Here’s the thing with me: The first time I ever went through a haunted house was my rehearsal for Screamhouse while they were filming the “The Art of the Scare” documentary.
That’s a 19 year-old me.
Lights were on. Every effect was explained. Every design decision was discussed. That was my first experience with any haunt. And then I proceeded to go through that specific house several times during the run from the perspective of a student, not a guest. I studied it because I wanted to design them. Because of that, I trained myself to take in a whole lot of a house immediately. I very rarely miss where scares or effects are and, by default, my mind dissects the how of it very quickly. To me, going through a haunted house is like watching a magic show where you’re able to figure out 90% of the tricks after one viewing. The second viewing confirms and gets me to 98%. It would take something pretty amazing to get me back to that show a third time.
This goes double for HHN houses because the performers are not granted a lot of improvisational flexibility. I prefer local haunts because the performers are able to let loose, so there’s a lot more “holy crap, that was awesome,” moments where I’m caught off-guard. They also tend to be far more experimental with effects. I have to be surprised before I can really enjoy a haunt, and HHN very rarely surprises me (their use of the vortex tunnel in Dead End was, to me, their last great surprising effect).
Haunts have formulas and, generally, Universal adheres to those formulas to a T. And that’s totally fine for their market and fans who want a comfortable party atmosphere. I’m remarkably private, so going to the event with a large group friends (especially multiple times) is not really an option. And that was before I left Florida. Now? Not a chance. The party atmosphere is a hindrance, not a draw.
I know in the fan community it makes me a pretty massive outlier. Whatever. I can enjoy the artistry of the event from home.