Pizza and the Longest Drive to Daytona Beach Ever!

We couldn't get together for Thanksgiving this year which was a big disappointment.  We originally planned to have a Thanksgiving dinner at my parent's house on Friday (day after Thanksgiving) - but I didn't ask off work in time and got scheduled to work before my day off request was approved.  

The next option was Saturday but Jon works Saturdays and Sundays.  He tried for a week to give his Saturday shift away but there were no takers. So, in the end, we decided to cancel our Thanksgiving and just meet for pizza yesterday instead. 

We planned to meet my parent's at 1:30. I picked up C.J. at noon and figured that would leave plenty of time for the drive there (which is a bit over an hour), stop by my sister's to pick her up and drop off Ollie, and be at the pizza place by 1:30.

And all was going well until 12:43 (oh yes, I remember the time exactly) and then - traffic jam.  Deadlock. Bumper to bumper.  Barely moving.  Crazy.  

We eventually learned that 4 unrelated accidents had been reported - two eastbound (the direction we were going) and two westbound and all between mile markers 122 and 125. Traffic was backed up for more than 10 miles and took 5 hours to clear. 

In the end we ended up moving about 5 miles in 2 hours and 10 minutes and then didn't move at all for about 1/2 hour.  

My parent's ended up waiting 2.5 hours at the pizza place for us.  

Thankfully the drive home was pretty uneventful.  

My Thanksgiving Post the Day After Thanksgiving

Last year I posted something I was thankful for every day in November so this year I thought I at least should write one Thankful post.  It's not that I am not as thankful this year as last, but most of the things I am thankful for haven't changed. 

So here is my list in bullet points

• my boys (the joys of my life)
• Ollie
• my mom and dad
• my sister
• my best friend, Carey, and her family
• my apartment (just grateful for a roof over my head)
• my job
• my health

I do not take that last one for granted at all.  Spending 2+ years with undiagnosed pain is scary.  There were times I actually thought I'd have to go on disability.  So I thank God daily that I am able to work and be pain free.  

Random Stuff

     Here we are; Thanksgiving Eve.  Is it really almost December?  Slow down time.  I have to work tomorrow so we will not be having a Thanksgiving dinner.  Our dinner will be take home from my work venue.  We roll with the flow like that.  

   I feel like I blinked and we have been here six months already. Really time...slow down.Overall I love living here. It is nice to take advantage of the countless things there are to do here. It's anything but boring.  However, traffic can sometimes be out of control, and patience while driving is not one of my strong points.  But I'm learning because I have to.

    My car is STILL in the shop.  At least the mechanic calls me everyday and updates me on the progress.   They were hoping to have the car running today but he called and said once they removed the bad engine they noticed that the car overheated so badly that it melted one of the valves on the radiator.  That is utter madness because, as I said, I drove the car for less than 5 miles!  This news, however, does not upset me because the fix is covered under warranty also and, of course, I am not sad about driving the loaner car for another few days. 

A 2016 Buick Verano with loads of extras. 

      Ollie has been doing some of this again...

Not quite as bad as before but still more than right after we saw the vet. He scratched his left neck area so hard that he opened another sore on Sunday.  I have been keeping a careful eye on him in case another vet visit is needed. But so far, he seems to be okay.  

Ollie is in paradise because I found another store in the area that sells ham bones. 

     Zack and I have been trying to use our Disney passes about once a week. 

                             This came in the mail this week. 

 
      Last week I went to EPCOT by myself because someone doesn't like to go there.  But he is going to join me there on Monday as a birthday present to me.  We went to the Magic Kingdom on Monday and the second we arrived I had one of those 'what on earth was I thinking' moments.  It was ten times beyond crowded!!! I guess I thought because it was a cool night that everyone would leave early.  The first thing we tried to do was Haunted Mansion but with a 65 minute wait - no thank you. So we ate and went over to Tomorrowland.  Space Mountain had a 165 minute wait - who does that?  I would never look at a wait time of nearly three hours and and think, "yeah, sign me up."  Luckily we had a fastpass for that ride.    

     After that we went on the old Transit Authority (which they now renamed to it's original PeopleMover), saw Carousel of Progress, and walked over to Frontier land, went on Splash Mountain three times because who wants to go on a water ride in the cold (we do) so there was no wait, we finished just in time for, you guessed it, the Parade, walked all the way back to the castle and was pleasantly surprised that they had opened the walkway behind Main Street (when they do that you know it's busy), stopped at the Confectionery for treats, took the paddle boat back to the Transportation Center because the line for the monorail was too crazy long for me, walked back to our car, and drove home. There is a point to this long an rambling story---

     As we were walking into our house Zack looked at me and said, "do you realize anybody who got in that line for Space Mountain when we were there is just getting on the ride right now!" 

Some pictures from Carousel of Progress. We will often go to this when the park is unbelievably busy because it's something to do and there is never a wait. 

Our pool is 99% complete. The only thing remaining to do is to take the 'Pool Closed' sign off the gate and remove the chain lock. 

I am still in mourning over the end of HHN.  I really never expected I would fall in love with it the way I have.  I already can't wait until next year.

That's all the random stuff I have right now.  

Pants and Sweatshirts

Today, finally, I pulled the box out of my closet containing my pants and sweatshirts.  

It's kind of refreshing...but not going to last long.  It's to be in the 80's by Thursday again.  

Joyful Update

If anyone had a reason to deny the claim for a new engine, it was the Chevrolet dealership.  

I highly suspect that this car was sold to me with a cracked hose and no coolant in the engine.  How is that any of Chevrolet's fault?  It's not.  I was fully bracing myself for a phone call confirming the denial of the claim and ready to start putting ducks in a row for an all out fight with Napleton VW Orlando (again...STAY AWAY from this dealership).  

However, what I got was a phone call at 2:00 this afternoon:

Man: "Mrs. Koeck I am calling to say that your car needs a new engine and this cost will be covered 100% by your warranty with no cost to you."  

Just being real here: I started crying.

Man: "The car does need one part that is not covered under warranty and that will be $35.00 for parts and labor."

Still crying

Man: "The engine should be here by next week Tuesday and we will begin working on it right away so that you will hopefully have the car by next Friday."

Sobbing and heaving

Man:"If you need a vehicle in the meantime we would be happy to set you up in a new car free of charge until your car is fixed."  

He must have thought he was talking to a nut. I was crying so hard I could hardly talk.  

And that is where we are.  

Completely relieved. 

**Side note**
The manager of Napleton saw my google review and wants to discuss things with me.  I have more than enough to say to him.  I left a message and we shall see if it will be returned.  

I Really Can't Believe This is Happening

This post is more for me to let off steam and as a reference point for me to use if things should continue to drag on here.  

Remember this post?  

Yeah... well...that seems like a vacation day compared to the hell I am living through right now!  

A little back story: I was not happy with my 2015 Toyota Corolla so back in September I began looking around to see if I could find someone who would be willing to give me the $15,000 I paid for the car so I would not be out any money.  That was a journey in itself but I was in no hurry to sell.  I finally found a dealership who would pay the $15,000.00, sell me a 2011 Chevrolet Aveo, and cut me a check for the difference.  The vehicle was purchased on October 5th.  

Fast Forward to Tuesday November 3 

Zack and I were going to the Magic Kingdom.  When we arrived at the parking gate, the car made one small clicking sound and the car died.  They closed the lane (how embarrassing) and the attendant walked over to my car, felt the hood, declared it to be cool, and told me to shut everything down for two minutes and then try restarting.  It did.  I was able to pull into a parking spot and Zack and I went into the park and stayed for about 3-3.5 hours. 

When I got back to the car I decided to start it up and drive it to the gas station/service station about a mile away.  It started up fine and was actually running fine.  Unfortunately this was 8:00 at night and the service station had closed at 7:00.  So once again, I felt the hood and decided that since the engine was cool and the car was running well, I would try to make it the 5 miles home.  

Well, because it's me, the car made it 2 miles from my home before making a horrendous clicking noise.  I immediately pulled the car over... and it died.  This is when Zack noticed smoke coming from the hood.  Great! By the way, do you have any idea how fun it is to be driving 40 mph on I4 with your hazard lights on while everyone is zipping by you going 65-70?  

 I did some research on the internet and picked a place called Orlando Auto Imports to have my car towed to.  They had rave reviews (especially Joe) and they deserved every one of them!  By far the best experience I have ever had with a mechanic shop.  Joe went above and beyond to try to help me.  

Anyway, Joe replaced a hose and then the thermostat but the car was still overheating and, by November 6, he determined I needed a new engine.  Grrr.  

We talked warranties and I gave him the extended Power Train warranty I had purchased from the dealership.  He made some phone calls and discovered that, to have the car covered under the warranty, I would need to have the car towed to the dealership.  

Wednesday November  11
The car is towed to Napleton VW Orlando (Orlando peeps - stay away from this dealership!!!)  

Friday November 13
I received a phone call from them verifying the need for a new engine (reinforcing the honesty of Orlando Auto Imports) and that they were in the process of submitting a claim to the warranty company.  ***Big sigh*** My car was finally going to be fixed. 

Tuesday November 17
Another phone call received notifying me that the warranty would NOT cover the cost of a new engine because of ----well something called fault codes and driving an overheating car thereby causing the engine damage myself and blah blah blah.  

Oh to the heck to the no!   There is NO WAY  I caused that damaged by driving my car less than 5 miles!  Remember the engine was NOT HOT at the gas station?  

So I spend the rest of yesterday doing research and getting my case together. I called Joe and asked for his opinion as to what caused the damage (hose from thermostat to throttle body broke causing the engine to overheat immediately) and if he would be willing to officially state that if it were to come to the point of needing to file a lawsuit...which he was...because he is Joe and he is awesome.  

Wednesday November 18 (today)
I began the day by calling the warranty company.  After arguing with them over what caused the damage and accusing them of making up fake fault codes that could not possibly be backed up by what actually happened, they said they would look into it and call me back.  

They did call me back with a completely different stance- just not one that included covering the cost of the repair.  Nope...this time they stated that the "car is already covered under a factory warranty through Chevrolet and, according to the terms of our contract, Chevrolet needed to be the ones to cover it."  

And just for the sake of letting off steam and because I was beyond frustrated, I yelled for exactly eight minutes.  My argument came down to "I am a paying customer, I paid for this warranty and I want to use this warranty. I don't want to pay for another tow to a Chevy dealership, pay for another diagnostic test, and then have to wait all over again for a claim to be processed...I want to get this ship sailing NOW!!!"

Fell on deaf ears.  But don't worry, I have the name of that company and will be writing scathing reviews of their practices!  And the Better Business Bureau will also be hearing their name.

So tonight my car rests at the Chevy dealership waiting for a third diagnostic test.  I can only pray with all my heart that Chevrolet will do right and stand by their product.  

In the meantime, I have had to rent a car from the 6th to the 13th. I have been without a car since the 13th.  Tomorrow I pick up another rental for a few days....$$$$$

God has me deep in this valley and I am waiting to be pulled out.  

Taking Responsibility and Teaching Responsibility

Perhaps you have already heard about this story:


http://wnep.com/2015/07/21/diner-owner-taking-heat-and-praise-after-she-screamed-at-crying-toddler-called-him-a-monster/

Or this:

http://www.clutchmagonline.com/2013/09/applebees-calls-police-family-overly-active-kids/


Here is another:

http://www.wave3.com/story/7375274/woman-says-restaurant-kicked-her-out-because-of-crying-child


In this day of age of social media these stories circulate quickly - usually by parents who are outraged by the 'treatment' they received. In most of these cases, the 'treatment' they received was simply being asked to leave a public place because their children's behavior  was disturbing others.  

I would just like to say that my children were perfect and beautiful no matter how they behaved or acted - to me... but I  also knew that the public at large did not feel that same way about my kids so I was always aware of how their behavior was affecting those around us.  

When they are younger, like most of the kids in these stories are, the problem has less to do with discipline and more to do with the attitudes and whims of a toddler which cannot be controlled.  What can be controlled, however, is the way a parent reacts to the situation. Simply sitting there and ignoring your screaming or restless child should not be an option.  

Take responsibility for your children and take control of the situation. 

I've heard from many parents who, mid meal, called an audible, requested to go boxes, and left with screaming kid(s) in tow to finish their meal at home.  Bravo. 

I, myself, have taken my child outside to walk around while others in my party ate in peace and then we tag teamed so that I could go in and eat. I have even spent a dinner in a restaurant bathroom with a crying infant because it was too cold to go outside.  

When did it become acceptable to disturb everyone around you by not parenting your child and then call 'unfair' when you are asked to leave?    

Then there is this story:

http://www.scarymommy.com/moms-get-kicked-out-of-king-dollar-due-to-rowdy-kids/

I'm kind of speechless over this one.  I don't know these families and I was not there but my common sense concludes that these were children desperately in need of discipline.  

Again, aware of how my children's behavior affected those around us, I taught my children that their behavior affected those around them.  

I taught them to be a blessing to those around them and not a burden. I taught them responsibility for their actions and self-control.  

And I reaped my rewards far earlier than I planned when we were trick or treating with some kids who were displaying atrocious behavior...

My 10 year old walked beside me and whispered in my ear, "mom, you love us too much to ever let us behave like that"  

Yes! True!  

In the words of George Osmond, "if we don't discipline our children. society will.  And society can be cruel."  

This Happened Yesterday

Could they finally be taking steps to fix this pool?

Did my letter have anything to do with it?  I find that hard to believe but I'm ecstatic nonetheless.   

Oh Christmas Tree

So...last week as I was returning from work I saw a notice in the crack of my door.  This is nothing unusual...we occasionally get notices about work being done around the complex or about social gatherings taking place.  

However, this notice was a warning to "clean up" my balcony or receive a $25.00 penalty.  I was dumbfounded to say the least and my first thought was, 'they must have the wrong apartment.' All I had on my balcony were two lawn chairs and four storage totes stacked on top of each other in the corner.  

I took the notice in to management who confirmed they did indeed have the right apartment and that the storage totes must go citing the resident handbook which states that balconies are not to be used as storage.  I understand why they wouldn't want someone to throw all their junk out there or have loads of boxes or junk out there but we are talking about four clean, totes stacked in a corner taking up about 4 square inches of the balcony!

I set aside yesterday to find a place for the offending totes.  Anyway, the only way I had room in the storage closet  was to take the Christmas tree out.  Then I decided if I was in process of moving storage containers around, I may as well just get all my Christmas stuff out and put away all my fall stuff. That way, instead of chucking around boxes in two weeks again, I would be set for a couple months.  

So yesterday, two weeks earlier than I planned, I put up our Christmas tree and decked out our apartment with my Christmas decorations..  All this while I still have my air conditioning on 24/7.  

And now, I have a 6ft Christmas tree box on my bedroom floor. But, hey, at least my balcony is clean. Maybe I should just sleep out there.

And lest you think I'm gonna go down quietly, I have penned a letter to management:

To Management,

                I apologize for having four storage totes out on my balcony!  I want you to know that I have rectified the situation by removing my Christmas tree from the storage closet and replacing it with said totes.  I now have a 6ft Christmas tree box on the floor in my bedroom – but at least my balcony is clean now.   Every time I look at the box I will be reminded of how I have paid $1200.00 a month to rent this space and now have a huge box on my bedroom floor because I cannot even keep four storage totes on my balcony!  I’m not talking about boxes or junk…I mean nice, clean storage totes stacked on top of each other in the corner of my balcony taking up about 4 square inches. Either way, they are now out of sight because they replaced the 6ft Christmas tree box which is on my bedroom floor. Thank you.

                I guess your reasoning behind this is for aesthetic beauty.  In that case I would like you to know that it is not aesthetically beautiful for me to open my door and see a pool with cracks on the bottom that has a huge chain around the gate and a pool closed sign hanging from it…for over FIVE months now!  I know it is difficult to repair but that is not my problem.

                I really did not want to be like this.  After waiting what I considered to be a sufficient amount of time, I expected the pool to be fixed.  It was not.  I still did not say anything because I don’t like to make waves. But since I was issued a warning for having FOUR storage totes on my balcony and now have been forced to live with a Christmas tree box on my bedroom floor…waves have already been made.  Please advise what steps you are taking to fix the pool issue or we can get together to discuss a rent reimbursement for having my beautiful view ruined by the look of a damaged pool I am unable to use. 

Sincerely,

Judy Koeck

K202

El Nino

According to the news around here this is the strongest El Nino in 16 years and is shaping up to be the third strongest on record!

The average temperature in Orlando for November is between 75* (late Nov) and 81* (early Nov).  This year, however, we have been shattering those normals with temps between 86* and 90*. Four out of the thirteen days have been 90* and today was the 17th straight day of above average temperatures.  

While Orlando did not set any record highs, several Florida cities have. Feels kind of odd to be listening to Christmas music on the radio while the temperature is 90*

Let's Go Bolts

After Tampa Bay's run in the Stanley Cup playoffs last year, fans are anticipating an exciting year.  So far, it has not been that way, but the hockey season is long and there is a lot of hockey to be played.  

Overall I'm not a huge hockey fan.  I enjoyed watching the playoffs but only because Tampa Bay was in them.  Actually, before the playoffs began last year, I could not have named a single player on their team.  My hockey knowledge amounts to knowing when a goal has been scored.  

But I do enjoy watching live sports and I very much enjoy spending time with my boys so last night we headed down to Tampa for the game.  Jon did not go - his enjoyment of these kinds of things can be summed up in this picture of him at a Magic game:



Either that or he's sleeping.

The Lightning have been putting up impressive numbers this year defensively killing power plays and their goalie has all star stats so far. But the combination  is not translating into wins because of an apparent lack of offense.  Remembering back to the Stanley Cup finals - they held a 2-1 game lead over the Blackhawks and then proceeded to score only 2 goals over the next 3 games. So apparently this lack of offense is carrying over and is something they need to find an answer to quickly.  

It was military appreciation night and a WWII vet got the honor of dropping the first puck - not too many of those left, sadly.  

The Lightning came out attacking but that didn't last long. After that, they spent more time defending against Calgary's attack.  By the end of the 1st period there was still no score. 

In my opinion, they were completely outplayed in the 2nd period being outshot by an over 2-1 margin.  But the score at the end of the period was 1-1.  And despite getting shots off at a rapid pace, the only goal the Flames could muster was a power play goal. 

Here the stats say it all.  The Lightning had jumped out to an 8-1 shot lead so since that time, the shots were 11-24!  And of the Lightning's 19 shots, 18 of them were blocked!  Um...hello penalties?  Anyway, I didn't hold out much hope for a positive outcome. 

But...that is why they play the game.  Tampa Bay was able to score on a Power Play and then added an insurance goal a few minutes after that to pull out the 3-1 win!  Ben Bishop, once again, had phenomenal stats...saving 30 out of 31 shots.  

HHN Review - Houses 1-3

The top three 

3). Insidious
This started out as my favorite house but lost it's excitement as time went on.  The major issue I had with this house was the traffic flow was pretty bad.  There was one narrow hallway with lots of fog that I believe was creating this because the pace seemed to pick up once we were through that hallway.  I did not really care for this movie but the house was pretty good.  The facade was one of the better ones and the scares and the creepiness level was surely there.
A-

2). Body Collectors

This facade was my absolute favorite...especially when they had the snow machine turned on.  The only complaint about this house was that it took a while to get a good flow. The first couple rooms were kind of blah and boring, but once it picked up the rest of the house was great.
A

1). Freddy vs. Jason

The house began with a walk through of Camp Crystal Lake.  The first room was a cabin with bunk beds.
   
In the middle of the house there is another full size facade of the house from Nightmare on Elm Street.  Two little girls playing jump rope outside provide the first creep.  The last third of the house is the battle itself utilizing a combination of videos and real actors.   
Unlike other houses, this one provided the creeps right from the first room to the very bitter end. 
A+

HHN Review - Houses 4-6

Continuing with the countdown...

***I have edited the past two HHN posts to include video's***

6). Monsters and Mayhem

I know I said this before but I would have liked this house a lot more if I were a HHN regular.  This was a special house for the 25th anniversary with each room resurrecting a past house.  Since I never went through any of those houses, the rooms really had no meaning for me.  That said, I loved, loved, loved the Jack room in this house and the entrance was also pretty cool. 
C+

5). Asylum in Wonderland (in 3D)

Following Alice and her friends through the looking glass and into a 3D world of insanity.  This is the only house Zack went through (the only house I would let him go through) as it had a hint of whimsy and psychedelic to it.  It provided a nice, light refreshing break from the hair-raising spookiness of the other houses. 
B-

4). American Werewolf in London

This house will always have a place in my heart and memory as it was the very first house I went through. In my opinion, the one thing that kept this house from being higher on my list was how unbelievably loud the sounds of the werewolf were.  Other than that, it was true to the movie and had some great effects. Because I didn't see this house when it was there a couple years ago, it didn't have the yawn effect on me as it did with the die hard attendees.  
B

HHN Review - Houses 7-9

I am sure no one is really interested in my HHN reviews except CJ and that's okay because he is pretty much the only one who reads my blog anyway.  

Seriously, skip it if you want...I just want to have this information for my own benefit.   

9). The Purge

         When I heard this would be a house at HHN I watched the movie and I was not impressed.  I thought the premise for the movie was stupid but, apparently, I was pretty much alone in that opinion because not only was there a sequel but The Purge 3 is due to come out soon.  From my research I discovered that The Purge was a very popular scare zone last year and, in my opinion, it would have been better to keep it at a scare zone.  Not only did this house not provide any scares or thrills for me, the rooms were disjointed and nothing seemed to tie together. It didn't keep my attention and I felt as if I was just walking through a bunch of rooms with no real theme. 
Grade: D

8). Walking Dead

        I love the Walking Dead show so I was pretty excited about this house.  The first couple times going through I was utterly disappointed. I don't know if they added actors or if the actors in the house just upped their game but it got a little better as time went on. But not good enough to jump past number 8.  As with the Purge, it lacked the thrills and scares but the rooms and details were based on the show so I could at least see a theme taking place.
Grade: C-


7). Run
      One of my favorite things about this house is that they played the Final Countdown in the queue line.  At first, I didn't understand what this house was all about but then C.J. explained it to me. RUN is a game show where we (the people walking through the house) are the contestants.  Our challenge is to get out alive while "teams" inside the house compete to see who can get the most "kills".  Once he explained this to me, the house made sense and the rooms took on a new meaning.  Overall it was an enjoyable house to go through but it didn't give me the thrills that other houses (at the top of my list) did.  
Grade: C

Hip Hip Horree - I'm 23

Taking a break from Halloween Horror Nights Recap to dedicate this post to middle son, Jon, who turned 23 today.  

Since I still don't have my car back from the mechanics shop (that is another whole story!!!) and it appears as if Monday will be the soonest it will be ready, we started the evening by renting a car for the weekend.  I love these little extras that aren't in my monthly budget!!  

I was dropped off at the Embassy Suites on International Drive and $150.00 later I was given the keys to a Ford Focus wagon with Virginia license plates - so we get to pretend we are from Virginia all  weekend.  

We drove off with our new car that is complete with all the gadgets (it even has one of those cameras that shows what is behind you when you are backing up) and we met Chris, C.J., and Jon at Red Robin for dinner.  

I thought this would be a good opportunity to see just how much Jon knew about his birth so I asked the following questions:

Me: "Jon, do you know what time you were born?" 

Jon: "9:30"

Nope - 10:08 a.m.

Me: "How much did you weigh?"

Jon: "8 pounds"

Nope - 6lbs. 6ozs. 

Me: "And how long were you?"

Jon: "22 inches"

Nope - 19 inches

Clearly he had no idea!!!  

After dinner we went back to Chris's house where he had a cake and Thomas the Tank Engine decorations set up.  

Jon was a good sport and even put on the Percy conductor's hat - as long as we promised not to spread it all over Facebook and embarrass him.  

 We "sang" Happy Birthday and he blew out the candles

Even Zack tried to put the hat on. Tried being the operative word. We don't call him Eddie Big Headdie for nothing.

Where is my little boy? The years have just flown by.

Happy Birthday Jonathan David

Reviewing the HHN Scare Zones

One of the things I loved the most about HHN was the atmosphere. That being said...I think they kind of sort of overdid it on the chainsaws this year.  People abound dressed in prison garb and yielding chainsaws.
Moving onto the scare zones

1). Psycoscareapy:
Hands down my favorite scare zone was Phychoscareapy.  The  patients of Shadybrook Rest Home and Sanitarium running wild in the street.  Originally a scare house, this zone was transformed into New York City Halloween night where escape patients and deranged inmates mingle among trick or treaters and party-goers. There was a huge bonfire here and it also had my favorite lady...

2). Icons:
This scare zone was basically four stages housing the Usher, the StoryTeller, the Director, and the CareTaker.  Each one had about a 1 minute show they would perform every once in a while. 

3). Evil Roots
The decorating in this zone was so cool.  Hay bales, scarecrows, jack-o-lanterns in the trees....just to name a few.  The thing I did not like about this scare zone?  I thought there was a little too much fog. At times it was hard to see even the person in front of you.  When walking in a crowded theme park it's not ideal. But overall the decorating was great, the costumes were well done, and the actors played their roles well. 

4). Scarey Tales
Once upon a time the characters in Fairy Tales came to life and they are not at all the way we remember them in the books or the movies.  

5). All Nite Die-in
Straight from the movie screen and onto the streets of Universal for HHN. The decorating was a big yawn for me and I was pretty underwhelmed while walking through this zone.  

And I just have to add this


Occasionally this little doo hicky would be wheeled out and a lady would be laying in there - with rats!   Willingly letting rats climb all over her...crazy. Not sure if someone could pay me enough to do that.