'Halloween Horror Nights, Orlando - Review' theme park review - Nowt2Do.Com: Listings and Reviews for Bristol and Beyond!


	Setting up home at Universal Studios Orlando during the month of October is quite frankly the scariest most horrible event I've ever been to… that said, it was also the most fun and most life affirming theme park experience that I've ever had. Now in it's 16th year, the Halloween Horror Nights are an institution, they are Americas biggest and best haunted themed event, and it's easy to see why. Universals slick production values make this a totally immersive event of fear, frights and laughter. The park is converted into a nightmare, with scarezones that you walk through to get places but are home to scary folk who are ready to jump out on your, or chase you with their chainsaws. You can go on some of the big rides, see the totally excellent Bill and Ted show, and visit seven differently themed and equally scary haunted houses. So what are the houses… well here's the scream. Dungeon of Terror – Retold – Mysterious whispers call you deeper into the dungeon. This is the place where The Storyteller demands the undivided attention of her “guests” until her story has been told. Hint: There is no happily ever after. Run: Hostile Territory – An underworld where guests can fulfill their most ghastly fantasies and where the innocent can be tortured, dismembered and killed. Choose your path but beware when the lights go out: the guests become the victims and nothing can save you. Psychoscareapy – Maximum Madness – Shady Brook Hospital’s newest resident is about to take over. If you think you know insane, you don’t know Jack. Step inside an asylum where the big top has padded walls and the sideshow is death. All Nite Die In – Take 2 – For The Director, film is forever but pain is everlasting. He takes you on a cinematic journey through classic horror movies. Grab your ticket and come face-to-face with film’s greatest evils. Scream House – The Resurrection – Evil has risen again. Abandoned for years, this gothic mortuary contains the eternally tormented souls of The Caretaker’s victims. Aided by a cultish group of followers – your time has come. Psycho Path: The Return of Norman Bates – There is vacancy once again at the legendary Bates Motel. Your eyes prove to be useless as your mind takes over and leads you through the macabre nightmares of a pathological killer named Norman Bates. People Under The Stairs: Under Construction – Is it possible for a house to be haunted before it is even completed? Focusing on the group experience, rather than the individual’s, this house forces a party of guests to work together to uncover an escape route, or perish. Their destinies are not their own as they must place their faith in their leader, who is randomly selected. Wearing a lighted helmet, the leader must navigate his or her group through the black to investigate the skeletal form of a home so demented that even its incomplete walls bleed. I honestly jumped out of my skin, screamed my head off and had a whale of a time in each haunted house. Everyone has their favourites, 'All Night Die In - 2' being mine, blending in some of the best horror characters to a mish mash of scenes and screams, the guy from Scream, that girl off of the Ring, and Hannibal Lecter to name just a few will scare the living daylights out of you, before a strobe filled finale, that had me running out of the house as fast as I could. Each house is totally unique, all the scares are different, you can never anticipate what's going to happen. The theming is superb, up to the standards of sets on Hollywood Blockbuster movies, you get real smells (careful in the bathroom of the asylum!), actors chasing you in fantastic makeup and costumes, and mazes which will confuse and befuddle you, until the next thing you know is you're standing next to a guy with a chainsaw ready to chase you away. Halloween Horror Nights an amazing excuse to visit Orlando, it'll give you theme park thrills and some of the most horrifically scary, jump out of your skin but laugh out loud moments. You leave each house feeling pumped up, feeling alive….despite everyone in the houses doing their best to kill you. A glittering gem in the theme park crown, Halloween Horror Nights is horrifically good. Get you diary out for next years event, go to Florida then, it'll be warm, sunny, not very busy and will let you enjoy this unforgettable event. For the same price as a one-night Halloween Horror Nights ticket ($59.95 plus tax per person), guests travelling to Orlando this month (October 2006) can purchase a Frequent Fear Pass, which allows unlimited entry to the event every night from Sunday to Thursday. To purchase the passes, please visit www.universalorlando.co.uk. Book your stay at the five star Portofino Bay Hotel for the 2007 Halloween Horror Nights event at Universal Orlando Resort with Virgin Holidays (0871 222 1232 / www.virginholidays.co.uk). Prices start from as little as £1189 per adult and £319 per child, departing between 23-31 October, and include room only accommodation for seven nights, return flights and car hire. Halloween Horror Nights tickets and Frequent Fear passes will be available from www.universalorlando.co.uk. Read our preview for more information.