{Full disclosure, I was hosted last night, and the owner is at the very least a friendly acquaintance, tho anyone who has read my posts knows I'm not great at holding back my opinions.)
After being created out of necessity in pandemic-stricken 2020, Scream-n-Stream is back with a new theme and a new location. It's now located behind Florida Mall, with a lobby in the old M&Ms store, a spot much more accessible to Mouse Town than Oviedo or middle-of-nowhere Kissimmee. The drive-through section felt a bit larger, turns were certainly easier. And when you're done, restaurants around there, or I-Drive just a 10-minute drive away.
This year is themed to a drive-through theater. Each "lane" of the vehicle switchback is themed to a different fictional horror movie, most inspired by events past. The biggest game-changer this year is a a soundtrack you can play through your car's Bluetooth. You'll drive thru the screen to "Let's all go to the lobby....", then each lane has its own track to give you a background loop to the "movie" you're watching out of your radio. It elevates the event from past years.
The actors were incredible, some of the most enthusiastic I've seen at any Halloween event. May have helped that this was a delayed opening night, but they were great, just enjoyed scaring. Make-up and costumes are what you'd expect from a local haunt, not a Hollywood movie; to be honest, sets may have been closer to a high school play. But to me that just adds to the garage band vibe. Nice variety of "monsters" given there are five different "movies." The last ones are a fan-favorite I don't recall at the event before. That said, I would have liked to have seen maybe two more actors per lane. I forgot to time exactly, but probably a 20-minute event from entrance to exit, give or take.
As I mentioned, check-on is in the old M&Ms store. Bare bones decor, but there are professional-looking coming attractions posters for the movies you'll see at the event, as well as wandering scare-actors and a weird painting station. There will also be fortune tellers -- I missed them last night, but I can vouch at least one of the three is incredible. (She's actually a good friend -- Orlando is a big city made up of small towns.) I'd love to see even more, but a very positive development for an event only in its third year. Despite a large crowd--Friday tickets rolled into Saturday--the check-in line moved quickly and without incident. Could've used a bit more signage from the lobby to the drive-through entrance, but we did find it.
All in all, a fun Halloween night event if you can get a small crowd. Don't bother doing this alone, and while a couple could, you're better off with like four people in your car. This would be a great warm-up for kids maybe not old enough for a real haunt, as well -- having watched two 11 y.o.s melt down at HHN this year, I can't help but think they'd have done better in the safety of their own car where they could put the windows up. And check your expectations -- if you expect the equivalent of a Motley Crue stadium concert with pyro and Tommy Lee playing drums upside down, go to HHN. But if you like the thought of a stripped down garage band in that dive bar down the street, this Halloween event is for you.