Halloween Horror Nights XXII - 2012

Halloween Horror Nights 22 was the first event since 2007 to have one huge parkwide scarezone rather than multiple scarezones scattered throughout the park. It was also the first time since 2006 to have only seven houses instead of eight, due to the demolition of the Jaws. Even though there were a lot of great things about this years event, there were just enough misses to make it a decent event instead of a great one.

Houses based on Silent Hill and The Walking Dead were featured this year, with The Walking Dead being considered the events Icon. Silent Hill was a decent house but not one I felt needed to be experienced more than once. Walking Dead: Dead Inside on the other hand was a great house that brought scenes from the AMC TV show to life. The only complaint I had about it was that there weren't enough zombies, I was hoping it would have a Dead Exposure-esque finale. Universal also teamed up with shock rocker Alice Cooper and magicians Penn & Teller to make Alice Cooper: Welcome to My Nightmare and Penn & Teller: New(kd) Las Vegas. Once again one of these houses I absolutely loved the other not so much. Welcome to my Nightmare took you through a different Alice Cooper song in each room, it also took home that much coveted "not so much award".  New(kd) las Vegas was a comedy house that took guest to a radio active Las Vegas caused be a failed Penn & Teller magic trick. Penn & Teller were even on hand certain nights to greet guests at the end of the house. I never got the chance to meet them, but end up having an awkward encounter with Teller when we used neighboring urinals.

The last three houses were original houses from the great minds at Universal. Universal's House of Horrors featured classic Universal movie monsters in a house that made it look like you were in a black and white film, which was a very cool effect. Gothic took into the rafters of a Gothic cathedral where the stone gargoyles that keep watch came to life to protect the against intrusion. Finally Dead End was took you through a haunted house much like The Wyandot Estate from HHN 20.