Universal Horror Unleashed - Las Vegas, NV

[HorrorNightsFan13]

Visited my girlfriend’s family for the holidays in Vegas and received a day trip to this as a gift and what a fantastic gift it was. My girlfriend and I spent almost all day there and I ran each house 3 times, sometimes with her and sometimes solo.

Scarecrow was definitely my favorite, followed by Universal Monsters, Texas Chainsaw Massacre, and Exorcist. Though I enjoyed the top 3 pretty closely, Exorcist was really the only one separated from the rest and I’m sure it’ll be the first to be replaced. Though I’d hope to see an addition before a replacement. I’ll echo above sentiments of Terrifier, having Art roaming around would be a top tier addition after how amazing the character was this last year at HHN

As a long time Hollywood goer having only taken one trip to Orlando, I can immediately tell these houses were designed based off of Orlando’s previous versions and it is so amazing to have a dose of that so close to home. TCM particularly was nostalgic since it felt similar at times to the house from 30, which was when I visited.

I feel like I only have positive things to say. The atmosphere is fantastic. All of the walk around characters are fun to interact with and watch. Krampus and Kin were a blast. Drinks were great! Had a holiday grog (forgot the full name) and Jack’s Juice from Jack’s Alley. All of the houses were staffed well, designed well, and I had a lot of fun in all of them! Being pulsed every 30 seconds and getting the experience to just your group is a huge plus of this place. And I never waited more than 15-20 minutes. Well worth it. Run throughs were near perfect almost every time. And the little shows they’re able to do at certain points are such fun additions that can’t be achieved in a typical horror nights house. Scarecrow’s in particular was impressive, and TCM’s was REALLY effective! I had seen a video and knew about the girl being grabbed before, but in person it’s still pretty scary to watch Leatherface rip the person in front of you into the red room! Even though it was 2 days after Christmas, it felt like my favorite time of year again for just a few hours.

Was talking with a lovely couple from North Carolina in line for Exorcist and we all agreed that Terrifier would be an incredible addition/replacement at some point. I wouldn’t find myself revisiting until a new house is added, but I definitely see myself revisiting, especially with how often I am out there. Walked away with one of the 500 limited edition Jack statues, couldn’t resist!

 

[Rideguy70]

I missed you there by one day, haha

 

[hunnylvr]

We finally made it to HU last Thursday (1/8). I went with my wife and three friends. Since we went on a Thursday, the price was cheaper - we got the unlimited ticket for $99 each. They opened at 4pm, so we got there at 4pm, and we stayed for six hours!

I'll give you my thoughts (it was a consensus with my whole group):

We managed to pick a date/time where it wasn't crowded AT ALL. When we arrived at open, there were maybe 20 people in line waiting to get in. They opened the doors, and the entrance hallways had all these cool posters about Legendary Truth artifacts with information on each. I was THRILLED to see LT was a part of this right at the start. Fantastic surprise!

We felt like we had the place to ourselves most of the time we were there. It's such a large space, so unless it's maxed out (I think the sign at the front said max occupancy was something like 3500?), it's pleasant to walk through and take your time. There aren't scarezones in the traditional sense, but there are themed areas with some really great scareactors that will interact loads with you. That was unexpected, but certainly welcome. My only complaint about these main areas was there was no fog. I was expecting at least some. I think some fog would add so much to the overall atmosphere. Aside from that, there are so many different actors and interactions you can have with them if you take your time and stay a while. It was REALLY fun.

As far as houses - here they are in order of favorite to least favorite:

1. Monsters - I really thought Scarecrow would be my number one as it was what I most looked forward to, but I'll get to that in a minute. Monsters was done perfectly. Pretty much all the biggest ones were represented. There is even a mini show towards the end where your group gets to stop and watch. I loved that! It was a terrific add to an already great house.

2. Scarecrow - this is one of my fave houses over the last 20 years I've attended HHN. I had high hopes for this. My issue is that there are certain scenes that were very memorable for me from Orlando that were reduced a bit here. For those who remember the original house - remember the crow room and how it felt like you were being pooped on by the crows? They didn't replicate that gimmick, and, while they do have a similar space, it's not as grand as the original. It's also not dark enough, and more birds need to be in there. I realize I'm nitpicking, but I can't help it. I was also expecting some really aggressive scareactors, but these weren't nearly as aggressive. Also, the pathways through are too wide. I remember feeling like it was tight in the original house which made it that much more suspenseful. This house is supposed to be SCARY, but something was missing. I still enjoyed it - maybe my expectations were too high? If the original house scored 100/100, then this replicated version gets a score of 80/100.

3. Texas Chainsaw - this was done very well as far as design. There was a lot of "oh, I remember THAT scene", etc. The actors also tend to chase down the hallways which we enjoyed. It takes a lot to scare me, so I wasn't scared, but I was amused and having a lot of fun with those actors.

4. Exorcist - none of us really cared for this house. While they did the props/sets in the usual Uni quality, it's the IP itself that is the problem. The movie was garbage and a flop, so I still don't know why they brought this to HU. I can't force myself to try and be scared by an actor 3 inches shorter than me and who looks as though a strong wind might take her away. That's a lot of what you get in there. I just find it to be kind of cheesy and forced. We still went through twice just to make sure we just didn't get a bad run, but they really need to put something better in that space - Insidious anyone?? Hell, I'd take Terrifier, too (never thought I'd say that - lol).

We had a blast watching Jack and Chance do their show. I was pleased that the actor they have doing this seems to really understand this character. I was even picked to get up on stage for part of it which thrilled me to no end since Jack is my favorite of all time! When the show was over, we went to Jack's bar and got a drink (I HIGHLY recommend "Jack's Juice" - DELICIOUS). While we were sipping said drinks, Jack and Chance both came into the bar and started interacting with our group. I was grinning so much, my face actually ached. He would NOT break character either. I showed him a custom lighter I had made years ago that has Jack on it from a pic I took of him at HHN. He said, "Ah, the good ol' days!" I said, "Do you want this? I have more!" He snatched it from my hand and shoved it up his sleeve. Then Chance came over and asked me why I didn't have a lighter featuring her? I said I never got a good enough picture. So, she posed for us, and then said the next time we see her, we better have a lighter for her. I'm doing it, too, btw. LOL

We ate at the restaurant "Premiere House". All the food is themed just like at HHN. We started with an order of the loaded chili fries - RECOMMEND! I ordered the hot honey chicken sliders which were so good. The prices were actually decent there as well. The whole restaurant area is themed to Blumhouse though. For me, that gets an automatic eyeroll as I'm kind of sick of them, but that's just me. If you like Megan (I don't) or the Grabber (was fine for the first movie, but a second one? NO), then you'll love that space as both characters are out every 30 minutes.

While I like the idea of a pulsed line, I have to wonder if this plays havoc with the actors' timing. There were several times that an actor completely missed all five of us (across all the houses - not just one), and I wonder if that's because there is such a large gap between groups. There were several empty boo-holes as well - and I question whether they understaff on a weekday during offseason? I say all this because it does affect the intensity. I think of last season's HHN and how crazy the end of the Jason house was, and I thought - they could never pull that off here. Overall, it's the intensity of it that I think we missed.

I do recommend going. As Freak said, it's great to have something like this year round to scratch that HHN itch. I just think they have a little more work to do to match the quality and intensity of HHN proper. Don't get me wrong - I'd go again, but I wouldn't plan another trip around it unless they change out/add houses.

 

[Jerroddragon]

Surprised No one has been talking about this

Horror Unleashed now has the "Fraidy Cat" Ticket. It is 29 dollars and lets you into the Venue with no houses.

No a bad deal, if your friend wants to come but doesn't want to do houses and also good for those locals who might want to come in and check out Krampus or whatever theme they have going on in the main area

 

[UNIrd]

Surprised No one has been talking about this

Horror Unleashed now has the "Fraidy Cat" Ticket. It is 29 dollars and lets you into the Venue with no houses.

No a bad deal, if your friend wants to come but doesn't want to do houses and also good for those locals who might want to come in and check out Krampus or whatever theme they have going on in the main area

I just saw this. Correction though. It's STARTING at $29.

The Fraidy Cat ticket is $49 for the dates I'm there next, while the ticket including the houses is $89.

Still not a bad deal if you've already done the houses and want to go back and do food/drinks/shop and enjoy the vibes.

 

[Jerroddragon]

I just saw this. Correction though. It's STARTING at $29.

The Fraidy Cat ticket is $49 for the dates I'm there next, while the ticket including the houses is $89.

Still not a bad deal if you've already done the houses and want to go back and do food/drinks/shop and enjoy the vibes.

Thank you for the update, I should have assumed it would have flex pricing.....since all theme park type attractions do now

 

[UNIrd]

Thank you for the update, I should have assumed it would have flex pricing.....since all theme park type attractions do now

They put the starting price real big so I was like hey that's not bad... But once you click through, it's like what the hell..

 

[Parkscope Joe]

Surprised No one has been talking about this

Horror Unleashed now has the "Fraidy Cat" Ticket. It is 29 dollars and lets you into the Venue with no houses.

No a bad deal, if your friend wants to come but doesn't want to do houses and also good for those locals who might want to come in and check out Krampus or whatever theme they have going on in the main area

I like this idea and shows they’re adjusting. Now the real question: is there an upgrade path if they get there and want to do the houses.

 

[Jerroddragon]

I like this idea and shows they’re adjusting. Now the real question: is there an upgrade path if they get there and want to do the houses.

Yes its a good move

One of the TM's there was talking to me about this ticket before it came out and glad they did it so quickly

I have no idea if you can upgrade but hopefully if not now its in the works

 

[Jerroddragon]

Behind the Scenes of Universal Horror Unleashed with the Original Jack and Chance

 

[UNIrd]

I did Horror Unleashed for the 2nd time last night and wow. It was even better than the first time. I know I went at opening and naturally things get better over time with the scareactors but they were RELENTLESS. They had no problem getting absolutely in your face in a way rarely seen at standard HHN anymore.

Texas Chainsaw Massacre was INTENSE. I literally went in being like you know... TCM is kinda tired at this point. It's been done to death over the years across both resorts. He must've heard me. Cut to me begging for mercy. Leatherface was literally using his CHAINSAW to separate our group of 3. Like actually putting the chainsaw between us. Are you kidding me?

Universal Monsters was also an incredibly intense run. Saw every single monster and supporting character pop up at the perfect moments. Only missed Creature from the Black Lagoon as he was MIA. Scarecrow definitely upped the intensity from my last visit. So many good scares! I didn't find Exorcist to be much weaker than those 3 the first time but this time I could see how it just doesn't live up to how strong TCM/Monsters/Scarecrow can be.

Also, it's kind of wild the interaction you can have with Jack and Chance here knowing how rare it is at regular HHN's. The fact that they're just hanging out with you while you're having drinks at Jack's Bar, taking selfies, while staying 100% in character the whole time is impressive. Chance is a little firecracker. She was absolutely roasting me and I was living for it.

I actually have to give it up to all the performers that were walking around and interacting. Their banter was A+ and their ability to engage in considerable back-and-forth with guests shows how they have a really witty bunch they have working there.

Anyways, total blast again at Horror Unleashed and this is what I love about the concept. I got to have a little bit of HHN for Valentines weekend. Never been able to accomplish that in my 20+ years of fandom. Until next time, Vegas!

 

[Jerroddragon]

I hate this review...just makes me want to go back more, lol

I'm hoping I can go again this November.

Also I hope we hear some more little events coming to this venue, something for spring break or summer

 

[LPCaptainDeath]

I did Horror Unleashed for the 2nd time last night and wow. It was even better than the first time. I know I went at opening and naturally things get better over time with the scareactors but they were RELENTLESS. They had no problem getting absolutely in your face in a way rarely seen at standard HHN anymore.

Texas Chainsaw Massacre was INTENSE. I literally went in being like you know... TCM is kinda tired at this point. It's been done to death over the years across both resorts. He must've heard me. Cut to me begging for mercy. Leatherface was literally using his CHAINSAW to separate our group of 3. Like actually putting the chainsaw between us. Are you kidding me?

Universal Monsters was also an incredibly intense run. Saw every single monster and supporting character pop up at the perfect moments. Only missed Creature from the Black Lagoon as he was MIA. Scarecrow definitely upped the intensity from my last visit. So many good scares! I didn't find Exorcist to be much weaker than those 3 the first time but this time I could see how it just doesn't live up to how strong TCM/Monsters/Scarecrow can be.

Also, it's kind of wild the interaction you can have with Jack and Chance here knowing how rare it is at regular HHN's. The fact that they're just hanging out with you while you're having drinks at Jack's Bar, taking selfies, while staying 100% in character the whole time is impressive. Chance is a little firecracker. She was absolutely roasting me and I was living for it.

I actually have to give it up to all the performers that were walking around and interacting. Their banter was A+ and their ability to engage in considerable back-and-forth with guests shows how they have a really witty bunch they have working there.

Anyways, total blast again at Horror Unleashed and this is what I love about the concept. I got to have a little bit of HHN for Valentines weekend. Never been able to accomplish that in my 20+ years of fandom. Until next time, Vegas!

As someone who is planning to go to Vegas for my Bachelor party in 2027...

 

[Jerroddragon]

As someone who is planning to go to Vegas for my Bachelor party in 2027...
View attachment 28991

No idea if this is interesting to you, but I went here for my Bachelor party in Vegas. Was very chill could fit a good amount of people and amazing views

https://wlasvegas.mgmresorts.com/en/nightlife/skyfall-lounge.html

 

[LPCaptainDeath]

No idea if this is interesting to you, but I went here for my Bachelor party in Vegas. Was very chill could fit a good amount of people and amazing views

https://wlasvegas.mgmresorts.com/en/nightlife/skyfall-lounge.html

YO, Jerrod, that's sick. Thanks for the recommendation, man!