Like I did last year, typing up some thoughts here about this year's event as I'm on a plane flying away from SG, roughly arranged from some downsides to upsides:
- I remember it being very hot last year but this year felt even more oppressive in a way that last year didn't. Was wearing the bloody Hollywood sign shirt from HHN this year and I swear it was a pound or two heavier of sweat from a night at the event, so disgusting.
- The merch situation remains disappointing. Lanyard, fan and cup with the HHN logo and some Singapore exclusive Stranger Things merch that I didn't particularly care about. Still want that house shirt, USS! The RIP lanyard has a really really cool design, so I know you have some talented graphic designers that I'd love to wear!
- Like I mentioned in ^ post, the schedule situation was definitely a disappointment. Okay, last Thursday, there wasn't an event, that happens when you're booking flights and setting schedules 355 days in advance like I did. But only open from 7-midnight was such a bummer. Whereas a Stay&Scream/Early Access day at the USA events can be a little much and by 10 or 11 I'm starting to feel like the night is dragging a little bit, The Singapore event was the opposite. It felt like even if I rope dropped the event at 7pm, I'd blink and it'd be 10pm and I have two hours left. I didn't get to sit and enjoy the scare zones as much as I would've liked and as I did last year.
- (leading with the negatives, I promise you that the positives vastly outweigh the downsides!) The lack of the third scare zone was definitely felt! I loved the two we got but without the SZ in Sting Alley to split guests walking through NY, the NY area got really really congested.
- The 4 houses were all solid, at about the same level from last year. There were some interesting pairings, what I think are mismatches, between houses and locations. A house like Unruly Immortals didn't really seem to use the vertical space that it got in a soundstage whereas Stranger Things would've enjoyed the space with the Mind Flayer x Starcourt Mall Scene.
- This year in particular, although it also would've applied to last year, it was really apparent to me how different the scare profile is between Singapore and the States. The States scares are usually pretty safe, high floor scares. You get the prerecorded audio, pop out of your boo hole and go back in. Largely you're getting a consistently good experience every time but Singapore gives the actors so much more room to improvise. As far as I can tell, there are miminal to no recorded audio triggers and the actors make their own audio (RIP their vocal cords). They can lurk around a room and change where they scare from instead of consistently being in the same place. It increases the rerunnability of the houses although it can be a floor lowerer if you get unlucky with a scare actor that is taking a longer resetting scare and you miss it.
- The event just feels a lot less commercialized which is something I adore about it. I wish I could put a finger on why, because it has Express, it has the most brazen product placement in a show (Fanta in the Dare or Die Live show) I think I've seen at a Universal park but it just has that vibe of "love of the game" that's hard to explain. Maybe something like a lack of mega-IPs (this year maybe excluded with ST), small stuff like the RIP guides all putting on horror makeup (the most famous RIP guide Suzie told me that she started her makeup at like 1 or 2pm for a 7pm tour) or just me projecting what I want the USA events to be onto this smaller event! Either way, I love the vibe.
- The scare actors are seriously amazing. Orlando and Hollywood scare actors are fantastic, this is certainly not meant as a diss but I think Singapore's just go all out in a way that the Stateside events can't. That means screaming at guests, sliders, sprinting around, lunging and just generally being so active. In addition, they seem to be able to be able to give a lot more individual attention. I stand out but I had multiple scare actors remember me from last year and give me amazing interactions, in a way that the Stateside counterparts don't (and in fairness, can't). Almost certainly a function of both a shorter season (so they can go harder with the time they do have) and a much less crowded event. Both nights I were there, they had the scare actors on set for 30 minutes after the event officially closed and especially on Friday night, Fearground was so dead that I got to get some great, personalized interactions with the scare actors. If you're reading this by any chance, you're the best!!
So yeah, another great year at the SG event. Next year I will absolutely be back and will reorient my trip to end with SG where I can be more confident that there will be 3 or maybe even 4 nights for me to enjoy this amazing event!