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DTH316

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Posts posted by DTH316

    HHNH Planning & Insider Tips (The 2016 Edition)

    in Halloween Horror Nights Hollywood 2016

    Posted

    I was watching them and they didn't look as bad. That extra hour seems to be working.

     

    Also, it seems word of mouth on Exorcist has dropped lines for it a bit (Lot of people saying it's the best or the worst), so now the lines are taking a back seat to AHS, which has stayed dominant in wait times. Or just opening it the earliest of all the mazes has lowered capacity during normal hours.

    HHN 2016 Discussion

    in Halloween Horror Nights Hollywood 2016

    Posted

    14 hours ago, Ghostsarejerks said:

    So in major news from Terror Tram, the crowd backup nightmares have been resolved by adding a second path more akin to the traditional route. They also added 30 people to the cast to flesh it out

    Been saying this since day one, but does anyone listen to DTH? Nooooo.

     

    Also, does this mean the other path is more bare in props? I think that would suck, to not be in the know, and go a different way only to get a lesser experience. 

    13 hours ago, Grimmsquid said:

    Murdy said on twitter that we should whisper the twitter password to the Krampus character to get the exclusive item.

     

    Since almost all the items have been gone within the first hour of the event. Feel like a jerk now since opening weekend I just said the passwords out loud for anyone to hear..

     

     

    Forgive me Halloween gods..

    I never know how to do it either, like I wanna be clever and slip the word into conversation but usually I'm just like "gimme my dang prize!" Haha

    What We Expect

    in Halloween Horror Nights Hollywood 2016

    Posted

    On 8/29/2016 at 5:25 PM, DTH316 said:

    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.

     

    Haven't been through the old one and when I went, it was the end of the night and it seemed like everyone was on break or leaving or something. But then I watched videos of walkthroughs on Opening Weekend and it seemed consistent with my experience. I know there's double the cast, but this maze still feels very low on talent, but that's just me. If there's even less during the day time, that must be a really pathetic experience haha

     

    On 8/29/2016 at 5:25 PM, DTH316 said:

    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.

     

     

    This is maybe the only one that did not meet my personal expectations. I didn't get any narrative out of this maze, no clear final girl, and I wasn't even sure what movie we were in, especially since most of the maze seemed to be based on part 1. Luckily the maze is darker than it's "part 1" counterpart.

     

    On 8/29/2016 at 5:25 PM, DTH316 said:

    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.

    Luckily, this maze did a good balance of theatricality and attack. It was puppet/animatronic overload, but I felt they were all necessary. The only one I think they could do with a real person is the head spinning. Basically just use the headless victim technique but have a rotating head on top. It'd be pretty terrifying to see something look like an animatronic, spinning head and then it's hands lunge after you. Everything else about the maze worked perfectly.

     

    On 8/29/2016 at 5:25 PM, DTH316 said:

    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.

    This one did exactly what I hoped and surprised during it's finale!

     

    On 8/29/2016 at 5:25 PM, DTH316 said:

    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.

    Again, exactly what I hoped. Barely any comedy and just a good strong creature maze.

     

    On 8/29/2016 at 5:25 PM, DTH316 said:

    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.

    Not exactly the goriest maze (maybe TCM was), but still pretty dang good. Also, not many callbacks, but that's fine. As for Freddy, they definitely gave him enough to do and there was most certainly a narrative to follow (unlike TCM).

     

    On 8/29/2016 at 5:25 PM, DTH316 said:

    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.

     

    A nicely organized maze!

    HHN 2016 Discussion

    in Halloween Horror Nights Hollywood 2016

    Posted

    I read that article too. He claims the slashers are all things we've seen before but praises the effect of the girl being eaten in bed in Krampus, even though 1) that's an old hat trick they've been doing since Freddy in 07 and 2) they use the same damn gag in FvJ THIS YEAR. 

     

    Also in one article he says he's so extremely impressed by Exorcist, then the next calls it the most disappointing maze.

     

    Along with foodstamps' points, if you can't tell by now, the guy is a fucking idiot. It's a damn shame he writes for the LA TIMES. 

    HHN 2016 Discussion

    in Halloween Horror Nights Hollywood 2016

    Posted

    58 minutes ago, Arsik_22 said:

    Agreed, your gameplan is the best shot at getting everything done this year. Would you be okay if I utilized your tips in a HHN Guide for beginners video? 

     

    Also, here's a walk through of The Purge Gauntlet! 

     

    Just let em know it's DTH's master plan ;)

     

    And actually, Potter open would increase capacity since more people would be allowed into the park now. 

     

    UNLESS that is the issue in the first place. Maybe they used their new cap for the entire park with Hogwarts open and didn't calculate  what they would need to subtract with it closed, thus resulting in too many tickets sold. This was actually an issue a few years ago when Terror Tram closed early on Thursday's and Sunday's, they didn't realize there was less placement of people to go, so they dipped capacity to help even it out.

    • Like 1

    HHNH Planning & Insider Tips (The 2016 Edition)

    in Halloween Horror Nights Hollywood 2016

    Posted

    From what I hear, it was a very unusually packed night and other people that used my game plan on Saturday didn't get through everything either! It's unfortunate they oversold the hell out of the event and hopefully they fix the issue in coming weeks, but for those that went opening weekend, the damage is already done and i imagine they lost a lot of future business. Honestly, I don't know if there is a better game plan. It just seems there is no way to do everything if the park is THAT crowded.

     

    And perhaps Uni does it to convince more people to buy FOL, but look Universal... there is no FUCKING REASON why someone should HAVE to spend 200 damn dollars to make sure they go through SEVEN mazes. That's nearly 3-4 more times than the price of a REGULAR ticket (I only paid $49 with my student ticket).

     

    In fact, there's no reason someone should HAVE to arrive for early entry. You fix your attendance cap and learn to manage your park because right now, you're being a bunch of assholes. A 3 hour line is a sign that y'all funked up. That's twice as long as a line should be. And even though I did everything, I don't know if I can support a company that ain't got their shit together! This is the 10th year in a row of being successful, they should know better.

    • Like 4

    HHNH Planning & Insider Tips (The 2016 Edition)

    in Halloween Horror Nights Hollywood 2016

    Posted

    1 hour ago, JGmoney1996 said:

    Thoughts on this potential schedule for a Thursday night w/ GA?

     

    Early Entry

    The Exorcist (Don't want to deal with a 2 hour line after visiting the backlot and the maze opens 15 minutes earlier than the backlot anyways)

    American Horror Story

    Freddy vs. Jason

    Krampus

    Halloween

    Jurassic Park

    The Mummy

    Terror Tram

    Food

    Texas Chainsaw Massacre

    Jabbawockeez

    The Walking Dead

     

    Edit: (Depending on time, food and Jabbawockeez can be cut out)

    Wait to do Exorcist last, right before closing. I can not emphasize this enough. If you do one maze that's popular first, you're risking a wait of two popular mazes getting high wait times in the mean time. It's basic math. If you do two mazes that are popular first, that means you only have one left, instead of two left. 

     

    Plus, while it is open 15 mins earlier, that just means everyone is heading to the backlot during those 15 mins (which is exactly what happened when I went). I was very fortunate to hit two mazes on the backlot with less than 5 min waits and it saved me hella time, then waited 10 mins for Exorcist right before closing.

    1 hour ago, kwyjibo said:

    I've noticed over the weekend the line estimates and crowd control have been a nightmare. Last night at 8:18 we got inline for Halloween 2 with a posted 70 minute wait. We ended up walking into the maze at 11:05... Customer relations hooked us up with free FOTL for the rest of the night after I complained but still. That was beyond ridiculous 

    I'm glad they hooked it up. That would've pissed me off too. Honestly I would've left the line 30 mins in and realized where I was placement wise in line. But also, Halloween being 3  hours at 8 PM makes no sense haha

    30 minutes ago, Zero0 said:

    Hey guys! I'm a little worried after seeing the reports about last night for my upcoming trip.

     

    I'm going on Saturday, Oct 1st. I bought the 2pm Day/Night combo, just cause we haven't checked out the Harry Potter stuff yet. I wanted to do a Day/Night/FOL combo but that wasn't offered when I bought my ticket. I checked the site today and they are offering it now! So, I'm pretty upset now.

     

    There is no way for me to buy a FOL pass online, and I don't want to risk waiting till the day of the event when I get there in the afternoon for my 2 pm admission cause they might be sold out. Any suggestions on what I could do to get a FOL pass for HHN in advance?

    Call them, I'm sure they can fix everything.

    1 hour ago, Tich0las said:

    So you're saying Day/Night combo isn't like Stay and Scream?  We have to exit and enter again?

     

    Having been to Orlando so many times and taking into consideration which rides are open during HHN, the attractions I'd like to see are the Studio Tram Tour,  Water World, and Cali's version of Harry Potter. You don't think I'd have enough time to knock these out in 3 hours?

     

    You can def do those 3 in 3 hours, it's just a matter of when the showtime for Waterworld is.

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