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Halloween Horror Nights 26 Discussion


Mark M.
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8 hours ago, clash said:

what will happen to FFPP people since the hurricane took out two days, i know they added that saturday after the storm but no one went. 

would they add both new days or just friday 11/4? 

All good questions. We'll have to wait and see. I know they have a lot of money to recoup. Will they have discounted tickets for day guests those added nights? I can't see there being that much demand after Halloween. It would logically make sense for them to open both Nights to FFPs. For those like me with no AP, that's parking revenue for them. F&B, merchandise, etc.

 

Hopefully this could be the rare occurrence where Mother Nature and their greed works in our favor.

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40 minutes ago, criticalanalysis said:

Notice the lack of discussion means meh enthusiasm for this year.

To be fair, I noticed that there is a downward trend in discussion around this time every year. Many people discuss permits, construction, rumors, speculation in the early portion of the year. Hype builds up but it always seems that after opening weekend people post reviews and check out for a few months.

 

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6 hours ago, criticalanalysis said:

Notice the lack of discussion means meh enthusiasm for this year.

 

Not just for this year, but the event in general. I remember back during the HHNvault days I would log onto the forum and would have an overwhelming amount of posts to catch up on during the entire run of the event. Now I log on once every 24 hours and have usually less than 5 posts to read. It's so disheartening.

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I just got back from my first HHN and loved it. I went last Fri and Sat and thought all of the houses were great! It's pretty hard to scare me because I've been working at haunted houses since I was in 2nd grade and travel all over to see the best ones, but they were very entertaining and detailed! The only thing I didn't really like was all the alcohol/drunk idiots. Thinking about possibly checking out Hollywood next year. 14711175_10154122203332736_6359443372942

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On 10/16/2016 at 0:37 PM, criticalanalysis said:

Notice the lack of discussion means meh enthusiasm for this year.

 

there's a bunch of people that didn't post this year. Might or might not have to do with the event itself... While the forum here is lacking in discussion, the facebook groups and twitter are having posts non stop. so I dont know. 

Previous years that were kinda sucky (like 2012 or 2013 with walking dead taking over) had less enthusiasm but more conversation. Maybe discussion has just moved to facebook in general. those groups just keep growing and growing. 

Edited by clash
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Not a cop-out, but I think it's an "all of the above" type thing. Yes, discussion boards are dying as the more accessible Facebook and Theme Park Twitter takeover (OU and WDWTragic, the last of the big boys, have been slow too).  Yes, the community as a whole seems to get more hyped up these days about speculation games than the event itself. Which may tie into the third point, yes, HHN 26 is mediocre at best, and probably works even less having to follow up a strong contender for best ever event.

 

Theory I've heard from a couple fans--the reason there's no clear consensus on best house (or any order to the houses other than Chance being dead last) is that they're all close to average. A good run or your personal preference as to what a house "should be" is the only difference between ranking Ghost Town #1 and TCM #7 or vice versa.

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5 hours ago, SeventyOne said:

Theory I've heard from a couple fans--the reason there's no clear consensus on best house (or any order to the houses other than Chance being dead last) is that they're all close to average. A good run or your personal preference as to what a house "should be" is the only difference between ranking Ghost Town #1 and TCM #7 or vice versa.

Nailed it. Nothing outside of Chance (and I mean eeeverything Chance) is generally considered bad this year, however nothing else seems to be considered above adequate. Some will argue that's due to this event following up a big anniversary. However, 2011 followed a smaller but still big anniversary and a sort of "return to form" with all originals and some big concepts returning (Scareapy, Cindy, etc), and it's still widely considered one of the best house lineups ever. So I do not agree with that argument. This year feels like it's missing something that makes it special and unique for me. 

 

Although I can pick a definitive favorite: Tomb of the Ancients. Love the feel of the house, great costumes and masks, and my first few runthroughs of that house were some of the scariest I've ever had at HHN. Although as the event has gone on and the scare factor has worn off, I don't love returning the same way I loved revisiting Monsters and Mayhem, or 13's AWiL/Cabin/Evil Dead, or basically all of 2011, even when the scares wore off. 

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11 hours ago, foREVer56 said:

Nailed it. Nothing outside of Chance (and I mean eeeverything Chance) is generally considered bad this year, however nothing else seems to be considered above adequate. Some will argue that's due to this event following up a big anniversary. However, 2011 followed a smaller but still big anniversary and a sort of "return to form" with all originals and some big concepts returning (Scareapy, Cindy, etc), and it's still widely considered one of the best house lineups ever. So I do not agree with that argument. This year feels like it's missing something that makes it special and unique for me. 

 

Although I can pick a definitive favorite: Tomb of the Ancients. Love the feel of the house, great costumes and masks, and my first few runthroughs of that house were some of the scariest I've ever had at HHN. Although as the event has gone on and the scare factor has worn off, I don't love returning the same way I loved revisiting Monsters and Mayhem, or 13's AWiL/Cabin/Evil Dead, or basically all of 2011, even when the scares wore off. 

 

Very much agree. Nothing really "stood out" this year. Felt like an all-around average event. They tried to tick the same standard HHN boxes but it feels largely without inspiration. Even with TotA , their "crown jewel", it seemed it had way less passion than Body Collectors did from last year.  2011 was a fantastic year for houses, all amazingly creative in their own ways or largely passionate in their creation.

 

Know what it seems it comes down to? Hollywood big budget action movie feels "formulaic, standard, meh" even though it has explosions, guns, CGI, etc but feels bland. Low budget action film that relies on creativity, passion, and effort comes out way ahead.

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14 hours ago, foREVer56 said:

 However, 2011 followed a smaller but still big anniversary and a sort of "return to form" with all originals and some big concepts returning (Scareapy, Cindy, etc), and it's still widely considered one of the best house lineups ever. So I do not agree with that argument. This year feels like it's missing something that makes it special and unique for me. 

 

 

If you put a gun to my head and made me pick, I'd probably choose 2011 as my favorite HHN ever. But I also thought HHN XX underwhelmed--not bad, just not as good as it should've been. A better example might be 2012--I think everyone agrees a bad year, but seemingly worse for having to follow up 2011. I guess what I'm saying is had we had this line-up in 2013, it may have been slightly better received. But maybe not.

 

 

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3 hours ago, SeventyOne said:

 

If you put a gun to my head and made me pick, I'd probably choose 2011 as my favorite HHN ever. But I also thought HHN XX underwhelmed--not bad, just not as good as it should've been. A better example might be 2012--I think everyone agrees a bad year, but seemingly worse for having to follow up 2011. I guess what I'm saying is had we had this line-up in 2013, it may have been slightly better received. But maybe not.

 

 

 

HHN 13's icon, HHN 14's atmosphere, HHN 15's cohesiveness, HHN 18's zone creativity, HHN 18/21's house originality = stellar year.

Edited by criticalanalysis
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13 minutes ago, criticalanalysis said:

 

HHN 13's icon, HHN 14's atmosphere, HHN 15's cohesiveness, HHN 18's zone creativity, HHN 21's house originality = stellar year.

 

What about HHN 18's houses?  They had some great originals, I thought.  Loved Body Collectors that year, Scary Tales and Dead Exposure.  That was my favorite year.  And yes, the zones were great, too!  It was also much less crowded that year, maybe due to the recession.

 

The event is definitely not what it was or doesn't have the same feel.  I have a FFP but it's mainly used now where HHN is the one time of the year that it breaks up the monotony of my work year for six weeks.  The only time when I venture out after work during mid-week.  But I'm not racing into the park like I have to see some house or zone again and again.  I still have fun attending.  It's just not like I used to feel when I couldn't wait for the event to start and was sad when it ended.

On ‎10‎/‎16‎/‎2016 at 11:18 PM, Brandon_Voorhees said:

I just got back from my first HHN and loved it. I went last Fri and Sat and thought all of the houses were great!

 

Was that picture from the dining experience?

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1 hour ago, Pandry said:

 

What about HHN 18's houses?  They had some great originals, I thought.  Loved Body Collectors that year, Scary Tales and Dead Exposure. 

 

Also a great year. And three houses right there that blow away anything this year. I'd throw the underrated Hallow onto that list as well.

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Agree with both of you they were great that year, I just preferred the other year's houses :) I'll update to add 18 next to it.

 

Pandry - same man, now I feel overwhelmed, less excited, etc than before. It's like I can see the flaws. Also, the people who are going now are...undesirable to be around.

Edited by criticalanalysis
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My opinion, this is the best year in the last 5 for me. I actually look forward to going everyday with my FFP pass. AHS and TCM are brilliant houses. I don't see the appeal of Tomb or Exorcist like many people do, but at least there are some fans of them. At least B&T is good this year and Academy is a fantastic show as well. I do wish we could see more original houses, but they brand name houses draw the crowds so I can see why the continue with a lot f them.

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Ok, I'll toss in my two cents.. may actually add up to a nickel

 

The scarezone I'm always excited to see is the same scarezone that had all the pumpkins in the trees for Evil's Roots last year, the same place that had Grown Evil (one of my faves of all time).  As a result, this is one of the first spots we go to when we get to the event.  When we rushed over to see what they did with Banshee's Lair, I literally almost cried.  It's crap.  It feels DEAD and not a good kind of dead.  I friggin HATE IT.  I've tried to go through back and forth and see if I could pick up any good vibe, but the more I do it, the more I hate it.  The lighting sucks (and yes, I know we can't have pumpkins every year, but GOD I MISS THEM!!), the costumes and/or the actors are off in some way I can't put my finger on, they didn't even put any of the scarecrows in the grass to help extend it a bit like last year.  I realize I just did a whole paragraph on a single scarezone, but this really crushed me.

 

I was excited originally that Chance was the icon, but once I saw her house and her scarezone, I wondered why they bothered.  The house sucks, and the scarezone falls into the same suck level.  The only good part of it is the video that runs outside of Chance's house.  Pathetic.

 

Having just re-watched the original TCM again, I think they nailed this house.  The creep factor is there (depending on the cast), and the set design is spot on.  Also, I really like one of the actors in there (he plays the part of the crazy hitchhiker who you find out is part of the family later).  He and a friend of his came to play our escape game, and so we had a chance to meet and chat with him.  So, the next time we went thru the house, he actually grabbed me by the shoulders and ran his knife across my throat.  It was amusing as hell, but the chick behind me almost passed out.  HAHAHAH   My only complaint on this house is that it seems short.

 

I enjoyed the Halloween II house quite a bit, but it doesn't have the same thrill for me that the original Halloween house had.  I think the actors who play ol' Mike are too small.  The actors they had for the original Halloween were big guys, much more intimidating and effective.  I guess they took all the big guys and used them in TCM?  We would literally run from the front gate to the back to get to the original Halloween early, so we could be sure to see it again later with express.  This year, I'm not doing any running.  Again, don't get me wrong, it's a decent house, and it is done well, but I'm not obsessed over it like I was with the original.

 

Tomb of the Ancients gets better for me each time we go.  This is a very claustrophobic house with some really good scares.. REALLY good scares.  If the timing is exactly right, you can scream yourself hoarse in the this house.  This one will be second on my list this year.  

 

Krampus is a pretty good house, too.  I love the kitchen scene with the gingerbread men.. cracks me up every time.  The only thing I was bummed about was that I really expected to see a huge Krampus on stilts at the end of this house, and I expected it to be really cold in there.  I do love the snow globes at the end - such a great nod to HHN past if you actually look at them.

 

I LOVE Dead Man's Wharf scarezone - I think the costumes are awesome, and the set is really, really good.  It's just too. damn. short.  So, we just keep going back and forth through it. It's great fun, and the actors are really good in it.

 

Survive or Die scarezone is pretty much the Purge meets Mad Max to me.  It's just kind of meh.  It seems to be a recycled version of what's been there for the last several years. 

 

My hatred of The Walking Dead prevents me from leaving an objective commentary on that house, so I'll just skip it.

 

Ghost Town is beautifully done, and it's clear that a lot of work went into it.  I enjoy going through it, but not because it scares me.  I don't think there are really many good scares in it at all.  However, I still like it.   I enjoy seeing what A&D can do when they can run with an original idea.

 

The Exorcist kind of disappointed me.  The facade is PERFECT as I knew it would be, but most of the house just gets on my nerves.  I like the very beginning when the walls disappear and you see the statues from the desert.  That's pretty cool - including the sound that pairs with that effect.  As for the rest, I was disappointed as hell that the whole thing didn't start with Regan playing with the Ouija board and talking to Captain Howdy.  How do you NOT include that scene??? That's where this all started!  Also, I was kind of hoping for a scene from the party where all the adults were singing around the piano and Regan comes downstairs, stands there and pees on the floor.  That would've been cool, too.  Instead we get version after version of the same scene.  Yes, I know, most of the movie takes place there, but there were some other options to mix it up a bit.  Plus, the mechanical one with the head spinning around and around (it seems to go faster every time i see it) just seems cheesy.  I had high hopes for this house, but I am bordering on hating it now.

 

Vamp 55 is actually the other scarezone I really like.  It's amusing as hell - the sets are great.  I think the actors in it are pretty good as well.  This screams classic HHN scarezone to me, and I enjoy it.  It's probably the only one where I will find a bench and people watch this year, and I will try to forget Lair of the Banshee.. <sigh>

 

I saved the best for last - American Horror Story is AWESOME.  They nailed this house in every single aspect.  The sets are gorgeous, stunning, spot on, amazing.  The actors in there are nailing every character.  I literally feel like I'm inside those stories.  I absolutely love it.  This is the house I run for.  THIS is the house I obsess over.  This is the house that makes the whole event for me.  I've waited for years to see this property come to HHN, and now it's here, and they rocked it.  The fact that they have the guy from hotel with the "drill-do" in one spot says they tried to include ALL of the memorable moments.  I almost fell over when I saw that!  HAHAHAHAH  Number one house, hands down, no-brainer for me.

 

Overall, is this the best year ever?  Not even close.  I keep wondering if it's because last year was so amazingly well done - so amped up, the very essence of Halloween.  This year, there really isn't anything that screams Halloween to me.. and that sucks.  Will I stop going?  Hell no.  I still have one more trip down - a very long Halloween weekend.  Do I have the same excitement and anticipation that I had last year?  No.  But I still think it's one of the best events in the country.  Those of you (most of you) who live in Florida take this for granted sometimes I think.  It's all about perspective.

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17 hours ago, criticalanalysis said:

 

Very much agree. Nothing really "stood out" this year. Felt like an all-around average event. They tried to tick the same standard HHN boxes but it feels largely without inspiration. Even with TotA , their "crown jewel", it seemed it had way less passion than Body Collectors did from last year.  2011 was a fantastic year for houses, all amazingly creative in their own ways or largely passionate in their creation.

 

Know what it seems it comes down to? Hollywood big budget action movie feels "formulaic, standard, meh" even though it has explosions, guns, CGI, etc but feels bland. Low budget action film that relies on creativity, passion, and effort comes out way ahead.

 

14 hours ago, SeventyOne said:

 

If you put a gun to my head and made me pick, I'd probably choose 2011 as my favorite HHN ever. But I also thought HHN XX underwhelmed--not bad, just not as good as it should've been. A better example might be 2012--I think everyone agrees a bad year, but seemingly worse for having to follow up 2011. I guess what I'm saying is had we had this line-up in 2013, it may have been slightly better received. But maybe not.

 

 


2012, 2013 and 2014 were years that had some really really bad houses and some really bad streets. 
This year is above and beyond in quality compared to those 3. I always thing of those 3 as the dark years of the "New Era of Darkness"  the parade came and took out the full scarezones, we got weird experiments of scarezones after the parade started. so that was weird. Then after 2011 was when they went Walking dead crazy and when the event started to be much closer to Hollywood. 
I honestly thing 2012-2014 was not a great time for HHN, it was still enjoyable and some of the houses were still really great, but overall those 3 years felt much more disappointing than now. 

I still dont understand the hate that the zones are getting this year when in 2012 we didn't even had proper zones, in 2013 we had walking dead everywhere and in 2014 we had very small zones (didn't we have like only 4 zones? 

I think the reason some people might feel that this is an average year is just because of how strong hhn 25 was. it was one of the strongest years ever for both Scarezones and houses . 
maybe the best  recent year for scarezones. the scarezones last year were pretty incredible. Plus Jack show was very awesome and the clown hordes were a lot of fun to watch. 

 

but if you asked me to compare this year to '12, '13 or '14, this year definitely wins against all 3 in overall quality. Those 3 years have some of my favorite houses dont get me wrong. 
But Overall they were not as strong because they were still trying to find a way to do scarezones properly while dealing with the parade and they were dealing with the Influence that Hollywood brought to Orlando 

I do honestly really think that this year in people's minds is not as good or amazing only because last year was just SO good. the entire park was awesome. the zones were awesome. 
The 3D house last year was better. 

 

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16 hours ago, criticalanalysis said:

Also, the people who are going now are...undesirable to be around.

 

Not everybody can have your charming personality and be as pleasant company as you surely must be...complaining about every little thing you see.

 

Regarding your comment that the lack of chatter on the forum indicating people are disappointed in the event is nonsense.  This place goes nuts with speculation up to and including the final release, then a decent percentage of people disappear.  Then once the event starts, the opening weekend people chime in and say all that can really be said without going into spoilers so people that go the second and third week, such as myself, just go off and hide for a bit so as to not ruin it for anybody else.  Hell, you yourself said you were avoiding all topics until you went to the event...but halfway through the events run you were saying others doing the same were an indication of a crappy year.

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Speaking of having to put up with shitty people..  Did you guys hear that the latest thing these assholes are doing is sneaking in fish hooks to attack the scareactors?  What the actual fuck?  Sorry for the language, but I just don't understand this!  I mean, what kind of person actively seeks to hurt someone for no apparent reason?  

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8 minutes ago, hunnylvr said:

Speaking of having to put up with shitty people..  Did you guys hear that the latest thing these assholes are doing is sneaking in fish hooks to attack the scareactors?  What the actual fuck?  Sorry for the language, but I just don't understand this!  I mean, what kind of person actively seeks to hurt someone for no apparent reason?  

 

fish hooks were put in a house in 2009, and 2011 i think, maybe  it is the same crazy person that came back. (Someone poured deer pee in a house as well in 2012 i think?) 

 

what did you hear about this year? how are they hurting the actors? 

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11 minutes ago, clash said:

 

fish hooks were put in a house in 2009, and 2011 i think, maybe  it is the same crazy person that came back. (Someone poured deer pee in a house as well in 2012 i think?) 

 

what did you hear about this year? how are they hurting the actors? 

 

We were told this directly from security at the metal detector at valet.  One of our group had to remove his baseball hat going thru the metal detector so the guard could check it for fish hooks.  That's exactly what he said.. so, of course, we said, "WHAT?"  He went on to explain that there have been people "smuggling in fish hooks", and they literally use them to attack the scareactors - my assumption is, they are literally hooking them with these and running.  We were stunned into complete silence when he told us that.  

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