That’s right, we made it! After two years of dedication to Halloween Horror Nights coverage, we finally made it to the prestigious HHN media party, and that’s all thanks to you guys, our readers. Your support feeds our obsession and commitment to getting the information that we do, as quickly as possible. Thank you so much!
So What IS The Media Party?
Opening Night Media Party, as it’s called, is a closed, invitation only event that takes place in sound-stage 33. It boasts tons of free food and beverages, and offers the opportunity to mingle with HHN big wigs, fellow HHN loving media publishers, and scareactors before the main presentation begins, with a Q&A afterwards.
The food was astounding. From a myriad of hot hors d’oeuvres like miniature beef wellington, jalapeno poppers, and buffalo chicken eggrolls, to name a few. There were also multiple meat carving stations offering beef, pork, and lamb. Additional dishes included nachos with all kinds of dips to choose from, delicious shells and cheese (with or without shrimp), fish tacos, and tons of different deserts.
Scareactors were roaming the venue during the “welcome reception” portion of the party. They were from all parts of the event (houses and scarezones,) and it was a really neat way of getting our first look into the various characters and themes of this year’s event. There were aliens, clowns, vampires, and everything in between. Check out our livestream here for a full look at the food and scareactors that were present.
The Main Presentation
Upon the main stage area, the media presentation took place. It included cameos from Bill and Ted themselves, and characters from each house and scarezone to represent their respected property. Patrick Braillard hosted the main event, where he described each house and scarezone in detail, and we learned a ton of cool things about each of them. Each haunted house and scarezone had it’s own little stage with decorations, props, and actors that could be found within. Watch our livestream here on our Facebook page to see the entire presentation.
House Displays (click to enlarge)
Scarezone Displays
“You know, I think that every single year we put on Halloween Horror Nights, it’s not only a challenge, but it’s a labor of love. We start months in advanced, this year it was 14 months. We have already started [20]18. Yeah! We are already well underway with 18. It goes from a very small group of people, and it suddenly blooms into hundreds and then thousands of people that all work in unison to try to put on the event. And I can say that was all surety, there is no team member at Universal Orlando Resort that does not in some way become impacted by the work that goes into bringing this event on a yearly basis. Every single person, in some way shape or form, works to provide this for all of the guests, and that’s kind of an amazing undertaking.”
Q&A Session
The portion of the presentation with the most media inclusion, the Q&A session gave us all the opportunity to finally get our pressing questions answered, and make light of things we’re all curious about. This portion took about 17 minutes, and anyone who had a question could ask (so long as the question could be answered without giving out confidential information.) Please check out our Q&A transcription for all of the questions asked along with the answers given here. Plenty of fantastic information was given out.
R.I.P Tours
Last but not least, our entire party was split into multiple R.I.P tours, which is a guided tour through all of the haunted houses, rides, and shows with front of line access throughout the night. Along the way, tour guides give fun facts and interesting tidbits of information about the houses, scarezones, and other aspects that go into making the event what it is. R.I.P tour is a very exclusive experience available to all guests willing to pay the extra money for this incredibly special way of seeing this amazing event.
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