Universal Horror Unleashed - Las Vegas, NV

[rageofthegods]

You spend too much money on a Traeger and then you have to justify it to yourself by coming up with excuses to use it.

Anyway, looks fun! I'll admit, I was expecting just a tad more, but there's an effect in the middle of Scarecrow that's legitimately one of the coolest things I've seen in a haunt.

 

[Jake S]

You spend too much money on a Traeger and then you have to justify it to yourself by coming up with excuses to use it.

my father in law catching strays

 

[Legacy]

Anyway, looks fun! I'll admit, I was expecting just a tad more…

This is exactly where I’m at.

 

[Tobias]

It was.

Murdy's reasonably open about the fact that they frequently lock scenes and elements that later get completely excised from the final film. Think 2017's Insidious, too. This is just especially bizarre given that they've completely abandoned this iteration of the Exorcist franchise by this point and it's a semi-permanent installation.

Dracula Untold is also a prime example of a house featuring scenes/elements which were cut from the theatrical release.

 

[Freak]

Saw a few pics. Didn’t want to look at too much as I’ll be seeing this the final weekend of August. Looks good! It’s great to see Jack and Chance on the West Coast even if it isn’t at HHNH.

I am glad to see an influence of Orlando’s design being used.

 

[Clive]

I watched bits and pieces of the POVs just to get a feel for it.

For better or worse, feels a lot like Tonightmares. Love the roaming characters in the common areas. Obviously enthusiastic performers. Some of the masks/makeups... well.

 

[rageofthegods]

Some of the masks/makeups... well.

Haha, oh boy that Phantom looked like something from a 90s Nickelodeon commercial.

 

[DTH]

Skipped through the Five Fires video and it looks great! Was skeptical but open minded and wanted to see something before I comitted, but this definitely looks of the caliber of Universal and I will 100% be attending hopefully before the end of the year. Trying to take advantage of it being year round and do something like December.

 

[krazyhorrorkid]

Some of those costumes in monsters looks…rough

 

[Wigglepebbles]

Excorcist house feels like this amongst the line up.

Seems like they’re Orlando remakes with some changes on some rooms, love the show scene rooms; specially the Scarecrow dust scene

 

[Viator]

View attachment 27447
Excorcist house feels like this amongst the line up.

Seems like they’re Orlando remakes with some changes on some rooms, love the show scene rooms; specially the Scarecrow dust scene

Watching as I can--Scarecrow feels like a hybrid of both Orlando, Hollywood, and of Universal Beijing's Freaky Farm. A wild as hell combination, but it genuinely works in a way that makes this the definitive version of the two concepts.

The Dust Bowl scene might be a contender for one of the sickest scenes I have ever seen UDX/UC do for a permament walkthrough attraction. The Laboratory from Van Helsing/House of Horrors, and the burning log cabin from The Walking Dead Attraction come close in the absolute madness that is that scene.

 

[TheCodeMan95]

I skipped through a bit, and wasn't 100% sure what people referring to as "the" scene in Scarecrow.

I was like "alright.. fog..?"

Then when I looked up and saw the background I was like "OHHH"

 

[kristenabelle]

Some of those costumes in monsters looks…rough

yeah -

Spoiler: spoiler

I wonder why some of the masks/makeup looks drastically different for the same character? Could be me, but wolfman at the front of the house looked so different from the mask at the finale.

 

[Legacy]

This is exactly where I’m at.

The Dust Bowl scene might be a contender for one of the sickest scenes I have ever seen UDX/UC do for a permament walkthrough attraction. The Laboratory from Van Helsing/House of Horrors, and the burning log cabin from The Walking Dead Attraction come close in the absolute madness that is that scene.

I kinda want to explain my thoughts further. While a couple of elements of this experience are better than I expected, those same “pros” actually reinforce my initial concerns rather than alleviating them.

The first plus is the amount of performers in each house. There are way more than I expected, especially with multiple interacting scenes. The moments where a single performer has multiple boo-holes are fairly obvious. That’s fine, but makes the layout feel a tad amateurish. I expected holes across multiple scenes… not just around a corner.

The second plus are the holding scenes, which look and play better than I expected. However, not all scenes are equal. Scarecrow’s is a standout, but the others are… fine? They feel like the houses could lose them and not actually suffer. They’re integrated, but don’t actually feel integral. And that goes for Scarecrow too.

Which is my concern…

The ability to just not have those scenes… the ability to just cut this experience’s staff to the barest minimum is too apparent. And while, yes, you need that flexibility, the obviousness of that flexibility is (I feel) foreboding. I already had a sense this thing would struggle to last five years. The videos, disappointingly, haven’t changed my mind at all.

 

[UniversalRBLX]

The ability to just not have those scenes… the ability to just cut this experience’s staff to the barest minimum is too apparent. And while, yes, you need that flexibility, the obviousness of that flexibility is (I feel) foreboding. I already had a sense this thing would struggle to last five years. The videos, disappointingly, haven’t changed my mind at all.

I echo your concern, love the concept but I'm not sure about it's longevity.

I hope to be proven wrong and this becomes a "staple" of Vegas/Chicago/elsewhere, but part of me also thinks this would have worked as a touring exhibition throughout the country?

 

[TheCodeMan95]

I echo your concern, love the concept but I'm not sure about it's longevity.

I hope to be proven wrong and this becomes a "staple" of Vegas/Chicago/elsewhere, but part of me also thinks this would have worked as a touring exhibition throughout the country?

A touring exhibition would have been cool, I think. Similar to the Stranger Things Experience back in 2022!

 

[Jwhee]

I’m stunned that you need to pay $60/$70 admission to access the restaurants and bars. Seems like a missed opportunity here. You should be able to walk around/eat/drink at the venue and then pay for the houses.

The hours for this place are apparently 2-10pm daily. Seems like an early close? Especially for the weekends.

In typical Vegas fashion, the venue offers bottle service (which you’d need to order early to be done by 10 )

 

[UniversalRBLX]

I’m stunned that you need to pay $60/$70 admission to access the restaurants and bars. Seems like a missed opportunity here. You should be able to walk around/eat/drink at the venue and then pay for the houses.

The hours for this place are apparently 2-10pm daily. Seems like an early close? Especially for the weekends.

In typical Vegas fashion, the venue offers bottle service (which you’d need to order early to be done by 10 )

I'm sure the concept/admission process will adjust as needed, but I am surprised on a table service concept that can't be accessed without admission (correct me if I'm wrong here).

I think the hours are appropriate as Vegas' crowds move into nightclubs/casinos later at night. Universal probably realized they can't keep crowds late into the evening as guests prioritize clubs and this is competing more with shows like Cirque that starts showtimes at ~7-8PM.

I think the experience will be a creative success, but will it sustain it's integrity over time (same # of performers, etc.)?