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Halloween Horror Nights 2 – Final Night

By on October 31, 2012 in Attractions, Halloween Horror Nights, Photos, Theme Parks

It has been said that the final night of any Halloween Horror Nights event is the best night to visit. The park would have improved on its issues faced in earlier nights. Scare actors would have immersed very deeply into their roles, that they could put on their best and scariest performance. Eventually, the every element in the event becomes part of a well-oiled machine.

Domains of Fear is a series of features offering extended coverage on Halloween Horror Nights 2 at Universal Studios Singapore (USS). These feature articles complement the Halloween Horror Nights 2 review.

Each entry will focus a specific element of Halloween Horror Nights 2 (HHN2). For the fourth issue, also the Halloween Special, we revisit the park during the last night of HHN2. More pictures, videos and new content not covered before can be found in this final feature.


Domains of Fear: House of Dolls | Total Lockdown | Bizarre Bazaar | Final Night

Final Night

All photos and videos captured on 28/10/2012, the final night of Universal Studios Singapore’s Halloween Horror Nights 2.

A Second Review

The first weekend of Halloween Horror Nights 2 was rather chaotic – there were just too many people and the event was haunted by a constant drizzle on 20/10/2012. There are of course, problems that only surface when (huge numbers of) guests attend the event. There are just scenarios and issues that are not clear during preview nights. Nonetheless, the park took feedback and made changes for the second weekend. Consider this second review as an addendum to the full review on dejiki.com

Extended Hours
Event hours for the second weekend was extended to 1AM. That’s a nice 25% boost. To accommodate the crazy 8:00pm opening rush, HHN2 started earlier at 7:30pm. This greatly eased the massive queues before the park gates, which went as far as the Universal Globe. This change took place from the third night onwards and was not publicly announced. Possibly to stagger the flow at 8PM effectively and not cause eager guests to queue up even earlier. Scare actors were already on set and attractions were open from 7:30pm.

Queues and Haunted Houses
At the end of the House of Dolls scare zone, crew members direct guests towards the Insanitarium. This is somewhat effective to disperse the crowd; but because its just a suggestion, guests can still walk towards New York if they wish. The queues for Haunted Houses were slightly revamped. Dungeon of Damnation’s line extended all the way out, wrapping around the Brown Derby store (which is closed anyway). Insantarium has a revised queue system which makes it easier for the attractions crew to manage the lines.

There were also some minor changes within the haunted houses (which might be silly to describe in great detail), but they seem to be sound decisions to reduce bottlenecks within the cramped environment of each Haunted House.

I’ve noticed that the flow within Haunted Houses was a lot faster than what I’ve experienced in the first weekend. There were more crew members within the Haunted Houses, almost one or two in every room. But I feel that it has to do with people walking faster on their own. No one can actually force guests to walk faster and there were no serious bottlenecks unlike last year (Wardrobe corridor in Vengeance of the Matriarch).

Scare Zones
I had more encounters in Total Lockdown than before. Whether this is due to an increase in scare actors, or existing actors getting more immersed in their roles, I can’t say. The scare zone definitely became more exciting than the first weekend. Be sure to watch the video in this entry.

Bizarre Bazaar had its pushcarts and a smaller prop moved to the end (the area in front of Revenge of the Mummy). This might seem insignificant, but at least the Bazaar is not as cramped and easier to walk, and it’s safer for the roaming scare actors – less likely for them to “mobbed” by guests. It also provides better opportunity for guests to interact with the scare actors.

Conclusion
It’s great to see the park responding to feedback and attending to them. Compared to the first weekend, the last night was definitely more enjoyable.

But… It’s sad to see the park reverting back to normal. I miss the heavy theming and impressive area music and attraction soundtrack – they are a huge leap forward from last year’s. I hope that someday the park would put the HHN soundtrack (with other USS area music) for sale. Though that is unlikely – this is not a Disney park, or I’m sure something will be made available.

To end off this second review: I can’t wait for next year’s HHN. Here’s to hoping that it’ll be a bigger event with more haunted houses and scare zones. HHN3 could do with more event dates, and I’d love to see the introduction of Frequent Fear Passes.

In Final Night, all scare zones are revisited. Enjoy the new photos and videos.

House of Dolls


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The Puppet Master


See how The Puppet Master gathers his new victims in this new video.

Be sure to visit Domains of Fear: House of Dolls for more photos and a walkthrough video.

Total Lockdown


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Total Lockdown – Title Banner

Have a look at the title video screen in this video. Watch closely when the screen flickers…


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Total Lockdown walkthrough – Take 2

Revisit Total Lockdown in this new extended walkthrough video, recorded in both directions for double the mayhem. Pay close attention to the soldiers and policemen – it’s more comedic than scary.

More chaos and destruction over at the Domains of Fear: Total Lockdown feature entry.

Bizarre Bazaar


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The size of Bizarre Bazaar was extended as push carts and some props were moved out of the Bazaar canopy. This is also where the Flash mob is performed.

Bizarre Bazaar – Flash mob

The flash mob at Bizarre Bazaar occurs in front of the Temple (Revenge of the Mummy). It starts when the area music changes. Have a look:

See more strange oddities and walk around the marketplace over at the Domains of Fear: Bizarre Bazaar feature entry.

Insanitarium

As a bonus, here are some photos of the Insanitarium mini scare zone. Guests could meet some “criminally insane” patients here.

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Death Alley


As a second bonus, listen to the haunting area music of Death Alley. Adapted from “Waiting for You” by Bai Guang, from “Shanghai Lounge Divas – The Original Collection”, EMI Records.

That concludes the Halloween Horror Nights 2 coverage on Dejiki.com. It has been an amazing experience to cover the event to great detail – capturing all the moments and scare actors. There is an incredible amount of effort being this massive event and I feel that it should be well documented.

I would like to thank my lovely sister for her valuable comments as I was capturing the event, as well as capturing the attention of scare actors for better shots.

Photos and videos were taken with the Sony NEX-5N + Carl Zeiss Sonnar T* E 24mm f/1.8 ZA. I prefer this combo (compared to Fujifilm X100 or NEX-5N + Sony SEL1855) because it’s a lot faster than the X100, with a manual focus that actually works. The lens is much faster than the SEL1855, in both focusing speed and maximum aperture.

And no, I do not get paid by RWS to do this, or any other Universal Studios Singapore or Marine Life Park related entries, so please stop asking me about that. 🙂



Halloween Horror Nights 12 (2024)
HHN12 REVEALED: Ticket and Event Guide
HHN12 MEGA REVIEW: Photo Tour of all haunted houses, scare zones, shows and Special Experience
HHN12 RIP TOUR Review and Vlog (VIP Experience)

Special Features
Under The Castle by TEAM WANG design | Netflix's Sweet Home
Cursed Scrolls: Dynasty of Darkness
Singapore's Most Haunted: The Killings
Viper Lounge (Special Experience) | Vampire Alley
The Lost Kampung | Nether-Land + Ocu.lar's Rave | Dark Dreams

HHN12 BEFORE DARK: Day Tour of Halloween Horror Nights 12 setup

Universal Beijing Resort (UBR) 2024
Scares @ Universal 2024 Event Guide

Halloween Horror Nights – The Archives
Click to Expand and see all posts from past Halloween Horror Nights


Halloween Horror Nights 11 (2023)
HHN11 REVEALED: Ticket and Event Guide
Sneak Preview: DIYU: Descent Into Hell, Rebirth of the Matriarch, Icons and more
Halloween Horror Nights 11 MEGA Review: Photos of all Haunted Houses and Scare Zones
HHN11 RIP TOUR (VIP Tour) Review

Features on Haunted Houses, Scare Zones and Experiences
Grimm Encounters | The Weeknd: After Hours Til Dawn Nightmare
Judgement Day (Opening Scaremony) | Netflix's All of Us Are Dead
DIYU: Descent Into Hell | Rebirth of the Matriarch
Dead Man's Wharf | The Cursed Kiramam
The Hacker + The Hacker: GAME OVER

Universal Studios Japan (USJ) 2023
Halloween Horror Nights 2023/ HAHAHA! Halloween Party! Event Guide

Halloween Horror Nights 10 (2022)
HHN10 REVEALED: Ticket and Event Guide
Halloween Horror Nights 10 MEGA Review: Photos of all Haunted Houses and Scare Zones
SPECIAL FEATURE: Behind the Scenes at HHN10 Haunted Houses
HHN10 RIP Tour (VIP Tour) Review

Features on Haunted Houses, Scare Zones and Experiences
The Silenced Auction (Opening Scaremony) | DIE-ning with The Dead | Monsters & Manifestations
Escape The Breakout | Killustrator: The Final Chapter | Hospitality of Horror
Operation: Dead Force | The Hunt for Pontianak | Dark Zodiac

Universal Studios Japan (USJ) 2022
USJ Halloween Horror Nights 2022 Review and Photo Tour
Trick or Thrills (2021)
Halloween Horror Nights Exhibition
2021 Day and Night Halloween: DIE-ning with the Dead, Universal Monsters Scream Alley | Zany Zombies and IT'S SHOWTIME! Premium Experience
Halloween Horror Nights 9 (2019)
HHN9 REVEALED: Ticket and Event Guide

Halloween Horror Nights 9 MEGA REVIEW
SURVIVAL GUIDE for Halloween Horror Nights 9
HHN9 RIP Experience (VIP Tour)

Features on Haunted Houses, Scare Zones and Experiences
The Chalet Hauntings Revisited | Spirit Dolls | Hell Block 9
Curse of The Naga Revisited | Twisted Clown University
Dead End | Death Fest + Death Fest LIVE
2019 Opening Scaremony (The Undertaker)

SNEAK PREVIEW: Curse of The Naga | The Chalet Hauntings | Behind The Scenes of HHN9
HHN9 Construction Updates (BEFORE DARK)
Part 1 | Part 2 (with Daytime Halloween event) | Part 3 (Horror Truck) | Part 4


Universal Studios Japan (USJ) 2019
Universal Surprise Halloween/ Halloween Horror Nights 2019 Event Guide
Halloween Horror Nights 8 (2018)


Universal Studios Japan (USJ) 2018
Universal Surprise Halloween/ Halloween Horror Nights 2018 Event Guide | 2018 HHN Japan Review
Halloween Horror Nights at Universal Studios Japan (2017)


Halloween Horror Nights 7 (2017)
Halloween Horror Nights 6 (2016)

Halloween Horror Nights 5 (2015)
Halloween Horror Nights 4
Halloween Horror Nights 3
Halloween Horror Nights 2
Halloween Horror Nights

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7 Responses to Halloween Horror Nights 2 – Final Night

  1. Marcus October 31, 2012 at 11:55 am #

    Here’s my rundown (on the Friday night that I went, which was the 2nd Friday)…
    Dungeon:
    We didn’t get out quick enough after our dinner at KT Grill to go through the normal line for the Dungeon haunted house, but we got through with the express pass pretty easy. Went through this one twice because some in the group missed out on the first time and I had an extra express pass. Funnily enough the second time around was scarier due to the fact I used the strategy of delaying the line and being the one in the front. Freakiest rooms? Hand and maggot corridors and the scares in the room with the long tongue girl was awesome.
    Insanitarium:
    Again, used the express pass because did this one after the rollercoasters and transformers. Liked the theme in this one because I’m a huge fan of asylums, haunted hospitals etc… I did, however, have a friend in the group who doesn’t get scared so much (a bit of a tough guy), so that took some of the effect away when he took over to be in front… i was walking too slow. haha. Freakiest rooms? crazy laughing girl room, toilet/bathtub/sink room and padded room.
    Chinatown:
    Not the biggest fan of this one due to the fact that we were herded through like cattle and some of the scares didn’t work because they were foreseen with groups in front. Did get a few scares from some of the actors who were behind walls/barrels etc. Freakiest scare actor was the little girl with the doll plus there was one who jumped out and ran past my line.
    Scare zones…
    HATED the Bizarre Bazaar. It was like Petaling Street on a bad night. Hot, crowded and really couldn’t see very much. Also for some reason, the mummy line was REALLY LONG… express was like 20-30mins… so we didn’t go in.
    Total Lockdown was good. Had some good freaks with people jumping out at us etc. Felt like there weren’t enough scare actors though.
    Favourite was the puppetmaster area. Took a lot of photos here because of the great detail etc. Wish I could have gone through this section when it was emptier, but my group was already pretty tired by 11pm. Photo with puppetmaster was good… because I knew the guy, so I could have a bit of fun trying to get him out of character – which to his credit, he didn’t. haha.
    All in all, a fun night! Will try to go back for next year’s and perhaps arrange the RIP tour for that one to really make the most out of it.

    Reply
    • Dejiki October 31, 2012 at 2:09 pm #

      Hi Marcus,

      Thanks for the great write-up! Glad to hear you had fun.

      For Dungeon of Damnation, did you manage to see the “jumping” and “gliding” scare actors? What about the room with moving walls?

      I do agree with your thoughts on Bizarre Bazaar. It’s a difficult zone to execute because there are interesting things to see and most guests would stall to take photos. Maybe if the park wants to attempt something similar next year, they would use the entire of the Egypt zone (instead of just 1/3 of the main path)

      Reply
      • Marcus October 31, 2012 at 2:18 pm #

        The jumping/gliding actor room (i assume it was the gargoyle cornered room) was empty the first time I did it. Then I saw the actor sitting on the ledge the second time around, but he didn’t jump. Him just being there already made me jump a bit. haha.
        The psychedelic moving walls room was good, but the colours were a bit offputting. also, there should have been one last scare right after the disorientation of being in that room to really get people falling over. 😉
        Maybe it’s just me, but the crowding and constant wanting to get photos takes the mood away from it all. I stopped even attempting to take photos cos I wanted to take in the experience (and I’m not a blogger either). And yes, it should have extended down the whole of Egypt to give it a bit more breathing room.
        I reckon they should do a “hidden” cannibal holocaust sort of themed scare zone in jurassic park. now that would be creepy.

        Reply
        • Dejiki October 31, 2012 at 2:28 pm #

          The gliding scare actor is at the room with the Gargoyle. The jumping performer is actually at the room with a tree – what the actor that is he’ll dropdown suddenly (from the “tree”) and jump back up to his hiding spot. It’s easily missed because the performer has a long recovery time before each “attack”.

          Oh no, I meant another room (before the one with the Gargoyle, if I’m not wrong) – where the two walls would suddenly move towards guests and “squash” them. But I do agree about the colours – it’s just crazy. Maybe something like red and orange streaks (to represent “flames”) would work well, at least it’s relevant to earlier rooms.

          The cannibal idea sounds good. They really should do something there – at night it’s so dark and quite creepy with the right sounds – it’s a “jungle” after all.

          Reply
          • Marcus October 31, 2012 at 2:44 pm #

            Ah ok. I didn’t notice the walls moving in. Or get the tree scare actor coming down (both times)… so the jump, glide and moving in were missed by me (sounds like a lot. haha). Also, the scare in the ice room was missed both times even though I was the first in the room the second time around and left a lot of time between me and the group in front (so the rooms were empty when I walked in). *shrug*

            Yeah, I was thinking flame colours would have done better in that tube room. It was too out of sync with the rest of the house.

            Reply
  2. bagz October 31, 2012 at 4:33 pm #

    Great event! I came from Indonesia to to attend HHN2,,,the hunted houses great but too many people walk together, so sometimes we already know when the actors come up. Maybe I should buy express pass next year,because the queue sooo long,,especially at insanitarium!
    Sometimes I surprised because the army man suddenly come near you haha

    Reply
  3. Joe November 5, 2012 at 7:36 pm #

    Dejiki, love your quality reporting & photos, have to agree the level of detail in the event was staggering even though many people dismiss or overlook these things. This event competely blitzed our Fright Nights at Movieworld on the Gold Coast, on concept, detail & scares although I guessed that would be the case. I will be back next October without fail. Universal should give you a job!

    Reply

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