[Maze & Scarezone of the Year]

It is always impossible to pick a favorite.  Especially when things change and get better throughout the event and multiple runs through a maze.  The top three, in no specific order yet, Crimson Peak, Insidious, and Halloween.

Unsure if this is the correct place for it, but would like to add some Scareactor appreciation.  Orlando has a separate thread, but think it can fit in here.

 

The cast for Insidious were amazing on Friday and Saturday during opening weekend.  The Demon at the exit of the maze and I had a few interesting encounters each run through.  Appreciate the extra attention and effort.

The quick double scare from "Don't You Dare" character was great and felt recognized there as well.  (Brain is still mush and don't remember that characters name.)

Once again the cast for Crimson Peak was great on Friday and Saturday opening weekend.  Saturday was a bit better before the crowds took over.

The two characters in the 'basement' scene with the pipes and the popup puppets were great.  The one character on the left was popping out like a Demon Ninja and scaring a lot of people.  The character on the right was working well off of the first scares and getting everyone else.  Good team work and use of the darkness.  Being vague intentionally, the character in the darkness was a great added 'touch' to the scenes and transition.

Again Halloween was great and on both nights during opening weekend.  Trying not to spoil anything so being vague intentionally.  The characters in the sheet seen were great!  Using the environment well.  Disorienting guests and great scares!  The character in the final scene has a movie quality performance and should not be missed.  Also their actions and targeting guests works very well.

The Exterminators cast was always great and non stop.  The stilt walker with the hat is amazing!  Enjoyed the interaction with the puppet on the van and other scareactors.  Bravo.  Seeing a scareactor on stilts and one without skipping through a zone into the flames.....magical.....

Thanks to all the other scareactors.  Much appreciation to everyone.  Too many to list.  Just pointing out specific performances that felt personal or should be acknowledged.

*Back to the shadows*

[HHNH Planning & Insider Tips (The 2015 Edition)]

Great post and very helpful to those who are still yet to go. So did you not get to do TWD on Saturday? And did you ever have time to see the Jabbawockeez show? 
Based on your two experiences, what would you say is the best game plan of attack?

Thank you DTH

 

Updated the original post and will include the answers here as well.

Was able to experience the mazes twice on each day, the exception being This Is The End on Saturday (only once with FOL).  This was accomplished with Early Entry and FOL.
The Walking Dead should be first based on the wait times experienced at this point.  Hopefully this changes during the event.  That may only happen if the number of Early Entry guests are limited.  You could see the endless number of guests coming down the Starway for Early Entry while in the Insidious queue.

There were two opportunities to see the Jabbaawockeez show on both nights.  Some how it was bypassed each time...not sure how that happened...

Plan of attack is go to The Walking Dead first unless something else changes.  Finish the lower lot and move down to the Backlot as soon as possible.  If you are okay with skipping a maze or only seeing it once then bypass This Is The End.  Skip it all together or use your FOL access on it when you come back from the Backlot.  (The maze is not terrible, but most people here want more of an experience and this can be sacrificed for that.  This is just a personal opinion.)  At this point move to the Terror Tram or Halloween as options.  Though the waits are going to be long everywhere so use your best judgement or the opposite of those around you...

[HHNH Planning & Insider Tips (The 2015 Edition)]

Good Evening Everyone,

This is information about Early Entry.  It fits here, but can also apply to the Event Discussion and Ideas for Fixing Early Entry pages.

Early Entry is a great idea, is better than the past, and was a mess opening night.  This is to be expected when dealing with something new an no one having any idea what is happening, lack of communication.  The list goes on...  Despite the confusion it all worked out and everyone got inside without being trampled.

The second night was better and a total change from the previous day.  If that continues then no one here should have a problem because you all know how it works.  The public will still be confused and will need guidence.  Had to help a few people walking inside because they were lost lemmings.

Both Friday and Saturday people started to lineup for security around 3:30 - 4:00.  The gates and metal detectors were setup by 4:00 on Saturday.  You could get into the gate queue and wait until 5:00 to go through security.  Once through security you move to the right for Early Entry or to the gates for the Scaremony.

When you make it to the Early Entry point you present your ticket and it gets scanned or you move on to the next point.  Those of you with Front of The Line will get your badges here.  Tell the person checking your ticket that it is FOL so you get your badge.  They don't always notice, check, or care...  Keep hold of your FOL tickets, because there are issues this year with the badge breaking or falling apart.  People wearing them have lost them in mazes and walk out not knowing they've lost it.  Guest Relations mentioned this has been an issue and will replace your pass should it be lost.

The second point is where you get your wristband and maps.  From here you either move into the park or decide if you want to see the Jabbbaaaawwwwwaaaakeeeeeez show.  If you see the 6:15 show you get a one time FOL pass for a maze of your choice.

Now you are free to roam the park.  You can go everywhere, check out the props, enjoy some rides, eat food, or queue up for the mazes on the lower lot, take a nap...  They state that lower lot attractions close at 5:30.  They did not say the time upper lot attractions would close.  When you transition to the lower lot and while in the maze queues you were asked to show your wristband.  They did travel the entire queue line and checked each person while people were waiting for the opening.  Also, there is a bit of a walk to the tram that goes to the Backlot.  That and there are stairs involved.  Unsure how ADA access works to get to this tram drop off area.  Did see another area by The Walking Dead, but several ADA guests still took the normal tram entry area.

 

Experience from Friday & Saturday:

Went to The Walking Dead first on Friday and there was large number of people already in line.  The group was estimated to be at least 30 minutes from my position.  That did not include the FOL guests that were let in before the general entry queue.  Finished the Walking Dead and went to Insidious.  The queue was posted at 45 minutes, however actual time was approximately 20 minutes.  Moved to This is The End and the posted time was 15 minutes, with a wait of about 10 minutes.  Moved to the lower lot and the times for Crimson Peak and Alien vs Predator were not updated accurately.  Both mazes were around the 45 minute wait.  This is based on memory and may not be completely accurate.  After this point everyt queue started to fill and times were beyond 60 or 90 minutes and to be expected.  At the end of the night Crimson Peak and AVP had little or no wait time.  Posted times were 15 minutes for each, but the crowd in line for both looked smaller unless they were pulsing at this point.  

Went to Insidious the on Saturday.  The stairway was no open, but several people were already in queue waiting to wait for the maze.  At 5:30 the line streched past Jurrasic Park entry and was close to the middle of the lower lot central area.  Estimated group in front of my position at 15 to 20 minutes.  The staircase was opened and people queued upstairs and soon filled that area.  Eventually they opened all the queue areas and people waited outside the maze area until it opened.  The scareactors did tease the crowd for a bit prior to opening.  Entered Insidious at approximately 6:45.  Once leaving the maze the posted time was 45 minutes and that appeared to be accurate, though it could have been longer.  There were many people in the queue at this point.  Moved to the Backlot and looked at the posted time for the Walking Dead.  Posted time was 105 minutes.  You cannot see the full queue from entry area, but that appeared to be accurate.  The tram wait time was always short and approximately 5 minutes.  Crimson Peak and AVP did not have any posted wait times, but they could be estimated at 5 minutes.  Was able to experience Crimson Peak and AVP multiple times before the flood of guests from regular entry even made it to the Backlot.  Was able to complete both mazes at least twice before the first group was in the queue.  You may be able to get through more than that if you run from queue to queue.  Then was able to go into Crimson Peak one more time before the lines instantly increased to 30 minutes.  Transitioned to the lower lot for Insidious which had a posted wait time of 70 minutes.  The actual wait was about 60 minutes.  At this point everything else was 60+ minutes.  There was an issue with the Terror Tram on Saturday and I do not have answers.  Hopefully someone working the Terror Tram can explain or provide additional information.  Arrived at the TT with two tram loads of guests.  The entire path from start to finish was filled with guests.  It was one conga line like in anyone of the mazes.  There were many points where you were stopped and not moving.  Exiting the TT and waiting for the trams to get back to the park was also a long wait.  This was not an issue on Friday and hopefully this was some traffic issue.  When waiting in the TT exit area move to the right.  They funnel guests to the right and you wrap back around to the tram pickup area.  The TT was still in one piece during this fiasco so Freak must have been refuling his Purge Flame Cannon...

 

Recap:

This is The End and The Walking Dead had some of the longest wait times of both nights.  Halloween had a drop in wait time around 11:00 both nights.  This could be due to people transitioning, showtimes, or just a random occurance.  Halloween averaged around 60 - 90 minutes.  At the end of the night Saturday the  wait was 60 minutes.  Around 2:00 there appeared to be at least 20 minutes worth of guests in line.  Times for Insidious averaged around 70 - 90 minutes.  The last tram to the Backlot leaves at 1:45.  Crimson Peak and AVP had approximately 15 - 20 minute wait times posted towards the end of the night.  End of the night is around 1:00 for my calculations.

Overall was able to complete each maze twice on both days.  This was only accomplished with FOL tickets for the second run of most mazes.  The exception being Crimson Peak and AVP on Saturday during the empty queues before the main gate guests arrival.

There was time on both days to stop for food, sit, and enjoy scarezones.  There was time to see the Jabbawokeez show, though did not join it.

 

Stores:

For anyone that wants to know the Universal Store & Harry Potter store were still open at 2:35.  All the mazes queues were closed to new guests and Scarezones were empty.  Most food and beverage carts, stands, or buildings were closed at this point as well.

 

Hopefully this obnoxiously large post has some useful information for everyone.  Message me with any questions before my brain is purged...

Enjoy the fog...

[Tickets, Pricing, and General Event Operation Questions]

Does anyone know if you can print your HHN tickets (purchased ahead of time) at the kiosks in/around IOA? Might go to that park earlier in the day (I have an AP) and was thinking I may grab the tickets to avoid the long lines at the kiosks on the Universal side.

Tickets can be printed early from kiosks at either side without an issue.

[The "Official" Annual Discussion On The Fate Of HHN]

Get back on your soapbox... You're not finished.

People who know me, and more importantly know my history with HHN, know that the event use to be a very very personal thing. It was where I met my wife. It was my first real job before joining the Army. It was, and continues to be, a personal pipedream. The only reason I still somewhat care about the event is because of nostalgia (and the firm belief that I could run the damn thing so much better than anyone).

That said, I came to realize in 2011 that the event really isn't conducive to actually being personal. Yes, that revelation stemmed from what I viewed as a managerial middle-finger, but it wasn't a one time issue. It was a long-active policy that put the bottom-line over the people that were most passionate about the event. The only thing that changed is that, for once, my passion couldn't hide what was there all along.

The people may care, but the business doesn't.

Maybe I should get that tattooed across my chest. Universal doesn't, and hasn't cared about us. The thing is is that, during the aughts, we (the fans) got this misguided mindset that we mattered to the business. The Terra Queen sacrifice and Legendary Truth especially are highlighted as pinnacles of "doing something for the fans." But that completely ignores that fact that it was the people in A&D doing something special. The business didn't care because there was no real liability with it.

The personal relationship the hardcore fans share with the event is, and always has been, a one-way street. The major difference now is that, because of HHN's success with the people who don't have a personal investment with a theme park event, the bloom is coming off the rose. Nothing has really changed. We just see it now.

I know people who still take a personal slight to the closure of Jaws. But from an objective stance, it was a brilliant decision to remove it for Diagon Alley. A person who is offended when a business makes a business decision is choosing to take it personnal. And that's entirely on them. You can't blame the business, because the business NEVER cared.

Hello

Long time lurker. Even longer time horror fan and Horror Nights attendee.

Thank you to Legacy and JDW. Excellent comments. Logical, intelligent, and true (in my opinion).

Agreeing with everything said by both of you. I have seen what you speak of, having attended for many years.

The event is wonderful and difficult not to enjoy. It is also difficult not to agree with others that the current website, reveals, and marketing have not given us that horror feeling from days of yore.

This is where I get my fix for all things horror. All the interactions, speculation, polls, and horror community.

I continue to attend Horror Nights for the horror and fun and will come here to enjoy the nightmares with all of you.