pg1287

Looks like Tuesday 10/30 was added as an extra event night. The crowds this year are insane!

Rush of Fear. I'll be down from MI 9/19-9/23 so this ticket option works perfectly!

What is the alcohol situation like this year? Are they still only serving liquor at Finnegan's and Chez Alcatraz?

The Nightengales from this year are pretty terrifying. But from past events I would have to say the Director and the children from the Skoolhouse scare zone. Of course their appearances weren't creepy, but the fact that they could easily exist in the real world did it for me. That has always terrified me more than any supernatural character.

I was there too! I think that was about the only time I laughed during the show though.

HAHAHAHA! I totally agree!

Unfortunately no. Living in MI its just not feasible to come down for more than a weekend each year.

Hi everyone! I have not logged into this site and posted for ages but wanted to share my opening weekend experience. I decided to purchase the new Rush of Fear Pass this year, and in my situation it worked out great since I live in Michigan and fly down for opening weekend each year (2 nights for only $69.99!!). Also took advantage of Stay & Scream for the first time and it was fantastic (got in 2 houses with absolutely zero line). I split the houses between Friday and Saturday so I could go at a more leisurely pace since I was already exhausted from hitting the parks during the day. Here are my individual ratings for each attraction: The Thing: Amazing sets and the creature animatronics/costumes were great. Did not get any solid scares due to timing, but the potential was definitely there. Had a pretty bad back-up halfway through when Friday's downpour hit since people were staying in the covered area outside the exit, so that kind of ruined the second half. Solid house overall, and normally I am not a fan of movie-based houses. RATING: 8/10 Nevermore: The Madness of Poe: Another very solid house. Loved the opening scene where you saw Poe writing in his office, really set the tone for what was to come. Got two really good scares in the Raven hallway and the Masque of Red Death scene. RATING: 10/10 The Forsaken: The sets were absolutely stunning, but was severely lacking in scares. Partially due to bad timing, but like many others have stated the glowing eyes on the masks totally give away where the actors are hiding. RATING: 6/10 The In-Between: I tend to find the whole 3-D thing very gimicky, but this one definitely took it up a notch. Loved the room with the colored yarn and the laser room. Didn't get any scares, but the amazing visuals made up for it. Also refreshing to see a 3-D house that was about something other than clowns/funhouses/circuses (seriously, how played out is that?) RATING: 8/10 Saws N Steam: Into the Machine: Ok, so I totally got screwed over on this one. Just before entering a worker (I believe his name tag said he was a Team Leader) snuck into the line in front of me to do a "walk-through". Needless to say his presence squashed any chance of getting scares, and along with his random stops to chat with a couple of the op's throughout the house, made this my worst HHN experience ever. Unfortunately due to time I was unable to give this one another chance. Honestly, I can't even assign a rating to this one since I literally saw only one actor the whole house (the one behind the waterfall, which was really neat). Bummed because from the other reviews I've read this house seemed to really deliver. Winter's Night: The Haunting of Hawthorne Cemetery: This house was absolutely gorgeous. Truly felt like you were outside in a cemetery. Actors also had some pretty creative hiding spots, and I received my best scare of the event from the living statue right at the beginning! RATING: 10/10 HR Bloodengutz Presents Holidays of Horror: Most of my party wasn't a fan of this one, but I thoroughly enjoyed it. The President's Day room literally had me laughing out loud (in a good way) and got a good scare from the Easter-grass monster. Enjoyed the queue video also. Only downside was that the wait time was listed as 20 minutes, but it turned into almost an hour. RATING: 8/10 Last but certainly not least... Nightengales: Blood Prey: Without question the most intense, immersive HHN house I have ever had the pleasure to experience. The war theme was executed perfectly and made it really feel like you were going through the trenches. The Nightengale masks are horrifying, and the actors were absolutely relentless. I got scared, or at least startled, in pretty much every single room and even got a couple audible screams out of me (which is a rarity). Kudos to everyone involved with this one. RATING: 11/10 SCARE ZONES: Overall I thought the zones were pretty weak this year, but they still delivered (well, except one....) 7: From the other reviews it sounds like I may be in the minority, but this one totally worked for me. LOVED the cover of Beatiful People that played during the earlier hours in the zone, and once nighttime rolled around Marilyn Manson's version fit perfectly. Everyone was very energetic and had some pretty creative costuming also. RATING: 10/10 Grown Evil: The lighting and fog, along with the location in Central Park, made this zone very immersive. I thought the bat costumes were a little silly and not scary at all, but the actors did their best with what they had. RATING: 6/10 Acid Assault: The building projections were incredible, and I really liked the soundtrack playing in the area. The costumes were great also, and I got a couple of good scares here, particuarly from the female actor with the shopping cart. RATING: 8/10 Nightmaze: Good concept, poorly executed. The "changes" in the layout weren't dramatic enough to leave any real impression. Actors pretty much limited to moving the walls around and grunting, and costuming was limited to black cloaks. RATING: 2/10 Canyon of Dark Souls: Never saw this one with actors in it due to rain both nights, so cannot rate. Your Luck Has Run Out: I guess everyone, including HHN, is allowed to completely drop the ball once in awhile. Four people playing the same character in a five foot radius of eachother, really? Zero scares, zero atmosphere, cheap looking masks, etc. RATING: 0/10 SHOWS: Bill and Ted: I was not impressed in the slightest. Got a mild chuckle when they used an Angry Birds bomb to get Bin Laden, but other than that everything else fell flat with me. Death Drums: A little short, but very entertaining and unique. Nice to have a show you can just watch from the street. While I much preferred last years event, this year was still very good! FAVORITE HOUSE: Nightengales: Blood Prey FAVORITE SCARE ZONE: 7

Based on my opening weekend visit: HOUSES: 1. Hades 2. Catacombs 3. Hallow'd Past 4. Orfanage 5. Havoc 6. Legendary Truth 7. Zombiegeddon 8. Psychoscareapy SCAREZONES: 1. 20 Years of Fear 2. Fear Revealed 3. Zombie Gras 4. Saws N Steam 5. Esqueleto Muerte 6. The Coven Overall though, there wasn't a BAD house or scarezone in the bunch this year.

Great house! The plague doctors were really cool, although a bit repetitive. I don't scare easily and still got scared several times in here. Too bad it wasn't possible to do this house in the Dragon Challenge queue, would have been perfect.

Worthless during the daylight hours, but absolutely amazing once the blacklights kicked in. The lack of scares was totally made up for by the atmosphere of the zone.

This zone was pure genious. Most of the actors were on their A-game, especially loved how they would react to the explosions from the barge in the lake and how they were caught between being zombies and Mardi Gras performers and would bust some dance moves, namely with the zombie with the umbrella (if you're on here you were fantastic!). Great audio choices too, think I will have "Feet Don't Fail Me Now" stuck in my head for awhile.

Big photo op for sure, but very well put together. The Caretaker's scene seems really far away from everything else though.

Loved this zone. Sting Alley is a fantastic spot for a scarezone, almost like an outdoor house. Got some good scares in here since the fog so thick. Chainsaws don't scare me but they were freaking out a fair share of people. Loved the two stage shows within the zone also. Does anyone know what the soundtrack was being played in the zone? I thought it was really cool and fit perfectly.

Good house overall. Went through in the daylight so many of the actor's hiding spots were revealed, but everyone did a great job! Loved the tie-in with Zombie Gras also.

My favorite house by far. The sets were fantastic (especially loved the facade and its music) and the costumes were amazing. Also got lots of good scares. On a side note, I noticed for whatever reason that the conga line magically disappeared from behind us a little ways into the house and never returned. Good for us because we were able to hang back and get a "private" walkthrough. Could have had something to do with the previously mentioned closure of the house...