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Halloween Horror Nights 26: Reviews & Photos

The only thing I will flame you for is claiming that this is a site of flamers. I think we are all quite equitable and pragmatic here.

Flamers and being flamed are two different things. And I never claimed that this was a site for them. I just meant that some people are going to love houses people hate, and some are going to hate houses people love. I just felt the sets in some of the houses were pretty weak this year and forgetable. I envy those that are able to do frequent fear and really get to get a feel for them. It wouldnt be fair to those waiting to go through houses slower and some of us only get one shot to remember a house.

I really appreciate the fresh franchises and unique houses. Look how amazing the sets were for Tomb and Ghost town.
 
This is the review thread right?

Quick review update:

The 1st weekend jitters are gone and week 2 brought it home. Crowds were pretty minimal and that's always a beautiful thing. Said hi to Briman and Hatetofly in line for Exorcist. I'll post a final review & awards after my last night.

House ranks haven't changed for me yet.
Tomb & Halloween 2 are the reigning champs in the scare department and overall how to do a haunted house. Tomb is in my top HHN houses of all time, easy.

Ghost Town
I enjoy the story and setting but it's very repetitive. Scares were improved from the first 3x but not enough for me to come around on it. I actually might only give it one more run. It's a good looking house but that's where it stops. This is a great HHN beginner house.

Had a weak run of Krampus but not enough to lower it down. Happy they kinda fixed the end.

The Walking Dead this year is like an ex-girlfriend who wasn't that great in bed but you hook up one more time after she tells you she learned a new thing or two but you realize it's the same nonsense as before just louder.

Exorcist has stayed consistent. No problems with this house besides the turn at the end of the black/hand hallway.

I missed Chance and TCM tonight but I will give them 1 more run, maybe 2 runs for TCM.
 
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This is the review thread right?

Quick review update:

The 1st weekend jitters are gone and week 2 brought it home. Crowds were pretty minimal and that's always a beautiful thing. Said hi to Briman and Hatetofly but they just walked by. I'll post a final review after my last night.

Was that you in the Exorcist line? Pretty sure we acknowledged you. I know I at least pointed back at you and nodded my head.
 
FWIW, houses can have roofs only if they are equipped with a fire suppression system. So whatever rooms are covered in Tomb are also accompanied by covered-up fire sprinklers (so that you can't see them until they are needed).

I'd assume, while it's probably not expensive for Uni to install, that they just don't want to have to go through all the guidelines and safety procedures to put a roof over every room and fire suppression directly over every house.

Tall walls and drapes = much easier.
 
some photos to add

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Review from Opening Weekend for Comparison

Top 3 have stayed the same with the rest moving around.

1. Tomb of the Ancients (10/10)
This house just continues to amaze me with what they were able to pack into its venue. The cast also has an incredible amount of energy and use the cramped space to their advantage.

2. American Horror Story (9/10)
This house is just stunning and I know as a fan I may view this in a higher regard than those that don't care for the property, but the scares have been on point each of my runs.

3. The Exorcist (9/10)
I really love the way they unpacked the film into house form except for the crab walk scene. This has the scares to back up the creepy atmosphere, especially with one or two drinks in ya.

4. Halloween 2: Hell Comes to Haddonfield (9/10)
Second weekend yielded better runs that have shown me the true potential of this house. Solid scare filled experience that it great, but not as good as the original due to the intimate nature of the first house.

5. Ghost Town: The Curse of Lightning Gulch (9/10)

Hands down most beautiful house but has slid down purely as a result of Halloween having a strong weekend.

6. Krampus (9/10)

That second elf right after you enter the house has gotten me each run the second weekend because i keep forgetting about it while looking at the staircase scene. I also always walk out of the house with a huge grin. The downside of this house is the lack of scare variety and under utilization of Krampus which stops it from being the truly great house it could have been.

7. Walking Dead (8/10)
The sets are a blur with the rapid transition across the six seasons of the show, but the scares have been consistent which have made this worth returning to for.

8. Texas Chain Saw Massacre (8/10)

I really like this house as well but what puts it below the seven above it is the hit or miss nature of it. A lot of the scenes heavily rely on timing along with a few rooms with nothing going on detract from this house.

9. Lunatics Playground 3D: You Won’t Stand A Chance (5/10)
This weekend I have had better runs with a few startles but the sets do nothing for me besides the few with Chance that are of the more practical variety. Where the Asylum in Wonderland house played off the trippy nature of the source material, this house just seems to use the 3D as a cheap crutch to mask cost cutting and lack of design. The one guy in there with the bat had a fun time pretending to wack my friend over the head with it while the line was held up, so there was that.
 
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Had the chance to make five visits so far (three of them being on the shorter side), so I'll go ahead and throw in my review so far.

Overall, I think this year is proving to be a very solid event. Perfect? No. As memorable as 25? Definitely not, but to be fair that was an anniversary year, the exception to the norm which featured a charismatic icon who brought a fantastic vibe to the event (namely the streets). To me, this year feels like a very good meal at a very good chain restaurant. Not necessarily as special as a fancier or more unique meal out, but a delicious and filling course nonetheless......great now I'm hungry....

Before the event started, it seemed like everyone was looking forward to a solid lineup of houses from both the IP's and original houses. Thankfully, it seems that mostly came true. I don't know that this year has that same caliber of "standout" house that we got with Jack's 25 Years, the orginial Halloween, or the original AWiL. Instead, the overall average of the houses seems to be better. Just look at how many different "favorite" houses there are this year. One person's favorite is Krampus, while another person may love Halloween, and still others are calling Tomb of the Ancients one of the best of all time. In my opinion, that is a real strength of this year. Most of the houses are at worst decent or at best fantastic. I can't even say at this point that I genuinely dislike any of the houses (yes even Lunatic's Playground, unpopular opinion on my part).

Anyway, sorry for my ramblings and thanks for reading this far, just wanted to gauge if anyone else feels the same way. As far as my ranking of the houses, I've really had a hard time picking favorite this year, so instead I'm going to follow in Disney's footsteps and put the houses into tiers of how much I enjoy them. I'll keep things short and try to avoid any spoilers.

Tier A - aka Really love these, gotta do them as much as humanly possible

-Halloween 2 - This will probably end up reigning as my favorite house. It isn't quite as good as the house from 24, but it captures the essence of what made that house fun without being a complete rehash.

-Tomb of the Ancients - My first run through this house was probably the scariest house walk-through I've had in years. The claustrophobic setting (ceilings!) really sells the creepy atmosphere, and the scares are fast and in your face.

-The Exorcist - Definitely the "best visuals" house for me this year. While not the scariest by far, they did a great job translating a hard-to-translate property. Some nice surprises in this one that I couldn't have predicted.

Tier B - aka Thoroughly enjoyed these, will make sure to hit them each night, time permitting

-Ghost Town - Easily the most beautifully built house this year, but like others have already said it kind of lacks in the scariness department. Still very happy to have it around and see it get better and better.

-American Horror Story - I'd probably rank this house higher if I was into the show (only seen the pilot episodes of the seasons features, plus the Freakshow Halloween episode), but I enjoy it for what it is. Really long, great translation of scenes from the show, and great use of the varied characters seen in the show (I'm looking at you, Walking Dead).

-The Texas Chainsaw Massacre - Another house that I want to like more than I do. They nailed the creepy atmosphere of the house, and the layout and design really makes it feel like you're being chased in circles. Something's just missing for me here though, can't quite put my finger on it yet.

Tier C - aka Like these for the most part, but they're not my favorite

-Krampus - I know, I know, this is an unpopular opinion, but please hear me out before you get your torches and pitchforks! It's not the house, it's me. Really. When I saw the movie I set my expectation waaaay to high for this maze, expecting it to be scarier, foggier, snowier, colder, and generally better than was realistic to expect. What we got is far from bad, as in really far from bad. But I can't shake the feeling that this house disappointed me, even if it's only my fault for having expectations that were unrealistic. I want to like this house, so much that I have vowed to do it as much as a I can and find what I'm missing. I promise you, Krampus, I'm gonna make this work out, just give me some time.

-Lunatic's Playground 3D - I don't think I have the same hate for this house that most of the community has, but I definitely see its flaw. It's many, many flaws. I'm not a fan of 3d houses to begin with (other than the In-Between), so this is honestly on par with those for me.

-The Walking Dead - Only putting it in my bottom tier because it's been here for way too friggin' long. I honestly enjoy it, the actors are working as hard as they can, and it even manages a few "wow, that's cool" moments. Just please, Universal, get rid of it and let AHS be the new recurring TV show house.



I haven't spent much time in the zones yet, save for Vamp 55 (which will definitely be my favorite of the year), so I don't really have much opinion on them yet.

 
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