Halloween Horror Nights XVI

[thefitness]

Im pretty sure im going back on the 21st.The icelady better be there!

[iunchboxhero]

Im pretty sure im going back on the 21st.The icelady better be there!

 

I'm going the 21st as well ^___^

[thefitness]

^cool is this your first time going this year?

 

A new production Die-ry is up!

 

 

And does anyone know if ther is a shirt that looks like this?I could've sworn I saw someone wearing it.

?

[BarryH]

I believe those are staff shirts.

[JT3000]

For those who care, Robosaurus is no longer exclusive to peak nights. That's right. The fire breathing, car chomping, zombie hatin' behemoth is coming to a non-peak night near you! Hold onto your butts... and your Express passes (crowd levels this year are horrifying.)

[ECZenith]

Yeah, I definately saw some of the staff wearing black t-shirts with that graphic on them. Isn't it cool?

 

Can't believe I missed robosaurus... and two of the mazes. I agree, the crowds seem really bad this year, they were awful on only the second night, nevermind now when they're in full swing.

[thefitness]

Darn those shirts are so cool looking!

[BarryH]

^I have a feeling that we'll see those shirts on eBay on November 1.

[Thrasher]

I actually like those shirts way better than the ones they offer the guests. Im gonna keep my eye on ebay for them.

 

Im not gonna write a whole long review of my night because everyone has alreayd summed up what I want to say. Overall I think the quality fo this event was a step down from last years. Granted with IOA's rich themeing, its hard to come up with new themes, last years event just had more, and the entire park seemed to be participating.

 

This year there are huge sections of the park with absolutly no themeing at all. The chainsaw guys were doing their best to make sure nobody was able to get by unscared. These guys are very good at what they do.

 

The houses were great, and I think each year makes it so much more difficult for the next years houses to live up to their predecesors. So many people this year are comparing them to previous years(including myself) and not seeing this years event for how great it really is.

 

One last note about robosaurus. They placed this in a horrible position crowd wise. I can understand that they put it there for backstage access, but that hub gets really packed in and the tress around it dont allow for good viewing unless you are in the front.

 

Aaron "going again next thursday" Thrasher

[iunchboxhero]

thefitness,

 

yes this is my very first year going. I'm very excited and I've been following this thread religiously.

 

I already "planned" my outfit. So if you see a blonde girl with a ribcage shirt on. It's me

[tacoking]

(crowd levels this year are horrifying.)

I so wish you were lying.

[thefitness]

thefitness,

 

yes this is my very first year going. I'm very excited and I've been following this thread religiously.

 

I already "planned" my outfit. So if you see a blonde girl with a ribcage shirt on. It's me

 

Allright ill keep an eye out.Idk what im gonna wear yet but ill let you know when i find out

[BarryH]

^^No, I'm afraid he isn't kidding. HHN crowds this year have bee huge from all the reports I've seen. Wait times of 90-120 minutes are not uncommon. You can still avoid the crowds by doing Stay and Scream and doing the houses early, do Express, or do the RIP tour.

[Thrasher]

I wouldnt even step foot at HHN on a Fri or Sat. Ill stick to my off peak nights with the el-cheapo express passes.

[BarryH]

Non-peak nights have been busy too, but I try to avoid HHN on Saturdays at all costs!

[Florida420]

I'm very surprised at how busy it was on the "non-peak" nights. I went on Wed., Thurs. and Sun. It was the busiest I've ever seen it on a Wed.

Thursday was packed and Sunday was freaking busy too. If I knew I wasn't going on more than one night, I would definitely spring for the express pass, definitely.

 

Has any one else noticed that the map shows E.T. being open, but out of the 5 times I went, the whole area by E.T. was blocked off. Not that I wanted to ride, but I'm just curious why they would have it listed but not open.

Hell on Sun the various signs around the park that tell all the wait times, said that BttF only had a 5 min. wait?? but I knew that wasn't running.

[Chase]

I'm very surprised at how busy it was on the "non-peak" nights. I went on Wed., Thurs. and Sun. It was the busiest I've ever seen it on a Wed.

Thursday was packed and Sunday was freaking busy too. If I knew I wasn't going on more than one night, I would definitely spring for the express pass, definitely.

 

Has any one else noticed that the map shows E.T. being open, but out of the 5 times I went, the whole area by E.T. was blocked off. Not that I wanted to ride, but I'm just curious why they would have it listed but not open.

Hell on Sun the various signs around the park that tell all the wait times, said that BttF only had a 5 min. wait?? but I knew that wasn't running.

Thanks for that and nice Avatar. Big Eddie fan.

[JT3000]

Hell on Sun the various signs around the park that tell all the wait times, said that BttF only had a 5 min. wait?? but I knew that wasn't running.

 

It should have been.

[Thrasher]

I noticed that ET wasnt open as well. Maybe they thought the drunk people would go crazy with all the colors and aliens in the ride!

 

Im only going two more nights this year. Thurs the 19th and Sun the 29th. Express passes for both. I MIGHT try next week, but I have a final project due and so it depends on how much I complete before hand.

[lordfarquad]

I went last Weds., and it was not THAT bad, but it was surpriseigly crowded. There were a few 45-60 minute waits here and there, but we got to hit all the 20-30 minute houses and go to PUTS and Psychopath twice at the end for no wait and i got hit by the damn shotgun

[Thrasher]

Both times I've gone this year so far, PUTS and PsychoPath have had long waits early on. I think this is because as soon as the Arrival show is over, people progress through HoS, past BTTF, and right into those two houses. This is why they are the two houses I still havent gone through. Im going to be watching the first show of Bill and Ted tonight, then make my way to the houses in the soudnstages so that once we get to PUTS and PsychoPath, it will be dark.

[tacoking]

View Take 1 of my Halloween Horror Night trip reports on this page.

 

***!!! SPOILERS !!!***

 

Take 2:

 

So finally my second trip to Halloween Horror Nights arrived, and this time I went solo. I had a blast. I think I will do this from now on, just set aside a day where I go on my own and do my own things at my own pace. I manage to hit everything I missed the first time around, and hit the things I wanted to try again. Overall the lines were about what I was expecting which were, at the worst, 75 minutes. For the most part the average time for the houses floated around 45-60 minutes. Oddly enough, it was the soundstage houses with the shorter wait and the tent houses by Men in Black with the 60-75 minute waits.

 

Ok, since I was doing everything on my own I was able to leave on time for once. Got to the park at exactly 6:30, I showed my pass and walked right in. First up was the All Night Die In: Take 2. I am pissed I didn't do this the first go around before I went through it and I that feeling worsened after my trip through. Since the event just started it was pretty much a walk-in. The house was, dare I say it, amazing. Most of the houses this year are pretty good (which makes even the best non-HHN houses average) but nothing special. Two steps into the house and I got my first scare. It was dark, the sets were sweet and full of detail as usual, and there was enough manpower in the house. The movies chosen I thought were all crap, but being up close like that is a different story. The Director isn't the best of all the HHN Icons, but at least he wasn't behind every corner like he was for Screamhouse - I think I saw him twice, three tops. Best house of the year, but not close to being my favorite of all time. Get's a great 9/10 from Taco.

 

I don't think I am going to wear a Cubs jersey to Universal again. After seeing The Director I walked to the Mummy, since it's been a long four months or so since my last ride. I must have gotten 5 shouts from random people on the way shouting "GO CUBS!" or something along that. I think they were drunk, but anywho it felt awesome to ride my favorite attraction again and it was running as good as it ever was.

 

So after spending 10 minutes total with the Mummy it was time to hit the other house that I missed on my first visit which was RUN. Obviously I am mad whenever I miss a house, but I wasn't going to kill anyone over this one. I came away slightly disappointed. After waiting an atrocious 0 minutes, I walked right in. Weren't many real sets like you see in All Night Die In or Screamhouse, just a bunch of fancy looking walls and a couple of (cool) rooms. A problem that always seems to haunt us each year happened with this...the lack of people in the house. I went through huge chunks of the house without seeing a single scareactor. Maybe I just missed everything? I just don't see it like that. The lawnmower to the guys face was quite awesome, I'll give it that much. Throw a few more scareactors in there, and you have a solid house. Sadly, it's not that yet. My score is a 6.75/10.

 

Now that it was dark out I was curious to see how PUTS was when there was absolutly no sun shining. My major beef when I first went through it is that it was way too bright. Shouldn't be able to clearly see where you are going quite like you could in the beginning. It was so bright the light hats they gave you were *totally* pointless. That is no problem anymore. It was almost pitch black. Maybe I wasn't paying attention (I doubt that) but I remember from my first visit that the tarp used was a clearish-white, but this time it was black. Can someone check me on that? Anywho, it was a much better house this time around. Still seemed a little empty with the scareactors, and a couple of the dead rotting bodies couldn't be seen because it was so dark (and there was no one with a light hat within 15 people of me at least), but even still it was a much improved go through this time. Original score of the house was a 7.25/10. The new score has it at a 8/10.

 

I was satisfied with that. If I needed to I could have left, but instead I stuck it out to see what I could get done. Since it had been so long since my last visit I decided to get some rides on Men in Black, Jaws, and Shrek just for the heck of it. I remember saying to myself I should do Terminator as well, but I didn't for some reason. I chilled for a bit, got some food, and decided to see a showing of the Directors Cut that was playing out in the middle of the lagoon. Just a bunch of random clips of past Universal horror movies, and it was pretty stupid. Did get one awesome quote from Jack though : "Some will scream, some will cry. Either way it's time to die." Don't watch it.

 

I walked back around the park to see what I should hit next, and I saw that Robosaurus was doing his thing. He wasn't supposed to be showing tonight, but thankfully he was. That thing is freakin' awesome to see up close like that. I wish I could eat a car sometimes. Now for a quick run through the scarezones. Blood Masquerade was the same, but with loads more fog. Harvest of the Souls was a definate improvement. Same look and all, but loads of fog, and most importantly: the manpower was there! Almost ranks up there with Field of Screams in terms of the best scarezones they have had. Original score was a 7/10, the new score is a 8.5/10. The final scarezone is Deadtropolis. I like how the zombie scareactors are dressed as regular people, so you can't tell who is who until you are already jumping in the air since one of them got you. Got a few good laughs going through it this time. Slight improvement since my first walk through. Original score was 7/10, new score is 7.75/10 since it made me laugh.

 

Time was running out, so I popped in for another showing of Bill and Ted just for fun. They seemed more enthusiastic this time around, but still just a lame show compared to past years. With the park staying open an extra hour tonight this gave me time to do another house, which I decided would be Screamhouse. Maybe my timing was off like it was with RUN, or maybe it was becuase it was late, but it was infected by the empty virus. My favorite room of the year with all those wooden doors being open and Caretakers being around each corner was pointless. All the doors were closed and there was just one guy slamming the door at the end of the hallway this time. I paid more attention to the detail this time, to see how many references to Cindy I could notice. All in all it was as entertaining as it was on opening night, but not any better.

 

I could have gone through another house, as I still had about a half an hour left but I decided to just call it a night. You may have noticed one thing I left out: pictures. Yep, that's all me. I totally forgot to ask my mom for her camera (more important things were going on) and my Dad was at work so I couldn't get his for the night. But, there is still another trip planned so they will definatly still be coming in the future.

 

***!!! END SPOILERS !!!***

 

Nightly review:

 

1. All Night Die In - 9/10

2. Screamhouse - 8.25/10

3. People Under the Stairs - 8/10

4. RUN - 6.75/10

 

Yearly review:

 

1. All Night Die In - 9/10

2. Psyhco Scarepy - 8.5

3. Screamhouse - 8.25/10

4. People Under the Stairs - 8/10

5. Psyco Path - 8

6. Dungeon of Terror - 8

7. RUN - 6.75/10

[thefitness]

Hey there is a slight chance I may not go =[

 

 

iunchboxhero

If I do end up going I have blonde hair with a black streak...Ill have tight jeans and probally a black shirt.

 

 

The websites Horror Comes Home wont let me click on anything?!?!

[lordfarquad]

They changed the tents to black? Good call, I was laughing when i went through PUTS at 6 45 with sun shining in. But how could you rate dungeon of terror above RUN?

[tacoking]

No the tents themselves are white. I mean the tarps that are up on the walls inside while you walk through the house are black now.