RPC
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So after skipping KSF for the first time last year and using DTH316's survival guide for HHN, we decided to do it again this year.
There may be spoilers in this, so be forwarned. For my rundown and early entry plan of attack, see my posts in the
HHNH Planning & Insider Tips (The 2016 Edition)Once again we went in with the game plan and we were successful at getting everything done even with repeats! Boo yah!
Let me start off by saying hell to the yeah
for using some of the "standards"/classics, and a big two thumbs up to all you scare actors and folks working the mazes and props!
Scare actors were balls on!!
We did early entry and had AHS, FVJ, and Krampus all knocked out by 5:50PM.....that's the good news, the bad is it was still daylight so one, our eyes had a hard time adjusting from the outside to the seemingly pitch black interiors, so it was hard to admire the elaborate sets but on the plus side we got the crap scared out of us because we couldn't see anything until it was already on us.
AHS
I loved this one!
Sets were well done, especially the characters from Freakshow and some good scares, we definitely got to appreciate it more when we returned to repeat it in the dark later at 645PM
Walking down the Hotel hallway and commenting how well they nailed the sets from the show and right when I said they should have someone come out of one of these doors....pow! Got me haha shoulda known!
FVJ
Probably our favorite overall
We loved the facade, the sets were well done, the smells, a few good creepy moments and scares.
Worm Freddie eating little Jason! Omg awesome!
I think we just loved it because it's familiar territory, who doesn't love Freddy??? Of course we had to cheer for the razor gloved one at the kill scene in the end.....and he ate it up with a give me more gesture and a hand to the ear! Thanks for playing along!
KRAMPUS
We had read some mixed reviews ahead of time so for some reason I went in with no big expectations. But....I had a blast on this one! Nailed the movie 100%!
We had gotten the "secret word" and whispered it to the frozen delivery man......that was a cool added touch, the facade is very well done.
I really love the way these facades and set designs really set you up and put you right into the story before you ever even enter the maze....something that other scary place needs to figure out fast or get left behind (yes I'm talking to you executives at Knotts!!!!)
OK, sets great, smells holy cow, scares were on!!!! I really dug the hell out of it!......the first time. Actually the second time the the snowmen were really aggressive so plus on that.
The Exorcist
I really wanted to love this immensely, I liked it, it had some good set designs and a few things pulled off well, and maybe part of it was how much daylight was filtering into the maze due to how early it was (?) But it was missing something, not sure what, maybe the very mechanical almost too fake looking effects (spider walk up the stairs, levitating over the bed via forklift) made it feel corny? Again not trying to bag on it, we got a few jump scares out of it, and the live actors did a hell of a job.
HOLLOWEEN
Really good job with set design and capturing the essence of the sequels!
Got a kick out of walking through the inside of a pumpkin and actually smelling the scent of the guts of a pumpkin haha, and again, great job by the actors, likedrink it but didn't have the same punch as last year's Holloween.
Terror Tram
Did I miss something? Is it just me or did this thing almost suck??
Sorry, but to me this is a skip it (unless you're looking forward to the photo up with Norman out in front of the Bates house.)
Our wait was not long at all, maybe just under 15, I already expected there to be plenty of walking, but where are the scares? There were way too many dead spots with nothing really going on, the few scare actors that we did see were ok, Twisty the clown was creepy and we egged him on to slit his victims throat (better her than me right?) But really not enough scares and not enough variety to make it worth it.....felt like an underwhelming, too long scare zone that needed to be rethink.
TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE
Our longest wait of the night, an hour.
It was worth the wait, and we think the maze was even better than the movie!
Good scares, good design, and holy crap, great use of live scare actors!
This one we liked better than Exorcist and not because of the theme, but design and level of scares.
The Walking Dead
Oh boy.....a huge fan of the show.
You guys decided to make this a permanent attraction so it benefits from a more elaborate facade and more detailed sets. So plus points for some if the great "right out of show" feel for the set designs while in que.
It just didn't have I don't know.......oomph, balls, heart, somwthing... the zombies jump out and ok, surprise.....but they get right up on you so fast and then walk away it was almost comical....there was no sense of fear or danger.....it was just "oh look' that looks good," or "good job with the make up" but we got better scares and adrenaline pumping on the other mazes....and with a 45 minute to an hour wait......you have to consider if it's worth it especially since you can catch it any other time of the year.
OVERALL RATING, FEELINGS,OBSERVATIONS
We still love Universal's HHN
and we will be back again next year.
I think they do the best when it comes to authentic set designs, costumes and make up ,(then again, woukd you expect anything less from a Hollywood movie studio?)
We still are impressed with overall maze designs and use of themes etc
Scare actors, behind the scenes people, props operators, scare zone actors, park staff etc....you guys are awesome! You rock, and everyone from the ticket taker, to the line attendant to the guy making the snowman move, made our experience a no hassle, welcomed guest, flat out good time!
This is still the standard to measure up to and with a little planning and playing it smart, you can knock out every single maze in one night.
Here's where Universal needs to be careful.......
1) Crowd control/traffic flow through the mazes.
Last year, we were impressed with the fact that Universal kept track of groups going through the mazes and cutting line at the right points to prevent overcrowding in the mazes (something KSF didn't do in the past).
This year, there was still some line management, but there were several times in a few different mazes where we either ended up stalled "bumper to bumper" just standing still, or almost worse....the group in front of us got the scare and by the time we walk up to that point the scare actors hadn't barely gothe back in his hole to "reset" so we just got dead space.
Trust me, no matter how awesome a maze is or how talented the scare actor...nothing kills the experience more than waking through several dead spots with no scares just because the timing is off!
2) overuse of the same scare tactics and gags over, and over, and over again.
In fact, the same scare used multiple times over in the same maze and then repeated multiple times in all the other mazes....change it up, variety...don't get lazy.
Now I realize in certain situations there's only so many ways you can jump out at someone. But when there's a dark black corridor, hallway, corner etc we all know that somebody's popping out of a "hidden" curtain or sliding panel and "boo". Ok the first time, not the fourth time and not when every maze copied the same thing.
Well there you have it, it's still a top flight haunt and if you do early entry on a not oversold night and the prices don't get out of hand it will stil be worth it to go out of your way to make it happen.
And if Universal keeps the standard high and doesn't let it slip, they will still be THE haunt to beat in the future.
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So after skipping KSF for the first time last year and using DTH316's survival guide for HHN, we decided to do it again this year.
There may be spoilers in this, so be forwarned. For my rundown and early entry plan of attack, see my posts in the
HHNH Planning & Insider Tips (The 2016 Edition)Once again we went in with the game plan and we were successful at getting everything done even with repeats! Boo yah!
Let me start off by saying hell to the yeah
for using some of the "standards"/classics, and a big two thumbs up to all you scare actors and folks working the mazes and props!
Scare actors were balls on!!
We did early entry and had AHS, FVJ, and Krampus all knocked out by 5:50PM.....that's the good news, the bad is it was still daylight so one, our eyes had a hard time adjusting from the outside to the seemingly pitch black interiors, so it was hard to admire the elaborate sets but on the plus side we got the crap scared out of us because we couldn't see anything until it was already on us.
AHS
I loved this one!
Sets were well done, especially the characters from Freakshow and some good scares, we definitely got to appreciate it more when we returned to repeat it in the dark later at 645PM
Walking down the Hotel hallway and commenting how well they nailed the sets from the show and right when I said they should have someone come out of one of these doors....pow! Got me haha shoulda known!
FVJ
Probably our favorite overall
We loved the facade, the sets were well done, the smells, a few good creepy moments and scares.
Worm Freddie eating little Jason! Omg awesome!
I think we just loved it because it's familiar territory, who doesn't love Freddy??? Of course we had to cheer for the razor gloved one at the kill scene in the end.....and he ate it up with a give me more gesture and a hand to the ear! Thanks for playing along!
KRAMPUS
We had read some mixed reviews ahead of time so for some reason I went in with no big expectations. But....I had a blast on this one! Nailed the movie 100%!
We had gotten the "secret word" and whispered it to the frozen delivery man......that was a cool added touch, the facade is very well done.
I really love the way these facades and set designs really set you up and put you right into the story before you ever even enter the maze....something that other scary place needs to figure out fast or get left behind (yes I'm talking to you executives at Knotts!!!!)
OK, sets great, smells holy cow, scares were on!!!! I really dug the hell out of it!......the first time. Actually the second time the the snowmen were really aggressive so plus on that.
The Exorcist
I really wanted to love this immensely, I liked it, it had some good set designs and a few things pulled off well, and maybe part of it was how much daylight was filtering into the maze due to how early it was (?) But it was missing something, not sure what, maybe the very mechanical almost too fake looking effects (spider walk up the stairs, levitating over the bed via forklift) made it feel corny? Again not trying to bag on it, we got a few jump scares out of it, and the live actors did a hell of a job.
HOLLOWEEN
Really good job with set design and capturing the essence of the sequels!
Got a kick out of walking through the inside of a pumpkin and actually smelling the scent of the guts of a pumpkin haha, and again, great job by the actors, likedrink it but didn't have the same punch as last year's Holloween.
Terror Tram
Did I miss something? Is it just me or did this thing almost suck??
Sorry, but to me this is a skip it (unless you're looking forward to the photo up with Norman out in front of the Bates house.)
Our wait was not long at all, maybe just under 15, I already expected there to be plenty of walking, but where are the scares? There were way too many dead spots with nothing really going on, the few scare actors that we did see were ok, Twisty the clown was creepy and we egged him on to slit his victims throat (better her than me right?) But really not enough scares and not enough variety to make it worth it.....felt like an underwhelming, too long scare zone that needed to be rethink.
TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE
Our longest wait of the night, an hour.
It was worth the wait, and we think the maze was even better than the movie!
Good scares, good design, and holy crap, great use of live scare actors!
This one we liked better than Exorcist and not because of the theme, but design and level of scares.
The Walking Dead
Oh boy.....a huge fan of the show.
You guys decided to make this a permanent attraction so it benefits from a more elaborate facade and more detailed sets. So plus points for some if the great "right out of show" feel for the set designs while in que.
It just didn't have I don't know.......oomph, balls, heart, somwthing... the zombies jump out and ok, surprise.....but they get right up on you so fast and then walk away it was almost comical....there was no sense of fear or danger.....it was just "oh look' that looks good," or "good job with the make up" but we got better scares and adrenaline pumping on the other mazes....and with a 45 minute to an hour wait......you have to consider if it's worth it especially since you can catch it any other time of the year.
OVERALL RATING, FEELINGS,OBSERVATIONS
We still love Universal's HHN
and we will be back again next year.
I think they do the best when it comes to authentic set designs, costumes and make up ,(then again, woukd you expect anything less from a Hollywood movie studio?)
We still are impressed with overall maze designs and use of themes etc
Scare actors, behind the scenes people, props operators, scare zone actors, park staff etc....you guys are awesome! You rock, and everyone from the ticket taker, to the line attendant to the guy making the snowman move, made our experience a no hassle, welcomed guest, flat out good time!
This is still the standard to measure up to and with a little planning and playing it smart, you can knock out every single maze in one night.
Here's where Universal needs to be careful.......
1) Crowd control/traffic flow through the mazes.
Last year, we were impressed with the fact that Universal kept track of groups going through the mazes and cutting line at the right points to prevent overcrowding in the mazes (something KSF didn't do in the past).
This year, there was still some line management, but there were several times in a few different mazes where we either ended up stalled "bumper to bumper" just standing still, or almost worse....the group in front of us got the scare and by the time we walk up to that point the scare actors hadn't barely gothe back in his hole to "reset" so we just got dead space.
Trust me, no matter how awesome a maze is or how talented the scare actor...nothing kills the experience more than waking through several dead spots with no scares just because the timing is off!
2) overuse of the same scare tactics and gags over, and over, and over again.
In fact, the same scare used multiple times over in the same maze and then repeated multiple times in all the other mazes....change it up, variety...don't get lazy.
Now I realize in certain situations there's only so many ways you can jump out at someone. But when there's a dark black corridor, hallway, corner etc we all know that somebody's popping out of a "hidden" curtain or sliding panel and "boo". Ok the first time, not the fourth time and not when every maze copied the same thing.
Well there you have it, it's still a top flight haunt and if you do early entry on a not oversold night and the prices don't get out of hand it will stil be worth it to go out of your way to make it happen.
And if Universal keeps the standard high and doesn't let it slip, they will still be THE haunt to beat in the future.
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After successfully using DTH316's tips two years in a row, here's my observations/suggestions.
Obviously arrive early,
Figure out where early entry line will eventually be at and get your but over there as early as they will allow.
Claim your spot in line (as far front as you can get) and hold it.
If you are not already familiar with the park map and the layout of where the mazes are at...for god's sake figure it out before you get there!
We encountered alot of "dodlers" and people kind of loitering/wandering around, and even groups of friends walking 5 across completely blocking walkways while calmly chit chatting on their way to the next maze......get the F outa the way!
Use the strategies listed in this forum, you have to against what everyone else Is doing and follow the game plan or you will find your self in some hideous lines.
Here's the big one....forget Saturdays...Thursdays have not seemed to be as bad and although still busy, lines this last week did not go over 75 minutes while we were there.
Food breaks.......skip em if you can
We tend to eat a good meal before hand and bring energy bars with us.
Do not, repeat do not doddle, wander around, bury your face in your phone, etc.
Walk as quickly as you can without actually running, walk like you have a purpose......you are on a freaking mission!
You do NOT need front of line passes.
If we weren't already in a maze, we were in line for one or heading to one, otherwise we were on the toilet because it was unavoidable..that's it, nothing else, rides? You can ride those any other time iof the year, the mazes you can't.
Stick to the plan and you will be successful.
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AHS
FVJ
KRAMPUS
FVJ (2nd time)
EXORCIST
HOLLOWEEN
AHS (2nd time, in the dark)
FVJ (3rd time, in the dark)
KRAMPUS (2nd time, in the dark)
TERROR TRAM
TCM
WALKING DEAD
All accomplished by 11pm and included Potty breaks, buying souvenir cup and several refills, as well as going through the scare zones..
DO NOT listen the announcements that the first maze opening at 5:15pm is the Exorcist!
You DO NOT CARE.....head directly to the back lot, even if it's "closed"....you won't be waiting long before people pile up and they let you in.....we were literally the very first people in FVJ last night, as in person number one and number two! Wait time=Zero!
If you can't get to all the mazes on one night....that means you didn't listen to DTH and shame on you.
(Full breakdown and reviews coming plus a KSF VS UNIVERSAL review-
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DTH316,
Everything went amazingly well!!!
I will be giving a rundown and review tomorrow I mean layer today lol.
Basically we started out at back lot, did everything except TCM and WALKING DEAD, then went back down to back lot so we could repeat everything in the dark. Then did lame tram, I mean Terror Tram, then did the last 2 mazes.
Our longest wait time was an hour, and we did everything including all the scare zones by 11pm.
Thank you for your survival tips!
Two years in a row with flawless results!
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Ps sorry for all the typos...."run walking" and typing is a mother...........
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Been here an hour, did Backlot including repeating FVJ and did Exorcist, just walked outo of Holloween at some just 626pm, oh and we stopped to refill our cup....
Been here an hour, did Backlot including repeating FVJ and did Exorcist, just walked outo of Holloween at some just 626pm, oh and we stopped to refill our cup....
Suffice it to say, we learned from your tips last year...we resisted all temptation to follow all the other nimrods falling in line for Exorcist (which they prominently announce is the first maze open at 5:15)
And we fell in line for the Backlot Wichita technically was not yet open......but we waited less than 5 minutes and they started walking us to the intersection just before the ballot and we were literally on the first maze by 522pm
At the rate were going, we will have banged out every single maze before 830pm
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Step 1, Arrive early.....check
(Early entry line up on the right)
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We are going tonight! Only our second year and we are absolutely using DTH's survival guide since it completely saved our asses last year.
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my mama say I a good speeler, butt I thinkz she be lying
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Yay! My first haunt review ever!
I have been doing Knott's Scary Farm off and on for years, and grew up in a time and place where as a kid, the neighbors would convert the barn and corn field into a homemade haunt and I love the whole thing. This year however, was my first time do do Universal's Hollywood Horror Night (Thursday Oct 15, 2015)
From security check to early entry access and all the way to our first maze, I was immediately impressed with 2 things:
1) Crowd control. The park and staff seemed prepared and knew what they were doing.
2) Something was missing.......oh yeah, the bratty "tweener" kids running in packs thinking they're all bad and sh*t, HHN seems a little more mature and civilized.
Anytime we had questions, staff was easily identifiable, nearby and were helpful.
I especially liked the fact that the lines of people waiting to enter the mazes were not allowed to merely crowd into the maze like some cattle slaughter, but were brought into the maze in small groups at a time, this made it possible for us to walk through every maze at a pace that allowed us to take in all the awesome movie quality sets and effects and get targeted by the scare actors (as opposed to standing there watching the 30 people ahead of you get hit by the same guy over and over again and then when it's your turn its like "yeah I know, I saw you jump out 10 times already")
Another thing that stood out, at various random points in line at a few of the mazes, we were handed what looked like a raffle ticket.....we later found out apparently, this is how they check for line jumpers (?)....but hey, cool at least they are aware and looking out (you wont see that at Knott's)
Since we took advantage of Early entry and went in with a game plan, we were able to knockout all the mazes and the Terror Tram and the scare zones by 920PM! We even went back and doubled some of the mazes.
WALKING DEAD
Facade and overall set was impressive and the scare actors were in full effect, they really seemed to be into it, not a ton of scares popping at you like crazy, but what you got was very well done and we liked it, would have repeated it later in the night when it was really dark except line was 2 hours.
4 out of 5
INSIDEOUS
Facade was simple but effective, creepy good! I really liked the use of special effects, false walls, and other effects were used quite well and much like the first movie....it gets under your skin a bit. We both jumped and screamed more than a few times.
4.5 out of 5
THIS IS THE END
Am I the only one that thought this was an odd choice?
The movie was not what I would call scary, and neither is this maze, a chuckle or two and for what it's worth it seems put together well and maybe scary if you're a kid. The scare actors did a fine job, I just think the theme is odd. On one hand, I was glad I did it just so I can say that I did it, on the other....can be skipped if you're pressed for time.
2 out of 5
Tram to the lower level.......hahaha Awesome! Was not expecting that, won't spoil it just in case,
CRIMSON PEAK
Overall well put together and once again scare actors were into it and getting us good and it was fun, I think the telling of a story and expecting the guest to get what is going on is difficult when it's based on a movie that hadn't been seen yet, and this one felt a bit short to me. But once again, well put together, good effects and some good spooks, could be better but not sure how much of it was just me.
3.5 out of 5
ALIEN VS PREDATOR
Great sets! Very good job putting you right into the action of the movies!
Loved the mix of live actors, puppetry and mechanical effects, plenty of creeps and some good scares, we liked everything about this one from the music of the movies, to the sets, the actors enthusiasm, only thing that felt "off" was the long blank walkway to exit. We did this one twice, and even when knowing what was coming....they still got me!
4.5 out of 5 (my girlfriend says 4.9 lol )
HALLOWEEN
OMFG!! This is what you come to a haunt for! We were lucky to have done this one twice (50 min and 35 min wait times), this one was worth waiting for.
Facade right out of the movie, great shadow effect outside while in line, fantastic sets, holy crap well done! I won't spoil anything but man, I think I crapped my pants, plenty of scares, some very talented scare actors in this one.
5 out of 5
TERROR TRAM
This was fun, we had no idea what to expect so we were blown away. Lots of walking, but it was worth it to us, plenty of scare actors out to get you, no spoiler but let's just say we got Purged. Bonus: great photo op with a certain knife wielding psycho! Maybe it's the newness of "first visit" or maybe it's that were used to subpar haunts....but we found this to be fun, exhilarating, scary, well put together inspite of all the walking involved.
5 out of 5
Let me summarize our experience this way..... Knott's may have been the first, but they better get their crap together because they are getting their butts kicked.
Scare actors are into it, active and engaging. Mazes are well thought out and designed and of high quality, scares abound aplenty, scare zones are done well enough without being annoying. Crowd control, line set up and supervision is well in place and working good, wait times posted are clear and helpful.
No worries about running out of time if you plan accordingly.
This is our Haunt from now on!
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I first want to thank DTH316 for posting the very useful tips and strategy...
Your tips and strategy guide for early entry were field tested by us on our very first time to HHN on Thursday, Oct 15 and totally nailed it!
Let me begin by saying if anyone is going and not doing early entry AND using your strategy or one amended based upon current situations…..you must be the person that takes the day off work just so you can “cruise” on the 405 on your way to the 101!
Ok, we had a bit of overkill with arriving at Universal parking by 11:30AM, but that’s another story, once the security railing and metal detectors started going up, we immediately commenced “loitering” just outside the parameter at about 2:45PM.
We ended up being number 7 and 8 in line outside the rails before they were even letting people officially line up. 4PM and they let us line up just before the metal detectors and we are numbers 1 and 2 in our queue.
4:45PM security arrives and announcements made about emptying your pockets etc., and here’s my tip and what we did….
We pulled out our wallets, phones, keys, and removed our belts early, because immediately at 4:55…. they open security and we walked right through, we were prepared so security check was instant.
**BTW they made an announcement that Walking Dead would be open at 5:45PM, Insidious at 6:00PM and everything else at 6:30PM**
4:57PM we are at gate and tickets scanned.(next to last gate at right….but it looked like any of the gates on the right area were open and ready.
Were in and get wrist bands, we quickly work our way through the meandering crowds and directly to bathrooms for pre scare potty break and then we head to Walking Dead where they are not open because it’s only about 5:20PM, but we are allowed to que up, we are number 9 and 10 in line, maze opened just about 5:40ish.
We queued up just a hair early for Insidious (about 5:55), after that maze, none of the other mazes were open yet so water break and then we queue up for This is The end (about 15 minute wait because they weren’t open yet)
By 7:17PM we had finished Walking Dead, Insidious, This is The End, and taken the tram to and completed AVP and Crimson Peak!
Drink and bathroom break and then off to Terror Tram.
8:20PM and Terror Tram done so off we go to head to Halloween with a wait time of 50min.
9:15pm and we completed ALL mazes and Tram!!
We then hit all the scare zones, ate dinner, hung out and re did Halloween (35min wait), and the re did AVP (30min wait).
We wanted to redo Walking Dead at this point, but wait times kept fluctuating between 80 to 120 minutes, so we bailed at 12:30AM.
Based on the crowds we saw streaming in after 7PM, and how backed up the lines got after 9PM.....there is NO WAY we would have been able to do everything without torturous lines and staying till close, and even then that would be a maybe.
Using your guide we did it!! Thanks a million and we ain't telling no one, we're keeping it a secret
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RPC's annual Longer Than F@#$ HHN Review
in HHN 2016: Reviews
Posted
I'm trying to remember exactly what way they made us go, I want to say to the right, lower road (?) If that makes sense
Overall We had a real good time.