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This thread is for reviews, photos, and videos of HHN 32
Please limit all discussions to media and reviews of the event. Any general discussions should be posted in the News & Info or Tips & Tricks threads. Thanks!
TLoU having an F-Bomb is not what I expected (even if the latter half of the word is muffled by the gunshot), but I kind of love that Ashley Johnson got to kind of have that honor of being really the first for VO sake
Amazing first night! It was wet but I stay in Toothsome as most of it passed enjoying the Fortune Teller milkshake. It was good but I wouldn’t get it again. I did all 5 zone and while Dark Zodiac lacked props it was probably my favorite. Jungle of Doom was good but dark and foggy and a nightmare to do on a ECV. Shipyard was a good surprise. Vamp 69’ was fun and foggy. Not scary at all for the most part. Oddfellow was a TOC zone. It was fun to see some of the old creatures tho. Can’t believe i think this but I mentioned foggy a lot and think they might have done to much fog. I only did 4 houses as I didn’t start then till about 10:30-11. They were YETI, Bloodmoon, Monsters, and Last of Us.
My house rankings:
1. Exorcist Believer
2. Monsters Unmasked
3. Blood-Moon: Dark Offerings
4. Oddfellow's Twisted Origins
5. The Darkest Deal
6. Yeti: Campground Kills
7. Stranger Things 4
8. Dueling Dragons
9. Chucky Ultimate Kill Count
10. The Last of Us
Arrived at UO at 3:00pm. Got UFF+E from the will call kiosk, very easy!
Tribute store around 3:15pm. Totally packed! Got my lanyard and the UO crew started building the fences around me and I barely had time to get water before standing in line outside central park.
In line from 3:30ish-4ish before being let in to the Simpson stay and scream area.
4-5pm in a monsoon of rain and lighting strikes. No place to hide. Even with umbrella and rain jacket I was completely soaked head to toe.
Somewhere around 6pm - Let in to the The Last of Us house freezing cold soaked to the bone. Stay and Scream was a total waste of time, literally shivering in the house.
6:30pm - Left HHN to get dry clothes.
8:00pm - Returned to HHN after going home to dry off and change.
I did 5/10 houses opening night but didn't really have a great night. So far all the houses seem fine, hope to visit them on a better night tonight (Saturday).
While the zones don’t have the most breathtaking props out this year; the budget definitely went into the costumes. They’re so amazing this year, and the cast for 69’ is killing it!
I have a few drinks in me (I recommend the Feliz Muerte) and haven't done this in a while, so here's my entirely premature house reviews/rankings, because why not? So far this feels like a definite off-year to me, at least compared to the 3 consecutive (not counting 2020) very strong years we just had where houses are concerned, so if this post comes across as being distinctly negative in tone, that would be why. Also the alcohol. Either way I take no responsibility, either for my own actions or your reactions, nor do I promise you'll like my bad jokes. While the houses themselves can't really improve much over time, hopefully the scareactors do, because... uhh... Yeah, let's just leave it at that for now.
No, seriously, I know it's opening weekend but who is training them these days?
Note: I will not be ranking The Darkest Deal, as it stayed true to its name and I couldn't see a damn thing with it being the first house of the night day. I'm surprised I'm not still trying to find my way out of there as I write this.
1. Blood Moon -- Nice theming, and one of the few houses so far this year where the scares didn't completely underwhelm. Setting is detailed and gets surprisingly interesting in intervals, but could've used some more pizzazz at times; just a bit too samey to be on par with some previous house of the year candidates, and I'm slightly disappointed that it didn't continue to get even more over-the-top, but other than that it's a satisfying enough effort that covers ground we haven't seen in a while.
2. Yeti Goes to Camp -- Could've used more characters who weren't yetis, and better character placement in general tbh, but still perfectly serviceable for what it is. Campy, in more ways than one. I like it. Not much else to say.
3. Oddfellow's Twisted Origins -- Dark. Macabre. Appropriately creepy. The more intimate & claustrophobic house of the year, with some of the more effective scares. Main reason I don't have it ranked any higher is due to the lack of big, memorable setpieces. What can I say, I'm a theming geek. Definitely visit this one after the sun sets; it makes all the difference for the facade.
[spoilers ahead]
Say what you will about keeping the spotlight on Oddfellow, but given how closely the two characters are intertwined, it feels more than a little awkward to finally be visiting the actual circus that Jack worked at, which has been entrenched in HHN lore for decades, with nary a single in-the-flesh appearance of said clown, like an important piece of the puzzle is missing. There are certain things they could have done that would've made for interesting fan service without making the house too Jack-centric, such as letting him cameo in a more human but still recognizable form that we aren't used to seeing, or at the very least, showing his body stuffed into a jack-in-the-box, which would be one of the more striking scenes to portray from his backstory. Instead all we get is his costume on a wardrobe rack and a poorly executed shadow effect. Ehh...
4. Dueling Dragons Dudes -- My most anticipated house by far, it didn't meet my expectations, but wasn't the biggest of letdowns I've ever had. It still has some of the more memorable setpieces and is largely riding off the strength of them. Main problem here is the repetitive costuming; feels like 80% of the house's characters are the (decidedly goofy-looking) deuling wizards, which would have been a more apt name for this house, as there were barely any dragons (but there are technically dragons, even if they might as well be statues. Speaking of which... where's the entrance statues!?) And while I appreciate the effort to recreate certain characteristics of the ride's queue -- and even the long lost Enchanted Oak Tavern -- I feel the result is lacking in creepy atmospherics compared to the actual queue and feels more like a fancy production bereft of genuine creep factor, as HHN houses too often do. Seems like a weird thing to say about a haunted house, but it's true. This is more of an exercise in profiting off nostalgia than a proper attempt to accurately recreate what made the DD queue such an effective horror setting, the latter of which could have been one of the best houses in HHN history. Definitely could've used some narrow, winding caves with bones arranged in morbid fashion, something that was conspicuously missing. Also missing were guests who realized YOU CAN CHOOSE THY FATE. Seriously, there's two paths. Take both of them. You're not riding anything, it's just a short hallway. This isn't the time to get picky or play follow-the-leader.
5. Monsters Unmasked -- Being dead middle-of-the-pack, I struggled a bit with where to rank this one. It definitely has some good things going for it but overall is a noticeable downgrade from previous houses in this series. The set design, while very impressive in certain places, is a bit repetitive and lacking oomph to a large degree. The scares are adequate as of now but definitely not on par with the end product of Legends Collide. Maybe it will grow on me like that one did.
6. The Last of Us -- I suppose this house does what it's supposed to do, but I didn't find myself overjoyed with it like I wanted to be. It portrays the game accurately enough, but it kinda feels like it never goes anywhere, if you know what I mean. It abruptly ends in the same gear that it started in. It seems more concerned with being theatrical than actually scaring you, at least for the time being. I thought we were done with those sorts of houses. Guess not. I also would've preferred a wider range of memorable settings from the story. But yeah, it's fine I suppose.
7. The Exorcist: Believer -- Oh hey, finally an IP house where literally everyone has to share my pain of not being familiar with the source material. Awesome. As far as houses like this go, it's decent, and it does its intended job of making me want to see the movie at least a wee bit more than that dreadful trailer did, but the house unfortunately felt very short to me, which is the main reason I'm ranking it this low. Makes me wonder if they couldn't find more suitable content within the film to adapt, or if they wanted to avoid the "It's too repetitive" remarks made about the previous Exorcist outing, or... they just ran out of space?
It's too bad the TLOU house isn't based on the show; they could've used these Exorcist forehead prosthetics for Ellie. They're all dead ringers. Yes, I'm a terrible person and I'm going to Hell.
8. Stranger Things -- So yeah, this is a thing that exists. I honestly don't know what else to say about it, as I'm not a Stranger Things person and never will be. Couldn't possibly have less idea what I'm looking at, but I guess I didn't hate it, even if this fever dream did make me wonder if I had inhaled too much second-hand weed while waiting in line. Some pretty questionable use of the space in here though. Someone really likes projecting backdrops onto giant curtains. No, it's fine. You do you. Is it better than the two previous Stranger Things efforts? Yeah, pobably, but that's really not saying much. I suppose as long as it brings warm bodies with loaded wallets to the park without being so bad that it literally p*sses me off, it's serving some sort of purpose. And on that note...
9. NAPA Auto Parts -- What in the actual flaming pile of... WHAT IS THIS? WHAT DID I JUST EXPERIENCE? NAH, THAT'S IT! NO MORE CHUCKY, UNIVERSAL! WE ARE DONE HERE. CHUCKY IS OFFICIALLY OVER. YOU HAVE ENDED CHUCKY WITH THIS RUINOUS FIASCO. THIS HAS NO REDEEMING QUALITIES. THIS ISN'T JUST A DUD, IT'S GOING ON MY LIST OF THE WORST HOUSES EVER IN THE HISTORY OF ANYTHING!!!
I'll eventually be back to comment on the scarezones & show. Maybe. To be honest, I barely even noticed I was in a scarezone half the time.
Houses: With the exception of Chucky, they are all SOLID (really solid). Too early to rank, but I'm happy with the slate we have this year. Chucky is competing with Lunatics Playground as one of the worst houses I've been through. Zones: Decent zones, but the Oddfellow zone needs work. 3 Nightmare Fuel: Same idea as the previous years, It's fine, but the event desperately needs another show Food & Drinks: Same as every year, decent options, but horrible value for the amount you get and horrendously slow service.
Time for my annual rant on operations: I really dislike Universal's lack of planning for storms/torrential downpours. They were caught off guard on Friday and they left their team members out in the rain. There was a manager hiding under an awning while a poor team member was out in the rain holding up one of the signs for the Stay & Scream house locations.
In a year that has been hotter than ever, the lack of shade/umbrellas/fans for both team members and guests is deplorable.
(None of my complaints regarding ops are directed at team members, strictly management.)
Edit: Positive OPs experience to balance the negative: no more issues with inhouse ops screaming at you to keep up.
I’m so glad to see non-alc options for a couple of drinks this year, including this one!
One of my usual cafe stops here at home has a whole menu of mocktails and it really means a lot to me as someone in recovery when places take the thought and effort to do that.
Death Eaters the best thing at the event. Perfectly realized.
Express at soundstages works remarkably well. Express at the back houses does not. But the worst ops fail was the exit line from the tents. Dead stop multiple times.
Mostly enjoyed the atmosphere Friday and missed Saturday so yet to see everything, but Yeti the early house to beat for HOTY. Darkest Deal could creep up--the scenes that work well work very well, just not sure what the middle parts are trying to convey. (Hoping another run or two makes that clear.) On the short side tho.
Exorcist and Bloodmoon exceeded expectations. Bloodmoon in particular might be a sleeper hit--aggressive cast, immersive sets, and a satisfying length.
Oddfellow was average. Was over halfway through before I realized:
the zodiac theme
. But some cool costumes and effects flow from that,
Dragons will probably disappoint a lot of people, but as an old-school fan I ate those 'memberberries up with a spoon. I just can't see anyone under 30ish feeling the same. My new to Universal friend liked the sets but didn't find it scary.
Jungle of Doom the best of the traditional zones, but that's a very low bar.
The park misses a second show. It desperately misses that opening Production Central scarezone.
Before I get into the houses just wanted to touch on the operations. Friday and Saturday express was very hit or miss, mostly a miss with them allowing the express to back up and become unmanageable. Sunday that was completely corrected, waited 15 for Stranger things and basically walk on for the other expresses. Oddfellow they added some post scan switchbacks that allow them to operate a better ratio so hopefully they don't backslide and express continues to be a smoother experience.
Solid year for houses! 1-6 are all top tier and 7-9 are really fun with some specific gripes. Zones are TBD because of the weather and crowds so I will not touch on those at this point.
1. Darkest Deal
This house does a great job of telling a story and peppering in effective scares and cool sets. Only gripe is that perhaps its a tad short but personally this is the house to beat for me this year.
2. Monsters Unmasked
Really cool sets but the Phantom section drags a bit and there are stretches without scares. The Mr. Hyde section is my favorite part and feel this has room to improve. At this point this is the weakest of the 4 Monsters houses but they have all been top 2 for me so this is still a solid house.
3. Dr. Oddfellow
This a a long house that really uses this tent to the maximum. Winding tight paths and bigger setpieces combine into a really fun experience. Feels a bit like a merging of carnival graveyard and puppet theater but elevating it into a really cool and effective house.
4. Exorcist Believer
This house came out and really surprised me with the intensity and flow of the house. My wife really did not like the smell so beware if you are sensitive to the intense smell houses.
5. Dueling Dragons
Really fun can cool house that is a great homage to the ride. Really cool effects with the spell castings and the light up armor they are wearing.
6. Blood Moon
Really cool sets and love the story of this house. The podcasts with the backstories add a lot of interesting context that elevates the house and makes it much more creepy and atmospheric.
7. Yeti
Really cool sets and great energy. Better than Yukon for me personally, just not my favorite subject area so kinda a ceiling on how high this can go.
8. Last of Us
Love the game and was really excited for this house. Its really cool seeing part of the game come to life but suffers from having too much space which slightly undermines the effectiveness as a haunted house. I really appreciate when something has elaborate sets and whatnot but not when it undermines the effectiveness as a haunted house it slightly disappoints. Also seeds of extinction and descendents both made me super excited for this house but both were more effective at doing what they did than this house was.
9. Stranger Things
Similar to the last of us, just not as big of a fan of the source material so those gripes magnify here. Also the large spaces with the projected backgrounds on the curtains just feel really cheap and lazy. Better then 2/3 but not as good as the first one. Also the floppy vecna fingers are a little goofy and I feel they don't have room to effectively scare and are more concerned with performing their vinettes.
10. Chucky
This is just bad. Feels cheap and lazy. Only real dud this year.
1) Darkest Deal: love everything about this house and it has some Graveyard Games elements in parts that I appreciate.
2) Exorcist: biggest surprise of the year. The actors are all super aggressive in their movements. Actually looking forward to the movie now.
3) Oddfellow: That Lion gets me every damn time.
4) Monsters/Yeti tie: Both well done sets and scares. Monsters is a little hard to see, I wouldn’t do this one during the day when your vision hasn’t adjusted yet.
A semi quick review/trip report from my trip to HHN as I'm on the plane back home. Will share my shots later on:
Got lucky with the hurricane not impacting Orlando super heavily and was able to get into town on Wednesday evening with only a minor delay.
Thursday, I went to the tribute store. Wow! As a comics reader I loved the way that the media was translated into a 3d space. The Boris room was my favorite but I also loved the neon of the diner room. The fact that it was also sold as a physical comic made my day too. (In case anyone goes to the tribute store in the next few days and wonders where they are, I asked the clerk today and he mentioned that they're going to come back in stock later in the event run). My favorite tribute store so far and I hope to see the Boris part 1 story expanded on in comics form next year!
Opening night didn't start great with the downpour. I walked over from Aventura around 5pm and several parts of the walkway were flooded. I ended up soaking my shoes but had the foresight to bring an extra pair of socks so they were a little damp after I changed since the shoes were wet but it was bearable. Thankfully, rain held off for the rest of the night. For opening night I decided to get a private RIP tour. I'd done public many times before on both coasts. I really enjoy the experience but I wanted more houses and the ability to skip the parts I don't care about (shows) in favor of houses. Wow, I don't know if I'm going to be able to go back. We ended up doing 30 houses on opening night. Our first loop around the park, we ended up doing every house back to back and then made another loop around doing favorites once or twice again. But even more valuable to me was our awesome tour guide (Kelly E, she was incredible. If you're looking for a tour guide, do yourself a favor and request her, except on the days when I'm doing it ). Since I ended up leading the way, she would tap me on the shoulder multiple times in the houses and point out the little details to me as we were going through. It was like having an unmasking the horror tour in the nighttime with all the effects running. I'm still going to do them but I enjoyed the UTH tours less than I usually would because I knew so many of the details already! It was very pricy especially considering that our group was 3 people but worth it for an out of towner like me that has to maximize a short time in Orlando. Also it was cool to meet @Brian G. and thanks for the cool IU button!
Saturday, I was up early for my 6 house UTH tour. Like I mentioned, I got less out of it this year but I still enjoyed getting to spend much more time in the houses and go looking for frogs. The dragons scene in DD is probably my favorite scene of all time at HHN just because of how much I treasure the memories of the original ride. Saturday night we had Express and used it on all houses except ST4 since it was getting late, I was exhausted and I'd been through the house 4 times already at that point plus UTH.
Sunday morning was the 3 house tour. Same deal as before but always fun to spend some extra time in the houses. Sunday we had no Express or any FOTL access so we did a couple of mazes opportunistically throughout the night and I took my camera around the park a handful of times getting pics and video. Like I mentioned, I'll share some of my pictures later on when I get home to my PC and can edit them!
The highlights of the event for me:
- Top half of houses: I am having a really tough time ranking my houses this year. I think Bloodmoon is on top but honestly, if you ask me tomorrow it might be Darkest Deal or Oddfellow or Dragons or maybe even Yeti. I haven't been going for very long but I think this is the best batch of originals I've ever seen.
- Oddfellow in general: I never went to the event during the icon years and so this was my first year where the scare zones or houses were tied into the icon. I loved it! Loved seeing Oddfellow come to power and I thought that the actors that played him did a fantastic job, the one at the front of the park with the show especially. He exuded so much dark charisma and did a fantastic job ad libbing with the audience. Hope to see Oddfellow return at some point!
- The Tribute Store(s): Like I mentioned earlier, the main HHN tribute store was amazing. But I loved that the summer tribute store also stayed up. I hope to see that continue in the future. I definitely was a little bummed missing the Jurassic World and last year's movie one.
What a great year, I can't wait to hear what you all think about the event and I'm dying to see everyone's pictures and videos from the event!
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