(Note: I also posted the gist of this in the Orlando forum, though I did add a few additional thoughts here.)
I just visited Orlando's HHN for my first time after years of attending Hollywood's. It was interesting to compare.
I do like their themes better. It's so great to see original houses. And some of the production value is incredible, especially Dead Waters and AHS. I like that they have a variety of scares and moods. It's nice that their mazes are all relatively close together, unlike Hollywood where you have to walk great, long distances between mazes.
What I didn't like: the lack of a compelling facade as you enter the maze/building. Maybe I'm a bit spoiled in Southern California, but nearly every maze (in a variety of parks: Universal, Knott's, and even Magic Mountain) all have major facades right as you enter. I was truly surprised to be entering just a plain office door with often a plain empty room before getting to the main facade. Is that typical? The only exceptions were Blumhouse and Scarecrow. It really threw me off. I guess that's the equivalent of the "black hallways" we often complain about in Hollywood, but it really bugged me.
I also think our scareactors are a little more on point. Definitely more aggressive. That may be a good or bad thing, depending on your point of view, but I prefer them aggressive. For that reason, I also generally found the scare zones a bit disappointing from an experience point of view (though visually, they were cool).
As for Bill and Ted... I enjoyed it, but as an outsider, it never really caught on with me. I did see all the Bill & Ted show in Hollywood when they had their short run, and it never really jibbed here. Our crowd never really participated, as we didn't have that long history behind it. That said, the energy from the locals there does add a tremendous value, even when the writing isn't really that great. (For that matter, I've also always thought The Hanging is very overrated.) And as a gay man, I wished there had been a bit more man candy, haha. But I also figure this year had to be especially tough, as it had to keep to it's true nature as well as have a certain sentimentality as a farewell show. Not an easy balance to hit.
I will say, while I liked their Shining, which was more abstract and interpretive, I think ours is better. It really immerses you in the movie. I did really like their AHS... it was cool to see Asylum and Coven (though it's much more Asylum). Some of the set pieces are quite amazing. But in general, I think our mazes do a much better job at "putting you in the movie". Oh, and I also thought our Blumhouse was much better. Over there, Sinister and Purge are literally two rooms each, with the remainder of the maze being Insidious. Feels super off balance.
I just visited Orlando's HHN for my first time after years of attending Hollywood's. It was interesting to compare.
I do like their themes better. It's so great to see original houses. And some of the production value is incredible, especially Dead Waters and AHS. I like that they have a variety of scares and moods. It's nice that their mazes are all relatively close together, unlike Hollywood where you have to walk great, long distances between mazes.
What I didn't like: the lack of a compelling facade as you enter the maze/building. Maybe I'm a bit spoiled in Southern California, but nearly every maze (in a variety of parks: Universal, Knott's, and even Magic Mountain) all have major facades right as you enter. I was truly surprised to be entering just a plain office door with often a plain empty room before getting to the main facade. Is that typical? The only exceptions were Blumhouse and Scarecrow. It really threw me off. I guess that's the equivalent of the "black hallways" we often complain about in Hollywood, but it really bugged me.
I also think our scareactors are a little more on point. Definitely more aggressive. That may be a good or bad thing, depending on your point of view, but I prefer them aggressive. For that reason, I also generally found the scare zones a bit disappointing from an experience point of view (though visually, they were cool).
As for Bill and Ted... I enjoyed it, but as an outsider, it never really caught on with me. I did see all the Bill & Ted show in Hollywood when they had their short run, and it never really jibbed here. Our crowd never really participated, as we didn't have that long history behind it. That said, the energy from the locals there does add a tremendous value, even when the writing isn't really that great. (For that matter, I've also always thought The Hanging is very overrated.) And as a gay man, I wished there had been a bit more man candy, haha. But I also figure this year had to be especially tough, as it had to keep to it's true nature as well as have a certain sentimentality as a farewell show. Not an easy balance to hit.
I will say, while I liked their Shining, which was more abstract and interpretive, I think ours is better. It really immerses you in the movie. I did really like their AHS... it was cool to see Asylum and Coven (though it's much more Asylum). Some of the set pieces are quite amazing. But in general, I think our mazes do a much better job at "putting you in the movie". Oh, and I also thought our Blumhouse was much better. Over there, Sinister and Purge are literally two rooms each, with the remainder of the maze being Insidious. Feels super off balance.
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