DTH316 Posted October 17, 2014 Share Posted October 17, 2014 (edited) Returned to the BEST year of HHN last night and it was a blast! It was also cheap because we took advantage of the College Thursdays discount. I didn’t keep times of when we hit everything, so sorry for those wondering if you were working when I went through. And I didn’t keep track of wait times, so sorry to those trying to game plan from this review. I will tell you now though, the longest we waited was about 40 minutes for Clowns and Dracula, but that’s it (which is better than the 70 minute wait I endured on my first trip for AWIL). I’ll try to keep this short because not MUCH has changed. The AWESOME thing about tonight though was I was targeted in nearly every maze. I don’t know what I did differently from last time, but I got damn near every scare directed at me and it was AMAZING. I always expect to be avoided and for my scaredy cat friends in front or behind me to get the scares, but I got 85% of them. Even when they jumped out at the people in front of me, they did an extra jump out for me. Left from the Inland Empire at 3:30 and arrived at around 5:50. We went straight the Early Access line and waited there for quite awhile. They let us in at around 6:30, making much better time than my first night which let us in at 6:45ish. The walk to the backlot was a long one! SKULLZ Skullz wasn’t even going at first, which was a disappointment. In fact, the entire zone was a dud the entire night. Barely any fog, less stilt people, and the scare actors weren’t doing much. They were way more fierce on the first night. This was the worst I’ve ever seen the lower lot. Luckily, I saw them rocking it on the first night, so I won’t give em too much flack. THE WALKING DEAD: WELCOME TO TERMINUS Much better with the extended zone in the tunnel. I loved the lighting in there. The scares weren’t of the loud bang-kind, but more of the like “walking along, oh crap, there’s a walker in front of me.” Which is very effective. After the tunnel, there’s a little extra stuff on the left, which is a great addition. The original area is still the same, but scare actors were much more on point tonight. This area is especially better at night (sun goes down earlier now), as oppose to the day time which you don’t get to see the projections in the windows. A great zone, almost on par as last year, but missing a few key set elements. AVP: ALIEN VS. PREDATOR Still absolutely one of the best mazes ever. My most favorite? After my second run through, I can’t say so. TCM 07-08 still holds that title since that was petrifying even before entering. However, this is a very close second. I did notice the length of this maze seemed a bit on the short side this time, which someone mentioned before and I thought they were crazy, but it does seem like it’s one room too short. The ending is basically pitch black now with strobes, which makes that scene much scarier. You can’t stop and look up in awe anymore, and it’s hard to appreciate the beauty of the puppetry, but I think it’s for the best to make it a more “holy shit, what was that?!” type ending like most monster mazes. Repeatability: 10. I could do Alien mazes for the next 5 years. Improvement: 5. Some minor things here and there but most notably the final room. Downfalls: 0. Nothing. THE WALKING DEAD: END OF THE LINE I think I hit some of the tail end of the scares for the first half of the maze, but that’s it. Everything else was great. The best part was the tunnel, just like it should be. It seemed like every dang walker was real and every one got me, because i didn’t think it’d be real and it was. Good job in there. Repeatability: 2. The first half of the maze, not so much. And the second half just feels like random scenes. There’s some good moments though. Improvement: 3. The tunnel scene was a bit darker, which I appreciated. Downfalls: 0. Luckily, nothing was worse on this run through. We got the tail end of the scares for the first half but the second half picked up. FROM DUSK TILL DAWN This maze was oddly pretty much the same because the cast is still great and on point. I still don’t think it’s that scary and I could live without it or have something else in its place. IMO, Dracula is the superior vampire maze this year, which renders this one kinda forgettable. Oh, and totally plugged my nose on the poop smell. Eff that. Repeatability: 5. The cast keep it good. Improvement: 0. I honestly didn’t see anything new to speak of. Downfalls: -1. Sorry, but with Dracula being surprisingly so good, for this not to be better is kinda just funny. TRANSFORMERS Decided to do this real quick. There’s some weird things with the ride going on. One of the screens, the lower left side, the screen was flickering. And the final Optimus was green. Somebody better fix that prontooooo. AMERICAN WEREWOLF IN LONDON Okay, now I see why people are saying this is maze of the year. The maze has improved GREATLY. The scares are INSANE in here when they work and the scare actors are doing phenomenal work. I think I legitimately jumped about 2 or 3 times, particularly in the hospital scene. I also loved how they re-worked the first transformation scene — it’s how the scare should’ve been in the first place and it actually got me. Much better than a guy just staring at his hands for 2 minutes. The transitions in the maze are still horrible and the wolves at the end are still too well lit, however, some of the first wolves were VERY dark and got me. Repeatability: 3. Much better than opening night, but I imagine the maze would feel old after awhile. Improvement: 9. WAY better than opening night. Definitely my second favorite of the year now. Downfalls: 0. Nothing was worse this time, so that’s good. CLOWNS 3D: MUSIC BY SLASH Marginally better, but still my least favorite maze at HHN EVER. Nothing about it works. I am so sorry, but nothing about this maze is redeeming. It’s such a shame because this is SUCH a great year, with all the mazes being pretty dang good, and this is the black sheep of the freakin’ bunch. It just sucks. Repeatability: -5. I wanted to leave before it was even over. Improvement: 1. Cast was less sluggish this time and added some new scare tactics. Downfalls: 0. Nothing. It’s still essentially the same bad maze as before. The music, the lighting, and the 3D are all disfavoring this maze so much, it’s a shame. A few people I know went this night and when we ran into them, they said they missed this maze. Without having to say anything, my entire group said, “you didn’t miss much” in various ways. TERROR TRAM: INVADED BY THE WALKING DEAD We were going to do Despicable Me while the line was somewhat short, but figured not to risk it since TT was closing in about 50 minutes. We were all also starving, but needed to tough it out to ensure we did everything. The ride over was silent because of some filming on the backlot. The opening chainsaw brigade’s new tactic is kinda lame. The lineup is better. I applaud them for trying something new, but stick to what works. I didn’t see the baby eating lady! Boo. However, whole experience was pretty great. I saw one too many walkers with shaker cans though. THE PURGE: ANARCHY These guys were pretty great tonight. That’s all I’ll say. Funny moment at the end of the night after park closing, I was sipping my collectible and a scare actor leaned in like "give me some." I said "okay," but then he was like "no, give me money." I then told him I have no money, he got frustrated, then decided to "axe me in the chest." FACE OFF: IN THE FLESH There was only a 10 minute wait, so we decided to jump into that even though we were starving. I loved this maze just as much as before and was surprised to think that. I figured I was just liking it for some odd reason the first time, but this maze truly works and its a dang shame the HOH is going away. DARK CHRISTMAS Best zone ever. Just… ever. Mrs. Claus approached me, screeched, I screeched back, and then she leaned back as if she was surprised and went “awwwwww.” It was hilarious. She then went off and did the same thing to everyone else. MASK-A-RAID Pretty much the same. They’re all holding weird weapons, they put them in your face, and keep walking. Whateves. MEL’S DINER Decided to eat here again. Our group of 11 had a hard time finding a lot of tables, but we managed. I don’t know why, but I really enjoy eating here when coming to HHN. But guys, seriously… why are the tacos only on the backlot? Like, c’mon. I don’t wanna eat on the backlot. That’s like the dumbest thing ever. Put some tacos up top like before. Puh-lease. DRACULA UNTOLD: REIGN OF BLOOD Still, surprisingly, the SCARIEST maze of the night. It easily gets the most startles out of people and out of me. I think it mostly has to do with how dark it is and where the scares come from. They seem so random and like they could possibly come from anywhere. Repeatability: 10. Not like I’d want it back next year or anything, but this is such a fun one to go through because the scares are placed in such a non-obvious place, making each time a surprise. Improvement: 5. It seemed like there were even MOOREEEE scares in here. Downfalls: 0. Nothing, still a great maze. DESPICABLE ME: MINION MAYHEM Thing said 30 minutes, but it was more like 15. I don’t know, I just don’t like the ride in general, so I don’t recommend it, especially during HHN. JP and Mummy are more horror oriented, and you can kinda get away with saying Transformers fits the mood, but this is a mood killer. Not to mention the ride is basically the Simpsons. It was my first time and I was not impressed. Probably the worst ride Uni has done in Hollywood. I loved the queue and exit though. I’m glad I did it this time though because now I know to avoid it in the future. REVENGE OF THE MUMMY Line said 25 but was more like 13. This was a fun way to cap off the night, and we exited at about 1:58. I wanted to run over to AWIL, but they were already closing up shop and turning people away, and JP looked like they had closed even before that. Anyway, what a wonderful second trip. If you haven’t gone yet, be sure to go. You won’t regret it! Edited October 17, 2014 by DTH316 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AsylumSB Posted October 17, 2014 Share Posted October 17, 2014 (edited) Great updated review, DTH! If only I could return, boo-hoo Edited October 17, 2014 by AsylumSB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IheartNARWHALS Posted October 17, 2014 Share Posted October 17, 2014 Damn. Reading this makes me want to go to Hollywood so bad. If only I had the money and the time I'd be on the first plane there. I'm sure people in Cali say the same thing but damn. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AsylumSB Posted October 17, 2014 Share Posted October 17, 2014 Damn. Reading this makes me want to go to Hollywood so bad. If only I had the money and the time I'd be on the first plane there. I'm sure people in Cali say the same thing but damn. Hollywood is a great event and I had the chance to finally see Orlando's on October 5th. Let me tell you, they are different but both are excellent! Although, I wish Orlando had the VIP/RIP like the one on the west coast (dinner, unlimited express) . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DTH316 Posted October 18, 2014 Author Share Posted October 18, 2014 How are the werewolves holding up? They weren't all that mobile, from what I could tell. As if the puppeteers were just shoving them out instead of trying to control their heads and such. Luckily, it was dark, so you could hardly tell. Even the ones puppeted by the person underneath them were giving a kinda lackluster performance. Luckily, the hospital to the transformation scene people were kicking major ass with their scares and that's what made the maze extra good for me. The werewolf parts are probably the weakest, actually. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IheartNARWHALS Posted October 18, 2014 Share Posted October 18, 2014 Hollywood is a great event and I had the chance to finally see Orlando's on October 5th. Let me tell you, they are different but both are excellent! Although, I wish Orlando had the VIP/RIP like the one on the west coast (dinner, unlimited express) . Right? I told myself if I ever went to HHN in Hollywood, I would do VIP. It seems like a great value. Plus you can't beat dinner xD Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr.HHN Posted October 18, 2014 Share Posted October 18, 2014 Nice second trip review DTH! Glad to hear about all the improvements can't wait to check them out on my second trip this Sunday! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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