Six Flags Great Adventure Fright Fest 2023 Review

    It's that time of year when Fright Fest takes over Six Flags Great Adventure. Would this year prove to be a return to form after last year's lackluster event? Let's find out! I'm going to break down this blog into a couple different sections. I'm going to take a look at the decoration and theme, houses, and entertainment. This blog is not going to be nearly as long as my Halloween Horror Nights blogs as Fright Fest usually only sees minor changes from year to year so I plan on highlighting those changes here along with returning favorites. There were special food options, but I only actually had one of them, loaded buffalo tots, which were very hot, but quite good as far as Six Flags food goes. I will say I was pleasantly surprised by the quality of them. Even saturated in buffalo sauce the tots were crispy still and the legit blue cheese crumbles on top were a nice touch. In addition, my all time favorite Dippin' Dots flavor (and quite possibly the greatest Halloween frozen treat of all time) Spookies and Cream returned to the park! Anyway, onto the event itself.

Decoration and Theme

    Fright Fest offered a very familiar scene in terms of decoration and theme. The central hub of the park did see a couple upgrades in the form of a crashed hearse that spewed fog and a massive skeleton replacing the revolutionary war statue. The fountain returned to being a blood fountain and it was surrounded by a sort of burial ground with bones and gravestones visible. The area around the fountain had a small fence as well. On one of my visits the scare actors were actually behind that fencing and not out and among the guests. Not really sure why, perhaps a security issue had taken place or something. It wasn't even that the park was closed as this was somewhat early in the night. Fright Fest this year boasted an all new scare zone, Curse of Blackbeard's Bounty to go with the returning Demon District, Clown Town, and Blood Fountain.

    Originally I was excited for this zone as I am for most pirate themed things, but then I learned that it was replacing the Lady of the Lake Cemetery. For the past few years I thought that was the most well done zone as it stretched a large portion of the path that leads from Joker to the arcade. So I kept my hopes up, but was disappointed to see that this scare zone was very small and did not extend much past the light tunnel that is used for Holiday in the Park. I know that the cemetery scare zone had multiple incidents of scare actors being hit or inappropriately touched, so I can at least understand why the size of the zone was shrunken considering its location in the park. That said, in comparison, the new area featured only a couple pirates each time I went through it. They did a great job overall at what they had to work with with very little theming. There was also a security guard on the path both times. I really do hope they expand this zone next year as historically Six Flags has done a really good job decorating that area of the park.

    Outside of the new scare zone and some enhancements to the entrance area, the park looked pretty similar to last year. The only other two exceptions to this that I noticed was Frontier Adventures apparently not having a part in the event this year and the path leading to King Da Ka having some effects. Historically there was a haunted mining town over in Frontier Adventures and a few years back there was even a small show. This year the area was largely a ghost town (no pun intended) with the only people being in the area who were looking to ride Runaway Train, Skyway, or Medusa (when it was actually running). The path that leads from the Boardwalk area of the park to King Da Ka randomly had a lot of fog. I'm not sure how much of that was from the nearby Bloodshed house or Saw X house, but there was an abundance of fog and black lighting. This was also the case during Scream Break back in the spring, but back then they had the area be an actual scare zone with actors hiding in it. Just an odd area I guess.

Houses

    This year featured two new houses in the form of The Conjuring and Saw X. Right off the bat I have to say that it was great seeing some IP based houses back in the park. I really do hope that Six Flags gets back to having these more frequently as these two houses were a step above the rest. Don't get me wrong. The houses are not to the level you would expect to see from Universal's Halloween Horror Nights, but in terms of Six Flags houses, they were a good step forward. The theming in both Saw X and The Conjuring were pretty good with the Conjuring standing out a bit more overall, possibly due to it's indoor location versus Saw's outdoor. In Saw X you could look up and see the sky in many places, in The Conjuring, not do much. The scare actors in both houses were great. Many re-enacted scenes from their respective IPs and did so very well. It kind of made me wonder if Six Flags had some outside scare actor help with these two houses. 

    The other houses were largely the same as previous years. Reflections of the Dead felt improved in that there were far more scare actors in it than any other year I've done it. It was admittingly creepy to have a scare actor staring at me only for it to be a reflection. Really good use of the mirror maze and I hope that next year should the house return they keep the extra staff in it. It really made a big difference. The Manor was The Manor. Not much else to say on that one. Fears was Fears and I still wish they would just let Fears take over the Manor and make it into one big house. The concept of Fears is so good, but the house itself is just too small for the amount of fears that they are trying to hit. Big Top Terror was also improved. I feel like I saw more clowns in there and it looks like it got a fresh coat of 3D paint too. The scenery and makeup on the clowns was really popping out. Real good stuff there. Aftermath was Aftermath. Again, not much to say. Bloodshed had a great cast of scare actors this year including one guy telling us not to interrupt footsie wootsie time. Gross. Overall the houses were better than the last couple years which was really great to see. The way the house pass worked was one flat rate got you in all of them as opposed to buying them individually. The price ended up amounting to a little more than five dollars per house if my memory is serving me correctly.

Entertainment

    The four shows this year was the new Freak Show, the new Blade Drummers, Unleashed, and Dead Man's Party. All three shows were very well done and offered unique entertainment. Freak Show was a guy doing a few different magic tricks. He ate a long balloon, nailed a nail into his nasal cavity and did some neat stuff with electricity. He only had a few acts, but they were all good and certainly had people cringing!

    Blade Drummers took the place of Blood Drums which had been at the park for the last few years. As much as I enjoyed Blood Drums, Blade Drummers took the drumming show up a notch. The show features a variety of metal songs that the drummers drum along to. Along with them are fire dancers and actual blade drummers that play with blades. If you've never seen blade drumming, it's pretty cool. First time I saw it was at Monster Stomp during Sea World's Howl-O-Scream event least year so I was naturally excited to see another version of that drumming here. The ending was quite impressive with flaming blades being used as drumsticks. Real good stuff here that I hope makes a return next year.

    Unleashed was back and once again delivered a new show with just one returning act (that I can remember anyway). Overall I felt that this version of Unleashed was a bit less heart-pounding as previous years, but offered some really cool acts nonetheless. My favorite of these was a balancing act where the performer stacked more and more chairs and eventually did handstands and what not on them. So I may have slightly lied in saying that there was one returning act. One of the acts involved two guys where one would lay on a bench, legs elevated, and launch another into flips and what not. that act was part of last year's Frost show at Holiday in the Park. The returning act was the trampoline finale. Other acts included gymnastics, dancing, and juggling. Again, not as heart racing as previous years, but still a ton of talent on display and a show certainly worth watching more than once!

    Dr. Fright was back for the annual Dead Man's Party! This year's cast simply nailed it and the show, for the first time in a few years, is my favorite of the four for the year. I am not a dancer, nor do I know a thing about choreography, but this year's show felt to me like I was watching a version of the show for the mid 2010s. I don't think it quiet hit that level, but it was close. The soundtrack certainly hit that level though as only two of the songs were originally from more recent years. This show's soundtrack felt like a love letter to Dead Man's Parties of the past, which it clearly was. I don't know if the show will ever hit the level it was at before all the internal drama caused it to take a step back a few years ago, but this was my favorite version of the show since 2017. On a side note, the Awakening featuring the cast of Dead Man's Party was also well done and Metallica's Enter Sandman was a great way to kick off the scares. 

    So before I wrap this blog up I want to bring special attention to something that I have been begging for for years. Six Flags Great Adventure debuted some new merchandise and even a dedicated Fright Fest store near the Wild Walkway for the event! The store was really cool as it featured some artifacts from Fright Fests of the past and offered a wide variety of horror merchandise outside of the event. Many movie franchises were represented such as Halloween, Friday the 13th, and a Nightmare on Elm Street. Even bigger than that was Fright Fest merchandise that featured things from the event rather than just the usual array of generic Fright Fest hoodies and what not. This year featured merchandise for Dead Man's Party as well as Unleashed. The Conjuring house also had it's own merchandise and Saw was also well represented. I've been saying this for years, this is the kind of merchandise I would happily buy and did buy. Give me merchandise that showcases the houses and shows every year and I will be quite happy! I'd still love to add a Fright Fest shirt with all of the houses represented on it to my collection, come on Six Flags make it happen!

    In closing I felt that the 30th year of Fright Fest was a step back in the right direction. Everyone likes to poke fun at the company nowadays over the premium experience comments the CEO had made, but I'll be real honest here. The enhancements to some of the houses, IP houses, unique food offerings that actually taste good, the Fright Fest store, and the addition of Blade Drummers and Freak Show made this event feel way more whole again and I really do hope that that is something for the park to build on. Yes, there is still work to be done. Getting Frontier Adventures back in the game should be one of those priorities for next year, especially with the re-debut of the log flume and Safari Off Road Adventure happening next season. Then we can debate on whether or not the Boardwalk area should also be re-introduced to the event. For now though attention on Fright Fest will fade as the park beings to get ready for Holiday in the Park which I will be sure to cover as well.

    This brings my Halloween coverage to an end for the year.... Unless Universal or another park announces something that gets me really hyped in the next short period of time. I hope you all have a safe and happy Halloween!!!!         

Demon clowns and Christmas lights... Had to laugh at the two holiday events colliding a bit for some reason.

  

     

Halloween Horror Nights Behind the Screams: Unmasking the Horror Tour Part 2 Review

    This is part two of my Halloween Horror Nights Behind the Screams: Unmasking the Horror Tour review. If you have not checked out part one of this blog, I suggest you check that out first. As was the case in the first part of this blog... This blog contains a lot of spoilers and facts for several of the houses at Halloween Horror Nights 32. If you do not wish to know anything behind the scenes related to this event I advise you do not continue reading this blog. If you do want to know more about the stories and hidden secrets of this event... Read on.

Yeti: Campground Kills

    After lunch we made our way back to soundstage 24. Safe to say that the air conditioning was not turned down at all so the building was still frigid. Thanks Blizzrock. Anyway. Yeti: Campground Kills is a sequel house to the Yeti: Terror of the Yukon house from Halloween Horror Nights 29. This time the family of Yetis make their way to the rocky mountains to cause some chaos. This house is considered to be a dark comedy house. None of the scares are overly scary, but the kills often offer something that most horror fans would probably chuckle at. For example, one of the scares is a snake lunging out of an outhouse toilet. The snake then shoots water at guests as they walk by. In another scene a camper named Billy stumbles upon a baby yeti, pokes some fun at it, and then is immediately dragged away be an adult yeti. In yet another we see a camper get dragged back into a tent while another is being mauled in a tent next door (a pull scare!) These were not active during the tour, but the dark comedy aspect is a major part of this house.

    There isn't a ton or lore here as the house is essentially a yeti rampage through a campground, but there are some hidden props and easter eggs throughout the house. Returning from last year's Halloween Horror Nights is a black phone that was featured in The Horrors of Blumhouse house during Halloween Horror Nights 32. The ranger station in the house is Ranger Station #32, a nod to the thirty second year of Halloween Horror Nights. We also found many field manuals that were either titled HHN32-EI or HHN32-YT. Put them together and you can unscramble HHN32YETI, an obvious nod to the house and event. This house is another house that features two frogs. In this case the frogs are on a date by a lake and one dons a coonskin cap! Of all the houses I felt that this house made the best use of sent. There are a lot of different scents that you will certainly smell. My favorite of these was a pine smell (makes sense) and there was also something that smelled terrible in the outhouse area. It was in this house that we learned just how important all of the senses are when the designers are creating the houses. 

    Another neat thing that we learned in this house is that it, if memory is serving me correctly, is the only house that features completely enclosed areas. What that meant for the designers is that they had to adjust the structure's fire suppression systems. We were not able to take photos in the area, but sprinkler systems in addition to Soundstage 24's own needed to be installed and it was really interesting to see how Universal seamlessly incorporated that into the house. Finally something that I really love about this house that can be very easily overlooked when the house is active is the calls to various other Cryptids. There are signs throughout the campground that feature Bigfoot, Nessie, and the Jackalope. Just another really cool touch to a house whose main monster is a cryptid itself. With this house in the books we finally got to warm up a bit as we moved on to the next house. 

    Before heading into the next house, there is something that I forgot to mention. Early on in the tour we learned that in order to keep the houses a secret on various construction papers Universal will give the house a codename. This year the names were all fruit. For example, Yeti: Campground Kills had the codename of Kiwi. The reason for this is that the fur on a kiwi resembles the hair of the yetis in the house. The next house was codenamed Orange due to Chucky's hair....

Chucky: Ultimate Kill Count

    I already explained the story and what not of this house in my main Halloween Horror Nights blog and nothing really changed or was expanded on in the tour. To summarize, Universal Studios is excited to have Chucky visiting so they built a house in his honor. Chucky however feels the house looks like crap and takes his anger out on the Universal team members by murdering them throughout the house. The kill scenes are from both the Child's Play movie franchise and the Chucky TV series. 

    Again, there is no real additional story that we learned when going through this house compared to the first time during the event itself. So with that said, some fun easter eggs and secrets can be found. One of these is a big red button on a wall. Now, it is a rule at Halloween Horror Nights to not touch anything. Not the scare actors, not the sets, and not the props. However, this button is actually designed to be pressed by guests as it will cause fog to come out of a fireplace ahead on the path. There is nothing indicating this, it's just a button that is too tempting to pass on. The frog in this house can be found in the forest and it dons a bit of orange hair. In the bathtub death scene, the TV will play a trailer for Universal Monsters: The Bride of Frankenstein Lives from Halloween Horror Nights 30. This is a nod to The Bride of Chucky when the Bride of Frankenstein movie is playing on the TV. We saw more of the pedal triggers for the scare actors and learned that the large costumed Chucky towards the start of the house was actually at one point removed, but then returned. The reason was apparently the awkward head of the costume, but we certainly saw him when we went through the house the night before.

    With the lights on we were really able to again see the amount of fun that the designers had with this house. There are so many clever little murderous things in here such as a nutcracker with a bunch of knives sticking out of it and a stuffed animal hanging from a wreath. It really is a great representation of the chaos and carnage that Chucky causes and I really liked that it was not a house solely based on either the movies or show. I think that really gives the house something for everyone to enjoy. Even if you've never seen the show or movies, just knowing that this crazed doll is going around murdering Universal team members is enough to keep people interested. 

    With the Florida sun beating down it was time to head to our final house and the only house we did not go through the night before. With that being said I am not going to be able to speak much on what happens during the event, but I will do my best to recall the story elements and specific goodies in the house.

Universal Monsters: Unmasked

    What can I say, I love classic monsters. I really wish I had the time to experience it live, but from videos, it does look like a really fun house at night. The story is that Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, along with The Invisible Man are on the run and flee to Paris where they, along with The Phantom of the Opera and The Hunchback of Notre Dame cause quite a stir. Upon entering the house, our tour guide directed our eyes to the floor. She had done this in a few other houses as well, but I want to bring attention to it here. There are many areas in the various houses that use some kind of water effect. Lets be honest, wet floors get slippery. That said, the flooring we were standing on was similar to grate matting that allows the water to just drip down without causing the floor to get slippery. It was used a couple times in this house including right at the start where it has started to rain.

    We are told that it is here in the entrance that news of murders have occurred in the Paris Opera House. As we go through the catacombs we would normally be attacked by the phantom and there would be a cool silhouette effect of Christine removing the phantoms mask and reeling back in horror. As guests continue on they come to a really cool mirror scare where the phantom bursts through the mirror at guests, but it's all a mirror trick, something well featured in both the novel and Broadway adaptations of the story. As we left the catacombs, passing box five which really really should have been left empty, The Invisible Man would attack (if he were there). The next room featured several mannequins of The Invisible Man. During the night these would move up and down and there would be two real scare actors also there to scare guests. Pretty good stuff there! 

    The following area features Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, but without the house actually running, there was not a ton to see here. As guests walk through the town there's a bar scene with a pretty gruesome kill by Mr. Hyde. Finally we reach the steps of Notre Dame where Quasimodo is in a state of unbridled rage. Esmerelda had just been killed so he lunges out from above at guests as they pass by. We learned that this is called a bungee scare. We were able to see, similar to what was in Bloodmoon: Dark Offerings (but I didn't mention it there to not spoil all the cool features) security measures for the scare actor playing Quasimodo. In addition to the bungee itself, at the top of the ladder there is a locking mechanism designed to keep any rogue guests from reaching the platform. Quasimodo would then chase guests to the final scene where The Phantom of the Opera, Mr. Hyde, and The Invisible Man all once again have their final say as guests exit the house. Really really cool stuff in here if you are a fan of classic monsters. 

    I want to call out the catacombs featuring The Phantom of the Opera. I felt they did a great job in this area. The rest of the house I'm sure looked great at night too, especially that invisible man scene, but the first part of this house as far as the set and props went really stood out for me. Of course, this house is not without it's easter eggs and secrets either! For example, the codename for this house was Blackberry. Another really neat easter egg is that at one point you can see the removed faces of the phantom's victims. One of has a mask on that looks quite similar to the mask the phantom wears in the Broadway production. The moon in the opening scene was featured in last year's Universal Monsters: Legends Collide house. Of course, there is a frog. This one at night is easy to miss as it is located at the end of the house where the final triple scare takes place.

    With that we reached the end of our tour. I will say that the tour was an absolutely incredible experience. I would one thousand percent go on one of these again. I think if I were to do it all over I would do the tour first and then go back at night knowing what I know and see everything happening live and look out for all the crazy things we learned about. If you are a fan of Halloween Horror Nights and want to know more on what goes into making these houses tick, do yourself a favor and go on one of these tours. You will not be disappointed! Thank you again to both Lucas and Alison for taking us with them on the tour! Halloween season is nearly over, but there is one thing left I want to talk about... 

Stay tuned as next time I'll be giving my thoughts on this year's Fright Fest at Six Flags Great Adventure. There wasn't too much different from previous years other than a couple cool new houses and I will surely touch on both Dead Man's Party and Unleashed, so no worries, it will not be another two part blog. As always, thank you all so much for reading and I look forward to sharing my thoughts on Fright Fest with you all!   

Halloween Horror Nights Behind the Screams: Unmasking the Horror Tour Part 1 Review

    This blog contains a lot of spoilers and facts for several of the houses at Halloween Horror Nights 32. If you do not wish to know anything behind the scenes related to this event I advise you do not continue reading this blog. If you do want to know more about the stories and hidden secrets of this event... Read on.

    Welcome to part 1 of my review of the Behind The Screams: Unmasking the Horror Tour! First thing is first. I need to give a major shout-out to my friends Lucas and Alison for making this tour possible for us. It was an incredible experience and both Michele and I are super grateful! Also, this is going to be a lengthy blog, but I had so much fun on this tour that I feel the need to rave about it as much as possible! Before getting into more Halloween Horror Nights fun I have to acknowledge the meeting location for the tour.

    I'm a guy that grew up in the 90's. I still can vividly remember watching various shows on Nickelodeon that were recorded in front of a live studio audience at Universal Studios Orlando Florida. Well the studios may have closed years ago and while I never got to go to Universal Studios when Nickelodeon Studios was open, I finally made it. While the building may now be a just a plain blue I could picture it in it's former glory that I was only able to see every night on TV. One piece of the former Nickelodeon Studios remains to remind us of the studio's former glory. Head into the bathrooms on the outside of the building and you will find green tile representing slime on the largely white tiled floor. It may have taken many more years than I had hoped to make it to Nickelodeon Studios, but I finally (not really) made it. Onto the tour.

    The Behind the Screams: Unmasking the Horror tour comes in a couple different versions. Both versions bring guests into some of the houses with their lights on and many secrets revealed. This year's three hour experience brings guests into The Last of Us, The Darkest Deal, and Dr. Oddfellow's Twisted Origins. The six hour experience brings guests into Stranger Things 4, Universal Monsters Unmasked, Bloodmoon: Dark Offerings, Yeti: Campground Kills, Chucky: Ultimate Kill Count, and Dueling Dragons: Choose Thy Fate. If you couldn't guess from my previous blog, we went on the six hour tour as Universal Monsters Unmasked was the only house from that tour that we did not go into the night before when the event was running. Dr. Oddfellow's Twisted Origins was the only house from the three hour tour that we went through. Interestingly enough The Exorcist: Believer was the only house not a part of either daytime tour.   

    Our tour guide (Katie) met us in the former Nickelodeon Studios and went over all of the rules for the tour which largely comprised of what you would expect from a behind the scenes tour. I went in totally blind so I was pretty excited when we were informed that there would be a lot of areas where we would be able to take pictures. I'll break the tour down into each house in a similar fashion as I did in my previous blog. Some of this information will be a repeat with some more in depth story elements and some more fun secrets blended in.

Bloodmoon: Dark Offerings

   Today Bloodmoon: Dark Offerings is my favorite house of the year. The house was incredibly well done during Halloween Horror Nights itself so I was obviously excited that the tour was starting here. With the lights on we were able to not only see how the house operated, but also see just how gore filled the house is. That's one thing about Halloween Horror Nights compared to other Halloween events at smaller theme parks. Horror Nights is so busy that people are continuously filed through the houses versus being sent in small groups. This makes it very easy to miss so many details and effects as you essentially keep moving the entire time. Well now that we had the time to look around it was easy to spot the sheer amount of blood used in this house. 

    As I touched on last time, Bloodmoon: Dark Offerings sees guests trying to avoid becoming a sacrifice to to the cult of moon-worshipers. Throughout the house the cultists attempt to attack guests and ravage the town, declaring them the false hearted (non-believers). This house ends up going full circle. Guests start out in a sawmill containing both real and mannequin cultists. During the event, the cultist leader is situated on a platform leading chants as the cultists prepare to ravage the town. Upon examining the strange looking wooden frame we can see that there is already and arm and a leg attached to it signaling just how much work went into making the structure. It was in this early section of the house that Katie showed us a pedal that the scare actors will press to trigger the respective sound/lighting effect that accompanies their scare. More on that later. 

    As we progressed through the house we saw how the cultists became more and more creative with their kills. At first the kills came by more conventional means such as with a sickle and a machete. As the house went on it was explained to us that as the Blood Moon continued to rise that the cultists became more and more creative and vicious. Evidence of that existed in the form of pitchforks, cultist children wrapping intestines around a flagpole, a blacksmith being burned alive (we were informed that the effect here is referred to as a Wendy Special making it appear that the body is actually smoldering), a woman tied up and covered in burning candles, and a man who was killed on a bar by having deer antlers driven through him. Each kill would be worth it for the cultists as they continued to harvest body parts from each victim. 

    While we continue to dodge cultists at night, during our tour we casually advanced through the town until we arrived at the blacksmith. Along with being informed about the Wendy Special, we were also informed that the blacksmith's anvil is a reused set piece from Halloween Horror Nights 30's Halloween Horror Nights Icons : Captured house. Prior to entering the tavern, we were treated to the designer Easter egg of the year. Every house would have a small plastic frog hidden in it. The frog in this house was located on a barrel just outside he tavern. This year the designers went one step forward as many of these frogs had hats that were in there with the house they were in. For example, this frog wore a bonnet.

    As we entered into the church we again see both mannequin cultists and at night, real cultists that again utilize foot pedals to triggers various effects. An interesting note here that can be easily overlooked at night is the drawing on the blackboard behind the alter. Images of the blood moon can be seen in it's various phases, but so can something else. In my last blog I mentioned that Dr. Oddfellow's (Halloween Horror Nights 32's icon) presence could be felt throughout the event. That extends into Bloodmoon: Dark Offerings as a rough version of his symbol is also present on the board. Finally we make our way back into the sawmill to see the grand finale in daylight. The cultists have succeeded in their mission and have created a massive sacrificial alter to the blood moon. The individual body parts attached to the structure are those that we witnessed being harvested throughout the house. With that we left Sound Stage 23, but we would not be out of it for long.

Stranger Things 4

   After a brief walk we re-entered Sound Stage 23. I'm not going to go into as much detail here as Stranger Things 4 generally follows the plot of the Netflix series. While I did go into a bit of detail in my previous blog I don't want to go into too much more detail about the scenes in the house, but I do want to point out some interesting things. The house really highlights certain moments from the show, but also works to put us into the mind of the characters. While Vecna is present and shows up in many places, the individual scenes actually highlight the various Stranger Things characters. For example, when we are in Eddie's trailer with Chrissy the focus is clearly on him as he is the only moving thing in the room. While it is super early on that we see him, it's here that we saw some more reused Halloween Horror Nights props. Last year there was a house called Bugs: Eaten Alive that contained thousands of plastic insects. We see a good number of those reappear here in Eddie's trailer as well as various other houses. Universal really did a great job at bringing the upsidedown to life. Going through it at night, it was difficult to appreciate all the small details with it as the house went on, but with the lights on it was really impressive to see. I mentioned an area that can be seen within the upsidedown where you look up and see the real world in the same spot. Well I completely missed that spot during the event, but on the tour I could really get a good appreciation for it. I also need to acknowledge the static Vecnas throughout the house. The costume for Vecna is really well done as is the static ones. Seeing them without the lighting though does bring into perspective just how much things like lighting can bring more life into an immobile object. 

    Take note that both Stranger Things 4 and Bloodmon: Dark Offerings took place in Sound Stage 23. If you can believe it, a heavy black curtain was the only thing separating these two houses. The houses are generally in a triangular shape which helps to allow multiple houses in one building. The Universal set designers need to take incredible care with both lighting and sound effects to ensure that guests in Stranger Things 4 are not hearing sounds or seeing lights from Bloodmoon: Dark Offerings and vice versa. This is something that Universal has down to a science as there was not a single time in either house during the nighttime event that I was hearing or seeing anything that didn't fit with the house I was in.  I knew that Sound Stage 23 hosted multiple houses, but to see that a simple black curtain was the divider was a little bit surprising to say the least.

Dueling Dragons: Choose Thy Fate

    Sound Stage 24 was home to the next two houses. Again, the houses were divided simply by a curtain. The first of these two houses is tomorrow's favorite house of the year. Dueling Dragons: Choose Thy Fate. This house told such a fantastic fantasy story that it sits at the top (along with Bloodmoon: Dark Offerings) as my favorite. Unlike the other houses we had been in so far, Dueling Dragons offered a bit more of a dialed back experience in terms of gore, but still offered a ton of death, violence, and in this case, magic. The opening hallway features tapestries of what is to come, previewing the story of Merlin and the two warring warlocks Pyrrock and Blizzrock. As I mentioned in my last blog, this house is a huge love letter to the Dueling Dragons roller coaster that used to exist in Islands of Adventure. This is evidenced as soon as the house really starts as we pass through the enchanted oak that Merlin has been transformed into.

    Years ago guests would be able to see the enchanted oak near the Dueling Dragons roller coaster, so I'm sure that was a huge nostalgia hit for those fans when they saw it. Merlin warns us of the impending attack by both Blizzrock and Pyrrock and it is up to us to save the kingdom. As we race the warlocks to Merlin's spell book we see the results of the fighting between Blizzrock and Pyrrock. Of course there are innocent villagers killed throughout with Universal using both fire and ice effects throughout. Many of these effects were done with lighting and foam, but even with the lights on it was quite convincing. Even more convincing was just how cold it was in Sound Stage 24. I get it's Florida, but it was straight up cold in there. Even our tour guide made mentions to Blizzrock winning the day since it was so cold in the building. Anyway...

    I mentioned the little plastic frogs earlier. Well, Dueling Dragons: Choose Thy Fate has two of them! They can both be found in the woods near the castle. To honor the two warlocks one is red and one is blue. Both don little wizard hats which is both fantastic and hilarious. We continue on to the castle where we see a princess with long blonde hair hanging dead out a window.... I'm sure it's just a coincidence right? At last we reach the spell book, but Merlin had one last trick. The book has a spell on it that blasts both warlocks. Upon closer inspection of the book we see the Dr. Oddfellow has his hands in this house as well as his symbol appears in the book along with the words "choose thy fate". Speaking of books... There is also a curious looking book on the shelf that may or may not having anything to do with a trio of witches that came back to life three hundred years after being hanged... Again, I'm sure it's just a coincidence right? 

    With Merlin's spell cast we begin to see the transformation of the warlocks into dragons. At one point we see large red scales breaking through a wall and a continuation of both fire and ice effects with more villagers and knights becoming caught up in the dragons terror. We also stumble across a shield on the wall bearing the mark of Terra Cruentus from Halloween Horror Nights: Tales of Terror.

 There is also a tapestry with a unicorn head on acknowledging the Flying Unicorn roller coaster that was replaced by Flight of the Hippogriff in Islands of Adventure. At last we enter into an open area with the full on dragon forms of Pyrrock and Blizzrock visible. Both of them will breathe fog at guests as they walk through. This room was really cool and offered a uniquely perfect photo opportunity. Passing through guests must choose thy fate. There is a fork in the road here and the path you take at a given time will lead to victory or defeat.

    The Halloween Horror Nights scare actors swap out every so often and in this house, when that change happens, so does the endings. There are four endings to this house with two being active at a given time. Should you take the path of Blizzrock you will either see that Blizzrock has claimed Merlin's head along with the spell book meaning that the guests and Merlin have failed to protect the kingdom. Alternatively guests may see a joyful Merlin as the warlocks are defeated and the kingdom is saved! The same endings exist on the other side of the fork, but with Pyrrock being the victor or loser. The theme on both sides matches that of the respective dragon whose path the guests chose to walk down. Due to the shape of the house, Blizzrock's path is slightly longer than Pyrrock's. The two paths merge again as guests exit the house as just behind the curtain another house looms.

    With that it was time for lunch. We revisited Minion's Café as it was quite tasty the night before and once again it did not disappoint. This time around I got the meatball mountain which was similar to a calzone. Really good stuff. Would absolutely get it again at a future visit. 

    We made our way back to the former Nickelodeon Studios and prepared to embark on the second leg of our tour. What houses awaited us after lunch will have to wait till next time as this blog has gone on long enough. Stay tuned for part 2 of my review of Behind the Screams: Unmasking the Horror Tour!