Michele Posted September 30, 2009 Share Posted September 30, 2009 Now that opening weekend has past, I figured I take the time to write about my initial reaction to the houses, zones, etc. I went to Employee Preview as well as both nights of opening weekend, but I still don't really feel like I have gotten a vibe about this year. Employee Preview is always short, and my group opted to see shows instead of focusing on the houses. Friday night of opening weekend, I had to work till 5:30 and trying to park and get in the event around 6:30 is basically a nightmare, and not the good kind. Saturday, our night gotten eaten up by the rain, so we didn't have a lot of time then either. I've only been through the soundstage houses once each. I don't really feel like I can fairly rank them yet. It was too dark to see anything in Dracula and Frankenstein. I went in during daylight hours and it takes about the whole house to get your eyes adjusted. I can't remember anything about Wolfman other than I dropped my blinkie cup on the ground during the house. }: I feel like I've been through the other houses enough to have an idea of where they sit. Leave It to Cleaver started out an early favorite but hasn't been as stellar since Preview. It's the oddball house, which normally appeals to me. If they can play up that factor and amp up the scares, I'll be a raving fan again. Chucky isn't one of my favorites, but it's not horrible either. I got some decent scares in here, but it's not much to look at. Better than the "fun houses" and Cold Blind Terrors of the past, though. I hope the actors get creative and come up some good Chucky lines. The Spawning is my least favorite house right now. I couldn't really see much of anything other than strobes, and there weren't any scares. Silver Screams has potential. I like the transitions from movie-to-movie. If they could amp up the scares, they could be a top house. Right now, SAW is probably my favorite house. The dark-horse, JAWS queue, throw away house is coming out swinging. They got the sets, the lighting in right even during the day, and they have the intensity. I don't really have a good feel for the scarezones yet, either. A lot of them look pretty but don't do much at this point. Containment needs to go away, though. It feels cheap in a Cedar-Fair kind of way. Apocalypse is my early favorite, although that might have a lot to do with the fact that it's a scarezone with nipples. I like the Rocky Horror Picture Show this year. I don't love it. I may love it before it's over, but right now,the cast last year was more impressive. I'm not overly impressed with Bill and Ted this year. I haven't been since 2006, though. I miss the target audience since I don't watch tv, and I rarely see the movies they feature. It can't be funny if you don't get the jokes. As always, everything is subject to change... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spathic Posted October 1, 2009 Share Posted October 1, 2009 I hope the actors get creative and come up some good Chucky lines. I think all the Lines in chucky are prerecorded though. I actually liked this house quite a bit, that spinning tunnel is the best one I've been through. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JackLover Posted October 1, 2009 Share Posted October 1, 2009 I personally think that the scares all over are lacking. Hopefully they will get in the groove more this weekend. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michele Posted October 1, 2009 Author Share Posted October 1, 2009 I hate that spinning tunnel! Drunk or sober, it makes me feel like I'm going to throw up, so I always close my eyes when I go through it. Too bad the lines are recorded. The one thing I really like about the Chucky house is the use of smells. Agreed on the lack of scares. I'm normally very easy to scare, and I have gotten some scares, but only two good ones so far. It'll get better! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michele Posted October 2, 2009 Author Share Posted October 2, 2009 (edited) This is a repost from my facebook notes if it reads funny. Last night was the third official night of Halloween Horror Nights, and my fourth time attending. I had the honor of going to Employee Preview in addition to all of the nights so far. This year, things are a bit off to me because I have to work 8:30a to 5:30p during the week and haven't worked for the company long enough to take time off to be able to get to the event early. I do have some comp time that I'll take one of these Thursdays when my coworker returns from his battle with the Swine Flu. Last night, it wasn't nearly as crowded, so it only took me 10 or 15 minutes to park and get in the park. On opening night, it had been more like a 30 or 40 minute process. Lines last night were quite manageable as well. When I got through the gates, everyone I know either wasn't there yet or was at the back of the park, so I just hung out by myself for the first bit. I went through Frankenstein alone trying to see C_D, who has been my favorite scareactor since 2005. His house has always been my favorite house. Unfortunately, I either didn't see his cast or he didn't notice me because I didn't get an extra attention and had another almost-scare-less run through of the house. I do really like the costumes, though. I hung out in my three favorite scarezones for the next little bit - Apocalypse, Hacktion, and Horrorwood. I don't know why so many people are rating Apocalypse so poorly. I think it is easily, hands down the best scarezone in the history of scarezones. Every time I go through there, I have three or four half-naked hot guys surrounding me trying to scare me. I get way more attention and scares in this area than I ever have before. Maybe they have a sixth sense about my nipple obsession, I don't know, but I love Apocalypse. (: Hackation is my next favorite scarezone. I finally got to see the guys in action last night, and WOW! Cast A rocked it. I saw one of the actors who was being attacked fall down on the ground, drag himself along over and over again. I know it had to be painful, but he did it all night long. I usually get one scare each time through, but I don't get the attention I do in Apocalypse. I went to Horrorwood to see my good friend, Bob. If one person could make a scarezone, he would! He gets around like nothing I've ever seen before. I was trying to get a picture with him last night, and I couldn't keep up. It took me five minutes to track him down. Unfortunately, he's the only person that's scared me in this area, but I'm hoping that changes. I've only had a couple of scares in Cirque and War, so I don't have high opinions of those yet. And Containment I'm just going to write off. My top two favorite houses right now are Wolfman and SAW. I've been through Wolfman three times now, and it has delivered, especially last night. I've only been through SAW once, and I'm hoping that it stays as intense. The rest of the houses have yet to deliver many scares. I'm hoping that changes as the month progresses. The creative and A&D team did an excellent job of building a storyline and set pieces this year. I'm really impressed with the way most things look, all of the houses except The Spawning, and all of the scarezones except Containment. We just need the actors to amp up the scares a bit, and we'll have one of the best years ever. Silver Screams - 3 Frankenstein - 3 Wolfman - 3 Dracula - 2 Cleaver - 2 The Spawning - 2 Chucky - 2 SAW - 1 Bill & Ted - 2 Rocky Horror - 4 Edited October 2, 2009 by Michele Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JackLover Posted October 2, 2009 Share Posted October 2, 2009 First set is at 6:30 45 on 45 off so it is realy easy to figure out. Not when you are Michele and had a few too many, she is horrible with time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michele Posted October 2, 2009 Author Share Posted October 2, 2009 Hehe. I thought first set was 5:30, which is why my timing was off. I think. Maybe. Yeah, I'll go with that. C_D, I definitely have to see your cast! It's always one of the highlights of my year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spathic Posted October 2, 2009 Share Posted October 2, 2009 There was a Rob Thomas Concert at the Hard Rock on opening night so that was probably why parking was a nightmare. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dreamstalker Posted October 2, 2009 Share Posted October 2, 2009 through many many times of parking in that crazy nightmare filled garage. A little fairy paid me a visit and told me to upgrade to the premier pass. Now i never have to park in the garage ever again. I use Valet since its free with the pass every night. Def worth the 3-5$ tip then walking all that way and getting stuck in a never-ending conga line of Cars Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
giant4203 Posted October 3, 2009 Share Posted October 3, 2009 Hehe. I thought first set was 5:30, which is why my timing was off. I think. Maybe. Yeah, I'll go with that. C_D, I definitely have to see your cast! It's always one of the highlights of my year. We'll be waiting....muahahahaha! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michele Posted October 5, 2009 Author Share Posted October 5, 2009 Last night was really, really crowded for the first Sunday of the event. Jenn, Mark, and I did the UTH tour during the day and then Stay and Scream. We did Wolfman, Dracula, Frankenstein, and SAW for the first four houses. By the time we got over to the Spawning, it was like 45 minutes, I think. Chucky was also 45 minutes, so we just did Silver Screams (5 minutes). We were able to do Wolfman and SAW again, but the lines were too long so we just gave up after that. The rest of the night consisted of vodka and the bathroom. Heh. SAW is definitely my favorite house at this point with the Wolfman right behind. I was glad to finally see C_D's cast last night in Frankenstien and had a good trip through! Wolfman - 5 Silver Screams - 4 Frankenstein - 4 Dracula - 3 SAW - 3 Cleaver - 2 The Spawning - 2 Chucky - 2 Bill & Ted - 2 Rocky Horror - 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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