Been lurking since 2009 and the Horror Nights Nightmares days. Did Early Entry/General Admission last night. Here's the order I tackled everything. Not ready to rank or rate them yet until I've seen them all on a cooler day:
The Weeknd (15 min wait): Honestly surprised I loved this maze! Really disliked the last version, but this one felt more streamlined and fun. Great effects, characters, and set design.
TCM (25 min wait): Some truly great scares in here and some really unnerving set design, things you need to push through, etc. Not the most memorable by the end of the night, but excited to go through this again another night.
Dead Exposure (20 min wait): Okay, I really loved this. Been seeing some disappointment with the quality of sets, but I thought it worked really well! Loved stuff like the blood smears you follow on the ground. Thought the theming and scares worked for me, making this one of my favorites of the night.
Universal Monsters (35 min wait): Honestly, just skip this and save some time. There were a couple cool monsters, but the repeating narration, black walls, and general laziness is so apparent, just like last year's. With projects like the Wolfman movie coming out, it makes no sense to me why Universal refuses to put money into these mazes. They have so much potential and used to be so good!
Then got all the lower lot rides done in roughly 40 minutes.
Monstruos (10 min wait): Kind of a mash up of past Latin mazes. The El Cucuy part was exactly the same as that maze however many years ago. But this was sooo impressive! Really love this maze and even though it's short, it exits into the scarezone, so is just an all around great experience.
A Quiet Place (30 min wait): This was good! Had some really effective scares and even though it's basically a copy of last year's Stranger Things maze, I really enjoyed it! And mostly just glad they included the white board with "What is their weakness?" on it.
Insidious (55 min wait): The board said 30 minutes, so this wait was a bit of a bummer. Especially in that parking lot! But the maze was good. Lots of cool scenes and monsters. Didn't scare me too much, but enjoyed how long is was.
Ghostbusters (5 min wait): Okay, hear me out-- this maze was awesome! I admittedly haven't seen the movie it's based on, so it felt like a really fun original Ghostbusters maze. The sets and effects were great and this maze felt maybe the most cohesive of the mazes I went through. Just a blast from beginning to end! Took me by surprise.
Here I did Flight of the Hippogriff and Forbidden Journey, both with no wait. Super bummed about the lack of Death Eaters and vibe here!
Terror Tram (20 min wait): Oof. Bad year for the tram. Liked some of the scenes and the added Hollywood Sign, but the removal of Nope neutered the whole attraction. There's nothing that new or interesting here. I'd suggest skipping and waiting for next year.
Late Night With Chucky (10 min wait but somehow was led into the Express Lane, so the wait was much longer for others): LOL this show sucks so bad but I had a blast. Mostly complete silence in the audience, but it's roughly 10 minutes of air conditioning, so what more could you ask for? Has the ability to improve over time as the performers get into their stride, but may be better by just bringing up an audience member to be roasted instead. I was crying of laughter at how bad this all was.
Purge: Dangerous Waters (12:30am show, started at 12:40am due to rehearsal delays that we could overhear): I mean, this show is such an awesome way to close the night. Felt more streamlined than last year's with more effects and stunts. This show is just such a blast, literally, and such a great addition to event. I'm glad it's back and better than before.
Overall it's a good year! Could really use the Nope set, Deatheaters, and proof they actually care about the event this year. I also hope they soft open up Super Nintendo World by the end of the event (Maybe November like they did with Harry Potter that one year?) But the mazes are honestly all consistently good (minus THAT one). So for an "off" year, I'm honestly really happy with it! Hopefully we have some lower crowds and can all get our reps in. Felt very old timey HHN last night with the thin crowds!
Tip: Bring an empty water bottle and fill it throughout the night! Also sunscreen and a hat! You won't regret it!
