As a USF student Howl-O-Scream is a staple in my October activities. I have been six years in a row, each year about as same as the last. To spice it up I liked to be "that person" and attempt to make conversation with the scarers. I once had a brief conversation with a werewolf about what type of bone he was gnawing on. To my scare companions, I was sucking the fun out of the whole event, but honestly, after six years I was just getting bored of the event.
This year I vowed to mix it up. Forgoing the trip to Howl-O-Scream, I instead purchased tickets to Halloween Horror Nights 26. Actually, that is a lie, my dad runs a black car service and spends most of his day in the car to and from the airport so when I decided I wanted to go to HHN, I dropped a line to him and he won me tickets on the radio. He has a gift really. The fast pass though, I bought myself, and whew are they pricey!
Pro: The haunted houses are based on popular television shows and movies. This is, in fact, my biggest pro for the event. It may seem like a, "Duh, it is at Universal, you moron." But I am a bit of a Netflix fanatic. I binge watch like it is nobodies business. I cant do one of those articles about my top 10 Netflix shows because it is legitimately too hard for me to choose. I have discovered that I cannot do anything productively without having Netflix on in the background. I am watching "New Girl" right now, actually. I absolutely love "The Walking Dead" and "American Horror Story." Moderately obsessed. The first house we went through was "American Horror Story" and I freaked out when there was someone playing Lady Gaga's character, the Countess. I held up the line, slapped my boyfriend's arm repeatedly screaming "It's Gaga! It's Gaga!" He was not amused.
Pro: When the haunted houses were not related to popular culture, Universal really went the whole 9. That scary looking clown girl who has been the face of all the HHN advertising this year, 
That's the one. She is a character that Universal created to be the face of their event. She had her own haunted house. I have expressed how much I love AHS and "The Walking Dead" but to be honest, this was the best house. It was a scary, 3D, carnival house. Normally, I hate 3D, but it works for a haunted house.
Pro: Drinking at these things is just awesome. This is the first time I have attended a theme park since I turned 21 and it was the greatest. Understandably, they also have drinks at Busch Gardens, so this doesn't make HHN special. But, like, they had shots! I bought this jello-like drink in a special bloodbag container, because why not. It was the consistency that you would imagine blood would be like. I may have gagged a little, but it tasted like fruit punch and it was amazing.
Con: That bloodbag thing, it cost 7 dollars. The water I got to rinse the taste of pure sugar out of my mouth was 3.50. Powerade was 4 dollars. We also got drinks and dinner in CityWalk before we went in to the actual event. We bought fast passes for the absolute most expensive day. Overall, it was a very pricey weekend.
I would have to say that the pros far outweighed the cons. The price is what you pay for an event unlike any other. Yes, I mean that genuinely. HHN is not like Howl-O-Scream. Similar concepts, but very different experiences due to the relateability of the haunted houses themselves. Next year, when deciding where you want to get your frights from, strongly consider #HHN27
