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Grime

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    HHN 25 Discussion

    in Halloween Horror Nights 25

    Posted

    I really, really hate posts that say things like "Uni always wants to keep it in one park" and "Potter will never be open for HHN because Rowling won't allow it" (heh). Unless you sit in on the executive meetings where these decisions are made and contracts are signed, stop spouting this crap as fact. It's fine to say "I don't think Uni will ever expand to both parks for HHN again" but the fact is that nobody is precognitive. Anything can happen.

    Just like everything else, opening IOA for HHN is a money issue. Is it worth it? They may have to keep attractions, stores, restaurants all open and pay all of those people that run everything just like they do during the day. Unless USF is having capacity issues consistently, why would they open the other park and deal with all of the logistics problems? And yes, there is a hard cap for tickets that they legally cannot pass. They usually only hit that number on Saturdays towards the end of the event. Opening Diagon Alley gives them an extra couple thousand tickets that they can sell.

    In regards to this year, yeah it definitely feels like last weekend was the busiest opening weekend that I can remember. We waited 2 hours for RUN and everything else was at least an hour. I typically never wait in anything over 45 minutes on opening weekends unless it's a big crowd puller like TWD and it's right in the middle of the event (10-11pm). I'm a little worried about the rest of the event, but Wednesdays and Thursdays should stay relatively tame. But again, we'll see I guess.

    Asylum In Wonderland 3D

    in Haunted Houses

    Posted

    So how does the Shrek building work for a house? I know many were concerned by the use of this space how does it work? Does it seem cramped? Short? Any noticeable concerns? 

    Seemed pretty normal to me. They did a great job with the space they had.

    • Like 4

    All Nite Die-In - Double Feature

    in Scare Zones & Shows

    Posted

    I really hate this location for zones, and if the stage show wasn't out by Mel's I feel like this one should be out there (like Horrorwood). It's a great zone thrown in an absolute shit location. Kudos to the actors for dealing with the amount of traffic in such a small space. I'm not even claustrophobic but this area always brings it on. 

    • Like 1

    2015 Member Picture Thread

    in Halloween Horror Nights 25

    Posted · Edited by Grime

    Shaved head, probably dickies shorts and black chucks. Red beard. Septum piercing. Tattoo's on my right arm and leg. Likely a camera in my hand, but not always. I'm pretty easy to spot. I'm also very friendly, don't be afraid to tap me on the shoulder and say hey :)

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    Grime's Impressions (Updated 9/21)

    in Reviews

    Posted

    So what was your impression of the house being in the Shrek theater?  I remember how there was a lot of discussion a while back of how large of a space it was. But unless they maxed it out with set pieces, it sounds pretty crammed.

    I couldn't really tell you, the rooms felt to be about the same size or maybe only slightly smaller than the tents.

    To clarify, it seemed to me like while the rooms weren't huge, the rooms just felt void. Of both scareactors and props/set pieces. It was like riding Cat in the Hat. I think they were hoping that the 3d effects brought on by the walls would make the rooms feel busier, but it just doesn't.

    HHN 25 Discussion

    in Halloween Horror Nights 25

    Posted · Edited by Grime

    In regards to the recording, I feel like it has something to do with spoiling the contents. If someone watches a full walkthrough on YouTube, they might not be inclined to purchase a ticket. It might not feel worth it to them. They will occasionally let media and whomever record snippets and edit it into a "trailer" sort of like a full length movie has, but they don't want to release the entire "movie" for free to everybody.

    Of course watching the video is nothing like being there and experiencing it first hand, but people may think "eh, doesn't seem worth it" and pass. Where if the same person can't find footage of the houses online, they will instead purchase a ticket and come to the event to check it out.

    Just another possibility I suppose.

    Edit: One could argue that they allow full walkthroughs of pictures and video during the tours, but the lights are on and the building is empty. You can't really see the full experience.

    • Like 3

    Spoiler Free EP Night 1st Impressions

    in Reviews

    Posted

    Looking forward to M&M and FvJ as I missed them last night. I'm relieved to hear FvJ is doing well. They were posted at 120 minutes last night before anything else even hit 90.

    That said, were the wait times off for you? I feel like ops has a lot of getting used to judging times next week. 2 houses we hit were posted at 60 and 90 respectively but we waited less than 20 for both.

    • Like 1

    Grime's Impressions (Updated 9/21)

    in Reviews

    Posted

    Great review! Kinda sad that the Asylum 3d isn't the best for scares, but it's still good to know. Will you update this when you go into new houses? 

    Thank you :) I know some people are saying it's the best 3D house they've done, but it feels like the weakest to me. Maybe I just had a bad run? Idk, it's too early to tell. People tend to take early reviews a little too seriously when the fact is just that it's too early to tell. I've had many years where a house will start at the bottom of my list but by the end of the run it's at the top.

    I'll certainly update this thread with more impressions when I hit the rest of the houses, and I'll update again when the event wraps up with my final thoughts and improvements that were made.

    That's great to hear on the street vibe.  I've had that feeling for the past few years as well, that I'm just not immersed in the event like I used to be and a big part of that has been the weak approach to the scare zones they've taken.  Did you do AWIL in 2013, if so, how does it compare/differ?

    Yes, the streets are very good so far. I feel like while the houses are the main draw of the event, the streets kind of set the tone. They need to be entertaining and I feel like they're just as important as the houses when it comes to the success and impression of the event. If you have good streets, people will go into the houses in a better mood (not bored) and have a better time. I know that's how they effect me. In recent years when the streets have lacked, even on nights where I'm doing strictly houses, I just feel "blah" and will generally not have as good of a time through the house.

    I did AWIL in 2013 but unfortunately the house didn't stand out for me enough to remember all of it. I usually only really remember one maybe two houses per year very thoroughly. Forgive me, my memory is shit.

    • Like 3

    American Werewolf In London

    in Haunted Houses

    Posted · Edited by Grime

    After so many years of this event, nothing really scares me or catches me off guard anymore but the puppet they use for the wolf in this is fucking frightening and makes me genuinely uneasy. Well done to the designers.

    • Like 4

    Grime's Impressions (Updated 9/21)

    in Reviews

    Posted · Edited by Grime

    [UPDATE 9/21]  ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    So I went with a group of friends on Friday and Saturday and did the remainder of the houses. I'm currently at work and Monday's are a little busy so I'll keep it short.

    Freddy vs Jason - 8/10. Probably my favorite of the various classic slasher houses we've had in the past. Lots of excellent scares, lots of great scenes. I really love the use of multiple actors in one hole (heh) being used in a lot of houses this year, but both this house and Body Collectors seem to really have it on point. Fans of the classic slasher films will love this one no doubt, and I really feel like this will be a crowd favorite for the general public.

    Insidious - 9/10. Holy crap, this house. While I feel like the films were "meh," this house really doubled down on the creepiness and took advantage of the atmosphere of the films. Loved the scares, lots of great setups. Even if you haven't seen the Insidious films, check it out for sure. I may have rated this one high because I enjoy the creepier houses more than the balls-to-the-wall action houses, and it played on a lot of my natural fears. And be sure to tiptoe thru the tulips with meeeee~

    The Purge - 7/10. Good house, nothing really incredible really caught me here. It reminded me a lot of Havoc but I still feel like it needs to be more intense. I /really/ enjoyed the scenes in this house though. Typical Purge stuff, if you enjoyed the movies you'll enjoy the house as it's pretty straightforward.

    Monster and Mayhem - 10/10. This is a goddamn anniversary house and a nostalgia overload if you've been going for the last 6-7 years. Lots of throwbacks to recent years here and probably the best scenes and set designs from the same period. I went into every scene smiling like a child and telling myself "OH SHIT IT'S ______!" which inevitably distracted me and allowed the actors to get some pretty good scares on me. Loved it loved it loved it. I bought the hype and it paid itself off.

    RUN - 6/10. Cool house, but something about it just felt off. While I feel it was certainly unique, nothing really stood out for me. I'm chalking it up to a bad run (no pun intended) and will have to do it again. Might also be that while posted for a 45 minute wait we waited almost 2 hours so I was a little burnt out. I'll do it again this week and post another update.

    Also, still haven't gotten the opportunity to check out the shows yet. Hopefully this weekend.

    [/UPDATE 9/21]----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Copy/pasted from my Facebook page. This page doesn't seem to like the formatting and I'm not retyping the entire thing. :B

    Edit: Formatting fixed! Now will less eye bleeding contrast!
     
    Yeah, there's slight spoilers ahead. It covers some details of the event you might not have seen yet. Nothing really TOP SEEKRET but I know some people will complain if I don't put this here.
     
    So my thoughts on HHN after preview last night.

    I have really high hopes for this year. Since 2010, I feel like the event as a whole has been lacking, most notably in the streets. If you only go once and hit the houses and spend most of your night standing in lines, you're not going to understand what I'm getting at. My whole thing, is that I typically purchase a FFP+ (or now RoF?) pass and go once or twice a week. I like hitting the houses the first few weeks when the lines are short before it really starts ramping up closer to Halloween. Once the lines are regularly at 60+ minutes within an hour or two of opening, that's when I like spending most of my time in the scarezones people watching, hanging out with friends, taking pictures, etc.

    The problem with the last few years is that the scarezones and streets have been extremely boring. Lack of props, lazy costumes, bad themes in general. When the event hits bigger numbers, there's no longer anything to do other than wait in more lines for rides or houses.

    Now, this year. After a full lap last night, this year felt very nostalgic. The streets were alive and electric. The scarezones were FULL of actors. New York in particular was either in the middle of a cast change, or they just straight up have what felt like 100 actors on set. The themes for these zones are also very good. Yeah, we have recycled themes, but they're GOOD THEMES. Everyone was very interactive, in your face, cracking jokes and generally in good spirits. I counted 3 different chainsaw groups in addition to the normal zones. Very little dead space between zones. The stage show by Mel's was pretty cool by what we saw as we walked by, but I feel it helps the event feel immensely more alive even if you're not right there watching it. Hearing Jack and Chance yell and seeing the flames go off in the background brought it all together, and I'm glad UO made the decision to bring back a stage show of some sort. It was one of my favorite things from past years.
    I did 4 houses last night. AWIL, Body Collectors, Alice and Walking Dead.

    AWIL - 7/10. The sets were really cool and the puppet they're using for the wolf is what sold me. The thing is massive, in your face, and fucking frightening. The scareactors just need to get into their groove and this house will likely be a crowd favorite.

    Body Collectors - 9/10. We've seen this house how many times now? At least twice but it never disappoints. It's such an easy concept but it just works. Spooky dudes doing gruesome shit to people. This one is on track to me my personal favorite so far.

    Alice - 6/10. My biggest gripe with this one was there wasn't really any place for scareactors to hide. Every room felt like a bunch of empty space and the actors were forced to kinda stand around and hope you don't notice them against the background. We'll see how it plays out the rest of the event.

    Walking Dead - 5/10. And not just because I'm not a Walking Dead fan, but it just felt kinda lazily put together in regards to scareactor placement and scares. The set design is pretty great actually. Doesn't really matter because there's so many fans of the show that will think it's the best house regardless so they might not have to invest as much time into it. There's not a whole lot you can do with zombies though, so they're working with what they've got. Some of the set pieces were really cool, but I just wasn't entirely wowed. I wish they'd give zombies a break for a few years, the fad is fading.

    I'm looking forward to getting a pass this year and taking a bunch of pictures, meeting new people and hanging out. Message me if you're going some night and want to do houses or something. :)

    Street scareactors, if you want pictures taken for personal use, PM me directly.

    • Like 5

    HHN 25 Discussion

    in Halloween Horror Nights 25

    Posted

    With the amount of bullshit they deal with in the normal houses from guests, I feel like an extreme house will likely never happen. Everyone is either too hypersensitive or headstrong these days, it's probably not worth the headache. If they wanted to do this, it would've had to happen in the 90's or in another country like Japan.

    • Like 5

    Insidious

    in Haunted Houses

    Posted

    That makes two of us...maybe our paths will cross on Netflix tonight

     

    I've seen the first in bits, guess I'll watch them now too!

    Downloaded and watched the first one tonight, it was alright I guess. I'll follow up with the next 2 in the coming weeks.

    But back on the topic of the house, it was easy to see how multiple scenes from the first film could be used in the movie. I feel like I spent the majority of the duration thinking "that would be a cool room" or "nah that wouldn't work." But I don't particularly care for direct scenes from movies in my houses. It takes away from the immersion and makes me just feel like I'm watching the movie again. Albeit in 3D I suppose. I like IP houses to have the same world and ideas of the films, but with original scenes and concepts. Again, so I don't feel like I'm watching the /exact/ same scene play out.

    ****************WARNING, THAR BE SPOILERS AHEAD****************

    For instance, don't want to see the same characters and the same scene from when Josh went back into the house when he was astral planeswalking or whatever. The creepy old people who get shot? But I would like to see new, original locations and characters from The Further.

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