4. Cybergoria
Universal’s pitch has you waking thousands of years from now in a frigid world run by machines determined to make you immortal, even if it kills you.
I really liked this one. You’re thawed out of cryosleep and promised immortality, and the robots have decided the best way to deliver it is to graft your flesh onto their metal frames, one piece at a time. One reviewer compared it to a bloody episode of Doctor Who, and as a Doctor Who fan, I dig that. It’s like the Cybermen running a slaughterhouse.
It’s a tight, loud space, and the creature makeup is some of the freakiest work in the park. Opinions on this one are all over the place, and some say it ends too abruptly. I don’t agree, though it could use one more big finale moment. It’s fun, it’s freaky, it pushes hard, and it’s a good ride. It also shows that HHN Orlando nails it when it creates its own stories.
3. Ozzy Osbourne: Prince of Darkness
Universal welcomes you into Ozzy’s world to kneel before the Prince of Darkness, in a house inspired by one of rock’s greatest legends. Universal calls it a nontraditional memorial. It’s a living horror movie spanning 45 years of his solo career, with music from Blizzard of Ozz, Diary of a Madman, Bark at the Moon, No More Tears, Scream and his final album, Ordinary Man.
The Orlando and Hollywood versions are completely different houses. Hollywood starts in Birmingham, England, and walks you through Ozzy’s life, from childhood to an asylum inspired by Diary of a Madman. Orlando goes darker and more fantastical. You pass through ancient ruins and dungeons, then board the Crazy Train into a world built from album covers, including Diary of a Madman, Bark at the Moon, The Ultimate Sin and Black Rain. It leans into the heavier sound and more sinister imagery of his later career, with the Prince of Darkness ruling over all of it.
I’m an Ozzy fan. I don’t have an encyclopedic knowledge of every lyric, but I’m more than a casual listener, and this house was a creative jolt. The premise on the ground is a cult gathering to resurrect the Prince, which is a cool plotline. Werewolves howl straight off the Bark at the Moon cover. A giant bat takes a bite out of somebody’s head, a nice inversion of a certain infamous moment. And you ride through an actual Crazy Train. Mike Aiello, senior director of entertainment creative development at Universal Orlando, promised “a few Easter Eggs” for the diehards, so keep your eyes up.
