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RPC's Noob Review of HHN 2015H

RPC

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in HHN 2015: Reviews

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RPC Newbie

RPC

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Yay! My first haunt review ever!

I have been doing Knott's Scary Farm off and on for years, and grew up in a time and place where as a kid, the neighbors would convert the barn and corn field into a homemade haunt and I love the whole thing. This year however, was my first time do do Universal's Hollywood Horror Night (Thursday Oct 15, 2015)

From security check to early entry access and all the way to our first maze, I was immediately impressed with 2 things:

1) Crowd control. The park and staff seemed prepared and knew what they were doing.

2) Something was missing.......oh yeah, the bratty "tweener" kids running in packs thinking they're all bad and sh*t, HHN seems a little more mature and civilized.

Anytime we had questions, staff was easily identifiable, nearby and were helpful.

I especially liked the fact that the lines of people waiting to enter the mazes were not allowed to merely crowd into the maze like some cattle slaughter, but were brought into the maze in small groups at a time, this made it possible for us to walk through every maze at a pace that allowed us to take in all the awesome movie quality sets and effects and get targeted by the scare actors (as opposed to standing there watching the 30 people ahead of you get hit by the same guy over and over again and then when it's your turn its like "yeah I know, I saw you jump out 10 times already")

Another thing that stood out, at various random points in line at a few of the mazes, we were handed what looked like a raffle ticket.....we later found out apparently, this is how they check for line jumpers (?)....but hey, cool at least they are aware and looking out (you wont see that at Knott's)

Since we took advantage of Early entry and went in with a game plan, we were able to knockout all the mazes and the Terror Tram and the scare zones by 920PM! We even went back and doubled some of the mazes.

WALKING DEAD

Facade and overall set was impressive and the scare actors were in full effect, they really seemed to be into it, not a ton of scares popping at you like crazy, but what you got was very well done and we liked it, would have repeated it later in the night when it was really dark except line was 2 hours.

4 out of 5

 

INSIDEOUS

Facade was simple but effective, creepy good! I really liked the use of special effects, false walls, and other effects were used quite well and much like the first movie....it gets under your skin a bit. We both jumped and screamed more than a few times.

4.5 out of 5

 

THIS IS THE END

Am I the only one that thought this was an odd choice?

The movie was not what I would call scary, and neither is this maze, a chuckle or two and for what it's worth it seems put together well and maybe scary if you're a kid.  The scare actors did a fine job, I just think the theme is odd. On one hand, I was glad I did it just so I can say that I did it, on the other....can be skipped if you're pressed for time.

2 out of 5

 

Tram to the lower level.......hahaha Awesome! Was not expecting that, won't spoil it just in case,

 

CRIMSON PEAK

Overall well put together and once again scare actors were into it and getting us good and it was fun, I think the telling of a story and expecting the guest to get what is going on is difficult when it's based on a movie that hadn't been seen yet, and this one felt a bit short to me. But once again, well put together, good effects and some good spooks, could be better but not sure how much of it was just me.

3.5 out of 5

 

ALIEN VS PREDATOR

Great sets! Very good job putting you right into the action of the movies!

Loved the mix of live actors, puppetry and mechanical effects, plenty of creeps and some good scares, we liked everything about this one from the music of the movies, to the sets, the actors enthusiasm, only thing that felt "off" was the long blank walkway to exit. We did this one twice, and even when knowing what was coming....they still got me!

4.5 out of 5  (my girlfriend says 4.9 lol )

 

HALLOWEEN

OMFG!! This is what you come to a haunt for! We were lucky to have done this one twice (50 min and 35 min wait times), this one was worth waiting for.

Facade right out of the movie, great shadow effect outside while in line, fantastic sets, holy crap well done! I won't spoil anything but man, I think I crapped my pants, plenty of scares, some very talented scare actors in this one.  

5 out of 5

 

TERROR TRAM

This was fun, we had no idea what to expect so we were blown away. Lots of walking, but it was worth it to us, plenty of scare actors out to get you, no spoiler but let's just say we got Purged. Bonus: great photo op with a certain knife wielding psycho!  Maybe it's the newness of "first visit" or maybe it's that were used to subpar haunts....but we found this to be fun, exhilarating, scary, well put together inspite of all the walking involved.

5 out of 5

 

Let me summarize our experience this way..... Knott's may have been the first, but they better get their crap together because they are getting their butts kicked.

Scare actors are into it, active and engaging. Mazes are well thought out and designed and of high quality, scares abound aplenty, scare zones are done well enough without being annoying. Crowd control, line set up and supervision is well in place and working good, wait times posted are clear and helpful.

 No worries about running out of time if you plan accordingly.

This is our Haunt from now on!

Edited by RPC
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foodstampsFTW Newbie

foodstampsFTW

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Good review. Interesting to see a scary farm person come over to the light. Though it's not much of a spoiler to say you get purged on the terror tram, when that's the theme. You might be right on why you liked terror tram so much, even though my first terror tram(11), I thought was a gigantic piece of shit. Then again that seems to be one of the 3 universally hated terror trams. I'd savor the feeling you got this year because I guarantee you you won't feel the same about next years, unless they do a much needed change to tram(which they won't). Also you can't really spoil the tram to the backlot unless you're talking about what happens right before you get dropped off. Most people on here are veterans who know the event inside and out, but it's good that you tried to think of other people's experiences first

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DTH316 Newbie

DTH316

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Really glad you enjoyed your first visit! I remember my first visit in 07 after going to KSF for all those years and going "Wow, THIS is where it's at!" I've skipped Knotts a few years now and don't regret it in the slightest, but have been visiting HHN 2 - 3 times a year since 2011.

Glad you enjoyed Terror Tram. I guess first timers are really what that attraction is for because even GP are getting tired of it now. But I see why it's such a tourist attraction and personally I don't mind it as much as most people.

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Arsik_22 Newbie

Arsik_22

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Good review! Glad to see you had a blast and it's cool to see a KSF fan switch over. I went this year and finally decided I'll be taking a few years off since it Knotts was so sub par this year. I'm also glad to read you liked the terror tram. My first experience on it in 2007 was phenomenal so I guess regardless of the theme, first year visits make that attraction really exciting. 

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