instamatic's HHN Review 9/20

[instamatic]

ARRIVAL AND VIP LOUNGE/BUFFET

Having had such a great experience with the VIP ticket last year, we opted to go VIP again this year, and brought along a pair of first timers. The 5 of us arrived around 5pm and got straight in line at security. Within minutes we had made our way through security and over to another line to check in for our VIP experience. Again within minutes we were checked in, assigned to group G (for "Gravediggers"), and escorted to an upstairs lounge to relax until further notice.

This year's VIP experience was a bit different than last years. Last year we were given a tour time to be led through the backlot for an exclusive experience and then were free to enjoy the buffet and lounge at our leisure until the lounge closed. This year we were given a time slot to enjoy the buffet before heading out on a trolley to the metro sets for the mazes and the backlot for Terror Tram. We were given explicit directions that we were allowed in the lounge during our meal time and were not supposed to return until the meal times ended at 11, the lounge would then remain open for desserts and drinks from 11pm-1am. We were assigned to the first meal time and at 6:20 we were escorted from the front of the park to the VIP lounge located in the Mask-a-Raid scarezone.

One "perk" of being a VIP this year was getting our own exclusive scarezone, and the only way to enter the lounge was to go through the SZ. Basically it was a short alley with tombstones, statues, and mausoleums with scareactors sprinkled throughout. Some were living statues, some were monsters hiding behind tombstones, some were trees and bushes hiding in trees and bushes. It was nothing super spectacular but it was really fun to look at and I think it was a great little welcome for the evening. I did get a startle out of a tree that suddenly was in my face after a statue had distracted me. We walked through the zone 3 times and each time was a different experience. Some guests got scared, some were bored, but all of us got a kick out of the GA public asking security why they couldn't go through it.

Some of our group really enjoyed the buffet, while some of us thought it was ok. The selection was great as there was a variety of items to choose from, but even having the first dining slot some of the food tasted like it had been out all night. The beef short ribs and the mac and cheese were to die for, so load up on those if you're going VIP. The beer selection was Heineken, Corona, or Amstel. I opted for Heineken and it was ice cold and delicious. Others in our group had chardonnay and they said it was good.

After our meal the Gravediggers were called to meet in the courtyard of the lounge for our tour. Last year the tour consisted of a ride through the backlot with ghost stories and an Insidious experience on the shores of Amity, followed by a walkthrough of the Metro Set mazes and Terror Tram. This year there was no special tour, just a private trolley ride past the guests who had to walk down to the Metro Sets followed by another ride to the Terror Tram. Our tour guide was a bucket of fun named Sheryl and our driver was named Lizzie, so naturally the ride in the trolley was filled with Lizzie Borden puns. Sheryl did an excellent job keeping our group interested, informed, and amped up. She was a self proclaimed chicken who refused to walk through the mazes with us, but she did do Terror Tram and showed us just how much of a chicken she really is. The littlest thing would scare her, and somehow that made a repetitive Terror Tram somewhat enjoyable. After the Metro Set mazes and Terror Tram we were on our own to enjoy the rest of the evening.

Now on to the important stuff....

MAZES AND SCAREZONES

Terminus Scarezone - I could not see a thing! Dark, fog, strobes, and scares from loud banging noises. That's all I remember. Much scarier than last year's version of the SZ.

From Dusk Till Dawn

The wait time at this maze was only 50 minutes when we got here on our tour, and I didn't see it go below an hour the rest of the night. We waited 2 minutes with our FOL. At the door I gave the doorman the Twitter password and he gave me Santanico's calling card. I also gave the password to Richie and he warned me not to go into the maze as he had seen what will happen to me. He flipped through his notebook and showed me a gruesome drawing of a woman torn in pieces and said that was the destiny that awaited me. As he was showing me his sketches a very convincing Seth came up to us and apologized to me and started yelling at Richie. They began arguing and the doorman led me into the maze. Having been a huge fan of the film for years and loving the TV adaptation, that part of the evening was a highlight for me. The actors were on point and were having a lot of fun in their roles. The maze itself was cool to look at but it left me wanting more. I felt like parts of it were really half-assed and disconnected. Some of the scareactors had great energy, others were lackluster. The soudclips and voiceovers from the TV show were obviously used to help narrate the story to people who weren't familiar, but they were more distracting to those of us in the group who were familiar. I was amused by a guest at the dinner table that looked eerily like Quentin Tarantino. Not sure if that was an intentional nod to his writing and role in the film or just a coincidence. Overall I think this maze was a decent effort, but it missed the mark for me. We only went through this one once.

The Walking Dead: End of the Line

The wait time at this maze was 90 minutes, and reached upwards of 150 minutes at a point in the evening. We walked straight in to this one. Many of the sets were recycled and very familiar. Some of us in the group felt this was more of a "best of TWD" than a "TWD Season 4" maze. The store scene was fun and filled with decent scares, and the outside scene was put together really well. All of the scareactors had a ton of great energy and they all did an amazing job scaring every person that walked through with us. As much as I love the show I think Walkers just aren't scary anymore. I really do enjoy the TWD mazes every year but I think this year's maze just wasn't unique enough. I still liked it and we went through it twice. The second time around wasn't as good, but I think that's just because I already knew what to expect.

AVP: Alien vs Predator

This maze had the longest line throughout the entire evening. It was 110 minutes the first time we went through it and reached 180 minutes at a point. We walked straight in to this one the first time and waited about 10 minutes the second time. I must admit I am not a fan of Alien or Predator. I can appreciate the artistry behind the films and the creatures are amazing creations, but both franchises never really did anything for me. HOLY CRAP DID I LOVE THIS MAZE!!!! The first time we went through it my mind was absolutely blown. The creatures were massive, the set design was gorgeous, the story line and the flow were coherent, the scareactors were fabulous, the scares were amazing even when expected. I seriously cannot rave about this maze enough. It was fabulous both times I walked through it, but the first was better, and not at the fault of any of the staff or the maze itself. My second time through I had a guest in front of me who kept stopping for long periods of time and at one point she backed me into a wiry tree. Nonetheless, this maze was spectacular. I adored it.

The chest-bursters look phallic and the Queen is epically epic!!! I swear I stood staring up at her in amazement.

Terror Tram

Yawn. There's not much to say about this really. It was basically the same as previous years with a few minor changes in layout. Terror Tram needs some serious help or they should just get rid of it. I'm over it.

The Simpsons Ride - Walked on this ride. Not a favorite of mine, but it was fun to do with our group, especially with no wait.

Skullz Scarezone - Two stilt walkers and a sign saying Skullz does not a scarezone make. FAIL.

Clowns 3D: Music by Slash

The wait time was 55 minutes, we waited 5. I should mention that I almost never finish a 3D maze with the glasses on. I get really dizzy with this style of 3D, so I walked the first couple of winding hallways with the glasses on then took them off. The makeup in this maze was really neat to look at and I liked the cheesey music, but that's about all I liked. No scares, the sets weren't impressive, and the cast was bland. I'm happy we only waited 5 minutes. I'd be mad if I wasted an hour of my night on this maze.

Transformers: The Ride 3D - Walked right on it. Fun as always.

Jurassic Park In The Dark - Walked right on. Still love hearing GNR on this ride, makes me laugh. Fun as always.

Revenge of The Mummy - Waited 5 minutes. Incredibly short ride but I still like it.

An American Werewolf in London

I had the fortune of experiencing this maze in Orlando last year and it blew me away. It was terrifying and beautifully done and I loved every second of it. So I was very excited to see how Murdy and crew would tweak it to our event. This maze did not disappoint. While I liked Orlando's house a bit better, it wasn't better by much. The wolves are terrifying, the scares are done well, the makeup is fun, the story is told well enough. This maze was another favorite of the night for me.

Mask-a-Raid Scarezone - Great costumes, decent makeup, fun decorations. Not many scares.

Despicable Me Minion Mayhem - Cute ride. It broke down for 5 minutes while we were on it. The worker kept droning on about how we might be stuck on it for another half an hour, luckily that was not the case. We were able to ride it and get out the two mazes we hadn't done within 10 minutes of boarding.

Dark Christmas Scarezone - The best scarezone I've ever been through. Loved loved loved it. From the music to the costumes to the makeup, it was spectacular.

Dracula Untold

This maze is the sleeper hit of this year's event. I went in to this maze expecting it to be one of the worst second only to Face Off, but this maze was amazing! Because the line was only 10 minutes long they were spacing out the groups and they sent just the 5 of us in there alone. I honestly don't remember much of the sets from this maze because I spent the whole thing being nervous and getting really good scares. The claustrophobic layout of this maze really helped the energetic scareactors keep us screaming and jumping at every turn. I loved this maze.

Face Off: In The Flesh

Much like Dracula, this maze surprised me. Again the wait time was only 10 minutes so they sent in our group of 5 alone, allowing us to get more scares. It was nowhere near as scary as the better mazes of the evening, but as a fan of Face Off it was cool to see some of the makeups I loved from the show. It was basically UMR round 3, but it wasn't as bad as previous incarnations. I'm not sure if it was the actors or the fact that we felt alone, but the maze was much better than it had been in previous years.

Purge Scarezone - Based on what I saw this was pretty much the same as last year. Scareactors did a decent job but the theming was nothing special.

OVERALL

My favorite mazes of the night were AVP: Alien vs Predator, Dracula Untold, and An American Werewolf in London.

My least favorite maze was Clowns 3D.

[DTH316]

FINALLY someone who loved AVP as much as I did. All the other reviews on here so far have been like "meh" and I'm like ARE YOU SERIOUS? DID WE GO THROUGH THE SAME MAZE? So *high five*. And again, Clowns 3D was just BAD. Can't believe some people are liking it as much as they are. I feel like we had the same exact opinions on all of the mazes, but it seems like you liked AWIL maybe just a tad bit better and that I enjoyed Terror Tram a bit better. And Dracula Untold was oddly REALLY good, as well as Face Off.

This is such a good year, I hope I can go at least two more times.

[duh1011]

I'm not a Hollywood-goer, but I saw the vid for your AVP house, and it seemed really tight, and there were a couple rooms that might've even scared me if I were there! I don't know why yours gets so much flack, it looks amazing

[Doctor Jeffula]

Good read about your VIP experience. It sounds like they are cutting a lot back compared to previous years though did you think it was worth it this year compared to last?

[AsylumSB]

Wow excellent review! I couldn't have described our experience any better. VIP was much better and tighter than last year. I would highly recommend this experience to everyone. And, I agree with your analysis for AVP, Dark Christmas, AWIL, and Clowns. Well, and just about everything else, the more I think about it!

[instamatic]

DTH, I have no clue how anyone could come out of that maze and think anything less than "HOLY CRAP THAT WAS AMAZING!!!"! And I'm not even a fan of the franchises!

Doctor Jeffula, I was a bit worried going in to the stripped down VIP experience since we had sold our friends on our experience last year, but we all had such a great time that they didn't even care about the differences between what we described and what we received this year. I honestly believe that VIP will always be worth it if you can afford it. The people I go with and I only make it to HHN once a season and we save up. The lines are so insane that the $210 is worth the unlimited FOL alone. The lounge and food and drinks are all just bonuses. While initially I was bummed we didn't have a special backlot experience, our guide Sheryl was so much fun that she made our trolley journey a blast. And yes our "exclusive scarezone" was cheesey and silly, but it really was a fun addition to set the tone for the evening and say "Welcome!". I'll continue doing it every year as long as I can afford it.

[Doctor Jeffula]

DTH, I have no clue how anyone could come out of that maze and think anything less than "HOLY CRAP THAT WAS AMAZING!!!"! And I'm not even a fan of the franchises!

Doctor Jeffula, I was a bit worried going in to the stripped down VIP experience since we had sold our friends on our experience last year, but we all had such a great time that they didn't even care about the differences between what we described and what we received this year. I honestly believe that VIP will always be worth it if you can afford it. The people I go with and I only make it to HHN once a season and we save up. The lines are so insane that the $210 is worth the unlimited FOL alone. The lounge and food and drinks are all just bonuses. While initially I was bummed we didn't have a special backlot experience, our guide Sheryl was so much fun that she made our trolley journey a blast. And yes our "exclusive scarezone" was cheesey and silly, but it really was a fun addition to set the tone for the evening and say "Welcome!". I'll continue doing it every year as long as I can afford it.

Yeah the unlimited FOL is why i want to drop the extra money lol. Even though i didn't have to wait too long in lines for most of the mazes with GA this year but the long waits get irritating, especially if you're next to irritating people!!!!!