Did anyone go to Howl 'O Scream in Tampa this year? If so, could you share your opinions? I know it's nothing compared to HHN, but just curious if you felt it was more "R" rated vs more kid friendly. Did they have scare zones? Were the houses themed well? I've never been and was curious. I can check what the FB crowd says, but I prefer the opinions of the folks on DIS much more!
DH and I have been to Howl-O-Scream twice. We enjoy it for the lower crowds, and he likes the line pulsing (they send in groups at a time rather than the conga lines). I personally do not like the jump scares because the scareactors (I don't know what they call them there) all verbally yell when they jump out, and that gets my heart racing more than just silent jump scares, if that makes sense.
We like that the scareactors are spread out more throughout the park and not just confined to their scare zone. For example, often you will see them roaming before you even get in the park or after you exit the turnstiles.
If you decide to try it out, we recommend Fright Feast. It gets you the special buffet dinner (at Dragonfire Grill in Pantopia), plus 1.5 hours of front of the line access. If you finish dinner soon enough, you can have exclusive front of the line access before the event even starts.
As far as R-rated vs kid friendly, we didn't really see a difference. There was one house and scare zone (leading up to it) this past year that was recommended for ages 17 and older, and that was due to gore.
They did have scare zones. The scareactors have good hiding places.
I felt that the houses were themed fine, but I personally like HHN's theming better.