Universal Orlando Resort (USO, IOA) Discussion Thread

[OrlandoGuyI wrote the book about donkeys!]

I know she's insane and all that, but Chance is hot.

I guess...if youre into chubby chicks ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

This year didn't quite do it for me. Little cohesion. Houses all good but not *great*. In my opinion, 24 was the best of all the "new era of darkness" years with Halloween being one of the greatest houses of all time. Still, nothing holds a candle to everything pre-2010.

What was so different pre 2010?

Basically everything in the top post ^^. The thing is, I didn't even start going until after they had done away with the two-park format, foam parties, modified rides, etc...and I STILL think something is missing. The event before 2010 felt cohesive, and the park was actually transformed into a completely different atmosphere. They had detailed backstories for every house/icon on crazy interactive websites...it's one of those things that you don't really notice when it's there but notice when it's gone. The world-building that went into the event is missing now that they rely solely on unrelated external properties. Don't get me wrong, I still love going and go every year several times...it's just different that's all. Before, everything tied together like an immersive second theme park with a ton of atmosphere. Now they just shut the lights off, play dance music, and send you through recreations of your favorite shows and movies. It's hard to explain, just a different feel that you only picked up on if you started going to the event in the mid-2000's or earlier.

[gearbm95Can I park my donkey here?]

I went last weekend and uhhhh...was this event scary at one point? How are you supposed to be startled when youre walking through a maze with 200 other people?

All night we consistently walked into scenes where the actors were getting back into their hiding places or the animatronic/effect had just went off. I've never been more disappointed by a halloween event. Granted, the mazes were all top notch when it came to design but the crowds and the lack of "pulsing" individual groups through the mazes really ruined the event.

I would GLADLY play an additonal $30-40/ticket if they reduced the capacity of the event.

[OrlandoGuyI wrote the book about donkeys!]

I went last weekend and uhhhh...was this event scary at one point? How are you supposed to be startled when youre walking through a maze with 200 other people?

All night we consistently walked into scenes where the actors were getting back into their hiding places or the animatronic/effect had just went off. I've never been more disappointed by a halloween event. Granted, the mazes were all top notch when it came to design but the crowds and the lack of "pulsing" individual groups through the mazes really ruined the event.

I would GLADLY play an additonal $30-40/ticket if they reduced the capacity of the event.

Oh yeah, that's another thing...it's gotten way too crowded for its own good. Not only does a $100 (give or take) ticket NOT guarantee you access to all of the attractions (unless you pony up for another $100 for a fast pass), but it makes the park sometimes unbearable to be in...even with an Express last weekend I didn't see everything. I agree that I'd pay more in exchange for a lot less people. Endless conga lines have been the norm for a while now...it's more common than not to see scares happening ahead of you (and by 'scares' I really mean startles). I will say, the set design gets better every year (except this year which seems lacking compared to last year's admittedly high standard) and that has become the main draw for a lot of people.

[gearbm95Can I park my donkey here?]

I went last weekend and uhhhh...was this event scary at one point? How are you supposed to be startled when youre walking through a maze with 200 other people?

All night we consistently walked into scenes where the actors were getting back into their hiding places or the animatronic/effect had just went off. I've never been more disappointed by a halloween event. Granted, the mazes were all top notch when it came to design but the crowds and the lack of "pulsing" individual groups through the mazes really ruined the event.

I would GLADLY play an additonal $30-40/ticket if they reduced the capacity of the event.

Oh yeah, that's another thing...it's gotten way too crowded for its own good. Not only does a $100 (give or take) ticket NOT guarantee you access to all of the attractions (unless you pony up for another $100 for a fast pass)...I agree that I'd pay more in exchange for a lot less people. Endless conga lines have been the norm for a while now...it's more common than not to see scares happening ahead of you (and by 'scares' I really mean startles). I will say, the set design gets better every year (except this year which seems lacking compared to last year's admittedly high bar) and that has become the main draw for a lot of people.

Yes, exactly!

It actually felt more like I paid $100 to walk through movie sets as opposed to a huanted maze attraction. There was absolutely nothing scary the entire night, and after talking to other guests while in line (for hours, I might add) I noticed that many of the other guests felt the same way about not being able to experience the scares due to the lack of crowd control. In a couple of the attractions I actually slowed my walk to a crawl to get some space between myself and the never-ending group in front of me. This idea didn't work out very well as there were employees within the houses telling me to keep walking and "catch up" to the group.

[Fat-GI teach at the school of donkey!]

I really don't like jump scares so I hardly ever attend Halloween events for the houses themselves. I prefer tension that's built up, very much Hitchcockian.

On a completely random note, I'll be heading to Universal in mid April. What can I expect in terms of crowds?

[OrlandoGuyI wrote the book about donkeys!]

I really don't like jump scares so I hardly ever attend Halloween events for the houses themselves. I prefer tension that's built up, very much Hitchcockian.

On a completely random note, I'll be heading to Universal in mid April. What can I expect in terms of crowds?

Depends on when in April. Easter is on April 16 next year so if you go any time before then or especially that weekend, you'll run into heavy Spring Break crowds. The proceeding weeks shouldn't be *as* bad, but I dont know the different school SB schedules. That being said, there's a lot of ways to get around crowds depending on where you stay, how many days you plan to spend, etc. without having to spring for fast passes.

[Satans HockeyI wrote the book about donkeys!]

Thanks for all the info, I would still like to go at some point but I've been watching videos from this year and definitely see what everyone means about how crowded it is and the conga lines.

[Fat-GI teach at the school of donkey!]

Depends on when in April. Easter is on April 16 next year so if you go any time before then or especially that weekend, you'll run into heavy Spring Break crowds. The proceeding weeks shouldn't be *as* bad, but I dont know the different school SB schedules. That being said, there's a lot of ways to get around crowds depending on where you stay, how many days you plan to spend, etc. without having to spring for fast passes.

Thanks for the info, I'll be down there the weekend of Easter going to Star Wars Celebration, so I figured crowds will be big. Thanks

[Jew"It's not small, but it is very 'average.'"]

I enjoyed the event this year...all of the houses were visually amazing with some fun scares. Except for the Chance house. That was clearly the one that got the short end of the budget stick. I don't get scared at haunts, so I'm going more to watch other people get scared and check out the sets/design.

Bill & Teds was weak this year compared to the previous years that I have seen.

On another bright side, the specialty drinks were good!

[jray21Why do I still have a donkey title???]

Looks like they did a great job this year! I haven't been to Orlando for Halloween for quite a while. I think a return trip is in order.