- Nov 7, 2016
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- 1,790
HHN 2011 - Opening Night, September 23rd, 2011
Got to the park an hour early, first time I've ever managed that. Line for parking was at a moderate level and we parked in Curious George. We made our way to the top and exited out towards City Walk which felt unusually crowded but then I remembered it's a Friday night. Went down to the shop outside of the entrance and looked around - - didn't find any merchandise worth buying so we headed on over passed the rotating globe. Walked all the way to the left of security check for the shortest line. Pretty heavy crowds trying to get in as the whole entrance area was full of people. They then - - OPENED THE GATES!
SCREAM
Not much going on here. There were lines to take pictures with the go-gos (who honestly weren't that creative looking in comparison to all the years prior but I don't think people are looking for creativity in half naked women who dance). Ghostface was being more of a statue than a scarer. I remember when the statue in 08 and 09 did just a tad bit MORE running around but I guess they limited them ever since. The park hadn't officially opened yet so I guess I shouldn't judge it 100% but I have a feeling that's what it was all night. Basically nothing was going on in comparison to prior years and there was absolutely no set design and no other scareactors running around, which I distinctly remember in all the other years because I always got a good scare or two before I even made it towards the shops. I don't even feel right rating it but since I'm pretty positive it's the final product, I just have to. I don't think I even remember any fog other than the tad coming from the go-go stations and plus since it was the day time still, the lighting on the walls was barely showing. EH.
7.0 out of 10 'C'-
KLOWNZ
Couldn't see anything going on during the Opening Scaramonies but I could hear it. Klownz made their way through and terrorized the hell out of everyone. They did a pretty rocking job this year. I returned one more time later in the night and they were too spaced out from one another for it to feel like a dangerous area so no scares came to me later in the night but they got me good when coming in a few times. Actually, there were screams in the air walking in and then when coming back later, it was oddly SILENT. But I give them credit for the awesome scares once it started.
9.0 out of 10
THE STARWAY
Made our way all the way down the escalators. Right off the bat, I don't dig the escalator music. The Starway is usually one of my favorite parts of HHN and this felt too different in a way that doesn't feel like HHN. The music wasn't horror enough and Alice sounded like he just read off a paper for the first time and recorded it. I believe Ghouls Gone Wild was playing while going down and when coming back up, it was I'll Bite Your Face Off. Something about Alice's voice when singing feels horror-hokey to me and it's really upbeat instrumentals just don't sound horror. Eh, whateva.
THE REAPERS
What's there to say? The scareactors were interactive, luckily and there was a decent amount of them but scenic wise, it was flat. But not as flat as the Scream SZ, thank God, as there was a pretty good amount of fog choking the air. The costumes were okay also but nothing stand out. Unfortunately, this would be the last scarezone I'd make it through.
8.0 out of 10
JURASSIC PARK IN THE DARK
We were still waiting to meet up with some friends so we hit Jurassic Park in the mean time since it had 0 wait. As always, the ride is awesome, especially at night. The "Welcome to the Jungle" thing took me by surprise because I totally forgot about it. The music was playing nice and loud this year. Exited the gift shop and met up with the friends so it was time for our first maze!
ALICE COOPER: WELCOME TO MY NIGHTMARE
Automatic walk on for us, luckily. The maze was more dark than I anticipated, which was nice but it didn't work on an HHN quality-level for me but with that said, it was still quite good. The beginning of the maze did nothing for me but I suppose like a true nightmare, the deeper we went in, the scarier and more twisted it got. I LOVED the dolls/bodies you had to push out of the way with light up eyes. I hope those can maintain themselves until the end of the season. A lot of the scenes seemed to just randomly transition and so a lot of the different settings seem like a meshed blur so it's hard for me to remember the specifics of anything. There was some really great surprises at the end, animatronic/puppeteer-wise that both times SCARED THE poop OUT OF ME as the first one literally popped out of the darkness and the other was still one second and came alive the next. Great ending to the maze but I feel the beginning was a little weak and the story needed work for those who don't know WTMN could understand. My friends liked it as well but just weren't sure what was going on story-wise.
Queue Immersion/Facade: 7. The line should be fixed so those coming early in the night can just walk straight through the JP area. I dig the placement of the facade and the lighting. The music wasn't scary enough though.
Set Design: 8. It looked like a really good Knotts maze but it didn't have that "movie set" feel Universal is known for.
Sound Design: 8. The horror soundtrack of the songs worked pretty well.
Scareactor Design: 8. I personally hate everyone having the black eye make up but if we're ignoring that, the scareactors looked cool.
Scares: 8. First half I didn't get many scares but the second half was definitely the best.
Animatronic/Puppeteering: 10. They definitely made me jump and go "WHOA!" then made me run in the other direction. Black Widow moment was pretty freaky and the snake surprised me the most.
Length: 10. Actually a REALLY great length for this maze and it ended just when I felt like it should've.
Fun: 10. Very fun maze, we all had fun going through this one and looking at everything.
Story: 8. Story might be hard for those to follow who don't know what the maze is about and the scene transitions through stuff in blurs. I'll have to try and pay more attention to but since it IS a nightmare, I guess it's not that big of a deal.
Personal Bias Bonus Points: 8. Exceeded my expectations and gave me some good jolts!
85 out of 100 'B'
Got to the park an hour early, first time I've ever managed that. Line for parking was at a moderate level and we parked in Curious George. We made our way to the top and exited out towards City Walk which felt unusually crowded but then I remembered it's a Friday night. Went down to the shop outside of the entrance and looked around - - didn't find any merchandise worth buying so we headed on over passed the rotating globe. Walked all the way to the left of security check for the shortest line. Pretty heavy crowds trying to get in as the whole entrance area was full of people. They then - - OPENED THE GATES!
SCREAM
Not much going on here. There were lines to take pictures with the go-gos (who honestly weren't that creative looking in comparison to all the years prior but I don't think people are looking for creativity in half naked women who dance). Ghostface was being more of a statue than a scarer. I remember when the statue in 08 and 09 did just a tad bit MORE running around but I guess they limited them ever since. The park hadn't officially opened yet so I guess I shouldn't judge it 100% but I have a feeling that's what it was all night. Basically nothing was going on in comparison to prior years and there was absolutely no set design and no other scareactors running around, which I distinctly remember in all the other years because I always got a good scare or two before I even made it towards the shops. I don't even feel right rating it but since I'm pretty positive it's the final product, I just have to. I don't think I even remember any fog other than the tad coming from the go-go stations and plus since it was the day time still, the lighting on the walls was barely showing. EH.
7.0 out of 10 'C'-
KLOWNZ
Couldn't see anything going on during the Opening Scaramonies but I could hear it. Klownz made their way through and terrorized the hell out of everyone. They did a pretty rocking job this year. I returned one more time later in the night and they were too spaced out from one another for it to feel like a dangerous area so no scares came to me later in the night but they got me good when coming in a few times. Actually, there were screams in the air walking in and then when coming back later, it was oddly SILENT. But I give them credit for the awesome scares once it started.
9.0 out of 10
THE STARWAY
Made our way all the way down the escalators. Right off the bat, I don't dig the escalator music. The Starway is usually one of my favorite parts of HHN and this felt too different in a way that doesn't feel like HHN. The music wasn't horror enough and Alice sounded like he just read off a paper for the first time and recorded it. I believe Ghouls Gone Wild was playing while going down and when coming back up, it was I'll Bite Your Face Off. Something about Alice's voice when singing feels horror-hokey to me and it's really upbeat instrumentals just don't sound horror. Eh, whateva.
THE REAPERS
What's there to say? The scareactors were interactive, luckily and there was a decent amount of them but scenic wise, it was flat. But not as flat as the Scream SZ, thank God, as there was a pretty good amount of fog choking the air. The costumes were okay also but nothing stand out. Unfortunately, this would be the last scarezone I'd make it through.
8.0 out of 10
JURASSIC PARK IN THE DARK
We were still waiting to meet up with some friends so we hit Jurassic Park in the mean time since it had 0 wait. As always, the ride is awesome, especially at night. The "Welcome to the Jungle" thing took me by surprise because I totally forgot about it. The music was playing nice and loud this year. Exited the gift shop and met up with the friends so it was time for our first maze!
ALICE COOPER: WELCOME TO MY NIGHTMARE
Automatic walk on for us, luckily. The maze was more dark than I anticipated, which was nice but it didn't work on an HHN quality-level for me but with that said, it was still quite good. The beginning of the maze did nothing for me but I suppose like a true nightmare, the deeper we went in, the scarier and more twisted it got. I LOVED the dolls/bodies you had to push out of the way with light up eyes. I hope those can maintain themselves until the end of the season. A lot of the scenes seemed to just randomly transition and so a lot of the different settings seem like a meshed blur so it's hard for me to remember the specifics of anything. There was some really great surprises at the end, animatronic/puppeteer-wise that both times SCARED THE poop OUT OF ME as the first one literally popped out of the darkness and the other was still one second and came alive the next. Great ending to the maze but I feel the beginning was a little weak and the story needed work for those who don't know WTMN could understand. My friends liked it as well but just weren't sure what was going on story-wise.
Queue Immersion/Facade: 7. The line should be fixed so those coming early in the night can just walk straight through the JP area. I dig the placement of the facade and the lighting. The music wasn't scary enough though.
Set Design: 8. It looked like a really good Knotts maze but it didn't have that "movie set" feel Universal is known for.
Sound Design: 8. The horror soundtrack of the songs worked pretty well.
Scareactor Design: 8. I personally hate everyone having the black eye make up but if we're ignoring that, the scareactors looked cool.
Scares: 8. First half I didn't get many scares but the second half was definitely the best.
Animatronic/Puppeteering: 10. They definitely made me jump and go "WHOA!" then made me run in the other direction. Black Widow moment was pretty freaky and the snake surprised me the most.
Length: 10. Actually a REALLY great length for this maze and it ended just when I felt like it should've.
Fun: 10. Very fun maze, we all had fun going through this one and looking at everything.
Story: 8. Story might be hard for those to follow who don't know what the maze is about and the scene transitions through stuff in blurs. I'll have to try and pay more attention to but since it IS a nightmare, I guess it's not that big of a deal.
Personal Bias Bonus Points: 8. Exceeded my expectations and gave me some good jolts!
85 out of 100 'B'