20 Penny Circus - Show

"The 20 Penny Circus brings its “Magic For People With Questionable Taste” to an unsuspecting Halloween Horror Nights audience." - Universal Orlando Official Description

Located at Beetlejuice's Graveyard Revue Theater

Review:
10-5-12
We really enjoy this show, and stopped by shortly after it started to watch it again. They will let you find a seat off to the side during the show's performance, so if you just want to slip in and take a peak go right ahead. We're finding good re-watchability with this show since it relies heavily on volunteers. The show at the beginning of the night is not nearly as much fun as the end of the night, as the audience gets more, um, vocal. And did we mention Penny is super hot?

9-22-12 - opening weekend*
A fun, raunchy, adult-oriented freak show that fits in well with Halloween Horror Nights. If you have "questionable tastes", then we'd highly recommend seeing this show. They clearly love what they do and it shows through in their performances. Even if you've seen it once, you could come back again since a lot of the show depends on audience participation. We'd love to see more of their act.

*This is only a preliminary review. Opening weekend always has some tweaks & issues to work through. Keep coming back to read our regular reviews to see how the houses and scareactors change over the event.

Alice Cooper's Welcome to my Nightmare

"Journey into the legendary rocker Alice Cooper’s twisted mind and witness the natural melding of horror and Cooper’s four decades-long career. Here you will follow Steven, the iconic character from many of Cooper’s works, as you come face-to-face with a myriad of tormentors who threaten an already-decaying sense of sanity." - Universal Orlando Official Description

Located in a Sprung Tent, entrance in ET/Spongebob area.

Final Scare Factor: 8/10

Review:
10-5-12
This is still one of the scariest houses of the event (even after finally experiencing Dead End and Gothic). The scareactors are becoming more involved in their roles, and coming up with better ways to scare you. Yes, we're still missing a photo of the exterior of this house - but don't fret - you're not missing much. You simply walk through a giant cut out of Alice's head. Seriously. That's it. HHN needs to get over to HOS to see how to do house exteriors and queues...

9-22-12 - opening weekend*
This is definitely the scariest house of the night of what we saw. They were spot-on with mis-direction scares and getting you when you didn't see it coming. Lots of legitimate screams in this one. And no one in our party of 4 is even very familiar with Alice Cooper's music. We'd assume if you know his work well, you'll get an even bigger kick out of this house. Already a stand-out favorite for us. 

*This is only a preliminary review. Opening weekend always has some tweaks & issues to work through. Keep coming back to read our regular reviews to see how the houses and scareactors change over the event.

Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure 2012

"Party on as those two most excellent dudes return to skewer the biggest names in entertainment and pop culture." - Universal Orlando Official Description

Located in the Fear Factor LIVE stadium.

Review:
9-22-12 - opening weekend*
If you've attended HHN for a few years, you know the regular plot of Bill & Ted's. This year however, they decided to shake it up a bit and did a school scene from Bill & Ted's high school instead. Don't fret - the usual random pop culture icons, political figures and musicians all played a part in the new storyline. In short, the new story is that Bill & Ted want to run for class president and get various iconic figures to help promote them in some fashion. They play a nod to the old plot with the phone booth appearing that they need to save the day (of course). A little awkward, but it was opening weekend, so they'll make changes and find their roles soon. We did enjoy this more comedy-based plot instead of the old one. There's still lots of dancing, explosions and loud music to end the show with a blast!

*This is only a preliminary review. Opening weekend always has some tweaks & issues to work through. Keep coming back to read our regular reviews to see how the houses and scareactors change over the event. 

Dead End

"If enough people believe in something, perception can become reality. In Carey, Ohio, the perception was that countless horrific acts had occurred in the old Hartford Mansion. The reality was that the curse which befell the house was far worse than any story ever told." - Universal Orlando Official Description

Located in Soundstage 20B, entrance by the New York Library.

Final Scare Factor: 9/10

Review:
10-5-12
Currently holding the title for Scariest House of the event so far. This one is amazing. We're still catching special effects that we missed before. And the scene at the end gets me every time - and I know what's coming! Don't miss this one, and if you can, see it a few more times to take everything in.

9-28-12
This house is another don't miss on our list. Dark, gory and downright ghostly, this house is guaranteed to give you goosebumps. Several spot-on, intense-out-of-nowhere scares and astonishing detail draw you into the depths of this house and makes you believe you are part of the story. A creepy house that will only get more intense as the event goes on.

Gothic

"The Catedral de Caementum Animus is, by day, undergoing a building-wide architectural refurbishment. By night, the many stone gargoyles that keep watchful eye over the sanctuary come to life with the mission of protecting this sacred place against intrusion." - Universal Orlando Official Description

Located in Soundstage 20A, entrance at Twister attraction.

Final Scare Factor: 9/10

Review:
10-5-12
Tonight's visit to Gothic wasn't quite as amazing as the first time. We unfortunately hit bad timing with the scares, as everything was happening just as we walked by. However, we are lucky that we are able to make multiple visits so this isn't that big of a deal for us.

9-28-12
This is quite possibly the best house of the event. Lots of unique detail, and excellent misdirection scares. The theme of this one is that you are walking through a cathedral, so you come across several gargoyles, a church bell scene, an amazing effect of being upstairs in the cathedral and gazing down onto the pulpit. You'll also go outside the cathedral, walking along the roof line where you'll encounter some flying gargoyles. The immensive detail draws you into the theme and makes you believe you are actually in a cathedral. We can't wait to go through this one again!

House of Horrors

"This is no remake. No sequel. No re-imagining. These are Universal’s classic monsters of fear, who have terrified audiences from the Silver Screen. They have been waiting within silver celluloid to be resurrected. The flash of a lightning strike cuts the darkness that surrounds, and terror’s true faces take back what is theirs…." - Universal Orlando Official Description

Located in the Parade building, entrance by ET/Spongebob area.

Final Scare Factor: 6/10

Review:
10-12-12
Our visit through the House of Horrors tonight was much better than the first weekend. The scareactors (while still not very many) are learning what makes a good scare in this environment and got us good a couple times. They worked together better and the intensity of the house is greater than before. The music is louder, and the scenes are darker with just enough light to see where you're going. We'll be raising our score from the original 2/10.

9-22-12 - opening weekend*
Classic monsters with a black & white themed look throughout the house. Unfortunately, after aproximately half-way through the house we found ourselves thinking "where are the scareactors"? Because of the lack of scareactors, it wasn't very scary. Near the end of the house you'll need to duck down for about 10 feet as you make your way through a three and a half foot tall tunnel. We're not really sure what they're going for here. The plot didn't seem to call for it and the employee waving a flashlight and telling people to duck didn't really help immerese us into what was happening. We see the old-time B&W look they're seeking, but it needs a few pretty good tweaks to make it work. This house has potential to be good, we'll see what they do with it.

*This is only a preliminary review. Opening weekend always has some tweaks & issues to work through. Keep coming back to read our regular reviews to see how the houses and scareactors change over the event.

Overall Atmosphere - HHN 22

9-22-12 - opening weekend*
We're happy to report that the overall atmosphere has made a small improvement this year. More fog machines, accent lighting and the lagoon show really add to the event. No, HHN is not going to be taking away the Best Halloween Party Atmosphere Award from Busch Gardens any time soon, but it is better than previous years. (Where's the DJ booths Universal?) We didn't get to watch the Halloween lagoon shows on this visit, but we really enjoyed catching a glimpse of it running while we walked by. When the lagoon is full of lasers, water fountains, screens and music it really helps bring the park to life. As mentioned in the Street Experiences post, the only "no where is safe" experience that we had tonight was when a vampire chic came wandering through Finnegan's while we were having dinner. We're looking forward to seeing where else they'll show up.

*This is only a preliminary review. Opening weekend always has some tweaks & issues to work through. Keep coming back to read our regular reviews to see how the houses and scareactors change over the event.

9-16-12
The entryway has been nicely decorated with signs, tarps and boarded up boxes at the entrance. The usual digital sign under the arch has been replaced with a plain poster. We're wondering if that digital screen will show up somewhere else in the event. Considering last year they only had the digital sign up, this is a great improvement - going back to the level of themeing of years before.
 

Penn & Teller Newkd Las Vegas

"World-renowned magicians Penn and Teller have accidentally nuked Las Vegas, but don’t worry, it’s nothing a fresh coat of paint and a truckload of BS can’t fix! Come on down to New Vegas, where all that glitters isn’t gold, and in fact probably has fatal levels of radioactivity." - Universal Orlando Official Description

Located in a Sprung Tent, entrance by Men In Black giftshop.

Final Scare Factor: 4/10

Review:
10-12-12
Our second run through this house left us a little let down. The scareactors seem like they're relying on the theme of the house to carry it, and not their participation. We went through several rooms where nothing happened. We're huge fans of Penn & Teller, but this house just seems to be getting dull. Maybe this one is better with only a single visit.

9-22-12 - opening weekend*
We expected this house to be fun and campy and it delivered. While we wouldn't consider this to be the comedy house of the event, it is fun and creepy and downright weird. It truly looks like Vegas gone awry - in the "newk"ular sense. More of your typical cheesy scares and scareactors being creepy than big terrifying scares. A fun scare with immense detail of a typical Vegas buffet gone gross, a blackjack table you don't want to double-down on, and a disturbing wedding couple headed for the chapel. If you have a thing for Christmas lights, you'll be in heaven! Overall a fun house that we can't wait to see how it grows throughout the event (and hopefully see Penn & Teller whenever they return again!). 

*This is only a preliminary review. Opening weekend always has some tweaks & issues to work through. Keep coming back to read our regular reviews to see how the houses and scareactors change over the event.

Spoiler Video of Inside
We will post a photo of the exterior of the house, but if you want to see the inside, check out this **Spoiler Filled** video with Penn & Teller showing off their house.



::Previous Construction Photos::
8-11-12
Nothing new to report from this visit. Same props and trucks out as last time.

8-3-12
We have an announcement that confirms our suspicions - this is "Penn & Teller New(kd) Las Vegas". Read more details about the house here.

7-28-12
We're starting to see more activity back by the sprung tent houses. Today we noticed a stack of bright orange oil barrels, some with yellow "ooze" painted coming out of the top. There's also a red star sitting on something yellow. Could this be the top of the famous "Welcome to Las Vegas" sign? Looks like this could be the rumored Penn & Teller house.
 

7-7-12
Everything looked pretty much like it did last time, but we spied a trailer with a logo on it that read "FAKE" and (after some light internet researching) found that it is a local company that specializes in production support for the themed entertainment industry. If you want to learn more about the company, visit FakeProductions.org. On their "Services" page, you'll see a photo of some boxes that look just like the ones holding the trees next to the tent houses.


6-30-12
Not too much activity that we could see today. The potted plants are still back there, along with several large, white metal-looking boxes. 
 

6-9-12
The big Magnolia trees are getting so full that it's getting very difficult to see anything. There wasn't much to see when we stopped by except that we noticed those giant potted plants from the Grown Evil scarezone last year lined up in front of one of the houses.
 
Here's a shot from last year of the potted plants that we're talking about.
 

Scarezones / Street Experiences

"As you make your way through the dark and sinister streets - beware. Someone is watching your every move. The Legions of Horror have ripped and clawed their way out of the ground from an ancient buried cemetary long kept secret. They'll move silently throughout the night, never staying in one place too long. Don't bother trying to avoid them. They WILL get you."  - Universal Orlando Official Description.

Located, well, everywhere...

Review:
10-5-12
Now that we've been to HHN a few nights since opening weekend, we are becoming increasingly disappointed in the lack of unique, themed scarezones. We used to hang out in the scarezones for a while and enjoy the atmosphere and watch them scare the people. Now there's nothing really to do in the streets even though the "roaming hoards" all pretty much stay in the same space where the usual scarezones were. It used to be a point to see every scarezone along with the houses. Now, after talking with other people as well, it seems that everyone is just going from house to house and seeing whatever hoards get in their way. Having more things to do in the streets is a good thing because it keeps house waits down which equals happy attendees.

Ok HHN, you tried the roaming hoardes (and saved lots of money in the process) so can we go back to themed scarezones next year?

9-22-12 - opening weekend*
First off, we will never think roaming hoardes are better than intricately themed scarezones. With that said, we were plesantly surprised with the amount of hoardes throughout the park. While they mostly stuck to the "themed areas" with the cemetary props, there were more wandering than we expected. There are also more smoke machines and lighting effects than previous years which helps with the atmosphere. We see a lot of potential with these hoardes and look forward to see how they change over the event. We stopped for dinner at Finnegan's and a vampire chic came wandering through the restaurant at one point. Not really scary, but it was fun to have that interaction. Other than that, we didn't experience any other "no where is safe" kind of experiences - yet. The hoardes are interesting, but we hope they bring back the detailed and different scarezones in the future.

*This is only a preliminary review. Opening weekend always has some tweaks & issues to work through. Keep coming back to read our regular reviews to see how the houses and scareactors change over the event. 


::Previous Construction Photos:: 
9-16-12
Ok, this is officially our last photo update as the event begins this Friday!! We found a few more props thoroughout the park. We also noticed that several of these cemetary prop pieces are wired with speakers, lighting and fog machines built into them. 

This giant prop piece of a cemetary entrance gate is located right after you enter the park, by the main gift shop.


This giant prop is located in front of the Animal Actors stage. There's a lot of detail in this one, along with lighting effects, speakers and a fog machine. If you look towards the bottom left of the piece, you'll find a nod to the old Jaws attraction.
 
 

Here's another new piece next to the bus stop in New York area. This prop has another nod to an old classic attraction - King Kong!
 

We noticed some interesting lighting effects in the decorated walkway near Mel's Dine-In. The lighting has mirrors next to the bulb, so there will be some special effects when lit.
 

Be sure to check out our Walking Dead house post for more very cool props out in front of the building!

9-9-12
This will probably be our last photo update since the event begins in less than 2 weeks. We only noticed a couple more areas with props than we saw the week before. We're getting a little nervous with the lack of themeing/decorations/atmosphere this year. The majority of the areas that previously and usually contain scarezones (New York, Shrek St., near Animal Actors, street between Shrek & Monsters Cafe) don't have ANY Halloween themeing or props as of today. We couldn't help but ask ourselves "Where is everything?" Hopefully there's lots more to come, and/or they plan on setting up props before the event each night. 

We have the name of the graveyard that is being built throughout the park - "Black Rose Cemetary". You'll notice that all of the gravestones have the same family name as well, Hawthorne.

This collection of props we found tucked down a side street of Hollywood Blvd. They obviously plan on pulling these out & setting up before each event night.
 
 
 
 
 

Here is one prop located over by Sting Alley. There was nothing else to see deeper in the alleyways. 
 
 

This prop is located over by The Mummy attraction.
 




9-1-12
Here's a few pictures from the weekend of props that started popping up around the park. They all have the same look/theme to them. Looks like the whole park will have a graveyard atmosphere.
 
 
 
 
 

Like the nod to Xena.  L
 
 

Silent Hill

"In the eerie and desolate town of Silent Hill, ash falls from the sky and the physical laws of nature no longer apply. If you dare to venture into this alternate dimension, there is only one law of nature with which you must concern yourself: survival." - Universal Orlando Official Description

Located in Soundstage 22, entrance by the Rockit Music Plaza.

Final Scare Factor: 6/10

Review:
10-19-12
After our first run through, we decided that we needed to watch the first movie of Silent Hill. Our second visit through the house was much better now that we knew the storyline and the characters. The scareactors were spot-on tonight in this house as well. They were working together to create misdirection and team scares rather than just a lunge and scream. The intensity level has increased dramatically in this house and we enjoyed it quite a bit tonight.

9-22-12 - opening weekend*
We aren't familiar with the video game and haven't seen the first movie of Silent Hill. So instead of appreciating the accurate detail to the games, we're judging this only as a scary house. Lots of grusome characters, scenes and actions in this house...that we always just seemed to miss the scare of. If you aren't the focus of the scares in this house, you will really miss out. It was too light tonight which allowed us to see the scareactors coming and, even worse, resetting back to their positons. We're not giving up on this one just yet obviously. If you are the target for the scares, we can see this potentially being a good scare. If not, well, try again later. We think this one will only get better as the scareactors find their place and character.

*This is only a preliminary review. Opening weekend always has some tweaks & issues to work through. Keep coming back to read our regular reviews to see how the houses and scareactors change over the event. 

Specialty Cocktails, Beer & Food - HHN 22

Dead Walker Signature Drink - $10 (in 20oz. souvenir glass) 
Featuring Minute Maid fruit juices.

Mixed Drink - $10 (in souvenir glass)
Available Liquor: Myers's Rum, Jose Cuervo Tequila, Russian Standard Vodka, Early Times Bourbon, Canadian Mist Whisky, Long Island Iced Tea

All Mixed Drink Refills - $7

Wine
House Red or White - $6

Draft Beer - $9 (in souvenir glass)
Choose from Miller Lite ($6 refill) or Yuengling ($6.50 refill)

Bottled/Canned Beer
Available at select carts throughout the park and in queues, selection varies by cart: Smirnoff Ice, Coors Light, Miller Lite, Heineken, Corona, Corona Light, Yuengling, Fosters and Red Stripe

Bottle of pre-mixed Jose Cuervo Margarita - $7
Available at most carts throughout the queues and select drink stands.

DeKuyper Shots
Washington Apple or Kamikaze

Jello Blood Bags - $6
Sex on the Beach flavored.

Bottoms Up Beer Dispenser
Order a non-souvenir draft beer at select stands and check out the awesome Bottoms Up beer dispenser from GrinOn Industries. The bartender plops a cup onto the GrinOn spout and it automatically, quickly and foamlessly fills it to the brim. But, be careful, that special cup is holding your beer with the power of magnets. Poke out the magnet at the bottom and your beer will empty even faster than it filled!



Review: This year's Signature Drink is named after The Walking Dead, the Dead Walker. But don't worry - you won't be turning into a zombie after consuming a few of these. While this is one of the tastiest signature cocktails for HHN in several years, this generic rum punch isn't packing a punch. It is a refreshing mix of (our best educated guess) pink lemonade, pineapple and orange juices. It's delicious, just not a good value of alcohol for the price.


We still stand by the rule that beer is your best value for your money at these events. If you order a regular mixed drink, watch them carefully to make sure you get a fair pour.

Souvenir Glasses
The signature souvenir plastic cup is 20oz., and since the regular mixed drinks are $7 and a souvenir refill is $7, if you plan on having a few it's better off to go with the souvenir cup. However, we measured the regular plastic beer cup versus the souvenir cup and there is just slightly more beer (about .5oz-ish) in the regular non-souvenir cup for beer. So if you plan on drinking only beer all night, there's no point in getting the souvenir cup, unless you want to be blinky!

On a side note, we measured the Howl-O-Scream signature cup and it came out to just over 12oz. - and their prices are the same as HHN's! You're getting a better drink deal at HHN.

Bar & Food Stands
Bar and food stands are located throughout the park for the event. In addition to these stands, Mel's Die-In, Monster's Cafe, Finnegan's, Chez Alcatraz and the Bakery will be open during the event.

Universal Food Truck
You'll find their own food truck serving up tasty tacos during HHN, including Korean BBQ Beef & Shrimp. This is the best counter service in the park - if you're hungry and want something quick and delicious, this is the place! Located between Animal Actors Theater and The Simpsons.
Menu
Korean BBQ Tacos - $9
Baja Shrimp Tacos - $9
Beef Tacos - $9
 

Bar & Food Stand Locations
This bar is located at the front of the park across from the bakery.
 
 
These bar & food booths are back by the toon/ET area.
 

Here is a bar located by The Simpsons ride.
 

This large bar is by the Men In Black giftshop.
 
 
Here's a bar over by the Bill & Ted show.
 
This one is near the Disaster (Walking Dead) attraction.
 

Here's a food & bar spot across from the Beetlejuice theater.


These food & bar stands are across from Twister.
 

These bars are in the Music Plaza area.
 

This bar is on the corner of Monster's Cafe, across from the Shrek attraction.
 

The Walking Dead - Dead Inside

"There is strength in numbers, and you must band together to make it through many of the iconic settings made famous by the critically-acclaimed AMC television series, “The Walking Dead.” As the city is crawling with hordes of walkers, the issue of your becoming one of them is not a question of if, but when" - Universal Orlando Official Description

Located in the Disaster queue, entrance by Beetlejuice's Graveyard Revue.

Final Scare Factor: 2/10

Review:
10-5-12
We seriously hope the designers of HHN are wondering "what went wrong" with this house, or we're all in a lot of trouble for next year's designs. This was supposed to be the "it" house of the event, the one everyone would be taking about and couldn't wait to go through again. Well, it's not. Not by a long shot. We couldn't fairly judge it until we went through after dark. We have now, and it's not much better than our first visit. First off, the entire house is way too light. You can see everything and everyone coming at you. The first hospital scene is cool, as you feel like you're actually in the show - especially when you see the "do not enter dead inside" door. That's about where the fun ends.

The rest of the house is dull and dead, with lifeless scareactors that seem like they either don't know what they are supposed to be doing or don't care. The entire plot of the house is slow moving and boring - a successful house keeps you on the edge and excited - this one made us wondering when it would end. Hopefully these scareactors find their place soon - the event is nearly half-over.

9-22-12 - opening weekend*
We were tempted by the 20 minute line to see this house and went through before it was dark out. Don't waste your time with this house until the sun has gone down. The light leaks in from everywhere and you can see every detail in bright light, let alone where the zombies are and coming from, which keeps it from being scary. Aside from that, if you watch the show you will recognize various scenes which make you feel like you're in the show. We liked how the line goes outside for a bit, then into the barn. We can't really judge how scary this house is just yet - we need to go through once it's dark for a fair review.

*This is only a preliminary review. Opening weekend always has some tweaks & issues to work through. Keep coming back to read our regular reviews to see how the houses and scareactors change over the event.

::Previous Construction Photos::
9-16-12
While there wasn't anything new to see inside the queue for the house, there are some great props out in front of the attraction. They have a replica of the station wagon from the show when they wrote "Sophia stay here, we will come every day" on the windshield along with some food sitting on the hood. There is also a school bus parked right behind the car, and an electric pole with wires dangling from it. We noticed that there is a generator hooked up behind the bus, so there will be something that makes noise, or moves once the event starts.
 
 

8-11-12
Not much to report from today's visit. The house is much more covered up now, but we did spy some gardening tools propped up against a wall. Will they be used for the house or just from construction?
 

7-28-12
We stopped by for a quick update today and found pretty much the same as last time. With the new darker covering there isn't much that you can see anymore. Although, at this point, it might be nearly done. The barn is covered in wood, and all it might need now is some zombies, lighting and fog. They covered up the crack between the doors on the barn, so we can't quite see what they're doing in there. Here's a few pics of what we could see.
 
 

7-18-12
Universal just officially announced that The Walking Dead is coming to HHN Orlando & Hollywood. Read our official announcement here for the video. Scroll through our older photos to see the barn frame and RV in this queue, which is now officially home to The Walking Dead.

7-7-12
It's now going to be slightly more difficult to get any good photos or info for this house - they put up a dark, thick curtain across the back. However, the sides are still wide open, so we'll still be able to sneak a few peeks there...which we did, but saw nothing new since the last update.


6-30-12
We have a barn! Wood has been added to the frame along with a barn door that looks like it will swing out - with zombies breaking out perhaps? Aside from the wood, there wasn't much else new to see.
 
 

6-9-12
Construction is already in full force in the Disaster queue. If you read the Rumors page, this is expected to be a Walking Dead themed house. Here's a few pictures from today.