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All things Universal Studios Hollywood
- Thread starter Darkbeer1
- Start date
lazyboy97o
Well-Known Member
May be worth keeping an eye on this thread.
The address could be either park. My map app puts it closer to USF but 5 acres seems too big for Simpsons. Lost Continent finally leaving?
Phroobar
Well-Known Member
I believe they where.
Nirya
Well-Known Member
Despite writing off Universal after last year's misfire of an event, I found myself at HHN for another year this weekend, and I have to say the event blew me away with how much it had improved. Here's my full review of everything we did:
(Note: we did not do any rides, so no reviews of that. We also skipped the Purge show, but since it's a repeat of what they've done previously, it did not feel like it was important to do.)
As usual, I will always recommend getting the Express Pass for this thing. I know there are "methods" of hitting all the houses without it, but I'll tell you the peace of mind you get from not having to rush everywhere and be perfect in your pathing is worth the extra money. Also, pro-tip: if the night you want to go on is already sold out of Express Passes, you're not SOL; Universal offers an after 11 PM Express Pass for $149. They usually go on sale around 10:30, and it's a really good deal (you basically save around $70 on just buying the Express from the jump). It lets you take your time early on, get some food do a ride, maybe get in a maze if the line is low, and then you have plenty of time to get all the mazes done in those three hours.
We started with Terror Tram since that is the only "maze" that closes early, and it set the tone for the night because the whole thing was...fine? Like, it was still bad, and honestly, the Terror Tram has not been good for a while now, but there appeared to be actual effort put into it this year, and they did a good job maximizing the Bates Motel section. I still question removing the Jupiter's Claim section from the experience, but generally this was at least acceptable, which is a huge step up from years past.
And now for the rest of the mazes, which I'll rank from worst to best.
8. Poltergeist - I think this is the only maze I would characterize as "bad", which isn't to say the maze was that bad, just not nearly as enjoyable as everything else. They really fell back on one of my least-favorite tropes that Universal does: the multiple black hallways filled with Boo Box scares. Some of the scenes were well-done, but given how strong most of the other mazes were, this was an easy one to put last.
7. Fallout - Fallout takes this spot for a simple reason: it just isn't scary. The set design was impressive at times, and I love the Fallout universe in general, but the scares just weren't there, which is what I was afraid of going in. Fallout isn't really a horror franchise in the way a Five Nights is, and given that they wanted to hit some of the scenes from the series, that ended up hurting the entire thing.
6. Scarecrow - Perfectly fine maze with a weird smell throughout. Had a few good scares, which is what bumps it up over the two below it.
5. Five Nights at Freddy's - From a set design and effects standpoint, this was one of the best mazes of the event. In particular, shout-out to the puppets, which were really impressive even if there was no way to perfectly hide the actors working them. The scares weren't there, which also wasn't surprising considering its location (I always feel the soundstage shared with Transformers tends to focus more on set design than scares, but that's just me) but I think the design of the maze was enough to grab this spot.
4. Jason Universe - Friday the 13th is a personal favorite franchise, so while this was the most disappointing maze I went through, that doesn't mean it was bad, more that I had such high expectations for it (and the line for it seemed to say that many people were of the same mind). There were a ton of fun scenes in this one that did a good job of paying tribute to the early Friday the 13th movies, but I would have loved them making references to the later ones (I would kill for a space scene for Jason X). I also thought this maze could have used a Jason gauntlet that they've used in past Jason/Michael Myers mazes. Still a strong maze, but given how strong the top 3 were, this could only get as high as 4th.
3. Monstrous 3 - This is the third (?) year they've done this theme, and it's still a great time. It's a unique maze that plays on Hispanic heritage in some great ways; the La Llorona section is so well done, from the outdoor scene where she drowns the kids to the actor outside the window knocking and asking to be let in. The La Siguanaba section was the weakest, but that's mostly picking nits. In previous years, this likely would have taken the top spot, but I wanted to give two newcomers their due. I know this is the last of this "trilogy", but honestly, if Universal wanted to take a page from Knotts and keep this one in the rotation for a few years, that's fine by me.
2. Wyatt Sicks - While Terrifier was the maze I was most looking forward to, Wyatt Sicks was the one that had my attention the most. I'm a WWE fan, and the idea of a Wyatt Family-themed maze instantly piqued my interest. I'm happy to say they more than succeeded, and on a personal level, this was my favorite maze; I'm only ranking it second because I know that Terrifier was "better". This maze was an exceptional tribute to Bray Wyatt (who, for those unaware, died a few years ago due to complications from COVID), hitting so many moments from his career and all the ridiculous ideas that should never have worked but did because of his magnetism. His brother is now carrying on the legacy of the character, and even did a few promos specifically for this maze, which was a great touch as well. I was just giggling the entire time I went through this maze, and it was my biggest highlight of the night.
1. Terrifier - Look, Wyatt Sicks was my personal favorite, but I can acknowledge that Terrifier was the best maze of the night. I wouldn't call myself a fan of the Terrifier movies but I do love Art the Clown and was fascinated by how they would try to emulate such a sadistic horror franchise. The answer: throw caution to the wind and recreate as many of the iconic kills as possible. This maze held nothing back, and was by far the goriest of the night. I think they overplayed the water aspect here - you get wet but not as drenched as you apparently do in the Orlando version - but even then that gave the maze a unique aspect that nothing in the park was touching. And again, those kill scenes are gruesome; I am shocked they did the hacksaw scene (less shocked they did the buzzsaw since they've had that scene in other mazes in the past). Plus the scareactors in this maze just looked like they were having a blast, which lines up with all the other Art the Clowns that were running around the event; Universal really went heavy on Art this year, and I can't say I blame them. Just a really fun maze that I hope they keep iterating on for years to come.
The scare zones...well, they exist. Universal really does not try hard at all with these zones, and we've even lost stuff like the Death Eaters in the past. Part of this is a layout problem - with how the mazes are spread out and how compact Universal is, there are whole areas where they can't do scare zones, and their refusal to really use the lower lot and studio space cuts into this - but the only scare zone with any effort put into it is the Latin American one. I have to give the roaming scare actors props, however. They do a great job and have a lot of energy.
My last thought on Universal HHN this year is that, while they did a much better job than they had in the past, it still isn't close enough to beat Knotts when they're trying. The good news is that this kind of effort is what gets Knotts to step up their game, so that should bode well for the future.
(Note: we did not do any rides, so no reviews of that. We also skipped the Purge show, but since it's a repeat of what they've done previously, it did not feel like it was important to do.)
As usual, I will always recommend getting the Express Pass for this thing. I know there are "methods" of hitting all the houses without it, but I'll tell you the peace of mind you get from not having to rush everywhere and be perfect in your pathing is worth the extra money. Also, pro-tip: if the night you want to go on is already sold out of Express Passes, you're not SOL; Universal offers an after 11 PM Express Pass for $149. They usually go on sale around 10:30, and it's a really good deal (you basically save around $70 on just buying the Express from the jump). It lets you take your time early on, get some food do a ride, maybe get in a maze if the line is low, and then you have plenty of time to get all the mazes done in those three hours.
We started with Terror Tram since that is the only "maze" that closes early, and it set the tone for the night because the whole thing was...fine? Like, it was still bad, and honestly, the Terror Tram has not been good for a while now, but there appeared to be actual effort put into it this year, and they did a good job maximizing the Bates Motel section. I still question removing the Jupiter's Claim section from the experience, but generally this was at least acceptable, which is a huge step up from years past.
And now for the rest of the mazes, which I'll rank from worst to best.
8. Poltergeist - I think this is the only maze I would characterize as "bad", which isn't to say the maze was that bad, just not nearly as enjoyable as everything else. They really fell back on one of my least-favorite tropes that Universal does: the multiple black hallways filled with Boo Box scares. Some of the scenes were well-done, but given how strong most of the other mazes were, this was an easy one to put last.
7. Fallout - Fallout takes this spot for a simple reason: it just isn't scary. The set design was impressive at times, and I love the Fallout universe in general, but the scares just weren't there, which is what I was afraid of going in. Fallout isn't really a horror franchise in the way a Five Nights is, and given that they wanted to hit some of the scenes from the series, that ended up hurting the entire thing.
6. Scarecrow - Perfectly fine maze with a weird smell throughout. Had a few good scares, which is what bumps it up over the two below it.
5. Five Nights at Freddy's - From a set design and effects standpoint, this was one of the best mazes of the event. In particular, shout-out to the puppets, which were really impressive even if there was no way to perfectly hide the actors working them. The scares weren't there, which also wasn't surprising considering its location (I always feel the soundstage shared with Transformers tends to focus more on set design than scares, but that's just me) but I think the design of the maze was enough to grab this spot.
4. Jason Universe - Friday the 13th is a personal favorite franchise, so while this was the most disappointing maze I went through, that doesn't mean it was bad, more that I had such high expectations for it (and the line for it seemed to say that many people were of the same mind). There were a ton of fun scenes in this one that did a good job of paying tribute to the early Friday the 13th movies, but I would have loved them making references to the later ones (I would kill for a space scene for Jason X). I also thought this maze could have used a Jason gauntlet that they've used in past Jason/Michael Myers mazes. Still a strong maze, but given how strong the top 3 were, this could only get as high as 4th.
3. Monstrous 3 - This is the third (?) year they've done this theme, and it's still a great time. It's a unique maze that plays on Hispanic heritage in some great ways; the La Llorona section is so well done, from the outdoor scene where she drowns the kids to the actor outside the window knocking and asking to be let in. The La Siguanaba section was the weakest, but that's mostly picking nits. In previous years, this likely would have taken the top spot, but I wanted to give two newcomers their due. I know this is the last of this "trilogy", but honestly, if Universal wanted to take a page from Knotts and keep this one in the rotation for a few years, that's fine by me.
2. Wyatt Sicks - While Terrifier was the maze I was most looking forward to, Wyatt Sicks was the one that had my attention the most. I'm a WWE fan, and the idea of a Wyatt Family-themed maze instantly piqued my interest. I'm happy to say they more than succeeded, and on a personal level, this was my favorite maze; I'm only ranking it second because I know that Terrifier was "better". This maze was an exceptional tribute to Bray Wyatt (who, for those unaware, died a few years ago due to complications from COVID), hitting so many moments from his career and all the ridiculous ideas that should never have worked but did because of his magnetism. His brother is now carrying on the legacy of the character, and even did a few promos specifically for this maze, which was a great touch as well. I was just giggling the entire time I went through this maze, and it was my biggest highlight of the night.
1. Terrifier - Look, Wyatt Sicks was my personal favorite, but I can acknowledge that Terrifier was the best maze of the night. I wouldn't call myself a fan of the Terrifier movies but I do love Art the Clown and was fascinated by how they would try to emulate such a sadistic horror franchise. The answer: throw caution to the wind and recreate as many of the iconic kills as possible. This maze held nothing back, and was by far the goriest of the night. I think they overplayed the water aspect here - you get wet but not as drenched as you apparently do in the Orlando version - but even then that gave the maze a unique aspect that nothing in the park was touching. And again, those kill scenes are gruesome; I am shocked they did the hacksaw scene (less shocked they did the buzzsaw since they've had that scene in other mazes in the past). Plus the scareactors in this maze just looked like they were having a blast, which lines up with all the other Art the Clowns that were running around the event; Universal really went heavy on Art this year, and I can't say I blame them. Just a really fun maze that I hope they keep iterating on for years to come.
The scare zones...well, they exist. Universal really does not try hard at all with these zones, and we've even lost stuff like the Death Eaters in the past. Part of this is a layout problem - with how the mazes are spread out and how compact Universal is, there are whole areas where they can't do scare zones, and their refusal to really use the lower lot and studio space cuts into this - but the only scare zone with any effort put into it is the Latin American one. I have to give the roaming scare actors props, however. They do a great job and have a lot of energy.
My last thought on Universal HHN this year is that, while they did a much better job than they had in the past, it still isn't close enough to beat Knotts when they're trying. The good news is that this kind of effort is what gets Knotts to step up their game, so that should bode well for the future.
Professortango1
Well-Known Member
Thank you for the review! I've been toying with the idea of revisiting HHN. I think the last time I was there for the event they had The Walking Dead in the Wild West Arena and La Llorona was its own maze.