Too Many Hats
Well-Known Member
This is iconic and must never be removed.
-
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All things Universal Studios Hollywood
- Thread starter Darkbeer1
- Start date
This is iconic and must never be removed.
Phroobar
Well-Known Member
I wonder what the differences is in the track layout. It's hard to tell from a go pro youtube video. They both seem extremely short.
Misted Compass
Well-Known Member
Animaniac93-98
Well-Known Member
I think most everything about the Orlando version is better. The dark ride portions, the coaster and the pacing.
The Hollywood version just felt short and lacking in effects in comparison. If there used to be more, that's a shame.
The Hollywood version just felt short and lacking in effects in comparison. If there used to be more, that's a shame.
PiratesMansion
Well-Known Member
I wasn't there on day one, but I'm not convinced there ever was more in Hollywood than what's there right now (those with convincing POV evidence, please chime in).
I do know that the USH version never had real fire, unlike every other version of the ride.
I’ve ridden both within a week, the Orlando experience is better in every way, the dark ride portion is longer, has pyro in the treasure room, the coaster portion is longer, the coaster version has three pops of legitimate airtime (post launch, middle of the first portion, drop to hell,) has a faster top speed, and has the fake out ending with the brain fire ceiling. Yes the movie set thing is a little hokey but it works. The Hollywood one seems so short, and that ending, oof. The extended backward section is nice though.
Professortango1
Well-Known Member
Californian-in-Florida geeking out:
They’re testing the dark tracks/lit trains on Stardust Racers at Epic Universe.
Cooooool!
I always wanted this for Ghostrider at Knott's. Especially for Halloween. Give me glowing trains ripping through the night.
Too Many Hats
Well-Known Member
Californian-in-Florida geeking out:
They’re testing the dark tracks/lit trains on Stardust Racers at Epic Universe.
Cooooool!
Ignoring the fact that the red train keeps vanishing, this looks incredible. So much cooler than I imagined it would look.
Nirya
Well-Known Member
Review time! Went to Horror Nights this past Saturday, which included taking my girlfriend to a haunt for the first time. Was a bit unsure of how she would react to the entire haunt thing, but once she got through the first maze and realized she wouldn't be touched she was good for the rest (that said, we took a bunch of breaks and did a show so we didn't get to all mazes, which is probably fine). So here's a full review of the entire thing.
Overall
This was a bad year for HHN! Eight mazes and the Tram is a pretty good lineup for the park, along with bringing back a stunt show, but there was nothing that was a clear amazing experience like Universal has had in years past. It felt as though the park wasn't bothering to make HHN a showstopper this year and was saving money instead. The fact that they charge premium prices for this whole thing (and we ended up buying the After 11PM Express Pass because of the crowds, so we spent a pretty penny for each ticket) is a bit galling considering the effort that was put in. It makes me wonder just how amazing HHN is in Orlando, and why the company can't figure it out on this coast.
Scare Zones
This was maybe the biggest joke of the entire event, and where I think the budget failures stand out the most. Universal only had four scare zones, and all of them run in a straight line from the entrance to French Street. I'll also note that I'm using the concept of scare zone liberally, as at least two of these were a single set piece that said the name of the scare zone and a few scare actors surrounding it. We did not get Death Eaters over here this year, nor did Universal try anything on the lower lot where they definitely could try some things. This whole thing was just extremely lazy, especially in comparison to Knotts which has giant scare zones full of actors; the whole thing felt perfunctory in the worst way.
Terror Tram
I'm doing the tram separately because it really should not count as a maze. Personally, I don't know if there's a real fix to the Terror Tram to make it good, but that's not the appeal of the whole thing to me; the appeal is walking through some of the sets on the backlot. Which is also why I was annoyed with what we got this year - the Bates Motel walk was cut in half and Jupiter's Landing was reserved for people on VIP Tours only, meaning everyone else was done after the War of the Worlds set. The Blumhouse Greatest Hits concept was, again, as perfunctory as possible and highlights just how little thought Universal put into this whole thing.
The Purge Show
It's the Waterworld stunt show but in Purge outfits. It's fine, the stunts are impressive at times, and it takes up 20+ minutes of your time. The storyline of the show is really confusing and no one is really a good guy, leaving the audience confused as to who they're supposed to cheer for. Doing the final stunt at night while on fire does take some balls, though.
Mazes
Ok, time for the big stuff. For clarity, we did not get to A Quiet Place and Monstrous 2: Nightmares of Latin America. Of the two, I'm a bit sad we missed out on Monstrous because the Latin American mazes have been Universal's best outings in recent years.
Insidious: The Further - This was probably the best maze we went through and had some of the more creative scares in the park. This maze featured some actual roaming scare actors in it rather than people doing set scenes or boo box scares, and that contributed to the quality. It had the problem that many of the IP mazes have in that things can be confusing if you're not familiar with the IP (I was able to piece parts of it together but I have no affection for this series to begin with) and it had the problem that plagues many of the mazes at Universal, where they have no idea how to transition between scenes so you just get a featureless black hallway for a bit. The ending is similarly underwhelming, but it is thankfully the only maze that features the "repeated boo box scares in the dark" thing that has plagued recent Universal years.
Dead Exposure: Death Valley - Probably the most competent maze in the bunch, it had good transitions and an understandable storyline. The scares weren't very good, but considering some of the slop that Universal threw out there this year, the fact that this maze was as competent as it was stands out. Universal really should do more original ideas and less IP-based mazes, because the original ones usually have a higher floor.
Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire - Weakest maze from a scare perspective but that's fine because it's Ghostbusters and the scares are pretty secondary. Set design was probably the best in this maze, and it was at least fun. Doing a maze based off the newest movie was certainly a choice, though, especially since the OG Ghostbusters maze from a few years ago was well-done (and I definitely noticed some scenes were repeated from that one).
The Weeknd: Nightmare Trilogy - I'll say this: it was definitely better than the last Weeknd maze. That isn't saying much - the last time they did a Weeknd maze it was my least favorite by a country mile - but this one at least had some interesting scares and monster design. The maze is still poor, but at least we're improving, right?
Texas Chainsaw Massacre: Legacy of Leatherface - If I was rating these based on gore this would be the top one, which makes sense given the source material. Probably the maze my girlfriend disliked the most thanks to all the hanging props (gotta love a room full of human skins and pig carcasses!). But this maze gets docked a ton of points for the smell; as soon as we walked in, the girls in front of yelled out "it smells like !" and I couldn't disagree. The smell was so overpowering that it ruined what was otherwise a fine maze. Working this maze has to be absolute hell; this was the only maze that the staff repeatedly told guests to walk as quickly as possible, so they clearly knew there was a problem. I get the idea, but the execution is so flawed that the maze just ends up as a failure.
Universal Monsters: Eternal Bloodlines - Welcome to the most disappointing maze at the event. Normally the Universal Monsters maze is a highlight maze, and putting this thing in historic Stage 12, where they filmed the original Frankenstein, should have been a winner. But the maze is an absolute mess, from a bad story involving descendants of Universal Monsters instead of the actual monsters themselves, to a lot of static acting scenes that repeat every 2 seconds, to a real lack of scares. This maze was so bad that my girlfriend got bored and looked up only to realize that the maze had no roof for most of the set pieces, which isn't uncommon but when the things in the actual room are that unappealing you start to notice the frayed edges. Just absolute trash that highlighted all the problems with how Universal approaches mazes compared to others in the area.
Rides
Oh, I didn't forget about these. HHN is basically the only time I go to Universal each year despite living right down the street, so it's as good a time as any to check in on how the rides are doing here. First off, the construction for the new Fast and Furious coaster looks impressive, and I'm already excited for that thing to open and give the park a real quality coaster. Forbidden Journey still works really well, and Jurassic World is thankfully still functioning smoothly (I'm still scarred from the last few years of Jurassic Park's upkeep). Everything else though....Mummy needs a refurbishment or (more likely) a replacement because that coaster is not running nearly as well, while Transformers feels incredibly old even if it is just 12 years old. The Simpsons ride is the worst offender here; it's very obvious that Universal does not care about this ride anymore and is playing out the string until they replace it, but when we rode it late at night the ride was only running two of the vehicles per level, which felt excessively ridiculous.
Halloween Horror Nights always has the potential to be one of the better haunts in the area, simply because a motivated Universal can blow everyone out of the water from a set design standpoint. Unfortunately, the company just didn't try this year, which led to a really disappointing production. If there was any silver lining, it's that my girlfriend now feels like she's ready for Knotts Scary Farm next weekend.
Overall
This was a bad year for HHN! Eight mazes and the Tram is a pretty good lineup for the park, along with bringing back a stunt show, but there was nothing that was a clear amazing experience like Universal has had in years past. It felt as though the park wasn't bothering to make HHN a showstopper this year and was saving money instead. The fact that they charge premium prices for this whole thing (and we ended up buying the After 11PM Express Pass because of the crowds, so we spent a pretty penny for each ticket) is a bit galling considering the effort that was put in. It makes me wonder just how amazing HHN is in Orlando, and why the company can't figure it out on this coast.
Scare Zones
This was maybe the biggest joke of the entire event, and where I think the budget failures stand out the most. Universal only had four scare zones, and all of them run in a straight line from the entrance to French Street. I'll also note that I'm using the concept of scare zone liberally, as at least two of these were a single set piece that said the name of the scare zone and a few scare actors surrounding it. We did not get Death Eaters over here this year, nor did Universal try anything on the lower lot where they definitely could try some things. This whole thing was just extremely lazy, especially in comparison to Knotts which has giant scare zones full of actors; the whole thing felt perfunctory in the worst way.
Terror Tram
I'm doing the tram separately because it really should not count as a maze. Personally, I don't know if there's a real fix to the Terror Tram to make it good, but that's not the appeal of the whole thing to me; the appeal is walking through some of the sets on the backlot. Which is also why I was annoyed with what we got this year - the Bates Motel walk was cut in half and Jupiter's Landing was reserved for people on VIP Tours only, meaning everyone else was done after the War of the Worlds set. The Blumhouse Greatest Hits concept was, again, as perfunctory as possible and highlights just how little thought Universal put into this whole thing.
The Purge Show
It's the Waterworld stunt show but in Purge outfits. It's fine, the stunts are impressive at times, and it takes up 20+ minutes of your time. The storyline of the show is really confusing and no one is really a good guy, leaving the audience confused as to who they're supposed to cheer for. Doing the final stunt at night while on fire does take some balls, though.
Mazes
Ok, time for the big stuff. For clarity, we did not get to A Quiet Place and Monstrous 2: Nightmares of Latin America. Of the two, I'm a bit sad we missed out on Monstrous because the Latin American mazes have been Universal's best outings in recent years.
Insidious: The Further - This was probably the best maze we went through and had some of the more creative scares in the park. This maze featured some actual roaming scare actors in it rather than people doing set scenes or boo box scares, and that contributed to the quality. It had the problem that many of the IP mazes have in that things can be confusing if you're not familiar with the IP (I was able to piece parts of it together but I have no affection for this series to begin with) and it had the problem that plagues many of the mazes at Universal, where they have no idea how to transition between scenes so you just get a featureless black hallway for a bit. The ending is similarly underwhelming, but it is thankfully the only maze that features the "repeated boo box scares in the dark" thing that has plagued recent Universal years.
Dead Exposure: Death Valley - Probably the most competent maze in the bunch, it had good transitions and an understandable storyline. The scares weren't very good, but considering some of the slop that Universal threw out there this year, the fact that this maze was as competent as it was stands out. Universal really should do more original ideas and less IP-based mazes, because the original ones usually have a higher floor.
Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire - Weakest maze from a scare perspective but that's fine because it's Ghostbusters and the scares are pretty secondary. Set design was probably the best in this maze, and it was at least fun. Doing a maze based off the newest movie was certainly a choice, though, especially since the OG Ghostbusters maze from a few years ago was well-done (and I definitely noticed some scenes were repeated from that one).
The Weeknd: Nightmare Trilogy - I'll say this: it was definitely better than the last Weeknd maze. That isn't saying much - the last time they did a Weeknd maze it was my least favorite by a country mile - but this one at least had some interesting scares and monster design. The maze is still poor, but at least we're improving, right?
Texas Chainsaw Massacre: Legacy of Leatherface - If I was rating these based on gore this would be the top one, which makes sense given the source material. Probably the maze my girlfriend disliked the most thanks to all the hanging props (gotta love a room full of human skins and pig carcasses!). But this maze gets docked a ton of points for the smell; as soon as we walked in, the girls in front of yelled out "it smells like !" and I couldn't disagree. The smell was so overpowering that it ruined what was otherwise a fine maze. Working this maze has to be absolute hell; this was the only maze that the staff repeatedly told guests to walk as quickly as possible, so they clearly knew there was a problem. I get the idea, but the execution is so flawed that the maze just ends up as a failure.
Universal Monsters: Eternal Bloodlines - Welcome to the most disappointing maze at the event. Normally the Universal Monsters maze is a highlight maze, and putting this thing in historic Stage 12, where they filmed the original Frankenstein, should have been a winner. But the maze is an absolute mess, from a bad story involving descendants of Universal Monsters instead of the actual monsters themselves, to a lot of static acting scenes that repeat every 2 seconds, to a real lack of scares. This maze was so bad that my girlfriend got bored and looked up only to realize that the maze had no roof for most of the set pieces, which isn't uncommon but when the things in the actual room are that unappealing you start to notice the frayed edges. Just absolute trash that highlighted all the problems with how Universal approaches mazes compared to others in the area.
Rides
Oh, I didn't forget about these. HHN is basically the only time I go to Universal each year despite living right down the street, so it's as good a time as any to check in on how the rides are doing here. First off, the construction for the new Fast and Furious coaster looks impressive, and I'm already excited for that thing to open and give the park a real quality coaster. Forbidden Journey still works really well, and Jurassic World is thankfully still functioning smoothly (I'm still scarred from the last few years of Jurassic Park's upkeep). Everything else though....Mummy needs a refurbishment or (more likely) a replacement because that coaster is not running nearly as well, while Transformers feels incredibly old even if it is just 12 years old. The Simpsons ride is the worst offender here; it's very obvious that Universal does not care about this ride anymore and is playing out the string until they replace it, but when we rode it late at night the ride was only running two of the vehicles per level, which felt excessively ridiculous.
Halloween Horror Nights always has the potential to be one of the better haunts in the area, simply because a motivated Universal can blow everyone out of the water from a set design standpoint. Unfortunately, the company just didn't try this year, which led to a really disappointing production. If there was any silver lining, it's that my girlfriend now feels like she's ready for Knotts Scary Farm next weekend.
I did a RIP tour 10/12 and was incredibly disappointed. Comparing it to Orlando (which supposedly per internet chatter Hollywood was approaching) which I had done a week prior was embarrassing. No set was more then 10 ft tall except the facade, there was no bungee scares, there was no overhead scares, the sets looked incredibly cheap and I paid as much of a premium for this experience. I enjoyed the shows, I enjoyed the scare zones (the actors brought their A game,) loved the terror tram (because of where it was) but the houses were such a disappointment.
The Insidious maze and Ghostbusters maze in particular looked like a bad imitation of Floridas house, even though the sets weren’t as impressive I feel the story worked better for A Quiet Place and Monsters made more sense here, Montrous was cool, dead exposure was relentless and I enjoyed the Weekends house.
Bottom line, this is the HHN with all of the negatives of the Orlando original (Expensive, Crowded, rehearsed) with none of the positives. Not only is Knotts a far better event in respects to actors improving but their houses had a higher production value then HHN Hollywood. I don’t think I’ll be back to this event. Bottom line, want to experience real HHN, go to Orlando; want to go to a great haunt in LA, go to Knotts.
The Insidious maze and Ghostbusters maze in particular looked like a bad imitation of Floridas house, even though the sets weren’t as impressive I feel the story worked better for A Quiet Place and Monsters made more sense here, Montrous was cool, dead exposure was relentless and I enjoyed the Weekends house.
Bottom line, this is the HHN with all of the negatives of the Orlando original (Expensive, Crowded, rehearsed) with none of the positives. Not only is Knotts a far better event in respects to actors improving but their houses had a higher production value then HHN Hollywood. I don’t think I’ll be back to this event. Bottom line, want to experience real HHN, go to Orlando; want to go to a great haunt in LA, go to Knotts.
Phroobar
Well-Known Member
I agree with you for the most part on this. Personally I felt that Dead Exposure: death valley was a surprise hit. It made sense and the zombies looked great. It was unique and didn't rest on an IP. Ghostbusters was fun just because it was Ghostbusters. It wasn't scary but kind of neat to be in that world for a little bit. Insidious was okay. The barfing bathroom was really bad. Good thing the person watching the area wore a mask. The Weekend and Monsters mazes were stupid. There was a lack of actors in the Monsters maze and not much to look at. Very lazy. The Weekend makes no sense unless you listen to this DJ. A Quiet Place was not quiet and relied too much on the giant puppet monster. The Latin monsters was pretty much the same maze as before. Why did they have a dead version of the Three Amigos in there? Texas Chainsaw stunk even when I visited back in September. I do like punching bag hallways.
Universal's mazes are always rehearsed to a sound track. I don't know how the actors keep doing the same ten second scene for hours on end. You can't distract them. The boo boxes are on a schedule too so it is possible to miss all of them. It's like hitting every red light on a street. The Queen Mary Dark Harbor is worst because they just buy Spirit Halloween AA characters and put them on a motion sensor.
The terror tram was a let down because we didn't walk through Nope. It is just fun to walk around the backlot but the scenes are really cheap. There are too many people walking through that area. I was surprised how few scare-actors where in the scare zones. I miss the Death Eaters too.
Knotts did a better job but I think they kind of cheeped out too by not having a show in the Walter Knott theater. The magician was funny but he didn't do any real tricks. Any ten year old could have done them.
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Professortango1
Well-Known Member
I will say that the magicians Knotts has been getting have been pretty great. Lucy Darling played at the end of November and she is one of my favourites currently working. I know Zabrecky has performed at past events. The problem is they are booked for a 15-minute set for one weekend. So, they bring their simpler material. Give a great magician a full 30-minute show that runs the entire event, you might see some better effects being presented.
I would love to see Knotts invest in an immersive theatrical seance experience, but the problem is that would be a bigger investment for fewer guests to be able to experience it.
Phroobar
Well-Known Member
I didn't know they have different magicians. I'll have to go this week to see a new one. I haven't seen Lucy Darling but I did see Zabrecky a couple of years ago. He was creepy with this eye patch. It was like watching Crispin Glover playing Willard doing magic.
I did enjoy the mad doctor and his assistant doing the girl in the box trick last year.
AlexMBush
Member
Was at HHN last weekend (the week of the 11th); if to be simple in ranking:
Experiences
- The Texas Chainsaw: Legacy of Leatherface (4 Runs) - Visually disgusting and comprehensive in how they go to the lengths of showing the Sawyer's in their craft. I get why some don't like it--but it is an easy all timer due to the care and depth that was put into it.
- Insidious: The Further (3 Runs) - Terrifying as hell. Not a fan of the movies, absolutely enamored by the house.
- The Weeknd: Nightmare Trilogy (4 Runs) - More scary, but it feels intentionally out of context as if it isn't meant to be seen in the completed form. I suspect this has to do with HUT and the external media, but it does set it back a small bit.
- UM: Eternal Bloodlines (4 Runs) - I had a ball of a time, and it surpassed my expectations by a wide amount. I commonly dislike the UM houses, but I loved this.
- Monstruos (4 Runs) - Really strong with great reprsentation--El Charro feels like it could justify a full on house based on just that legend.
- Dead Exposure (3 Runs) - Really fun--generic but almost intentionally so; this is one of the two houses that made me shout expletives due to actor game being strong
- Ghostbusters (3 Runs) - Fun--not scary but a fun spooky feel. Visually stunning and impressive to see, even if it doesn't hit the highs of 2019
- A Quiet Place (3 Runs) - Felt like a dark ride on wheels. Not scary in the slightest--felt like a daytime attraction.
Experiences
- The Purge: Dangerous Waters (2 Shows) - On par with T23D. What a stellar show as it feels completely in line with HHN as if it fits like a glove.
- Terror Tram (2 Runs) - the gauntlet shift is a great change-up, but it does suffer from the IP itself being weak
- Late Night with Chucky - mileage may very. It's "cute", but it doesn't feel like Chucky.
waltography
Well-Known Member
Pleasantly surprised at the price points I was seeing for the opening weeks! I was almost tempted to buy opening day tickets but figured I’ll pass since I’m also penciling in time for Paris next year and haven’t figured out dates for that yet.
Misted Compass
Well-Known Member
I'm surprised that opening day tickets are still available three hours later. Guess locking it to multi-day tickets initially was the right move.