We wait all year for Halloween Horror Nights announcements, from the moment the final night of HHN closes. We speculate and hear rumors. Then they finally start trickling in. Until finally, it’s UOTM preview night. This is a technical rehearsal and a really great time for Team Members. They are the first to experience the new houses, and with minimal wait times.

It was a hit when I gathered house rankings from my Universal Orlando Team Member friends last year and wrote about it. It’s a fun way to see what people’s first impressions of the houses are. Especially when us peasant folk have to wait for the event to begin. Crimany, do I miss Team Member preview nights.

Most of the reactions I received were very positive. One friend went so far as to say there were no disappointments this year. On the other end, folks didn’t seem to like Chucky too much.

Of course, these are all first impressions at a technical rehearsal. The more times you go through a house, the more your opinion can change. What is your favorite on preview night may be totally different weeks into the event.

I heard that Mel’s Die-In wasn’t up last night, that the cars weren’t there, and that there were walls. That’s not to say that it won’t be there at all. Perhaps it will be when the event begins on September 1.

The reactions to the food seem to have been very good. I was told that the ravioli in a can for The Last of Us was very good, the peanut butter and jelly burger was the same.

Below are the Bloody Campground Poutine and Cordyceps Corndog, both said to be good.

I had 28 people rank the houses, up from 11 last year. Not everyone got into all 10, but I included their numbers just the same. I’ll give you the number of people who ranked each house to give you an idea. I think you’ll start to see which houses people were most interested in seeing.

There is absolutely nothing scientific about this, it’s basically averages. But it’s fun and you kind of get to see what a sampling of Team Members thought of the houses. The number of folks who visited the house will be in parenthesis. So here we go!

10 Bloodmoon Dark Offerings (24) – In a Colonial-era village, moon-worshippers witness a blood moon at their fall festival. They take it as a sign to hunt down any non-followers, including you and your scream squad.

9 Chucky: Ultimate Kill Count (22) – Chucky, the serial killer doll, is back for a new gorefest! He’s hijacked his own haunted house with all kinds of bloody hijinks. You and your friends must try to survive his ultimate kill count.

8 YETI: Campground Kills (26) – You and your friends are about to venture into a 1950s campground overrun by huge, menacing yetis who rip apart anyone who gets in their way. You must flee to the ranger tower to escape.

7 The Darkest Deal (25) – Blues musician Pinestraw Spruce will have to face the music after meeting with The Collector and trading his soul for musical glory. You and your squad learn the terrible price of fame.

6 The Exorcist: Believer (23) – Two missing girls have been found with no memory of what happened to them. But wherever they went, the ultimate evil has returned with them. Enter the most terrifying scenes from the new Blumhouse film.

5 The Last of Us (25) – You and your squad will encounter the haunting and overgrown world of the video game in a brand-new, terrifying way. Stay silent if you want to survive a multitude of Clickers, Hunters and more.

4 Dr. Oddfellow’s Twisted Origins (24) – You won’t be able to resist going inside Dr. Oddfellow’s menacing menagerie of twisted oddities. But the price for you and your friends is steep: the cost of your souls to feed his immortal power.

3 Dueling Dragons: Choose Thy Fate (22) – Two warlocks of great power were turned into dragons after trying to take Merlyn’s spell book. Now you and your friends are caught in their epic battle. You must choose a path and a victor.

2 Stranger Things 4 (27) – You’ll need your squad to resist Vecna’s gruesome curse. Like Eleven, now’s your chance to stop him once and for all as you take on the scariest season of Stranger Things yet.

1 Universal Monsters: Unmasked (25) – Descend into the Paris Catacombs, where you and your squad will face a new horde of Monsters: Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, the Phantom of the Opera, the Hunchback of Notre Dame and the Invisible Man.

Did this turn out how you thought it would? Does it help you decide where to go first?

I believe the people that ranked houses will surely feel differently as they visit the houses over and over. Maybe at the end of the event I’ll ask what their overall favorite house of the event was.

This is fun for me and I hope you’ve enjoyed it!