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HHN Hollywood Speculation/News - 2015

What is your favorite USH HHN Year?

  • 2015

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • 2014

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • 2013

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • 2010

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • 2009

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • 2007

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  • 2006

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  • Pre-2006

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  • Total voters
    14
Just got back from my fourth and final night at Halloween Horror Nights. I had a great time as I waited no more than five minutes for all of the houses.. Multiple walkthroughs of all of them except for This is the End. The cast was energetic and the crowds were light. Great way to finish the event for me.

Also, the added entertainment was all on the lower lot on a small stage, including Academy of Villians.

I saw aa verbal fight break out on the row behind me on Terror Tram and a guy throwing punches while being held down by three ops by Saddle Ranch. Very friendly environment.
 
At the 4:30 Jabba show the entire Gate A section was people doing a survey. They stayed after the the house was cleared. I wonder if USH is thinking of bringing them to daytime?
 
So yeah, I am fully recovered from my fourth and final night at HHN 2015. What a great year. The crowd seemed a little rowdier than usual as I had a few encounters with these people that I will share shortly.

First off, as you all have mentioned, last night was AWESOME. I arrived at eight and I was greeted to a board with five and ten minutes waits for everything. It was AMAZING. I got several runthroughs of everything. Crowds were extremely light and everything felt so relaxed. That wasn't even the best part. I'm glad I waited to buy my Halloween shirt because I got that and a key chain for 70% OFF!!!!! I paid around $9.30 for both! The cashier said the key chain was only three bucks so I was like, "Eh, why not. I'll take it." So I'm glad I held out until the end because that was a fantastic deal! Also, the cast seemed really fired up and energetic!

Overall I had a great time. You guys are going to have an amazing time tonight! What's weird is that this is the first year I've missed opening scareamonies in and JP In the Dark. From what I hear, I didn't miss much, so I'm cool with that. This was perfect for accommodating the loyal fans and the leftover GP who are like, "Hey Joe, this is our last chance to see da scary mazes this year so why not". They were clearly not expecting sell-out nights, so if 6k people showed up, I think that's a perfect turnout for the event. They made a little extra profit that they would not have earned so everybody wins here. I hope they do this "afterparty" again next year.

Now for the interesting crowd stories you waited for......

So we were in the front car for Terror Tram and these people were bunching up behind us, sitting on top of this couple seated on the other end of the car. They started yelling and screaming at each other. One was yelling, "Purge this guy!" The guide stopped the tram was apparently calling security in case things went to crap. It was quite amusing and they stopped after the tram let out.

One other guy in his group wearing a Sideshow Bob hat grabbed my shoulder and was like, "dude, that's a nice leather jacket!" He was apparently stoned and out of it. I told him that I was Star Lord. He laughed a little and said, "Okay man. Cool." That was the last I saw of him.

As I exited the park, a bunch of ops were surrounding this small area by Saddle Ranch. This guy was throwing punches at security and got restrained by three ops. As everyone was getting their phones out, security was ushering people away and told them to keep moving. Another guy was restrained so apparently a drunk fight broke out there.

So yeah, Pretty interesting experience.
 
I was also at HHN last night and was very pleased. Felt like I was at the event with VIP access for regular admission. Most lines where under 10 minutes and due to minimal crowds was able to go through each maze twice and ride all the open attractions. I't was pretty awesome that they were even giving you the choice to go in alone which had been a lasting dream of mine or just with your group of people as opposed to being stuck following a line of people throughout the whole maze which made the mazes a lot more scarier. Would definitely recommend getting yourself a ticket for tonights last after party night. 
 
Wanted to jump on here real quick before I get ready to head up to the park....

So my thoughts on last night... HOLY %$@%$I%$ IT WAS COLD!!! :lol:  Overall, I had a MUCH BETTER time last night than I did on Sunday. I wasn't tired, it was way less crowded... it was a good night. I could've easily done everything more times than I did, but I just didn't bother making the effort since I knew I'd be back again tonight. I had better run-throughs in the mazes, while others were still underwhelmingly bad. The scarezone scareactors are still going strong. Terror Tram is still "meh" lol... Witnessed a guy propose to his girlfriend in Dark Xmas with Krampus, Santa, and an Evil Elf helping out. Caught one of the Academy of Villains performances after a trip through Insidious. They were entertaining, later on I saw them interacting with people in the queue waiting for Insidious. The "daytime vampire" dancers were performing in the Simpsons Plaza, which was a nice surprise. Towards the beginning of the night, as I headed to the backlot I passed Starbucks & they were giving out free small Pumpkin Spice Lattes which was great. Rode Transformers twice. I gave in to the 70% discount on merchandise & got myself an AVP (since I didn't get one last year) & "event" shirt. Like I said, last night was so much better than Sunday.

Now one thing I'd like to point out... not only does the event close at 1am, there was another unfortunate drawback last night. Early Entry was NOT until 5:45pm (opposed to the 5pm like it had been all other nights), so TWD didn't end up opening until like 6:30pm. It wasn't a big deal due to the low crowds, but at the same time... when you're already losing an hour of event time by closing at 1am, it was a little annoying that Early Entry was also shortened as well. It does make a little bit of difference time-wise.

Anyway, I can't wait to go again tonight. Hopefully it is "More Dead Than Ever" again so I can get as many run-throughs of the mazes as possible. I'm ready for another night of fun, however I am NOT looking forward to the damn cold! haha...

Last Night's count:

Halloween - 7 times

Insidious/This is the End - 3 times

TWD/Crimson Peak/AVP - 2 times

Terror Tram - 1 time
 
Does anybody here know the layout of Halloween: Micheal Myers Comes Home? I have the rough layout figured out, but need the exact plan. I'm trying to make a scale model of the entire maze.
 
Well, the lines were definitely longer than 10 minutes per house last night but they still weren't awful like they normally are during October. I had a blast going for a second time and I'm already pumped to see what they bring to the table for next year! Is it mid September yet??
 
I'll post a full event review sometime this week, so keep an eye out for that....

As for last night, HOLY CRAP THE LINES! <_<  I wish I had FOTL last night instead of Sunday haha... Despite the cold weather & long lines of doom, I had an amazing time last night. Was able to do all the mazes & Terror Tram once (skipped AVP though because well... yea lol). Did Crimson Peak twice (yay no line) & This is the End twice (once early, then towards the end of the night). Watched Jabbawockeez, a little bit of Academy of Villains & Universal's vampire dancers. Rode Transformers (6 times), Mummy (5 times) & JPRA. .....also tried the Chicken & Waffle sandwich (it was "meh") at Cletus' Chicken Shack. Hung out for a bit in Dark Xmas, Corpz, & Exterminatorz

I was one of the first in line for TWD around 5:55pm & when I exited the maze, it was already an hour waittime.... so was Insidious. Those mazes had that waittime BEFORE 7pm, I knew the lines were going to be hell. Honestly... it wouldn't have been as bad if Universal hadn't shortened the Early Entry & event closing time. Due to the crowds, even though it wasn't sold out.. they still should've had "normal" 5pm Early Entry & 2am closing time.

I did do one of the surveys for the backlot/metro area. Mentioned the tram is great, but there should be a 3rd maze down there like last year. More entertainment. Queue videos (for all mazes if possible) even if it is just horror movie montages. No exact duplicate mazes (yea im looking at you AVP). My mind pretty much went blank when the survey dude asked me about this stuff so I forgot to mention the plain black walls, having Crimson Peak over Krampus, etc...

anyway... ONLY 312 DAYS UNTIL HHN 2016!!!

Oh yea... I forgot to mention this in my intial post....

Okay so last night at 12:30am lines were still pretty damn long, but This is the End said 10mins. So I hurried down the Starway as quickly as I could.. jumped on Transformers real quick since I could walk right on. Was going to go a 2nd time, but when I was at load, it decided to breakdown (of course). Me & a scareactor from TWD bailed on waiting and hit up This is the End since there wasn't much time left...

OH-MY-GOD! BEST. TIME. EVER!!! If there was ever a time that a maze redeemed itself, it was this!!! It was pure chaos! BOTH casts were in the maze together... AND FREE ROAMING! There were demons EVERYWHERE! One of the Jay Brachaul's jumped around on the couch in the first scene. Scareactors were everywhere! It was the scariest, hilarious most fun time ever! There was a demon behind one of the "windows" with a flashlight. There were demons in the "swirling light to heaven" hallway. One of the demon stilt guys was in the Heaven/Hell scene & followed behind me into Hell. Words can not describe the epicness that was that final run through. All I can say is, IF the maze had been like this from day 1... it would definitely have been everyone's favorite maze this year. It was that awesome.

Now I had exactly 8 minutes to haul ass up the Starway before 1am... and yep, I did it with 2 minutes to spare. It nearly killed me, but sooo worth it. I waited to be the last person in line for Halloween. Holy crap was it worth dealing with the Starway! Just like This is the End, BOTH casts were in the maze! I got more scares during this last time through than any previous time. One of the Trick-or-Treaters was in the first scene where young Michael Myers is on the stairs... got me right away lol. Got the crap scared out of me in the Kitchen thanks to Michael Myers distracting me only for me to turn around & have the other "phone cord kill girl" behind me. In that phone-cord killing scene, after Michael Myers killed her he jumped up on the bed! Like This is the End, the cast was full on during that final time through. All of the Michael Myers scareactors from previous scenes ended up towards the end of the maze. So you can imagine the finale!!! -DEAD-

After experiencing what I experienced... I seriously wish I had FOTL last night just so I could have done TWD & Insidious during that last hour as well. Because that final time through This is the End & Halloween made up for the long lines. Those casts deserve a hug, a drink, & Lard Lad donut! lol
 
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Just back from Japan, and thought I would add a report about my trip to Halloween Horror Nights at Universal Studios Japan.

Firstly, the place was extremely crowded.  Maze lines weren’t too bad, between 40 minutes and 70 minutes all day long (the mazes actually open at 12, which was nice since the park closed at 8), but the rides that had horror movie versions of them didn’t open until 6, making it very difficult to do those.  Regular rides were mostly around 2 hours a piece, except for Potter, which topped out at a 6 hour wait at one point. I ignored all regular rides to focus on the HHN stuff.

 

First up was Nightmare on Elm Street , which was held in what I believe was normally a restaurant.  Groups of 7-8 entered this maze holding a rope single file, an interesting way of doing the maze, which seemed mostly due to the fact that the pathways were very narrow.  All the mazes let people enter in smaller groups ,then used a stopwatch to pace out the next group, which was nice.  Lots of twists and turns through the passage walls.  Some cool scares.  Several Freddys mouthing dialogue from the movies over a sound system.  Go through the Elm Street house first, followed by the boiler room.  Some nice pop out scares with bloody people, one covered in a sheet.  The sink scare was probably my fav, the room completely empty minus a sink, up ahead you could see a shower curtain with a sexy lady on it so you eyes were focused on the expectation of Freddy being behind the currtain, all of a sudden there is a loud cracking/smashing noise as Freddys glove comes through the sink mirror (projection effect). Very nice and extra surprising due to the shower distraction.  Also go through a morgue, one body sits up and screams, followed by a room with lots of benches and people, one person is real and provides a nice scare. Another cool projection effect of glove cutting through a hallway wall as you walk by it, dragging along the whole length of the wall.  The maze kind of just ends without a big finish (but there is a final Freddy waiting outside to scare those who are relieved the maze has ended).  Overall a very fun maze though. 8 out of 10.

 

Next up was Alien versus Predator - Held in a backlot area.  Not as detailed or intense as Hollywood, didn’t seem to be a lot of actors in the maze and it was shorter than Elm Street by far.  Some cool effects though, including an Alien bursting through a waterfall and a part where you duck down, an alien bursts out at your feet.  Near the end you go into a room with a bunch of larvae, followed by the giant queen.  Two girls in front of me got scared at the very first thing and wanted me to go first.  The both ended up clinging to my arms and shirt, cuddling closer when scared.  They both thanked me when we got out for taking care of them.  It was sweet.  6.5 out of 10

 

Finally was Chucky - favorite maze, not as many good scares as Elm Street, but was fun.  -  There was a funny "drunk" guy during the last part of line who would come out once in a while and interact with the crowd.  Upon entering the maze there were mutilated dolls.  People jump scaring out of doors with Chuckys on their backs.  The best actors were this girl chained to a steel drum near a guy who was chopping up a body and scaring people with the severed head. They were amazing at interacting with the crowd.  Lots of Chuckys popping out behind tiny clanging doors that would drop quickly, often in pitch dark hallways, nice jump scares.  It had a duck down part similar to AvP.  The ending was pure genius and something I wish they could try more of at Hollywood.  We were rushed into a dead end room by a guy saying he would protect us (there was actually two of these identical rooms to keep the line flow moving, you would go into one or the other depending up on which was full at the moment).  After the actor realizes we are all locked in, the lights go out, you hear a chainsaw, and when the lights come come back on there is a chainsaw guy behind some bars, and another guy in the room with a Chucky on his back (with a mini chainsaw).  Chucky cuts the guys head off and rushes towards trapped guests until another door opens to let us out.  It was a neat effect.  I’m guessing there was a guy in a headless costume, who also operated the Chucky as a puppet to take off the head.  Whatever, it was surprising and a great way to end the maze.  8.5 out of 10)

 

Didn’t get to do the Biohazzard maze/lazer gun thing.  Sadly, tickets were all handed out within 15 minutes of the park opening.

As noted above, some rides (Back to the Future, Terminator, the 4-D movie theater, Backdraft, and Space Fantasy) all changed to horror versions from 6-8PM.  BTTF was Grudge, the 4-D movie was a haunted school film, and the others were all based on The Ring.  Lines were around an hour each.  Sadly I only had time to do one ride, due to the fact that USJ apparently closes their lines based upon wait time instead of closing lines at the actual listed park closing time.  I guess this is to ensure the park closes on time?  So for example, if there is an hour wait for BTTF at 7 they would close the line at that point so everyone will be through by 8.  So by the time I got off my one horror ride, all other ride lines were close.  Wish they were open a bit later as I feel I missed out on some stuff.  But the one I did do was fun.

 

BTTF/Grudge - loved the way they messed with the normal que videos, ghost croaking sounds, static, humming, and the little boy (Toshio) appearing, interrupting the Future Institute of Technology vids.  In the ride prep room, when the power goes out and Doc (in the video) turns his flashlight on, Grudge girl Kayako is behind him (awesome, that got a big reaction from everyone).  Ride starts the same, until the first time jump (through the clock tower), we end up in Grudge house, go up some stairs (the effect of the car going up stairs is very bumpy) and run into ghost girl, try to go down stairs but she is coming up towards us.  Ride "malfunctions" and upon dropping down croaking gets very loud all around us.  Ride worker tries to rush us out to safety but Grudge girls are in the hallway stalking us out the exit.  7 out of 10

 

Streets – Instead of scare zones like Hollywood, there were instead random scenes spread out around the park.  Some nice make-up effects.  There was a zombie on car eating a guy.  Zombies going in and out of houses on the streets.  Thriller dancing would break out every half hour from the zombies.  Loud orange flashes and bangs from time to time all around the park.  The best was this one guy with chainsaw slowly wandering and laughing crazily then quickly rushing someone with chainsaw revving.  At one point a guy ran into this cage set and got chainsawed (he was a plant, but it took me a minute to figure it out, at first I was all “oh, no, that guy ran into a “no entry” area, he is going to be in trouble, oh wait, he’s in on it”), spraying the crowd with water blood.  These mini shows are another thing that I think it would be nice for Hollywood to pick up and do in the scare zones.  7 out of 10.

 

Overall, I enjoyed my time at the USJ park for Halloween, but wish I could have done more.  If I ever return at this time of year, I’m guessing earlier in the month might be better for crowds (I did hear that there was a lot of tour and school groups that came the last week of October (I was there on the 28th)), and I will certainly pick a date in which the park is open later than 8 PM (most other days were 9, with 10 on the weekends) to get more nighttime rides done.  But I would not trade the experience I did have for the world.  It was a unique experience, some pluses and minuses from Hollywood, but certainly worth a visit (or two).
 
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The ONLY regular ride you should've made an effort to do was "The Jaws Ride" because it is the last of its kind...
I rode the Orlando version many times, and have great memories of it.  And did get to ride the Japanese version a few years ago during a spring trip.  I do like how USJ seemed to be a throwback of sorts to old school Universal days.  I would have attempted more regular rides if the single rider lines weren't so awkward. Wait times for single riders were only slightly shorter than the normal line, despite there being very few people in single rider.  I did get in line for Hollywood Dream at one point, only 8 people in front of me, watching nearly every car go out with one or two empty seats, but them never putting anyone in the empty seats from single rider for 20 straight minutes, so I left.  Don't know why they do this, maybe to make wait times fair for everyone?  It was odd after being treated so well in Tokyo Disney single rider, with almost no waits from those lines.  I'm sure I will return some day, either again for HHN or for a regular business day.  Japan is my favorite place, and I've been there several times, so I won't stop visiting now.
 
"From winning Season One of America’s Best Dance Crew to headlining their sold out show PRISM in Las Vegas, which fans will find in its new home at MGM Grand Las Vegas starting this fall, the Jabbawockeez make their debut at Universal Studios Hollywood for Halloween Horror Nights 2015. With an all new, high energy live show created especially for HHN, the original Vegas cast will transport you into a new realm of reality through gravity-defying choreography, stunning special effects, heavy-hitting music and their unique brand of humor. See what lies beneath their iconic masks." ~ theStudioTour.com

Jabbawockeez Show 2015 @ Halloween Horror Nights Universal Studios Hollywood:


JABBAWOCKEEZ show Halloween Horror Nights Ep. 1:


JABBAWOCKEEZ show Halloween Horror Nights Ep. 2:


JABBAWOCKEEZ show Halloween Horror Nights Ep. 3:


JABBAWOCKEEZ show Halloween Horror Nights Ep. 4:
 
I didn't want to make a new thread for this because it felt unneeded, but found this while roaming around twitter
 
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