Quick thoughts, 10/4 (SPOILER ALERT):
Houses (Listed in order I went through them--except for the final one I talk about, which I went in between Fallen and Hive. I think you know which one it is.)
The Shining: Blood elevator was amazing, second Room 237 lady got me good, and the Gold Room effect was a very cool "creative liberty." A very good looking house, even if no "all work and no play" like in Hollywood (would've loved cold too). Wendys were perfectly cast. Oh and after hearing that he wasn't there, I was delighted to see a Dick mannequin on the floor in the lobby.
The Fallen (two runs): First run I missed a ton of scares, but the final bungee guy actually made me recoil in fear--and I don't flinch easily. The POVs do not do this final effect justice, it actually feels like he's going to land on you. This was such a great effect and from what I've read, I'm pretty sure it's a relatively new effect. While I didn't get to see him quite as well the second run, the rest of the cast made up for it--the coughing room got me good too. I like the gore, house looks like a Slayer album cover (as I said earlier).
Hive: Was a big fan of the 80s synth outside, and I actually think the facade works here. Some very cool effects with the scare actors here--the vamps on stilts and the "hanging" vamps, though I'm a bit confused about the rocking mannequin being eaten. I always love when they put elaborate stories in the house descriptions.
Saw: I was not looking forward to this, but person I was with wanted to go in. It honestly wasn't that bad, though I have no intention of going in again. The room full of pig mask guys was actually quite scary. Not much else to say, though I didn't regret going in it by the time it was over.
Dead Waters: Reviews for this were spot on. Wonderful, wonderful sets--not to mention audio (crickets chirping) and even smells (pine trees)--if I hadn't known beforehand I might have been convinced I was outdoors. I loved the tilted walkway, not to mention Mark Twain. Sadly I missed the Voodoo queen.
As everyone has said, however, it is extremely short, probably due in part to the large sets. I walked through this very slowly, looking around on all sides.
Alright. So with four houses that were "good" and I feel I will enjoy even more with repeated runs, there is one house I went in that needs no growing.
Ladies and gentlemen, the indisputable house of the night...
Scarecrow: The Reaping: OMG. OMG. OMG. OMG. OMG. THIS HOUSE WAS AWESOME. As soon as I got in line at the very back of the line--a ways from the tent--and I could hear roars and screams, I knew I was in for something special. Dead Waters obviously takes the cake for facade, this was not too far behind. The scarecrows themselves, my god, these guys were relentless and were everywhere. This was also a loud, LOUD house. Like I said before, I could hear this house relatively far away from the tent. Not only that, but it literally felt like death. I don't know why, but the crow attack was a particularly haunting effect (I also got splashed with by the outhouse toilet. This house is scary, it's fun, it has everything you could want. I walked out CACKLING and giddy because of how great this house was. Next week, I might hit this first thing.
SCARE-ZONES--Altars and Purge were forgettable, though I applaud the actors in each area. Invasion was such a disappointment, and this is coming from someone who loved Dead Man's Wharf--though I admired the costumes. Trick R Treat wasn't quite as good as Skoolhouse, but it was still (pardon the pun) a treat for my Halloween-loving self. Sam helping with traffic control, taking one of those light wands and marching with it, might've made my night if I hadn't been through Scarecrow. Me taking pictures resulted in me being separated from my friend, so I had to walk through Festival fairly quickly, but I actually liked what I saw. It wasn't spectacular but I'm very glad they finished it. Oh and yay for Metallica's Orion.
So yeah, I had a lot of fun. Can't wait to go back next week!