An Epic Stumble into the Fog (feat. Scott and Caleb)

Transcript

Speaker: welcome back to thrills chills and spills where we're here to spill the tea on all things theme parks special events and especially spooky season which we are right in the middle of i'm your guest host scott i'm joey i'm kelly and i'm caleb For the first time, we have a new guest. It's it hey guys love So Caleb, tell us, for those listeners who apparently we have some who don't know who we are, how do you know us?

Speaker: ah I know you guys through the Buzzbars Coaster Club. That's where I found all of you wonderful people. um And it turns out that we are pretty similar in a lot of ways. So here I am joining in on this conversation.

Speaker: Happy to be here. Happy to share my thoughts as always. And happy to be Diet Phil and Tyler tonight. is he having fun without us we love it right so how many years have you been going to hhn at this point yeah so our first year hhn was 2022 so okay uh we've been for a couple years now um and have loved it. We make multiple trips every year. we are fully in at this point. So this will be our our fifth year that we're covering here.

Speaker: Yeah. We're on a similar to timeline. yeah Super fun. Awesome. Well, welcome. We're glad to have you. And I guess per usual, we're going to head into our spills section and I'll start out since I'm talking. Caleb knows this. um I recently had my first bar taco experience.

Speaker: Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. I had no idea that that was your first time ever going. Yes. What the heck? I've been hearing about bar tacos so much. from the crew and ah finally made it out there. So that was a good time. Had a good mojito, had some good tacos. They were all delicious. The ones that I had, i think my favorite was the pork belly taco out of those. That was really solid. as it shouldre Also had the tres leches, a little dessert thing. And that was delicious.

Speaker: um Both Scott and Caleb were there with me, but they, i think both have been before. So that was my first experience and it was a good time. yeah Yeah. I fear I started something some, some capacity. It's almost like a club within a club situation here. The only downside, Joey, for your first time, they didn't have any limes this is like waiting on a shipment. So they were like sorry, we can't make guacamole, no limes to squeeze out. All that sort of produce truck arrived right as we finished. Yeah. So that was a bummer. So you just have to go back.

Speaker: yeah I guess so. you have any near you? Huh? Do you have any near you? I don't even know. yes he does. He already knows, apparently. Listen, I have the whole bar taco map across the country just in my brain. I've communicated with their corporate team about how we need somebody or us because we don't have any. Wait. It's a whole thing. We have three bar tacos.

Speaker: And the closest one is 10 minutes away from me. What the heck?

Speaker: It's in Inman Park. like That's so close. Oh my gosh. That's hilarious. Now y'all need to come to Atlanta and come to one of our bar tacos because we have three. It really is a great time.

Speaker: zero That's the way. Love it. but anyway Besides good food, what else is going on out there in the in the spills land? Well, I would like to talk about ah the infamous Celestiki Pina Colada.

Speaker: i would say that a Pina Colada is one of my most frequently ordered beverages if it exists somewhere that I am a frozen variety, especially if it's hot out. That's what I want to order. And I had been hearing for so long how this is the best theme park drink in the world and it is going to F me right up.

Speaker: Well, I had this thing. And let me tell you, not only did it not F me right up, it made me sick AF. It did you up.

Speaker: Just not the way you wanted. In the wrong way, baby. And also, my friend, I was so full from that thing. I was like borderline ready to puke. like It is a lot. It's a lot to consume.

Speaker: Who can do that? i i don't i don't know if we got a bad batch or what was going on, but I've had many Celestiki Pina Coladas.

Speaker: Every other experience has been great. This one, I didn't even feel like I had a drink after we after we were done with it. Mm-hmm.

Speaker: It just is very surprising. I feel like that was all of the calories in my day in that one drink. Yes. It felt very heavy and it barely got me any buzz. And I was like, okay, the much vaunted pina colada was not meeting up to the hype. Ew. Which is because they they did still taste strong.

Speaker: Like, it's not like it didn't like. My first sip did, but after that, it was kind of like. Yeah, I don't know. It was just, maybe it was just an odd mix that day in the machine or something like that. thought was trying to get sloppy at two o'clock in the afternoon, like, it was expensive.

Speaker: Yeah. Yeah. Right. No, it. One of those. Yeah. Yeah, I have nothing to add to this conversation. I did enjoy the DK float very much for like the millionth time. it hits every time.

Speaker: And I recommend that. for Maybe that's what we should have done instead. You should have, honestly. All you guys with your little salad, sticky drinks, and I'm over here with a massive Donkey Kong float just enjoying my time.

Speaker: i love it.

Speaker: All right. What else? Caleb? Yeah. so if So you kind of sprung this on me. i didn't really think about this whole spill section. But I guess the the most exciting thing for my weekend that's not on the itinerary to discuss already is that we flew out of a different airport this time. We went through Indianapolis instead of through our usual locations. It's only like half hour further away. And it was awesome.

Speaker: I love that airport. Oh, Indy's airport is nice. No idea. Yeah. I've floated and out a couple times. top of my airport rankings now so it's going to likely be in the rotation on a more regular basis going okay i was on ind i've never been there i don't think there's not really a reason to unless you're going to indianapolis i don't think but i loved it i feel like there's got to be like some parks nearby that if you wanted to you could fly there for

Speaker: Maybe. i mean, I think they would all include a little bit of a road trip, but, you know, it's an option for... indian option for Indiana Beach? Maybe? Yeah. It's probably equidistant to Chicago.

Speaker: like I'm looking at my my airport map, and I have not been to that one, shockingly. Wow. That is, yeah, very interesting. I've been to CMH, but not IND. Maybe someday. I've got to get out there.

Speaker: How big is it, Caleb? It was... Not overwhelmingly large, but big enough. Like it wasn't super tiny. We're we're close to the Dayton International Airport in Dayton, Ohio. And so that's very small by comparison, but that's our normal go-to. I'd say it's probably slightly smaller than like Columbus is. It has 39 gates and two concourses. So it's definitely not tiny.

Speaker: It's not tiny, but it it doesn't feel overwhelming though. They do a good job of spacing it out. And we're talking like recliners and couches and stuff. by the gates and freaking tastic yeah ah remember great food options yeah not being crowded which you know is always key for a nice airport experience right be able to get through security fast and such mco could never oh gosh no ah One of my least favorite airports.

Speaker: Anyway. All right. I made a huge mistake at MCO this weekend. Oh no. So as you know, as you guys know, but maybe not you listening. No, I brought my friend from home, Allie, who is not a coaster person or a spooky person. She's just a good friend. Yeah.

Speaker: So, um, we both have TSA pre-check. She actually has like clear or whatever that like one step above is. And we are tired. It is five zero in the morning, just walking around the airport. And we attempted to go through security on the wrong side of B, like not the right gates. So she gets security. i get stopped. They're like, wait, what's your gate? And I was like, whatever. And they're like, that's the other side of the airport. And I'm like, um crap, I forgot that's a thing here. And then I'm like calling Allie on the phone. i'm like, Allie, you have to come back out. They don't connect. She doesn't answer.

Speaker: i left a voicemail. I text her. I call her again. It's like a half hour later. I'm literally sitting on the other side of security on the other side of the airport. And she texts me. Oh my God, I was wondering what was taking you so long. Oh no. I'm surprised let her through. i know. I was like, my friend just, she just went. Yeah. yeah Wow.

Speaker: That's hilarious. I did great. Yeah. Be careful. Frontier is on one end and Delta and um the other ones are Southwest or on the other side. Well, let me tell you, American is on both sides.

Speaker: so Is it really? That makes no sense. Oh my gosh. Good times. Well, my spill is that HHN is greater than HHD.

Speaker: What I mean by that is the nighttime vibes are a big part of my Horror Nights experience. And although I love getting the houses done early in the day, the 2 p.m. start is just like it takes a long time for like that overall vibe of the event to pick up.

Speaker: which is Which is, you know, again, love getting the houses in early. I think it's cool that it allows you to strategize the night better, you know, maybe get reruns on some of those houses early on. But it just, like, I think we had, like, seven houses done before it got dark or something like that. And, like, it's just a little bit of a different experience. And i feel like the first time that I did HHN, like, I walked...

Speaker: Well, maybe not the first time. Either way, I like walking through the truss at night and just getting like that that kind of you're ah here here now, you're in the fog and welcome to the show kind of feeling that you get at night when you walk through the the gates and it's already dark and stuff. But, you know, either way, I still accept and will participate in Halloween Horror Days. I just prefer Halloween Horror Nights.

Speaker: yeah Yeah, it's very true. i mean, and that's for me, that's just in general, like theme parks. I like night better. But here we are They've made it really early. I have never even walked through the any of the HHN portals at night for the first time. I've always been there before.

Speaker: yeah Yeah. And I agree with you. Like, it's just so weird. And I, I, I don't know if I said this on our last episode when I was talking about when Tyler and I went, we last year, even though it was daytime sat in that terrifier queue before our first house, our first run for so long that it at least built a little bit of hype. We like our first day, like walked just like we did, just walked right into Hellraiser. And I was like, wait, are we about to start HHN? Yeah.

Speaker: In the sun, in the middle of the day of Florida. It's weird. And then it takes forever for your eyes to adjust. And then you come back outside and it's daylight and you're like, what just happened? um But yes, I agree. But it is nice to be less stressed.

Speaker: Less anxiety. yeah Both HHN days for me so far have started the exact same way. Literally. Early entry daytime Hellraiser walk-on experience. Doing Hellraiser Crazy that it happened out that way. It's so funny. Yeah. yeah So moving to the thrills here. We were all in Orlando this past weekend because of the Buzzbars event epic stumble.

Speaker: And um we'll get into that here. So we all, you know, came from all corners of the country and in the world, I believe. We even had some... had some Had Mark from the Netherlands all the way across the pond hanging out.

Speaker: um And we stayed at, well, I guess we'll just take it kind of from the top with where we stayed. And we were at the Stella Nova Resort. Thoughts on Stella Nova? That was my first time. I liked it. It's very um modern feeling, kind of understated design. It's not overstimulating. It's kind of, yeah, it's it's very relaxing, in my opinion. um And I thought the rooms were pretty classy and um not like massive, but they were they had a good amount of space. And I like that little bench that's in the room. um The showers were fine. I know that when it first opened, there were some issues with like plumbing and like getting hot water and things like that. But ah we did not have any issues like that in my room. So um yeah, it was it was good. And the location is great for Epic.

Speaker: um I don't think I actually ended up walking. do the part. No, we did. We did um the the on the morning. um But the bus is like a really short walk or short drive away. And then if you would like to walk it, it's really easy to do. So it's just a pathway and then a crosswalk and bam, you're right there at the entrance to the park, which is super convenient.

Speaker: um And it's also at least the rates that we got were quite good. And it's it's not one of like the highest tier um resorts. It doesn't include express, which is whatever. But um I thought it was a pretty good deal for for where we were able to be considering it includes the bus transit and um and a nice resort property with a pool and all of that stuff.

Speaker: This was my first time staying on a universal at a universal hotel for multiple nights while going to the parks and really just the, the ease of the bus operation, you know, sometimes you got to wait 10, 15 minutes, whatever. But overall I thought that that was, was just awesome. You know, I mean, it was such a short walk from the hotel entrance to where the bus pickup was, you know, it what, maybe 40 yards over there. And, uh,

Speaker: Yeah, I really enjoyed it. I thought the rooms were great. The pool was was awesome. I really liked that hotel. Like you said, understated, classy, clean.

Speaker: i like the white everywhere. that you know It's just kind all the things that you would expect from something to be you know more like one of the upper tier resorts, but at that mid-level price point, which is great.

Speaker: Yeah, it was actually our second time staying there. And our first time was before Epic was even open. I think it was within a month of Stella Nova actually opening. And so, Joe, you were talking about some of those issues when they first opened. I think we had like maybe one or two elevators available to us. The food situation wasn't quite there yet. So it was cool to see it in its complete form this time around.

Speaker: um And yeah, I'll echo everything everybody said. It's super convenient and super easy. um Universal just does such a good job of making things so simple all the time. And That's why we often stay on site when we're there. It just takes so much hassle out of the whole time you're there.

Speaker: No complaints here. Yeah. I can echo everything that you guys said. This was actually, i think my second time at Stella Nova, but I've stayed twice at Terra Luna or some combination of those. I can't even remember because they're so similar. It's just really the color scheming is is a little bit different. it's more earthy tones at Terra Luna. Um, yeah,

Speaker: Stella is definitely preferable to Tara as far as like walkability to Epic, but otherwise they're very much the same. um This was my first time like eating down in the food court. I think I maybe ordered some breakfast one of the times that I was there, but their food offerings are like really great. Like i got avocado toast for breakfast and it was like the best avocado toast I've ever had. it had like all the vegetables on it. And then I got like a fruit cup and um there's plenty of like grab and go options. I got like a parfait at one point. So I was really impressed with that for like a lower to mid tier universal slash Disney hotel. I thought that the food was definitely like upper echelon. And i agree, everything is very modern and clean and very minimalistic, but like in a way that allows you to maximize the space in your room. And like, it's it's what you need and nothing that you don't need, you know? And I really, this is like stupid, but I really love that the temperature gauge and the shower head on are on opposite sides of the shower. Who would have thought that that would be so cool?

Speaker: get confused for a second every time, but I'm like, I can stand over here away from the spout of the water and mess with the temperature and not be underneath it, you know? Mm-hmm. Love that.

Speaker: Love that. It's the details. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, I got some food at the food court as well. And ah for breakfast, at least that i what I got was pretty good. Yeah. Considering they basically lock you behind a fence at the resort and you don't really have a lot of opportunities to eat elsewhere. It's good that the food that they have is is ah is of higher quality.

Speaker: Not the pizza though. Besides the pizza. Do not get that grab and go pizza. I'm here to tell you. Worst. i mean I hate to say it, but genuinely maybe the worst pizza I've ever had in my life. But I also...

Speaker: do want to on on a positive note shout out the grab and go bar because we love having a Starbucks inside the hotel being able to grab a breakfast sandwich all that good stuff you know the convenience the luggage check you know I think that that's pretty easily accessible whether you're staying there or not not going to lie Larson maybe did a little social experiment on that and it it worked just with a you know smith.j name so yeah good good stuff with Stellanova Yeah. And so yeah, i mean, we do we want to run through the whole event? do we want to talk epic? What do you think?

Speaker: I mean, I think all four of us have been there before. So this podcast has extensively talked about Epic Universe in the past. I think I was looking through our episode history and we have like a three hour episode about Epic Universe. So I figured we just touch on kind of the highlights. And also I wanted to talk a little bit about how the park is holding up, if you will, considering that we're all in kind of the repeat visit territory. This was my fourth visit.

Speaker: um And seasonally, they have adjusted the park hours. So it was closing at 8pm. For me, this was a detractor for sure, because it was really frustrating for a park that is so beautiful at night. And you really like ideally want to be able to get Some time in every portal at night. i feel like we only had like 30 minutes maybe to an hour of nighttime at the park, which was really just not great um considering what the potential of it is at night. And I realized that those hours are likely adjusted related to HHN and just this the people like kids going back to school and everything. But considering, you know, all throughout the summer, it was closing at nine and then they pulled it back to eight when at least one of the times that I've been there previously, it was open till 10 p.m. Like that's a big cut um to the hours, especially in the summer when it doesn't get dark until later. So that was a little bit frustrating. um

Speaker: From a repeatability standpoint, I will say for me, um this visit definitely started to make me feel like the diminishing returns are getting really strong.

Speaker: um yeah Because while it does have some great rides, Epic still struggles a little bit with capacity and not having enough attractions. And also the attractions that it does have having...

Speaker: difficulty with capacity. And so when I go into the park, and I see like a 70 minute plus queue for Donkey Kong, and I see like on 120 minute queue for ministry, even though I would ride those things at that at those wait times, considering I've already experienced them, I'm not doing it again. And so you go into the park and at least for me, I rode Curse of the Werewolf using the single rider line just to try to make it go by quicker, which was 10 minutes. That worked fine. um I rode Stardust Racers and I rode Monsters Unchained. And those are the only rides that I did at the park that whole day. um So it was mostly just like vibing, checking out some food and just walking around. um And I feel like next time I visit might be farther out now just because I don't have a lot to go back to necessarily until their next attraction gets added, which there's a crane. So that's good. um But yeah, unfortunately, like while it's a beautiful park and I really enjoy its aesthetic, I think I'm really starting to feel the the diminishing return on that.

Speaker: Yeah, i this was my sixth time going to Epic. Of those six times, I've maybe spent two hours total with the sundown at the park. Just yeah because of the time of year, the hours that were in play at the time.

Speaker: And i was there one night. It was open until 10. But the party I was with all wanted to leave around 830. So that was not part of the club.

Speaker: by the way but yeah it uh yeah it's it's one of those things where i wish i wish that it was like 12 to 12 like you know that's just me personally though i just think that like i didn't even go into super mario world or harry potter i went into two portals the whole time yeah that entire day you know and great food all that good stuff but i'm feeling you on the on the diminishing return aspect for sure Yeah, I'm in the same boat, Joey. It's my fourth visit this past weekend. It's my fourth visit there. And I said at one point, I think that was the first time I've been where I didn't notice anything new.

Speaker: for the first time where it was, oh, I know what this is. I know what this is. Whereas the first few times it's like, oh, I've never saw that before. That's so cool, you know? So that was that was certainly different than the first couple of experiences. and And like you guys have said, done everything there is to do at this point. The only thing still is exploring the food options for me, which is obviously great. They have a ton of really cool things there.

Speaker: I went back to blue dragon for the second time while we were there and that was fantastic. Again, tried other things on the menu. I didn't try last time, you know, so there's still things to do, but I, I don't see myself going back until there's at least one new attraction at this point.

Speaker: Yeah. And again, i echo everything that you guys said. It was my, i think, fourth or fifth visit to Epic. But my first one since literally a year ago, I went a ton last year and then haven't been in the last year. And while I was really looking forward to it, and I agree, the aesthetic of the park is like top tier for me. I found myself getting bored. And I know I was exhausted from the night before, but I actually like didn't rope drop and left in the middle of the day for a break.

Speaker: And I don't usually do that kind of stuff. I'm usually like, this is my chance to like be at a park that I don't get to go to a lot. I'm going to stay here all day. But I was just like, I don't feel like standing in the hot sun where it's not shady for a ride I've ridden multiple other times.

Speaker: I rode Stardust Racers and Monsters Unchained multiple times each, but that's all I rode. And they're my two favorite attractions in the park. And I was happy with that. So, um, yeah, that I'm really just echoing what you guys are saying. I tend to be a creature of habit. And though I want to try more food, I missed some of my favorite things there. So I ate them. Yeah.

Speaker: Yeah. ah I do, you know, Epic in 20 years when everything is grown in is going to be a whole different animal, you know, because I think that they've done a lot of long-term planning with how they planted the agronomy around the park. And, you know, that's just going to take literally years and years to develop, but it will be there eventually. And then I think that when when that comes to fruition, Celestial Park will willll even step its game up even higher, you know, which I'm looking forward to.

Speaker: And I don't want to be all doom and gloom here, guys. like There are things there that are totally worth doing over and over and over again. 100%. could sit on Stardust all day at Monsters. You have to peel me off the ride. I already said the Donkey Kong float. I've had it a million times, and I will keep getting it. like There are elite things to do at this park. so And vibe the vibes are good. Yeah, for sure.

Speaker: yeah like It's an expensive price point for the vibes. True, true. and like it But you know I've never been to Blue Dragon. I've never been to Atlantic. I've never been to the Meteor Gastro Pub. like There's still so many different things outside of the rides I haven't done. But yeah.

Speaker: but yeah We did get some pretty awesome ah dueling Stardust Racer rides with the whole club at the end of the night. um I think we we did as best as we could to try to line up getting people on both trains and in similar rows. um And that was definitely one of the highlights of the weekend for me.

Speaker: Yeah, that was awesome. I've only ridden Stardust Racers, which by the way, if you didn't know, is my number one roller coaster out of ah a lot of roller coasters. And I've only ridden it once at like dusk, like not even dark. So to experience that with like all the lighting package and like literally reaching for the fingertips of my friends twice was incredible for me and solidifies its place as my number one coaster. Yeah.

Speaker: So I learned this weekend that they have different audio on the ride for daytime and nighttime rides. I didn't know that. I've ridden it at night before. I just never paid attention, I guess. I don't know. But it was it was really neat seeing the just the different vibe that it gives with the different audio.

Speaker: The more intense kind of sound that it has at night versus the kind of majestic swooping sounds during the day. It's it's totally different. And yeah, I mean, Stardust is fantastic. While everybody else rope dropped ministry and DK, that's where I ended up. So i wrote it, Bethany and I wrote it twice without getting off the ride to start the day. We were the only few people on the train in the front row and then the only two people on the train in the back row all by ourselves. So that was really, really fun.

Speaker: um And then, like you guys said, the night rides were were fantastic with the fireworks and the lights and everything going too. it's It's a good ride. It's real good. the The thing that pleasantly surprised me is on my last visit, which was literally September of 25, it was really feeling that mock rattle on every train. I think I rode it three times that day, both sides. And I was like, oh, man, like this is really happening already. And this trip, it felt pretty smooth, smooth as glass to me. Every train, every side.

Speaker: I agree. i agree completely that it's like... So Stardust and Velocicoaster have flip-flopped as my one and two like more than four times now. And I think it happened again this weekend because...

Speaker: it got that Velocicoaster rattle. You know, there's like the, I don't know if it's just one train or if it's just because I like VC towards the front of the train more, but there was, there was some rattly moments, you know, like even like the little bunny hill before the Mosasaurus roll, it was like kind of vibrating and and stuff. So I don't know. I might just make them one, a one B and not have a two if going forward. Didn't just stop this madness, but you know, the rides on Stardust were better than the VC rides. I got this trip for sure.

Speaker: Well, on that note, we should. i feel like these rides just automatically get compared to each other because they're the highest thrill rides at Universal's cousin parks, sister parks, whatever you want to say. i feel like the consensus is pretty mixed on which one is better.

Speaker: i I got to ride both this visit and I would still put Velocicoaster first, even after that incredible dueling night ride that we had, which was super fun. um i just think the overall forces and experience are better on Velocicoaster.

Speaker: Yeah, I'd agree with that. i I've always enjoyed Stardust, but it's never been at the same tier as Velocicoaster for me. I'm looking at my... My lovely spreadsheet, I've got Velocicoaster at two and Stardust is at nine. So it's it's a different level for me, but still definitely an elite experience.

Speaker: But I lean toward Velocicoaster for sure. Yeah, I'm just always such a victim of the recency bias. And, you know, it's like those those night rides were so much fun. and it was so smooth that day. you know, VC is is still incredible. And I love how it breaks apart the two halves, with which Stardust does kind of as well. But I think VC does it better um as far as just like the two totally different kind of ride experiences between the first half and second half. um But, yeah, I don't know. I'm i'm still TBD.

Speaker: Well, we know where Kelly stands. I mean, I will say i do always get very hype for the whole experience of Velocicoaster, including the queue, which obviously lacks in Stardust. But I do think Stardust Station is beautiful. Some people have called it like boring and minimalistic. It is so beautiful. If you just look around, like the color palette is beautiful. When it's lit up, it's beautiful. Like I, I really like it, but I think for me, like I know what I like and I like a smooth, negative, heavy,

Speaker: minimal positives and versions ride. And that's just what Stardust is. So that's just my kind of thing that I prefer, but that's not to say I don't love Velocicoaster. I I'm pretty sure I have Velocicoaster ranked like fifth. So it's up there.

Speaker: Yeah. At that point. I mean, yeah. it's Percentage wise, they're pretty close to each other. They're both elite. They're both elite. We can all agree on that. They are both elite.

Speaker: and Another thing that's elite is Halloween Horror Nights. And we are in the middle of HHN season. So let's jump into some chills. um We started, I guess, our overall HHN experience ah with a meetup at the Dead Coconut Club to start the event on the first night that everybody was getting in.

Speaker: um Very cool overlay this year. I think I i really enjoyed it. um Not as much fog, which I know Joey will talk about, but yeah cool overlay. I like the harvest, the separation between the two floors. Very nice.

Speaker: Yeah, it was kind of an alien harvest theme. And you saw like a big moon and the the cornfields are all around the dance floor, really. And in the front part, you kind of had almost like trick or treat houses set up and pumpkins and um like a living room playing a horror movie. It was so Yes. It gave me my childhood feels. Yeah.

Speaker: down home And then the upstairs was like the alien ship kind of, and it's all metallic-y and like aliens in glass tubes and stuff um and like neon lighting. And yeah, it was it was very cool. And I appreciate this is something I didn't even realize until this time. Like there's three different bars in the location and all three of them have different drinks, completely different drink menus for the cocktails at least.

Speaker: yeah Yeah, I did not know that either. And um i I sampled quite a few of them. And there were there were some good, some bad. But shout out to Action Eddie, the bartender at the ah the bar upstairs, because he was...

Speaker: ready willing and able to fire off a whole drink let you try it and then just dump it out if you didn't like it and give you a different one so i you know i thought that was great yeah yeah and i will say the drinks in there are stronger than the ones inside the park so if you're looking for that then that's kind of the place to go um but yeah i was sad about the lack of fog because last year upstairs they had a fog machine just sort of out there just fogging up the whole upstairs area. And there was clouds that you could just immerse yourself in this year. It was not so much the same. But um yeah, that was really the only thing I could complain about with the atmosphere because I thought the whole rest of it's really cool and and well done overlay. And they really do make it look different year to year, it seems because last year was like a completely different feel.

Speaker: Yeah, i think that the the lack of fla lack of fog might be something that comes up later on in the event for me, or in the episode here for me as well. um But yeah, yeah great great time at the at the Dead Coconut Club. And um you know moving into the kind of – well, it was your first time this year, this weekend as well, right, Caleb?

Speaker: Yes, it was. Yes, it was. While you guys were at the Coconut Club – I actually went to Horror Nights on Thursday as well. and we Okay. I was going to say, I didn't see it in there, I don't think. Yeah. No, we we were busy doing other things. um No, we we went on Thursday and did a much more leisurely, just kind of stroll around, check it all out at our own pace type of thing, knowing that Friday was going to be...

Speaker: schedule let's do everything make sure it's all good and check all the boxes so um yeah it was it was our first visit to orlando so far this year we did go to hollywood a couple weeks ago um with you guys as well so first impressions the context the the three of us except for kelly we're all together in uh in hollywood and experienced that event first before this weekend this past weekend where we went to Orlando. So we're going to be able to sort of compare the experiences between the two events, the pros and cons of each one, and also the IP houses that overlapped between the two and kind of how all of that worked out.

Speaker: um I guess maybe i I wrote it down, but maybe we should start with the overall feel of the events. um ah Just like the kind of impression without really spoilers. I mean,

Speaker: For me, um I had so much fun at Hollywood, um especially and Express was part of that for sure, just the ease of getting through things. um But like going through the houses in Orlando, you're sort of reminded of the budget and the scale that is there.

Speaker: Um, you know, you're just like walking through sound stages with like three story tall features in them and you're like, oh yeah, like this place does it different. Um, so that was definitely part of it. Just being reminded about how, how hard they go on the set design in Orlando.

Speaker: Um, I will say like on the scare zone side of things, again, like the scare zones in Hollywood were so minimalistic from a set design perspective. However,

Speaker: um I really liked the vibe in Hollywood of that upper lot area just down that central corridor with how many scare actors there were and also the fire going off and the lighting going off of the truss. I really like that and honestly almost preferred that atmosphere to any individual atmosphere throughout the park at HHN because ah or in or Orlando, because I don't think that they really have an area with that energy to it anywhere in Orlando. Like the scare zones have their own individual character, but I didn't really see that sort of like, i lack like fiery energy, for lack of a better word, than than or ah Hollywood did. And overall,

Speaker: I think while there were some real highlights in Orlando, i think overall i was scared more in Hollywood houses than I was in Orlando. And I have to wonder if part of that is a function of the sort of batching that they do where it doesn't get quite as conga liney inside. um But yeah, that was, those are my kind of overall impressions. What do you guys think?

Speaker: So I don't mean to like, I feel like you guys have all heard this from me, but the listeners haven't. So i'm going to go through it again. The vibe of Hollywood in that upper lot is a true difference maker out there. um It really is. And this year compared to last, it wasn't even like last year was so much more vibey than this year was like last. The scare zone being Fort Nightmares right in the center there, you know not that it was bad or anything, it just wasn't as good as whatever the clown massacre thing that they had going on last year was. And you know something with like you know the other scare zone on the backside of the of the plaza last year was was just like one of my favorite scare zones of all time. And so I personally was like disappointed in this year's Hollywood, but still that area

Speaker: along with my two favorite stilt actors in the world in the plaza, just it, you know, it really is a, a true vibe there. And then, and, you know, I think my overall impression is that they're, they're both great. Orlando does some things significantly better than,

Speaker: And Hollywood does some things better, but it, you know, I think it's really cool to be able to compare the two because they're always going to be different. And, you know, it's something that, that, you know, after doing it two years now, I just, I genuinely look forward to doing it every year, you know, trying to get to both of them for at least, you know, if the Hollywood trip's not necessarily cheap or easy to pull off, but Yeah.

Speaker: Yeah, I said it a couple times over the course of the weekend, but to me, it felt like Hollywood was kind of like the appetizer to Orlando, which isn't a bad thing. Appetizers are delicious, but it's like you said, it's it's not the same scale of an event overall.

Speaker: There are things that I think Hollywood does better overall. I thought their food was better. I thought... There are more situations where the scare actors actually get to act instead of just like hopping out and and scaring you or whatever. They're actual scenes and we'll we'll get into those, I'm sure. But overall, i did prefer Orlando's. I think the Orlando event this year is one of the better of the five years that I've been going at least now, maybe second just to last year. But the bar is pretty high after 2025. yeah.

Speaker: Overall, similar similar feelings to you guys. I think Hollywood does some things better, but for the most part, it's a different ballgame. and We're talking about what's going on in Orlando. yeah Yeah, I would say... Sorry, go ahead, Joy. Well, just overall, like the connectivity between the scare zones in Orlando, I did appreciate that because it last year, it felt like they were stretching for how all of that connected together. And obviously, you know it's an anniversary year, so they have the Lord tying behind it with Oddfellow and Jack, but... Um, I was initially concerned that the carnival vibe of it was going to feel a little too samey, but I think they did a good job with making at least the two others like, well, actually three scare zones that are associated with it feel different and have different aspects to them. Um, but with that, with it all still sort of tying together. And I, I do appreciate that.

Speaker: The only one that was kind of like, what is four nights really, but that's its own thing. And we can talk about that. So Yeah, it I would give the nod to Orlando pretty heavily this year as an overall event. Last year, i i I probably would have given it to Hollywood personally. um But when we walked into like the downtown Clown Town area at night this time, i remember saying to Joey, like I feel like this is the first time I'm walking into the fog the whole year. you know like Just because... The vibe was there. And, and I liked, I liked that the connectivity of that whole zone with the different breakoff areas and the alleyway. And I don't remember it being like that big in the past. I just remember it being kind of like that one strip outside of the front of the mummy.

Speaker: Not as, not as, uh, as big as it as it is this time around, you know? Yeah. Yeah, they definitely expanded that zone pretty massively, which was really interesting to see. I did not expect that.

Speaker: And the the landscape of it all just, yeah. So expanding like all the way out to that Transformers alley with art and kind of going around the corner um by the Fallon area, which it hasn't necessarily always been over there either. That was pretty cool to see.

Speaker: Glad to see them trying new things, I guess. So what else? What are your impressions going back now, Kelly, after yeah being away for a few weeks there?

Speaker: Like just keeping it to overall feel since that's what we're talking about. That's probably the best to do. um i would say, how do I? okay i love this event no matter how they do it. Like i would go there every weekend if it was accessible to me and I didn't have other priorities in life. Like I just love it so much. I would choose to go there over like experiencing other haunts. Like I just love being there and I love...

Speaker: literally everything about it. i there's something about this year's event that doesn't quite do it for me. Like it doesn't put it in the upper echelon of years that I've been. i think I preferred Dr. Oddfellow's icon year and last year, both to this year. um I do agree that I think what they did with the cohesiveness of the carnival theme, but making it different,

Speaker: really looks great and feels great. And I prefer when they do things like that. I just don't know if like the caliber of the houses is completely there for me or like, I don't know. I feel like there's a little something missing and maybe it's that I'm spending more hours there during the daylight. Like we talked about earlier, maybe it's that I just like don't have one of those houses that, or multiple of those houses where I'm like, oh my God, like I leave there like blown away. Like, or maybe I'm just getting used to going to the event and like things aren't as incredible to me anymore.

Speaker: Not to take away from my love of HHN. Like I will go there every single year until I literally can't walk anymore. And then I'll probably ride a scooter. But like I... I don't know. There's just like a little something this year that's like keeping it like less elite.

Speaker: Is there any chance that little something is a fried uncrustable? Well, hell yeah. That's true. Did you have the fried PB and J bites? So I did. The the fried PB bites with the J on the side. Yeah, yeah I did. Not the same. Those were good, but they were not the same. Good, but not the same. But not the same. This is good we're getting into food because we should talk about this. yeah Yes, we should. You know what I think it is? I think it's that the fried and crustable has such a good crunch to it.

Speaker: And those bites were more doughy. and The chili flakes just... Yeah. Something like that. I don't know. And the ratio of jelly, there's not enough jelly dip on the sock. Yeah. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. It's harder to balance it. With one PB&J bite. Yeah. Yeah.

Speaker: So I guess speaking of food and beverage then... What what ah what were the highlights or lowlights of that? I mean, I know for me, like ah based on Kelly's hype, I really wanted to try this shrimp tempura and getting that. I didn't realize that it was more like a fried sushi roll. I thought it was literally going to be like pieces of shrimp on a skewer, but it's really like a piece of sushi, shrimp sushi.

Speaker: on a skewer and fried, um which was actually quite tasty, um just not quite what I expected. um and that was probably my favorite item that I tried. I didn't try a ton. um But unfortunately, that did not blow me out of the water compared to like the Hollywood stuff. As you mentioned, Caleb, the Hollywood food like that, that non taco, I think is just kind of unbeatable this season. That was the best thing. um And yeah those birria tacos, like some of that other stuff that we had in Hollywood was so darn good. um I will say like we didn't,

Speaker: try well you know i i still tried a good number of things so i feel like that's a reasonable thing to say yeah my winners from food in orlando this year are actually from the sinners booth the ah barbecue egg rolls were really really good and the bread pudding was actually fantastic too i didn't a chance to try that one in california but those two were both really good the shrimp tempura like you said had to get the cheese stick just you had to do it so i did that as well um And a couple other things throughout.

Speaker: um But that the winners for me were were from the center's booth. And I feel like being tucked away over at Cafe La Bamba over there, it's not usually very crowded. Like I just kind of walked up at the height of the evening and grabbed food without waiting in line or anything like that. So it's it's a that's my winner this year for sure.

Speaker: I will say this year it seemed like food in Orlando was a lot more accessible. Like the lines were not like crazy long at any of the booths. I just remember in years past being deterred by seeing like a 40-person line out front of a booth. And every time we went to get food, it was like walk up, pay, hand the receipt, get the food. Like there was no delay in the operation at all. Yeah. And I only tried the egg roll in the, uh, smash burger tacos.

Speaker: And I thought they were both good. You know, I mean, it's at the end of the day, it's theme park food. It's not going to blow my mind. Right. But they were both good. And I would, I would get both again for sure. So, I still need... We're going one more weekend, all of us, and I still need to try this bread pudding because now multiple people have told me how good it is and I still haven't had it yet. So I really need to put that on my list. Egg rolls are the number one thing on my list too.

Speaker: I want to try the egg rolls. Yeah. now that Now that you mentioned that, I was like, that was one of the things on my list I need to try. I did try the burnt sando and I know that Kelly and Tyler did not like it. I will... i will err on the side of liking it. um I will say that like if you get or the wrong bite with too much of the sort of burnt caramelized caramelized section, then it's not as good. But if you get a nice bite mixed with the filling, then it's quite good. it Like the mixture is nice. um So I like that one. But yeah.

Speaker: Yeah, I tried that one too. And I i i think I ran into the same thing. you It depends on the bite. Because some of them, it's like all bread. Some of them, it's too caramelized. But when you get the the right one, it was really good. it was Really missing the ghoul juice as opposed to the phantom punch, personally. Yeah. As someone who loves their cocktails at HHN, this time around, the first few were like, okay, I'm going to dump half of this out and try something else. But... I loved the Jyn one at the Ozzy booth, I think, that we got, Joey. That was great. The Corpse Reviver 35. Yeah, that was solid. That was the only one that I got that I was like, I would get that again. The rest of them were like, fine.

Speaker: Yeah, that and the Hopper's Recharger were both really, really good. yeah. The Hopper's Recharger will be sought out earlier in the evening as opposed to right before we leave the next time around. think that's how Scott made it to 1.15 a.m. with us. because Yep, that was a long day. hu I um always get hype about trying some of the drinks there and I end up like pretty much just drinking water every time I go. But I did get a canned cocktail this time I got the maniac mix, which was blood orange, strawberry and vodka. And it was very tasty and not super carbonated, which I prefer. yeah. I wouldn't mind getting that again. It was a nice drink in the Aussie queue.

Speaker: There are a couple of drinks that are still on my list to potentially try. Like I know there was that apple cider one and I love me an apple cider type beverage this time of year. So i got to see what booth that's at. Cause I didn't actually notice it when we were going around, but I want to be intentional about that next trip.

Speaker: Yeah. I'll have some more time to vibe and try some things. Yeah. yeah the The odd fellow or the, yeah, the odd fellow canned cocktail was like a blueberry lemonade cocktail. It was effectively a blueberry lemonade high noon, but it was very, very good and very refreshing. I sip of that. That was kind of weird in its like initial taste versus its aftertaste. Yes. really like the aftertaste, but the initial, I was like, whoop.

Speaker: ah Yeah, hits you with love in there it hits you with like really tart up front and then kind of smooth blueberry on the back end. Yeah. Yeah. One thing I want to do when we go back is I know they have like a special shot at one of the bars. I can't remember where, but if you ask for it, you get like a commen a commemorative wristband. And so that's something that we're doing next time we go.

Speaker: ah Interesting. I'm making you guys do it with me. Oh, God. I don't know about that. ah All right. Well, let's talk about the scare zones then. um We're not going to go over the themes again because we did on the last episode, but what our thoughts of them were compared to kind of Tyler and Kelly. I kind of mentioned this earlier, but for me, think.

Speaker: I like I said, I appreciated i was I was worried that Sideshow of Decay and Downtown Clown Town were going to feel the same. But Downtown Clown Town is sort of like brighter, more frenetic energy. And then Sideshow of Decay was a little creepier, like lower lighting, um spookier vibe. And I i liked that.

Speaker: Fort Nightmares was fine. um I did like the lighting in it. I thought the storm like lighting was pretty cool. And it did have a lot of actors in it to give them credit there. um We can talk about our rankings in a minute here, but the entrance, I did appreciate that the truss had like more decoration on it than it normally does. It had like the car and the ticket booth and the curtains. Unfortunately, did not get to see Jack and Oddfellow doing their thing up there.

Speaker: um But we did get to see Oddfellow over in Sideshow of Decay randomly. He was out there just talking, so that was cool. um i do I will say, like, I... Fort Nightmares was not my sixth ranking like it was for you guys. um But I do miss having something a little bit spookier in the in that area because the trees like close it and and everything. And it's the perfect spot for that. I almost like if Sideshow of Decay had been there, that would have been even better almost um for me.

Speaker: But I thought overall they were... Gosh, I don't know. I want to say overall they were better than last year, but and maybe they were. Maybe they were. i think they were. Yeah. Yeah.

Speaker: Not Cat Lady. Not Cat Lady. I know. That's the one thing that's like making me stop saying Cat Lady. I agree. I think you touched on something that I was thinking about. that I wish that Fortnite and Inferno were flipped in the look from a location standpoint. yeah Because as somebody who's played a decent amount of Fortnite, like you're not really like it's a game that's played in and amongst buildings. And I feel like they could have played off of the permanent set pieces or whatever of that Hollywood location to build out Fortnite in a way that would have been more true to the actual game experience, I guess, as opposed to, you know, all the purple leotards in the one walkway, you know? Yeah, yeah, yeah. There's a heavy leotard theme going on this year as well. Yeah, for sure. Yeah.

Speaker: Yeah, I do think on the the Fortnite scare zone specifically that I did prefer the one in Hollywood and it had more of like a like a plaza set up versus a walkthrough type of thing. I really appreciated that. I thought they did a better job of the lighting with the storm effects and that sort of thing. But I really like both of them. And I know Scott, you you and I might be the only two on here that actually played Fortnite a little bit here. So we have the nostalgia of it, if you will. But um yeah, i really appreciated how they handled it. i do think there's the photo op, the the bus and all that sort of thing, too. It it makes sense. I can see what they're going for. and I think what they're going for, they did it well.

Speaker: ah So I was happy with that one. I think for downtown Clown Town, that that honestly is one of the better scare zones that I've experience that Scott, like you said, that second walk through Friday night was actually really solid. And I love how they have all these different characters that are recurring night overnight and they all have their own little shtick that they do.

Speaker: ah The sad guy with the balloons, the guy who's like low key flashing people, like there's all sorts of really cool things going on in there. and And I really enjoyed it. Yeah. And I mean, I get the Fortnite thing too. i I don't know if anybody else saw this, but when we were walking up to it, there was a group of three kids that were probably maybe like 16 or 17 and they were like jumping around in a circle because they were so hyped that it was Fortnite mirrors. You know what I mean? It's like, it's obvious why they're doing it. You know what I mean? It really, you know, i think it's, it's cool that, that they're, that they're, you know, tapping into that because, you know, it probably made, made some people's night, you know? So

Speaker: Yeah, yeah. um So I guess before we get into any spoilers for the houses, we can just talk about our general thoughts of the Orlando houses versus the Hollywood houses. And I already mentioned this, but like the this grandness of the sets is a clear differentiator.

Speaker: um Really, i i think the only one in Hollywood where... you kind of notice that type of scale, but it wasn't executed to the same level with Stranger Things just because it was also in a soundstage type location.

Speaker: um But yeah, everything there feels more claustrophobic and smaller scale compared to Orlando, where you'll get like these massive facades and big set pieces and and all of that.

Speaker: um I do think that some of the scares in Hollywood were more effective, at least on me. And maybe that's just because of the tighter environment that you're in. Like they really get close to you in some places. um in some of those houses, especially I'm thinking about like Hellraiser. That was kind of crazy in Hollywood. um But yeah, I in terms of like walking through a house and looking at things and appreciating that you're going to have a way better time with that in Orlando than in Hollywood. And maybe maybe the scares are a little bit better in Hollywood. It's it's not a huge difference edgewise, but um there something's there. Something's there. And also the the performance, like the way that they set up some of the scenes is different. um Like...

Speaker: you know, some of the houses will have a scene between two characters. And in Orlando, it was like a pop-up noise jump scare type situation. Whereas in Hollywood, they actually like played out a scene between two characters that recurred on a repeating basis instead of it trying to be more of a scare. It was kind of like a actual character interaction, which was really cool to see and felt different compared to Orlando. Yeah.

Speaker: And I missed that after seeing it in Hollywood beforehand. I thought it was so well executed. And then you go to Orlando and like you said, it's more of a a pop out situation versus a whole scene of acting. And it's it's I thought it was better in that way in Hollywood for sure. But yeah, I mean, I'll say the same things as you you can feel the grandness of the house is just being different. I'll argue that Aussie in Hollywood probably had that same feel for me too.

Speaker: And I mentioned stranger things, but Aussie was really well done out there as well. yeah um But yeah, overall in terms of general feel of the houses without getting into the details and spoilery yet, um it just felt like in Hollywood specifically that for me, at least they'd,

Speaker: It's it was more repetitive in terms of like types of scares and that sort of thing. Whereas Orlando really leans into like a whole variety of set designs and different scare tactics and all of these other things. And again, that's not to say that like Hollywood's bad at it. It's very, very good still. It's just a little bit different and you can feel the difference, I think.

Speaker: Mm hmm. yeah i think that the one key thing with hollywood when it comes to those scenes where they're like acting because it was very much that way last year as well in the jason house there was like the whole crossbow shot to the eye scene that wasn't in orlando at all in fallout there was like a giant animatronic bear whole scene whole scene in those things are awesome they're awesome But one of the bad things is that you can go through a run where you mistime it and you don't get that scene at all in Hollywood.

Speaker: Whereas at least you still get the scare in those scenes in Orlando. Whereas like because, you know, I remember doing a few runs in a Fallout specifically last year. We just totally missed the bear scene because it happened right before us and the timing didn't reset by the time we were through the room.

Speaker: Um, and and like you mentioned before, Joey, they do, there's something different about the way they approach boo holes in general in Hollywood. They're, they're not quite as, as like I could see it coming, but I do think Orlando does an incredible job. This goes to the set design of misdirecting you with your eyes when you walk into a room and then they get you even in a wide open space.

Speaker: Just because there's like a little corner there and there's a scare actor behind it. But your your eyes are drawn to the right, you know, specifically. i have a couple of those that we'll talk about when we get into spoilers. But like, I think they do a great job of misdirection in Orlando via set design and lighting and stuff like that, which is awesome.

Speaker: And I feel like they have to do that, right? Because in Hollywood, they they batch people through these houses instead of just the straight up line of people. So it's it's a different approach. And I think that's certainly intentional. And and you feel that difference too.

Speaker: I mean, there are there're sometimes, not necessarily at Horror Nights, but at other haunted events where there's, you know, you're by yourself or with like one or two other people and it's a totally different ballgame then. And so that's that's one place where I think Hollywood's houses certainly win is that, you know, more intimate place.

Speaker: Yeah, I found myself and it didn't happen the whole night, but there were a couple of occasions in Orlando where we got backed up and you're just standing there and you're like, oh, I wish that this had like you lose the momentum in that moment when you're like excited to explore this house. And then you just come to a dead stop because people are being slow or there's just so many people that they can't get out. um And I did find that frustrating. It didn't it happened like maybe in two or three houses, but um that did not happen at all for for me, at least in Hollywood.

Speaker: One other little thing that this, so the people that stand inside the houses that are not scare actors, you know, like just the employees in Hollywood, they're all cloaked with like a hood over their face and they're not wearing like just like a golf shirt. You know what I mean? Yeah. And so like it it almost adds an element of like, I don't know if this is a scare actor or if it's just like ah a person standing there. And it didn't happen to us on any runs in Hollywood, but I've seen those people actually, hold you for a second in a house and then like let you pass into a room to, to like avoid that, like getting stuck in a room because there are a lot more like and sha curtain transitions in Hollywood as well, where like you're just in a room that is, it's nothing at all. It's literally just black curtains in between two rooms. And I've, I have seen them hold you in those little spaces before, but again, they do a little bit more of the batching.

Speaker: out there than they do in Orlando, you know, but for, you know, they can't do it in Orlando with how many people come. So yeah, yeah, there's, there's definitely some, some approach differences. Like you can tell that the, the lead creatives are different and that, and the approaches catered to that specific event. It's, it's, it's really interesting to see.

Speaker: Should we get into the spoilers now? Yep. I almost feel like spoiler time do it like we should do our rankings of the scare zones and street experiences and just talk about anything we have there to add that we didn't already say. um So last week, ah Kelly and Tyler did the four scare zones and then they also threw in Mel's and Club Horror with that.

Speaker: um So I made mine and this might, let's see if this is upsetting. Mine has changed. Okay, I was gonna say we can check back in with you and see what changed. um All right, so this was my list. Starting at the bottom, Club Horror.

Speaker: ah You guys talked about it last week, but the vibes were off. The costumes were off. It just didn't have the energy that it's had in the past and it didn't do anything for me. um number five i put mel's we had a really fun interaction with one of the zombies this past weekend um and i felt like they were a little bit more out there maybe there were more of them i don't know um but again like it's still kind of low just because there's really nothing else besides the costumes there's no set pieces or anything extra they need fog at most they need a lot of fog that would be great because yeah it's missing

Speaker: Um, number four was Infernal carnire kind of Carnival of Nightmares. I feel like this is always the lowest scare zone just because it's not much of a scare zone. It's more of like a decorative area. Um, but I did appreciate that they had some actors out there and how much effort they put into the the trust this year.

Speaker: Number three, which is like, way higher than you guys at it. I have Fort nightmares. um Again, like I don't know the games, um but I did appreciate the effort that was put into it, the lighting design. And I did find that they had a lot of characters in there, um which was cool to see. Again, some of them were ah unitards, but that that is what it is. um i did think that like for what it is, I think that's decently executed.

Speaker: Um, number two was downtown clown town and number one was sideshow of decay. And I kind of go back and forth between those two, but because I like spooky better, I put sideshow decay number one, cause it was like creepier and and darker. And I liked that.

Speaker: what do you guys think? So ah exact same list for me. Really? Yeah. Sideshow. Sideshow, downtown, clown town, four nightmares, infernal males, club horror. um And, you know, not to to belabor it, but I thought that Sideshow just, it was the creepiest one. is Maybe the scariest one. I still didn't see the Cindy character. So I want to definitely hopefully see her next time.

Speaker: We had, we had odd fellow up there instead of Cindy, which was interesting. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, it was it was a little different. um I really liked everything about Downtown Clown Town significantly more than last year with the green ooze, scare zone, whatever that was. i forget the exact details. um i I'd still want to catch the actual storm fog in Fort Nightmares because I know they do that where they push you from the gate to the bus with purple fog on both sides. I've heard it on multiple other podcasts. that that they do that so i want to see that happen at some point because i think that would be cool and uh and then yeah you know the the mel's mel's is mel's and club horror is uh you know just not the deal this year

Speaker: yeah for me i've got club horror at six i've got infernal at five and mel's at four and that's solely based on a really fun interaction that we had um with one of the actors there on on Friday night. We split off from you guys for a little bit because we had to get some cutesy little photos because we had a little Mel's fit going on. So we went over and did that.

Speaker: And one of the actors came up and participated with that. And he was he was really fun. So I bumped it up to four for that one. I've got ah sideshow at three fort nightmares at two and downtown clowntown at one. I mentioned clowntown being one of my favorite scare zones in quite some time. I think it's really fun, really well executed. Got fortnight at two.

Speaker: ah Scott, i did see the tail end of the storm closing on, on Thursday night when we were there included in it, but we walked up as it was like kind of dissipating and happening. So I did see it and it was cool, but we didn't get to do it.

Speaker: Yeah. Yeah. So yeah, yeah Overall for me, I had Fortnite too. I know that that's not necessarily the the same opinion as everybody else, but I thought it was fun. I really enjoyed it for what it is.

Speaker: Cool. Kelly, did what changed? I had some minor changes. So... um Well, one little change, I guess. I'm still a hater. I'm sorry. Fortnite is the bottom for me. I just don't understand it. I think it looks cool and pretty. I just like don't know what anything is and it's not scary to me. And it's, I think I would appreciate it more, like you said, if it was in a different area of the park. I just really love for that scare zone to be dark and creepy. It's my, it's,

Speaker: usually my favorite scare zone um with the bias of the location involved. So that is what knocks it down for me. I think previously I had like Mel's next, but I'm bumping club horror down. The vibes are just consistently off. It's just... Like I said last time, the dancers are step-touching lot and they're wearing, like, a lot more clothes. Not to be, like, a weirdo, but, like, it's just not... Last year I felt like it was a really fun, like...

Speaker: kind of sexy vibe to be in club horror. And I was like jamming out to K-pop demon hunters, like remixes. i just really loved it. And every time I've been there this year, I'm like, all right, I'm walking to downtown clown town. Like, I just, I don't know. I don't think I could see myself really hanging out there and enjoying it.

Speaker: Um, And then i um i think before I had, well, I think Mel's was five before, but I'm actually going to put four. um I'm going to put icon at four. i do love the new trust and the added details. And I think that the IP like photo op areas that they have are really well done. I understand last year why they did everything in stone because it kind of meshed with the the design of the event and L'Artista and all of that. But I like the different design and the IP kind of so photo op stands this year. And then I'm going to put Mel's surprisingly. It used to be like my hype. It was number six. um I think Mel's is like

Speaker: really improved this year. I have it at number three. I really like um the color scheme that they use in the makeup. It's not that different from last year, but they have kind of like spruced up their skates with lights. I feel like last year their whole shtick was to like fly by you with their platter of like gross food and like move on. And this year it's just so much more interactive. I think every night I've been to HHN, I've had some sort of interaction with one of the actors in that scare zone.

Speaker: And I feel like they're really coming up to you and trying to like make an impact in that area, which could be difficult. So that bumps it up for me. And I just like love the vibe of Mel's and the Mel's sign at night. It's just so cool. um You mentioning that that is one of like that feels like Hollywood.

Speaker: Like that's a Hollywood style thing that's sort of like coming over in the way that they like interact with people more. It's interesting. Yeah. That's what the Fortnite Plaza feels like in Hollywood is what Mel's feels like. Okay.

Speaker: Yeah. More like classic scares on where they're really like coming up to you. Whereas a lot of other ones, they just kind of like pass by you. I don't know. I don't know how to explain the difference, but it's like, It's like a palpable feeling.

Speaker: i don't know. The other thing I found interesting is I've been, obviously like HHN is part of my Instagram algorithm. And I've been seeing a lot of content in the past where like, you're not really supposed to go up to scare actors or like take pictures with them or they've been discouraged from doing that in the past. And I've had multiple instances this year where scare actors have encouraged me to take a picture with them. Like the Mel's actor this time was kind of like, come over and like was like,

Speaker: pantomiming, take a picture with him. And I was like, okay. And then when I was there a couple of weeks ago, I did an outfit um that was like clown themed. And there was a clown in downtown clown town who had the same print on his shirt. And he was like doing this. And then he was like saying, take a picture with me. And I was like, okay, like I didn't think that was allowed, but I will.

Speaker: So that's been really fun. I don't know if that's a new thing that they're allowed to do, or they're giving them more like creative freedom to interact with the guests more, but I really like it. And then I kept my number one and into the same number one sideshow, number two, downtown Cloud Town.

Speaker: Cool. That makes sense. All right, we can do a quick touch on nightmare fuel. um I know you guys talked about it, but um what did we think about this year? I will say like the set was significantly different. The storyline was different than the last few years, which I appreciate that they changed some things um to keep a little bit fresher.

Speaker: and um yeah, what else? so What else do you guys think? I'm laughing because I know what you're going to I loved it. I think it was the best version of nightmare fuel that I've seen in a while.

Speaker: Um, if, if not ever, I think that changing it up a little bit and kind of redefining the story forced them to be creative, right? You have if to get outside of your box. What are we going to do with that? And I think they, they nailed it.

Speaker: Um, so I thought the storyline was really cool. I think the old one was getting a little tired, you know, at this point. So I appreciated the refresh on that. Uh, there were things that I don't remember ever seeing them do before in terms of like,

Speaker: the fire stick things while up on a ah rope at the same time. Like there's really cool stuff going on. ah Music was great. I loved Inside the Fire as the closing song. I think that fits so well.

Speaker: um And so that was really neat too. I thought it was fantastic. Yeah, I can agree that, I mean, I've only seen three Nightmare Fuels now, but two of them were almost the exact same, and this one was significantly different.

Speaker: I feel like, you know, I liked everything about this one. I thought that, you know, my girl Nuba got featured in the front a little bit more, which I like. I think that...

Speaker: They did the thing on the far side with like that bobbing stilt mechanism, which was just wild. I'd like to sit on the right-hand side of the stage like just to see that person's face. like you know I don't know. that that was That was pretty crazy. Obviously, the sword swallower is Okay, let's get into this.

Speaker: Last year, people were disturbed by the contortionists. like You would see people like looking away, unable to watch. That didn't bother me as much. It was kind of like, wow, like that's really amazing that you can do that.

Speaker: But I can't watch this sword guy. like I am thinking about intimate details of anatomy that I know, and I am confused. Yeah.

Speaker: I am very confused and concerned. the The sword, not a big deal. When you bring out close a corkscrew and you're going nasal...

Speaker: Yeah. yeah I mean, I was in shock. I mean, fully in shock. yeah This man is basically like nasally intubating himself. And I am unsure how I feel about that. What really bothers me is the curved sword.

Speaker: My God. ah Yeah. Yeah. i yeah I will say i do feel it is very in the vein of the event because it's unsettling.

Speaker: And if there's anything, it's supposed to be kind of scary and freaky. And it very much is. And I also appreciate that they're trying to come up with new acts to incorporate. Because last year we had the Contortionist. This year we had the Swordswiller. I hope they continue to find...

Speaker: fresh ways to like introduce those types of elements because while the aerialists are super cool to watch that type of act is usually in it every year and so having like these little side acts that change all the time is is really cool i will say the one thing that i did miss a little bit was the magic element i think the last couple years have had more of that in the show and i kind of wish they had at least like one kind of ooh moment of magic in it, um which maybe there was one because there was like the like fire thing that flew and that was pretty cool. um

Speaker: But I wish there was like a bigger effect in it at some point. But I will say that like coming from Hollywood, when you see Nightmare Fuel, you're like, oh, yeah, like that's that's the HHN show because The Purge does not have that music and energy and fire to it. Like the energy of Nightmare Fuel is the same energy that you get on that plaza at Hollywood with the fire going off and the music and the lights and everything. Like that's, that's it.

Speaker: It's the vibe. You know what I hated? What? The freaking trampolines. So dumb. I was just going to say out with the trampolines in with the magic. Yeah. These these men do the froggy jump like 15 times.

Speaker: That one was a little underwhelming. yeah The show picks up significantly after the trampoline, obviously, because that's when the Fuel Girls come out. but yeah i mean i love the first two numbers. The first song, the um the epic version of Ran, is my daughter's solo song for this year. so That hypes me up. dance mom um and Then they have some Lady Gogs herself. Gotta put her in the event after you just completely pour the hype away from the rumor. but they have some Gaga in there, which I love. I think i I really enjoy the show. I love the new things that they came up with. I know love the new theme. I love the vampire dancers.

Speaker: I just like had a special attachment to last year's. I feel like I loved every piece of music and there were some really high points of the show. Like I loved when the fuel girls lit their hats on fire.

Speaker: That was like huge for me. um I also just like watch that on YouTube, like on a regular basis. So maybe I just call it more. Yeah. ah things I did late at night, you know, but um I think it's really good. Either way, I'm happy that it's back. I'm happy the Fuel Girls are back. I hope they keep them and I hope they come up with more new and exciting ideas in the future.

Speaker: Yeah, for a sure. I also, as as the elder statesman of the group here, the the the inclusion of Heart Shaped Box, which is a Nirvana song, they did an awesome number to Smells Like Teen Spirit a couple years ago. um So I like the i like you know the throwback to the alternative grunge era um when they incorporate that. and And although the sword swallowing guy is gross, his look and his acting and his whole, his whole, like, he's a spooky dude. Like he's got a great look to him. You know what I mean? like Yeah. yeah

Speaker: Performative. That's him. That's just him. Yeah. He's just really well cast. Yeah. That's what, that's what I'm getting at. Yeah. Like, like that dude is is his own little universe. you know ah So question though, how, how does he fit into the story?

Speaker: It really just feels to me like it's a random sideshow. Let's fill up three minutes with this dude. Yeah. Like the contortionist. I feel is always well, I guess with the circus, it made a little more sense. true It made more sense with this. if That's true. We're talking vampires and this dude just comes out and puts a corkscrew in his nose. Like why?

Speaker: why is he? It's a really good point. I didn't think about. Yeah. characters are either vampires or vampire hunters really and who is he was a hunter I think he was a hunter wasn't he I think I don't know that's why he had all the swords and stuff because he yeah technically like he's part of like the fuel girls act like I think they brought him with them Oh, interesting. Okay.

Speaker: It just, it didn't. That was the one thing to me. It's like why, why are you here? What doing? The automatically. Yeah. Yeah. He hunted himself. He did. He sure did. Yeah. And the finale with the hammer, like just. who You don't have to watch it. I forgot about the hammer.

Speaker: You don't need to do this. It's crazy. Some body whores for sure. My eyes were fixated on the bobbing, 40-foot tall, bobbing human being on the other side. Yeah. Yeah.

Speaker: ha Well, speaking of shows. Yeah, let's talk about the best show there. this This happens like this is kind of wild. It was the three of us that actually stayed that night and we all went to the Lagoon show, which I've never done before. i don't think. Had you done it before, Caleb?

Speaker: So none us have ever seen a Lagoon show in all these years that we've been going to HHN and talking about it on this podcast. Nobody has ever gone to see the Lagoon show to talk about it. um and this year I still haven't. I am the lone wolf writer here. i I need to do it. hey Kelly hasn't seen it yet, but we managed to see it. And I mean, it was pretty darn good.

Speaker: It was great. Yeah. So I caught it Thursday night while you guys were at Coconut Club. We we walked up to it probably... it had, we missed the first probably two scenes. Like we got there a little bit late, but I i knew from watching it i was like, Oh, I need to convert as many people into Lagoon show believers as possible because this is incredible. And so I made a point to talk about it like the whole next day. And I'm glad that we went. And cause even seeing it again, the second time, the the vantage point that we had when we saw it, like we were front and center on it, like lined up with everything. i was kind of off to the side the first night and I,

Speaker: I, like I said, I've never seen a lagoon show there before. ah i can't imagine it being as good as what we saw here, but I mean, it, we can get into it and talk about it here. Right. So it it goes through the whole, the whole stranger things show like series from back and and does a really good job. I think it's a fantastic tribute to the show overall. It goes through many of the different characters, all the different songs, except for one prominent one that they did exclude for some reason or another.

Speaker: Um, they didn't include running up the hill anywhere in the show. And I was like, that's your big song. What are you doing? But I don't mind it. There's plenty of other things to include, but that had to have been like a rights thing, and but like they already have the rights. So who knows? yeah Last house. It was. Yeah.

Speaker: Yeah. But I think it just didn't really fit in with the rest of the energy of the show because the music was awesome. Like, when it started and the music started playing and the lights started going, I was like, oh, yes.

Speaker: And that's that's one thing I loved about it, too, is how it starts. You know, I don't know if I should get into too many... sport This doesn't really spoil anything about the show about the show. But, like, it starts with just, like, maybe five minutes of just, like, squawk radio. And they're just, like, playing music. Like, playing music from the different songs that are featured in the show. And and then it gets into...

Speaker: I think maybe why they don't have the running up the hill is because it seemed like it really focused on the core characters, which Max definitely became, but it it seemed like it was really more about, you know, the, I guess you'd call them the original characters from yeah the ones that went from season one all the way through to season five, you know, um,

Speaker: But I mean, just so, so much fun, such a great love letter to the show as a whole is, is the best way I know how to describe it. One particular moment that I thought was incredible was in one of the earlier scenes, they're, they're doing season one and the projection mapping on the buildings ties in with it really well, but they did like, you know, Christmas lights across all of the water with the run up on the, you know yeah that part was like oh man i kind of forgot about that scene in the first season i'm gonna watch it on youtube i don't think i can wait a month and a half no i don't think you should i really don't think you should you should because in person with just like the volume and the the lights and everything it's a it's there's no way youtube's gonna capture it properly i'm sure won't but And Caleb took us to the perfect spot. So now we know exactly where to go. This was the 1215 show and it was relatively empty. I will absolutely do it in person. Oh yeah. We'll do it again. It was awesome. yeah i mean But you're talking like

Speaker: Fountains, projection mapping, lasers, moving lights, like there's so many layers to it as well, which I didn't realize how many layers there were like the projection mapping in the background. I didn't realize that was going to be incorporated into it the whole time. There's like three different projectors that are doing on the front, sort of on the front and the back. That was really interesting, like layers of water curtains.

Speaker: um And just the way that it was synchronized, like as someone who's done lighting design in the past, when they were do like hitting the musical beats with these like blasts of water. I'm like, oh, yes. Yeah, it's incredibly well done. The director of that show, you know, they know that you kudos to you. yeah Yeah, at least I did something Stranger Things, right?

Speaker: ah Right. Exactly. yeah That was better than the house. Honestly, as someone who's never experienced a stranger things house, I know you all knew how I was very excited to kind of experience a house. Right. in but they've, it just seems like the houses tend to fall short. Whereas this was that not to be repetitive. It was that love letter to the whole series. You know what I mean? It really, it really was. I mean, I, I think in the first scene, I put my arm around Caleb and squeezed his shoulder and just thanked him for making me go you know because i was just i was so in the feels you know it was just great it was scott you hugged me like three different times during the show oh yeah it's incredible know i got a lot of love for you what do i think i think if you have not seen stranger things because i know there are people that haven't you can go and still appreciate this show for what it is just in terms of a a set with music and lights and everything like it is and i think if you have seen stranger things

Speaker: you're going to really like it. And if you love stranger things, you might cry because it's, it's really, really good. So I, I think it, and it was, just go see a couple of times here. Just go, please just go. Don't overlook it because it's the lagoon show. It was empty and we were able to walk right to the center and get like the best view of it possible without any worries. Yeah. And there's so many of them throughout the night too.

Speaker: It's every 45 minutes. I think it starts at nine o'clock after it gets dark. And so there's plenty of opportunities go find one of them. It's nice to go to a theme park show and not just be standing in like a massive crowd, you know, like, like, like a lot of, a lot of the nighttime shows are relaxing. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. yeah For sure.

Speaker: Um, all right. Well, I reminded Tyler to see it and he said he will this week and report back and he is a huge stranger things fan. So we'll see what he thinks too. I think he's, yeah, I think he's going to like it.

Speaker: All right. Well, finally, we need to get to the houses. Oh, my gosh. I think we should just do our um our rankings and maybe upset Kelly a bit. And then she can give us our adjusted rankings. I know some things moved around and then we can get into the details behind like why some of this is where it is. um So here's mine. And like some of these are so close. I don't know. It's just kind of a gut reaction on where to put things. Do you want to 10 through one individually? Go bounce back and forth. Let's start from 10 and do everybody's 10 and then go up. okay um So starting with my 10, it's going to be Invasion.

Speaker: My 10 is Badlands. My 10 is Sinners because I didn't do it. Oh, that's right. My 10 remains Stranger Things. Okay. My 9 is Stranger Things.

Speaker: My 9 is Alien Invasion. My nine is HR blood and guts. Ooh. My nine. my nine. More come. Dropping from the four spot o is alien invasion. Oh, yeah.

Speaker: That's a big one. Okay. ah My eight. don't get a good run in there and we'll talk about this. It really is just like walking through an empty set. It's bummer.

Speaker: Yeah. ah My number eight is Evil Dead Burn. My eight is Evil Dead Burn as well. My eight is Aliens. My eight is h r Blood and Guts.

Speaker: Okay. okay my seven is Sinners. My seven is Stranger Things. My seven is Madlands. My seven is also Madlands. Okay.

Speaker: ah My six is Madlands, so similar placement. My six is Sinners. Six for me is Evil Dead Burn. Okay. My six is Don't Come For Me, Chaos and Control.

Speaker: Oh, okay. Yeah, sure. ah My five is HR Blood and Guts. Five is Hellraiser. Stranger Things is my number five.

Speaker: My number five is dropping from number three, and that's Hellraiser. Okay. ah My number four is a Jack and Oddfellow. My four is HR Blood and Guts.

Speaker: Four is Jack and Oddfellow for me. My four coming up from number eight Cybergoria. Whoa. Yeah. ah My number three is Hellraiser.

Speaker: My number three is Ozzy. My number three is also Hellraiser. My number three dropping one spot is Sinners. Okay. and number two is Ozzy.

Speaker: My number two is Cybergoria. My number two is Ozzy. This is a wild that it's coming out of my mouth. My number two is Evil Dead Burn.

Speaker: Whoa. Okay. That's interesting. We got to talk. And my number one, because it wrecked me, is Cybergoria. My one is Jack and Oddfellow Chaos Control.

Speaker: My number one, because it wrecked Joey, is Cybergoria. My number one is Ozzy. Still. Love it. All right. So what do we want to talk about first?

Speaker: Aliens? Because we all put it at the bottom and Kelly's dropped. Like, that's interesting. It wasn't the vibe I was looking for. it wasn't. Yes. Are we going to say the same thing?

Speaker: Yeah. Okay. Go ahead. Okay. what What needs to happen is, in general, HHN needs to stop putting out media coverage that is not true. So so like, don't tell me that something is the bloodiest house you've ever done, the scariest house you've ever done, 10 times scarier than and than Insidious, or that your aliens are really scary and not campy when none of those things are true. Because you set my expectations at a level where I had this number one on my hype list.

Speaker: I already had the location bias from Hatchet and Chains. It felt like it was a similar vibe on the outside of the house. And then I go in there and these four foot five gray, like unitard aliens are coming out.

Speaker: don't let me the other thing is like you guys know me and I say this every year when we talk about HHN I rank so heavily on scares and I do think that my opinions are evolving a little bit where I'm starting to appreciate storytelling and set more than just scares but there ain't anything in this house that's scaring me man there ain't anything in this house that they they like appear they're like hello and then they go back in their google like you're just not aggressive Yeah. Yeah.

Speaker: So I, I wrote down little bullet lists for each house. And ah for this one, I said, beautiful set and facade. I thought that the house itself that is great. Yeah. the The facade is great in the set rooms inside are very cool floating plates. You know, just there's some, there's some very cool set stuff. The aliens just straight up suck.

Speaker: Like the mask isn't scary. They're wearing just a gray. I mean, there's there's a lot of unitard use in HHN. This is not the first time this has come up and it's not going to be the last. But these are the worst unitards in the whole in the whole show. I mean, you can see their skin in between the mask and the neck on their arms. You know, like just do a little bit more with the costume than just that.

Speaker: Yeah. I did think that the girl, the human actor with like the thing coming out of her stomach was really, really cool. Highlighted the house. That was the closest thing. know in that but Right. That was the closest thing to what they sold it as, which is like these tentacles, like grabbing people. And it's like so aggressive. and i was like, Oh, there it is. And that one scare actor in this whole house. Yeah.

Speaker: And I didn't, not like cartoony. Like they use the like shadows on the screens. It's like, this looks like it is coming from a Pixar movie. yeah no she are but I did notice that multiple houses had those shadow projections in them, which I don't hate. I don't know yeah but i did i think that there are some cool boo holes, one of which got me really, really good in Aliens. like I was like staring into it like, oh there's nothing in there. And then the dude you know blasted me. And that they're they're trying to use some new technology in the house to the for the rumbling floor, stuff like that. It's cool to see him integrate that stuff. But unitards and aliens just. Yeah, that wasn't it. And again, like it wasn't bad, but and I think now that I know what it is, the next time I go into it, like I heard somebody else who loved this house and it's because they thought it was the campus thing in the world. And i'm like, it really is. So like without that expectation going in of like these like evil tentacles and it's so scary. Like maybe next time I go through it, it might change location just because I know what to expect now.

Speaker: and Also, one thing like was this not sold as like a Southwest Roswell desert house? That was my biggest complaint. There was none of that. None of that. No, no desert vibes. But that's the closest thing I saw. It was like some horse stuff. I was like, where's the cacti? That could have been down the road for me. Right, right. Yeah, I know.

Speaker: Yeah, like that like there's no – I mean it didn't look like a southwestern house in any way, shape, or form. so Yeah, that was my biggest – Oh, Caleb, your wife is killing me. She just texted me about Dancing with the Stars. When you catch up on Dancing with the Stars, let me know your thoughts. Oh, no. She's literally in the other room right now. I'm so sorry.

Speaker: I don't know. it's tell you Anyway, back to aliens. I agree. It's missing. I was expecting something different. The Roswell Southwest, New Mexico vibes of it all are just missing completely. I think that you guys have already kind of touched on it, but it didn't know what it wanted to do. Like the aliens are campy, but the house isn't designed to be campy. It just, it,

Speaker: It felt like it was going in too many different directions. Lean into one or the other is my thought. ah huh Yeah. Yeah. Okay. So let's stick to the IPs because we can compare coasts for Hollywood Orlando on the original or the stick to original so we can compare the IPs. um What would. Okay. we So most of us put.

Speaker: but in guts Because that's next door and that. Yeah. Yeah. I have that higher. Somebody had that pretty low. You have it as like nine. Is that what you said? i have it at nine. Okay. And I think.

Speaker: Yeah. And I, the last note that I have was that. better than the run i got and I expect it to go up from there just because for some reason with the way the curtains worked I saw the room past the TV room every time before I even got a chance to look at the TV yeah kind of thing and maybe I just wasn't looking in the right places but I do think it will improve I loved the room with the graveyard I thought that was awesome mm-hmm the gray scale yeah hard Super cool. i

Speaker: I wish the Tiki Mummy was actually a scare actor, and not just ah a thing in a chair. Yeah. I liked the coffee girl. I need more coffee. that I liked that room as well. and And then was this house the one with like the the school desk room? Mm-hmm. Yeah.

Speaker: Okay. That room was also very cool. But again, it was just the run I got. And, and like, I don't know. I i am HHN new to this stuff. I have no idea who HR was or anything. I don't know any of the carry lore all that well. And I just, that's not what I expected him to look like. And that just kind of threw me off too. I was like, I was like, who's this, who' that's him who's this obese Dracula? Yeah.

Speaker: Let me jump in because I also have it ranked low. And last time I had it in the middle of the pack for me, everything eight to like two could like so quickly flip, I feel like. And that's what happened to me. Like Stranger Things is at the bottom. And I know like Ozzy is at the top and everything else is just like...

Speaker: dependent it could be changed by one run i really think that ah hr blood and guts is a fun house i enjoy it so much i'm literally laughing and dancing the entire time i said this last time but the transitions are so much clearer than like slaughter cinema 2 i love the integration of the smells they all smell great not like dolls um And I just think it's like a super fun, very campy Halloween house. It's just like not scary. And that's what I prefer.

Speaker: Yeah, I mean, i this is the thing of expectation setting where like I went into this knowing that it was going to be a slaughter slaughter cinema type kind of spoof can't be and like the little scenes that and so that's exactly what I expected. And when I went through it, I didn't know what the scenes were going to be. And some of them were so much fun, like the funk room and the Tiki room. And I was like, what? Like, I didn't know what to expect. And so I think part of my ranking like kind of in the middle which I guess is pretty high like I have it as five comparatively isn't because I got scared because there were really only like one or two scares in each room and the rooms are pretty short it's just because I really like I knew that it was going to be kind of silly and campy and not necessarily scary and I just loved like all of the different rooms I thought they were so fun they are fun yeah so I have this one at the highest of the group here i had it at four and I I think

Speaker: Of the years that I've been going to HHN, this is my favorite of like the the campy fun style houses that I've done. I know there's been a couple that could fit into that category, but I think maybe it was the run I got. Maybe it was the vibe. I don't know. But it really felt like every single little room I walked through was its own scene and it was all really good. I mean, Scott, you talked through like three or four like this room was great. This room was great. This room was great.

Speaker: And I felt that too. And, you know, they I think having the little TVs on each, I was turning the corner and then just where's the TV? I got to know what room is coming next, you know? And I thought it was an elevated version of what Slaughter Cinema was. And I expected it to be silly and goofy because I saw the ah HR blood and guts projection while I was waiting in line. And I was like, oh, this guy's a goofball. This is going to be fun. Not going to be scary, you know? And and when you know what to expect, I think it makes it a lot more fun in that way.

Speaker: And I love, Kelly, you mentioned the scent integration as well. Like Dr. Pumpkin Spice, love it. You know, the, I forget what the club room was called, but it's not like coconuts in there. You know, like yeah there's so many cool things that they're just pumping into this house.

Speaker: I think it was silly. And if you're okay with being... Having a silly house ranked high, if that's your type of thing, I think you're going to love this one if you haven't done it yet. So I can't wait to check it out.

Speaker: This is one that we only got to do once over the course of our two nights, and I wish we prioritized it and did it more than once. yeah I went back and watched a walkthrough of it because i knew I knew that I didn't get the greatest run. I don't exactly know what it was. I think I was like out of sync with the TVs. or or in the The walkthrough, I was like, man, that that was like...

Speaker: That was a lot cooler than I thought it was when I walked through it. So I expect that to move quite a bit from number nine. I don't know where, but it'll, it'll move for sure. yeah Cool. So another original, which was a little bit scattered was Madeline's. That was my six. I think somebody had it pretty close to the bottom. Caleb did, right? Yeah. I had it at 10. I like, I'm trying to recall what happened in this house and it's just not memorable for me in any way at all. Like it's,

Speaker: Maybe I know I need to try again and and see what happens next time. But yeah, that's exactly how I felt. Like last episode, I was just like, oh, i ran this house the least. It was like only two times when I was there last time. And this this time it was my third. And I felt like it was kind of samey and forgettable, like kind of how I felt about Grave of Flesh. um I don't know if it's like similar location bias or whatever, but I did more reading about like the different rooms and the different animals and stuff and had that in mind this time. And I think it really helped me understand what was going on. And I got a lot better scares and, and Really, there was just so much to look at from a scenic design standpoint that I missed the first couple of times. And now going in knowing like, okay, I've seen the scare actors and the scares, let me like look around. I liked a lot more. So I ended up with it at six. And I think last episode, it was at seven. So it moved up a little bit.

Speaker: Yeah, I wonder if like if, for Caleb, part of this had to do with house fatigue, just because this was the last one that we went through. and it was kind of like, are we even alive at this point anymore? um But like I had to think about this one a bit because of that, like to think about what do I remember from it and blah, blah, blah. um But I think it it kind of ended up middle of the pack for me because I do remember like getting one or two good scares in it. And like Kelly mentioned, the set is really detailed. And I did at least notice as we were going through like the different sections of the zoo like you're kind of like in the aviary and then there's like lions on the one section so you can kind of if you're looking around you can kind of figure out sort of the storyline as you're going through it also set design wise although it's not like an lrt still level of beauty i guess it is very detailed and also i remember seeing lots of like

Speaker: high stuff so I was constantly like looking up above um and there's probably some things that you miss if you're not like swiveling everywhere looking around which is kind of a criticism too because like if you have to like really crane your neck up to see some of the features of the house that's not great but yeah so it's just kind of middle of the pack for me now and I'm curious to do it again and kind of see if the scares hit or if I just like enjoy the theme of it more yeah i i i so so i think it's a really cool idea that they were trying to pull off and i and they did in a lot of ways i really liked the fact that it's just like humans making animal sounds i thought that was really kind of funny like i don't know if it's just because my friends and i used to always do like the caca at each other back in the day but like i thought that that was really funny i didn't understand like the one like

Speaker: like the van or like the jeep with the machine gun on top of it i thought that was really random um and then i got absolutely wrecked in this house though i think kelly was behind me when this happened but i got and i i don't even know what happened to me like i almost fell over i got such I'm scared so it was it was great and I did watch a walkthrough of this too because I thought that the person missed their trigger and just jumped out at me and no it's just a dark no sound just like a scare you know what I mean and most of the of the scares in Orlando accompany a sound or a light change this was just a dark corner and ah a good boo-hole you know and it just got me really good

Speaker: so um I could see it changing. It seems really run dependent, but the blacksmith was cool. I thought that was a cool scene. That kind of tied in like the metal on all of the faces of the actors that you're seeing throughout. and you're like, oh okay. Like that's how this all works. Yeah.

Speaker: Yeah. A lot of music too that I didn't expect in the house. There's a lot of like rock and roll music. Yeah. It was like a rock and roll. I mean, ah Kelly mentioned they're probably trying to compete with Ozzy because it's in the same soundstage and also loud. um But yeah, that was kind of a neat like background energy to it.

Speaker: Yep. um Okay, we also have Jack and Oddfellow. Oh, man. Oh, man. I mean, I'll kick it off. This was my number one house after this weekend.

Speaker: um I love storytelling in these houses. and but My top two, Jack and Oddbell and Cybergoria, I think both crushed that. And they flip-flopped for me. for After the first night, I had Cybergoria at one. So we'll talk about that in a minute, I'm sure. um But i I really love this house. I think both of these characters, how they interacted with each other and told the story of like...

Speaker: how they were competing and then like controlling and then combining powers like I'm walking through each individual portion of the house to get to that point was really good. The set design with like verticality was really cool. I don't ever remember the little fun house room walkthroughs in a house before. So that was really neat too.

Speaker: ah I love the mirror gag where the the Jack character is like this disheveled looking man. And in the mirror you can see like, Oh, this is Jack. This is your future. Like I, it was an awesome house. I loved it so much. I can't wait to to do it again. And i I got nothing else to say. I i checked all the boxes.

Speaker: Yeah. I mean, you can definitely tell that this was a Colaf house just with how intricate the design was. And like you said, the verticality of everything, which was really cool to see. Love the facade to this thing. Like you walk in and you're immediately just in it. um And I was like, yes, I will say i do think the ending is a little weird um with the like animatronics as opposed to scare actors. But then you spoiler alert, go through the ending and the black curtain scare is like both of them coming at you from either side. And they got me good for that. So that was fun. um Yeah, the the funhouse elements are like unexpected, something that HHN hasn't really been doing. And you could see that like they had created an ADA path for like you know, people with wheelchairs to be able to get around that. But it was cool that they came up with a solution to like make that work and accessible um while still having something kind of funky. in there. i um, I had Kelly like pointing out some of the storytelling aspects of the house the first time we went through and that helped a lot. I'm not sure if I would have followed it as clearly without that. Um, so that's why it's like not as high for me, I think. And also I didn't get like as many scares in there, but I just really liked the immersion of it all and like entering the odd verse and how intertwining and like you would see sections of it from other parts of the house and then eventually get there. Like I thought that was super cool.

Speaker: Yeah, I, you know, I love the Shadybrook facade. I love the Skull facade. Like those big open rooms are some of my favorite things when they're in houses. And i wrote down this absolutely awesome house. It's not exactly my thing, but I get it.

Speaker: that's what i wrote down about this house like it just you know really cool storytelling like you're saying super immersive you know the the big head animatronics were awesome i just didn't expect that you know and they were in the way that they moved and looked you know was really detailed um but yeah i mean it it's i get i get it you know i just don't know what to say about it other than i get it and i'm sure i'll like it more after i get to do it again you know Yeah, I understand that like for people that have been going to HHN for years that this is being highly ranked by many of them just from the deep lore and just like being excited that these characters kind of get their moment to shine again. um and i And I get that, but it's like not as influential to me maybe as for people who have been going to this for years and years.

Speaker: Yeah, my like my first Jack experience was Horror Unleashed, you know. it' so like Same. like it's in But i'm I'm trying to buy in, you know, and I get it. But I like the Oddfellow character a lot, too. The actors that they had playing Oddfellow did a great job, you know. For sure.

Speaker: Yeah. I think that might might be what's missing for me from the event, like, like in total this year where I said there's like something it's like, I love learning about the HHN lore and maybe in five, 10 years from now, when they do an anniversary year, that includes a lot of the characters I'm more familiar with. It'll have more of a nostalgic, like,

Speaker: excitement for me. And I, you know, I'm not saying that I'm not excited for I love Dr. Oddfellow, and I know him, but maybe that's what it is, is just like, I've my love for this event is still so like, in its infancy that maybe that's what I'm missing. I have this house ranked in the middle, it did move up one spot, I really love it. And listening to you guys talk about it. I'm like, yeah, you're right, Caleb, I do love that. Like, I love all these things, like maybe it'll move up even more.

Speaker: Um, I think as I've gone through it more, I've been able to identify more of the storytelling elements. Um, and that really makes a big difference in the house. Like, I think you can enjoy the house. It's like a very fun, colorful house, but if you don't know the lore or at least kind of know the lore, I feel like you're just walking through like a cool house, which is is good enough for some people. But I think the storytelling is what really elevates the house. So being able to identify what's going on is super helpful. um And I agree. I think I forget who said which one of you guys said it, but maybe it was you, Joey. I feel like the first three quarters of the house are so like high energy um,

Speaker: like really good storytelling. And then I'm kind of let down by the end. Like if you get the good double scare in the curtain room, great. But that doesn't really like anybody can stand behind a curtain at the end of a house and jump out and scare me. But that doesn't really speak for the house. Like i feel like there are a bunch of houses this year where I'm really let down by the final scene.

Speaker: And if I'm leaving the house, kind of like, like the same thing with Stranger Things, I know we'll get to it. The final scene, I'm like, what the f- That's that's how we're going to end this. And then like same thing with Jack and Oddfellow and even same thing with H.R. Blood and Guts. It's like, here's the final thing. And then it's just like him on the stage again. I'm like, I don't know.

Speaker: I want to leave a house like Galkin where I just got attacked from all sides of the inside of a beast. Right. That's true. Yeah. That's one thing I noticed this year is like the end of house scares aren't as prevalent as they've seemed the last couple of years for me. and yeah leaving with I don't know. Yeah. i like yeah I feel like I remember even getting like scared, like when you're almost in the light, you know, like they'd have some like last dude pop out of the black curtain, like like major, so major sweets, I think had a really good scare right at the end of the house like that. yeah,

Speaker: So to the lore, does this is going to make me sound like such a rookie in the in the true the true HHN goers, but does Oddfellow dismember Jack? And then he like puts him through the oddverse and he comes and like his body comes back together or something like that? Is that part of it?

Speaker: don't know if that necessarily is super important. I think it shows that as part of their like fight and killing him that like he stuffs him, I think whole in the box. And then in the odd verse, he's kind of like in odd mind, like this guy, whatever. But like in reality, It was just a portal for for Jack to like be able to come back to life. And that's when you hear the like pop goes the weasel and then you see him outside of the asylum. He's like, just kidding.

Speaker: Mother effa. I back. yeah Yeah. Yeah. It was it was an odd fellow. Like in the stories that Universal has put out, they said it was the odd verse that tore him apart. Yeah. Okay. Yeah. Because I remember walking through some of the rooms where like the green lighting is going on and like there's this like a what looked to me like a jack leg on the wall. Yeah. You know, and that's what that was supposed to be. Yeah. And I didn't I don't know the story. And so I'm like, man, this what is it? Did he get all ripped apart? And then he's like, okay, I'm glad did yeah that i did that I did understand that correctly. Yeah. They communicated it successfully. That's awesome. Yeah.

Speaker: I will say another win for this house in my mind is that yeah we're talking through like the plot and the story of it all. But I appreciated the narration that happened through the house as well. yeah because I didn't know all of this stuff going in. But after my first run, now I know the story of Jack and Oddfellow and how they interacted in the past and that sort of thing.

Speaker: Because you can pick up on it from the house. Like there are some houses where you need to know the lore going into it. Like I felt like that about Wyatt Six last year. Like you have to know going in. Whereas this one you don't. It'll tell you the story as you go. And I think that it was really, really cool to be able to learn as you're going. And then I guess for me, the second time through, appreciate it even more now that you know the story more fully.

Speaker: Yeah. And I think it's really important that you can hear and pay attention to that audio because my very first run, I heard it for like the first, like down to the mirror and then I couldn't hear it really anymore. So, and then even Tyler and I said, like, I think they adjusted the audio. Like we could actually hear it the next run. And that makes a huge difference because we were like, what is going on? Like actually. And so, yeah, I think that piece is really, really important. And I think they did it better in Jack and Oddfellow than they attempted to do it in Artista.

Speaker: Yeah, yeah, I can see that. Alright, so our last original is my number one, Cybergoria, which i put a number one on my hype list, which is kind of crazy that like it turned out this way. But again, like it is entirely here.

Speaker: Well, not entirely, but mostly here because they absolutely wrecked me going through this house. I mean, you go through the first freezing scene and then immediately after that, it was just ping pong, ping pong, ping pong, never stop. um I will say it lagged a little bit towards the end, but then they got me again, like right after that lag. And so it's just like, I was just cackling the whole time because I couldn't believe how many times they got me. Like I felt stupid, um but it was like,

Speaker: so dark. It was darker than I expected and um disorienting. Um, and maybe that's just cause I was constantly getting scared and not even like being able to look where I was going. Um, there was like that weird inflatable curtain. I, the actors I guess were intense. I, don't I don't, don't even know really what it,

Speaker: happened and so i feel on a second run this is probably going to go down but like that experience i've never had one like that at hhn orlando with that many scares in a house it blew my mind like they were able to do that to me it was so fun um And going into it, I did like listen to the lore for this house. So I was like aware of kind of what was going on in there and the storyline behind it. So like I do appreciate that aspect of it as well. Like you go through this freezing process, then you wake up years and years later and the robots are out of control and like trying to put their flesh on you and everything. And yeah, it's this whole crazy world. um

Speaker: For me, it's it's clearly like my favorite house that's been in the Fast and Furious location, which has its drawbacks. um And I know you guys talked about the transition between the two, like the indoor part and then the tent outside. We went through it during the day. And so you could see the light leaking through that hallway, which was like a little bit of a take out of that experience for sure. um But they just managed to scare me so much. It's just number one. that It is what it is. Yeah.

Speaker: So I had this house at number one after the first night and this was the first house that we did on the first HHN visit of the year. So that might've had a little bias from that, um,

Speaker: um Kelly, I know on your last episode, you guys talked about like, I didn't really know what was going on, like the silly music and I didn't pick up on the story or whatever. I was able to pick up on that all right away. Like I walked in and I saw the date is 3535 on October 31st and like all that sort of thing. So I was maybe fortunate enough to pick up on that and it contributed to that a little bit. And then even after going through the house, seeing and the sound stages and everything, the projection on the wall where it's going through the whole story, like it felt like rare like a 10 minute story that they had for that.

Speaker: That really helped contribute to it as well. But I think this house is really aggressive. Like it's so loud in there. It's really dark. Like it, they cranked it up all the way, I think in terms of just sensory.

Speaker: um It's very, very loud the whole time. So I, that contributes to it as well. I love this house. Like i said, i flip flop back and forth between one and two for me with Jack and odd fellows. But it, I could see it flipping again. i really enjoyed this house both times.

Speaker: So I went back and looked. My ranking of this house after my very first night was number six. And then after my first weekend, it was eight. And now I have it at number four. So basically, the reason that this house has gone up is the aggressiveness of the scares and my ability to comprehend the story better.

Speaker: So i when we went our first weekend, they didn't have that like introduction playing in the cues. The only thing they had playing in the cues was the Laura Souls interview.

Speaker: So all of this context that they've since added in the podcast format and in the Q movies, like they didn't have that at all. So I really only had the description of what the house was going into it. And like I could make inferences and I could read HHN wiki. But I really think that that supplemental information um gained from that, not even like the mute the thing that they play in the queue of Cybergoria was super helpful in my understanding. And I think the scares were really cranked up a notch from my...

Speaker: They were aggressive the original weekend I went, but this time they were like really close to you, really on their timing. Like watching Joey, a couple of people ahead of me got, <unk> get completely wrecked was like making me like almost pee my pants. Like I was laughing so hard. Um,

Speaker: i still what's keeping it from going up higher for me is two things. Number one, i really struggle to love houses where I can't remember specific like rooms. Like this just feels to me like one straight walkthrough that you could do at like a private haunt somewhere. And that's not to say it's like a good or thing or a bad thing, but I like to be like in Ozzy, there was this section and there was this section and I could like remember it and rattle it off. The same thing with Wyatt six. I'm like, there was this section in this section or like um hatchet and chains. I remember the different sections. Well, like this house, um,

Speaker: I just can't put my finger on what it is. It's like, obviously, I remember like the first half versus the second half because of like the robot being there, like the don't go there, all your dot, like that kind of stuff. But like, as far as the actual scenes, it feels a little samey to me.

Speaker: um And then the other big thing is i love sci-fi. I just don't love this theme. Like I so go, I get where they're going with it, but something about it is bother, I guess it's unsettling and that's what HHN is. And they're trying to scare you in different ways. And if they're doing it that, if they're going for that, it makes me really uncomfortable.

Speaker: Like I hate with a passion The poster when you're walking in of the robot taking care of two little kids that their parents were like, buy me, I'll i'll buy this, freeze me up, take care of my kids for me. Like it makes me physically feel ill in the stomach. I hate it.

Speaker: ah hate it. that's all

Speaker: I, so for me, this house was just like pure chaos. Right. And I think that it was, it was the fact that I was right behind Joey and Joey got the run that he got. And I have a couple more notes on that specifically. Um, but, but like I, there's more leotards, but these were good leotards.

Speaker: Okay. Or unitards in this house. They're there. They fit or they, see they scheme like the skinless thing, you know, like I, I got what they were doing with it this time around. um I love that room.

Speaker: Well, it's not even a room. It's like a thing you look into like with like strobing lights and there's like a lot of different bodies back in there. um I thought that was a really well done kind of like effect as you, as you walk through like the,

Speaker: like the dental drill sound of like the saws and stuff is very off putting to me. Um, you know, so that, that was just like, you know, just, just added to the cast. And like we've talked about, it's just such a, it's loud and it's intense and there's things happening nonstop and and it is kind of just straight and walkthrough. But, Um, but yeah, the, like that final, the, the final hallway, there's a scare actor on the left. I still don't even know what it was, but it, you know, it kind of gets you on the left and then it gets you again out the back end of the boo hole. And that was like, that's a really cool costume. I want to like, look at that one more in depth the next time. Cause I couldn't, is that the one with the heads on the hands?

Speaker: No, it's not that. It's right next to that one on the other side. But it was just like a giant, I don't know what it was. It might have been a flesh pot with the skin on its head. Yeah, I think that's what it was. That thing was just like, wow, that's really wild.

Speaker: But that I think it was early in the house, Joey, when you got the the You got ping ponged back and forth. Oh, immediately. And you, you were, you were laughing so hard. You looked back at us and there was a third, there was a third actor right on you. And he followed you all the way until you turned your head around and he got you again. You know, like it it was, and that was just so peak that like that guy didn't go right back into his boo hole. He knew, he knew he had you and he knew that you didn't know he was there and he just, he let it play out and it was so great. So like that. Yeah. Yeah. I definitely think that I attracted that because you can tell like the actors when they hear somebody screaming a lot, you'll notice them go for it. Like I've gone through runs where the person in front of me is screaming a lot and you notice through ah the whole house, they attack them the whole time. And so I think because I was like making noise and like laughing, they heard me coming and they were like ready to continue to get me. So I'm like, do I have to make noise to get scared? Like at these houses all the time. But I, yeah, I don't know. It was so fun.

Speaker: but you know that's what makes the a event great and it makes rerunning the house is great though because if you get your adrenaline spiked up like that oh yeah you're gonna enjoy the rest of the house more than if you didn't you know what i mean and so like it just that's literally like that's how i feel like when kelly's talking about the scares i think i've never gotten a run that good before that impacted me because So much of HHN to me has been ranking houses based on the set design and the storytelling because I don't get as many scares. And this is one of the first times I feel that the run has like affected me that much because from a set design perspective, like, is it the most impressive? Not at all. Like there's barely any verticality. It's very claustrophobic and like tight hallways and not a lot of

Speaker: visual differences through it but man they just rocked me and like you said it was chaos the whole time so I don't know it's just so interesting how you can get something like that it's like yeah yeah like I don't even think I got a scare in the house because I think you got them all but it' still it still was like it was my number one because I'm like almost intimidated to go through it and get the wrecked like that you know what i mean i don't know like it just yeah i enjoyed it in in you know i think just the the idea is cool although as unnerving as it is you know i do hear where kelly's coming from about the the whole robot kid thing and all that stuff but just you know yeah it it it's a a well-executed original theme for a house for sure yeah

Speaker: Time to embrace our AI overlords. I know, right? Yeah, that's the theme. hate it. hate it. hate it. I love sci-fi. So that that was for me. You know are hanging in there. Thanks. We're officially longer than our last two episodes. I know.

Speaker: It's like, oh no. we still have to get through these freaking IPs. Okay. yeah, yeah. We're going to do a quick. Okay. So ah let's start with Stranger Things because most of us have that low. I know Scott doesn't. um Let's start out with compared to Hollywood, better or not?

Speaker: I say yes, better. I say better as well. Yes, it's definitely better than Hollywood. It's not even a competition. The set design was like so much better. no. Yeah, it was. yeah It was real bad out there. I will say the one thing and we talked about this at the top that I appreciated about Hollywood more was the interaction with Karen and the wine bottle.

Speaker: In Hollywood, that was a full-on scene where she ran out and like attacked the thing and they interacted with her. In Orlando, you just see the demo hiding behind the fridge and she just kind of like pops out with a bottle instead of the whole interaction. And I missed it this time.

Speaker: The scene was actually set in the complete opposite direction. It was. So in Orlando, you start at the fridge and the demo scares you. Whereas in Hollywood, you start on her side and you're kind of like already rooting for her because she's got the wine bottle ready to go. and you're like, hell yeah.

Speaker: but Yeah. Yeah. And they did the whole, you know, keep your hands off my daughter line. but you know, like they did the whole scene like we talked about. Right. Um, but I, I thought that the, the, my the maxi entrance portal was cool. so that That was kind of missing entirely in Hollywood. at At least I don't remember it. Um, there was Derek in this house, which was cool. Um,

Speaker: I got wrecked by the Lucas character because I was looking the other direction and like he he got like really, really close to me, I think just because I was standing in his spot and I didn't know it. um But, you know, yeah, it was definitely better than Hollywood, but it's it's all the same things though. You know, no, no Henry, no house. Yeah. No, no hand, no hand through the head. You know, I mean like those those were the the things that you thought you'd for sure see. Yeah. Right.

Speaker: it was very much the, It was actually disgusting because the show is about him. Yeah. It was very much the same like moments. Just Orlando did a better job of the set design.

Speaker: Grander scale. Yeah, they really was the same. Like the in the the the cave scene was way better in Orlando too with like the the demo above you. and Yeah. yeah yeah not Not the Camisots, but like the the Lucas tunnel scene. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Speaker: I got scared by him too.

Speaker: Okay, let's see what else we have. Evil Dead Burn. Kelly number two. ah That's wild. What is that about? Hold on. why I had this at the bottom of my hype list. I did rank it pretty high. I'm comparing to what I said last time. Where did I have it? I think maybe like five, four or five. um I hated this movie. If you have listened to any of the last of our five episodes, I probably talked about it. Um, I thought it was so poorly done, but I think the house is so well done. Like it makes the movie better. It elevates the movie. It makes me want to rewatch the movie that I hated. Like, I think it's one of the best houses that is done in a chronological movie order that doesn't feel like you're walking through a movie set only. Like I love the facade. I think the animatronic that's talking is so well done. i love how you then walk through the book um and then get into the scene by scene part. But it's there legitimate scares. There are dogs popping out of walls. There is gore with like cutting of skin which I think is really well done. The casting is really well done. I said all of this last time, but like I truly enjoy it's like the feeling that I get in the house is like I'm excited the entire time I'm in there and then I leave with a smile on and that does it every time. So I think I have to remove my bias of hating the movie and just look at the house for what it is. And I have had a great time in there every single time.

Speaker: That's fair. Yeah. I mean, I think, again, in this case, we can say that Orlando was better. Maybe? Yes? I'm going to disagree. Oh, okay. Say more.

Speaker: But, again, this is like... it was number eight for me in Orlando and I think it was like seven in Hollywood. So yeah neither were great in my opinion. I haven't seen any of the movies. I don't know anything about this IP.

Speaker: So I don't, it sounds like I don't need to, like you said, but um I did notice a couple of things in Hollywood that I preferred. I thought they had a the scene with the fire in the house in Hollywood i thought was really well done. They had like actual heat pumped and that was neat.

Speaker: I thought walking through the book in Hollywood, for for me not knowing what the story is about, i was able to kind of pick up on it a little bit because I thought that that initial scene was better done in Hollywood as well. florida But overall, I had this near the bottom for both. And I think it's because I have no connection to this.

Speaker: I don't like the evil dogs. I like my cute little sausage dog. Like I don't yeah need any of that. So I didn't care for it either way, but you know,

Speaker: Yeah, no, I hear you. i'm I'm in a similar camp, which is why it's low for me. I think I don't, you know, I didn't see the movie. I don't really have a connection to this. And I find that it's a little bit generic, just in terms of we've seen many houses at HHN where, like, you're walking through a house and there's scenes in a house. um But I do think that it was...

Speaker: i don't I kind of what you're saying now, Caleb, like i'm I'm kind of it's closer than the Stranger Things difference for sure. Like the set design. yeah There were so many plus elements of it in Orlando compared to ah Hollywood. Like in Hollywood, there's the grandma on the the Stairmaster. And in Hollywood, it doesn't move. And in Orlando, it's moving like so things like that are all plus stuff. But that being said, like, I don't really remember like, yeah, in the in the fire scene, did Orlando even have the smell because it was strong in Hollywood? You were like, oh, this is fire. They actually did have more heat this time. Last time I heard people talking about that it gets hotter as you go through the house. And I'm like no, it doesn't. But this time I did notice it. But if you guys didn't notice it, it must have gotten real hot in Hollywood.

Speaker: Yes, it was noticeable. Like feel it on your face. Yeah, yeah. It was like it was pretty. Yeah, pretty interesting. but Yeah, I mean, I thought they both both sides did a good job with the storytelling, actually, in terms of like, even though I haven't seen the movie, I could follow it. um I think I probably got more scares in the Hollywood one.

Speaker: And that's another reason why it's kind of lower on my list is I just didn't get as many scares in it. um But yeah. So one thing about this house that I loved but in both, both coasts is that it's a lot of live actors with makeup and not masks. And for some reason, being able to see, being able to look at an actual person and like, I don't know that I always enjoy that in houses. um Like I mentioned earlier, I thought the, with the misdirection, I thought this house did a great job of that in multiple rooms, especially like the bedroom scene where like, there's like that, whatever's underneath the sheet. I don't even know, but then, Like ah you're looking, you're looking at that when you walk in the house or in the room and then you get, you know, the girl comes from around the corner on the left and, and gets you, you know, um, and that I got got by both dog animatronics as embarrassing as that is. Yeah.

Speaker: Yeah. Just like, like, I don't know how, because I knew they were coming and they both still got me, you know, they came out more and moved more than I expected them to. Cause the dog in Hollywood was just a static.

Speaker: It was like the demo in Orlando, on the wonder room scene. It was just a static dog. And so I was like, Oh, there's the dog. And then it like came out, you know, i was like, Oh, you know, so, um, but yeah, um, overall there was like one other scene in Hollywood, similar to the Jackhammer scene, which was in both. But wasn't there like a table saw scene in Hollywood that wasn't in the Orlando house?

Speaker: I feel like I remember one other like violent kill type scene, but maybe not. Maybe I'm missing. I don't recall. I don't think so. Well, but I think it's a cool house. It's fun. You know, I genuinely, not there's no bad houses this year at all, in my opinion. So, yeah. Yeah. ah alien Cool. um Okay, so what else do we have left? Let's see. Oh, Sinners.

Speaker: Oh, man. Hollywood versus Orlando. ah Hollywood was better. It's not even close. Yeah. Having done that one first, I think kind of ruined the Orlando one for me just with how much more impressive it was overall.

Speaker: Yeah. I think and the big complaint about the Sinners' House in Hollywood is that it's short, but I think it packs an incredible punch. in the short house that it has.

Speaker: I mentioned it when we talked about this a couple of times, but I'll say it for everybody here that the house in in Hollywood, I thought, told the story of the movie better, even though it was shorter.

Speaker: i think it touched on a couple of those things in a better way. um It was missing some of the Celtic music or whatever. i don't At least I don't remember it. That's a whole scene that they had in Orlando that they didn't have out there.

Speaker: But I thought that the initial entry area in Hollywood um with the whole the history of music and all the different appearances of all that, like that's the primary scene in that movie. And they didn't even include any of that. Like I've seen in the song in Orlando. So they were missing all of the other musical elements, the fireflies and the glowing eyes and and so many of the other little things that they did in Hollywood. And I think overall, you know, one thing we mentioned it, same thing with the Stranger Things house, the scene.

Speaker: um where Mary, is that her name? Where Stack shoots her. Like in in Hollywood, that's the whole interaction. Like she's there, she stumbles backwards. Like, you know, there's a whole thing going on. Whereas here, they're just both kind of like popping around the corner. Like, hey, I'm in here. Remember me? So I i strongly preferred Hollywood. And I think it it kind of spoiled me a little bit with how well done it was compared to Orlando.

Speaker: Yeah, maybe sad because I really like the IP and i was I was hoping for big things and we got it in one and i didn't really get it in the other. In my opinion, Scott. Well, I didn't do this house in Orlando, so I don't have too much to add. That's right. um But the, you know, the Hollywood one was great, I thought. Yeah. um You know, I was a little bummed. is there Is there any incorporation of the church in Orlando at all? No. Like, I really kind of thought that that would have been a cool scene. None of that have whole half of the movie is is is even yeah part of it. Yeah, for sure. For sure. um But yeah, I mean, you know, not to...

Speaker: I repeat too much, but the scene with with ah the guns and you know like that that interaction as opposed to just if it's just like them in a room, you know I could see that being a big difference. yeah um And yeah, I don't really know what else to say other than yeah i didn't really have the Hollywood one ranked very high, but I enjoyed it a lot. And there are some really cool aspects of it.

Speaker: Yeah, I mean, that's why, i mean, I think I have this, let's see, at seven. ah That's why, I mean, like, I still enjoyed it, but it's in so in many ways a shadow of kind of what the Hollywood experience is from a storyline. And like, those so little details that were there that you're you're finding missing in Orlando, even though Orlando, you can tell, spent more money on the set design. Like in some places, I'm just looking And I can see like so much more depth into the set in certain places. And I was like, oh, that's cool. But then like things that I was looking for just weren't there. um And I also think the scares were not like as effective and maybe a little bit more redundant. I think there there were a lot of just like vampires popping out in Orlando. um And like, I think we missed some things maybe when we went through our Orlando run as well. But yeah overall, just like, I don't know, something about that first scene in in Hollywood set the scene so well. um And it just really takes off like when you when you start away are in that forest and the little lightning bugs are going off, you're just like, oh yeah. Yeah.

Speaker: Yeah, it was it was still fun. um And I liked that they had another flying character in it, although I think the one in Hollywood was executed a little better. um So, yeah, a little a little disappointing, unfortunately, in Orlando, but um not bad again, by any means, like still enjoyable, just not not quite there.

Speaker: One thing I also didn't love about the Orlando house is that you could see outside of your scene and a couple spaces. Like you could look through a walkway and see the conga line of people. Like, and that kind of detracts for me when you can do that.

Speaker: Yeah. Look past where you are and see other people going through other scenes. Like I, put a curtain up or something like it. Yeah. Block that off. I don't like it works in the odd verse, but not so much in a movie yeah that you're supposed to be like walking through. yeah I think you're supposed I think it does that well purposefully in some houses like Hellraiser and odd verse, but um yeah, not when it's not intended to be like that. It's not great. I have really nothing to add. I don't have the comparison to make between Hollywood. I love sinners as an IP. Um, yeah,

Speaker: So I think what keeps this house ranked highly for me is just the vibe of its very darkest deal. And I just like that kind of vibe and like the deep South and the music and the characters are well represented. will say our run was definitely a little bit weaker this time when we, when my group went through centers than the previous runs I had had. So hopefully our last weekend we'll get a good one. Cause I just really love the movie.

Speaker: One thing to just real quick, like that they not to always be comparing the two, but the, in Hollywood, they do a lot of behind window scares where like, there's a barrier between you and the actor, but like they bang the window or they pop up from below it or in like, know,

Speaker: they don't seem to do that at all in any of like you do it you see it in multiple houses in orlando or in hollywood and and it doesn't seem like they do that in like with the i'm assuming there was no remick window in in this house and that got me so good in hollywood yeah yeah like that so they don't utilize that scare tactic like ever don't why it was it's effective Cause I was not ready for it.

Speaker: Um, cool. So that's sinners. Yeah. Hopefully we'll get a better run in the future. All right. We've got two more left. We're going to power through. Um, so we've got hell razor. Um, let's see versus Hollywood. What do we think? Which one was better?

Speaker: I struggle. I thought I, I do too, but I'm going to give the nod to Orlando due to length alone. Yeah, yeah. That's fair. Yeah. And the pinhead actual actors in Orlando were like, there was multiple of them as opposed to just one two, you know. And the room you walk into the split open room split open the cube cube you know with like the mirrors everywhere and i really like yeah more leotards as well or unitards in this house say we got a ah unitard up in there yeah we do yeah don't know what that guy's doing but uh you know yeah um i really struggled with it like i i think the scares in hollywood were better

Speaker: But like you said, the length and the set design was better in Orlando. So I'm i'm like, I don't know which one I prefer. um And again, like, it's so funny. We opened both events by like going through Hellraiser twice is the first thing we did. um Like, i I don't know. There was just some minor things in Hollywood that I was kind of surprised that Orlando didn't do. Like, there's that room in the mausoleum thing with the beds moving in in Hollywood and Orlando. They're just fixed and not moving. And I was like, huh, I'm surprised they didn't i didn't do that over here. um but yeah i definitely appreciated like the length of the the orlando version and just the maze section feeling very mazy comparatively like hellraiser in hollywood definitely had some hallways that were just kind of dark with hanging stuff without as much detail although there were some effective scares in those hallways yeah yeah i had it at five on both of my lists so it

Speaker: It's interchangeable for me. I think there are pros and cons to each. I'll give the nod to Hollywood solely for the statue scare. Oh yeah. but I forgot about that. yeah Yeah, that was incredible. But other than that, like Orlando wins in set design and length, like you guys said. So.

Speaker: I think that they they definitely went, you know, they fought hard to get this IP for a long time is what I've heard. And you can tell that they wanted to spare no expense and make sure that they really did a lot with with the design and and paying homage to the movies because they are such a cult classic, you know, for for the people that love them, they love them, you know? Yeah.

Speaker: For as weird as the films are, like, I really enjoy these as houses. I think they make an effective house. Yeah. The clackers, man. Yep. um I think the only thing I have to add is this has slowly dropped um from like really high on my list to like moderately high on my list with each run. And I think that's just a product of it feeling very samey.

Speaker: I know I think that word a lot when I describe the houses, but it's like, I've seen all the Cenobites now. So like when you they just keep popping out at me, it's like, okay, it's like more of the same. But I do agree. I like it represented as a house better than I enjoyed the Weird movie. um Weird, weird, weird. I mean, it's weird house too. But um I think they did a really great job with the design of some of the Cenobites. I mean, you don't get too long of a look at them. But some of the ones with like the wires through their face, I'm like, wow, they look yeah so good.

Speaker: Yeah, the the the female one with the wires going like in and out of her jaw and in Orlando got me a couple times. And, you know, I know they were in the Hollywood house, but they never really like stood out to me. guess. But I mean, yeah, the the pinheads in Orlando look awesome.

Speaker: Yeah. Yeah. Cool. All right. We have one left. And I guess this was one of our favorites overall on both coasts. It's Ozzy. Definitely a grander set design on the Orlando side of things. um I have a a similar situation. Like my perspective is that I did get some better scares in Hollywood again on this one. However, i think overall I would give it to Orlando just on the scale of it and the length of it and all of the different scenes that were in there. What do you guys think?

Speaker: Yeah, I'll give it to Orlando as well. i um I like the diversity of the music included. It was a lot of a lot of crazy train in Hollywood, whereas we got a couple of other things in the mix here, which I appreciated. The story being a little bit different. I think I like the story better here than I did in Hollywood.

Speaker: um I loved the the weather effect room in yeah Orlando. That was really, really cool. I love when they do that sort of thing. um Every time it's included in a house, I always really enjoy that.

Speaker: um But yeah, overall, it's a great house on both coasts. they they It was a fantastic tribute to to the the person that Ozzy Osbourne is in that last scene. it's it's It's pretty intense from an emotion standpoint there too. So um it it was really well done. I'm happy with it both sides.

Speaker: Yeah, I think Orlando is significantly better. And this is either my one or two in Hollywood. And I think that this one was just awesome. I mean, the vibes were so high.

Speaker: Incredible scenes, incredible scares. i liked I really liked that whatever that masked, like kind of Reaper type thing in the first few rooms. I like that whatever that guy is. I don't know, but I like him a lot. um and then like the the straight to held a night room with the throne and the two and the two girls on either side right before the end that's like maybe my favorite scene in any house i've ever done so i i just that that that house is awesome i cannot wait to do that one again like i really can't i love it it's my number one um

Speaker: I think I said this on on the previous episode. it's still, although I enjoy it so much, does not touch at least my top two houses last year, maybe my top three. um i echo again what you guys said. the The set design is incredible. The variety in the songs that they use, the ability to portray the different characters that Ozzy did with his different albums. um I think I get really hyped during the crazy train part

Speaker: But it's it's good I'm glad it doesn't last longer than it does. Like it has its place and it's cool. And I'm glad that they brought back the hatchet and chains train trick. um And that made me kind of giggle. I also saw a hatchet and chains um horsey in Alien. And I was like, hey, I know that.

Speaker: guy um and then yeah i just think i really enjoy when they do these tribute house i houses i felt the same about wyatt six last year it's like i can't imagine them doing a tribute to somebody that meant a lot to me because neither wyatt six nor ozzy osborne are that for me i enjoy ozzy's music i enjoyed watching him on mtv but that's kind of the extent of my fandom for him um But I think that they they do these these people um a lot of justice in paying homage to their work, but also in kind of remembering them and their legacy. So I just like that they've been incorporating that into, i wonder if that will become something as...

Speaker: moving forward as kind of a staple house that they do. um I love a music house. i love the characters. There's good scares. It's dark.

Speaker: um This is one that you can differentiate between the different rooms where really well, which is something I said that I like before. So um yeah, i wish I could do this house more. I wish that the line wasn't so long. Yeah.

Speaker: Yeah, for sure. At least there's not as many of the Aussie laughs in the Orlando house. Because that was like that was like the jump scare trigger in Hollywood. you know Yeah. you That's some really cool like animatronics in there as well.

Speaker: um Yeah, the bat was awesome. yeah um Huge. Yeah. yeah this You guys, we missed a couple of, i I can think of at least two really good scares on our run. I know I was standing near you guys.

Speaker: I was like, Oh man, there's like a stilt conductor that we missed. And, um, I can't remember what the other one was, but I was like, Oh, I was looking for it. Cause it was a highlight for me for my first weekend. So maybe it will even get better. Yeah. I'm excited to run it again for sure. I wish we could have, but again, long lines.

Speaker: Well, that's it That's all the houses. Yeah.

Speaker: It's exhausting to talk through a mall to just to go through them all. My goodness. Right. ah So a big picture then, I guess, put a bow on it. Two sentences from each of us.

Speaker: What do we think? We've been to both. I'll go first since I prompted this. Goodness. I love the event this year in Orlando. I think it's one of the best of the years that I've been. i think overall the houses are really solid at the top end. I think the bottom end does lag a little bit compared to some of the others.

Speaker: but it's it's a great event and I am very excited to go back. I think that that's the sentiment that I'm carrying through is like, This year, I feel like last year I went to Hollywood like six or seven nights. This year, I'm like, i went one time, don't need to go again. Whereas Orlando, I'm like really excited to do again. um And so I think that that that says it all, you know, from from my perspective. They're both great.

Speaker: They're both fun. But I'm very excited to go through and and just kind of have that second that second run perspective is always different, right? When you when you kind of know, but you don't know. So...

Speaker: Yeah, the the Orlando houses definitely have more repeatability to them because there's so much detail to look for. And because they're conga lines, sometimes you don't see all the scares. um So yeah, I'm definitely excited to to go through those. I feel like the one day that we had at Hollywood was, I mean, we executed so much in that one day. um And I feel like we really got the complete experience. And it's hard to do that. Even even when you go through all of the houses and do both shows and everything, it's hard to leave. HHN or Landau without wanting a little bit more and being like, I still want like another run in that or another run in this just to see it again. um So I'm definitely excited to go back. um

Speaker: Yeah, I don't know like if I'm attached to any of these houses as much as like some of the previous years, but I mean, the fact that Cyborgoria rocked me so much, like, is always going to be a highlight of this year. um I'll for sure remember, like, the the carnival and downtown Clown Town and all of that and just the way that that tied it all together, which is fun. um And, yeah, I'm just excited to end the Lagoon Show. That's going to be another one I'll remember. Just hanging out with you guys watching that.

Speaker: um But yeah, I'm excited to go back again and see how this evolves because I'm pretty sure everything is going to move around after this. um Yeah, just excited to go back.

Speaker: Don't skip the Lagoon show. Don't skip the Lagoon show. Whoever's listening, do not skip the Lagoon show. Also, we didn't really talk about this. um Definitely do early entry because walking through Hellraiser with like no weight at all is kind of awesome.

Speaker: Yeah, for sure. Yeah. that most Multiple runs on the three houses that are open early before even like pre-queuing for the next one. Yeah.

Speaker: Yeah, for sure. Do you want to touch on questions? I think they're pretty quick. Okay. So Hunter asked with the other parks like SeaWorld and Six Flags getting more IPs next year. Do you think that uni will up their game?

Speaker: think the game's already up, brother. yeah i don't think it's on the same level. I don't think they need They have been running the haunt scene forever and they will continue to no matter what IPs any other part gets. They're not going to do them justice. And I have seen it happen numerous times. Yeah, I think it's the other parks that need to up their game. don't think Universal has anything to worry about.

Speaker: there's ah They got a long way to go at Hollow Scream and and Fright Fest or whatever it's called even get me in the door, let alone start to compete. so Right, right.

Speaker: And i like I have seen that. like So I'm planning on going to Six Flags again coming up. And as I mentioned last year, that um the Conjuring IP house that they put in at Six Flags over Georgia, I was like...

Speaker: Okay, like y'all tried. It's still nothing near like HHN levels, but the immersion in it was much better than they've done before. So yeah, I think it's really contingent upon everybody else to get better, not so much universal because they know what they're doing.

Speaker: And then CPrad had asked, hearing some reviews for some of your lower ranked houses, what could have been improved to move them up or higher in your rankings? I think that based on what Kelly is saying is that runs matter a lot and these rankings in these houses are all pretty solid in Orlando and like you could, they can move around just based on your run. Right. So, um, I can't think anything specific, you know, also universal don't claim that house is going to be super scary when it's camp. Yeah.

Speaker: That's what I was gonna, I think, you know, leave the interpretation of the house up to the guests and don't try, and it's the same thing with coasters. Don't tell me i'm going to love something because of X and then like X doesn't even happen. Like you're creating false hype doing that. And When you don't have your podcast episodes out or your Q videos episodes out at the start of an event and fans like us are relying on what you give to articles and interviews that end up being like completely not even accurate, that decreases my hype on a house. Like.

Speaker: Yeah, I wish they would have put that stuff out earlier. um Yeah, yeah, they used to. they used to Storytell before the event. These last two years have been rough for that. But before that, they were doing better. So we'll see what happens.

Speaker: As a specific improvements for houses that were near the bottom of my list. I think for aliens have a cohesive theme instead of camp or not camp, like pick one and stick with it. I mentioned that earlier.

Speaker: I think for stranger things, I wanted something entirely different from that. So just build a different house would make it better next time. um And then I think the number 10 for me was Madlands. I think if I didn't do that after being at HSN for 10 hours, that might improve it too. So maybe I need to do that one earlier in the night and give it a shot again.

Speaker: yeah I would say up the Unitard game and um maybe give us... Do you guys think they'll do it at Stranger Things Anthology House or do you think Stranger Things is done?

Speaker: I think that's what the Lagoon Show They're ready to close that book. I hope not. I'd rather have the Lagoon Show be the closing on that chapter than an Anthology House, frankly.

Speaker: Yep. Because I think that's the best we can do. Unless we do First Shadow, which is Baller. for shadow is the bomb it truly is all right well thank you guys so much for sticking with us ethan i know you you threw out a draft idea that may come in a future episode when tyler and rafa are back um but at the two hour 240 mark almost we're gonna We're going not do that tonight. um Please make sure you you follow these lovely people on your favorite podcast platform. Leave a five-star review ah on Instagram. It is at thrills, chills, and spills so you don't miss any new episodes and can follow along on the adventures as we return to hh chen later this year. And thanks for listening and stay spooky, you freaky bees.

Speaker: That's tea actually.