Halloween Horror Nights 31: Never Go Alone.

It’s that time again, Universal Orlando Resorts Halloween Horror Nights is near! I can already smell the fog & hear the people screaming. The event runs from September 2^nd to October 31^st, if you still needs tickets you can get them here. You can also grab your Express Passes, Multi-night tickers, Tours & Scareactor dinning, that’s right it’s back this year!

HHN31 tagline is “Never Go Alone”, now some people are annoyed that they are reusing this tagline. If I’m honest I felt like last year’s tagline was “30 Years 30 Fears”, truly it doesn’t matter but some people like to have something to complain about. Like last year when dropping the houses HHN made teasers trailers. With each teaser we got a movie character, the first we’re introduced to is “The Snacker”. While leaving the movies the Snacker is attacked when the Mummy, Dracula & the Wolfman tear through the movie posters outside the theater. On May 17^th Universals Monsters: Legends Collide was announced, you can watch the trailer here. Guests will be caught in the middle of a fight between the 3 monsters as they fight over the magical amulet that can break their curses.

The second house announcement we got came on June 8^th, and we are introduced to “The Skeptic. While at home watching a scary movie the power goes out and we see The Shape in the hallway. But this isn’t any shape it’s The Shape, Michael Myers the Boogeyman. You can check out the teaser for the house here, now to my surprise it isn’t based off the new Blumhouse movies but the original ’78 version. I was hoping that we might see the 2018 version of the movie at the event but with them going back to where it all started means that we won’t have to walkthrough the terribly awful Halloween Kills movie. If I would have had to hear “Halloween dies tonight” every time I went through a house, I would have lost it. In the years that we have gone we have only experience one other Halloween house and that was at HHN28 when they did Halloween 4the Return of Michael Myers. I will say that was a fun house, not the scariest but it was enjoyable. I feel like this will be comparable to Texas Chainsaw Massacre at last year’s event, was it a super scary house no but it was fun and felt like you had stepped into the movie. You can never go wrong with a classic and I can’t wait to step foot into the Myers house.

The third house announcement came on June 23^rd and is a 2 for one house, gracing the event with its presents again, The Horrors of Blumhouse. This year featuring Freaky and The Black Phone. Following the same format as the others we are introduced to “The Cringe Couple”. While walking through a parking garage a couple is chased by The Butcher from Freaky, they try to get into an elevator but when the doors open The Graber from The Black phone is waiting for them. I am trying not to judge too soon but I find this an odd pairing, I wish they would have let either of these titles stand-alone but regardless I will hold off until we actually get to experience it.

On Friday July 22^nd we got another teaser GIF of a girl in a bathroom taking a selfie (you can see it here) , We would have to wait until July 26^th to get the house announcement. But before we got the house announcement, they dropped multi-night tickets for the event as well as Scareactors Dinning to the website. Now I will say I was very surprised to see Scareactor Dinning come back, mostly because the restaurant that they used to have it at The Monsters Café was closed a couple months back. This year it will be held at Louie’s Italian Restaurant which is located in the New York area of the park. You can find the multi-night tickets as well as the Scareactor Dinning experience here.

If you are not familiar with the Scareactors Dinning Experience, it is an add on ticket, you must have a ticket for that night of HHN as well. Guests will enjoy a themed dinner buffet while Scareactors running around and interacting with guests while they eat. You can take photos with them as well as get a digital download of a photo taken while there. Tickets are $54.99+ tax, we have never done it but I have seen videos and it looks like a good time.

Now to the house, we are introduced to “The Selfie Queen”. We knew this house was coming, a few months back The Weekend tweeted about YouTube pulling one of his videos and he much said that it wasn’t too much for HHN. The Weekend: After Hours Nightmare will be the last house that is shared on both coasts. Even though I am not well versed in The Weekends work from what I have seen and from the teaser they dropped I do feel like this house will be very creepy. If you would like to read about the concept of the house you can do so here. This article from Entertainment Weekly dropped right before the trailer, it almost seems like they had to announce the house because of this article being posted but I’m not mad about it. And if you are like me and not as well versed on The Weekend this YouTube video is a compilation is the storyline of the house.

As mentioned all four of the previous mentioned houses will be at Universal Orlando as well as Universal Hollywood. I look forward to seeing the walkthrough videos because even though both coasts share these houses, they won’t be identical, which is nice because there are some people who will go to both events. Moving forward the houses we talk about will only be at HHN Universal Orlando.

This year the Original Concept houses outnumber the Intellectual Property (IP) houses. On August 16^thHHN dropped another video, this one longer than the four previous videos. It had the four people we previously mentioned and then it introduced the rest of the “Scream Squad”. We see a group of friends attending HHN but they are all slowly separated and run into a character from one of the houses or scarezones, you can check it out here. Let’s take a closer look at the 6 OG houses.

The first one is at the top of my list, Dead Man’s Pier: Winter’s Wake. Guests will enter a New England fishing village and come face to face with undead fishermen. This house got the Trick ‘r Treatment, going from a scarezone to a house. At HHN26 Dead Man’s Wharf was a scarezone in the San Francisco area of the park. Snowy or water houses are usually really pretty and you can guarantee that this house will be blasting the A/C, which is a nice break from those hot Florida nights.

Spirit of the Coven is set in a 1920s speakeasy, I am interested to see how this house turns out. In the description they describe the witches as flappers and that is a new take on witches for me. Now this next house already makes my skin crawl and we haven’t even seen anything from it yet. Bugs Eatin Alive”, bugs why did it have to be bugs! The description of the house is a bit confusing to; guests will be “touring a 1950s house of the future”. I don’t really know that means but I doubt I’ll be able to focus on that detail too much as we are walking through it. Universal released a podcast talking with some of the creative team behind HHN and while they were describing this house I was screaming “nope, don’t like that” repeatedly in my car as I listened. You can find the podcast where ever you listen, it’s the Discover Universal Podcast and it is an official podcast from Universal Orlando.

Our next original house is Fiesta De Chupacabras, if you are unfamiliar with the Chupacabra it is a cryptid that drinks the blood of animals, it translates to goat sucker. Depending on where you are located the description varies, according to the HHN description guest are visiting a Latin American village were a fiesta is being held to celebrate the chupacabras. According to the internet in Latin America it is described as a reptilian alien like creature. Can you escape the fiesta before the chupacabras get you?

Hellblock Horrors is our next house, the description of this house makes me think of the scene in Cabin in The Woods where Dana and Marty see all the different monsters in their holding cells. Guests enter a prison holding “savage inmates and monstrous creatures”. Will you get out before they break free of their cells? The last original house is Descendants of Destruction. While traveling through the subway of New York, mutated creatures have taken up residence and they are looking for their next meal and it may just be you and your scream squad if you’re not careful.

This is a strong year for originals and I am very excited for them! Many of my favorite houses have been the originals; Slaughter Sinema, Carnival Graveyard, Dead Waters, Wicked Growth just to name a few. The creative team has a lot more free range when it comes to the originals so I can’t wait to see what they’ve come up with.

On to the scarezones, again these are all original concepts. Sometimes the scarezones are based on Ips but not this year. Going counterclockwise around the park because I want to save the best for last in my opinion (as of right now, this might change after the event). Up first to the right if the Today Show Café in the Hollywood Blvd section we have Graveyard Deadly Unrest. Tread lightly as you make your way through Nettlewood Cemetery, spirits of those laid to rest awaken on All Hallows Eve. Can you make it out or will you be trapped for all eternity?

Guests will then come upon Scarecrow: Cursed Soil, this scarezone is a continuation from a house that was at HHN21 Scarecrow the Reaping. Located in the Central Park area of the park, make your way through an abandoned farm where scarecrows have come to life and looking to harvest any who they come across. I am excited to see this scarezone in person, usually this is one of the pretty areas when it comes to scarezone. Continuing around the park to the San Francisco area, we have Conjure the Dark. A sorceress is conjuring creatures from the dark dimension to feed on unlucky guests.

In the New York area Sweet Revenge, arriving at The Bicentennial Hometown Fall Halloween Festival Parade, sponsored by the candy company Major Sweets. Think of this as a horror Willy Wonka, candy from Major Sweets has started to turn the children of the town into killers. Listening to the Discover Universal Podcast the creative team says that they reached out to the company that makes the Universal Mardi Gras floats, throughout the scarezone will be parade floats from the Halloween Festival Parade.

The final scarezone is located in the Plaza od the Stars at the front of the park and its Horrors of Halloween. Like Scarecrow: Cursed Soil this scarezone is also based off of a house, Wicked Growth: Realm of the Pumpkin. The Pumpkin Lord has returned! This character from last year was amazing, he is Halloween. The Pumpkin Lord is summoning terrifying creatures to terrorize unsuspecting guests. The carved pumpkin from the façade of last year’s house are back along with fan favorite Lil Boo! Lil Boo became an unofficial icon last year and Universal heard the people and how much they loved this little pumpkin that they brought him back and put him on some the merch for the event.

This brings us to the shows, the Nightmare Fuel team is back with a new show. Located in the old Fear Factor stage, this show is full of pyro, dancing and aerial work. We enjoyed last years show it was different than anything we had previously seen. It is also a nice break from all the walking you will be doing around the event. The second show is the lagoon show. This year it’s Ghoulish! A Halloween Tale. The description says it’s a ghost tale. Using fog, fountains and laser effects the show is projected onto a water screen over the Universal Lagoon. Usually, the show is about 10-15 minutes long, you will have to stand compared to the other show but I still say check it out. We’ve enjoyed the past shows the past 2 years and look forward to checking this one out. It seems like this year it will be more of a story whereas the Marathon of Mayhem shows mostly showed scenes from the IPs that were at the event that year.

The last two things to mention are the Cabana Bay themed bar and the merch. Like last year when Cabana Bay turned the Swizzle Lounge into the Icons bar and had the Jack’d Up Experience that are once again going to offer a spooky good time. This year they are offering Universal Monsters Gallery of Legends. There will be a Universal Monsters themed photo gallery experience, Universal Monsters Gallery of Legends. Now this part is exclusive to Universal Orlando Hotel guests (you will have to show a Universal Resort hotel key). But anyone can check out the Swizzle Lounge, last year they had themed decorations and specialty cocktail drinks. This will be open daily from 5pm-12am. I say if you have a chance and can check it out, I highly recommend it, we had a nice time to hanging out at the bar and trying the different drinks. If you are staying at one of the Universal Orlando Resorts, head up stairs and next to the Galaxy Bowling there is an immersive photo ops set up. This will be open daily from 2pm-10pm but again you must be staying at one of the resorts and be able to show a room key. The merch this year is great! It has a vintage Halloween feel. If you don’t want to wait to get your merch you can find some of it on the Universal website. You might have to keep checking because it does sell out, but don’t fret you can contact customer services and if you provide the skew number and size, they can ship it to you if it is in the park. If you are in the parks, you kind find it at the 5 and Dime at Universal and The All Hallows Eve Boutique in Islands of Adventure. The HHN Tribute store should be opening up any day now and there will a good selection there as well.

All and all I’m very excited for the event, I love the traditional Halloween feel. I especially love the original concepts! Don’t get me wrong I like the IPs but I can’t wait to see what the creative team has cooked up this year. We look forward to this event each year and we’re so close I can practically smell the fog. Keep an eye on our social media channels, Twitter, Instagram and Tik Tok.

Credit for all the pictures used for the Houses and Scarezone goes to Universal Orlando Resort. Cover photo by me.

Fun Quick Trip to Our Favorite Place!

Hello! I know it has been a looong time since I have put out a blog, and I always say it won’t happen again but here we are. You know how it is work, life but that is not what you are here to read about. Let’s dive into the meat and potatoes! It had been 6 months since we had been to Universal Orlando for Halloween Horror Nights. We figured we have the annual passes might as well use them! We had a long weekend from work and decided to head down for Mardi Gras and to check out Jurassic World VelociCoaster since we hadn’t been on it yet.with So we packed our bags and headed down to Florida.

We got to Aventura (this was our first time staying there) around 12:30am-1am. I will say that the hotel is very nice, very modern. I mean they even have a little robot that will deliver things to your room. I will say though that I wasn’t the biggest fan of the room. Sadly I forgot to take a photo of ours but will describe it. Now I will start off saying the room was very nice and we were only there for a short time so it worked. But if we were staying for a week or longer I wouldn’t want to be in that room. You walked in and there was a sleeper couch, 1 king bed and the bathroom. The thing that put me off was the bed was very close to the window, there was no room for a bedside time on the one side of the bed. You either and to crab walk along the window or awkwardly crawl across the bed to get to the one side.

Also not a big deal but of the hotels we have stayed out the shampoo and conditioner that is in the room did not feel like it really did the job. I know that most hotel products seem that way but this is the first time that I was sad I didn’t bring my own travel size toiletries. Things I did like about the room, I did like that there was an iPad that controlled the lights, tv and you could order room service through it. That is the first time I have ever experienced something like that in a hotel room. Also another nice feature was Bar Bistro 17, the cocktails were great, there was a nice breeze and the view was really nice. The perfect place to unwind after a day at the parks with some food, drinks and a sunset.

Since we had gotten in to late Friday we didn’t get up as early as we had plan too to get early entry. We started walking to the park around 7am and ran into a bit of a line for the hotel security checkpoint beside Margaritaville. By the time we got through that Hagrid’s was already at a 180 minute wait and that was just a bit too much for us. We wondered around Islands for a bit and then headed to All Hallows’ Eve Boutique.

I must say that I really like that they have continued to make it, a smaller version of the tribute store. The theming is great and it always smells good in there with the candles that they sell. After spending sometime in the store we made our way to Jurassic Park, when we got to the VelociCoaster it was only a 65 minute wait. We decided that that wasn’t an unreasonable amount of time and we didn’t have much else to do until more of the park opened up so why not. I will say that we only waited about 30 minutes, I was really surprised how fast the line seemed to move. That was great for me cause I was very nervous about riding it and thought I might sike myself out if we waited too long. We ended up in the 2nd row and let me tell you what, I was terrified lol. Don’t get me wrong it was a fun ride but it was scary, I am embarrassed to say that I screamed the whole time.

After the thrilling ride we stopped into the Hog’s Head and grabbed a quick pint. By this time more of the parks had opened and we made our way over to Universal to checkout the food and drink options at the Mardi Gras booths. It was the 2nd to last weekend of the event while we were there. I will say that I will take that into consideration but I felt like compared to when we went in 2020 there wasn’t as much offered. Again it could have been because it was so late in the event compared to when we went 2 years ago on the opening day of the event. I missed all the booths that they had in the courtyard across from Jimmy Fallon Race Through New York. It felt like a party in that area the last time while this time there was just 2 booths.

Our first stop was Brazil and we grabbed an order of the Chicken Coxing and Beef Rissole as well as theStrawberry Caipirinha and Pineapple Caipirinha Punches. Everything was really good, the items were a bit heavy for a hot Florida day but were very enjoyable. We also tried the Tomato Basil Arancini in the New York area, the Shrimp and Avocado Ceviche, Conch Fritters, along with the Cape Guayaba and Goombay Smash in the San Francisco area. The shrimp and avocado ceviche was so light and refreshing, it was definitely high on the list of items we tried. I wish we would of had more time because we truly didn’t try enough of the items, but like I said being so late in the event somethings seems sparse.

The parade as always was a lot of fun, we like to stand in the alley way behind the Starbucks there is a good amount of space (if you don’t want to be right on the curb) and it is a good place to get a lot of beads.

We did also check out the Tribute Store, I love that they are doing them more for the different events. This time the store was themed to a Mardi Gras float factory. They had little Easter eggs to HHN and to the Holiday Event, eagle eye park goers could find HHN Bear as well as Earl the Squirrel. We didn’t try any of the treats from this one but they all looked so good. I will say though compared to how much they have at HHN and during the Holiday Tribute Store there weren’t as many treats or as merchandise it seemed to me.

We also got to checkout the Limited Time Universal Studios Monsters: A Tribute to The Creatures of The Night (phew that was a mouth full). Since The Mummy ride is under refurbishment until later this summer they transformed the gift shop to the ride into a Universal Studios Monster store. They had statues of the Classic Monsters as well as Monster merchandise. I love that the Classic Monsters seem to be coming back to the park and getting love, I can’t wait to see what they do for them when Epic Universe opens. Fingers crossed we will get a bigger and permanent version of this store when the new park opens.

On Saturday we again missed early entry so we took our time getting ready, again we ran into a bit of a line at the security check point but it wasn’t as long as the day before. This was more of our relax and see where the day takes us. We played around of Mini Golf at the Hollywood Drive-in. Then we head to the Lone Palm Airport Bar to grab some drinks with our favorite bartender Joe. Joe is the best, he has great stories. We also got to see a photo album that he keeps behind the bar, it’s a lot of pictures from the different Jimmy Buffett concerts. The next time you’re at City Walk stop by and see if Joe is working, you won’t be disappointed. Have some great drinks and listen to great stories, Joe even told us the story behind the airplane that sits behind the bar. I know there is plaque that tells the story but trust me it’s better to hear it from Joe (it’s blurry what Joe is in the background of the photo below). We wondered around the parks a bit, finally got on Hagrid’s, we spent about an hour in line, but then called it an early night to go back to the hotel. Even though we were only there for 2 days it was still a really fun trip.

With Mardi Gras ending the next big event is Halloween Horror Nights. Now as of the writing of this besides a the tagline “Never Go Alone”, single night tickets, R.I.P. Tour tickets and Behind the Screams: Unmasking the Horror Tickets (all of which you can find here) we haven’t had any other announcements. There have been 2 speculation maps released from Horror Night Nightmares, you can check out the 2.0 version of the map here. Won’t get too much into here but I will say if the majority of this map stayed I wouldn’t be upset about it, I think it is a pretty decent lineup. Hopefully we will get more announcements soon, when we do we will be sure to have a post about them and what are thoughts are.

Until next time!

Some other pictures from the trip

Thanksgiving at Universal

I can’t believe that up until last month it had only been 10 months since we had last set foot into a Florida theme park. It honestly felt like last year that we rode Rise of the Resistance and also took part in the inaugural Fun Run 5k at Universal and Islands of Adventure. Understandably Halloween Horror Nights was canceled for this year (even though they did manage to open three of the houses for daytime quests). Our Annual Passes were scheduled to end in October but since the parks had to closedown for a few months they had been extended for the months the parks were shutdown. Once the parks started opening up we decided we would see what kind of deal we were able to get on a hotel room.

Not really planning on going we called and checked rates and availability for Cabana Bay the week of Thanksgiving. We couldn’t believe it when we could get a room at Cabana Bay for $114 a night for that week. Of course a lot of people weren’t traveling because of what was happening in the world but still couldn’t believe that it was such a cheap rate for a holiday. We decided since we usually don’t do anything for Thanksgiving we would head down to the parks. We arrived at Cabana Bay on Nov. 25^th and stayed until Nov.29^th (well actually until the 28^th but we’ll get to that later).

When we arrived at the hotel we were greeted by a security guard who took our temperature and gave us a colored wristband, you were required to check in everyday when you went to the lobby to have your temperature taken and get a new colored wristband. In the common areas guests were required to wear masks and there were plexiglass dividers on the check in desks. When we checked in they texted us and we were told if we needed anything that was the number we could use to request things from House Keeping. Since they weren’t allowed to come into the rooms, if you needed towels or anything you would text that number and they would leave your items in a bag outside your door. This is our third time stay at Cabana Bay and it’s a nice hotel but I am looking forward to trying out a new hotel. Cabana Bay is a little more family friendly and while we were there, there was a cheerleading competition happing at Universal and it seemed at lot of them were staying at our hotel, our floor was a little loud with people coming and going from their rooms. Also the beds didn’t have actual comforters on the beds, we had to pull the sheets and very thin blanket from the other bed to try and make an actual blanket.

If you wanted to get food from the Bayline Café you would have to stand in line on social distancing stickers on the ground to keep parties 6ft apart while waiting. They were controlling how many people they were allowing into Bayline at a time to make sure people could be socially distanced while getting food and checking out. For the most part I felt like the line there went pretty fast, we only stopped in twice during our stay though. Once for dinner and once for breakfast and both times we didn’t have to wait too long. The line at night was longer but I believe we only had to wait 15 minutes before we were allowed in to grab food.

Alright enough about the hotel, lets get to the parks! We took advantage of the early morning entry to Islands of Adventure on Thursday (Thanksgiving). We had yet to experience Hagrid’s Motorbike Adventure so we wanted to take advantage of the early entry to hopefully get the chance to ride it. We left our room around 6:30am and walked to the parks, after we entered they have you head towards Seuss Land if you want to get to Hagrid’s. They had team members standing at the entrance to Seuss Land checking to make sure you either had an Annual Pass or a Hotel Room Key. We made it all the way to the Lost Continent and to what used to be the Sinbad show before the line really formed. We got in line at 7:22am, we only waited about 45 minutes before we were on the ride and let me tell you what it didn’t disappoint. Everything from the queue (I wish I would have taken my phone with me to take pictures of it, but next time) to the ride itself is amazing. We tried to get a virtual line pass after we retrieved our belongs from the locker but there were none available for the afternoon. But we kept checking through out the day and we were able to get a virtual line pass for 8pm that night. Let me tell you, it’s a great ride during the day but it is even better a night. It may be my favorite ride there (don’t tell that to the Mummy). I can’t wait to go back and be able to ride the motorcycle side, I rode the sidecar both times, which is still a lot of fun but I would love to experience the other side (I have been told by a few people that it is a whole other experience on the motorbike). I was a little disappointed because the second time we rode it I could have because they pulled the two parties in front of us to the side so we had the car to ourselves but we realized too late that we could have asked to go one and one. But it was still amazing and even better at night, it may sound dumb but it was truly magical at night.

We were really surprised that the park wasn’t that busy, we felt comfortable walking around. People we’re following the rules and the crowd level was moderate. We had made reservations at Finnegan’s for lunch, it is our favorite place to eat in the park. I really recommend if you are heading to the parks to make reservations ahead of times, if the place you want to eat accepts them. Finnegan’s started to get a pretty good waitlist going by the time they opened for lunch. We tried to just move our reservation up by 30 minutes and they weren’t able to do it because of the amount of people they had on the waitlist. I am sad to say it wasn’t that great of an experience. They were overloading their employees, the moment a table got up they had it cleaned and a new part sat. They weren’t really closing off tables to promote social distancing which was a little uncomfortable, we ended up stuck at a small table by the window and we hardly saw our server. I know it wasn’t his fault but you could just tell that they were not staffed for the amount of guests that they were trying to serve at one time.

After we had digested lunch we went to the Holiday Tribute store and bought some deserts. I know that there were people who didn’t seem too happy about the Holiday Tribute store but I like it a lot. I thought it was a cute idea and I am all for them having an HHN Tribute Store, Mardi Gras and just a Holiday Tribute Store. The added treat stalls in the store was a nice touch and I look forward to seeing the treats next year for HHN. There were 4 different rooms; the first looked like Santa’s Workshop, the next was Grinch themed, and then Harry Potter themed and lastly Earl the Squirrel. In the Harry Potter room you could buy items like stockings, scarfs and shirts and have them embroidered. The last room you can buy different treats and drinks. We tried Earl’s Nutty Nog with alcohol ($10.49), chocolate peppermint mousse ornament ($5.49), and the red velvet candy cane pop($5.40). If you aren’t a fan of peppermint then you probably wouldn’t have liked the ornament. I enjoyed it because it reminded me of an Andes Mint. The Red velvet candy cane pop was alright it didn’t really taste like candy cane. It had a white exterior and we thought it was going to be hard like white chocolate but it was just icing. Our least favorite item was the spiked eggnog, we’re not fans of eggnog to begin with so in hindsight we shouldn’t have gotten it but we gave it a try and man was it a struggle to finish. I wouldn’t have minded just throwing it away but the price of it made me feel like I was throwing away money.

After our treats we went to the Macy’s float showcase, since they aren’t doing parades they put up their holiday balloons and some of the floats and characters in a show building and it was a walkthrough experience and at the end you could get your photo with Santa.

We took a trip to EPCOT on Friday but made our way back to Universal on Saturday. We got to City Walk around noon and by that time Islands of Adventure had reached capacity. If you were a Pass Holder or a guest staying at a Universal Hotel you could still get in but if you were neither they had started to queue people in a line that ran near the waterfront. We decided we would just walk around Universal until it was time for our virtual line return ticket for Hagrid’s. When we got into the park you would have thought that it was a normal day at the parks. There was hardly any room to move and many people weren’t properly wearing their masks. It actually made us both very uncomfortable so we decided to grab lunch at Hard Rock Café. As we were having lunch we decided that we were just going to check out a day early and head home. It was really sad but by that time it was almost 2pm and both parks were at capacity, but like I said you could still get in if you had an annual pass or were a hotel guest. Because of that we just didn’t feel safe staying. We did however place a pick-up order at Voodoo Doughnuts for the ride home. We only got a half dozen doughnuts but that was plenty. They are very dense doughnuts but very good lol.

Half dozen doughnuts; We got the Diablos Rex, ODB, Snowman Head, Holiday Ornament, Maple Bar & Blueberry Cake

All in all it was a nice trip but it was a little upsetting that on the weekends it seemed like all the safety measures went out the window and that the parks were all about getting as many people into the parks as possible. I am looking forward to our next trip, I mean we’ve already booked our hotel for next years HHN! Be on the look out for our next blog post. We took a day trip to Disney’s EPCOT during this trip and tried different drinks from the festival as well as got a reservation at Le Cellellier Steakhouse.

Universal is opening back up!

After 2 long months Universal is opening back up! Back on March 15^th Universal announced that it would be closing both parks, Volcano Bay, CityWalk and all the resorts due to COVID-19. I don’t know about you but I got through the time looking at old pictures from trips and from the awesome #UniversalAtHome videos people were posting on Twitter, and let me tell you what there were some really good ones. This one here is probably my favorite one that I saw; they did an amazing job recreating the E.T. ride.

Then on May 14^th CityWalk re-opened in a limited capacity with only some restaurants and stores opening that day, since then more things have opened up to guests. New guidelines were put in place to keep people and team members safe. A limited amount of guests were allowed in, there were six-foot social distancing markers and “Do Not Stand Here” stickers, as well as warnings for face masks to be worn at all times by anyone three years or older. The only time guests are allowed to take off their mask is for when you’re sitting at a restaurant and eating. I do believe that if you have a drink and are walking around you can have your mask down but they do have team members monitoring people.

When guests arrive in the parking garage right before going through security there are temperature check stations. If a guest registers a temperature of 100.4 degrees or higher they will not be permitted into CityWalk. Universal was also encouraging guests to use the Universal App to order and pay for food. Some places at CityWalk were also only accepting credit card payments instead of cash. Things have seemed to be going well at CityWalk and it looks as if people are complying with all the new procedures.

On May 21^st Universal proposed their re-opening plan, procedures and dates; June 1^st and 2^nd for team members, June 3^rd and 4^th for Annual Passholders and June 5^th for the general public. Earlier today Universal sent out emails to Annual Passholders to register and reserve a date and time to enter the parks. Guests can expect to see the same safety procedures from CityWalk carried over to the parks as well. Now not all attractions, entertainment, food and merchandise venues will be available. Universal has yet to say what will be open but I would say we’ll have that information sometime this coming week after their Team Member preview.

If you’re an Annual Passholder you can go here to see if there are any spots open to get a reserved time to visit the parks. You will need your Annual Passholder number and your last name, you may have to check back throughout the day. The site was having some glitches most likely from everyone trying to get a spot. When I first tried I got an error message but a few hours later we were able to get in and see options. Also time slots will open back up if people cancel their reservation so don’t give up.

Annual Passholder Email to get Reservation

Now when it comes to rides; we’ve seen other parks that have begun to open to guests are seating people every other row to keep social distancing on rides. Universal has said that Single Rider line will not be open at this time. This is very understandable they want to only seat parties together and not risk putting someone not in your party in your row. We will also see an increased use of Virtual queue lines, that way people aren’t stuck in the lines too long with a bunch of other people. I am very interested in seeing how everything is going to work, it is definitely going to take some getting-used-to but I am just happy to see the parks opening back up.

The parks aren’t the only things opening up, Volcano Bay water park and H20 live are both opening up as well. I read that all rafts will be single parties only and that the life vests will be in holders that have extra disinfectant solution in it. Masks will be required, I am not sure if you will be required to wear them on the water rides and lazy rivers but we will update when we find out. Guests will also be required to have their temperatures checked before being allowed to enter. Below you will find the new hours of operation for all the parks and CityWalk.

On June 2^nd all Universal hotel resorts, with the exception of Portofino Bay Hotel and Endless Summer and Dockside Inn (which were supposed to open in March but have been pushed back to later in the Summer), will open back up. Like everywhere else guests will have their temperatures checked before entering the hotel. If you register a temperature of 100.4 degrees or higher you will have two opportunities to have it rechecked but if it doesn’t go down then you will not be permitted into the hotel. I did read that if your temperature is normal you will receive a wristband for that day and that if you go to the Parks or a Waterpark you won’t need to be checked again that day.

Guests will be required to wear face coverings whenever they are not in their rooms, so that means in any common spaces and going to and from the pool. I have read that once at the pool and you’re properly social distanced from others you can take your face covering off and they are not permitted on water slides.

Like I said all these new procedures are going to take a lot of adjusting to, so please be nice and patient with the team members who are working. This is all new to them as well and they are doing everything they can to still try and make your visit as great as it would be if this hadn’t happened. It’s a new normal for all of us and slowly but surely we will figure out how to navigate. Be sure to check back as things open and as we get new information we will post it and share with you all! Stay safe!

Disney World Fun!

I know it has been sometime since my last post and I am sorry about that. As you know (or maybe you don’t) we work in the film industry here in Georgia so we are pretty busy most weeks. Working 12+ hours a day, so it makes it difficult for us to go and do super cool fun things. But last week we drove over night to Florida on Tuesday and spent the rest of the week in Disney and the weekend at Universal. Those 5 days were packed full of fun things, this first post will cover out time at Disney.

As I said we left Tuesday of last week right after I got out of work and drove straight to the Beach Club Resort in Disney. We arrived at the hotel close to 1am where we passed out fairly quickly. Wednesday after we woke up we made our way over to EPCOT to see how long the wait was for Test Track and of course as luck would have it we were there AGAIN when it was being refurbished. I truly think that Disney knows that I love that ride and it never fails when we go that it’s either a super long wait, we can’t get fast passes or it is being refurbished. So we made our way over to the Magic Kingdom, where I finally got to ride The Haunted Mansion ride. I know what you’re thinking, “How have you never rode that ride?” I truly don’t know why it took me this long but I was really excited about it and I loved it. Now this ride was the first of many to give us issues sadly. I had made us a fast pass reservations and about 30 minutes before it was time to go to the ride I got a message from the My Disney Experience app telling me that the fast pass was no longer available. The ride has some technical difficulties and shutdown for a bit causing the problem. Thankfully the ride came back up and we actually got to ride it twice, the first time we waited in the Stand-by line because it was only 25 minutes. We got stuck in the first hallway of the ride for a moment because of some issue but thankfully we weren’t stuck for very long but it did cause us to have an awkward ride photo. We also got stuck in the graveyard area at the end of the ride but again not for very long. Our second time through we used out fast pass and the ride went much smoother. Our next fast pass was for Big Thunder Mountain and thankfully we didn’t have any issues with that ride.

We took a small break from rides to grab dinner at Tony’s, which was so good! We tried their garlic parmesan wings which were really nice but it was odd that they came in 5 instead of 6. Dan got the classic spaghetti and meatballs while I got the raviolis. The raviolis we AMAZING!!After dinner we went to our last fast pass of the night which was for Pirates of the Caribbean and oh boy let me tell you was it bad. We boarded our boat and got into the first cave right before the ride is supposed to start and the ride broke down. Not just for a moment, we were stuck for 40 minutes! The lights came on and everything, at one point we could see cast members standing on the little island with the skeleton up ahead. No one could hear what they were saying or even understand what the cast member kept repeating over the speaker system. They sent an empty boat after us and it hit our boat, they kept slowly moving us backwards and forwards again. It was terrible I truly thought we were going to be there forever.

Picture of when we were stuck on Pirates of the Caribbean

Once they finally got the ride up and running the lights were still on and the audio wasn’t working. Thankfully they got those two things fixed as soon as we got into the section with Barbosa and the dueling ships and then the rest of the ride went smoothly. When we got off the boats there were cast members there to scan our Magic Bands to give us a fast pass that was only good for that night. We decided we were going to use it on Space Mountain because that was really the only other ride we cared about riding at that park. When we arrived at Space Mountain we were informed that it was down (of course). So we tried to get on Buzz Lightyears Space Ranger Spin and the fast pass line was SUPER LONG. We asked the cast member near the line if something was wrong with the ride and they informed us that the ride wasn’t running at full capacity. Not the best day for Magic Kingdom it was truly just one thing after another at that park.

Thursday morning we got up and put the fiasco that was Wednesday behind us. We were up at 5:30am and made our way over to Hollywood Studios to get into the park to try and get a boarding group for Rise of Resistance. Trying to get a boarding group was so stressful! We we’re through security and in line by 6:30am when they started to scan us in. We waited nervously for 7am to roll around so that we could get a boarding group. Now we were part of a larger group but Dan and I decided we would just get a boarding group for the two of us. Because I have heard the smaller you’re party the higher your boarding group but I don’t really know how much truth that holds. There were 4 in our other group and they had a high boarding group than the two of us, but that was a big deal to us. Since we were however linked to other people in the party we had to hit the “Join Boarding Group” button and then select who was to be in our party (like you do when you’re booking fast passes). We were lucky and got into boarding group 60. We had a fast pass for Rockin’ Roller Coaster at 8:55am but decided to cancel it and we got one instead for Midway Mania. We headed over early and were able to do the Stand-by line for Midway Mania and then get right back in line for our fast pass. Dan of course beat me both times but I was very close to beating him our second time around. After that we made our way over to Galaxy’s Edge because we hadn’t done Smugglers Run yet and the wait time said 60 minutes. I believe we only wait 30 minutes and we were lucky enough to both be pilots (no pressure). Our crew ended up doing very well, when we exited the cockpit there were only some flashing lights, which made me happy since we had never done it before. There was still some time before our boarding group for Rise of the Resistance was going to be called so walked around the park for a bit trying to figure out what to do. We stopped at the Baseline for a drink and pretzel sticks. Finally we ventured back over to Toy Story Land and waited in line for Slinky Dog Dash (again another ride we hadn’t experience yet). I must say that that is a great ride if you love roller coaster and hope that you’re child will love them too. It goes a lot faster than it looks but it was still a lot of fun. By the time we were done waiting the boarding groups were nearing ours. By this time it was 12pm so we stopped into Pizza Rizzo’s and had some pizza.

Pictures from Toy Story Land and Smuggler’s Run

As we were finishing up eating our group was called so we made our way over to Galaxy’s Edge. It was very exciting people were getting turned away because they didn’t have boarding groups and thought that they could just get into the line. We scanned out Magic Bands and were in! I was over the moon excited that it was happening. We got into the queue walked about 100ft and a voice came over the speakers saying that the ride was experiencing issues but they were doing their best to fix it. Great again another ride goes down! After about 20 minutes they came in and said that there would be cast members at the exit doors if we needed anything and they brought in Ray and a Resistance Fighter to come and take pictures with people(which was nice I thought for all the kids in line). But when we knew was bad was when they came in and handed out free full size Dasani waters. Followed by free bags of Lays chips and bananas, they also had cast members there to escort you to restrooms that were back behind the ride. We were stuck in line for over and hour before they came in and said that they were going to take everyone out of the line. We were again given fast passes that we were allowed to use on any ride in Hollywood Studios or we could keep it to use it on the ride if and when it was back up and running.

We decided that we would just go get some drinks and see what the wait time was for Rockin’ Roller coaster. The wait was longer than we liked to wait so we finished our drinks and got another round and by that time the boarding groups we’re moving again so we went back to Galaxy’s Edge. When we got there we were informed that it was still down, I asked one of the cast members what she thought the chances of the ride being fixed was. I knew she couldn’t give me a defiant answer but I just wanted to gauge her reaction to the question. She said that this was her time in all the time working the ride that it had gone down so quickly after it had been fixed the first time. So it didn’t seem promising that we were going to get to ride it sadly. But we decided that we were going to stick it out and just see what happened. We canceled dinner with friends to hangout at Baseline with some more drinks lol. We kept checking the app and saw the boarding groups moving again but we decided to give it a little more time just incase. Finally we made our way BACK to Galaxy’s Edge for a third time and the ride was indeed up and running. We used our fast passes and made our way through the line. As soon as we got in our transport vehicles to start the ride the cast members started to improvise because as luck would have it the ride did indeed breakdown again but thankfully not for long. Sadly because of all the issues we did miss out on one part of the ride but it wasn’t that big of a deal. Even with all the problems it was a FANTASIC ride! I was speechless when we got off of it, I truly didn’t know what to feel or say. To recap we got to the park by 6:30am and with all the problems we didn’t ride Rise of the Resistance until 5pm that evening. Making it a very very long day at the park but it was well worth it. We got to ride a lot of things and 3 new rides we hadn’t ridden before as well as the Skyliner, which was really nice.

On Friday we made out way back to EPCOT and since there wasn’t much there that we wanted to ride we decided to take part in EPCOT’s Festival of the Arts. We grabbed our little passport book and made our way through the countries trying different foods and drinks. It was such a great time, we had been at EPCOT last October when they were doing the Food and Wine Festival and you could hardly move in the park. We ended up leaving right after we had got there so it was nice that there was room and that we were able to enjoy this festival. We didn’t eat too much as we had a dinner reservation that evening at Raglan Road but we did hit up 5 of the countries. The poutine with brisket from Canada was by far my favorite, followed by the beef wellington at the America Pavillion. After dinner at Raglan Road we went back to Hollywood Studios because we got a fast pass for Rockin’ Roller coaster and it was the only ride we hadn’t done that we wanted to do. After the ride we took the Skyliner again and on our last leg of it we got stuck right above the road (like I said so many problems lol). Thankfully it was only for about 10 minutes any longer I would have been super anxious. But the slight delay worked out in our favor because as we made the turn to our last stop we got to see fireworks in two different directions. We had the cab all to ourselves so it was pretty romantic.

All in all it was a great trip to Disney, even with all the issues we had we still made the best of it and didn’t let it ruin our trip. Even with the long wait and all the issues I would totally get up at 5:30am to get to the park to get a boarding pass for Rise of the Resistance again. That is how amazing that ride was, again words truly can’t describe it you have to experience it for yourself.

Be on look out for our next blog post about our time at Universal for opening night of their Mardi Gras event and taking part in their inaugural Running Universal Epic Character Race.

25th Anniversary of Universal Mardi Gras

Exciting news Universal Orlando has announced the 25^thanniversary of their Mardi Gras event. The event kicks off February 1^stand runs for 16 select nights through April. This is such a fun event, now sadly we’ve only attended it one time but it was great. Universal goes all out for Mardi Gras; from Cajun food, New Orleans bands, a night time parade and of course beads. Unlike Halloween Horror Nights this isn’t a separated ticketed event. As long as you have a day time park admission, an Annual Pass or a Season Pass you can partake in all that is offered. It should be noted though that Blackout Dates apply to Seasonal Passholders so be sure to check which days those are before going.

Concerts

During select nights guests can catch some pretty big names in the music industry on the stage at Music Plaza. You don’t need a ticket to see the performances but if you would like to be closer to the stage make sure to get to their early. Music Plaza gets pretty pack especially for the bigger named artists. Below is a list of the concerts all being at 8:30pm.

Sat. Feb 1st – The Roots
Sat. Feb 8th – Karol G
Sat. Feb 15th – Bell Biv DeVoe
Sun. Feb 16th – +Live+
Sat. Feb 22nd – Kool & the Gang
Sat. Feb 29th – TLC
Sat. March 7th – REO Speedwagon
Sun. March 8th – Dustin Lynch
Fri. March 13th – Luis Fonsi
Sat. March 14th – The All American Rejects
Sun. March 15th – Diana Ross
Fri. march 20th – Chris Young
Sat. March 21st – Earth, Wind & Fire
Sun. March 22nd – Marshmello
Sat. March 28th – Why Don’t We
Sun. March 29th – Gavin DeGraw

Food & Dining Experiences

Besides the concerts Universal transforms the New York courtyard across from Jimmy Fallon into a small French Quarter Courtyard with food tents, drink tents and music. Opening everyday at 4pm guests can sample a variety of Cajun and Creole food. All food options are a la cart but you can purchase a Tasting Lanyard to try sample sizes of jambalaya, beignets and more. If you’re an Annual Passholder you can get access to the French Quarter Courtyard an hour before the general public. You also receive a discount at the Mardi Gras food tents on event nights; 15% off for Premier passes and 10% off for Preferred passes. There is also an exclusive passholder Tasting Lanyard that allows you to sample 15 items for $60 plus tax. Tasting Lanyards can be purchased in person at the French Quarter, Monster’s Café or Bone Chillers. Be sure to also check out the Carnival Around the Universe tent where guests will discover a new menu every two weeks. The menus are inspired by different Carnival celebrations from around the world.

If you’re looking for more of a Dining Experience guests can but tickets to the Bayou Boil on select nights of the event. Taking place in Battery Park guests can enjoy their seafood boil while watching the parade. If you can’t or prefer not to eat seafood you can request chicken and Andouille sausage jambalaya. Again Annual Passholders (Preimer, Prefered or Power) can receive 20% off tickets with a limit of 6 tickets per valid Annual Pass. The dates for the Bayou Boil are: Feb. 1, 8, 15, 16, 22, 29 & March 7, 8, 13, 14, 15, 20, 21, 22, 28, 29.

If you have more of a sweet tooth then you might want to do the Mardi Gras Feast & Floats Exclusive Dessert Party. This ticket allows guest an exclusive viewing area of the Mardi Gras parade and the Universal Cinematic Celebration that takes place on the lagoon. An hour before the parade guests with ticket arrive at Café La Bamba for specialty desserts, sparking wine, sparkling cider and non-alcoholic beverages. Then you will be taken to an exclusive viewing area in Central Park for the night time lagoons show. All Passholders can receive a 20% discount on these tickets, again limited 6 per valid Annual or Seasonal Pass. Dates are March 9-12, 16-19, 23-27, 30, 31 & April 1 & 2.

Parade

If you have ever watched any of the parades that Universal puts on the Mardi Gras parade follows that same route. The one time that we went we watched the parade from a little alleyway across from the Transformers ride. It wasn’t a bad spot to watch from, we could see all the floats and caught a lot of beads, but there are plenty of good spots to see it from though. There are spots all along the parade route and there is event an exclusive spot for Passholders as well as one for people with kids. The Passholder viewing area is in front of Mel’s Drive in but space is limited and is based on a first come first serve. If you have kids you can stand in the Little Jester’s Parade Viewing area. Located in front of the Brown Derby Hat shop. Access is available one hour before the start of the parade. Below you will find the dates and times for the parade as well as a picture with the route it takes.

Dates and times for the parade are as followed:

Feb 20 – 5:45pm
Feb 2 – 7 – 6pm
Feb 9-14, 17-19, 21, 23-28 – Mar 1-6 – 6:15pm
Mar 9-12, 16-19 – 23-27 – 30-April 1 – 7:30pm
Feb 1, 8, 15, 16, 22, 29, Mar 7, 8, 13-15, 20-22, 28-29 – 7:45pm

Another perk to being a Passholder is that you can sign up for a chance to ride one of the floats in the parade and toss beads at the crowd, just because you sign doesn’t guarantee you a spot. At the time of this posting the Universal website just says coming soon for more info about riding on the floats. But I do believe that you can sign up in person while in the park. Also don’t forget to pick up your exclusive UOAP magnet while at the park. Magnets can be picked up at the UOAP Lounge in Universal Studios Florida from 11am-4pm or at Toon Extra in Islands of Adventure during normal operating hours.

This is a fun event with lots to take in be sure not to miss it! Happy to say that Theme Park Corner will be down in FL for the first night of the Mardi Gras event so be sure to comeback for our thoughts on the event. Let the good times roll!!

Pictures from the last time we went to the Mardi Gras event

Mini Backpack Review

Picture of my mini backpack, incase you forgot or didn’t see my first post about it

Alright it is time to review my mini Stranger Things backpack that I bought to take to HHN. This little bag was great (with one exception that I will get to), it was light no matter what I had in it, granted we don’t usually take a lot to the parks when we go anyway. I liked that it was more structured so I was able to take it off and have it unzipped for the security checkpoints that didn’t have x-ray machines. Now I think I have mentioned this before, but I am terrible with measurements so even though it fit in the small lockers at Universal it was a bit of a tight squeeze. I forgot that the small lockers are slender and more rectangular shaped so I would have to squish it a little to get it to fit in there. In the bigger lockers that you pay $2 for it could easily stand up but in the free ones it would have to lay down and couldn’t have anything to ridged in it. Squishing it was fine except for the days that I brought my camera and we had our souvenir cups for HHN. The bag with my camera in it would fit I would just be very gentle putting it in the locker and then we would just lay the cups down in front of the bag.

There was one time that I did end up paying $2 when we ATTEMPTED to ride Hagrid’s Magical Adventure, which was a DISASTER! Real quick let me fill you in on what happened. Let it be noted that you can not use Express Passes on this ride (at the time being, maybe in the future). We decided that we would just do Single Rider so that we could at least experience the ride. I put the bag in the locker and we go up to the Team Member and asked her about Single Rider line. She tells us that she can’t tell us if Single Rider is opened or not that we would have to wait in the normal line until we got to were the Single Rider entrance was and hope for the best. Now she didn’t really say “hope for the best” but she might as well had. We enter the cue (we know how long this cue is from the many times we rode Dragon Challenge when we lived there) and we barely walk up the line and we hit the line that is a 2 hour wait. We looked at each other and said screw it and turn back around cause we would have to stand in line for probably 2 hours before we got to the Single Rider entrance. And then there was a chance that the Single Rider line wouldn’t be opened and we would just be stuck in the normal line. This ride has been open since June 13th, I find it mind boggling that they can’t tell you if the Single Rider line is open or not. I know that they can’t tell you how long you will wait in the Single Rider line no big deal, but you should at least know if it is opened or not. Anyways I pretty much wasted $2 on a locker that I used for maybe 3 minutes but it is what it is.

The one-day or night I should say that we had the problem was our last night at HHN, we had brought our souvenir cups and I brought the camera to try and get some more pictures. I must say though I am very disappointed in the amount of pictures I got this year because I somehow forgot how to do anything with my camera. I struggled with changing the settings so it was a bust and I should have just left it in the hotel room. Anywho, the camera fit great in the bigger pouch but I didn’t like to put the cups in with it just incase there was some left over liquid from our drinks that could spill onto the camera. Which meant the cups had to be shoved into the tiny side pockets of the bag. Now they did fit but they were a smidge too big for those and with the camera in the bag it made it a hard to get them to fit into those pockets. As we were leaving the Marathon of Mayhem show I went to put my camera back into my bag and I noticed it was unzipped. So I stop and started to go through the bag to make sure nothing had fallen out and I noticed that the zipper had broken. I almost cried, I was so upset I love that little backpack. Thankfully that pocket has two zippers and the other one still works to open and close it, but it was still upsetting. I think I had just put too much in it, mostly putting the cups into the side pockets truth be told. The next time we go we will either take it and pay to use a locker all day or take a bigger bag (to make sure it won’t break) and still get the larger all day use lockers. But since we wouldn’t have the cups I think that the free lockers would work since I can squeeze it in there but I really would like to keep this bag around for good while and don’t want to ruin it.

I did notice though that those mini backpacks are the “hot item” to take to amusement parks now, we saw them EVERYWHERE! I say if you find one you really like and aren’t going to be putting too much in them and don’t mind squishing them onto the free lockers or paying for an all day locker then buy it and use it. They aren’t too heavy or bulky and you can fit a good amount (of smaller items) in them. Should also be noted though that the $2 lockers are good for 6 hours; or at least that is what it said when I used it the one time. If you were going to be in the vicinity of that locker with rides or even eating then I would say just use the $2 locker. But it in the long run it might just save you money to pay for an all day locker because $2 can add up if you are using those lockers a lot. If you are going to buying things through out the day then the all day locker makes more sense so you don’t have to keep lugging your souvenirs from locker to locker.

HHN29: Maximum Screamage!

Another year, another awesome HHN in the books! I feel like our time there truly flew by but our 4 nights there were so much fun. This year I finally went through all 10 houses and I even went in front for 3 of them. Granted they weren’t the scariest houses but it’s a start! Our total house count for the event was 34: (in the order of how they appear on the map)

A) Ghostbusters – 4
B) Yeti: Terror of The Yukon – 3
C) US – 2
D) Stranger Things – 4
E) House of 1000 Corpses – 4
F) Depths of Fear – 3
G) Nightingales: Blood Pit – 3
H) Universal Monsters – 4
I) Graveyard Games – 4
J) Killer Klowns From Outer Space – 3

It should be noted that we did a normal Express Pass (get into every house, show and rides that are open once) and then we did an Unlimited Express Pass (get into every house, show and rides that are open as many times during operation). The Unlimited was only like an extra $30 and I think the night we got it we did 17 walkthroughs of the houses. I would suggests it if you have the extra money. We will touch more on each of the houses later on, along with scarezones and the shows. For now lets talk about the overall event.

Imagines from the Tribute Store & the Universal Store

Even though this year was great and no matter what I always have a good time, I must say that I liked last year’s event more. To me I think it had to do with the fact that the whole event didn’t seem to mesh or flow. Both this year and last they had the 80’s theme, but it seemed more cohesive last year. To me the only thing that fit into the theme was the merchandise. No matter though I still had a blast and was very sad when our time there came to an end. I loved that there were two shows this year, it really helped to break everything up and was a nice way to kill time waiting for the crowds to die down.

Let us move on to the houses! I am going to go through them in the order that they appear on the map and will give my overall ranking after. First up was Ghostbusters; this house was one of the ones I went in the front. I loved this house it stayed true to the original movie, which I really liked. Defiantly not one of the scary ones but it did have a few good scares towards the end of the house. One of the biggest highlights of the house was one of the Venkman’s would give out high fives after they had defeated the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man.

Next up Yeti: Terror of the Yukon; now this was one of the houses I was most looking forward to because I was such a fan of the Swamp Yeti last year. It wasn’t a bad house, it had some good scares but it was just okay. The frozen/winter effect that they had throughout the house was amazing though. It was also FREEZING in the house and every so often you would turn a corner and be blasted with a cold gust of wind. The third house on the map was Jordan Peele’s US. I was on the fence about this house when it was announced and I went in with an opened mind but it was just EH. It was like you had stepped into the movie but the house only had two decent scares. As you can see from the run through counts it wasn’t high on our list.

Stranger Things, this house was good but the I liked last years house more. To no surprise the wait time for this house was usually 110+ minutes. The standby line had 3 different carts, one being a food truck for people to get food and drinks from. We defiantly got some dirty looks from the standby people as we went through the express pass line. I always felt like that scene in Wayne’s World when they are going backstage and showing thier passes. But hey I don’t want to waste 2 hours just for one house, there is a lot to do at the event and even though we were there for 4 nights I still didn’t want to spend a good chunk of my night waiting in that line. This was another one of the houses that I went in front for. I must say I don’t think we ever really got a good run through for this house though, it always seemed like our timing was off or there was a cast change happening somewhere in the house.

Fifth house on the map; House of 1000 Corpses, oh boy was this house a doozy. Our first run through of the house there wasn’t a conga line and I went through with my eyes closed. This in my opinion was the scarcest house; it was a very loud house and I also felt like it was one of the tighter houses. I didn’t feel like I had much space between me and the scareactors, which really added to the scariness of the house. Also Dr. Satan and his enforcer were terrifying!

Moving on to the back of the park to Depths of Fear, now when we started seeing walkthroughs videos the “creatures” in the house looked ridiculous. The heads looked too big and seemed cumbersome. Well I’m here to tell you, they looked just as ridiculous in person. I’m not sure if it’s because we only had one good run through but this house didn’t do it for me. You could always see the “creatures” coming so they weren’t super scary, really only the infected people were scary and the 2 hand puppets that looked like sea snakes. Our last run though was really good but I think the previous runs had soured the house for me.

Next up the second scariest house at the event in my opinion, Nightingales: Blood Pit. The façade for this house was amazing (actually all the façades this year were really great). I will say that the Nightingales did look a bit like evil turkeys but they were still pretty scary. They looked different than the first time they had been at the event for HHN21, but I fund out that is because these one’s had evolved to be more human like the ones from HHN21. The gladiator theme was really cool and it was like you were walking in the tunnels beneath the coliseum.

We’re in the home stretch now I promise! This next house was my FAVORITE house this year, Universal Monsters. It was an amazing house and I loved how it flowed nicely from scene to scene. The scareactors in this house really gave it their all I felt, the would lean out really far and put their hands in your face. There was a Frankenstein’s Monster that would follow you through the lab and while you were watching him the Bride of Frankenstein would come out and scream right in your face. The best was in one of the rooms they had filled it with fog and you knew that there was a Wolfman in there. But during one of the run throughs Dracula decided to show up as well, so you got a double scare. I also loved that in the Hunchback’s section there were times where he would be swing from a rope. I could go on and on about this house, but I will move on.

The ninth house on the map was Graveyard Games, now our first run through of this house wasn’t great but the ones that followed made up for it. I defiantly rank this one up there as one of the scarier houses of the event. It has two things that I hate in a “haunted house”. Children, the sounds of giggling are the worst and rooms with dummies next to real people so you can’t tell which one is going to move. And this house combined both of those things in one scene. Also in one of the scenes during one of our last times through the house we got stopped and a scareactor came out crawling towards us. I HATE THINGS THAT CRAWL IN SCARY MOVIES OR HOUSE!! Thankfully we only experienced that scare once lol. I must say though had I not seen videos from media events I wouldn’t have gotten the story that went along with the house.

Okay we’ve made it to the last house, Killer Klowns From Outer Space. This is the final house that I was in the front for. I really liked this house, it smelled nice and it felt like I had stepped foot onto the Klowns spaceship. Not a scary house unless you don’t like clowns but it isn’t really supposed to be scary. It’s a cheesy 80’s B horror movie. I loved that there were guest activated triggers and a giant Klownzilla! It was good to see Shorty and the gang again.

Here is my house rankings:

Here are my house rankings:

Universal Monsters
Ghostbusters
Graveyard Games
House of 1000 Corpses
Killer Klowns From Outer Space
Nightingales: Blood Pit
Yeti: Terror of The Yukon
Stranger Things
Depths of Fear
US

Now lets briefly touch on the scarezones but I’m not going to get too detailed though. I was very underwhelmed by the zones this year, with the exception of Vanity Ball and Anarch-cade. It never felt like there was anything happening in Zombieland Double Tape, Vikings Undead was super dark so you couldn’t actually see what was going on. Rob Zombie’s Hellbilly Deluxe was always SUPER crowded and was mostly photo-ops and dudes looking at the girls dancing on the stages. Vanity Ball was like a giant party, I loved that there was a runway in the street. There was always something going on in this zone. Last year we loved hanging out in the scarezones but this year we hardly spent much time in them.

This year they decided to go back to two shows; I loved how different they were from each other. Lets start with Academy of Villains. This years show was AMAZING, we saw it twice and I could honestly see it 10 more times. The theme of the show, the music, just everything was on point. The show was called Altered States and was like a Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde and was set in Victorian England. The solo sections of the show were awesome and they even did a section with shadows on screens. This group never disappoints and I truly can’t wait to see what they bring to the table next year.

The second show Marathon of Mayhem took place in the lagoon area and was a laser light water show. I really enjoyed it, it took music and images from Ghostbusters, Stranger Things, Universal Monsters and Killer Klowns. I will say the best viewing for this show is center and higher up. We stood off to the side the first time we saw it and we defiantly didn’t get the whole experience that first time. I hope they bring it back but I must say I don’t think it would be something I would watch every night.

This year when it came to food tents I feel like there were hardly any. There were two tents that made up the StarCourt Mall. There was also a tent for the Twisted Taters in the back next to were they sell the Pizza Fires. We tried the pot stickers which weren’t bad, but nothing to write home about. I also tried the mini pumpkin donuts with green icing on a bed of Oreos and they were really good. They were surprisingly light and the pumpkin wasn’t too overpowering. This was the first year that we tried the pizza fries and the twisted taters. Love the pizza fires and sad we hadn’t tried them sooner! Now for the Twisted Tater, I wasn’t the biggest fan but I don’t think I got a good tater. It felt and tasted like it had been sitting under the heat lamp for a bit and I chose to get garlic parmesan as my seasoning and that wasn’t the best choice on my part. I think I will give them one more shot next year and go for a different flavor and also ask them to go light on the seasoning, they defiantly put a lot on the one I got. Also while we were eating our Pizza Fries we saw a camera crew and it was Tess from Delish who does the Iconic Eats for their YouTube Channel. I completely fan girled cause I love those videos and I can’t wait to watch the HHN episode.

Mini Pumpkin Donuts with green icing on a bed of oreos

The drinks at this years event were actually really good, they weren’t too overly sweat. There were four different themed cocktails Vampire’s Cures, Saturn, Blood Pit and Twilight. We really enjoyed Blood Pit it was very fruity and didn’t taste like there as alcohol in it (dangerous!). The only one that gave me a slight stomachache was Saturn but it was still good. I was very happy that they went back to the normal round cups instead of the split square cups and twisty straws. You could also pick your cup this year which was a nice touch as well. They had Universal Monsters, Ghostbusters, Killer Klowns, Maximum Screamage and an arcade game. Naturally we got the Ghostbusters and Universal Monsters!

Overall this years event was really good, like I said even though I preferred last years better I still had a fantastic time. I loved that they made the Tribute Store bigger this year and that they had three different themed rooms. I really liked the merchandise, we picked up an Academy of Villains long sleeve shirt, a Frankenstein’s Monster & Jaws Blankets, an Ghostbusters Hoodie (that can be turned into a bag), a Bride of Frankenstein Pin and a little Gizmo! I truly cannot wait to see what they bring to the table for HHN30. I wish we could go back one more time, I can’t believe that there are only 4 days left of the event. It really flew by this year I feel. If you made it this far thanks for sticking with me! I will be doing a review on the mini backpack that I took for the first time this year so be on the lookout for that.

Haunts Around Georgia: Six Flags Over Georgia Fright Fest

If you can’t make it down to Florida for HHN this year but would still like to visit some haunted houses closer to home, we got you covered! Six Flags over Georgia Fright Fest: Fright By Night began this past Saturday night and runs through November 2. If you buy a day ticket to the park you can stay for Fright Fest but it does not include the haunted houses. The houses are a separate ticket that you can purchase online or at the gate. Keep in mind if you purchase your tickets online ahead of time you can usually get a bit of a discount, compared to the gate prices.

Ticket Options

Guests have a few different options when it comes to tickets; daily admission + haunted house passes, Express VIP Haunted House Pass, All Season Haunted House Pass & Haunted House Pass. Right now they are running a special and you can get a 40% discount on Fright Fest tickets. Beware that prices will vary depending on which day you choose to go. Going off this Saturday September 21^sta 2019

2019 Haunted House VIP Express Pass good for the night you visit (does not include park admission) $50.00 + tax. Haunted House Season Pass good for the run of the event (does not include park admission) – $50.00 + tax
2019 Haunted House VIP Express Season Pass good for the run of the event (does not include park admission) – $65.00 + taxHaunted House Season Pass good for the run of the event (does not include park admission) – $50.00 + tax
2019 Haunted House Pass good for the night you visit (does not include park admission) $30.00 + taxHaunted House Season Pass good for the run of the event (does not include park admission) – $50.00 + tax
2019 Haunted House VIP Express Season Pass good for the run of the event (does not include park admission) – $65.00 + taxHaunted House Season Pass good for the run of the event (does not include park admission) – $50.00 + tax

The times for each night are as followed:

Saturdays and Sundays the event runs from 12pm – 11pm
Friday nights from 6pm – 12am
Monday Oct 14^thfrom 10:30am-7pm
Thursday Oct 31^st from 5pm-11pm

We’ve been to Six Flags while Fright Fest was happening but we didn’t go through any of the houses. We took in the different scarezones, food/drinks and one of the shows but that was it. I used the same techniques that I use at HHN, talking to the scareactors so they can’t scare me and it worked fairly well. This year we are going to see if we can squeeze in a trip and do the houses. I give Six Flags a lot a credit the scarezones, costumes and make-up are done really well. We actually had a friend who did make-up for the event, which was really cool. Fright Fest has a lot to offer; there will be 5 haunted houses, 6 scarezones and 4 different shows. And of course there are rides till open as well. Alright lets dive into the different haunted houses.

Haunted Houses

Fright Fest is offering 5 different haunted houses this year and they see to have a good range from the twisted, world wide infection to aliens! Let us dive right into these bad boys!

Alien Abduction – What appears to be a seemingly an ordinary warehouse on the outside Fuller Labs is anything but once inside. Guests will encounter aliens carrying out experiments on humans that they’ve abducted. Be on the look out for human-alien hybrids lurking in the laboratory. Make sure to keep quiet or you may just be the next experiment. This house is open from 6pm to park close.

Madeline Mendoza’s Casa de Muerte – Madeline Mendoza or the Blood Stained Bride as legend calls her. On the Day of the Dead Madeline married Professor Vincent Crowley and they left Mexico City to live in hos Victorian Mansion in Georgia. Her husband forbad her from going to the lower level of the house. During one of his work trips she went into his laboratory and discovered a dark secret. Professor Crowley was a necromancer and the leader of an ancient cult. This information drove poor Madeline mad, upon her husbands’ return she tore him to shreds and then killed herself to put and end to the cult. It is said that every year on the Day of the Dead you can hear her screams. This house is open from 6pm to park close.

Camp Slasher – The year was 1988 at Rain Burn Camp, were Camp Counselor Keegan Pallmer killed all the campers. Put away for his deeds Pallmer later escaped prison during a fire evacuation and is now said to be living on the campgrounds of Rain Burn Camp, or as it’s called today Camp Slasher. Do you dare join Mr. Pallmer? This house is open from 7pm to park close.

Piggy’s Bloodshed – Guests enter the freezer of a butcher shop, but this butcher shop is like no other. As you make your way past hooks with arms, legs and other body parts you can hear the sounds of the new victims meeting their end. You finally come face to face with the butcher and you won’t believe your eyes. This house has no posted hours.

ZX-1: Aftermath – An infectious outbreak has happened and is causing mutations to form in human genes. Thankfully there is an antibiotic but it will be no easy task to retrieve it. As you make your way through mobs of the infected and military personal to get to Axis Arena. A campground for those seeking refuge from the infected, but not all is well as the infected take the camp. Can you survive long enough to get to the cure? This house is open from 7pm to park close.

Alien Abduction
Madeline Mendoza’s Casa de Muerte
Camp Slasher
Piggy’s Bloodshed
ZX-1: Aftermath

Scarezones

Promenade Theatre – Guests will walk a blood stained red carpet, while being ushered around by the undead through dreadful displays of the horrors that await you. Based on myths, witchcraft, murder and torture but as they say the show must go on.

Mariner’s Cove – Beware the pirates that have crashed in the French Bay of the Dead. They are searching for treasure and won’t let anything stand in their way, including you!

The Bunker – Below the surface in an underground military bunker you’ll find experiments beyond your wildest dreams. Keep a lookout not only for the mad scientist behind these experiments but the poor tortured patients.

Seeds of Samhain – Everyone loves a good pumpkin farm in the fall but this farm is like no other. Beware the watchful eyes of the scarecrows; you just might not be alone in this field.

Dismantled – 30 years ago a devastating event rocked earth, The Fall. Hurricanes, tornadoes and fires ravaged the land and at 1:04pm all electronics ceased to work. No man is fighting amongst itself and the Wanderers. A group that declared themselves in charge and they want everything you have, including your life.

Junkyard Dogs – Guests will encounter a wild pack of dogs, watch your back as you make your way through the fog.

Promenade Theatre
Mariner’s Cove
The Bunker
Seeds of Samhain
Dismantled
Junkyard Dogs

Shows

Fright Fest will also be offering 5 different shows; Demonatrix Unleashed, Bad Bob The Bone Butcher, The Uprising: Nightly Call of the Dead and lastly Dr. Fright’s Dead Man’s Party. Dr. Fright’s show is the only one that we know the location of. The Crystal Palace and the hours are as followed.

Friday, Monday and Halloween Night – 7:30pm, 8:30pm and 9:30 pm
Saturday Nights – 3:30pm, 4:30pm, 5:30pm, 7:30pm, 8:30pm and 9:30pm
Sunday Nights – 2:30pm, 3:30pm, 4:30pm, 6:30pm, 7:30p and 8:30pm

Demonatrix Unleashed
Bad Bob The Bone Butcher
The Uprising: Nightly Call of the Dead
Dr. Fright’s Dead Man’s Party

The website doesn’t provide much more information for the rest of the shows but that may change as the event just opened yesterday. They may add times later on this week and if they do we will update the post to reflect these times.

As mentioned above the rides are also open during the event so if you need to take a break or want a different kind of thrill be sure to check them out. I don’t remember the waits being too long when we were there, but that was a few years ago now. I will say I don’t think it felt as packed as HHN does, which is nice. There isn’t anything on the site about any special food or drinks being sold at the event, but I did see on Twitter so of the new items they will have this year, such as Spooky Blood Bag Cocktails and cheddar caramel popcorn. You can see pictures of these items here!

Be sure and keep a look out for more haunts around Georgia coming your way, we are just getting in the swing of Spooky Season and events are popping up everywhere.

Haunts Around Georgia: Sleepy Hollow Farm

Now I know this one isn’t really a haunt but it is a nice fall/spooky season place to visit. There is something for the whole family, from a corn maze to a pumpkin patch to escape games to touring ACTUAL Stranger Things locations!! I had heard about the escape games you could do in the woods and even one that was inside Hopper’s Cabin from the second and third seasons of Stranger Things. But I had never looked too far into it, until now. I was looking for some fun fall things to do, mainly pumpkin patches and corn mazes when I came across Sleep Hollow Farms. Not only does it offer those two things they have a plethora of other family activities as well. Check out the list below!

Tractor Rides around the farm
Kids Games at their farm playground
Corn Maze
Pumpkin Patch
Country Story
Farm Animals
Escape Woods (escape games; reservation required)
Stranger Things & Nighttime Corn Maze
Field Trips

As you can see there really is something for everyone in the family and the pricing isn’t terrible. For $12 per person you get access to the Corn Maze, Wagon Rides, Farm Animals + Kids Zone, and Pumpkin Patch. Kids 2 and under are free with the purchase of an adult ticket. Will note that this does not include the purchase of a pumpkin from the pumpkin patch. Pumpkins are sold separately and the price depends on the size of the pumpkin. They also offer face painting for $4 per face and it is cash only, they also offer food and beverages and on the weekends they have food trucks and boiled peanuts.

Don’t worry you have some time to plan your trip because these activities do not start until September 21st and run through November 3rd. Below are the hours of operations:

Closed on Mondays
Tuesday – Thursday 2pm – 6pm
Friday 12pm – 6pm
Saturday & Sunday 10am – 6pm
(Must arrive by 5pm)
Field Trips available weekdays by appointment

For the Stranger Things Tour & Nighttime Corn Maze the pricing is $20 person. These tickets MUST be bought online in advance. Due to the limited amount of parking there is a cap on the amount of tickets sold. The dates available are Saturday October 5th, 12th, 19th, 26th, & 28th and the time slots are from 7pm – 11pm. They ask that you arrive 15 minutes early and it should be mentioned that at 8pm there could be some scares around the farm. So if you or someone in your part would like to miss out on the scares be sure to book the 7pm time slot. The tour takes about an hour, during the hour long tour guests will experience Hopper’s cabin, the farms Corn Maze and Merrill’s Pumpkins Patch. I personally hope to be able to make it out for this tour and I also would love to do the Hopper’s Cabin Escape game (which I will cover more below).

Now that we’ve talked about what is offered, hours of operation and pricing for these activities let us dive into the Escape Woods games that are offered.

ESCAPE WOODS GAMES

Guess can choose from 8 different escape games and they range from beginner to advanced. Two or them do not open until later this month but I will marks those and there are a few that have age restrictions and I will also mark those. Let’s dive into these amazing games.

Hopper’s Cabin
- Genre: Stranger Things themed, not scary, indoor, low physical activity, linear game play with bonus quests
- Difficulty: Intermediate
- Age Recommendation: 10yrs and up
- Description: You & your team will explore Hopper’s cabin to decipher clues, unlock doors and solve the mystery before your time runs out.

The Cabin: Fun House Massacre
- Genre: Evil Clown & Circus themed, scary, mild physical activity, mostly indoors.
- Difficulty: Beginner
- Age Recommendation: 18yrs and older (contains adult language) Teens may take part in the game if they have parental consent.
- Description: You & your team will have to escape from the twisted fun house owner’s cabin in the woods, to avoid a massacre.

The Clown: Big Top Terror
- Opening 9/28/19, at this time there is no information on the genre, difficulty or age recommendations.
- Description: You & your team will have to escape the lair of a deranged clown who is hiding deep in the woods. You will have to solve clues, unlock codes and escape before you become the next victim.

The Bunker: Aftermath
- Genre: Post apocalyptic themed, indoor/outdoor, medium physical activity, non-linear game play.
- Difficulty: Intermediate – Advanced
- Age Recommendation: 10yrs and up
- Description: A terrible virus has been released on the world and it is spreading rapidly. You & your team must break into the bunk where the virus created in hopes of finding an antidote. BUT if you do find it you’re then tasked with a difficult choice. Do you hand it over and save humanity or destroy it and watch the world crumble. The choice is yours.

The Bunker: Aftermath (Escape the Monsters of the Apocalypse)
- Opening 9/29/19 – this one is the same as The Bunker: Aftermath above but with a twist.
- Genre: Post-apocalyptic themed, actors scaring you, indoor/outdoor, medium physical activity, non-linear game play
- Difficulty: Intermediate – Advanced
- Age Recommendation: PG-13
- Description: Same as The Bunker: Aftermath above, just with scareactors added.

The Maze: Dragon Quest
- Genre: Action adventure, fantasy, not scary, mild physical activity, outdoors.
- Difficulty: Beginner – Intermediate
- Age Recommendation: 10yrs and up
- Description: You & your team need to break the evil cures that was put on the woods where the queen once ruled. To save the woods and the queen you must find the ancient magical dragon eggs.

Nature Ninja
- Genre: Outdoors obstacle course for kids with nature education.
- Difficulty: Beginner
- Age Recommendation: 5 – 10yrs
- Description: Blending fun physical activity with nature based STEM eduction. You & your kids will complete a series of obstacles while learning about Georgia plants & animals.

The Gauntlet: The Hunt for D.B. Copper’s Treasure
- Genre: Treasure hunt, not scary, medium activity, outdoors, need between 14-50 people.
- Description: Designed to accommodate large groups (perfect for team building or company outings). Part treasure hunt, part escape game & part obstacle challenge. This game is based on the legendary D.B. Copper 1971 skyjacking.

As you can see there is so much to see and do here, and not all of it happens during the spooky season. They offer things during other seasons as well and you can even book photography sessions on the property. If spooky season isn’t your thing and you’re more into the Christmas (shutters) cheer then make sure to check out their Christmas Tree farm when the time comes.

Address and Phone Number

Sleepy Hollow Farm 628 Sleepy Hollow Rd Powder Springs, GA 30127 (770) 880-8846 Website

Be sure to keep a look out cause we’ll have more Haunts Around Georgia coming your way! Next Six Flags Over Georgia: Fright Fest.