Halloween Horror Nights - Universal Studios Hollywood

[robbalvey]

Hey everyone!

 

Friday the 13th, 2006 was opening night for the return of Halloween Horror Nights, and Theme Park Review was at the media party for the event!

 

Overall, the park did a really great job dressing up for Halloween. The two mazes were good and the scare zones were GREAT!

 

Lots of cool characters who were obviously having a great time with the crowd and it was nice to see the characters using environment effects and power tools to scare instead of the typical "shaker cans" you find at other similar haunts.

 

The only real negative is that we wanted more! That and they REALLY need the Bill & Ted show. If I had to compare the two California special ticket events, I felt it's WAY above Knott's event in all areas just not in "quantity."

 

Knott's event, IMO is still the best of the "home brew garage haunted houses" filled with shaker cans, black lit paint, and make-shift costumes. Universal puts on a much higher quality event with real special effects like fire and "environmental scares", film studios sets and make up. Personally, I'd rather have quality over quantity. I like the Knott's event, and I recommend it to people coming to California, but for me it's more of a "once every 5 years event" because of all the repeat houses, while HHN (at least the Orlando version) is new every year.

 

Hopefully as the Hollywood event evolves over the years we'll see more walk-thru attractions and scare zones to fill that void, and hopefully they'll follow suit like Orlando and offer new experiences every year.

 

Anyway, we have posted three pages of photos and a brand new VIDEO!!! Check them out here:

 

Theme Park Review's HHN Hollywood 2006 Photo Update:

http://www.themeparkreview.com/hhn-hollywood2006/hhn-hollywood1.htm

 

Theme Park Review's HHN Hollywood 2006 VIDEO (Forum Members Only)

http://www.themeparkreview.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=30091

 

 

Enjoy!

 

--Robb

[coasterdude5]

Great pictures, so many of the girl actors were hot I don't know if it would've scared me.

[cfc]

And here I am in Virginia, stuck here with BGE's nice Howl-o-Scream and PKD's ghetto Fearfest (sad-and-pathetic TR to come). See you in Florida on Thursday!

[mitchelljd]

Thanks Rob, we went last night, here is my review. I agree they need MORE!

 

Lets start with the good news: Universal Halloween Horror Nights is BACK!! My Wife and i last went around 2001 when they last held this event. It was Amazing back then. Tons of fun! So happy Universal finally realized Halloween was an important event for millions of theme park goers.

 

Now... The Bad News: Universal Badly estimated the public interest in such an event. Not only were lines to park about an hour. With line to pay for parking being terrible. and parking very hard to find. but that wasnt the worst of our sat night experience.

 

We found massive lines for everything, running 75-40 minutes. Glad we splurged for the Front of Line pass, but what about those who didnt? So those who were stuck in line to park then got to park and then got in line for virtually everything it wasnt fun. Simply stated, Universal needed more staffing and to run the event more nights. The event for 2006 was scheduled only for SEVEN nights in total. It is like they didn't know how many people would be interested in the event. Park was crowded and not enough attractions for the sized crowd. As a comparison, for 2006, Knotts Scary Farm had 26, i repeat 26 nights.

 

Not enough mazes and attractions: What fans of theme parks love, and fans of the old Universal Halloween events, IS MAZES. How universal of old set itself above Knotts Scary Farm was cutting edge mazes with production quality and design which was amazing. How Universal did it this year? well, there was one amazing walk, TERROR TRAM Ride, was simply a fun experience. Without ruining it, you are able to take a tram to an amazing experience be chased by zombies on the backlot and more. Great sets from movies. wow! fun.

 

Where it fails? no story at all. just zombies and monstors to have them. All set but no story, except the existential "Director" who haunts the backlot. Makes me wonder what "marketing" person came up with that idea. In years past they would have had a CLIVE BARKER or ROB ZOMBIE created maze. Those mazes were amazing and fun. with high end production values.

 

Not enough mazes. Just one official maze, The Asylum, the other one (Sort of) is Terror Tram.

While other theme parks do 6+ mazes, Universal dared to be different. I have some words to Universal, DONT BE. please for 2007 make at least 6 mazes. honestly, you would do alot better to do 8 of them. Hell it was the best part of your event before you shipped most of the old ones off to Florida to start Halloween there and shut it down in Los Angeles.

 

Last night i would say the vast majority of monstors wore low quality masks that werent even worn properly. the folds of them were placed over the clothing. at Knots and universal of old, they would were costumnes properly.

 

Don't get me wrong some of the costumes were amazing. but quality control is obviously an issue in costuming.

 

Also, what they did have was alot of shows: Fear Factor Halloween, Carnival of Carnage, Chucky's insult Imporium, Slaughter World and Mutaytor (a burning man performance troup). The shows were fun, but to be honest they are just a side of what they ought to have offered.

 

All in all we had a decent time, there was a little fun to be had. we caught Jurassic Park ride, The Mummy Ride. but aside from that and food, there was nothing else to do on the lower park area. The escalators didnt have the lights turned down and no monstors to keep guests occupied on the way down. There is plenty of room for universal to add at least two mazes down there. Why not do one outside and one in a sound stage or two?

 

ok... so i layed out how they can improve some... well I would also say on food. Universal is a park known for excellent food, yet last night they shut down all of the franchise brands to be able to sell cheaper food. Yes that means no Ben & Jerry's, Panda Express, Pizza Hut, El Pollo Loco. Leave one of the higher end restaurants open. And sell the nicer ice cream. its fun.

 

Another thing, after all the traffic and lines. the park needs to be open longer. Hours are 7pm-midnight. A really poor schedule. yes i know later in season they are open longer, but why short change those who come weeks before halloween? Knotts Scary Farm is open from 7pm-1am weeknights, then on weekends till 2am. This would be a great cue to follow.

 

My last notes: Thanks for opening up the Halloween event again, Yes it feels like Coke underwrote the whole thing by having Full Throttle Energy drink banners everywhere, but hell at least it's back.

 

Now that it is back and bringing the crowds successfully. My hope is that Universal upps the ante. For 2007 you need more mazes, more creativity, more wardrobe help, add an additional creative person to oversee it and add more details needed, have more wideranging food, and oh yeah more staffing, ie parking / traffic.

 

One last note, it was sadly disappointing that even on a full park night, while the Halloween Horror NIghts map listed BACK TO THE FUTURE RIDE. it was closed. really bad scheduling. that was insulting that you didnt think enough people would show for the event that they penny pinched and kept the ride closed. With enough of a sales data, Universal should have known to keep the attraction open, like they are doing on later HHN evenings.

 

note everyone. go, go EARLY! if you can, get a line pass. it is essential. Have a fun time, it was fun. but left me wanting more. My sincere hope is that they do it larger, better and stronger than ever next year. Support it because if they dont get the support, my bet is it won't be back.

[robbalvey]

^ Personally, they exeeded my expectations. I didn't expect what was there to be as high of quality as it was.

 

And as for the "backstory" - it takes FAR more creative effort to build up those HHN "characters" (which has been a staple in Orlando for 16 years) than it does to do a "Rob Zombie" maze. I kind of disagree with you that there isn't any "story." In fact, I've always felt that one thing Universal really does well is giving the entire event a "theme."

 

I'd rather see the original content. It's interesting to me. A "licensed maze" just seems kind of cheesy to me.

 

And as for the wait times. We've have always stressed GET TO PARKS FOR OPENING! We got through both mazes with 10 minute or less waits.

 

I do agree that they under estimated the amount of people that would attend the event, and later in the night lines were VERY long and there wasn't much food open, but I can only imagine that could mean good things for future years events.

 

I felt just about everything that we encountered, if you did a 1 to 1 comparison at Knott's was of MUCH higher quality, and the only thing they were lacking was the volume of "stuff to do." Which I hope will be fixed in upcoming years.

 

--Robb

[mitchelljd]

Robb,

 

i can appreciate your thoughts. And i was being nice to them. Hell i am very happy that they finally did it again in Los Angeles, after never giving a reason why they stopped.

 

Well, only 3 mazes is a bit lame to me. I goto Knotts Scary each year. So yes the production quality was higher at Universal, but not compared to the last time they did it at Universal. which was amazing.

 

the only reason i am tough on them is that I really want them to succeed and set the gold standard. THE EVENT WAS FUN, EVERYONE SHOULD GO TO UNIVERSAL'S HALLOWEEN EVENT. Like rob says go more than early. if you can get line pass version of ticket. it really helps. it was fun. but leaves room for improvement for next year. ie 7+ all new mazes, and new

 

also, i am not like you. getting the full media day attention.(SORRY ignore that please) hell that would be nice. but i did in fact try to get there as close to opening as possible. It just was not possible with their parking situation. but point noted.

 

I am a theme park afficianado. so ... hell, where do you like in socal? been to queen mary? enjoy that? i heard magic mountain added mazes this year.

[robbalvey]

also, i am not like you. getting the full media day attention. hell that would be nice. but i did in fact try to get there as close to opening as possible. It just was not possible with their parking situation. but point noted.

Our "media day attention" actually got us in the park 30 minutes after the general public due to the presentation they did.

 

And being a "theme park afficianado" you should be full aware that any event that draws a potiental 15k to 30k people there would be parking issues. There is at Knott's there is at Six Flags, that's pretty much anywhere you go.

 

We got there VERY early knowing this, hung out at Citywalk for a while, and it took us about 5 minutes to park.

 

The parking situation is what you make of it. You get there early, you park quickly, you get there with the masses, you're going to wait. Doesn't that also follow true once you get inside the park? Yes it does!

 

A "theme park afficianado" should know this!

 

A agree they needed more mazes. But I also can understand them being a bit "cautious" after having not done the event for many years. I thought the two mazes were GREAT and far beyond anything I've seen at any other So Cal event in the past 5 years.

 

I want them to succeed and set the standard too, because I feel that the Orlando event certainly does. I dunno, I really do appreciate you posting your feedback, you had some GREAT points and the park needs to see that, but I also felt you were a little "nitpicky" in regards to the parking and the crowd considering the circumstances of the event. It was opening night, and having worked in entertainment for 17 years, opening night of ANYTHING will have it's "problems" and that's the night that you learn from. So maybe for other nights they will have more food open or BTTF, etc....

 

Regardless, I'm glad you had a good time, and I'm glad you posted your thoughts!

 

--Robb

[disneyfan1313]

Great TR! It was very interesting to see the differences yet similarities in the HHN events - I would love to see it out there one year to be able to compare. Did the concept of an overarching storyline with the Director play well? Did they use him in a similar way that they did in Orlando with the opening events and on the street? I am sad to see there was no Bill and Ted show - I actually think it might play well out there if they spin it as being "Retro" - stuff like that seems to play well in LA.

[mitchelljd]

Robb. Ill post more in here.

 

hell ill even review knotts scary farm, which i went to on weds also.

 

I didn't mean to be nitpicky, except that I want universal to be all the success it can be. to be honest the parking kinda stunk and made me grumpy on that part. i can admit that. it woulda stunk if i didnt have a line pass though.

 

One thing is i can admit i was a bit thorough. but i just hope they augment the staff which plan the event for next year, to have the attention to detail i see from the florida event's website. which i wish i could goto. but ... don't have the plans to. well not this year. i do love universal florida. so maybe i ll try next year.

 

THis was a VERY fun event at universal, People should go if they can, get there early! line pass also

 

When are you heading to a theme park again soon in socal? heading to 6 flags?

[allisonLOVEsTPR]

Robb!!

 

me and my brother went last night it was soooo fun, it was packed but totaly fun i enjoyed the manbearpig chainsaw guys and random clowns in whoville but not when they killed all those poor cheerleaders at the motel its SO FUN

 

any one who reads this should go ASAP

 

its GREAT

[sfmmFREAK]

i just watched the vid

 

[CoasterGoblin]

I'm curious as to what the general public thinks (or will think) of Universal's event this year.

 

If there is less to do this year than in previous years (before their hiatus).. won't people be underwhelmed and give the event a bad rep? Has anyone overheard people complaining about or complimenting the event?

 

What was the official reason for the hiatus? I never had the opportunity to go to their event when it was around but it sounds like people on here liked it.

 

I was planning to go this Saturday but the various reviews have made me consider skipping it this year.. It doesn’t sound like the shows are anything to write home about so it would be $39 for two or three mazes with major waits for everything.

[Jew]

Thankfully the "underestimating" happened in the first weekend. Bringing in more people/adding more vehicles/more shows/etc. is a pretty easy thing to do.

[Mr. Volcano]

Awesome! Looks like alot of fun, the pig chainsaw guys are really disturbing... that psycho house was pretty cool, ours was a white tent, but that one looks cool!

 

-Justin

[JT3000]

The Psycho house looks cool because it's the actual Psycho house. We had one... but it got bulldozed.

[Chase]

Nice pix and video. I'm going to HHN: Sweet 16, but this also looks fun. Too bad I live here in FL.

[mitchelljd]

i forgot to mention my favorite scene in the mazes. Believe the best one was a torture scene, where a real person was being tortured with needles being shot into him all over his tortured body.

 

excellent effects they used to make it look real.

[Chase]

i forgot to mention my favorite scene in the mazes. Believe the best one was a torture scene, where a real person was being tortured with needles being shot into him all over his tortured body.

 

excellent effects they used to make it look real.

USH always seems to do it, as I see.

[Gnome]

By the way, that blue vampire type thing is Nosferatu

[brianfuchs]

I posted an opening night video about the same time Robb did.

 

Mine is at

 

Please let me know what you think.

 

I completely agree with Robb's review. HHN FINALLY raises the bar for Knott's.

[Gnome]

^ watched some of it, pretty cool. Song really matched the theme. Although I stopped at the stabbing part simply because it was giving a lot away and I want to be surprised for when I go. But it looks really really good. I'm even more exited now.

[brianfuchs]

Glad you liked it. I'm posting on 3 boards, so I'm a little confused as to what I put on which board...

 

On one of them, I posted what I believe is the optimal guide to getting around HHN to see everything - whether you have a FOTL pass or not.

 

If it's not on this board, try http://forum.hhnvault.com/ or http://pub70.ezboard.com/bthemeparkadventuremagazine.

 

HHNVault is THE absolute BEST site on the web for everything HHN. It's 99% Orlando, but the Vault has alot of nice archives from years past.

 

EDIT:

My post is about a third of the way down this page (I'm brianhaunt):

http://p079.ezboard.com/fthemeparkadventuremagazinefrm94.showMessageRange?topicID=545.topic&start=41&stop=60

[weegee]

Knotts owns and the Grudge maze scared me so bad

 

The vampires were so hot I wish my blood would be sucked

[brianfuchs]

That's....um.......real neat.....I guess....

[Gnome]

I think it would be easy to get everything done at the park if you get there right at opening. Unfortunately, the people I went with really didn't care to much so we sat in traffic for 2 hours and spent another hour just to get into the park from finding a parking spot to waiting for the tram to take us to the park. We pretty much did everything I wanted to see, though except Carnival of Carnage and Jurrassic Park. We missed Fear Factor Dead Celebrity Edition as well, but that wasn't a big loss, though I was curious as to wether or not they improved on it from last week.