|
Halloween Horror Nights Orlando attraction | |
|---|---|
  | |
| Fright Yard | |
| Attraction type | Scarezone |
| Event | Halloween Horror Nights XIV |
| Park | Universal Studios Florida |
| Area | Production Central |
| Year | 2004 |
| Housed in | New York Backlot |
| Based on | Original |
Fright Yard was one of the four scarezones that were featured during Halloween Horror Nights XIV. It took place in an abandoned shipping yard overrun by two gangs. The scarezone was located in the New York Backlot.
History and Location[]
For their 2004 event, Universal would build two huge scarezones in between Islands of Adventure and Universal Studios, one of which was Fright Yard. Universal built large, destroyed fake buildings and other things to show the chaos of a town overrun by gang violence.
The scarezone would be the first and only scarezone located in the New York Backlot. The New York Backlot is an area that enters from the Lost Continent and exits out of New York, near where the New York Public Library. The area is in the backlot of the Universal Studios park near where the soundstages are located. This would be the only time the New York Backlot was used for a scarezone.
The scarezone was also one of the first times Universal acknowledged its Halloween Horror Nights fanbase as it graffiti'd the usernames of a few members of the Halloween Horror Nights fan community on the walls. Fright Yard would be very popular with guests and would go on to win the Scarezone of the Year award in 2004.
Description[]
Explore an abandoned fright yard where grisly frights await behind every piece of rusty metal.
An ominous industrial landscape of rusty trucks, stacked freight containers, and burning buses, The Fright Yard is infested with the worst society has to offer. You suddenly find yourself caught between "survivor clans" where The Demented lie in wait for The Twisted and both tribes are waiting for you. Armed with chainsaws and flame-throwers, they hide, lurk, and stalk guests in this heavy metal maze. Even with police choppers hovering above, this is a twisted and terrifying turf war that has no rules.
Backstory[]
On September 13th at 10PM a police station in a town received a call from a man (who was later named John Doe). He mentions his municipal work truck was broken down in the middle of the West Side Freight Yard. He then goes on to say that there are punks surrounding his truck that look like they are going to destroy it and kill him. At 10:04 PM, police were dispatched to the location. The police station also sent Patrol Car 13 and Air Support 2 to survey the area. John Doe starts panicking even more as chainsaw noises can be heard in the background. He also says that some of the punks are carrying flamethrowers.
When Air Support 2 arrived at the scene, they reported that John Doe was all alone in the Freight Yard, and that there was no one else in sight. The dispatcher tells John Doe that the gang members seemed to have dispersed, but John Doe says that they are still surrounding his truck and climbing on it. Chainsaw noises could still be heard in the background as John panics.The punks begin to break into the truck and the police dispatcher advises Patrol Car 13 to approach the truck with caution. The patrol car saw no perpetrators in sight, and asked to subdue John, as he was becoming increasingly distressed. They also called for an ambulance. The dispatcher asks John to exit his car, as John can be heard panicking as the chainsaw noises grew louder. The call ended there.
At 10:13 PM, the police arrived at the scene and found John Doe alive in an incoherent state. Though there was no evidence of armed attack, John was still in need of emergency medical treatment. An incident report was filed, describing John as a 50 year old white male. He was also described as being 6 foot tall, 200 pounds, and having brown hair and eyes. His identity was left unknown. The report goes on to say that this was the third incident of this nature in the past 13 weeks, and that the Central Gang Task Force was contacted. The report ends by saying that there was a strange tattoo/burn mark on John's upper right arm. The one of the gangs involved in the experience were later nicknamed "The Demented" while another was nicknamed "The Twisted". John Doe was later sent to an asylum, most likely Shadybrook. The records of this experience were kept in a box in one of the rooms of the asylum.
In the Patient Records on the Halloween Horror Nights XIV website, visitors could see the contents of the box detailing John Does' experience. The box contains a tape which visitors can click on that plays a recording of John's call to the police. Visitors could also click on and read the police report filed after the incident. Also on the page were a pair of work gloves, two pictures of the West Side Freight Yard, a dirty red rage, some keys, and a couple of pictures of the strange mark on John's arm. The mark is revealed to be the Point of Evil symbol, and would take visitors back to the main Patient Records page when clicked on.
The scarezone would take guests through the West Side Freight Yard. They too would be attacked by gang members, reliving John Doe's experience which drove him insane.
References to the Number 13:
- The events of the backstory took place on September 13th.
- The patrol sent to the Freight Yard to investigate was Patrol 13.
- The officers arrived at the scene at 10:13.
- The incident was described as a possible 10-103
- The report says that this incident was the 3rd one in the past thirteen weeks.
Website Pictures[]
Website Audio[]
Audio that played on the Scarezone Page:
Audio that played when the tape was clicked on in the Patient Records:
Experience[]
Scattered throughout the scarezone were fallen buildings and metal objects painted with graffiti. Fire spurted everywhere and there were even scareactors with flamethrowers. Evil bloodied gang members would roam the streets. The Chainsaw Drill Team also made an appearance here.
(From IOA Central.com)
You enter an area where loud music is playing, and there are many rusty, metal objects. Grisly, bloody men pursue you as you make your way through this area. Some of them have chainsaws, and chase you through practically the entire fright yard. Others have trash can lids, which are used effectively. Sometimes, one of the grisly men will drag a trash can lid on the ground, making you step back. Other times, the actors will work together to give you a scare. An example was when the man with a hammer and a nasty look on his face, along with a trash can lid guy, cornered a woman. While she was distracted by them, a man with a chainsaw came up behind her and revved that chainsaw up loud. There is a porta potty that splashes water at everyone within any reasonable distance of it. Better hope you can move quick when you reach that area of this scarezone, or you will be getting wet. The actors here jump at you from behind large containers of junk, and often corner you, or follow you for a long time, with a very menacing expression on their faces. There was a particular chainsaw actor here who chased me through almost the entire fright yard. I rushed to get in front of a large group of people, and felt relieved only after I was safely out of the fright yard.
Pictures[]
Soundtrack[]
Videos[]
- Home Video (4:20-6:25)
Trivia[]
- Universal graffiti'd the usernames of many Halloween Horror Nights fans around the scarezone, such as Dr. Freak, ChainsawWolf, and French Cowboy.
- This was the only scarezone that was located in the New York Backlot.
- The scarezone won the Scarezone of the Year award in 2004.
| Halloween Horror Nights XIV |
|---|
| Characters: The Asylum Patient (Event Icon) • Eddie Schmidt • Jack the Clown • The Caretaker • The Director • Gunter Karl Dietze • Jeffrey Dietze • Robert L. Strickland |
| Haunted Houses: Castle Vampyr • Deadtropolis • Disorientorium • Ghost Town • Horror Nights Nightmares • Hellgate Prison • Horror in Wax |
| Scarezones: Field of Screams • Fright Yard • Midway of the Bizarre • Point of Evil |
| Shows: Bill & Ted's Excellent Halloween Adventure • Festival of the Dead Parade |