Initial thoughts...
(Keeping in mind this was essentially a soft opening, with limited hours and no rides/restaurants were open, which no doubt skews crowds)...
Hit Bill & Ted and 2 houses, about par for TM Preview night in my 4 or 5 years experience.
THE GREAT
* Bill & Ted. Easily best since 09, possibly since 06 if they can tighten up the ending--not sure what was going on in the final 2 minutes before the dance finale. A noticeably smaller cast but all are strong in their roles, and the writer(s) definitely have a finger on the pop culture pulse this year.
* Gothic. I've only seen 2 of the 7, but this has set a high bar, can't imagine it won't be a strong contender for house of the year. Amazing sets, costumes like I've never seen before, and some new special effects.
* Prisoners/Traditionals. The strongest of the scare troops, based on (1) outstanding casts (the trick-or-treaters can wring screams out of a simple "boo") and (2) ability to adapt to the new format (see below).
THE WAIT & SEE
* Dead End. Not to pull a Randy Jackson, but it was just alright for me. Doesn't help that it begs comparisons to Winters Night, which was superior. Also, not sure of the purpose of a Peppers Ghost effect when you can clearly see the pane of glass, and then three steps later see the actor being reflected--the whole point is to hide the effect. Hoping it improves as the cast learns its nuances.
* The Beasts. Looked impressively like Orcs. In The Lost Continent or a Tolkein rip-off house, that would be amazing. But I saw them wandering near the Simpsons and the effect was too random to be scary. The genius of the Haunted Mansion is that the Doom Buggy can face any direction as the story requires--it forces your perspective. I think traditional scare zones served a similar purpose. They give the scareactors specific places to hide, and "set the mood" for scares. Running across a single scareactor randomly just isn't the same.
* The Vampires. Looked too much like goth kids who were just bending the no-costume rule. They didn't register as "scary" until after they moved in, snarled, and moved on. Much like above, in, say, a properly themed Shrek Alley with coffins and Victorian facades, I think this troop would have done wonders. But bunched up in the middle of a crowded street they don't stand out enough.
THE NOT-GOOD
* Warriors. Looked like a cross between the Durmstrang quarterstaff team and Cobra Kai. "Dragon warriors" conjurs up images of thick-necked guys with beards and armor, not teenagers in fake tattoo shirts.
* Houses going down. P&T was down early, Gothic went down later in the night. I think Dead End was down for some of that same time, and when it went back up, the lights were off so if still looked closed. Resulted in huge crowds. I hope I was wrong and DM:MM is a hit among HHN goers, because they are going to need all the capacity they can get.
* Construction. Inevitable I know, but makes the park difficult to navigate--way too many dead ends.
(Keeping in mind this was essentially a soft opening, with limited hours and no rides/restaurants were open, which no doubt skews crowds)...
Hit Bill & Ted and 2 houses, about par for TM Preview night in my 4 or 5 years experience.
THE GREAT
* Bill & Ted. Easily best since 09, possibly since 06 if they can tighten up the ending--not sure what was going on in the final 2 minutes before the dance finale. A noticeably smaller cast but all are strong in their roles, and the writer(s) definitely have a finger on the pop culture pulse this year.
* Gothic. I've only seen 2 of the 7, but this has set a high bar, can't imagine it won't be a strong contender for house of the year. Amazing sets, costumes like I've never seen before, and some new special effects.
* Prisoners/Traditionals. The strongest of the scare troops, based on (1) outstanding casts (the trick-or-treaters can wring screams out of a simple "boo") and (2) ability to adapt to the new format (see below).
THE WAIT & SEE
* Dead End. Not to pull a Randy Jackson, but it was just alright for me. Doesn't help that it begs comparisons to Winters Night, which was superior. Also, not sure of the purpose of a Peppers Ghost effect when you can clearly see the pane of glass, and then three steps later see the actor being reflected--the whole point is to hide the effect. Hoping it improves as the cast learns its nuances.
* The Beasts. Looked impressively like Orcs. In The Lost Continent or a Tolkein rip-off house, that would be amazing. But I saw them wandering near the Simpsons and the effect was too random to be scary. The genius of the Haunted Mansion is that the Doom Buggy can face any direction as the story requires--it forces your perspective. I think traditional scare zones served a similar purpose. They give the scareactors specific places to hide, and "set the mood" for scares. Running across a single scareactor randomly just isn't the same.
* The Vampires. Looked too much like goth kids who were just bending the no-costume rule. They didn't register as "scary" until after they moved in, snarled, and moved on. Much like above, in, say, a properly themed Shrek Alley with coffins and Victorian facades, I think this troop would have done wonders. But bunched up in the middle of a crowded street they don't stand out enough.
THE NOT-GOOD
* Warriors. Looked like a cross between the Durmstrang quarterstaff team and Cobra Kai. "Dragon warriors" conjurs up images of thick-necked guys with beards and armor, not teenagers in fake tattoo shirts.
* Houses going down. P&T was down early, Gothic went down later in the night. I think Dead End was down for some of that same time, and when it went back up, the lights were off so if still looked closed. Resulted in huge crowds. I hope I was wrong and DM:MM is a hit among HHN goers, because they are going to need all the capacity they can get.
* Construction. Inevitable I know, but makes the park difficult to navigate--way too many dead ends.
