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Star Wars Board Game Quiz

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Since the Star Wars saga begin in 1977 board games quickly followed allowing fans to relive moments from the movie in their own living rooms.

Can you identify these 15 Star Wars board games from a single image? Take this quiz and find out!


RiffTrax and Mystery Science Theater 3000 reuniting on one stage!

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Get ready for a hurricane to wisecracks and riffs as the cast of Mystery Science Theater 3000 reunites for the RiffTrax Live event “RiffTrax Live: MST3K Reunion Show” June 28th, 2016!

RiffTrax core performers Michael J. Nelson, Kevin Murphy, and Bill Corbett invite MST3K alumni and pioneers MST3K Creator Joel Hodgson, Trace Beaulieu, Frank Conniff, Mary Jo Pehl, Bridget Nelson, and one of the newest additions to the MST3K family and host of the upcoming revived series, Jonah Ray to the stage for this live Fathom event broadcasting to theaters all over the country.

This past week, RiffTrax held a media teleconference interview with Kevin Murphy, Bill Corbertt, Trace Beaulieu, and Jonah Ray, and we learned more about the upcoming event and what these core performers are preparing themselves for.

On the subject of what we’ll see in this landmark event the discussion opened on the topic of shorts and short educational and public service films. When asked if the allure of these short in the world of riffing and the inclusion of quite a few to this live event, Kevin Murphy offered this explanation:

I think I love them because they’re just so – they seem at this point in time to have come from another planet and it’s like Lost or How To Live Your Life that is imposed by creatures from another civilization or another time. So, they also end up sounding very silly and very weird and filled with rules on how you should or should not run your life. And they’re so serious that they’re, like, the perfect straight man for us.”

Trace Beaulieu added to Kevin’s explanation with:

I like that they’re short“.

Be it a short film or a feature length movie, the art of Riffing takes a lot of work and collaboration. On the subject collaborating once again after having spent decades a part on other project, Bill Corbett had this to say:

“I’ts going to be rough. I won’t lie to you.“

Trace Beaulieu added:

“I don’t think we ever stepped away – we all carried it with us. We all got that DNA on us from the same womb and we’re now carrying it with us into other projects that are all very similar.”

And Kevin Murphy rounded out the answer by adding:

I’s true. And it’s funny, when I talked to Trace or Mary Jo or Bridget or Frank or any of the folks involved, there’s a kind of shorthand we have when it comes to actually doing the stuff that we all know. So, I think we haven’t really actually collaborated yet for the show. So, it’s hard to comment. But when we do, I anticipate that it’™s going to be kind of easy, because we all know sort of each other beasts and each other’s shorthand.”

Though RiffTrax may currently may be most prolific with their large library of studio recorded riffs, their live shows are increasing in number. With the ever increasing number of Fathom event theater broadcasts becoming more accessible these events are gaining popularity with each release. On the subject of a preference between the live performances or studio recordings, Kevin Murphy had this to say:

“Well, I love them both, but for different reasons. The studio versions that we do are not nearly as terrifying as doing it on stage. And doing the live event like we do, it is live and it’s going out to 600 or 700 theaters in the States alone and 100 or more theaters in Canada, and anything could go wrong and it could go off the rails. And once the film starts, there’s no stopping the train. It’s really a crazy thing. And so, that’s rather terrifying, but at the same time, it’s incredibly energizing and it’s really fun to do what we do on stage. It’s gratification from doing – the interaction with the audience makes it more like a drug than doing it in the studio. And doing it in the studio is like a nice cup of herbal tea; whereas, doing it on stage is like pure black heroin. It’s that much fun.”

Bill Corbett was asked to follow-up on the subject of performing live and added the following:

“Do I have to accept Kevin’s drug metaphor? I love the live shows, even aware as I am that they’re actually live live. The first time we did that, that was weird because nothing is live live these days. But I just love it.“

NEOZAZ was fortunate enough to have been invited to this teleconference, and our very own Lou Caltabiano sat in and took this opportunity to learn more about the new generation of MST3K by asking Jonah Ray how and if his riffing on TV, movies, and commercials has increased now he’s joined the crew. Johan shared this answer:

“Yeah. Any athlete has to train on their off time to stay in shape. So, I find myself watching stuff like Empire now or Vampire Diaries just to kind of keep my mind firing in that way. But, yeah, it’s like it’s kind of you can’t turn if off sometimes. When you spend a day just trying to dissect every single acting choice or edit choice or music cue, you can’t help but bring that homework, or that work home with you when you’re watching TV. So, yeah, it’s a bit hard to turn it off. My wife is consistently irritated and delighted.”

As most fans of both RiffTrax and MST3K are aware, Kickstarter played a large role in the revival of MST3K and the RiffTrax MST3K reunion show. When asked about the phenomenal success for both campaigns, Kevin Murphy has this to say:

“If it taught me anything is that people are they’re willing to bet and are pretty confident that they’ll get their money’s worth back out of whatever it is we do, whether it’s the new Mystery Science Theater or whether it’s RiffTrax. And so, that’s, in a way, it feels like a bit of an obligation, but it’s also, for me, motivation just to make our stuff the funniest it can possibly be.“

This one night only performance takes place June 28th at the birthplace of Mystery Science Theater 3000, Minneapolis, MN. For ticket information place visit: http://RiffTrax.com/MST3KreunionLIVE

Satellite Broadcasts of the live performance will take place at hundreds of Movie Theater across the US also on June 28th. For locations and tickets, please visit: http://RiffTrax.com/MST3Kreunion

An encore presentation broadcast will take place July 12th. For locations and tickets, please visit: http://RiffTrax.com/MST3Kencor

Thank for RiffTrax and the RiffTrax marketing team to allowing us the opportunity to be part of this teleconference interviews. Lou himself summed it up best with:

“I was stoked just for the opportunity to talk to four guys who have made me laugh countless times. MST3K is one of the funniest shows ever to air and I’m so excited for the reboot.

The Star Wars Toy Instruction Book Quiz

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Vintage Star Wars toys took the world by storm and are still a hot collectable today! Nearly every child of the 70s and 80s had, came in contact with, or at least heard about the original Kenner Star Wars Toys. As with many toys, a few from these lines were brought home with “some assembly required.” Can you identify what toy these instruction pages were original written about? Take the quiz and find out!

The New Incredible Hulk Roller Coasters Full Details

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Today Universal Orlando Resort released the full details on the re-launch of one of their marquee attractions: The Incredible Hulk Coaster.

The Incredible Hulk Coaster is an extremely popular ride at Universal Orlando’s Islands of Adventure Park, having debuted when the park opened May 28th, 1999. Fans of the ride have waited eagerly, if not patiently, for new details on the ride redesign when the attraction temporarily shut down in September 2015.

Following a long string of exciting announcements and news from Universal Orlando Resort, today’s news on the ride the ride does not disappoint!

The re-launch of the Incredible Hulk Coaster includes a check list of new features for the iconic attraction.

A New Story.

The original story of the ride took place in Dr. Bruce Banner’s lab. The new story features Incredible Hulk villain General “Thunderbolt” Ross having harnessed Banner’s work for his own means.

A New Entrance.

A brand new entrance to the coaster will welcome guests aboard. As you enter, the Hulk towers over you lifting pieces of the original ride track in the air!

New Vehicles.

Sleek, shiny, new ride vehicles have been added with the re-launch. A whole new look for the coaster based after modern military air craft.

A New Experience.

A brand new sound track, lighting effects, and launch tunnel join all the above listed features to create a new exciting experience for both long time Incredible Hulk Coaster fans and first time riders alike.

For more details, check out the Universal Orlando Resort blog post here, and check out the video below.

The Incredible Hulk Coaster re-opens this summer at Universal Orlando Resorts Islands of Adventure.

You will come face to face with Kong at Skull Island!

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A significant and possibly the most exciting detail so far on the “Reign of Kong” attraction was announced today on the Universal Orlando Blog.

You will come to face to face with the beast himself!

A larger than life animatronic Kong appears in the new attraction, likely as a part of the finale of the experience.

How close will you get to the mighty beast? Universal Creative Executive Producer Mike West explains, “Close enough that you’ll feel his breath sweep across your skin and this thunderous roar reverberate through every bone in your body.”

The blog post offered more details on the gigantic animatronic in the form of a “Species Profile” noting a “head larger than an automobile” and “18 feet wide at shoulders”

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This new detail has all of us at NEOZAZ jumping out of seats! Stay with us for continuing coverage as details are released and as the attraction debuts.

For more on this exciting new detail and a bit more about the attraction, check out this video released by Universal Studios Orlando Resort:

“Skull Island Reign of Kong” opens this summer at Universal Orlando Resort’s Islands of Adventure theme park.

The Walking Dead Attraction Opens July 4th

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Universal Studio Hollywood, a theme park known for bringing movies to life with ground breaking immersive attractions is about to add a new level entertainment to its lineup: “The Walking Dead” Attraction!

July 4th Universal Studios will unleash the dead in an all new fully immersive experience in this all-new year-round attraction.

Enter the post-apocalyptic world of AMC’s “The Walking Dead” and come face to face with some of the show’s most memorable if not iconic walkers as a new set of state of art animatronic characters are being built directly from molds used on the hit TV series.

“The Walking Dead” is no stranger to Universal Studios Hollywood have been a part of their annual “Halloween Horror Nights” event since 2012.

Learn more about the all-new “The Walk Dead” attraction in the video below for Universal Studio Hollywood, and stay tuned for a first hand report of the attraction from NEOZAZ.com.

AMC’s The Walking Dead Returns to Halloween Horror Nights 26

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AMC’s hit series “The Walking Dead” returns for its fifth consecutive Halloween Horror Nights Orlando appearance at Halloween Horror Nights 26.

“The Walking Dead” has almost become a staple of the annual event at Universal Studio’s Orlando and is greeted each year with mixed reactions. But with its large viewership, dedicated fans, and much talked about sixth season cliffhanger, it’s hard to argue the popularity of the franchise or the decision to include it Halloween Horror Nights once again.

With the controversial cliff hanger and a season that keeps the core Walking Dead characters largely confined to the Alexandria community, how does the creative team approaching bring The Walking Dead back to HHN?

The solution is pretty simple, and one that honestly makes me more excited about the idea of traversing a Walking Dead house again – make this new house a representation of the entire series run so far.

The announcement today of the addition of “The Walking Dead” to Halloween Horror Nights 26 promises many iconic scenes from the all seasons of the series: Hershel’s barn, The Governor’s Walker collection, and Terminus. The announcement also offers a glimpse of season six specific moments from the series that will be featured; the attack on Alexandria by the Wolves and a possible sighting or The Saviors.

The Walking Dead at Halloween Horror Nights Orlando isn’t this first big Walking Dead announcement from a Universal Studios park made this year – July 4th, an all-new year-round The Walking Dead attraction will open at Universal Studios Hollywood.

Stick with NEOZAZ for more Halloween Horror Nights updates, and tune into “The Catacombs of Halloween Horror Nights” podcast for our instant reaction episode to the news of the return of The Walking Dead to Halloween Horror Nights as well as our extensive coverage of the event and the event’s history.

Chance takes over Halloween Horror Nights

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The announcement we’ve all been waiting for was finally made this week – we know now the icon and the theme for Halloween Horror Nights 26, and we couldn’t be more excited:

Chance, the psychotic, fun loving, demented, bubbly, unhinged, and beautiful sidekick to HHN legend icon Jack the Clown takes the center stage – and well deserved!

Chance became a legend in her own right since her first appearance in Halloween Horror Nights 17 The Carnival of Carnage and took a giant leap into the spot light starring beside Jack the Clown in Halloween Horror Night 25’s stage show “The Carnage Returns”.

Building off the momentum of HHN25, Chance’s story now continues, and so does the story started in HHN25:

From the Universal Studios Orlando blog, Director of Creative Development for Entertainment Mike Aiello explains:

”For us, Halloween Horror Nights 26 literally takes place where we left off. The aftermath of the carnage is still fresh and Chance finds herself incarcerated for the crimes of last year. With the “Jack in the Box” on an evidence shelf somewhere waiting for someone to turn the crank once more, Chance bides her time within her cell”

The evolution of this new icon will take place right in front of our eyes during this year’s event. Mike further explains:

“We have two very distinct states of mind for Chance—as well as two distinct looks. Terror itself, ripped in half… the shockingly real and the grotesquely imagined. This is an evolved Chance taking her rightful place atop Halloween Horror Nights.”

And how she will take her rightful place, at least in some formats, has already been revealed. Chance will be featured in her own Maze and Halloween Horror Nights 26 AND her own scarezone!

No word yet is Chance will literally take center stage in her own “Carnage Returns” type show, but the opportunity to create a new, exciting, energetic and demented show around this new fantastic icon seems impossible to ignore.

Hear more about Chance taking of HHN in our Instant Reaction upcoming episode of The Catacombs of Halloween Horror Nights podcast at: http://neozaz.com/category/podcasts/halloween-horror-nights/

Halloween Horror Nights 26 takes place on select nights September 16 through October 31.

Tickets are on sale now at: http://www.halloweenhorrornights.com/orlando/tickets.html

Frequent Fear passes are on sale now at: http://www.halloweenhorrornights.com/orlando/frequent-fear.html

Halloween Horror Nights Express Passes are now on sale at: http://www.halloweenhorrornights.com/orlando/express-pass.html

R.I.P. and Unmasking the Horror Tour can be purchased and scheduled by calling: 1-866-604-7556


I rode Skull Island Reign of Kong, and I LOVED IT!

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This weekend I was extremely fortunate enough to be in the right place, at the right time, and experience the new amazing mega attraction at Universal Studios Orlando Islands of Adventure – “Skull Island: Reign of Kong”.

And….I…LOVED IT!

For over a year now NEOZAZ has been covering the progress of the new attraction, eagerly waiting for the giant doors to the black rock temple to open.

This week during technical rehearsals those doors opened for a limited time, and those lucky enough to be in the park when they did, were treated to something pretty amazing.

This post will not contain any spoilers, if you really need to know every details of the new ride they can be found online with little (Including full ride video despite the multiple warning to not photograph or video during the ride). This post is more of a button to our over yearlong coverage of the creation of the attraction.

So, the first question to answer: Was it worth the wait? My answer: Beyond the shadow of any doubt, YES – no question.

I’m always excited about and new attraction at Universal Studios; rarely have the hairs on my air stand up they way they did as we entered the temple on Reign of Kong and encountered the ride’s first conflict.

But that is actually getting a little ahead of myself.

The queue line is phenomenal. Not only in design and creativity but also in regards to preparing you for the immersion of the ride.

As you enter, you clearly and knowingly exit the park main path way and enter the line through a huge rock formation of the legendary Kong.

With each turn and each area you enter you are slowly taking out the park and into the world and time where Skull Island resides.

This mental and sensory preparation of an attraction like this is not new to Universal Studios, however this may be a new level for them and possibly the most effective they’ve created yet.

After the queue is of course the ride, and again I don’t want spoil the main attraction in this post.

What I do want to do is try to express how much I enjoyed this ride on every level. The original “Kongfrontation” was the very first attraction I visited during my first trip of Universal Studios. I loved that ride then and have missed it every since it closed in September of 2002. The addition, or rather, the return of Kong to Universal Studios had a lot to prove to me. It did, and then some.

Bottom line is, do not miss this ride. It’s undoubtedly going to have the longest line of all the attractions in both parks when it officially opens this summer. Don’t let the wait time scare you off; it’s worth the wait!

Skull Island: Reign of Kong opens officially this summer, but is currently in technical rehearsals.

I did take pictures of the queue line. None of the pictures in the gallery below are of the ride experience. However, I will warn that if you don’t want to know anything about this ride, don’t open the gallery, it’s a pretty complete look at the queue line from entry to ride vehicle loading:

Universal’s Volcano Bay – Details Released You’ll Want to Know - Articles – NEOZAZ

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Universal Orlando Resort released details on their eagerly awaited expansion: Volcano Bay!

Universal if vowing a new radical and innovative take on the water theme park so much that in their own words it’s being labeled “Universal Orlando’s Third Park“.

One of the biggest element to this new immersive water park experience is the lineup of attractions – 18 in all! These 18 attractions will be divided over four areas, each uniquely themed:

Krakatau

Krakatau is the center piece of the Volcano Bay, a 200 foot tall Volcano with hidden caverns and cascading waterfalls.

This is also the home of the marquee attraction of Volcano Bay. Universal is being a bit secretive about this attraction promising details on the attraction only to be revealed at a later date.
Along with this marquee attraction, 3 body slides will be featured in this area:

Ko’okiri Body Plunge: a 125 feet high, 70 degree drop racing slide.

Kala and Ta Nui Serpentine Body Slides: a pair of 124 feet intertwining slides

Punga Racers: a high-speed racing slide traversing through four different enclosed slides.

Wave Village

Wave village sits at the base of Krakatau and will feature its own set of attractions:

Waturi Beach: a multi-directional wave pool for swimming, relaxing on the sand, or to enjoy the private cabanas.

The Reef: a leisure pool with a view of the ride speeding through the Ko’okiri Body Plunge.

River Village

With its name taken from the peaceful river that winds through it, River Village will also host its own set of attractions:

Kopiko Wai Winding River: A gentle, relaxing river that flows through Krakatau’s hidden caverns featuring spontaneous water effects and special nighttime lighting.

Tot Tiki Reef: A toddler play area with spraying fountains, slides, and a kid-size volcano.

Runamukka Reef: A three story water playground inspired by the coral reef.

Honu: A multi-passenger raft thrill ride that will across two giant sloped walls.

Ika Moana: A twisting multi-passenger raft ride that will glide across bubbling geysers.

Rainforest Village

The adventure, high-trill area of Volcano bay:

Maku: North America’s first “saucer ride” – sending multi-passenger rafts speeding around three saucer shared curves.

Puihi: A multi-passenger raft ride that will plunge guests into darkness and burst into a funnel to a launch into a zero-gravity drop.

Ohyah and Ohno Drop Slides: Two twisting slides that launch guests four and six feet above the water at the end.

TeAwa The Fearless River: An action packed racing river where passenger hang tight through their inner tubes amidst the roaring white water rapids.

Taniwha Tubes: Four unique Easter Island inspired slides with rafts for single or double riders.

Paka Uli Lagoon: A tranquil pool to swim and relax.

Universal Orlando’s Volcano Bay is set to open 2017.

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It was the greatest RiffTrax MST3K Party ever, and I was there! - Articles – NEOZAZ

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Tuesday night June 28th – It was a night we’ve been talking about at NEOZAZ for a few months now. It was the long awaited RiffTrax live event “The MST3K Reunion Show”. The major players of MST3K all back together on one stage: Mike Nelson, Kevin Murphy, Bill Corbett, Bridget Nelson, Mary Jo Pehl, Trace Beaulieu, Frank Conniff, the new blood of the upcoming return of MST3K Jonah Ray, and the creator of the iconic series himself, Joel Hodgson.

It was the celebration and party movie riffing fans dreamt of, and though I was 1500 miles away from the live show, I could still feel the energy and the excitement of what was about to happen.

The party started with the RiffTrax core, Mike, Kevin and Bill, as they lent their brand of humor to one of the most visually bizarre shorts to date “The Talking Car”.  A young boy is banned from a fishing trip for running out in front of traffic. With the help of some roughly animated faces drawn over 3 cars, the boy learns the true spirit of safety in his delirium dream state. At this point of the show I developed a legitimate fear – I wasn’t sure I have the physical stamina to continue laughing as hard through out the whole event as I did in this open short.

Next it was time for the crown queens of movie riffing to take the stage. Bridget Nelson and Mary Jo Pehl turned the heavy handed, passive aggressive appliance pitch short “A Word to the Wives” into possibly my favorite performance of the night. The 15 minute long sales pitch for the American Gas Company played as the joke flew across the screen at the absurdness of the short making this segment a hysterical and incredibly entertaining performance.

“The Mads” themselves took over at this point. Trace Beaulieu and Frank Conniff brought us the dating advice, nay-instructional video, “More Dates for Kay”. As the story of the young woman trying to land 98 percent of the boys in her school unfolded, we laughed hysterically with and at the riffs as we cautiously waited to see what possible borderline inappropriate joke may spawn from the jaw dropping story on the screen.

The trio of RiffTrax returned to the stage to perform their highly popular “Shake Hands with Danger”, a roughly produced safety film form Caterpillar with even rougher “special effects”. This is a performance I’ve not seen before but have heard of and knew of its popularity. I was excited to hear this title announced and was set in for the ride. The performance did not disappoint, it lived up to its reputation and then some.

At this point in the show it was time for the Creator to bring his new protégé to the stage. Joel Hodgeson and Johan Ray presented us with “Barbers and Beauticians”. A fun, if not sexiest short that answered the age old question “how many cigarettes does it take a woman to get her hair done?” The answer is “three” if you were wondering. This pairing of the original Satellite of Love test subject with the new soon to be seen test subject was a great introduction and precursor to the new age of MST3K. Joel was right on form. Jonah seemed a touch nervous and a lot excited, but to me that confirmed he was a great choice for the new show – he’s obviously a fan and has the humor to bring show back to the fans.

There’s a short moment given to catch our breath but then the entire gang – Mike, Kevin, Bill, Bridget, Mary Jo, Trace, Frank, Jonah and Joel – take the stage and hit us with “Riff-a-Palooza”. Starting with “Stamp Day for Superman”, there’s barely a second of silence in the theater as the jokes come fast and furious.

And just when the party is almost about to wind down, it picks back up one more time for the encore-esgue riff of “Grasses”. This ends the party on a high note that doesn’t seem likely to be touched anytime soon. The energy was high, the laughs were loud, and everyone watching all over the country just got everything they were hoping for.

The RiffTrax MST3K Reunion was the perfect fire starter for the next age of Mystery Science Theater 3000. The fans have already proven they want it, now after getting a huge taste of what to expect we almost need it.

Thank you everyone from the Mystery Science Theater 3000 and RiffTrax family for an amazing event. As a fan of all involved my expectations sometimes felt unattainably high, but they were met and even exceeded. It was the biggest and greatest RiffTrax/MST3K Party ever thrown, and I was there!

Fathom Events will be presenting the encore screen of Rifftrax Live: MST3K Reunion on Tuesday July 12th. Click here for tickets and more information.

Michael Myers is coming to Halloween Horror Nights 26! - Articles – NEOZAZ

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Another classic horror franchise will be featured in Universal Orlando Resort’s annual Halloween event Halloween Horror Nights 26. This time it’s “Halloween”. The horror icon Michael Myers returns with a new maze for both Halloween Horror Nights Orlando and Hollywood with “Halloween: Hell Comes to Haddonfield”.

In this brand new addition to “Halloween”, we will be dropped right in to where it all left off in Halloween Horror nights 24.

Mike Aiello, Creative Director for HHN, explains on the Universal Orlando Blog, “You’ll experience the final scene of 2014’s maze and immediately walk in-between the homes of Haddonfield”

Once again, we are blown away and extremely excited about this announcement and addition to HHN26. Stay tuned to NEOZAZ.com for our instant reaction episode of The Catacombs of Halloween Horror Nights” podcast!

Halloween Horror Nights 26 is shaping up to be one of the biggest event yet, don’t miss you’re Chance to experience this amazing event.

Tickets are on sale now at:http://www.halloweenhorrornights.com/orlando/tickets.html

Frequent Fear passes are on sale now at: http://www.halloweenhorrornights.com/orlando/frequent-fear.html

Halloween Horror Nights Express Passes are now on sale at: http://www.halloweenhorrornights.com/orlando/express-pass.html

R.I.P. and Unmasking the Horror Tour can be purchased and scheduled by calling: 1-866-604-7556

Skull Island: Reign of Kong Officially Opens! - Articles – NEOZAZ

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We’ve peaked over the fence for nearly a year. We watch he buildings and facades take shape. We’ve read, researched, and shared articles learning everything we could about Universal’s new mega attraction. Now, all that waiting and wondering is over – Skull Island: Reign of Kong is officially open!

We were lucky enough to experience and flawless technical rehearsal earlier this summer and excited to report this new attraction is fantastic!

With the Skull Island: Reign of Kong official open; don’t hesitate to check it out!

As with any new attraction, the earlier you get there, the better. Expect a long wait time this summer as you head the attraction, but having now experience the ride, I can honestly say it’s worth it!

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“Krampus” to be featured in Halloween Horror Nights 26! - Articles – NEOZAZ

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The line-up for Universal Orlando Resort’s 26th annual Halloween Horror Nights event keeps getting bigger with each new announcement!

Today the Universal Orlando Creative team announced another major branded maze to the already incredible HHN26 line – the 2015 Legendary Pictures film “Krampus”!

Christmas Eve is the setting for this new horror/humor house and it’s a cold and chilling night. Visitors will navigate through scenes lifted directly from the movie and encounter the legendary “half goat, half demon” Krampus is self!

This isn’t the first Christmas themed maze featured in Halloween Horror Nights. One notable maze and chapter in a Halloween Horror Nights I.P., “Psychoscareapy: Home for the Holidays” was presented in 2007’s “Carnival of Carnage”, soon to be discussed in detail on The Catacombs of Halloween Horror Nights Podcast.

Once again Halloween Horror Nights at both Universal Studios Orlando and Universal Studios Hollywood will feature this branded maze. Along with “Krampus” Orlando and Hollywood will both be featuring “The Exorcist”, “Halloween: Hell Comes to Haddonfield” and Leatherface in “The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (Orlando)” and “The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: Blood Brothers (Hollywood)”.

Look for our instant reaction to this fantastic edition to Halloween Horror Nights 26 on The Catacombs of Halloween Horror Nights podcast soon and be sure to check back for all the latest news, reactions, and HHN26 coverage here at NEOZAZ.com!

General Admission tickets to Halloween Horror Nights are on sale now at: http://www.halloweenhorrornights.com/orlando/tickets.html

Learn more about the Frequent Fear passes and order your online at: http://www.halloweenhorrornights.com/orlando/frequent-fear.html

Express Pass for HHN26 are now on sale now: http://www.halloweenhorrornights.com/orlando/express-pass.html

RIP and Unmasking the Horror Tours can be booked now, for more information call: 1-866-604-7556

The Catacombs of Halloween Horror Nights podcast and all the work we do at NeoZAZ is made possible through the generosity of Patreon supporters. To learn how you can help support the show and have the opportunity access some our support exclusive content, please visit our Patreon Page at:https://www.patreon.com/neozaz

Get each new episode of The Catacombs of Halloween Horror Nights bysubscribing to The Catacombs of Halloween Horror Nights on iTunes.

Listen and subscribe to The Catacombs of Halloween Horror Nights on Stitcher.

The Incredible Hulk Coaster Re-Opens! - Articles – NEOZAZ

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The Incredible Hulk Roller Coaster, a favorite ride at any park for NEOZAZ, is now open after an extensive re-theming and update!

In this new story you’re one of General “Thunderbolt” Ross’ volunteer about to go through his process of Hulk-a-fication!

For more details, check out our past article, The New Incredible Hulk Roller Coasters Full Details and stay tuned for a special NEOZAZ podcast report of the new ride experience.


Halloween Horror Nights 26 Original Content Revealed! - Articles – NEOZAZ

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Halloween Horror Nights dropped a big reveal on us today – all of the HHN26 original content, including the icon Chance’ Maze!

Universal Studios Orlando Resort announced 3 new original mazes, 5 scare-zones and 2 shows added to the line for Halloween Horror Nights 26.

From the Halloween Horror Nights Website:

ORIGINAL HOUSES

Lunatics Playground 3D – You Won’t Stand A Chance
While Jack’s away, Chance has unleashed the horrors of her imagination. Her twisted delusions and reality are continuously blurred in a 3D playground of carnage. When the music box plays, the world shifts to her sinister theatre of the mind. But when the alarm starts ringing, Chance is thrown back into the brutal reality of her incarceration.

Ghost Town – The Curse of Lightning Gulch
When lightning strikes, the curse of Lightning Gulch comes to life and this ghostly town appears. These doomed souls—who once went searching for gold—found death and destruction. And now they seek others to join them. As thunder cracks, flashes of lightning will lead your way through this treacherous wild west nightmare. Good luck!

Tomb of the Ancients
An ancient evil has surfaced and immortal beings from the past have returned to rule mankind. It was only a matter of time until “The Ancient Ones” were unearthed. Now these makers of chaos are loose from the pits of hell—and the whole world will pay.

SCARE ZONES

Survive or Die – A global catastrophe has ruined Earth’s atmosphere. One group of survivors secured a machine that provides clean air. The two other surviving groups are on the hunt to gain control of the machine and are recruiting new members to help them. You can either join them or feed their staving ranks. Which will you choose?
Banshee’s Lair – Travel deep into the forest where evil spirits and horrific creatures of the ancient world roam free. Mother Nature’s magical barrier of vines has been torn away and the modern world has found the entrance to this corrupted grave.
Dead Man’s Wharf – When a fishing vessel named Annabel Lee never returned to the harbor and was lost forever, the wharf was left uninhabited as a memorial to her. Now, a strange fog has rolled into the village. And the long-lost fishermen’s spirits seek to punish the town that left them.
Vamp 1955 – Welcome to Hollywood High School’s 1955 Homecoming Parade. Everything is in place, until the greasers roll into town with fangs instead of switchblades. It’s a procession of chaos with vampires ready to take a bite out of anyone in sight. A Chance In Hell – Get ready for the audition of a lifetime. Chance may be locked away, but that hasn’t stopped her. As the alarms ring and the bloody remains of those who tried to stop her lie around, she’s busy recruiting cellmates to join her biggest act yet. (I hope I get chosen!)

SHOWS

Academy of Villains: House of Fear – Join this high energy performance troupe of inmates in an explosion of insanity that will thrust you into a realm of mayhem and maniacal terror featuring dance and specialty acts. The Show Must Go On!
Bill and Ted’s Excellent Halloween Adventure – No Halloween Horror Nights would be complete with(out) these “excellent” dudes! The Wyld Stallyns return with an all-new Halloween adventure.

Check out our instant reaction to these fantastic new additions to Halloween Horror Nights 26 in our Catacombs of Halloween Horror Nights Podcast Original IP Instant Reaction episode.

Stay up to date with all the exciting news on Halloween Horror Nights 26 with our award nominated podcast series “The Catacombs of Halloween Horror Nights” featuring event history, instant reaction, live specials, and full HHN26 coverage.

General Admission tickets to Halloween Horror Nights are on sale now at: http://www.halloweenhorrornights.com/orlando/tickets.html

Learn more about the Frequent Fear passes and order your online at: http://www.halloweenhorrornights.com/orlando/frequent-fear.html

Express Pass for HHN26 are now on sale now: http://www.halloweenhorrornights.com/orlando/express-pass.html

RIP and Unmasking the Horror Tours can be booked now, for more information call: 1-866-604-7556

The Catacombs of Halloween Horror Nights podcast and all the work we do at NeoZAZ is made possible through the generosity of Patreon supporters. To learn how you can help support the show and have the opportunity access some our support exclusive content, please visit our Patreon Page at:https://www.patreon.com/neozaz

Get each new episode of The Catacombs of Halloween Horror Nights bysubscribing to The Catacombs of Halloween Horror Nights on iTunes.

Listen and subscribe to The Catacombs of Halloween Horror Nights on Stitcher.

New Virtual Reality Haunt coming to Halloween Horror Nights 26! - Articles – NEOZAZ

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Halloween Horror Nights at Universal Orlando Resort is breaking new ground once again by adding a new Virtual Reality experience for a limited time during Halloween Horror Nights 26.

“The Repository” will featured an entirely unique storyline putting guests in the midst of a heart-pounding adventure in this all new VR experience. Guest will explorer the thematic environment and interact with real-life character will working as a team to solve a dark mystery happening all around them.

The unique experience is an add-on attraction to the Halloween Horror Nights admission at $49.99. Tickets for “The Repository” go on sale for Universal Orlando Annual Passholders August 16th, and on sale to the general public August 23rd. You can book your tickets for “The Repository” by calling 407-224-7840.

Stay up to date with all the exciting news on Halloween Horror Nights 26 with our award nominated podcast series “The Catacombs of Halloween Horror Nights” featuring event history, instant reaction, live specials, and full HHN26 coverage.

General Admission tickets to Halloween Horror Nights are on sale now at: http://www.halloweenhorrornights.com/orlando/tickets.html

Learn more about the Frequent Fear passes and order your online at: http://www.halloweenhorrornights.com/orlando/frequent-fear.html

Express Pass for HHN26 are now on sale now: http://www.halloweenhorrornights.com/orlando/express-pass.html

RIP and Unmasking the Horror Tours can be booked now, for more information call: 1-866-604-7556

The Catacombs of Halloween Horror Nights podcast and all the work we do at NeoZAZ is made possible through the generosity of Patreon supporters. To learn how you can help support the show and have the opportunity access some our support exclusive content, please visit our Patreon Page at:https://www.patreon.com/neozaz

Get each new episode of The Catacombs of Halloween Horror Nights bysubscribing to The Catacombs of Halloween Horror Nights on iTunes.

Listen and subscribe to The Catacombs of Halloween Horror Nights on Stitcher.

Halloween Horror Nights 26 Kills It Again! - Articles – NEOZAZ

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It’s the best time of the year, Halloween Horror Nights has started! It’s the events 26th year and picks up for their 25th anniversary celebration left off. Chance, Jack’s cohort from the Carnage Returns, is left to suffer the consequences of last year’s mayhem. Being the twisted unique personality Chance is, it takes more than an asylum to contain her mind. Her real world experiences collide with the theater in her mind and Halloween Horror Nights 26 is born.

Again this year NEOZAZ was graciously invited to the opening night media event and experience all the Mazes, Scare zones, and the annual show “Bill and Ted’s Excellent Halloween Adventure”.

So to kick off our annual coverage of the greatest Halloween Event on Earth here is our initial report of what Halloween Horror Nights brings to its legacy this year:

The Mazes:

The nation’s best Halloween event, Universal Orlando’s Halloween Horror Nights, is now open at Universal Orlando Resort, with more nights than ever before. Nightmares come to life in nine disturbingly-real haunted houses based on everything from haunting original tales to some of the most terrifying names in pop culture, including AMC’s "The Walking Dead.” The event also features five scarezones with dozens of menacing scareactors lurking around every corner, and two outrageous live shows. Universal Orlando’s Halloween Horror Nights 26 takes place select nights now until Oct. 31, 2016.

The Walking Dead

As cautious as I was entering The Walking Dead after my disappointment with the HHN25 version I was still really hoping to see the return of a great “The Walking Dead” maze. I was not disappointed. Focusing on the entire run of the series was a fantastic idea for this year’s offering. Starting with one of the most iconic vehicles from the early seasons greeting you as you entered, to walking through the mucked filled underground sewer pipes as you exited, every room in this maze is pulled from the series and will be known to every fan of the show. On the other side of that spectrum, there are a lot more scares and fantastic scenic elements that should be a lot of fun for anyone that hasn’t watch the series as well.  All in all I think “The Walking Dead” is getting its due representation once again at this year’s event and as a huge fan of both TDW and HHN, that’s good thing for everyone.

Bottom-line: Huge improvement over last year. Not the best Walking Dead from HHN in my opinion but worth seeing. If you’re a fan of the series, it’s must see. If you don’t know the show you’ll still enjoy it but it’s definitely a fan focused maze.

The nation’s best Halloween event, Universal Orlando’s Halloween Horror Nights, is now open at Universal Orlando Resort, with more nights than ever before. This year, you won’t stand a Chance as the twisted right-hand woman of Halloween Horror Nights legend Jack the Clown steps into the spotlight as the star of this surreal world of horror. Nightmares come to life in nine disturbingly-real haunted houses based on everything from haunting original tales to some of the most terrifying names in pop culture, including FX’s "American Horror Story," AMC’s "The Walking Dead,” and critically-acclaimed films “The Exorcist,” “The Texas Chain Saw Massacre,” “Halloween II” and “Krampus.” The event also features five scarezones with dozens of menacing scareactors lurking around every corner, and two outrageous live shows. Universal Orlando’s Halloween Horror Nights 26 takes place select nights now until Oct. 31, 2016.

Ghost Town: The Curse of Lightning Gulch

Wow! I’m not sure where to go after that opening statement. Maybe the best way to explain how I feel about his maze can be best summed up in these two sentences: “Last year’s ‘Body Collectors: Recollection’ became my all-time favorite maze. In just one year that title may have changed hands”. “Ghost Town: The Curse of Lightning Gulch” is the re-quel of the 2004 “Ghost Town” – not a “reboot”, not “sequel”, but a 2016 telling of the story. That story is of a gold prospecting town that was swept away by a massive lightning storm and the doomed souls haunt the abandoned borough.  “Ghost Town: The Curse of Lightning Gulch” not only had everything I wanted in that particular maze, it had everything I wanted from a maze ever! An immersive environment, scare-actor’s coming from ALL directions, touches of new technology seamlessly integrated, fantastic makeup, and a ton of Scares.

Bottom-line: Don’t miss this!! If for some strange reason you can only do 1 maze this year, this has to be it! That is all.

The nation’s best Halloween event, Universal Orlando’s Halloween Horror Nights, is now open at Universal Orlando Resort, with more nights than ever before. Nightmares come to life in nine disturbingly-real haunted houses based on everything from haunting original tales to some of the most terrifying names in pop culture, including critically-acclaimed film “Halloween II.” The event also features five scarezones with dozens of menacing scareactors lurking around every corner, and two outrageous live shows. Universal Orlando’s Halloween Horror Nights 26 takes place select nights now until Oct. 31, 2016.

Halloween: Hell Comes to Haddonfield

The maze based on the sequel to the original “Halloween” is also a direct sequel to the 2014 HHN maze “Halloween”. This maze starts with the last 2 rooms visitors from 2014 experience in the original maze. From there the story of the movie plays out in fantastic detail! This was a huge surprise hit for me. I honestly forgot for some time this was added to the lineup months ago hadn’t formed any real expectation of what the maze would be. Now that I’ve experienced it, I’m eager to report it absolutely delivers! It is a true follow up to the 2014 maze and pays great tribute to both the movie it’s based on and the maze it followed.

Bottom-line: A huge surprise! A true sequel of the 2014 maze, just as good, just as fun, and just as Michael Myers filled. If you like Halloween, don’t miss this!

The nation’s best Halloween event, Universal Orlando’s Halloween Horror Nights, is now open at Universal Orlando Resort, with more nights than ever before. This year, you won’t stand a Chance as the twisted right-hand woman of Halloween Horror Nights legend Jack the Clown steps into the spotlight as the star of this surreal world of horror. Nightmares come to life in nine disturbingly-real haunted houses based on everything from haunting original tales to some of the most terrifying names in pop culture, including FX’s "American Horror Story," AMC’s "The Walking Dead,” and critically-acclaimed films “The Exorcist,” “The Texas Chain Saw Massacre,” “Halloween II” and “Krampus.” The event also features five scarezones with dozens of menacing scareactors lurking around every corner, and two outrageous live shows. Universal Orlando’s Halloween Horror Nights 26 takes place select nights now until Oct. 31, 2016.

Tomb of the Ancients

Another new additions of the Original IP lineage of Halloween Horror Nights, “Tomb of the Ancients” combines many facet of Mayan, Aztec, Egyptian lore and a lot more and places them in a recreation of a tight corridor, low ceiling ancient tomb. This was yet another impressive offering to not only HHN26, but to its extensive catalog of original IPs. One of the selling points of the maze during the media presentation was the claustrophobic nature of the design of this maze. While I can say I ever felt claustrophobic while going through this maze (or in subsequent visits after opening night) there is a definite feeling of being in an enclosed area of a solid structure which a very unique element for this maze. Add in the wonderfully costumed and made up scar actors and puppet of the likes I’ve never seen before and you’re got yourself a hit!

Bottom-line: A great new addition of the HHN Original IP Lineage. Incredibly unique, good scares, and a gorgeous maze. Another must see.

The nation’s best Halloween event, Universal Orlando’s Halloween Horror Nights, is now open at Universal Orlando Resort, with more nights than ever before. Nightmares come to life in nine disturbingly-real haunted houses based on everything from haunting original tales to some of the most terrifying names in pop culture, including critically-acclaimed film “The Texas Chain Saw Massacre.” The event also features five scarezones with dozens of menacing scareactors lurking around every corner, and two outrageous live shows. Universal Orlando’s Halloween Horror Nights 26 takes place select nights now until Oct. 31, 2016.

The Texas Chain Saw Massacre

If there was on maze that I might have over hyped myself on it would have been this maze. I expected, or maybe better said hoped, for so much in this maze! Based on the original 1974 film “The Texas Chain Saw Massacre” HHN26 promised an immersive experience featuring every scene, every kill and more chain saws and Leatherfaces than you could possibly be prepared for. And wow, did they every nail it! The creative department obviously love this movie as much as I do, every scene I could think of and that I wanted see was indeed in this maze!

Bottom-line: If you like chainsaws, scares, and blood curdling screams, you are in luck! If you like the original Texas Chainsaw Massacre, you can’t under any circumstance miss this!

The nation’s best Halloween event, Universal Orlando’s Halloween Horror Nights, is now open at Universal Orlando Resort, with more nights than ever before. This year, you won’t stand a Chance as the twisted right-hand woman of Halloween Horror Nights legend Jack the Clown steps into the spotlight as the star of this surreal world of horror. Nightmares come to life in nine disturbingly-real haunted houses based on everything from haunting original tales to some of the most terrifying names in pop culture, including FX’s "American Horror Story," AMC’s "The Walking Dead,” and critically-acclaimed films “The Exorcist,” “The Texas Chain Saw Massacre,” “Halloween II” and “Krampus.” The event also features five scarezones with dozens of menacing scareactors lurking around every corner, and two outrageous live shows. Universal Orlando’s Halloween Horror Nights 26 takes place select nights now until Oct. 31, 2016.

Lunatics Playground 3D – You Won’t Stand a Chance

The 3D maze of HHN26 and Icon Maze that sets the story for the event. In this maze you are stepping in and out of the real world of Chance’s committal in the Shadybrook Asylum and into the twisted theater of the mind Chance is playing in her head. You’ll see how Chance has taken over the asylum and how she exactly views these events in her own twisted imagination. And all through the use of chromadepth 3D to add the next level of chaos to the mix. I really enjoy 3D mazes. I think the work the creative team has to do to create the specific effects they want with the color spectrum is amazing. I said in my HHN26 instant reaction recording that I usually find the 3D used fun and whimsical and for the first time I found this to be at times scary. I don’t think that was right word for what I saw, I think a better word would be “freaky” in that they bordered on gruesome and disturbing but didn’t cross that and kept the 3D fun intact. That is still a new element in my experience. As I said I do enjoy 3D houses and I enjoyed getting the full story of HHN26 by experiencing this maze.

Bottom-line: 3D. If you’ve never seen a “3D” maze before, Lunatics Playground is a good start. Moreover it’s the icon’s maze and if you want to experience the story this year’s event if build upon, you should really take the time to the check out this maze.

The nation’s best Halloween event, Universal Orlando’s Halloween Horror Nights, is now open at Universal Orlando Resort, with more nights than ever before. Nightmares come to life in nine disturbingly-real haunted houses based on everything from haunting original tales to some of the most terrifying names in pop culture, including “Krampus.” The event also features five scarezones with dozens of menacing scareactors lurking around every corner, and two outrageous live shows. Universal Orlando’s Halloween Horror Nights 26 takes place select nights now until Oct. 31, 2016.

Krampus

Another Licensed IP that I’m a big fan of add to this year’s lineup, the 2015 film “Krampus”. I really enjoyed this movie for the borderline horror butting heads with comedy throughout the whole film. This maze does the exact same thing.  Krampus is fun and has some scares while recreating a lot of the best scenes from the movie. It’s another maze that takes us inside and outside several times and it always amazes me how the creative team pull that off while being inside a building the entire time. Another great adaptation and one maze that is just a ton of fun to experience.

Bottom-line: There’s always at least 1 maze in HHN that’s a little more fun that scary. This is a rare licensed IP maze that’s not really necessary to have seen the movie. This is a dark Christmas tales, the anti-Santa and his minions. That’s about all you need to know to enjoy this maze.

The nation’s best Halloween event, Universal Orlando’s Halloween Horror Nights, is now open at Universal Orlando Resort, with more nights than ever before. Nightmares come to life in nine disturbingly-real haunted houses based on everything from haunting original tales to some of the most terrifying names in pop culture, including FX’s "American Horror Story." The event also features five scarezones with dozens of menacing scareactors lurking around every corner, and two outrageous live shows. Universal Orlando’s Halloween Horror Nights 26 takes place select nights now until Oct. 31, 2016.

American Horror Story

As big a “Wow” as I gave “Ghost Town”, I have to give a nearly as big a “Wow” to “American Horror Story”! “American Horror Story” pulls 3 of the 5 completed seasons of the FX series and brings them to life in a most phenomenal way! “American Horror Story” pretty much a 3 in 1 maze, all three series are independently featured in their own sections until a brief overlap in the finale room. First “Murder House” pulls to the most memorable characters, moments, and sets right out the first season of the series. In this first third we see how much detail and work went into not only creating this maze, but casting as well. I cannot remember a licensed IP maze that had scare actors look so much like the actors from the IP more than “American Horror Story” – and not only in the “Murder House” third, that carries on when we enter “Freak Show”. Admittedly, “Freak Show” is my least favorite season of AHS. However, I have to admit this third of the house is actually better than that show for me because none of what I disliked in the series was represented – it was the things I actually like from “Freak Show!” And again, that scare actors where dead-on! And the amazing scare actor casting continues in the “Hotel” third when the first AHS Hotel scare actor you encounter might make you look twice! Sets, story, scare actors – this maze has it all and in my opinion is the best maze HHN has done on a licensed property to date!

Bottom-line: Without a doubt for me this is the best screen to maze interpretation of an attraction HHN has ever done. Maybe to a fault that if you don’t know the series represented in this maze you not understand how accurate it is. But if you’re a fan of “Murder House”, “Freak Show”, and/or “Hotel” – go and see this!!!

The nation’s best Halloween event, Universal Orlando’s Halloween Horror Nights, is now open at Universal Orlando Resort, with more nights than ever before. Nightmares come to life in nine disturbingly-real haunted houses based on everything from haunting original tales to some of the most terrifying names in pop culture, including critically-acclaimed film “The Exorcist.” The event also features five scarezones with dozens of menacing scareactors lurking around every corner, and two outrageous live shows. Universal Orlando’s Halloween Horror Nights 26 takes place select nights now until Oct. 31, 2016.

The Exorcist

Up until now I’ve always been able to say “I love it” or “I didn’t like” it on any maze for Halloween Horror Nights. “The Exorcist” still has me wildly undecided. And I know exactly why. Having gone to HHN for years I usually know what to expect to an extent – now I’m usually never right I admit, but I’m usually in the ball park with my expectations. This time “The Exorcist” was so incredibly different from anything I expected that I’m not sure what my review is yet – I’ll need to see again if not a few more time to decide. Having prefaced with that, this maze is an interpretation of the 1973 classic “The Exorcist”. This is a movie with a lot of iconic scenes that involved many unnatural physical acts from the characters – a hard thing to do in real life. With that “The Exorcist” maze takes a lot of liberties with ideas and material from the film and presents them in ways you might not be expecting. This house is unique, and there are a lot of elements I think are fantastic – my trouble is I’m finding it difficult to tie these interpretive elements to “The Exorcist”. But I have only experienced once so far as of the writing with the initial shell-shock out of the way I’m curious how I’ll find it a second time around.

Bottom-line: I’m still not sure how I feel about this. I want to make it clear it’s not bad, it’s unique and many, many rooms are instantly recognizable. This is the maze I will thinking about the most as I return to more nights of HHN26. If you’re a fan of The Exorcist or curious at all, you owe it yourself to check it out and form your own opinion. I’m still working on mine.

The Scares Zones:

Survive or Die Apocalypse

This dystopian themed Scare Zone features 3 warring gangs fighting for control of the city machines that produce clear air. Each side needs to increase their numbers, and they’re looking right to you to do just that.
My first pass through this scare zone left me feeling a little underwhelmed. This walk through took place during the opening night tour so I didn’t get my usual casual “walk around and take it in” time.

Once the tour concluded, we went back and checked it out again. My opinion turned a complete 180. I took a better look at the scare actors, a good look at the scenic, and this time – saw the 3D mapped projections on the building facades I hadn’t seen on the first walk through.

This is huge scare zone, and there’s a lot going on once your take the time to look at it. When you get to the “Survive or Die Apocalypse”, take your time, walk down all the streets, and look up every once and while to take it all in.

Lair of the Banshee

I always look forward to this area of the park. Usually the scare actors are pretty varied with no real or obvious unifying theme – and that is the case again for HHN26. However, most of those scare actors look fantastic!

But what I really go to see in this area is the lighting. This is the only completely tree covered scare zone   and the creative team does some interesting work with the lighting and use of fog in this area. Last year was one of favorite designs in regards to the lighting and I was almost expecting a slight alteration to that design this year. I was wrong, this year’s work with lighting is far different that the previous and once again and very visually fun experience.

I also want to reiterate our tip for the past couple of years for this scare zone and that is to walk the central park path between central park and the lagoon to get a unique perspective own this scare zone.

Dead Man’s Wharf

It’s the anniversary of the disappearance of the fishing boat “Annabel Lee”. A thick fog has rolled in and the spirits of the lost crew have returned to push the town that left them to die.

I could easily spend the majority of the night in this scare zone. The set, the lights, the fog, the scare actors all present fantastic photo ops. This is a beautiful scare zone.

The nation’s best Halloween event, Universal Orlando’s Halloween Horror Nights, is now open at Universal Orlando Resort, with more nights than ever before. This year, you won’t stand a Chance as the twisted right-hand woman of Halloween Horror Nights legend Jack the Clown steps into the spotlight as the star of this surreal world of horror. Nightmares come to life in nine disturbingly-real haunted houses based on everything from haunting original tales to some of the most terrifying names in pop culture, including FX’s "American Horror Story," AMC’s "The Walking Dead,” and critically-acclaimed films “The Exorcist,” “The Texas Chain Saw Massacre,” “Halloween II” and “Krampus.” The event also features five scarezones with dozens of menacing scareactors lurking around every corner, and two outrageous live shows. Universal Orlando’s Halloween Horror Nights 26 takes place select nights now until Oct. 31, 2016.

Vamp ‘55

It’s Hollywood High School’s 1995 Homecoming. A group of vampire greasers roll into town and attack the home coming crew.

I will fully admit when I heard about this scare zone I had zero desire to see it. But being a HHN fan and wanting to see it all I obviously had to check it out. I was pleasantly surprised on what I saw! The scenic was fun, the scare actors well created and the story of the attack plays out well with the greasers hunting you will the Homecoming victims turn to you protection. A lot more fun visiting than I expected!

The nation’s best Halloween event, Universal Orlando’s Halloween Horror Nights, is now open at Universal Orlando Resort, with more nights than ever before. This year, you won’t stand a Chance as the twisted right-hand woman of Halloween Horror Nights legend Jack the Clown steps into the spotlight as the star of this surreal world of horror. Nightmares come to life in nine disturbingly-real haunted houses based on everything from haunting original tales to some of the most terrifying names in pop culture, including FX’s "American Horror Story," AMC’s "The Walking Dead,” and critically-acclaimed films “The Exorcist,” “The Texas Chain Saw Massacre,” “Halloween II” and “Krampus.” The event also features five scarezones with dozens of menacing scareactors lurking around every corner, and two outrageous live shows. Universal Orlando’s Halloween Horror Nights 26 takes place select nights now until Oct. 31, 2016.

A Chance in Hell

And finally “A Chance in Hell”. This I found a little disappointing but still not bad. The idea is that after you leave “Lunatics Playground 3D” you walk into the “A Chance in Hell” scare zone to experience the aftermath of the Chance taking over the asylum.

There are two things that made this scare zone a disappointment. First is that it is far too far away from the exit of “Lunatics Playground 3D” for the story to be effective for me. If the maze exited directly into the scare zone I think the overall story would play out better.

The other was the lack of stage scare actors. There are 4 stages in the scare zone – 3 are of Chance’s “creations”. The creations are props, not cast scare actors. The 4th stage is for Chance. I do think it’s absolutely great that there is a consistent and regular photo opportunity for the event Icon, no doubt there, I just would have liked to see some of her creations be more photo op scare actors to bring more “live” to this scare zone.

The Shows:

“Bill and Ted’s Excellent Halloween Adventure”.

The annual inappropriate humor and stab at pop culture show runs its 25th production in HHN26.
Like all Bill and Ted’s the pat years most hyped, talked about, and over saturated pop culture moments are roasted in the comedy/music/dance show.

Without getting into too much spoiler details I can say this year’s show has a heavy “Star Wars” theme – you get that just by sitting down when you look at the set.

With all Bill and Ted’s there’s hits and misses – and sometimes more misses for the individual if you’re not 100% caught up on pop culture.

But again will all Bill and Ted shows it’s a big party with great music, scantily clad dancers, and enough laughs for everyone no matter how much of little pop culture you know.

Academy of Villains: House of Fear.

As of this writing, I have not yet seen “Academy of Villains: House of Fear”. We didn’t visit if during the media tour and it got rained out my next visit. I will be seeing it this following weekend and share my thoughts with in an update to this article.

The Big over-all Bottom-line: Halloween Horror Nights 26 is an extremely strong event this year. In terms of mazes alone it might be the strongest year in recent memory for me.

The creative team behind this event did not let last year’s anniversary event being an isolated benchmark, they’ve taken that success and built on it for HHN26.

Halloween Horror Nights 26 continues a new era of Halloween Horror Nights that is so far getting better each year in many ways. It’s not without some minor flaws, but they are so insignificant compared to what excels this year that they can’t possibly distract from an all-around amazing event.

More this year than most of the recent years past I say once again; “You have to experience Halloween Horror Nights 26!”

General Admission tickets to Halloween Horror Nights are on sale now at: http://www.halloweenhorrornights.com/orlando/tickets.html

Learn more about the Frequent Fear passes and order your online at: http://www.halloweenhorrornights.com/orlando/frequent-fear.html

Express Pass for HHN26 are now on sale now: http://www.halloweenhorrornights.com/orlando/express-pass.html

RIP and Unmasking the Horror Tours can be booked now, for more information call: 1-866-604-7556

The Catacombs of Halloween Horror Nights podcast and all the work we do at NeoZAZ is made possible through the generosity of Patreon supporters. To learn how you can help support the show and have the opportunity access some our support exclusive content, please visit our Patreon Page at:https://www.patreon.com/neozaz

Get each new episode of The Catacombs of Halloween Horror Nights bysubscribing to The Catacombs of Halloween Horror Nights on iTunes.

Listen and subscribe to The Catacombs of Halloween Horror Nights on Stitcher.

Universal Orlando reveals Volcano Bay’s Star Attraction! - Articles – NEOZAZ

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About 5 months ago Universal Orlando Resort announced details on their “Third Gate” Water Park, “Universal’s Volcano Bay”. A lot of exciting details were announced, but they did keep one thing under wraps – the star attraction.

Today, the marquee attraction has been announced:

The Krakatau Aqua Coaster!

This state-of the-art water thrill ride will be the “must experience” attraction of Volcano Bay.

From the Universal Orlando press release:

“Guests will board specially-designed canoes and propel downwards – and upwards – through the volcano’s interior peaks and valleys.  They’ll twist, turn and plummet along dark passageways, be launched through sparkling waterfalls and so much more.”

I’ve wanted to experience an Aqua Coaster for a very long time. Having one, arguably the most advanced and innovative one to date, in my own backyard is incredibly exciting.

Along with revealing “Krakatau”, Universal Orlando also revealed their new state or the art game changing queuing system – “TapuTapu Wearable”.

This new concept allows guests to experience the entire park at their leisure while virtually waiting in line for these exciting new attractions.

Along with this being a game changing system, it will be provided to everyone that enters the gate as part of the park admission!

From the Universal Orlando press release:

Virtual Lines: Guests will be able to virtually wait in line while they play in other areas of the park. The wearable will alert guests when it’s time for them to ride so they can head to the attraction.

Tap to play: Guests will discover various “tap-to-play” experiences throughout the park – all designed exclusively for Volcano Bay by Universal’s award-winning creative team.  With just a tap of TapuTapu, guests can trigger special effects like controlling streams of water spurting from whales in Tot Tiki Reef, shooting water cannons at guests snaking down Kopiko Wai Winding River and illuminating images in the volcano’s hidden caves.”

It’s been very exciting following the news of this new park at Universal and a lot of fun watching come alive during my driving on I-4. Everyone here at NEOZAZ, including myself, are really looking forward to this new addition to the amazing Universal Studios Resort family!

Universal’s Volcano Bay will open early summer 2017.

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