Saturday, May 28, 2011
Friday, November 12, 2010
2001 OPENING SCAREMONIES HOLLYWOOD BOULEVARD
A Flat bed truck extends across the street. A makeshift hangman’s noose hangs above.
On the truck we also find a large box. It is a recreation of a children’s toy block with the letters J A C K all around. Fog pours from the box as we hear a rock version of “Pop Goes the Weasel”.
A low growl turns into a laugh as the maniacal clown JACK springs from the box. He bounds around the truck laughing out at the audience.
“Miss Me?” snorts Jack. The clown killer launches into the attractions and shows. He is immediately cut off by the sound of a rock guitar.
We hear the Duane Eddy rock classic “Rebel Rouser” as EDGAR our new master of scaremonies enters, Chainsaw in hand.
“Who are you?” yells Jack.
“Me?” glares Edgar. “I’m your replacement!”
“You don’t know the Saw! String him up Boys!” Two other CHAINSAW MANIACS enter and grab the clown. They place the makeshift noose around his neck and lift. We hear the snap of bone as Jack’s body goes lifeless.
Then it springs back to life.
“You’ll need more than that to get rid of me, freak!” snarls the Clown.
They lower the clown and place his head down on his box.
Edgar revs up his trusty chainsaw and tears through the clown’s neck. Blood sprays as Jack is beheaded right in front of us. His head drops down.
The new reigning champion lifts the clown’s severed head high for all the audience to see. The mouth still moves as we hear jack scream out his objection. “I’ll be back!” yells Jack’s severed head.
“Time to go back in the box!” smiles Edgar.
The evil chainsaw-wielding madman drops the head into the box. Then proceeds to chainsaw it.
Suddenly the CHAINSAW DRILL TEAM appears from behind our audience and attacks. They chase our guests into the park as the New Icon screams – “Open for Business!” A pyro hit signals the opening of our event.
Monday, October 18, 2010
Wednesday, October 6, 2010
Halloween Horror Nights at Universal Orlando Why you should visit multiple times
Halloween Horror Nights at Universal Orlando runs on select nights through Halloween. Many people only visit once, but Universal offers several ticket options that make multiple visits easy. Myself, I have the upgraded Frequent Fear pass that lets me visit on all non-peak nights and Fridays. You might not want to come that much, but here are some reasons why you should visit at least twice:
-Try all the houses and shows on your first visit and repeat favorites the next time around. A first visit is always hectic as you try to cram in as much as possible (hint: buy an Express Pass if it's a busy day). You won't get to see much of the detail as you hustle from house to house. You can slow down, relax and repeat favorites when you come back.
-Spend time observing details on subsequent visits. Most people focus on the haunted houses, and Halloween Horror Nights fans also love the Bill and Ted show. The scarezones are great too and there are so many small details throughout the park that get missed on hurried visits. Come back, take it slow, spend time watching people in the scarezones and notice all the amazing theming. Have a leisurely dinner at Finnegan's.
-Notice how things chance over the course of the event. This is an interesting thing to do if you are a local. Many people don't reallize that Universal tweaks things throughout the entire Halloween Horror Nights run. The last Bill and Ted show will have evolved from the first, and there might be more (or less) fog in one area or a new or different effect in a house. Come as much as possible and see how many changes you notice.
-Increase your chance of good weather. Usually the weather for Halloween Horror Nights is pretty decent because the rainy season is over. Sometimes there are still showers, which can ruin your visit if you only have a ticket for one day. The houses stay open in the rain, but the scareactors disppear. A multi-day pass gives you more chances for seeing things in good weather.
The crowds tend to take a toll on the houses as the season progresses. I took an insider tour early in the season, so click here to see lights-on photos with all the details inside the Legendary Truth house and click here for photos inside Psychoscareapy. Click here to read more of my articles, and click here to follow me on Twitter.
Saturday, September 25, 2010
Halloween horror night 20 event pics enjoy
Halloween Horror Nights (HHN) officially kicks off this Friday Sept. 24, 2010, but a special preview was held tonight for Universal team members and their guests. Luckily a friend of a friend works there and brought me as their guest. We’re going to bring you a full report with more photos and videos after the official opening. Consider this a sneak peek.
Since this was known as a technical rehearsal, some things may look different on opening night. In fact, Universal tries to improve things all throughout the event. If you don’t want any spoilers before you attend yourself, or if you don’t like scares and a bit of gore, click to another page.
As you can see at the top of this page, even though it was just open for employees and their guests, it was still quite crowded. The video screen was playing the same video you see when completing the Warehouse Experience game on the official HHN website. It shows five of the past HHN icons talking about Fear.
Here’s what most people wanted to see first – Fear. He was posing with his minions below him.
Here’s a closer look:
You can meet him in the Fear Revealed scare zone (of course).
In Fear Revealed, you can also meet Fear’s other puppets, Jack the Clown, The Storyteller, The Caretaker, The Director and …
The Usher.
The HHN: 20 Years of Fear scare zone features a lot of props from past years plus many characters you may recognize. This is the Red Queen from the Asylum in Wonderland scare zone in 2008.
I noticed a lot of cool lighting effects throughout the park. Most feature roman numerals from 1 to 20.
Lots of glowing fun in the Esqueleto Muerte scare zone.
This poor pilgram was begging for help in The Coven scare zone.
More cool lighting. Notice the vines that also appear on Fear.
Be careful when you go through the Saws n’ Steam scare zone. You may get really wet. There were a couple of places where mini shows were happening in this zone, but the fog was too heavy to be able to see one of them. But that’s why they have a technical rehearsal.
This was from my favorite scare zone so far, Zombie Gras. As you approach, you’ll hear familiar Universal Mardi Gras music, but as you get closer you realize this isn’t the Mardi Gras party you remember from last spring.
One last picture of the entrance, all lit-up as I left the event.
No photos were allowed, but I saw the first performance of Bill & Ted’s Excellent Halloween Adventure. It was great again this year. I especially liked the parodies of Twilight, Toy Story and The Wizarding World of Harry Potter. I’ll say no more.
Be sure to check back this weekend for our full wrap-up of opening night, including more pictures, video of the scare zones and information on all the haunted houses and shows. Halloween Horror Nights runs select nights through Halloween at Universal Studios.
