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Greetings from hhn.
- Thread starter mkt
- Start date
maggiegrace1
Well-Known Member
Glad you are having fun Rob.....
Go make some fun!!!!!!!!
Go make some fun!!!!!!!!
maggiegrace1
Well-Known Member
YAY for Beer.....
Bill and Ted was awesome. That was the best show since the last time it was in Wild West. The rest of the event is going to need a miracle before this Friday though. The soundstage houses have awesome set design but very little else. The scareactors in there were just out of it. No activity at all, they just stood there and watched opportunities pass them by.
Hey Rob, did you even notice when their lagoon show was going? Everyone in my group thought the show was part of the normal music loop in the park until the random (and small) bursts of pyro went off. As a result we never saw it. What really ticks me off about Director's Cut is that unlike during summer when they were showing 360, they have an empty theme park next door to shoot off all kinds of high level pyrotechnics, yet they blow the opportunity. That place is so creatively bankrupt it amazes me.
Hey Rob, did you even notice when their lagoon show was going? Everyone in my group thought the show was part of the normal music loop in the park until the random (and small) bursts of pyro went off. As a result we never saw it. What really ticks me off about Director's Cut is that unlike during summer when they were showing 360, they have an empty theme park next door to shoot off all kinds of high level pyrotechnics, yet they blow the opportunity. That place is so creatively bankrupt it amazes me.
I agree wholeheartedly about the random squirts of Pyro. It was not well done, not tasteful at all.
Frankly, this is not a good year.. albeit, Bill and Ted is the best it's beenin a LONG time... but the cast needs a fire lit under their . It is not worth the $60 Universal charges for it. It is worth $30 at most right now.
Also... on a personal note, I am beyond ed with security. They took my tripod away from me and made me check it... yet I saw about 5-6 people with tripods in the park that weren't members of the media.
It really made me mad... this is the first time I've ever been denied a tripod, and the lack of consistency between the different security employees is just silly.
I will be back to photograph this over the weekend... WITH A TRIPOD.
Frankly, this is not a good year.. albeit, Bill and Ted is the best it's beenin a LONG time... but the cast needs a fire lit under their . It is not worth the $60 Universal charges for it. It is worth $30 at most right now.
Also... on a personal note, I am beyond ed with security. They took my tripod away from me and made me check it... yet I saw about 5-6 people with tripods in the park that weren't members of the media.
It really made me mad... this is the first time I've ever been denied a tripod, and the lack of consistency between the different security employees is just silly.
I will be back to photograph this over the weekend... WITH A TRIPOD.
Here are some of my HHN pics. Bear in mind, no tripod and crappy lighting means fewer clear shots... so I didn't take as many as I usually do.
click here, http://www.mkt3000.com/pics/universal_9-27-06
<img src="http://www.mkt3000.com/pics/universal_9-27-06/universal_060927_012_std.jpg">
<img src="http://www.mkt3000.com/pics/universal_9-27-06/universal_060927_011_std.jpg">
<img src="http://www.mkt3000.com/pics/universal_9-27-06/universal_060927_016_std.jpg">
<img src="http://www.mkt3000.com/pics/universal_9-27-06/universal_060927_037_std.jpg">
<img src="http://www.mkt3000.com/pics/universal_9-27-06/universal_060927_056_std.jpg">
click here, http://www.mkt3000.com/pics/universal_9-27-06
<img src="http://www.mkt3000.com/pics/universal_9-27-06/universal_060927_012_std.jpg">
<img src="http://www.mkt3000.com/pics/universal_9-27-06/universal_060927_011_std.jpg">
<img src="http://www.mkt3000.com/pics/universal_9-27-06/universal_060927_016_std.jpg">
<img src="http://www.mkt3000.com/pics/universal_9-27-06/universal_060927_037_std.jpg">
<img src="http://www.mkt3000.com/pics/universal_9-27-06/universal_060927_056_std.jpg">
>>>this is the first time I've ever been denied a tripod, and the lack of consistency between the different security employees is just silly<<<
Yeah... The weapons check at the front of the park was hilarious too. They gave my friend a hard time and made him remove his belt and shoes because of the metal buckle, yet I had a pocket knife attached to my key chain that goes in the tray right by the metal detector without a second glance. I guess my cheap Target polo shirt is non-threatening next to a Metallica fan...
So I wonder how Friday is going to turn out. Preview night last year more or less sucked too, but at least entertainment was more organized and show ready than this mess. I expect poor planning and execution from operations - that's all they are good for. But entertainment should know better, especially with 16 years of experience and a rival theme park in Tampa that curb stomped them last year.
Oh well... I'm going to be at Universal Studios Hollywood on their grand opening of HHN. I really can't wait to watch that spectacle unfold.
Yeah... The weapons check at the front of the park was hilarious too. They gave my friend a hard time and made him remove his belt and shoes because of the metal buckle, yet I had a pocket knife attached to my key chain that goes in the tray right by the metal detector without a second glance. I guess my cheap Target polo shirt is non-threatening next to a Metallica fan...
So I wonder how Friday is going to turn out. Preview night last year more or less sucked too, but at least entertainment was more organized and show ready than this mess. I expect poor planning and execution from operations - that's all they are good for. But entertainment should know better, especially with 16 years of experience and a rival theme park in Tampa that curb stomped them last year.
Oh well... I'm going to be at Universal Studios Hollywood on their grand opening of HHN. I really can't wait to watch that spectacle unfold.
JROK
Member
Rob, I'm upset to see no reviews of the houses? And that I didn't see you come through ScreamHouse...
If you came through the houses early, remember that you were probably on that cast's FIRST set ever for this year... Employee Preview night is a technical rehearsal more than a real night... You can't judge the event by that night alone and should really go sometime in the middle of the event... I personally think IOA is better suited for this event, but you know, I'm just absolutely crazy... Even though I've been going since 92...
Glad to see some photos!
If you came through the houses early, remember that you were probably on that cast's FIRST set ever for this year... Employee Preview night is a technical rehearsal more than a real night... You can't judge the event by that night alone and should really go sometime in the middle of the event... I personally think IOA is better suited for this event, but you know, I'm just absolutely crazy... Even though I've been going since 92...
Glad to see some photos!
oh, I know the event gets better as its run progresses... but I'm a picky ______________. Universal should have had enough rehearsals so everyone was comfortable.
As for Screamhouse, we got denied also at 10:45... so much for the event going till 11
As for Screamhouse, we got denied also at 10:45... so much for the event going till 11
beyondthepalace
New Member
There were lots of good stuff and lots of bad stuff going on last night. First, I believe getting into the park was much smoother and easier then the previous yrs over at IOA. Forcing everyone to watch The Arrival was kind of a pain in the ______ becauseit caused a big cluster ____.
Bill and Ted was okay...good characters but iffy storyline not much excitement as of yet.
Houses:
-Dungeon of Terror: very nice theming throughout, also very consistent. Storyteller was right at the front of the house, no hiding this year.
-Psycho Path:At first it was very nicely themed with the hotel and everything but it went to just bleh rooms and tired shower rooms..worst house in my opinion.
-People Under the Stairs: consistent theming but not much to the set. I realize that it is suppost to be a house under construction yet something was just missing. Decent house at best.
-Screamhouse: Once again, the best house hands down. Super detailing throughout the house. A lot is focused around the whole Cindy character yet there is not a live Cindy character (at least I did not see one) Lots of apperances of the Caretaker through the house.
-All Night Die In: Very strong house once again...good set designs of a lot of recent horror movies. Good amount of apperances from the Director.
-Pyschoscareapy: Great house again but not so scary...bathroom scene is back in full force everyone!!! yay!!! Down side: Where the hell was Jack????
Did not do Run this time around. Biggest gripe was that we arrived at the entrance of Pyscho at 10:45...they were only posted at a 15 and they were not letting anyone else in. We were like since we are used to being able to enter the queue lines of anything right up to park closing time. Fortunately, the supervisor of the house let us in.
Overall it was a decent HHN, it will get better. Trust me.
Bill and Ted was okay...good characters but iffy storyline not much excitement as of yet.
Houses:
-Dungeon of Terror: very nice theming throughout, also very consistent. Storyteller was right at the front of the house, no hiding this year.
-Psycho Path:At first it was very nicely themed with the hotel and everything but it went to just bleh rooms and tired shower rooms..worst house in my opinion.
-People Under the Stairs: consistent theming but not much to the set. I realize that it is suppost to be a house under construction yet something was just missing. Decent house at best.
-Screamhouse: Once again, the best house hands down. Super detailing throughout the house. A lot is focused around the whole Cindy character yet there is not a live Cindy character (at least I did not see one) Lots of apperances of the Caretaker through the house.
-All Night Die In: Very strong house once again...good set designs of a lot of recent horror movies. Good amount of apperances from the Director.
-Pyschoscareapy: Great house again but not so scary...bathroom scene is back in full force everyone!!! yay!!! Down side: Where the hell was Jack????
Did not do Run this time around. Biggest gripe was that we arrived at the entrance of Pyscho at 10:45...they were only posted at a 15 and they were not letting anyone else in. We were like since we are used to being able to enter the queue lines of anything right up to park closing time. Fortunately, the supervisor of the house let us in.
Overall it was a decent HHN, it will get better. Trust me.
kcnole
Well-Known Member
Yet they still have the same problem with launching fireworks as they always have. They don't have the luxury of space to be able to launch fireworks and not disrupt their neighbors. Even with the few fireworks they shot off during the summer the neighborhoods around them were complaining like crazy. If they shot off a good fireworks show on a school night, late at night, the neighborhoods would go crazy. They just can't do it. It has nothing to do with lack of creativity, they just don't have the same luxury of miles and miles of empty space around them.
The creativity at Universal is wonderful. Their newer rides are just as good as anything Disney does, they simply lack two things. 1.) capital investment (NBC is very tight with cash) and 2.) Usable space. If they had the huge amounts of land that Disney has, then I bet they could pull off a killer fireworks show. Unfortunately they can't and it's a shame.
>>>If they shot off a good fireworks show on a school night, late at night, the neighborhoods would go crazy.<<<
From the pyro bunker they use for 360 this would be an issue, but launching pyro from IOA would be far enough away from the neighborhood that fall out would not be a problem. It would be moderately noisy - all fireworks shows are, but it would be no louder than the police sirens that scream down Vineland and Kirkman all hours of the night (I used to live in that area... honestly fireworks were the least of my worries when I lived near Universal). And even if they did have a killer fireworks show, it would not be the first time that they violated noise ordinances for HHN with out remorse for their neighbors. They made a regular habit of running Hulk past curfew when HHN was at IOA. And the best part about those crazy neighbors? Their unofficial "spokesperson" that is always doing interviews for the Orlando Sentinel is actually an employee at Universal Orlando.
Lack of space is kinda of a lousy excuse too. One of the best fireworks shows I have ever seen in my life was an improv show off the roof of Discovery Center when USF was rented out for a special event last summer. They actually used 11 inch shells for that show (for the uninitiated, that means Wishes sized). If there is a will there is a way.
>>>1.) capital investment (NBC is very tight with cash)<<<
It's not NBC dude, its the local management running that place. For the past year Universal has been notorious for cutting operations and maintenance budgets way past the point of killing show quality and even up to the point of unsafe operations, even while GE is forcing the company to re-train its team members in required regulatory safety training. Yet fly out to California and visit Universal Studios Hollywood and you'll see a park that is absolutely immaculate thanks for to continuous refurbishments and a commitment to cleanliness and maintenance. And that park is actually 100% owned by NBC, rather than the co-ownership they share in Orlando with Blackstone.
>>>and 2.) Usable space<<<
It never stopped them from designing two extremely well designed (for their time) theme parks in the past.
It's hard for me to feel sorry for UO's financial and creative woes when they simply aren't doing anything about improving their position. I didn't have any sympathy for Disney when they pulled their stunts, and I have no sympathy for their rivals either. Hell, even Disney figured out that you have to re-invest in quality products to keep guests coming back. Universal used to spend the money and pull the creative triggers required to make amazing experiences, but they don't anymore. Yet money still isn't everything. This year's Bill and Ted show is the best one in years, but they had their budget reamed compared to the IOA shows. They need to be creative and take chances again. All of their houses and scare zones seem to revolve around the same tired formula of same old props set to same old Midnight Syndicate (or equivalent) tracks. To be fair, Psychoscarepy did try a few new tricks that I liked (SPOILER: Jack cuts the power for the entire house at set intervals, causing the back ground music to fail as strobes blind guests and then fade into darkness), and I heard that Run is actually a pretty good house. I'll check that one out on Friday.
From the pyro bunker they use for 360 this would be an issue, but launching pyro from IOA would be far enough away from the neighborhood that fall out would not be a problem. It would be moderately noisy - all fireworks shows are, but it would be no louder than the police sirens that scream down Vineland and Kirkman all hours of the night (I used to live in that area... honestly fireworks were the least of my worries when I lived near Universal). And even if they did have a killer fireworks show, it would not be the first time that they violated noise ordinances for HHN with out remorse for their neighbors. They made a regular habit of running Hulk past curfew when HHN was at IOA. And the best part about those crazy neighbors? Their unofficial "spokesperson" that is always doing interviews for the Orlando Sentinel is actually an employee at Universal Orlando.
Lack of space is kinda of a lousy excuse too. One of the best fireworks shows I have ever seen in my life was an improv show off the roof of Discovery Center when USF was rented out for a special event last summer. They actually used 11 inch shells for that show (for the uninitiated, that means Wishes sized). If there is a will there is a way.
>>>1.) capital investment (NBC is very tight with cash)<<<
It's not NBC dude, its the local management running that place. For the past year Universal has been notorious for cutting operations and maintenance budgets way past the point of killing show quality and even up to the point of unsafe operations, even while GE is forcing the company to re-train its team members in required regulatory safety training. Yet fly out to California and visit Universal Studios Hollywood and you'll see a park that is absolutely immaculate thanks for to continuous refurbishments and a commitment to cleanliness and maintenance. And that park is actually 100% owned by NBC, rather than the co-ownership they share in Orlando with Blackstone.
>>>and 2.) Usable space<<<
It never stopped them from designing two extremely well designed (for their time) theme parks in the past.
It's hard for me to feel sorry for UO's financial and creative woes when they simply aren't doing anything about improving their position. I didn't have any sympathy for Disney when they pulled their stunts, and I have no sympathy for their rivals either. Hell, even Disney figured out that you have to re-invest in quality products to keep guests coming back. Universal used to spend the money and pull the creative triggers required to make amazing experiences, but they don't anymore. Yet money still isn't everything. This year's Bill and Ted show is the best one in years, but they had their budget reamed compared to the IOA shows. They need to be creative and take chances again. All of their houses and scare zones seem to revolve around the same tired formula of same old props set to same old Midnight Syndicate (or equivalent) tracks. To be fair, Psychoscarepy did try a few new tricks that I liked (SPOILER: Jack cuts the power for the entire house at set intervals, causing the back ground music to fail as strobes blind guests and then fade into darkness), and I heard that Run is actually a pretty good house. I'll check that one out on Friday.
Nope. They're just bad at managing the money they do have, and spending it where it doesn't need to be spent. Unfortunately, most UO Management lives in denial about what is needed. UO is run almost like a family business from what I've gathered in my years there.
This historically has not stopped them from building and doing amazing things. If you don't have space, you get smart with it and do what you can. They have enough room for a decent fireworks show... rather than the random flatus of pyro every so often during HHN,
CTXRover
Well-Known Member
pheneix said:
I disagree. I was just at USH this past July and although I had a blast, it was a far cry from the theme park enviornments found at USF, IOA or Disney. It didn't bother me much though because it is an actual working movie studio 1st and theme park second, but I found the theme park aspect to be uninspired, barren and 'cheap' with its various "play and win" games throughout the upper lot, which led to an overall poor impression of the park's appearance. Their "new" offerings on the tram tour were equally uninspired and seemed to be done on the cheap. Honestly, what is that Fast and the Furious thing supposed to even be? The park was clean in term of trash on the ground, but the grounds were nothing "immaculate" and the service was beyond lousy, especially the service counter locations. The line was out the door and moving at a snail's pace, yet at 12:30pm they still only had one side of the service stations open and a bunch of employees standing around talking in the back. We had fun, but I would have a hard time saying the USH theme park experience is anything to try and live up to.
I'm curious how USH's HHN will turn out this year though. The idea of horror themed tram tour sounds absolutely perfect for this kind of event.
>>>I disagree. I was just at USH this past July and although I had a blast, it was a far cry from the theme park enviornments found at USF, IOA or Disney.<<<
Weird... When I was out there in June it was just about perfect. I spent a lot of time both on-stage and backstage too (everyone with me worked at USF and wanted to see how their counterparts in Hollywood operated). From a park operations perspective, there is absolutely no comparison between the two resorts. USH won in every conceivable way. Just compare BTTF and Jurassic Park to their counterparts in Florida. It's just tragic how much management out here has let their attractions rot. Granted, Mummy did suck an awful lot, but even that ride had all of its special effects operating. Can't say that about Florida...
I never had any dealings with their food services department. It was kinda hard to part with money and eat inside the park when we had so many choices at Citywalk. Food services at just about any theme park pretty much sucks now. It's where all the rejects go. Well, except for Disneyland anyway. Both their service and their food was exceptional, just like everything else there.
Weird... When I was out there in June it was just about perfect. I spent a lot of time both on-stage and backstage too (everyone with me worked at USF and wanted to see how their counterparts in Hollywood operated). From a park operations perspective, there is absolutely no comparison between the two resorts. USH won in every conceivable way. Just compare BTTF and Jurassic Park to their counterparts in Florida. It's just tragic how much management out here has let their attractions rot. Granted, Mummy did suck an awful lot, but even that ride had all of its special effects operating. Can't say that about Florida...
I never had any dealings with their food services department. It was kinda hard to part with money and eat inside the park when we had so many choices at Citywalk. Food services at just about any theme park pretty much sucks now. It's where all the rejects go. Well, except for Disneyland anyway. Both their service and their food was exceptional, just like everything else there.