Tich0las
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Posts posted by Tich0las
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Ended up get RoF with Express. Figured what the hell, it's for my birthday.
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Here's a question I haven't seen yet: how does rain effect the event? If it's rainy, does this mean lines are longer for indoor/covered attractions? Or, if it's raining, does it mean crowd levels end up being lower than expected?
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I guess my hesitation stems from going on opening weekend. No one knows what to expect crowd or quality wise. Reading reviews last year, it seems the heaviest wait times are from 8-10. Closing at midnight shortens the experience as well. If i were going in the middle of October, there would be no debate; express would be a must. If I get to skip 3-4 45 min+ waits each night, I think the extra $50 per night is work it.
Since I've only been one night in the past, I'm looking forward to two nights. I just don't want those two nights to be rushing around getting everything done quickly. Perhaps I'm over thinking this, but I don't know what to expect this time around.
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I still can't decide if I want RoF with or without express for opening weekend. I've been told one way or the other by various HHN experts. Some say it's a waste of money, other's say it's worth it. I would love to get away with not spending the extra money. However, I hate waiting longer than 20 minutes in line for any attraction. Maybe I should go without on Friday, and decide if I want one for Saturday night?
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I'm leaving in a week! Man, this year sounds extraordinary!
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I usually go on the second Friday that HHN is open, but this year I'm going on the 19th (the first one). How long do the lines usually get to be on the first night(s)?
Based on everything I've read, before 8 PM, the lines are 30 minutes tops. Between 8 and 10 PM, they get to 45-60 min. Then, around 11, they dip back down to 20 min max.
HHN opening night vets: feel free to correct me if I'm wrong.
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I do not know if you are doing the AP party or what time you are arriving at the park, but be warned that both nights you are going have an AP party so the Parade building and tent houses will not be open to the GP until 6:30.
Correct. Based on foREVer56's comment, S&S will allow me to do the SS houses, then move over to the tent houses by 6:30 on Sept. 19th. On the 20th, I will be entering through the on-site hotel entrance around 6 (having dinner with family at City Walk before hand). That'll allow me to scoot right on over to the Tent Houses. If I show up earlier, I bet I could hit one or two of the SS houses that open at 6.
BTW, do we have a firm schedule of house opening times, including the schedule for S&S and the AP event?
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So my strategy for Sept 19th (S&S) and Sept 20th (non S&S) should be...
19th: SS Houses > Tent Houses > Giggles > Show > Rides > Second House Runs
20th: Tent Houses > Show > Giggles > Rides > Scare Zones > SS Houses
Goal is to hit each house at least twice, see both shows, ride each ride, and spend a decent amount of time exploring scare zones.
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How does AP nights effect crowd flow and wait times?
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Hey guys I've been lurking here for a while.. Anyways you guys are diffidently in the know so I figured this was the best place to ask. I want to do the vip for oct 18 and wanted to buy the on the third do you guys think they'll be sold out? I know it's a stupid question
I looked into VIP last year for the very last weekend and found availability. However, the 18th may be one of the busiest nights. If you get shut out, you can still do Express.
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This might not be it, but one "surprise" I think they should have been doing for years is having scare actors blended in with people in the queue. At a certain point, the scare actor who appears to be a guest is attacked and turned into a victim.
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It just dawned on me we do not have a 3D house this year.
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Since wait times are being brought up...how bad will opening weekend be?
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Does anyone have a map of the house locations?
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With the Rush of Fear you should be able to do every house once and do each show as well if you go from opening until close. Usually there's a house or two that early in the event that never has lines over 30min and come 11pm or so, will say 15min but you can basically just walk right in. I think the one year, we did Wolfman 4 times in one night just because we could and it had no line by 9pm.
For only 2 nights right at the beginning of the year, I'd say the $50 per night for express wouldn't be worth it. We go the first weekend in October and elect to get get the Express option, but we go Thur-Sun so at $25, it's worth it to guarentee we can do every house once.
Not sure if you've been there before or if you have Universal tickets for the day, but if you do go to Finnegans and enjoy an adult beverage (or a coke if you're under age) and you can get in early and knock off two houses in 30min. If you don't, get to the gates early. It sucks waiting 30min to get into the park, but that 30min will save you an hour of waiting later. Do one of the first 2 or 3 houses first. Usually starting with house 3 or 4 "on the path" they don't open them right away...they wait a bit. So don't think heading away from all the foot traffic is a good idea as you'll just be standing at the start of a queue waiting for them to open it up. Some nights are worse than others and I know I've done the first two houses and got to the 3rd in line and still had to wait. If it's open, go to the "big IP houses" first. SAW had 3 hour+ lines in the last week of Sept/first of October a few years ago. I expect Aliens vs Predator and Halloween to be like that this year. So after your first couple houses, might be a good idea to skip a couple to hit the highlights early.
Having said all that, if you stay until Midnight, 1am or 2am (not sure of the first two nights schedule) you should be able to do everything once, and another key/main house a second time.
Thanks for the reply. This is my third year in a row (been following the event since 2001), but first year with multiple nights.
Here's the itinerary:
Sept 19 (my birthday!); Early entry into Diagon Alley > IOA. Nap. Finnegan's at 3:30 PM...although I am trying to push it back. I'm hoping I can show up late and they'll still have a spot for us.
Sept 20 is a chill day. We will be entering without Stay and Scream. Would anyone recommend using the onsite hotel entrance for HHN, or getting there early to utilize the center gate?
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Houses:
1) Alien vs. Predator - - After AWiL, I'm all about the puppets.
2) Halloween
3) FDTD - - Wish it was based off the original though.
4) Giggles & Gore Inc
5) Roanoke
6) Walking Dead - - Happy to see they're trying it in a sound stage this year. Still, it needs to stop.
7) Dollhouse
8) Dracula - - I truly dislike it when an IP that hasn't even come out makes its way to HHN.
Scare Zones:
1) Bayou of Blood - - Voodoo lady, shakin that stick ya drivin me crazy, ya eyes are red and haaazaay
2) Maskerade - - Sounds creepy enough.
3) Purge - - I don't care for this IP. Hopefully this scare zone is loud with lots of smoke.
4) Face Off - - Another idea I very much dislike: a scarezone based on a competition reality show involving make up effects...meaning no story & no characters.
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I am going the first two nights of the event this year. Should I go for RoF or RoF Express? Would love to save the money, but want to make sure I can do the rides as well.
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Some answers to these:
1. IOA is pretty much not possible. You've seen how big the crowds can get, and on some peak nights New York (a very large, wide area) has been practically filled with people. One of our actors got punched in the kidney and didn't even know who it was because he got caught in a flood of people. They've extended four nights to peak hours and EP was extended by an hour due to the massive crowds. IOA has small, tight pathways and is set in a circle without a single shortcut across the lagoon. Seuss Landing can't have more than a few robed scareactors at the most (only done one or two years as a minor thing for peak nights), and Harry Potter is completely off limits. They'd also need to close off rides and restaurants for daytime hours in order to fit houses in them.
You may respond by suggesting a return to 2004 with a two-park event, but 2004 had its own problems. IOA had relatively little of the event, with most of the houses being in Universal-side soundstages and attraction queues, and there was a ton of walking and long routes due to the sheer size of the property. The Boneyard has been replaced by a concert stage and there are parking lots and construction projects in the space between the parks. Hell, there's barely enough room for the soundstage queues.
An 8th house just plain wasn't going to happen this year, and the event did suffer for it. But it was unavoidable, and IOA or a two-park event would multiply every single problem.
2. The lack of themed scarezones was due to the construction projects and the parade. The parade was a big hindrance, as any street props along the parade route needed to be simple affairs (preferably one piece) that could be hauled in and out very quickly with forklifts. The SS44 and Amity construction both removed viable scarezones, and the bright lights from the SS44 site's 24/7 construction schedule leaks into other areas of the park and will outright blind you if you're walking toward Hollywood through the lower Central Park paths. Roaming hordes was really the only way to handle the problems presented.
3. I've been through every house starting in 2006, and the darkness is at the proper levels for safe passage. I've made the mistake of going through some houses in the daylight hours without letting my eyes adjust, and I tend to run into people or hurt myself on props. The darkness is not meant to hide actors, as they already have booholes and detailed environments to allow for the surprise. Making the houses generally darker would mostly just make them unsafer.
4. Not always possible due to the cost of making queue videos, though we would enjoy it. While some people have complained about HHN seeming to be on a restrictive budget, they actually hired many more street performers this year (even before the extra ~80 added recently) and a lot of money gets put into the houses. Working in the film and TV industry, I can assure you that making queue videos is not as much of a cheap throw-it-together thing as it may seem sometimes. Theming also isn't really possible in most of the lines due to the way the queues are set up. Even at Howl-O-Scream, which has special themed signs and dresses up the exteriors of their buildings to act as facades, they only had two houses with ANY sort of theming in the queue; one had a single prop bus, and the other went inside the former Akbar Adventure Tours queue and they merely plastered posters and severed limbs on the walls.
5. More difficult to do than you think. It would require, at the very least, creating a new video that perfectly matches the existing movements of the ride vehicle. Otherwise, it will require a full new set of motions programmed in and synched to the video. The change would only be worthwhile if it actually helped the event profit through its existence alone.
In response to your responses...
1. I had no idea Harry Potter was off limits for HHN. What a shame! I always thought Death Eaters would make for a fun scare zone/house. Same with Azkaban. I wonder how they're going to handle HHN when London opens.
2. Maybe we'll see a return to scarezones once Transformers is open. I really hope hordes are not a consistent part of the event from now on. It hasn't worked at any haunt I've visited.
3. I only had Howl O Scream Williamsburg to compare to. Their houses are much, much darker. While it cloaks some detail, it really adds to the scares and disorientation within the houses. The additional lighting threw me off inside HHN's houses.
4. While I realize every haunt has a budget, I can't help but feel cheated by the lack of detail within the queue. I'm not referring to queue videos; there could be banners, posters, props, audio, lighting, art work, riddles...anything to add to the house's story while waiting in line. This was the contributing factor as to why I didn't understand Dead End's story.
Again, compared to HoS VA, four of their six houses had exterior queue theming. Deadline had a video, Fear Fair had banners, Bitten had props and 13 had posters describing the superstitions you were bound to encounter. HoS VA has a much smaller budget than HHN and they were able to contribute something unique to the wait experience. HHN only had two queue videos.
5. The Simpsons idea was wishful thinking. Although, Treehouse of Horror could be the comedy house next year.
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After years of waiting, I finally experienced my first HHN! Having read reviews for years, it's my pleasure to post one.
General Overview
My lovely girlfriend and I decided to go on Sunday Oct. 21 in order to avoid crowds. Ha!...looking back on the event, that statement is an oxymoron. Lucky for us, we experienced heavy crowds at the parks the day before and decided to purchase HHN Express. I 100% recommend doing this. We were first in line to get into the event and were redirected towards Hollywood Blvd. due to the already huge Stay and Scream crowds. By the time we swung back around to the sound stages, we were only able to hit Gothic before every house had a 45 minute wait. To summarize this overview: IT WAS PACKED!
Houses
Gothic - - This was clearly the best house. I'm really happy we walked through twice; there's SO much detail! From the facade to the illusion of elevation, there's a lot to take in. The gargoyles did a good job of scaring the crap out of us too.
Dead End - - We hit this during a cast change, so I feel like we didn't get the full effect. It's a shame I couldn't give it another shot. The scareactors we did encounter were well hidden. I have a question, though: what the hell is the conclusion to the house's story? Is it the children took over the house? Ghosts with a spooky tunnel? Our walk through left us with more questions than answers.
Silent Hill - - This house is packed with pros and cons. The former includes a real maze feel and creepy costumes. The latter is a lack of real scares and way too much lighting. I really liked the entrance to the house where the cop popped out to shoot the creature. Thought it was a nice touch.
The Walking Dead - - Everyone seems to hate this one. Personally, I loved every second of it. The zombies-eating-squirting-intestines gag was one of the most grotesque things I saw/felt all night. At the end, about 30 zombies were all lined up trying to grab us. I could tell this doesn't happen all night since they quickly spread out soon after we exited. When I think of TWD, I think of hordes of zombies. The way we experienced the ending made it perfect.
House of Horrors - - This was one hell of a concept, which, I thought, was well executed. There were times I was face to face with a scareactor and had no idea due to their quickness in the dark. Their costumes blended in well with the black and white lighting.
Alice Cooper - - Everyone has said this, and I'll say it too: Turn the music UP! I could barely hear it in most of the scenes. Although I'm not sure it would have made this house any better. There were a couple good scares--mostly at the end--but I felt like this one was thrown together hastily.
Penn & Teller - - Someone described this one to me as a funhouse. I thought of it more like a acid trip gone horribly wrong. Loved the 3-D, scare actor costumes, and buttons. It was nice having some commentary to the house by P&T; it gave a unique feel to the concept.
Streets
I can't help but feel disappointed over my street experience. At first, there were lots of characters roaming near the gates waiting for the crowds to be let in. Then, it became a mission to spot a scareactor in the enormous crowds. There were tons of scareactors, but patrons still vastly outnumbered them.
The theming also seemed lacking. I loved the tombstones on the grave yard props (Jaws, Xena, ect.), but hated the idea the whole park had them. I really think I missed out on not having themed scare zones for my first HHN experience.
On a positive note, the lighting effects were superb. Same with the lagoon show.
Shows
Bill & Ted had me crying from laughter. It also had a few sentimental (to me) parts including tributes to Jaws and MCA. I've never enjoyed an amusement park show so much. The actor playing Lincoln had the best facial expressions. If you get the chance, watch him closely.
20 Penny Circus was definitely questionable. While entertaining, the dialogue sounded like it was written by a horny 8th grader. Didn't quite like this show, but it wasn't that bad either.
Critiques
To conclude, here's a list of things I would change/add.
More haunted houses to handle crowds and/or move back to IOA until construction is finished.
Return to themed scarezones.
Less light in the haunted houses.
More theming/story in the queues.
Treehouse of Horror Simpsons Ride.
More scareactors in the houses.
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Hey Guys. Quick update: I saw how ridiculous the crowds were last night and purchased express for tonight. I'm still going o get there around 5:30 to get in quickly. Which houses are worth hitting twice? Gothic, Dead End, TWD, P&T?
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Justman: Can you provide me with a link to this information? If possible, I'm definitely going to do this.
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I was there on Sunday. According to my wait time texts, walking dead was at 120 minutes at 8pm. It dropped to 100 by 8:30 and then stabled off at 90 through 11pm. Silent hill was 90 minutes from like 8 to 10.
What were the rest of the house waits like?
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hmm this is kind of making me regret buying my express passes for the 21st, which is a Sunday. I was told it was cheaper for UCF students that day by a friend who attends UCF so I figured it would be worth it, but I've never been on a Sunday since I started going. Hopefully it's worth it at some point of the night.
I'm going on the 21st and am on the fence about Express as well. My original justification was to save money, show up early, and have a plan (which I do). However, I only have one night for HHN--without Stay and Scream--and want to see everything and some. I'd hate to spend $150 for express, only to realize it's unnecessary.
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Hey Scareactors! Keep an eye out for us on Sunday 10/21...it's our first HHN. My girlfriend loves a good scare so don't hold back.
Halloween Horror Nights 24 Discussion
in Halloween Horror Nights 24
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Thought each house was very well done with Halloween taking the crown. Looking forward to doing it all again tomorrow.