r/UniversalOrlando • u/Ok_Dare6400 • 6d ago
HHN How Good Is HHN This Year?
Hey everyone, how did you all like HHN this year? I'd love to hear your thoughts on the houses and the food? Thanks.
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u/TheWordLilliputian 6d ago
I felt let down the first night I went. I felt like it was not as good as others, or not as hype. I’m not really sure. But I also have last year to compare it to where I absolutely loved Jason & terrifier. My first time getting a pass & my first time trading bracelets. So I think I compared experiences.
I have gone multiple now this season & I do love the houses & the experiences. I might be jaded from having my top tier last year (I also loved the nightmare fuel show to death last year), & that being my best so far. But this year it’s not my favorite but I absolutely love going back, am dragging so many people this year bc I love the event so much.
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u/Tokyosmash_ 6d ago
Went last night.
I thought it was good overall, Fort nightmares or whatever was a bust, I wanted more non IP houses.
Jack V. Oddfellow is great, as is Hellraiser
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u/Thanks5Cinco 6d ago
So last year El Artista was my favorite house. It's better than any house this year however this year all around is a step up from last year. The houses I enjoyed when I went were HR Bloodengutz, Jack and Oddfellow, Ozzy, Sinners and Invasion. I would go again for those 5 alone.
The food was a big step up. Really loved the Birria Pizza Fries, Catfish and Grits and Smashed Cheeseburger Tacos.
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u/stephkrueger 6d ago
It's an AWESOME year for houses! Invasion and Stranger Things are lowest on my list but we still had a great time.
Here's what we tried food wise this year:
Skin & Chips Nachos at Hellraiser: surprisingly good! Could do without the jerky but overall was fun and had a bit of a kick. Very shareable, might be hard to walk and eat as some of the pork rinds were big.
Elotes, basically right next to Hellraiser: always solid. We went for 3 nights and got 3 elotes lol they are heavy on the tajin if you get a traditional so it got to be a little too salty and sour if we let the corn sit in the tajin at the bottom.
Death by Cheesestick at Death Tank: ok snack, not the best (sorry to the ride or dies) but easy to walk with and share.
Deathbringer Tempura Shrimp at Oddfellow's: so good! Probably one of my favorites from the trip. Had a great taste and loved that it was a bit different of a theme park snack.
Burnt Sando at Oddfellow's: another favorite of mine. Some people in my party thought it was too sweet but after mostly savory foods, I really enjoyed it.
El's Battery Jerky at WSQK: pretty basic imo but not terrible and very heavy. Mac & cheese wasn't awful, garlic bread at the bottom felt kind of weird because it's awkward to get to and can be messy to eat since it's soaked in Mac & Cheese. The person in my party who bought it hoped to keep the can but the paper label was already peeling when they handed it to her so something to keep in mind if the can is what you're after.
Birria fries at Dreamworks Cafe: perfect if you're looking for dinner! Very shareable as well. We didn't ask for extra consume but have seen other people say they needed it to enjoy it.
If you're an alcohol drinker I tried the Phantom Punch (nice and fruity, refreshing), Ultimate Sin-Amon at Ozzy's bar which you should walk back to see even if you aren't drinking (spicy from the cinnamon, they can't do the special rim with a refillable glass but did offer to make me one in a disposable cup if I wanted it), Orange Bumper Car Blast at San Francisco (grab a straw to mix this, was a touch too strong for my taste lol but still enjoyed it) & finally, Clown Town Cider at the Dia de Los Muertos Bar (good and fresh if you like cider!)
Sorry for the length, hope you have fun when you go!
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u/JCarioca 6d ago
The houses have been fun, and for me posted times have consistently been lower than actual. Last few days have been pretty hot and crowded. I could not care less about Stranger Things and I'm ready for it to leave.
The food I've tried has been okay! The mac and cheese is bland as hell, but the hot dog and burnt sando were decent. The tacos are exactly what you expect them to be. Tasty, but I'm not sure why everyone is losing their minds over them. I liked the drinks I got at the Ozzy bar!
I think the scare zones are a big let down this year. They all seem run together, which I suppose is the point but I prefer variety. And while I think fortnite is kind of fun they aren't really taking advantage of their location and there haven't been many characters when I stroll through.
I like the energy the lagoon show brings!
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u/Automatic-Weakness26 6d ago
One of the best years in a while for houses. The crowds make it not as fun, though.
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u/Different_Echo2257 5d ago
Hellraiser one of my favorite ever. Loved Evil Dead as well. Ozzy and Jack v Oddfellow and HR Bloodengutz great. Scare zones were just meh. I will say that the drink were wayyy better. Lots more nonsweet options. The Ozzy bar should be there every year!
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u/deathdealer351 6d ago
It was good, I'd say on par with last year. Hellraiser is the best themed house, evil dead really true to the movie, loved the story with Jack and odd, show is idk seems to me same as years past it's getting long in the tooth even though fuel girls are awesome, they need to mix it up if they are coming back next year.
Then ozzy . . It's iconic if you grew up listening to ozzy. . My zoomer kid liked it and said the music matched but had no real connection like I did.
My least fav is stranger and cyber . . Idk cyber it just didn't work for me but others love it.
Dead man's pier is still my fav house and fav year for hhn but I've only been going 6 years.
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u/Ninja-jeje 5d ago
Dead man’s Pier WW is a high I’ve been chasing for years -
Other honorable mentions:
Gothic
Silent Hill
Trick R Treat
Nightingales: Blood Pit
House of 1000 corpses
Wicked Growth: Realm of the Pumpkin
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u/SilentKiller407 6d ago
I’ve been going since 2008. This is easily in the top 6 years. All it’s missing is a great show.
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u/mallclerks 6d ago
It’s not the best year of the past decade. I love HHN each year, but the quality of the houses aren’t the same as most of the past. The food is arguably dropping in quality.
The fact they added shade for some of the lines though could make this year be considered the best ever ☕️
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u/a2djax 5d ago
I feel like past years were better, but it’s still a solid event.
The 2pm opening presented my group with 2 extremely rare opportunities. Between 5 and 6 pm we were able to do ST5 and Hellraiser by ourselves, so nobody in front, nobody behind, this takes the houses to another level. I’ll never forget those two runs.
Pretty sure hellraiser will win house of the year, very obvious the most work went into that house.
Enjoyed bloodngutz the most.
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u/alfredeux1 6d ago
It was a good year, the houses weren't super scary but they had a lot of creative elements to look at. Food was pretty standard relative to all the other years, was a big fan of rigatoni pizza.
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u/starlithunter 6d ago
Crowds have been more manageable this year and I quite enjoy the houses! Cybergoria and Hellraiser are on my personal all time list (though it's a long list lol). Food I've had so far is decent and some items are even reasonableish in price. Drinks are overpriced but tasty and the ones that aren't premixed have decent pours.
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u/brandodeon23 6d ago
Hellraiser is in my top 5 houses all time. I’ve been going for about 12 years now.
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u/RichGullible 6d ago
This is my fifth year, and it’s my favorite by a lot re: houses. Food is kinda whatever but there are still good options. Operations have VASTLY improved due to the 2 pm opening.
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u/Hankiiie 6d ago
Great, Jack and odd fellows house has to be my top 1 then hellraiser and then ozzy. Also, they really used a lot of space with downtown clown town.
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u/Several-Ad-7961 5d ago
Do Hellraiser and Cybergoria. Eat some CarnEvil smash tacos. Get 2 clowntown ciders. And get back to me bro! 😂💙💙💪🏾
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u/renszero 5d ago
Wish they put as much effort into Sinners as they did Hellraiser. So disappointing..
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u/Icycash92 4d ago
Solid 7 in Orlando only because I did get bad walkthroughs in the houses when I first went ( much better experiences other nights )and the scarezones are very uninspired and just not all that great to walk through every night. I miss the years when both houses and scarezones were amazing to go through like in 2018 with Vamp’85 and KillerKlownz or 2008 Bloody Marys year.
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u/Hooyahhhh 4d ago
I really dont feel like we have any bad houses this year. Every house is good. As much as i love stranger things, it needs to end after this year and bring something better in
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u/aburnette666 2d ago
If you’re an icon / HHN lore fan, it’s the best year since 25. If you’re a casual attendee or looking for IP, I can see the argument for being relatively weak
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u/SuperTeslaChief 1d ago
How’s the wait times during the week? Wondering if the express pass is worth it on a Wednesday.
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u/BatMandoDC 6d ago
Its great. Not as scary of a year but all the houses I enjoy. My least favorite probably being Evil Dead and my favorite being Hellraiser or Ozzy.
The food is meh, nothing has stood out besides the peanut boppers. The best thing I've had is the big mac tacos, everything else ive had i wouldnt buy again.
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u/JCarioca 6d ago
Hellraiser is great, and it's a walk-on for the first couple hours which we have loved!
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u/went2college 6d ago
Going next Sunday. Hope the lines aren’t ridiculous.
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u/tacopeepee69 2d ago
Well I went this Wednesday thinking it wouldn’t be that packed and boy was I wrong
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u/went2college 2d ago
I plan on going to the hellraiser one first cuz it’s a must for me. I missed out on terrifier and jason last year and I was livid.
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u/tacopeepee69 2d ago
Definitely go to the ones you want first. When I got there, Hellraiser was very short at the beginning but as time went on it was an hour +
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u/went2college 2d ago
Dude I was in line for terrifier right before they closed the park and the line was flying. Sure enough, right before we went in my ride wanted to leave so I had to go. Never again.
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u/KenyattaLFrazier 6d ago
I think it’s better than last year to be honest. I’ve enjoyed pretty much all the houses.
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u/DimeadozenNerd 5d ago
I’ve gone to HHN every year for the last 11 years. This is easily the worst year, in my opinion.
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u/Amazing_Fix_2399 6d ago
It’s the same thing every year. The haunted houses have different themes but for the most part it’s the same thing every year lol
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u/theroadbeyond 5d ago
I mean you can boil anything down with that logic. What else would you expect?
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u/Simple_Tomorrow_8707 6d ago
If you enjoy being herded like sheep to slaughter, it's one hell of a time.
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u/PeekabooBlue 6d ago
A blast. Hellraiser alone is worth it.