PHOTOS, VIDEO: Jack’d Up Experience Disappoints at Universal’s Cabana Bay Beach Resort for Halloween Horror Nights 30

Katie Francis

jackd-up-collage

PHOTOS, VIDEO: Jack’d Up Experience Disappoints at Universal’s Cabana Bay Beach Resort for Halloween Horror Nights 30

Guests at Universal Orlando Resort Hotels can now visit Cabana Bay Beach Resort for a special Jack’d Up Experience for Halloween Horror Nights 30. Located on the second floor of the lobby building within the Fun in the Sun Rec Center, the experience is open from 2 p.m. until 10 p.m. nightly through October 31.

hhn-30-cabana-bay-beach-resort-jackd-up-experience-1-5252826
jackd-up-experience-wall-10
hhn-30-cabana-bay-beach-resort-jackd-up-experience-2-5493103
hhn-30-cabana-bay-beach-resort-jackd-up-experience-3-4764279
hhn-30-cabana-bay-beach-resort-jackd-up-experience-5-4828828
hhn-30-cabana-bay-beach-resort-jackd-up-experience-10-4171421
hhn-30-cabana-bay-beach-resort-jackd-up-experience-11-7094182

Guests journey through Jack the Clown’s history with props from Halloween Horror Nights over the last twenty years. Photo ops are available, including the chance to step “into” Jack’s human-sized blender.

hhn-30-cabana-bay-beach-resort-jackd-up-experience-6-2953370
hhn-30-cabana-bay-beach-resort-jackd-up-experience-7-7522907
hhn-30-cabana-bay-beach-resort-jackd-up-experience-8-8370801

Guests must have a valid key card for a Universal Orlando Resort Hotel to enter the Jack’d Up Experience. Cabana Bay Beach Resort guests have priority access. All other hotel guests will be given validation for complimentary parking at Cabana Bay during the time spent at the experience.

hhn-30-cabana-bay-beach-resort-jackd-up-experience-9-2367792
hhn-30-cabana-bay-beach-resort-jackd-up-experience-12-4072461
hhn-30-cabana-bay-beach-resort-jackd-up-experience-13-5680612
hhn-30-cabana-bay-beach-resort-jackd-up-experience-14-8242006
hhn-30-cabana-bay-beach-resort-jackd-up-experience-15-2356149

The Jack’d Up Experience indeed lives up to its name and is one of the most jacked-up experiences we’ve ever had. We waited an hour, alongside many other people eager to find out what is behind that “J” door. Well, everyone who walked out of the exit looked extremely disappointed. No smiles or laughs. One couple came out and said “that was the biggest waste of time.” We should have heeded their warning. Hopefully, you’ll heed ours.

hhn-30-cabana-bay-jackd-up-experience-2-9854976

You walk in, and there is a room decorated with lights and carnival-esque decor.

hhn-30-cabana-bay-jackd-up-experience-17-1900887
hhn-30-cabana-bay-jackd-up-experience-3-8534696
hhn-30-cabana-bay-jackd-up-experience-4-9480122
hhn-30-cabana-bay-jackd-up-experience-8-8906930

There’s a small makeup vanity with pictures of Jack using his blender in the past.

hhn-30-cabana-bay-jackd-up-experience-12-8241581
hhn-30-cabana-bay-jackd-up-experience-9-5103889
hhn-30-cabana-bay-jackd-up-experience-10-2526865
hhn-30-cabana-bay-jackd-up-experience-11-2032931
hhn-30-cabana-bay-jackd-up-experience-5-4251320

The blender photo op is set up next to the vanity. Guests can take their photo standing “inside” the blender by walking behind the cut-out. With a push of a button, red and green lights flash and smoke comes out. A Team Member offers to take photos for groups.

hhn-30-cabana-bay-jackd-up-experience-7-2728945
hhn-30-cabana-bay-jackd-up-experience-13-5982214
hhn-30-cabana-bay-jackd-up-experience-14-3224510

The Team Members might be trained for this “experience,” and they are friendly, but they clearly don’t know Jack (get it?) about HHN. They make some forced casual conversation with guests about whether they’ve been to the event and what houses they like. Any further conversation about the event quickly reveals that most of them haven’t been and aren’t very familiar.

hhn-30-cabana-bay-jackd-up-experience-15-3656070
hhn-30-cabana-bay-jackd-up-experience-16-8842212
hhn-30-cabana-bay-jackd-up-experience-18-4854926

The blender photo op is particularly disappointing because, in 2013, the Orange County Regional History Center hosted an exhibit called “A Year in the Life: Backstage to Onstage at Universal Orlando Resort,” during which guests had the opportunity to see HHN props. The photo below is from the exhibit, where guests could get inside Jack’s actual blender from The Arrival (its debut show at 2016’s event).

img_9580-6561789
hhn-30-cabana-bay-jackd-up-experience-20-7506318

You then walk through a “hall” with photos of Jack (that you can’t see because it’s too dark) into a second room.

hhn-30-cabana-bay-jackd-up-experience-21-7399403

There are some screens and gears and an image of Jack. The Team Member says Jack has a message for you and then starts a generic video of Jack, much like the marketing campaign.

hhn-30-cabana-bay-jackd-up-experience-22-5609663
hhn-30-cabana-bay-jackd-up-experience-23-7891859
hhn-30-cabana-bay-jackd-up-experience-24-5677179
hhn-30-cabana-bay-jackd-up-experience-25-7864052
hhn-30-cabana-bay-jackd-up-experience-26-4444589
hhn-30-cabana-bay-jackd-up-experience-1-6302021
hhn-30-cabana-bay-jackd-up-experience-27-5849220

You are allowed to take photos or selfies with a Jack mannequin. It looked like the exact one from the Tribute Store last year. So we posed with the Jack figure and walked out with a disappointed expression for everyone waiting in line to see. We’ll never get that hour of our lives back.

You can check out our video of the Jack’d Up Experience below.

For more Universal Studios news from around the world, follow Universal Parks News Today on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. For Disney Parks news, visit WDWNT.

Author

  • Katie Francis

    Katie is a lover of all theme parks and an avid reader. Her favorite rides are Spaceship Earth and The Amazing Adventures of Spider-Man. You can find her daydreaming of the Florida sun, and you can reach her at katie@wdwnt.com.

1 thought on “PHOTOS, VIDEO: Jack’d Up Experience Disappoints at Universal’s Cabana Bay Beach Resort for Halloween Horror Nights 30”

  1. They should have had a photo op with a real jack costumed character and had the real blender they use for the shows to take photos in. They should have had a small souvenir given to people that come in inspired by Jack. They could done a lot more with this but didn’t.

Comments are closed.