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RaiZe's Opening Night Review


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So...how about that rain?

Here's my review of opening night. We hit every house at least once as well as Bill and Ted. Bear with me, it may be lengthy.

Alright so we got there around 3:30ish and grabbed some food at Panda before heading to Bobs to meet/greet some Nightmares. After hanging around for a bit, we headed to the gates where I got a picture with Aiello and talked for a bit before getting in line. As soon as we got into the park (6:00pm) we headed straight for Orfanage because the Jaws house always suffers from BnT dumps so it's always got the longest line. We took the route through HHN 20 Years of Fear and the Fear Revealed scarezones, but no scareactors were out yet so we pressed on towards Jaws.

Orfanage: Ashes to Ashes

I was really looking forward to this house because god damn I have wanted to see Cindy in a house for a long time. Since this was the first house we hit, I can't really recall TOO much about the house. The scareactors had some decent placement and the effects were pretty cool. Loved the children and how playful everyone was. Really felt like an orphanage. The worst thing about this house was probably the fact that we went through during the day time, and with the house being in queue buildings 2 and 3 for Jaws, there was a LOT of light bleeding in through the roof.

Bottom line: 7/10. Save this house for the night, and it will be an 8/10.

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Afterwards, we quickly headed over to Disaster to hit up Zombiegeddon. We went through Zombie Gras, but again no scareactors. It was still pretty early.

Zombiegeddon

This was definitely the "cheesy" house of the year. Lots of cool stuff strewn about the house (Zombie Survival Guide on the table, demotivators on the walls) and of course, zombies galore! This house was much more fast-paced and loud then I thought it would be. Lots of quick action and the rooms are REALLY small so when there's a scareactor about to strike, it usually keeps the line moving very quickly because there's nowhere to back-up or dodge, other than heading into the next room. Worst thing about this house was probably the "training" part of it. They talk about "training" you, which they do have some stuff towards the beginning, but the rest of the house is just zombies everywhere for the most part. Kind of hurts the theme, but overall a solid house.

Bottom line: 8/10. Again, save this house for a little bit later to get the full effect of going through a zombie themed house, and exiting right into the middle of a zombie-torn Mardi Gras parade. Excellent job on their part for that little combo.

EDIT: The theming is actually better than I had thought! Thanks to Harry Warden for clarifying the float crashing into the house and the zombies getting loose, hence the lack of "training" through the rest of the house. I'll still keep it at a solid 8 though.

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After Zombiegeddon, we headed over to Mummy (used to work there) to say hi to some familiar faces before trekking into the depths of Hades.

Hades: The Gates of Ruin

Loved the sets, the costumes were pretty good, hated the shit hanging all over the place. Seriously. They really overdid the rope/faux hair/rubber/etc. that is hanging from the ceiling in this house. Besides that, I actually had some good scares in here. It was very dark and it really held the Hades theme together nicely. Extremely detailed house with a wide variety of characters. But seriously, take a lot of that shit down from the ceilings.

Bottom line: 7/10. Check it out, very good, etc. etc. etc.

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Getting out of Hades we decided to check out the house next door, Psychoscarepy.

Psychoscarepy: Echoes of Shadybrook

This review may come off a bit bias, seeing as the original Psychoscarepy is still, to this day, my favorite house and will never be topped by any other Psychoscarepy ever. Maximum Madness was decent, and HftH doesn't exist in my mind. So every time we get a new Scarepy house, it's always compared to the original house. ANYWAY. This house was pretty "meh" to me. Didn't get scared once. Actually laughed a couple of times. The costumes seemed pretty lazily done as did the sets. The facade was beautiful though.

Bottom line: 6/10. Sorry, but I was hoping to see some homages to the original house. This felt like just another unnecessary rehash.

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After Psychoscarepy, we decided to skip Legendary Truth (don't worry, we'll get to that in a few minutes) and head over to the tent houses seeing as we were getting short on time (or so we thought). We finally got to see some scarezones though! Esqueleto Muerte was beautiful! I loved the costumes and the colors. The dancing was fantastic and this was an absolutely stunning SZ. Afterwards we headed back around the corner through 20 Years of Fear and saw many familiar faces from years past. This was a gorgeously done SZ as well (and that Ice Queen is still hot as ever no pun intended). Afterwards we kept heading North into Fear Revealed. This was a pretty silly SZ. I dunno, but something about our icon dancing around with a bunch of Reflection of Fear knockoffs was amusing. The double X's with the flames on top was very cool though. We continued onwards toward Hallow'd Past.

Horror Nights: The Hallow'd Past

Holy crap. Nostalgia much? This is the house I've been looking for all night. THIS. Made the event for me. Walking through so many familiar scenes, past so many familiar set pieces. it was glorious. I don't really think you could get more extensive than this house. They literally covered everything. I don't know how else to describe it. SEE THIS HOUSE.

Bottom line: 9/10. If you could only see one house this year, make it this one. Especially if you have been going to the event for several years. Even if you're a newbie, it's an extremely intricate glimpse at years past. It's amazing how far we've come.

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After exiting Hallow'd Past, we went straight into Catacombs. It was pouring by this point.

Catacombs: Black Death Rising

I had really been looking forward to this house, but man was I disappointed. And I don't think it was from over hyping it. This was just a really bad house. I'm sorry, but it all started with the speakers blaring RIGHT OVER YOUR HEAD at the facade. Turn that down, really. It's not even a good sound like music, it's just a really loud obnoxious noise. The facade was also extremely meh. I mean, it IS the French Catacombs, so I really shouldn't expect something fancy. I'll let that one slide. The costumes were the same. Does anyone know if there are ANY scareactors in there that aren't plague doctors? I love plague doctor outfits, but there was literally nothing else. Not only that, but 90% of the scareactors in there seemed to just stand around and glare at you. There was nothing. I'm glad I only waited 10 minutes for this house. I'll check it out later as the event continues, but for now, it stands as the worst house of the event in my mind.

Bottom line: 4/10. Same characters, no scares, obnoxious speakers in the beginning. The set and facade I'll allow to slide because the catacombs are pretty bland looking anyway, so it does fit with the theme.

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Exiting the Catacombs we took a bathroom break before hitting Havoc.

Havoc: Dogs of War

Another very loud, very fast-paced house. Loved it. The intensity flows through every room and I was literally checking over my shoulders every couple of seconds. Scareactors were AMAZING in their roles and were extremely into it. The set design was pretty good (still saw a lot of Spawning leftovers, but it worked) and the costumes were simple, yet effective. Definitely check this one out.

Bottom line: 8/10. Very intense, scareactors were FANTASTIC. Keep it up guys.

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Headed over to Mels for some food before traveling through The Coven for our final house of the night, Legendary Truth. We were only in The Coven for a few minutes, but I like what I saw. Some interaction between scareactors and guests, scareactors getting some really good scares on people, and using their set pieces extremely well.

Legendary Truth: The Wyandot Estate

Honestly, we skipped this house on the first go-round because I wasn't too sure about it and we were cutting it close on time. Boy was I wrong. This is a fantastic house! My only gripe is that the costumes were almost all identical. But the set was gorgeous, and the scares were brilliant. Lots of easy distractions for the scareactors to really get the most out of their scares. The cast we had was extremely playful as well, in a creepy way. It worked perfectly.

Bottom line: 8/10. Definitely worth checking out. Don't let the cheesy ghost-hunters stuff outside of the facade fool you, this is a very well-done house.

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After exiting the Wyandot Estate, we decided it was time to check out Bill and Teds Excellent Halloween Adventure. But not without venturing through Saws n' Steam first! Wow, this was a great scarezone. Lots of activity, very close-quarters. Combined with chainsaws? I'm sold. I'll be venturing around here quite often. Heading out, we walked through Zombie Gras again! This time with scaractors! This was a very lively scarezone. Loved the classic Universal Mardi Gras music overlayed with zombie groans, and it works perfectly with Zombiegeddon dumping right into the middle of it. We headed over to the Fear Factor stage and waited about 30 minutes before the final show started.

Bill and Teds Excellent Halloween Adventure

After being spoiled with the epicness of last years performance, I've gotta say this year felt like they've gone back to their 2007/2008 routine. They introduce an actor, make a joke, and move on. There was no real joke continuity or flow. And most of the shows/singers/movies they showed I hadn't seen because they were all bad. I mean, I understand that's the point, but I'm not going to understand jokes from something that I don't want to watch. Last year had a lot of jokes from GOOD or extremely popular movies, so everyone got the jokes. This year was a serious letdown. There were a few good moments, but that was it I was really bored through most of the show to be honest. There was a huge abundance of cheap jokes to try and get an easy laugh. Something that a 6th grader may have laughed at. Maybe it's just me? I dunno. Go see it and decide for yourself.

Bottom line: 4/10. Go see it if you haven't anyway. It's good to see at least once. If I want to rest my feet this year, it will probably be done in a scarezone or at one of Brians shows (which I will be seeing tomorrow).

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Overall, a pretty decent year. I'd give it a 7/10 for now. I'm sure it will get better as time goes by, but for now I think it deserves a solid 7. Most of the houses are on-par with a couple really good ones and a couple really bad ones. The scarezones have definitely been amped up this year, and are all pretty fantastic.

PLEASE NOTE, THESE ARE MY OPINIONS. IF YOU DISAGREE, PLEASE DO SO IN AN INTELLIGENT MANNER. ANY FORM OF "LOL U SO DUM THAT HAWUS ROKD" WILL RESULT IN A "COOL STORY BRO" FROM YOURS TRULY. THANKS.

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Ohmyjesus, I thought I was the only one having issues with the insane amount of shit hanging in front of you in Hades. It was too much. I kept getting tangled in shit & it ruined the experience for me & just annoyed the crap out of me. No bueno.

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Just FYI....I don't agree with you on the Zombiegeddon review. First of all, there really isnt a "cheesy" house this year. The whole point of this house is to make you THINK its cheesy, and the "training" thing is that part, but when a parade float from Zambie Gras crashes and knocks out the power all the zombies are not under control anymore. Thus the "training" is lost and zombies are loose...so the theming is perfectly fine

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Just FYI....I don't agree with you on the Zombiegeddon review. First of all, there really isnt a "cheesy" house this year. The whole point of this house is to make you THINK its cheesy, and the "training" thing is that part, but when a parade float from Zambie Gras crashes and knocks out the power all the zombies are not under control anymore. Thus the "training" is lost and zombies are loose...so the theming is perfectly fine

So that's what that crash sound is when you're wandering through the house. Makes a lot more sense now. Thanks :) I'll update it

I think you were too generous in your rating of Bill and Ted- a 6, really? I'd give it maybe a 3.

You may be right. I really enjoyed the intro and a couple bits. I'd say a 4 to be honest.

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I'm sorry you didn't enjoy Catacombs, and I'm especially sorry if the cast you saw just standing around was my cast.

While I also do agree our facade is a bit plain, you just have to remember excavation sites aren't so glamorous or flashy. And the house is mostly Plague doctors, but there is plenty non-plague doctors in the cast.

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I'm sorry you didn't enjoy Catacombs, and I'm especially sorry if the cast you saw just standing around was my cast.

While I also do agree our facade is a bit plain, you just have to remember excavation sites aren't so glamorous or flashy. And the house is mostly Plague doctors, but there is plenty non-plague doctors in the cast.

I understand the facade and sets are supposed to be plain, I don't expect much with the setting which is why I let it slide. And don't worry, that was just my opening night review. I plan on hitting all of the houses at least 10 more times before the event is over so I doubt my overall opinion will stay the same. There have been several occasions where my least favorite house of the first night turns into my favorite house by the end of the event. :)

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I see Raize, walking out of my zone, I yell Raize is a punk, Nothing, guess that freaking hat he wears is pulled down to low, Next time I guess I'll have to tap that ass!

Hahaha dude it's loud as hell in that scarezone. I saw you a few times but you were setting up for scares so I didn't say anything. You guys are rocking that alley pretty hard, and I'll be around a lot more when the lines for the houses pick up.

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Havoc: Dogs of War

Another very loud, very fast-paced house. Loved it. The intensity flows through every room and I was literally checking over my shoulders every couple of seconds. Scareactors were AMAZING in their roles and were extremely into it. The set design was pretty good (still saw a lot of Spawning leftovers, but it worked) and the costumes were simple, yet effective. Definitely check this one out.

Bottom line: 8/10. Very intense, scareactors were FANTASTIC. Keep it up guys.

Awesome! Always great to read a good review. Both casts are VERY dedicated (if you can't tell) to their roles and I think our house may be the underdogs this year!

You keep coming back and we'll keep upping our game as Halloween gets closer :)

Edited by Syn
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Awesome! Always great to read a good review. Both casts are VERY dedicated (if you can't tell) to their roles and I think our house may be the underdogs this year!

You keep coming back and we'll keep upping our game as Halloween gets closer :)

Oh I plan on it B)

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