orlandinorules56's trip into FEAR!

[orlandinorules56]

Now for my OFFICIAL review of HHNXX: Twenty Years of Fear:

I found last night, the 28th, 100 times better than my first visit this year. Much more energy, more scares, more fun! It wasn't terribly packed if you ask me, with the longest line posted was for the Orfanage at 90 minutes at about 10. The signs were yet again off, but some for the better. Zombiegeddon posted a 20 minute wait time, i entered, saw all 7 rows PLUS the row leading you to the line from beetlejuice filled, and walked right backed out, so my review for that house stands. LT, posted 45 minutes, but almost the whole damn courtyard was filed with people, plus the 2 lines behind the stage, so i didn't even bother, and that review stands as well. PS posted a 45 minute wait, and it looked to me about a 75 minute wait, but it actually turned out to be a 25 minute wait, and same thing for Hades. Was able to do Hallow'd Past twice, HAVOC, Catacombs, and the Orfanage 4 TIMES before 7:30, Did Saws N' Steam, Hades, PS, and the rest of the scarezones(plus a bite to eat) and left at 10.

Let's start at the beginning:

Entrance: I got there both times at 5:45, so i completely missed the supposed actors walking around the entrance, so can't comment on the entrance too much, but i will say this: i don't understand why people complain so much about the "not-so-elaborate" this year. What did you want them to do? There really wasn't much for them to work with for the entrance, and I much rather they put their effort into the rest of the event anyway.

FEAR as an icon: The first time i went, i thought he looked pretty cool minus the puke green cloak and tampered bed sheets. But last night, he was NOWHERE TO BE FOUND!! i was disappointed. I went though FR at about 6, and no one was there, so i figured they just weren't set up yet, but i came back for pics at about 9, and he wasn't there! As for fear tying into the event, they did a pretty good job if you ask me. He let loose the icons into each of the houses(if you could find them :biggrin: ) and everything was SCARY, so fear was there! Were the houses related to him, some of them were, yes(like Catacombs and Orfanage), but others(the rest), not so much, but they don't have to. He's supposedly the controller of all of HHN, so he can do whatever the hell he wants to do. I give the icon as a whole a solid B+.

My very limited complaints: the only thing that bugged me this year was pusing the line. It only helps for the first 2 or 3 scenes, and then you catch up to the rest of the conga line, plus it makes longer lines. I only saw them pulsing in PS, Zombiegeddon, LT and Hades, but i figured they didn't do it in Hallow'd Past, Catacombs, HAVOC or Orfanage because the lines were all under 15 minutes.

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Now for the good stuff:

HOUSES!:

We got to the security gate at 5:30, they started to let us in at 5:40, and we waited at the front gate to get into the park until 5:55. The rest of my family were hungry, so they went to eat and i went to the houses. My first stop was-

Horror Nights: The Hallow'd Past-10/10 My first run through this house on the 3rd left me with a disappointed expression for the house. I had to have had the WORST timing in the world, because i only got one scare(a fantastic one by Eddie:biggrin:). I found it underwhelming and not memorable at all, so i was wondering why everybody loved it so much. I found out why yesterday. It was FANTASTIC last night! I went a second time i was so happy. I got almost every actor to scare me. I actually stopped in the line outside the house for about 30 seconds to let the people in front of me get really far away(no one was in back of me, so i was allowed to do it) and it helped a lot. I walked VERY slow through the opening prop scenes to gaze and really take in all of the awesome props. IT was so good mot having anybody in front or back of you! Then the disorienting Vortex tunnel with the Storyteller, Jack and the caretaker swirling around us. What i want to know is why the director and the usher weren't on there? Or was that made before the icons were created? IDK. And then onto the next room, which i guess is just a bunch of their past characters in a hallway. I got a few good scares, and a laugh. The Frankenstein scared the people in front of me(and startled me a little bit, because i didn't see him AT ALL), and I kind of moaned at him(it was like an UUUUUUUGGGGGGGHHHHH sound), and he did the motion back to me! it was hilarious, so kudos the Frankenstein working last night from 6-6:30! Then Treaks and Foons. Every time I’ve gone through that house, i didn't see a single scareactor, so that room is a failure in my opinion. Now, off to Dead Exposure, and i was very pleased by this section yesterday. I found the real people and they got me a few times. In Alice in Wonderland, some kind of bear jumped out of nowhere and scared the crap out of me both times I went in! I was very pleased. BC room was more cool than scary, same thing with Frightanic. Then the icon room. The usher charged at me in the beginning which I enjoyed, the storyteller tried to scare me (but failed) and jack never got to scare me , but overall a GIANT improvement from last time.

After my second time, I walk halfway down the exit and jump over the rope into-

Catacombs: Black Death Rising-100/10:biggrin: this house wowed me the first time I went through it and dubbed it HOTY, so I was scared to go back in it, just in case it would ruin the experience, but I was SO wrong. It was actually even SCARIER! The people on the roof really scared me, also the victims and the doctors. I thoroughly loved this house, and remains HOTY.

After that insane experience, I turned to the right and poured right into the 20 minute wait for-

HAVOC: Dogs of War-10/10 This house really surprised me for the better the first time, because I thought this house would suck, but I couldn’t tell you how wrong I was. It amazed me the first time, and it didn’t fail to deliver the second time. When a house can scare you in the same places no matter how many times you go through it, you know it’s a fantastic house. It was a little better the first time I went through it on the 3rd, but I still loved it the second time.

When I got out, it was 5 to 7, and my parents and sis rushed over to see B&T(I already saw it, and my main concern was the houses), so I went to-

Orfanage: Ashes To Ashes-10/10 CINDY! The first time I went into this house, I was more disturbed than anything. The scares weren’t very genuine, but there were some. Yesterday, I was able to do the house 4 TIMES IN A ROW!! And every single time, I was scared by the same people in the same spots. I got Cindy to yell “I’ll burn you” to me twice! Very creative house, I felt like I was in a half burnt down Orphanage! The ashes and smells were a very good touch, not to mention the OPEN FLAME!!! This house has eradicated the JAWS extended queue curse!

My mom didn’t enjoy B&T, so they left early, and I was done with the 4 runs by 7:15, so we were doing excellent timing. My mom and sis aren’t up for the scares, so they walked around, and me and my dad headed towards-

Zombiegeddon-9/10 we saw the sign for it, and it said 20 min, so we were like, “o.k., not bad”. We get on the line, see that there’s no way in hell that the line any shorter than 75 minutes, let alone 20, and get right back out. I wasn’t a giant fan the first time I went through it, and I could’ve waited if I wanted to, but I didn’t find the house worth the really long wait.

So we continue on, and go into-

Hades: The Gates of Ruins-100/10:biggrin: This is another house that wowed the hell out of me. I remember late July/Early August when the names for the actor roles started to come out and some of them were Mytho names, and I complained that a Greek mytho house wouldn’t be at all scary, but need to kill myself for saying such blasphemy. I LOVE HADES! This house scared me more than any house has ever done (right along with Catacombs, DE and NOES). The façade blew me away, the costumes were incredible, and the scares were phenomenal. The wait time said 45 minutes, but we waited only about 15-20. It was incredible. Kudos to the A&D folks for doing such a great job.

After Hades came-

Psychoscareapy: Echoes of Shadybrook-10/10 I anticipated this house to be cool and gory rather thn very scary, and I was right. It was great to see the familiar shadybrook asylum façade again, and the lights and sets in this house were definitely awesome. It was very cool. I got a few scares, but not very many.

Legendary Truth: The Wyandot Estate-9/10 I didn’t bother trying to wait the ridiculous line for this house, because again, it wasn’t worth it. Sure, it was very advanced and pretty, but the scares rely way too much on timing, and I wasn’t risking a bad run for nothing.

I wont’ go in depth about the SZ’s, but I’ll rate them:

1. HHN:TYOF-10/10

2. FR-10/10

3. Escuelerto-9/10

4. Coven-9/10

5. Saws N’ Steam-7/10

6. Zombie Gras-5/10

Houses:

1. Catacombs & Hades (I can’t pick the best from these 2, they were both excellent)

3. Orfanage

4. Hallow’d Past

5. HAVOC

6. PS

7. LT

8. Zombiegeddon

Overall, I say this year is tied with 2006 as my favorite year of HHN(I’ve gone since 2005, but I don’t remember 05 much). The scares were excellent, the costumes and sets for all houses were very good, and I had a blast. Can’t wait for HHN XXI!!