HHN Hollywood Speculation/News - 2014

[Alexshow.]

I have a interesting question... what if, They got rid of the terror tram to get a budget for 2 shows, would you be fine with that? as I think the reason that B&T not being here was due to the addition of number 7 to houses.. Would you be fine on removing Terror Tram for shows. One bullet hits another wound. and if they shoot Terror Tram for 2 shows then we'd be in another debate. Just personally wondering here..

 

[Jon Fu]

In all honestly, this was probably the worst opening night I've ever been to. I'm not sure if Universal was handing out an abnormal amount of media passes or overselling the VIP Experience/Front of Line, but the crowds were astronomical for both Gate A and the general public. Never has opening night been this bad in terms of crowds or operations.

I'll start with the good. The mazes were fine, if not a bit dated in their technique. After covering this event for so many years, you really start to recognize some of their gags and effects. Big object rushing towards you with flashing lights? Check. Scare act jumping out of a door? Check. Granted, I'm jaded at this point and I don't think this may be representative of the general public, but the entire execution of the mazes felt tired old. That being said, the quality of each maze is still top notch and make-up, performers and overall set design were very well done.

Now for the bad: the VIP Experience absolutely bombed this year. Save for the tour guide who tried her best to make the experience enjoyable (whom I don't place any blame on at all), the entire experience felt like a downgrade after years of updates and progressions. This year, you're essentially paying for a small scare zone leading up the VIP Lounge (which was nice) alongside transport to the backlot and the Terror Tram. There is no private tour of Jaws Lake, and there is no special Terror Tram tour. This is fine if you've never been on the VIP Experience, but after years of perks and treats, this felt like a downgraded event.

Second: the walk from the Lower Lot to the backlot is ridiculous. While it's nice to step foot backstage, this is not a type of experience you'd expect from a park on the same caliber of Universal. Quite honestly, it seems very Six Flags-esque to slap a quarter-mile unthemed pathway from one area of the park to the other and our tour guide herself admitted that it was a substantial distance. I don't know what to make of Universal's thought-process since the walk wasn't as bad as I'd thought it would be, but it's asinine to think that there are now two large bottlenecks during Horror Nights - the StarWay and the backlot walk.

Third: the atmosphere. Boy oh boy, Brover is right about the different atmosphere. I don't think it's a secret that I'm not a fan of Bill and Ted's absence, but I drastically underestimated the show's overall balancing effect on the entire event. While some may find the notion of maze after maze exciting, I found this year's offerings tiring and overblown. Bill and Ted - in many respects - was a pallet cleanser. You had the opportunity to calm yourself before the next experience, and the repetitive nature of each maze wasn't as evident throughout the night. With Bill and Ted gone, you literally went from one gory item to another. There is no fluctuation, and the event felt very skewed towards one demographic. There is absolutely no entertainment this year and even the Chucky insult comic has been dumped. Simply put, the event is not well-rounded.

This change in direction may be fine for some guests who appreciate the seventh maze in lieu of a show, but I don't think I'll return next year of this trend continues. It's just too tiring and repetitive, and last night's experience simply reinforced the idea that I need to take a break away to refresh. 2013 was a good year, but 2014 simply destroyed the momentum that I had felt after attending the event for years.

Edit: here's a video of Dark Christmas for those who are interested -

https://www.youtube.com/embed/QDZATUw7TnI?feature=oembed

 

[RyanTTD]

The Dark Christmas music is awesome!

 

[k_peek_2000]

My basic thoughts on opening night. Mazes from my most favorite to least favorite. Some minor spoilers ahead.

1. AVP - Proof that soundstage mazes are better than tent mazes. We need more of them. One of HHN Hollywood's best mazes ever.

2. American Werewolf - Just as detailed and fun as Orlandos, but packaged in a smaller box, I felt at time like I wanted more but wasn't getting it (subway scene).

3. Walking Dead - Nicely themed, the Big Stop scene is pretty awesome, look for the zombie toy easter eggs! The walked dead theme is tired though.

4. Dusk Till Dawn - Another nicely themed maze, I had no idea what was going on. If it were for the great actors in front of the maze I would have probably ranked it lower.

5. Clowns 3D - The clowns theme is generic, it's a solid maze but it doesn't try to do anything special, it's just... there. Probably would have been better without Slash IMHO.

6. Face/Off - Glad to be in HOH again.

7. Dracula - A truly lifeless maze. This is what happens when the studio has all the control and the creative team is forced to work this a property. All the problems El Cucuy had are still present, huge dark hallways, small sets. Avoid it imho unless it's a walk-on. Then do the curtest of giving the scare-actors something to do.

 

[Allen The Actor]

AVP sounds fantastic, and honestly, I've always wanted to see a full scale AVP attraction. That'd be amazing and terrifying.

 

[Allen The Actor]

According to some of my friends from Universal, Justin Bieber was at Horror Nights last night and *SHOCKER* he was causing raucous and trouble and being a total douche and his bodyguards were being equal idiots as well.

*sigh* Disney and Universal need to grow some huevos and ban him for life.

And apparently not the first time he's caused trouble at Universal either.

On a previous trip, his group of morons E-Stopped Simpsons when they tried to climb out of the ride.....

*siiiiiiigh*

If dreams came true, I'd love to see him on Super Silly Swirly and see it spin out of control and then have his Swirly pod detach off the ride and fly off the Frankenstein parking structure.....

 

[Bonkers]

According to some of my friends from Universal, Justin Bieber was at Horror Nights last night and *SHOCKER* he was causing raucous and trouble and being a total douche and his bodyguards were being equal idiots as well.

*sigh* Disney and Universal need to grow some huevos and ban him for life.

And apparently not the first time he's caused trouble at Universal either.

On a previous trip, his group of morons E-Stopped Simpsons when they tried to climb out of the ride.....

*siiiiiiigh*

If dreams came true, I'd love to see him on Super Silly Swirly and see it spin out of control and then have his Swirly pod detach off the ride and fly off the Frankenstein parking structure.....

He just doesn't know when to quit does he? Seriously, I can't stand him.

 

[Allen The Actor]

USH needs to take a book out of Knotts' horror event and make a new show where they sacrifice a Justin Bieber look-a-like. I'd pay good money.

 

[William]

Well, I think I've recovered from my first two nights of HHN 2014. Brace yourselves, I have a lot to say!

First off, I'm pretty biased. I'll love HHN no matter what it's like. However, this year's event is very different from last year's. When I predicted that Bill and Ted's absence would have a large impact on the event, I had no idea how correct I was. Opening night was the most brutal experience, just as Jon and Jonathan described. If you end up going and want to do all of the mazes, you'd better have one hell of a plan set up. My group managed to get 4 mazes done during the entirety of the first night though, to be fair, a small chunk of that was taken out by the Eyegore Awards (which, by the way, was a short yet awesome event). Of course, I ended up being late to this thing, but I still got to see several iconic horror figures all in one room.

Something I can't quite judge just yet is how the "entertainment" for the maze queues was handled. As I stood in line for what seemed like days for AVP in the Backlot, there were several attempts at distracting guests in order to keep their mind off of the hell they were currently going through. Scare Patrol has boom boxes playing the same playlist for all mazes (it can get a bit annoying listening to Fancy by Iggy Azalea for nearly every maze), behind-the-scenes clips and horror movie trailers were projected onto massive screens attached to the Backlot façades, and half-dressed go-go dancers were uh.. shaking around in little caged platforms in the middle of the queue. It's a bit of an overload, though it's quite funny watching a go-go dancer break her heel while trying to entertain the men walking by.

The mazes themselves were excellent, though I found several reused gags and props from last year. AWIL was probably my favorite, while Face Off was probably my least favorite (though I still enjoyed it). The Walking Dead was too short, but still fun. Dracula Untold featured one scene I really liked, but the rest was mediocre. Clowns 3D was fun, though a bit too similar to Black Sabbath. AVP was very impressive, but seemed more focused on the wow-factor rather than the scare-factor. As for From Dusk till Dawn, the scenery and layout itself was iffy, but those Culebras are going to give me nightmares. There is no doubt in my mind that vampiric serpent women with white, bulging eyes and piercing fangs will be haunting my dreams for the next few nights. I shrieked like a little girl meeting her teen idol every time they would pop out.

The scare zones were fantastic, with the exception of Skullz. They've added more stilt-walkers this year, but they still aren't all that frightening. I also found myself walking back and forth through Dark Christmas and Mask-A-Raid. Those were beautifully done, and I loved the music and fog in both zones.

Terror Tram was nearly the same, if not downgraded, from last year. I still find it odd that they place a prison guard tower in front of Whoville.. Hmph.

Suffice it to say, this year was certainly a doozy. While I wish they would do something about the operation for these horrid maze queues, I still enjoyed the event after all. I could've waited to post this overview after my 4-night venture, but I couldn't resist. Who knows, maybe I'll have a different view by next Sunday.

 

[Ryan]

While I wish they would do something about the operation for these horrid maze queues, I still enjoyed the event after all.

They can do something next year: it's called growing a spine, and realizing that exactly 0% of people who go to HHN will even care about the "scandal" last year which was only blown up by the fact that they cancelled it and reviving Bill and Ted. 

Fun fact: the show is currently in Florida. Haven't heard a peep. 

I think nobody cares. But Universal management is apparently living in a world where their consultants can't tell them that the internet has a serious case of ADD. We found out that the NSA has the ability to wiretap absolutely everything we communicate with about a year ago and that's actually blown over. I think the case of "The Internet Hipsters vs. Bill & Ted" is something nobody has to worry about ever again.

But instead USH is going to be saddled with numerous complaints of long lines and no show. Sucks to be them, but they get zero sympathy from me. Zero.

 

[Allen The Actor]

Scare Patrol has boom boxes playing the same playlist for all mazes (it can get a bit annoying listening to Fancy by Iggy Azalea for nearly every maze), behind-the-scenes clips and horror movie trailers were projected onto massive screens attached to the Backlot façades, and half-dressed go-go dancers were uh.. shaking around in little caged platforms in the middle of the queue. It's a bit of an overload, though it's quite funny watching a go-go dancer break her heel while trying to entertain the men walking by.

This made me laugh more than it probably should have, if only because it came from you.....hahaha.

They can do something next year: it's called growing a spine, and realizing that exactly 0% of people who go to HHN will even care about the "scandal" last year which was only blown up by the fact that they cancelled it and reviving Bill and Ted.

Fun fact: the show is currently in Florida. Haven't heard a peep.

I think nobody cares. But Universal management is apparently living in a world where their consultants can't tell them that the internet has a serious case of ADD. We found out that the NSA has the ability to wiretap absolutely everything we communicate with about a year ago and that's actually blown over. I think the case of "The Internet Hipsters vs. Bill & Ted" is something nobody has to worry about ever again.

But instead USH is going to be saddled with numerous complaints of long lines and no show. Sucks to be them, but they get zero sympathy from me. Zero.

The issue that happened last year was absolutely moronic, and the people who cried that the jokes were homophobic are over sensitive Internet trolls who don't properly represent the LGBT community. It was so moronic. I wasn't offended. It was all humor. You're at Halloween Horror Nights....watching frikin Bill & Ted. They poke fun at everything and everyone.

That event still makes me mad...

 

[William]

Tonight will be my third visit to the event this year. I'm hoping to finally see the Opening Scaremony for the first time.

"Let the killing.. commence!!"

 

[BernardMesa]

Went on Friday and got to do the First Stab. Because of that, I was able to do everything at least once and went through a couple twice, all within the first 3 hours of the event.

Here's my little take on the event. Might slip some spoilers, just saying...

AVP was amazing! Not exactly scary but so cool to look at. I ended up going through that twice before the lines started filling up.

TWD was alright. When I went through the super market scene I thought "wow I'm so glad they put this part into the maze I'm so exci-" and then that scene ended. Totally thought they would have had a part of the ceiling collapsed or something but oh well. I went with the same person as last year so she had been in last year's maze and as we exited, we both just looked at each other and said "that was okay.." a the same time.

I don't have much to say about FDTD. I had no idea what was really going on other than knowing that there were vampires in a strip club.

AWIL looked great. I ended up stopping for up to 5 minutes at a standstill at least 5 times (not exactly sure why) so that kind of ruined a few of the effects in a sense. Would have loved to go through that a second time if the wait time hadn't shot up after going through.

I didn't find Clowns 3d very scary although I did have a fun time going though it. I think the concept could have been so much better if most of the scenes hadn't been reused from past mazes though.

Terror Tram was Terror Tram. Maybe it was just me but id did seem like they threw a few more props out there than last year's, but still nothing significantly different. 

I thought Dracula was pretty good (minus the few dark hallways). I had watched the trailer before the event so I had a minimal understanding of what to expect going in. I really liked the outdoor portions of the maze, even though the scare tactics got a bit repetitive. 

I agree with Jon from the podcast, in that Face Off was a good send off for HoH. Because of the short lines I went through that twice back to back and loved being able to recognize characters from the show. 

I loved the Dark Christmas scare zone. I ended up walking through that multiple times.

Mask-a-raid was okay. I liked the costumes and scare actors, but the area seemed to be lacking something. Not sure what though.


Overall I thought the event was good, not great but good. Usually I leave the event wishing there were a way for me to come back again at a later date, but this time I just felt satisfied having been able to do it once. I really hope they step it up with the mazes next year since 2013 was so great!

 

[Allen The Actor]

Is Super Silly Fun land open during HHN?

 

[k_peek_2000]

Is Super Silly Fun land open during HHN?

It was on opening night.

 

[Jon Fu]

It was on opening night.

Was it? I remember staring at it for a few minutes and it looked closed to me.

 

[William]

Bernard, I think I saw you taking photos in the Purge scarezone on Friday! 

I've finally gone to the event four times this year, and I'm satisfied. The only downside is that my body feels as though it's been run over by a bulldozer multiple times. The mazes essentially remained the same over the past two weeks, and the dubstep is still as loud as ever. I was still scared easily and still screamed like a little school girl. What I found interesting is that many of the actors and scare patrol are there every night. I've been telling the Gecko brothers outside of FDTD the password every time, so they recognized me last night. The first Santanico Pandemonium is also the same actress every time I do the maze. I also recognize the same scare patrols working for Clowns 3D and AWIL.

Oh, and SSFL isn't open during HHN. Silly Swirly and the water play area are completely fenced off. Minion Mayhem, however, managed to get a wait time of 65 minutes at one point during last night's event.

 

[BernardMesa]

Bernard, I think I saw you taking photos in the Purge scarezone on Friday! 

Next time come say Hi! 

 

[William]

Next time come say Hi! 

Will do! Haha.

 

[Allen The Actor]

Next time come say Hi!

aWilliam? Say hi?! You gotta chase HIM down faster than a killer clown chases a screaming drunk girl during HHN.