[HHN 23 Discussion]

My point was that saying something like ("Perhaps if you started trying to make similar content yourself, you'd realize that it's NOT easy, and that even the "last minute houses" take more effort and money than you could imagine to put together")

is not really fait\r because no one here has the kind of budget and resources than a movie studio/theme park has.

that's like people hating on Michael Bay and Michael Bay saying: " Perhaps if you started trying to make movies yourself, you'd realize that it's NOT easy"......

It is not really fair to the people that make haunts or haunted decorations. I know the amount of work HHN takes to make.... just saying.


I think some of the criticism for HHN is the fact that sometimes previews experiences are better. I guess sometimes people can compare recent HHN to older HHN and wonder why some of the newer stuff is not up to par. I am just speculating here, and people are probably very Spoiled in Orlando. I am sure HHN is way better than most haunts out there.

But I could see why someone would be disappointed when they see something and it is not as cool as stuff done before. There are things I personally miss like Queue videos. I don't know why those stopped. Yes we have some this year, but I still miss houses having them with every house every year. That is a tiny example of something they did before that has been declining.

Other people might be disappointed in something else, like the scarezones. (Which, I really don't understand why they can't stop the parade for a couple of months to give us good streets, I mean, is the Parade really more important than the streets at HHN? Does the parade bring in more guests than HHN? It just makes me wonder) I know the parade is new and people like it, But when it comes to HHN I don't see why they couldn't hold the parade for some time just to have a great HHN event.

So Like I Was saying, I could see some criticism coming from people comparing the event to itself. Not even comparing it to other haunts.... I dont know, I guess people are just spoiled or something...

the other problem I see is that HHN doesn't really have any competition besides HOS. So speaking about people being spoiled with the event, some people have never been to anything else. They have never experienced any other haunt, and Like I said earlier since HHN is all they know, they might hate on it because they don't appreciate the amount of work?

[HHN 23 Discussion]

A Freaking MEN. i have built several houses myself. I do it on the super cheap and it has costed me (personally) upwards of 1500 dollars. Which is no where a detailed. Not to mention the manpower it takes to create these things.

For example, I'm building the Saws & Steam facade. Just the facade this year (which I will add to in subsequent years).

I have the top sign built mostly:

Original for comparison:

The thing is to scale and is massive at nearly 8 foot long. I personally have 12 hours invested so far (with the sign and the audio) and that is just some wood and audio files. I anticipate 30+ hours for the whole facade. Luckliy I have most of the wood but $300.00 + dollars for the facade alone.

It is a LOT of work and money. I cannot fathom how much it costs in both time and effort to make a fully function house to the cablibur that Universal does. My finished version may have 4 rooms in the next four years.

But it does take lots of effort. Then to force a movie to fit a house, make sense, all the special effects, custom riggins, costumes, makeups... It is insane.

there is a reason why other haunts can't touch the level of quality and some that do (and go beyond) but have one long house.

ha... I have no memory if this house having that on top... that's pretty cool.

About people like us making these types of haunts... I don't know, I don't think it can be compared since you know Universal is a movie studio after all....

[Other Video Game Houses]

they should totally do Dino Crisis, have the event on both parks and do this in the JP area. it would be awesome

[FREE Local Orlando Haunted House (Halloween Night)]

lol.

I am curious about this, but kind of scared. Is this legit?

[My Long Review with Critiques (But I still really enjoyed it) *Full spoilers ahead*]

I am really glad at least one more person noticed how big and empty some rooms are. I was starting to think I was the only one and I was just being too Picky or something.

Some rooms definitely feel empty, I totally agree. Bigger sets were nice but I still prefer closer, smaller sets. OR they should double their staff if they were planning on making big rooms. Bigger rooms would have been nice if they had more stuff going on.

I do agree that the elevator room in Cabin could have had more actors. Or if they couldn't have more actors in that room they should have had more puppets and mannequins. I mean, they could have had the room filled with creatures.

I Also agree about the cubes being smaller, I think I posted that before too. The cubes should have been smaller and they should have had more monsters in them. Like I Said, I am glad at least another person noticed this.

They did fix Resident Evil, I saw more actors so I was really happy about that.

[HHN 23 Discussion]

I like IPs when they are done well. My favorite year (house wise) will always be 2007, a year of mostly IPs.
This year Evil Dead and American Werewolf are my absolute favorites. I Also love the Walking Dead this year too. I guess it depends, but there is nothing I love more than a really good IP house, I love that. But at the same time an IP house that sucks is more disappointing than an original house that sucks. I
Dont even know why, maybe it makes no sense but the disappointment from an IP house is a little bigger than from an original

[Resident Evil: Escape from Raccoon City]

This house got really good. I liked it a lot more today. It definitely got better.

[HHN 23 Discussion]

They used to care about the fans but the fans have taken the back seat. That's not cool to me because we're the loyal customers who have been going to this event for ages, and I know this because of the half assed crap they TRIED to put together for the fans. They didn't even finish the PS story because it was stupid and quite obviously a last minute thing.

Actually I can understand wanting to appeal to the masses, I can understand doing everything for the general public, I can understand not caring what the hardcore fans say because, well, the fans make a small percentage of the ticket sells. I know Universal does this for profit and what matters most is that same thing.

What I don't understand somtimes is why can't they do good houses and streets for the general public? Like, I can undersand Uni not caring what the fans say, but sometimes I wonder why can't they do a better job for the general masses anyways?

I'll give one example, Walking dead house Last year and this year. Last year the house was done because of the huge amount of fans, the house was pretty much done for the masses. The house was really awful.

This year not only was another house made, but the streets are all about the WD, and Look at the house... it is amazing (compared to last year)

This sequel house is also made with the general masses in mind and to bring in a huge profit, But they totally did the amazing job they didn't do last year.

my point is, why couldn't they make the house as good last year? Yes the even is done for money, but Everything else in the parks is done for money, Potter was done for money, yet look how amazing they made the Potter side at Islands and how great the ride is. (I know Potter and HHN are completely different things, Im just saying)

I guess what I am trying to say is that, just because something is made with profit in mind and for the general public, doesn't mean it can't be great. Walking Dead this year proves this. the difference between houses is so huge it is ridiculous. Sometimes I just wonder why some things are not as great as they could be, and this has nothing to do with the fans.

[Cabin in the Woods]

I have nothing against this house at all, but screw this house.... Those lines are ridiculous. not only does it take forever to actually get in to the line,
but the times in the front are always a lie. today it said 25 minutes but the line looked like it was going to take at least 50 minutes. Then getting out of the line was a complete nightmare...
I wish I could do this house more often but as of right now I've only done this twice.... I can understand this is the first house everyone does, but could they at least give us the real wait times??

[The Walking Dead Street Experience]

I made a comment before about the music in the streets, Wondering if they were just going to loop the theme song over and over....

And while they didn't do that, the music this year is pretty disappointing. They do loop the theme but they play other songs, And I still can't really remember any of them.
That was something I was wondering about and something I kind of worried about.

I thought they were going to use more songs from the show, not the same 3 songs over and over, I am starting to get sick of the Walking Dead theme.....

[Walking Dead : Roaming Street | Walker Bomb Truck]

the walker Bomb truck is easily the best thing about the streets. It's like a party when it arrives, I love it, it is really awesome.

[HHN 23 Discussion]

I used to say bigger, more detailed sets is better than the scare... I think I may have been wrong in that . I love amazing sets but with houses like RE. Its beautiful but the scares just aren't there. I think the huge, sparsely populated vistas kill that one. I think a house needs to be tight and more intimate. Immersive is great. But immersion isn't the only thing that makes a house good.

The biggest problem for me was Universal making bigger sets and not adding more actors. The last room in resident Evil could have easily had 3 more actors than it already has. The beginning of the house could have had 2 more zombies.

The Rooms look great. But they feel so empty.

Like, seriously if they are going to do bigger sets, then the 2 actors per room doesn't work as well. the same thing happened for me with some rooms in Cabin in the Woods.

They can do very cool detailed sets but not making them so big and wide with a couple of actors made the rooms feel empty.

I remember Frankenstein having such amazing and detailed sets but the rooms still felt small enough and the scares were great.

What about Gothic.... Really nice sets, But smaller more claustrophobic rooms. I think that works best.

Besides that, With the bigger sets, You cannot even truly enjoy them in a conga line with people flashing your face with a flashlight telling you to keep going.

What good are big wide sets full of details when you can barely see them for more than 10 seconds. The first room of Cabin has so much stuff in it, and the only thing I remember is the Wolf head because of this same reason.

I honestly prefer closer, smaller rooms with a lot of detail and really good scares. I can't really enjoy the bigger sets because Like I said you barely have any time to walk through them.

[American Werewolf in London]

I am actually very surprised o guest has broken any of the puppets yet.... very surprised

[HHN 23 Discussion]

Actually, I think we could add The Purge to the list, since The Purge 2 is due out next year and there's already precedence for it.

Nightingales: Blood Feud isn't a bad idea. I'm partial to Nightingale: Rebellion (Revolutionary). Although Nightingales: Sword and Shield set during a) The Crusades or b )Generic medieval battle could be fun.

I'm still holding out hope for "Catacombs: Quarantined" however.

I am actually disappointed and a little bit upset that we got a Havoc sequel before Catacombs or Nightingales. I guess I know Havoc was a fan favorite but this year it showed what I was expecting, Havoc is not really that good of a story for sequels. While Nightingales and Catacombs are more sequel worthy (imo) Im not saying the guys working the house are not doing a good job, but the Havoc sequel was not that cool in terms of story.

So I Would be really happy if they bring back Nightingales or Caracombs. (having both of them the same year would be phenomenal )

I honestly do not see an all original year happening any time soon. It would be great, but I don't think it is possible anymore.

Hollywood will keep getting Ips to use and Comcast will keep wanting to use those Ips on both parks. IPs bring in a lot of money and it is very good business wise.

Original houses are great for us, but I don't think it matters to them as much as getting more tickets sells matter when it comes to the IPs.

I can honestly see the next 4-5 years being all IP years. It might not happen.... But I wouldn't be surprised if it does.

[HHN 23 Discussion]

Walking Dead needs to come back, Walking Dead Must come back.... you do not take down a cash cow like this so soon. WD is easy cash, therefore it must be back for 2014,
For HHN and Uni, WD was the gift that kept on giving.

[HHN 23 Discussion]

I have a strange hunch all the Jack references this year are poising him to come back next year. Honestly.. even though I think he has been over used... I'd kill to get him back and have TWD go away.

I am sure they will make HHN 24 all IP again probably, but I would gladly welcome Jack back as the icon and as a scarezone with him in it.

I've always loved Jack, I know he is hated but I never had any problems with him, I've always liked him, so if he comes back I would be really happy to see that

[Evil Dead]

That is something that makes this ever weirder now that you mention it. They don't have a video of the woods in that white wall but they did put a video on the first room when the guy is reading the book...

that room really didn't need that video being played there, and they could have used that video in the entrance..... really weird setting

[Evil Dead]

something i don't really understand is why they didn't put a video at the beginning of this house (The white wall that is when you enter the building.

I know they have red lights and lighthing showing on the wall... but wouldn't a video of the forest or something be better? seems like a missed opportunity for me, they could have added something really cool

[Halloween Horror Nights 23 Merchandise]

I am surprised how well the Jack Vinyl is selling since I thought everyone hated Jack lol.

[Rocky Horror Tribute Show]

an e-cigarette or a regular one?

maybe it was an E-cig. I couldn't tell. I know the people next to him walked up and went to find other seats.

[The Walking Dead Street Experience]

The event just has a completely different atmosphere this year. A lot of crowding/standing around because people aren't moving as much (there aren't scarezones to run in fear of or walk through continuously). We sat and watched people like we do every year and it just wasnt as gratifying

it's really crowded. The woodlands zone and the survivor's camp are a clusterfck sometimes...... Everyone wants to take a pic of the deer eater (And I don't blame them)

but sometimes it feels like there was no zones in this two areas because of the amount of people in here.

[JDW's reviews]

I dont even think the problem is that zombies are not scary... but they are not very entertaining either. Their costumes are just regular clothes, they cant talk, they cant act too aggresive, There is a lot of restriction. Now I will be honest, Zombies this year have scared me, so I personally have been scared.

but when you sit down around a zone, it doesn't have that magical HHN feeling that streets in the past used to have. that feeling that even if you didn't get scared, at least the sets and their costumes entertain you because they are so great looking. I think that's whats missing this year. that "ohhh" factor.

[HHN 23 Discussion]

I find it kind of Ironic that everyone was mad about having so many Ip houses...
But this year the best houses are Ips, and the least liked seem to be the two original houses.
Evil dead is really amazing, Werwolf is probably the best house I've ever seen, Cabin is really good, and Walking Dead is still a lot better

than last year.

just saying,

[Walking Dead : Undead Street | Woodlands]

I saw them Thursday but they were not moving. I looked at them for a while too, they were just static.

I like them, It's a pretty cool addition to this area. I also noticed they added hair to the "bicycle girl" mask, so it looks a lot nicer now.

[The Walking Dead Street Experience]

The actors are fantastic, but the actual streets are just total garbage imo. Don't get me wrong, the sets are quite awesome, but it feels like we've been getting more and more dead space every year, and this year it increased exponentially. And to add on to that.....they got rid of the fun interactive scareactors. I used to LOVE interacting with scareactors on the streets....the Morphans last year are a prime example. Before that, Acid Assault.....before that, pretty much every scarezone, especially 20 years of fear (that zone was outstanding). Now it's just freaking zombies. Not a whole lot of interaction there. None can even talk. Some scareactors may try, but there is very little that they can actually do.

The only exception to this would be the guards for the bomb truck, and while they're awesome, they still aren't really as fun as other street scareactors have been in the past.

Maybe I can be proven wrong.....I certainly hope so. I will give the bomb truck scareactors another chance, but I still find it an issue that they're the only scareactors that can really interact regularly throughout the entire night.

that's true. the park does feel with more dead space this year. I know we have the tank and the barn, and we have scarezones now,

But it felt less "dead" last year ironically.

I don't know, I know last year people had problems with the park feeling empty but it felt better for some reason. I don't know, there was better ambience (the lights, the music etc) the music this year, sometimes I can't even tell what's playing.

I think the actors are doing a really good job and they are getting really scary.