Halloween Horror Nights '19 General Discussion

[viking_wizard_eyes]

There was kind of a musty/earthy smell in the Doctor Satan tunnels. Would have loved a fried chicken effect in the first room, haha

I can’t remember a specific GB scent.

 

[Spookies n' Stuff]

If I'm not mistaken, Ghostbusters had a burning marshmallow smell but it was very understated after a few weeks, Creepshow has the gross bathroom smell, FMTW had the sage/incense at the beginning and a faint rotting smell at the front of the crypt, Killer Klowns had cotton candy in the storage room and a very faint popcorn smell in the transition hallway to the bathroom, Holidayz had rose petals in the tunnel of love, but that dissappeared after a few weeks, that weird sorta dank smell in the leprechaun's house, and gunpowder in the fireworks shop. If I'm not mistaken that's all the scents this year.

 

[horrornights789]

Did Us end up officially winning House of the Year? Aside from FMtW or Killer Klowns I cant really think of anything else that would’ve

 

[Clive]

Did Us end up officially winning House of the Year? Aside from FMtW or Killer Klowns I cant really think of anything else that would’ve

Yes, Us won.

 

[rageofthegods]

Is there a full GSAT ranking out yet?

 

[DTH]

Went for closing tonight and wanted to share a few experiences!

- CROWDED for November. Dang, I miss when nobody knew about this, but oh well. Wasn't too heavy, I think the longest I waited was 30-40 minutes, or what would've been KKFOS until...

- The dang ticket system absolutely screwed me over somehow. At approximately 11 PM, I waited 30 minutes until about the exit portion where they cut you off to let some people go and it's a traffic area. Lady asks for our tickets. We weren't given tickets upon entry of the line. Guy just waved us through at the entrance of the maze. People in front of us and behind us apparently had some though -- there was definitely a big lull of people entering the maze at that time we went through since we didn't see anybody in front of us until the back half of the line near The Mummy. We explained that our group didn't get any but she would NOT budge. "I understand, but I cannot let you in without tickets." Uhhhh apparently you don't understand, we didn't get any! We didn't give her any attitude, my group was more confused than anything. I get that it makes us look suspicious, especially just our group not having have tickets and she's doing her job, but it definitely wasn't our fault. As it is a human system, there should be some benefit of the doubt here that things can go faulty. Or else people like us, innocent, end up with their time absolutely WASTED. The first two visits earlier in the month, I've had tickets for this maze -- well-aware that it's a thing, but I also know there's lines they don't care at all like HO1C, or they give them out in random spots in the line, or at a certain time of the night where they just stop doing it, and many cases the ticket person is lazy and doesn't care. I was literally dumbstruck, to be honest, as a veteran of attending not only haunts but this event in particular and attending this year many times in particular. Like obviously she don't know me, but we didn't cut. I even told her to ask the people behind us if we cut and she wouldn't. I don't even think she's the ticket taking person (I don't remember her having a bucket), which if I remember correctly, is the person before entering the maze. We literally stood there for about 3 minutes talking to her, as she held up the line, waiting for us to leave. I was annoyed and my group was disappointed for the rest of the night (especially a friend who had to leave early and that was going to be their last maze). Luckily, we went back right at 1 AM and...

- Man, this maze was BONKERS at closing. The scareactors doubled up in each position -- I guess they all wanted to be involved for the final run through since we were maybe the last 20 or so in the maze. Many of them clearly didn't care and was just doing random crap that their scene didn't entail for them to do. Funny in some regards, ridiculous in others. All in good fun, I suppose. Unfortunate for my friends for their first run through of the maze as they had no idea what was going on, which made it all the more funny, but it also oddly worked with the idea of clowns. Now that I know these type of shenanigans occur, I'll try to make more of an effort to hit the last run through of the season for mazes more often.

- Holidayz is the only maze that I can say not only improved, but stayed consistent throughout the run. US, while my absolute favorite on the very first night, fell quite a bit on later runs. The energy, timing, and momentum wasn't there as much. Maybe they got cocky and decided to experiment with new things, or I don't know, but it never worked as good as that first time. Holidayz, however, just got better and better.

 

[Clive]

As a rule, expect shenanigans for the last set (anywhere from 30 minutes to 15 minutes before close). It was a bit wonky this year because of the 1am shutdown and the higher than expected crowds, meaning a LOT of people saw stuff they probably weren't expecting.

 

[AlexanderMBush]

As a rule, expect shenanigans for the last set (anywhere from 30 minutes to 15 minutes before close). It was a bit wonky this year because of the 1am shutdown and the higher than expected crowds, meaning a LOT of people saw stuff they probably weren't expecting.

Yup. On the last run through of Us, when we got to the finale; it seemed like they brought both casts. It was *nuts* in the best way.

 

[HHNManics]

Is there a full GSAT ranking out yet?

As far as I am aware from what I talked to Murdy. Us, Holidayz, Pandora's, Klowns, and Creepshow are top 5. Which lines up with something else I heard. He said FMTW is doing good so that's 6 and I have heard that as well.

Basically
1. Us
2. Holidayz
3. Pandora's Box
4. Klowns
5. Creepshow
6. FMTW
7. HOTC
8. GB
9. ST

 

[rageofthegods]

As far as I am aware from what I talked to Murdy. Us, Holidayz, Pandora's, Klowns, and Creepshow are top 5. Which lines up with something else I heard. He said FMTW is doing good so that's 6 and I have heard that as well.

Basically
1. Us
2. Holidayz
3. Pandora's Box
4. Klowns
5. Creepshow
6. FMTW
7. HOTC
8. GB
9. ST

Holy crap, two originals, Klowns, and Creepshow at the top.

Hoping this means many more obscure properties in the future.

 

[viking_wizard_eyes]

As far as I am aware from what I talked to Murdy. Us, Holidayz, Pandora's, Klowns, and Creepshow are top 5. Which lines up with something else I heard. He said FMTW is doing good so that's 6 and I have heard that as well.

Basically
1. Us
2. Holidayz
3. Pandora's Box
4. Klowns
5. Creepshow
6. FMTW
7. HOTC
8. GB
9. ST

Legit shocked that FMTW didn’t crack the top five. Someone is really gonna have to explain Pandora’s appeal to me because I truly don’t get it.

 

[DTH]

I refuse to believe Pandora made it that high but then again, every employee I encountered and random people I've run into have said that's one of their favorites, so wtf do I know

Which reminds me, I finally did the maze again since opening weekend.
Man, still an absolute mess. I gotta give it to the cast though, they're so viscous. But such a dumb maze.

 

[foodstampsFTW]

Legit shocked that FMTW didn’t crack the top five. Someone is really gonna have to explain Pandora’s appeal to me because I truly don’t get it.

Pandora’s is one of the more intense mazes this year, and newer guests won’t realize the sets are reused from old 3D houses. I like it but it’s not one of my favorites.

 

[Clive]

I refuse to believe Pandora made it that high but then again, every employee I encountered and random people I've run into have said that's one of their favorites, so wtf do I know

Which reminds me, I finally did the maze again since opening weekend.
Man, still an absolute mess. I gotta give it to the cast though, they're so viscous. But such a dumb maze.

This is my opinion of it, too... but people love it. I know scare actors really enjoy it (and Holidayz) because they get a little more freedom in defining their characters and playing with scare tactics.

 

[Chris Galindo]

I will say the cage scares in Pandoras/ ghouls at the beginning are so well done and legitimately terrifying to look at. But agreed, I hate everything about it aside from the opening room.

 

[Jaden]

Gonna be honest, the music and the actors is what made it so intense. Thats why I liked it imo.

 

[Spookies n' Stuff]

The main thing that makes people like pandora I've heard from the GP people I've gone with seems to be that it sorta harkens back to more traditional haunted houses/home haunts from the past, as well as the blacklight element evoking dark ride vibes. The triggers that put guests into complete darkness really upped the scare factor for many people as well, as we've learned, the GP really love complete darkness.

 

[viking_wizard_eyes]

The main thing that makes people like pandora I've heard from the GP people I've gone with seems to be that it sorta harkens back to more traditional haunted houses/home haunts from the past, as well as the blacklight element evoking dark ride vibes. The triggers that put guests into complete darkness really upped the scare factor for many people as well, as we've learned, the GP really love complete darkness.

I agree that it harkens back to traditional haunts or home haunts, but not in a way that felt like homage — it felt just as amateurish as something a local middle school would do. Dark Ride at Knott’s does a way better job of executing that kind of premise, but I actually don’t think that Pandora was striving for that mood. I think they were striving for a high level of intensity, which people have noted, but the cheap nature of the design really undercut any intensity for me. Plus, I never understood the narrative or what it was trying to convey, so it just felt like a bunch of disjointed set pieces jumbled together with a vague Greek mythology theme layered on top.

Idk, different strokes for different folks.

 

[Clive]

I agree that it harkens back to traditional haunts or home haunts, but not in a way that felt like homage — it felt just as amateurish as something a local middle school would do. Dark Ride at Knott’s does a way better job of executing that kind of premise, but I actually don’t think that Pandora was striving for that mood. I think they were striving for a high level of intensity, which people have noted, but the cheap nature of the design really undercut any intensity for me. Plus, I never understood the narrative or what it was trying to convey, so it just felt like a bunch of disjointed set pieces jumbled together with a vague Greek mythology theme layered on top.

Idk, different strokes for different folks.

A great assessment. I was into the premise and really wanted to see the "Plan A" version of it, the one where a significant budget is available. The scenic was some of the worst I've seen in a professional haunt... even though moments of it are legitimately spooky, most of it feels like one of the lesser last minute installs I'd find at Midsummer Scream.

 

[Rideguy70]

Count me in as someone who liked it. I wasn't initially a fan of the blacklight stuff, but as mentioned already, a combination of factors made it very enjoyable for me: the music and voice over, the sections where the lights went out, and the placement and aggressiveness of the scareactors. And the wind effect in the bird tunnel appealed to me as well. The blacklighting really seems to make the scareactors pop out of nowhere, making it the best use of Boo Boxes.

All that said, I totally understand why many people here, especially long time HHN fans, wouldn't like it.