is a part of a series, and the latest house is entirely new, featuring characters that haven't been seen since 2018 - if at all.

I can think of several reasons why they chose not to include the Russia scenes in Stranger Things 4. It's one thing to say you are disappointed that part of the season wasn't included, but it's another to claim the house isn't fundamentally correct for omitting it.

The strike had nothing to do with anything. And saying "my feelings are shared by more than just myself unfortunately" is as nebulous as it gets. It feels like you're complaining just to complain.

 

[Tbad556]

This is our 10th year. I think everyone can agree the same IP's repeating themselves is not ideal.... How do you make a season 4 Stranger Things without Russia and Hopper? If your going to repeat them at least repeat them correctly. Maybe it was the strike this year...who knows...My feelings are shared by more than just myself unfortunately.

There are only so many horror IPs large enough to pull an audience and they've touched a large majority of the ones that are achievable. Revisiting certain ones after a long extended period of time is fine by me. I'd be pretty bummed if certain properties never came back again and by no means are we seeing an American Werewolf situation where it's basically a clone. Chucky is basically in no way similar to the 2009 house, Exorcist Believer isn't a repeat, and ST4 is a completely different season. Doing Hopper/Russia would've been more repetitive since we would've been right back to demogorgons rather than Vecna which is a change of pace from past ST houses. I would've hated Russia being included honestly. I prefer a clear concise location being chosen like Pittsburgh for TLOU.

Also, the strike had no effect on the lineup.

 

[Wigglepebbles]

This is our 10th year. I think everyone can agree the same IP's repeating themselves is not ideal....How do you make a season 4 Stranger Things without Russia and Hopper? If your going to repeat them at least repeat them correctly. Maybe it was the strike this year...who knows...My feelings are shared by more than just myself unfortunately.

Remember in ST2-3 where people complained of how disjointed it felt? I think that would’ve been the case if the Hopper storyline were included; at least they’ve got Demogorgons!

 

[Coolaide]

LOL, who said I spoke for everyone? Please don't put words in my mouth. Guess your not a big follower of the show? Many people based their decision to go solely on ST4 and The Last of Us (both a let down IMO). All I said was if your going to repeat a house meaning using the same franchise at least base it on the plot of the season. Think that was the only repeat IP I made a specific comment on but OK.