Jump to content

DTH316

VIP
 View Profile  See their activity

  • Posts

    6,298

  • Joined

  • Last visited

  • Days Won

    86

 Content Type 

Posts posted by DTH316

    A Brief History of 3D at HHN (RIP: 2010 - 2015)

    in General Halloween Horror Nights - Hollywood

    Posted

    House of 1000 Corpses
    With 3D a new element to HHN post-hiatus, there was some excitement as to what that meant and what Universal could bring to the table. At the time, Universal had brought some truly dark and dreadful mazes to life, so the 3D of neon and black lights didn't seem like it would be up their sleeve, especially for the property of House of 1000 Corpses. Subtitled "in Zombievision," I guess you could say that was accurate, as the result felt more like a blurry mess. Given two years to figure it out, this 3D concept mostly done with LED changing lights to make it seem like "the walls were alive," never really found its footing. The only thing that really seemed to pop or push back was at the facade of the maze, and after that, the maze was headache inducing and I felt was more enjoyable with glasses off.

     

    Alice Cooper Goes to Hell
    The next year, Universal decided to change up their 3D for the more traditional method and it paid off to be much better. Using some tricks learned from HOTC and the old, usual methods done at most Haunts around the world, this maze seemed to use 3D the best out of any of the years. Not only that, it fit the theme and locations the best while still remaining scary. There were plenty of rooms that utilized 3D to its benefit and still also had great sets. The main thing that tends to happen with 3D mazes is set design, props, and scenic fall to the side while they instead just color a bunch of hallways and rooms, which actually happened more often in the 3D mazes after this year.

     

    Black Sabbath
    Given the advantages of being a soundstage maze, there were expectations this maze couldn't fulfill, and the fact that it was in 3D was another downer. A lot of the scenes just weren't scary, as sound design seemed to be a big problem with songs just blasting through each room. Alice Cooper songs were horror-fied for those mazes, these seemed fairly normal. There wasn't an ounce of dread or suspense in this maze, although it had some good designs, but it mostly was forgettable. There was even talk of a 3D video within the maze, which turned out to be just a washed out screen of a nuke going off and it definitely wasn't in 3D either. The maze also re-used a lot of noticable props that stuck out to even casual guests. The biggest problem was the narrative never allowed itself to be scary like a traditional HHN maze and just seemed like any other maze you could see at a Haunt.

     

    Clowns
    At this point, 3D seemed like the kiss of death to any maze. Given how generic the name of the maze was, plus lackluster celebrity endorsement (I love Slash, but adding him to a maze derives zero excitement), this maze seemed doomed from the start. However, HHN had made good use of their clowns before, so there was some hope. The narrative made sense and there was potential for scares, but the maze made use of dumb comedy bits instead (the opening mirror scene that was WAY TOO LONG). About half way through, it was clear this maze was just as generic as the title and it wasn't going to get any better. And when it ultimately ends, you just wonder if you were still at HHN as everything about it was a waste.

     

    This Is The End
    This was labeled as the first comedy maze (which I beg to differ with Universal Monsters Remix and Clowns coming prior) and there were some funny moments, ripped directly from the movie, but making this in 3D was the biggest atrocity. For one, it doesn't fit the property. All the recreated scenes don't even resemble their counterparts because of the new color palette alone. Not to mention, some of the scareactor designs completely altering the looks. But speaking of which, the main monsters in this maze weren't even in the film. The scares don't land because the maze is simply not crafted to be, and the only real comedy is from the soundbytes lifting dialogue from the movie, which doesn't really make it much of a comedy maze either. In the end, the 3D was not only useless but unnecessary, the maze didn't work as either scary or funny, and it left a lot of people wondering, "WHY?" Making this not only to be the worst 3D maze, but the worst maze in post-hiatus HHN history.

     

    With that said, thank God 3D is dead. May it never rest in peace, nor it ever return to HHN. It was a fad that stretched on for 3 years too long and never really worked in the first place. It makes the sets look cheaper and the scareactors goofy looking. Those bright colors don't make for a scary maze and its time HHN focuses back on what it does best -- scaring the hell out of people with quality sets and make up. The 3D did the opposite of just that.

    Jigsaw voice: GAME OVER.

    What We Expect

    in Halloween Horror Nights Hollywood 2016

    Posted

    Hey guys, with this post, I wanna talk a bit about anticipation and how the creators could really take advantage of their ideas and properties to elevate them to the next level. Also, to give the creators an idea what it is the fans are looking forward to specifically in each maze. Every year, it always seem like there's that one dud in the batch. So I wanna talk about what can be done to make sure they match those expectations and how to differentiate from the usual so they can be classics of their own. In a way, this is TALKING TO THE CREATORS about what we'd like to see before the mazes even open, hopefully in advance enough so something can be done about it. Most likely, they won't take any of what we say and use it, rather waiting for opening weekend surveys as judgment, but hey it's worth talking about. Let's get started:

     

    The Walking Dead Attraction
    Now if this maze sucks, I won't say it really hurts the event. Nevertheless, it's apart of the event and some attention should be brought to it. It's Halloween, so the daytime attraction should get some extra tender, love, and care. Now we all know that the main thing Murdy has been saying is he designed this maze specifically in mind for Horror Nights to have more boo-holes and scareactors. This obviously would make a much more intense experience and more chances for scares, but is that enough? I haven't been through the normal version of the maze yet, but my answer is -- I guess? Granted, this is the first year the maze has been open and it hasn't been completely worn out yet for the regular passholders, but just maybe an extra something special could be added. Definitely not an overlay, or new music, or anything like that. But perhaps one extra main scary character that's only available for HHN aside from double the generic walkers. This could actually be cool in years to come when it's been open for years, and each year fans could anticipate the new appearance of a new character each year. As things grow stale around year 2 - 3, and overlays or re-hauls are taken into consideration, that's when "new rooms" or "new music" should be in mind.

     

    Texas Chainsaw Massacre: Blood Brothers
    Alright, you already know, Back in Business is, was, and forever will be the ULTIMATE maze. This year, they have the opportunity to reach such frightening heights once more by having an original take on the series. Since this is a bridge between part 1 and 2, and there will be an appearance of ChopTop, I'm praying they don't go a campy route like they did with sequel of the film. Be dark, grim and brutal like 07 and 08. Adapting that style to the original film's aesthetic may be a bit difficult, but that's what's gonna make this gamble worth it if it can get anywhere near close to BIB. I'm talking in your face scenes, uncomfortable rooms, and the feeling of dread around every corner. That's what separated BIB from other haunted mazes -- BIB felt like you may actually die, where other mazes are kinda just fun to go through. It's time to rev the saw and legitimately scare people again. With that said, the next order of business is narrative. I want there to be a story that can be followed, heroine/final girl and all.

     

    The Exorcist
    This will be hard to match expectations. Luckily the fans are well aware this maze is kinda hard to pull off, and I think will be more open to some things not working out exactly as hoped, but I'm more concerned of the general public's expectations of this maze. Like the movie, they want the scariest maze EVER. I know the concept is to "possess the guests," and I think that's a frightening concept because that hits alot of people's primal fears of this franchise. However, I hope they don't forget people also just genuinely fear Reagan's mangled face. If she's attacking us a few times instead of just being a victim or yelling things at us the whole maze, that'll really get some people. Boo-hole Reagans will go a long way instead of the "theatrical experience" of watching things in every room. ATTACK US. I think another great opportunity would be to take advantage of the subliminal imagery in the movie just for some subtle scares. One of the scariest moments I ever had in a maze was in La Llorona when the scrim effect showed Maria behind the picture and her terrifying face was just snarling at me, right before she jumped out. That's what this maze needs! Also, I know a lot of this stuff with Reagan is impossible to do with a human actor, but don't rely too much on animatronics. The Spider Walk, okay, I get it, you can't get someone to do that over and over again for 30 minutes. But the head spin, I challenge y'all to find a practical effect way to do that with a human! If this maze has animatronic overload like the Evil Dead maze with all the fake Mia's, I will walk out of this one disappointed.

     

    Halloween: Hell Comes to Haddonfield
    I know Universal thinks last year's maze was the highest rated maze ever or some insane statistic like that, but look... I promise if the same audience of people experienced the '09 maze, they would've loved it more (also stats might not be as high for 09's maze because it was up against Saw's first year, which was a phenomenon at the time). It was more intense, more creative in scares, and more chilling. '15's Halloween, I give it that it had the spirit and look of the movie better, but it didn't have the scares. As of now, it doesn't seem the crowd is all that excited for Myers returning this year, so how do we get the underdog of the event to come out surprisingly the most scary? Now if the goal is to match the tone of the Halloween 2 movie, guests are going to snooze their way through this one. I'm hoping they amplify the tone, have not only more deaths/victims, but more creative ones than the movie, and make the scares more close in approximity. The setting is great and can really work, but it needs to take the movie and up it times 5. As for the finale, if it's just a retread of last year's finale, I'm already disappointed. Maybe they'll add fire effects or something, but it's still the same thing. It was a great moment last year, no doubt, and if it were somewhere in the middle or even the beginning of the maze, I wouldn't be too sad about it, but the end of the maze needs punch, not something we've seen before. This is what a lot of fans disliked about Walking Dead in 2014 - the beginning already was the same, but then the ending just tacked on the horde zombie effect that worked really well in '13 and made it just "meh" the next year. I'm sure Universal saw people screaming out of the maze regardless, but I urge things to stay creative and unique every year, even in the face of IPs.

     

    Krampus
    The only way this maze could fail is if they make it a comedy house. I know from a design stand point, it'll be gorgeous. But if they shoehorn too much comedy in, it'll just be silly and lame. I think some comedy can work, like El Cucuy, but the route of Clowns 3D or This is The End will be a disaster. Keep it intense and fun, with a lot of great creatures, but keep the environment 95% scary.

     

    Freddy vs. Jason
    Why they wanna go a more original route, I'm not sure. I feel the movie had a lot to work with. Some of it was tackled in 07/08 in both Friday and Nightmare, so I suppose I understand. With that in mind, like TCM also this year, I hope there's a narrative to follow. Unlike the movie, I'm hoping they give Freddy enough to do and to make the nightmare scenes very out there. Also, this needs to be the goriest of the mazes with the most insane kills and victims! It'd be also fun to see some old tricks reprised, like the face to the grindstone death, or the guy being split in half, headless bodies that twitch, etc.. In a way, this is the 10th year and this is a bit of a homecoming, so some reunion feels in this maze -- the IPs that brought HHN back to life -- are more than welcome.

     

    American Horror Story
    Three different stories in one maze and my only hope is it doesn't seem like a mess. The more they can do to differentiate each season within the maze, the better, in my opinion. Unlike some of the mazes of yesteryear when mashing all the properties into one maze, these seasons don't really gel together and wouldn't work well like that. If it can feel like three completely different mazes, each with a facade and a finale of their own, that would make this maze all the more awesome.

     

    • Like 4

    HHNH Planning & Insider Tips (The 2016 Edition)

    in Halloween Horror Nights Hollywood 2016

    Posted

    15 hours ago, dereksdominance said:

    Thank you for takin the time to give such a detailed survival guide! Going for my first time this year and I have a few questions. Would it be better to go the first Saturday, the 17th of September, or the second  Saturday, September 24th? Which will be less crowded? We are only doing general admission and can't stay till closing, but we are fine with that. As long as we can do AHS, Freddy V Jason, and either Exorcist or Halloween, we will be satisfied. Also, where do we go for Early Entry? Is it in front of the entry turn stiles or near the ticket windows? 

    There's no official way to know crowd ordinance, BUT if I were to guess, I would say the first Saturday. I always talk to people and tell them I went to opening weekend of HHN and they go, "what, it's open already?" So by the second Saturday, more people will have caught on. Keep in mind, the difference won't be that much, maybe a 5-15 minute less time difference on some of the lines. Most people don't even think of Halloween stuff until mid-October, which is why the two weekends before Halloween are peak nights (which could be a 30-45+ min plus on average wait times). When HHN is less crowded, they pulse the mazes better for a more personal experience so even on empty nights (like the After Party weekend last year), the waits are still pretty long at some points in the night in certain locations at their specific peak hours.

     

    Luckily, the mazes you want to hit are all in the same area. AHS & FVJ can both be hit within the first hour. If ya wanna skip Krampus, you can prob do Exorcist and Halloween by 9:30. I don't know how early you have to leave, but with Early Entry, you will definitely see all four of those mazes.

     

    As for Early Entry, they've done it two ways. I'm not sure how they'll do it this year, but my guess is how they did it last year since it seemed to work pretty smoothly.

    Last year, they had a wristband method where you just enter the regular park around 5 PM. Before you reach the end of the street of the plaza, they hand out the wristbands which they grill you to put on immediately. You were then forced to go on a specific route as daytime guests were leaving on another route. Then before you reached the escalator, there were people to check if you had your bands on. Then you can just stay when the park closes for regular guests and head down to do whatever you wanted. Smart people went to the lines for the mazes to be at the front instead of hitting a few rides. This ofcourse means you're waiting an hour and a half even if you're the first one in line, without moving an inch for your first maze because the mazes generally opened between 6 - 6:30 at the latest.

    Prior years, instead of going through the turnstiles into the park, you'd go to the far right toward the VIP/FOL pick up area and be let in the park on the side of Waterworld. They would then inch guests further and further into the park until the escalators. At which point, they'd let people loose and they can run down to the backlot to hit the mazes first at about 6:30.

    HHNH Planning & Insider Tips (The 2016 Edition)

    in Halloween Horror Nights Hollywood 2016

    Posted

    3 hours ago, StraightEdge said:

    I have a quick question. Since I have Front of The Line Tickets for opening night, I want to watch the scaramonies. The first maze or first thing I want to do at the event after the scaramonies is The Exorcist because IT'S THE EXORCIST. But I don't want to use my Front of The Line entry for it. I want to hit The Exorcist again as the last thing I do for the night with my Front of The Line, you think I'll be good? Will the first general entry after running to the maze when the scaramonies finish be good?

    To get the most out of you front of the line pass, I advise following the usual game plan and skipping opening scaramonies. I mean really, it is NOT that great, even if you've never done it before. And it's the same thing every year. This way you can hit every maze once with decent lines and then between 11-2, get your repeat of every maze in. That's just my advice though, because those FOTL tickets are hella expensive and I would want every damn penny put to good use.

    HHNH Planning & Insider Tips (The 2016 Edition)

    in Halloween Horror Nights Hollywood 2016

    Posted

    Any game plans and tips you guys have, please post them here!!!

     

    For those who don't know, every year we reveal our secrets, tips, and etc. to help newcomers and fellow members figure out their game plan for the evening. If you want to experience absolutely EVERYTHING, you're going to need to follow a very strict game plan. It's not a place you can just walk into and expect to see every maze. There is a STRATEGY.

     

    Now, for my ultimate SURVIVOR GUIDE!!!!

     

    I want to first start this off by saying you do not need a Front of the Line pass to experience everything. If you want to be a bit lazy and not worry about seeing everything, then sure, but if you want to save LOTS of money just by hustling and doing some research, you can EASILY see everything with a general admission ticket.

     

    If you want to see some of the things that Universal Studios has to offer during the day time, then I recommend a Day & Night Combo ticket. This comes in handy if you're with people who want to do the rides or of course see some of the shows or the Studio Tour (Harry Potter, Despicable Me, regular shows & ST are NOT available at HHN). Doing these during the day will get them out of the way at night and save you even MORE time (my game plan INCLUDES the rides and it has worked every year).

     

    In fact, the Day & Night Combo ticket is about $60-80 cheaper than a Front of the Line pass and you would get to be at the park ALL DAY with it and will see EVERYTHING if you follow my game plan. On the same accord, if you picked three cheap days to go to just HHN, that would STILL cost less than a FOL pass. With an FOL pass, you only get entry into the mazes/rides ONCE, while three separate trips while following my game plan would obviously be three or more.

    Now that I think about it, buying a FOL pass would be pretty stupid unless you have a good reason for why you need one. Anyway, here we go...

     

    GENERAL INFO:

    - Keep your group as small as possible. I know it's fun to go with your buddies, but the sad reality is, the more people there are, the more you'll get slowed down. Everyone has a different agenda, will want different things at different times, and sometimes there's silly drama. Since I've been taking people for awhile, I've successfully done this with a group of about 12 (with a group of additional people who weren't with the game plan coming later, making a group of about 20). But I've realized for me, I should keep it at an 8-10. If you're new to leading a group, start with 2 - 4.

     

    - Be sure to go with people who know what to expect. If you bring a big cry baby, you'll have a tough time dragging them through the scare zones and into the mazes. Also, explain your strategy beforehand. I recommend doing that DAYS before you go, so they know about the Early Access situation (we'll get to that in a moment) and everything else. Don't even invite people who are wishy washy, "oh, I get out of work late," "maybe," and all that. Get a group of DOWN friends and just say "we're trying to keep the group small" if someone else asks to join you. It sucks, but if you want to do this, do it RIGHT. And I know it's weird, but if you have friends who are inviting people you don't know, INTERROGATE THEM! Sometimes your friend will spring on you at the last second some crap about the person they're bringing that'll totally ruin everything, like "oh, they gotta go home at 11." In fact, I even recommend taking separate cars and only getting there with the people you really know. Sometimes you'll be with someone who can't handle their shit and will do something stupid, like God forbid, punch a scare actor and they'll get kicked out of the park. If that happens, at least now you don't have to drive them home.

     

    - Buy your tickets in advance. The event generally sells out. I recommend buying at least 3 - 5 days before hand, especially to plan for the final total of people in your group. There's sometimes a weird "airline" like situation with the price of the tickets. Sometimes it goes up, sometimes down, depending on different factors. However, to stay on the safe side, buy early.

     

    - If you can, go on a Thursday or Sunday when the park is not so crowded. Since the Terror Tram closes early, park capacity is less, so lines inevitably won't be so bad.

     

    - If you absolutely have to attend a Friday or Saturday, DO NOT GO during peak season where it's most crowded AND most expensive. Peak season this year will be: Oct 21, 22, 28, 29. Halloween is on a Monday this year, which may be pretty good for crowds!

     

    - Buy a souvenir cup and get 99 cent refills. Towards the end of the run, they usually do deals, like buy 1 or 2 and get one free.

     

    - Be sure to grab a map! It's always nice to know where you're going and any additional info.

     

    - Use the universalstudioshollywood.com mobile app or website to track wait times for attractions. This will save you time instead of searching for a wait time board. You can also use this BEFORE you go to track wait times on certain nights and see their average lines so you can have an idea of what to expect.

     

    - The park is split into three sections this year --

    Upper Lot (Texas Chainsaw Massacre, The Walking Dead, Terror Tram [The Simpsons Ride])

    Lower Lot (The Exorcist, Halloween [Jurassic Park in the Dark, Transformers, The Mummy Ride])

    Backlot (American Horror Story, Freddy vs. Jason, Krampus)

     

    - I mention a lot of this because a lot of this has actually happened to me or has happened to someone I know who didn't go with me. These are all in the realm of a reality and don't think for a second it won't happen to you. PREPARE FOR THE WORST and HOPE FOR THE BEST. Also, I know this is a STRICT guideline, but don't be a drill sergeant to your friends about it. It's a back pocket advice kinda thing that if you study well enough, when your friends ask "where to next, captain?" You can easily reply or at least politely tell them, "just a sec, let me look." Speaking of which, you may want to download, print, or commit this page to memory. If you're there and totally forget what to do next, chances are you might make ONE wrong step and be completely SOL. At HHN, so much as going to the bathroom at the wrong time can really jeopardize everything.

     

    1) ARRIVE EARLY - BETWEEN 4:30 - 5:30. THE EVENT STARTS AT 7.

    This is probably the most important thing to understand, but you not only must be there on time, but in fact, very early. Most people see that it starts at 7 and plan to arrive AT 7. But what ends up happening is you hit Los Angeles traffic, have to wait to get into the parking structure, find a parking spot, most likely walk across City Walk, wait in security check, wait in line to get in and by than, it very well could be as late as 9 PM. If you do this, I promise you, you will not see everything. Even if you're 20 minutes late, I cannot guarantee you'll see everything. So be there EARLY. Enjoy the City Walk, have dinner, get drinks, shop, whatever -- just be there EARLY. Then, go to the far left for the security check in - there is usually NO line over there since people just stop at the first ones they see at the right. [If you want to shop, the Universal Store just outside the gates has basically everything inside the park, so get your souvenirs now instead of during your time in the park, and also you can take your bag back to the car so you won't have to carry it with you later -- HHN has NO re-entry.] Then, get in the line to enter HHN by 5:45 - 6. This next part has to be split into two, depending on what you want to see --

     

    1B) EARLY ENTRY - PICK THIS!

    Early entry gets you into mazes before park opening, generally around 6:30, an entire half an hour before the park even OPENS. Last year, they had a system where you could go in during park hours and be wristbanded. Before that, the line for Early Entry was to the RIGHT of the entrance near Waterworld. If you can't find it, ask someone, because it is IMPERATIVE that you find it or know the Early Entry system (I'll update you on the situation as soon as I find out). Sometimes there is another early entry option that will take you to the Terror Tram or to see Jabawockeez early. Trust me when I say that is a waste of time and you can do them later. I can not stress this enough, but DO EARLY ENTRY. If someone suggests doing the Terror Tram instead, SLAP THEM. It's also important to note, that if you're late to Early Entry, even if it's only by 2 minutes, it will close up and you're stuck with regular entry. Again, BE EARLY.

     

    1C) OPENING SCARAMONIES.

    If you don't want to do Early Entry and want to see the opening scaramonies instead, being there early is still the only way to see it. A line will often accumulate and getting there too late will ruin your chances of seeing or hearing pretty much anything. You are let into the park and stopped before NY Street (you'll basically be in front of the Walking Dead Attraction). Opening scaramonies isn't a well known thing to the masses and mainly only to the fans or the punctual -- it's RIGHT BEFORE the park opens. A cast of characters come out, announce the park is open, and all the scare actors run at you with chainsaws revving while flames shoot up in the air and a barker taunts you. It's a pretty intense experience, especially since you'll be in a very big crowd like cattle. Unless you're right up front, it'll take you a few minutes to get out of it, but it's sometimes worth it. This year, the Opening Scaramonies is themed to The Purge: Election Year. Oh, and there's go-go dancers in regular entry. So if you're a pervert and absolutely HAVE TO see your go-go dancers early in the day, then regular entry is the way to go. Personally, I'd rather do early entry, but I know some people LOVE THIS. The last few years, there's been go-go dancers on the backlot while waiting in lines also, but non-themed ones. After this is over, rush and do the rest of this game plan.

     

    1D) OR LAMELY BE THERE LATE. IN THAT EVENT, THIS IS WHAT YOU DO.

    Sometimes you're screwed and you come late - it inevitably might happen to you and you might be crying and saying, "but the game plan thread said now we won't see anything!" Well, kinda true, but don't worry - your night isn't completely lost yet. You are going to miss some things, but first things first, if you want to at least attempt seeing everything, understand seeing any of the rides is now out of the question. And you'll have to pick one or two things you can live without seeing. This is actually not the best thing to do since mazes will often surprise you, but it is what it is. Now, I still recommend you pretty much follow the game plan below anyway. It'll still work for the most part. However, if you're reading this still, I assume it's because you're the type of person who can't get places early and I want to enforce how important it is that you not be that person THE NIGHT YOU GO. Let's just say you don't get there at 7, maybe at 8. An hour late? Not bad, right? WRONG. You'll look at the time board and see the mazes are about 20-40 minutes each and say, "hey, not bad!" Now, you get to your first maze, and by the time you get out, it'll be about 8:50-9. Look at the time board, lines are about 40 - 60 minutes each." Hey, not bad! Wrong! (You getting the picture yet?) You wait for your second maze, and when you're out, it's now 10:20 since you had to walk to find the maze and the time it took you to conga line through it. You get out the maze, see the time board -- holy shit, every maze is almost like an hour and a half to two hour wait! Yeah, now you realize you're screwed. You have 5 mazes left with roughly only 3 and a half hours left to do them. If you do the math, that's maybe only 2 more mazes you can hit, 3 if you're lucky. Oh, and there's also the Terror Tram. Make that 6 attractions you still need to see. I'll keep this scenario going: let's say now you decide to do Terror Tram since it'll inevitably have the shortest line out of everything, maybe 20 minutes. Terror Tram takes 30-40 minutes in of itself as an attraction since it requires lots of walking. By the time you're out, it'll be about 11:20. You make your way to the lower lot, wait an hour and a half for a maze and it'll be 1 AM by than. Now you only have time for ONE MORE MAZE. You can either choose whatever maze depending on your interest in them. If you get to the park at 9, make that another maze or two off your list that you won't see. If you get there at 10... God help you, but you basically just wasted your money. IF FOR WHATEVER REASON you are THAT person who is late EVERYWHERE, I recommend going on a Thursday or Sunday when the park is less crowded. Do not attempt being there late on a Friday or Saturday, or you'll be screwed.

     

    I'm gonna take a moment to reinstate how important the very first hour of the event is. The reason you want to do Early Entry and get most of these mazes/rides done in that time is because most people finally arrive at 9. Meaning the first two hours will have the least lines. Don't wait until 12 thinking "it'll clear out because people will go home." That like... seriously does not happen at HHN. This isn't Disneyland so there's no kids that need to be in bed. You can get the majority of the event done within the first hour of the park being open and after that, the lines increase dramatically. The 7-8 PM block is the absolute most important and crucial time in making sure you do everything.

     

    2) GO TO THE BACKLOT FIRST.

    I know what you're thinking... "hey, there's all these mazes we're passing with no lines, let's do these first" or maybe even "we should hit a maze here before we follow the rest of the game plan that DTH made." NO. You STOP! LISTEN TO ME NOW! You do the damn backlot first or it will HAUNT YOU FOR THE REST OF YOUR NIGHT or maybe even LIFE! For my smart, early entry choosers, you can basically skip this since it'll be a free haven of no-line-land. But if you did opening scaramonies instead, or got there late, you either RUN or FAST PACED WALK to the Starway escalators towards the back of the park by The Simpsons. Go all the way down and now CROSS THE LOWER LOT to the BACKLOT. Now, my suggestion is to get in line for whatever maze that has the longest queue already. This is a good indicator of what will be the most popular maze down there. If you wait to do the most popular maze down there either second or third, the line could be much longer by the time you're out of your first or second maze and you may have to wait quite awhile. Early access people, you'll be done down here by 7:20-7:30. Everyone else, good luck, but it could be 8 or maybe even 9 by the time you're done. Or who knows, maybe the extra maze down there this year will space out the lines pretty well. [The lines down here get JAM PACKED all night long, almost IMMEDIATELY. Up to 2 hours and 40 minutes at one point. I am not exaggerating, but the sooner you are done and finished with the backlot, the better.]

     

    3) NOW GO BACK TO THE LOWER LOT.

    If you so much as think, "hey, let's go back to the upper lot or do The Simpsons up there, or go on Terror Tram now," I will find you and stomp on your foot. Whoever is trying to kill your game plan, you spit on their elbow and call them Ginger. Get your group's head in the game! If you did Early Entry, on your way back to the lower lot, you'll notice a herd of people on their way to the backlot and you basically just dodged a bullet. IF, and ONLY IF, you did Early Entry and want to do some rides, I recommend that be NOW and/or before 8 PM. Hit Transformers while it has no line. Once you're out of that, The Exorcist. Then after, the exit will put you in front of The Mummy, which you can quickly do. Then do Halloween. Now if you have time, you might as well do Jurassic Park in the Dark. If you didn't do Early Entry, I suggest doing basically the same route, except skip the rides. If it's still before 8 PM, I say it's pretty safe to do at least one of those rides though, as long as the line isn't longer than 15 minutes and only AFTER you've done most of the mazes down there.

     

    4A) DINNER/RESTROOM BREAK.

    If you DIDN'T DO Early Access and it's already close to 9:45 - 10 PM, skip this step. You are not rewarded with dinner or a potty break and you have to hustle and continue! If it's a Thursday or Sunday night and the Terror Tram closes early, do this AFTER the Terror Tram. If for whatever reason you're still worried about seeing everything despite all you've done already, do this AFTER the Terror Tram. Or maybe you're trying to get a repeat of every maze -- again, skip this step. If you're a trooper, already ate, and have no need to release your fluids and want to keep going? GO FOR IT! Basically this step is pretty interchangeable/skippable depending on how you're feeling at that moment. The rest of you, take a nice break and realize you are practically done with all the mazes. You have done 5 mazes and possibly 3 rides in approximately 3 hour's time. Congratulate yourselves. Personally, I like to indulge at this time of the night and reflect on everything so far. I also like to space out the night so I'm not done TOO early. Do not dilly dally for too long though. Try to restrict this time to about 45 minutes. Once you're done and if you've done everything right (such as either Early Entry or Opening Scaramonies) it should be about 9:45 -10:00.

     

    4B) TERROR TRAM.

    Unless it's a Thursday or Sunday, the line never gets that long. Even if it is Thurs or Sun, I still recommend holding this off until you've at least done the backlot. Terror Tram takes approximately 30-50 minutes to get through, even without a line. It'll usually have a 15-40 minute line though, sometimes even an hour, but it doesn't go much higher than that. On a Thursday or Sunday, it can be about an hour and a half (although the last three years I've gone on a Thursday, it was maybe 20 minutes at the most, but weird things happen). Either way, with the backlot first, you'll still have time to do this.

     

    4C) THE SIMPSONS.

    Honestly, I wouldn't do this ride. The Simpsons is a time sucker and will take at least 25 minutes to do, even if it has no line because it's whole pre-show elements are 15 minutes in of itself. Why waste that much time? Come back to this after you're done with everything you've needed to see.

     

    5) TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE

    More than likely, at this time of night, more than likely this maze won't be too popular anymore. I'll say an hour at the most while everything else is verging on an hour and a half.

     

    6) THE WALKING DEAD/JABBAWOKEEZ

    If you've done everything correctly, it'll be approximately 12-12:30 (or earlier, if you're lucky). If you wanna reward yourself and your feet with a show, now would be the time. If you haven't seen the Walking Dead Attraction (which you can see YEAR ROUND), now would be a good time for that, too. Otherwise, you can get back to doubling up on your mazes.

     

    7) ROAM THE SCAREZONES.

    Now that you're DONE (yayyyy) go roam the scare zones or re-visit your favorites.

     

    8) CHAINSAW CHASE OUT.

    It's basically the reverse Opening Scaramonies. Starting at about 1:30 AM, chainsaw minions will line up on two sides all the way to the exit and chase people out. Either walk through and/or sit back and enjoy the show ;)

     

    Basically, my game plan looks like this...

    5:30 - ARRIVE FOR EARLY ENTRY

    6:50 - FREDDY VS. JASON

    7:10 - KRAMPUS

    7:30 - AMERICAN HORROR STORY

    7:40 - RETURN TO LOWER LOT

    7:45 - TRANSFORMERS

    8:45 - THE EXORCIST

    9:45 - HALLOWEEN

    10:00 - THE MUMMY

    10:10 - JURASSIC PARK IN THE DARK

    10:35 - DINNER

    11:15 - TERROR TRAM

    12:20 - TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE

    12:30 - JABBAWOKEEZ

    1:15 - THE WALKING DEAD

     

    If I missed anything, or if you have any further questions, just let me know!

     

    And everyone else, be sure to leave any game planning tips or suggestions here! Everyone has a different game plan! Some for different needs or different experiences and have different outcomes!

    • Like 3

    HHN Hollywood 2016 Speculation

    in Halloween Horror Nights Hollywood 2016

    Posted

    I did the search myself as that sounded so bad, that it had to be a prank.

    But dear God, it's real.

    This sounds so awful, it just may be good.

    I hope it's more Klownz instead of Clowns. Because Clowns may be one of the worst mazes in the history of the event, but the Klownz scarezone was pretty good.

    Klowntasm... I thought we escaped this year with bad names, but I should've known better lol

    • Like 3

    Most Anticipated House for HHN Hollywood 2016

    in Halloween Horror Nights Hollywood 2016

    Posted

    1. The Exorcist - I'll admit... I'm scared. Not of the maze, but for how big this could fail. However, that's what has it as my most anticipated. We've been waiting for this maze for about a decade. It has some mighty expectations to fill that I can't even lower in my head. However, if this is somehow pulled off, this may be the next MASTERPIECE maze.

     

    2. Krampus - This would be my most anticipated if the film was better. I'm worried they'll try to shoehorn comedic stuff in here and make it a comedy house. If they take it seriously, this could be genuinely scary and the only "comedy" could be from the irony and such. The environments alone should make it worth it though.

     

    3. AHS - Another maze we've been waiting a long time for. My concern is they're highlighting the hell out of Twisty the clown. And why did they pick the seasons they picked? Asylum would've been a better choice over season 1, maze-wise. But I can't wait to hear that theme music while strolling up to the maze. Gonna be epic.

     

    4.  FvJ - I'm very excited, and hopefully it doesn't have a "been there" feel to it. These guys are what brought me to HHN in 2007, so it's nice to see it come full circle about 10 years later.

     

    5. TCM: BB - I love Leatherface but this is the fourth maze dedicated solely to him. FvJ is at least split down the middle in their 4th incarnation. Is this some kind of record at this point? However, this is basically our only ORIGINAL maze, essentially, so I'm really excited about that.

     

    6. TWDA - I still haven't made my way to Universal to check this out, so I oddly can't wait to see this. I still think there's a Uni trip in my future though because I need to check out Harry Potter still and I dang sure won't have time for that during HHN.

     

    7. H2 - I just don't care about this much. I think it'll have it's moments, but since last year's Halloween maze wasn't on par with it's first, and this one seems to be more in the spirit of the last one, especially based on a mediocre movie, this one could easily be meh. However, we finally get to see Michael Myers in a new location, so that's fun.

     

    The only thing I can say hallelujah to is NO 3D MAZES this year. This year can potentially be bad ass from top to bottom with no major weak spots.

    HHN 2016: Krampus

    in HHN 2016: Houses

    Posted

    I'm very excited to see the creatures in this maze. I think this has the POTENTIAL to be the best maze of the year depending on the tone. If they aim for the scarezone and El Cucuy where it's creatively dark and scary but still light, it could work really well. I just hope they don't try to be goofy as hell like This is The End and fudge themselves over.

    HHN 2016: Halloween: Hell Comes to Haddonfield

    in HHN 2016: Houses

    Posted

    Murdy's comments about people's reviews of '09 Halloween being exaggerated is really funny to me. Legitimately, that was an amazing maze. And IMO, it was much better than '15 Halloween, for damn sure, which had nowhere near the same level of intense scares. '15 may have caught the feeling and tone of the movie better, but 09's was just all around scarier. And while at a Haunt, that's ALL I WANT from a maze, even if you must deviate from the source material.

    With that said, I hope they spruce the hell out of this maze, because Halloween 2 is a snore of a movie. I remember liking it when I first saw it (like, before H20 was even a thing), but it just doesn't hold up after all these years and new sequels.

    • Like 1
×
×
  • Create New...