Halloween Horror Nights 15: Tales of Terror

[Pongo]

I went this past Saturday and I didn't have any of the issues that everyone else seems to be having. I got to the park at 6:15 and left at 2:00. I may just have gotten lucky, but we did all seven haunted houses, rode The Hulk, Jurrasic Park, Spiderman, Cat in the Hat, and The Mummy (twice on Mummy). We feel like we DEFINITELY got our money's worth and we did A LOT. I was never bored. I will admit that some of the houses weren't scary, but the others were. I personally thought Cold Blind Terror was the scariest becasue it was so dark inside and I never knew when to expect someone to scare me. Many of them were well-themed, I think, especially Where Evil Hides. We never had to wait in a line for more than 10 minutes, because we hit two houses at opening, the least visited houses throughout the night, and the two most popular houses near the end when no one was in the park. We did the same with the rides, doing The Mummy first and last thing. We got lucky on The Hulk though, the line got really long right after we got into it. The longest ride wait we had was Spiderman, at about 25 minutes. Bill and Ted was amazing. Definitely a must-see. Though I predicted the main plot of it just by looking at the set. I even left the park for about 45 minutes to get some coffee and still had time for everything.

I don't know if it was just a lucky night, but i had an amazing time.

 

[Pongo]

Oh, I forgot. I would like to commend the scareactor who, on Saturday, chased a teenage girl halfway across Jurrasic Park while three other ttenagers chased after him screming "LAUREN, LAUREN!"

It provided us all with a laugh.

I think the scareactors are doing fine. Keep up the good work.

 

[danielj80]

Call me crazy but i'll be going on halloween night like i did last year and on a souvenir scale the shirts sold out the minute i walked through the gate but i enjoyed the rest of the night though, also i thought bill and teds needed a facelift so i hope this years is much better.

wish i could go earlier but i really want to scare the....... out of my girlfriend and she doesn't finish college over here till 26th

 

[NemoRocks78]

Went on Thursday the 13th --- here's a review.

HOUSES
1. The Skool - Every year there's a house surprises me, and this one took the top spot this time (last year it was Disorientorium, which many, many people hated).....great theming and great scares.
2. Body Collectors - Great theming but the scares weren't too good....still a great house though.
3. Where Evil Hides - Nice theming, decent scares, all around good house.
4. Demon Cantina - Wasn't too bad at all....just needed some more scares.
5. Cold Blind Terror - I was a fan of Disorientorium so I liked this one a bit, although it could have used a few more things.
6. Blood Ruins - Very good theming, but no scares whatsoever.
7. Terror Mines - Just when I thought nothing could be as bad as last year's Horror in Wax, this one comes up....hell, I could've done a better one in my freakin' garage (only good thing was the use of the water vortex and fire from the main show). :lol:

SCAREZONES
1. Blood Thunder Alley - Like someone has said before, it reminds you of 1985A from Back to the Future Part II, so I of course loved it.
2. Fire Pits - Good scares, lots of fog....nice 'zone.
3. Cemetery Mines - Creepy as hell, especially since you it was hard to tell what was a scareactor and what wasn't. (I hate how they have that walkway past the JPRA EP machines....everyone lines up to go through it and nothing's there)
4. Terra Guard Run - Nice show on the throne, but I only went through the Trading Co. to get out of the park.

Bill and Ted's Excellent Halloween Adventure - A
I know many people say the B&T has gone down in quality over the past few years, but I've thought it's gotten better every year and my opinion certainly didn't change this time around. All-around hilarious show with a great cast....definitely the best I've seen yet.

Rat Run Maze - Props to Creative for getting this one up because it was a nice idea. I liked the "interactive" element (I got soaked) and the clown (was that Jack?) shouting at the guests was pretty funny.

Once again, the Halloween Horror Nights Express passes were fantastic. Most public schools in FL were out on Thursday and Friday so it was PACKED. Thanks to the Express pass, I was able to go through all 7 houses, see the 7:30 Bill and Ted show, and also ride the Incredible Hulk Coaster, The Amazing Adventures of Spider-Man, Dueling Dragons, Revenge of the Mummy, The Cat in the Hat, and One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish by 10:45pm. If you don't have an EP and go on a peak night expecting to get through all of the houses I have no sympathy for you at all. :lol: (my younger sister went with her friend on Saturday night --- they only went through two houses, saw the B&T show, and went on a couple rides and they didn't have an EP)

Personally I'd have to say it was just a bit disappointing, but then again, I went in with high expectations. Still a great event though and definitely in the top five.

 

[Legacy]

Once again... another HHN veteran claiming overall disappointment. I had that feeling...

 

[JROK]

Once again... another HHN veteran claiming overall disappointment. I had that feeling...

I think most of the HHN vets are getting too used to the event and go in expecting way more than what is possible and get too dreamy with all the rumors and don't look at it as a buisness but more as a way to please fans... I'm at the stage now where I'm noticing more and more flaws and wish they'd stop recycling things, but it is a buisness and most people don't notice the flaws and still keep coming back year after year... but this year HHN isn't doing too well in the attendence numbers... hasn't sold out one night yet... suprisingly... maybe the first time in HHN history... so far last Saturday was the busiest night with 38,000 guests... last year there were multiple nights where they had 50,000 guests... so I think a lot of people got upset from last year's fiasco and are taking a year or two off...


As for Terror Mines, did you get to wear a hat or even notice that they had miner's helmets for guests? They're really cool and are computer controlled to react with different elements and areas of the house...

 

[Legacy]

As much as I love HHN I'm almost glad to hear that they haven't sold out. Why? Because maybe Universal will now realize that they really needed to step the event up some.

I'm sorry, but I think it's a bad thing when more people leave HHN talking about how great instead of how scary a house was.

Maybe Uni will get off its high-horse now.

 

[NemoRocks78]

I think most of the HHN vets are getting too used to the event and go in expecting way more than what is possible and get too dreamy with all the rumors and don't look at it as a buisness but more as a way to please fans... I'm at the stage now where I'm noticing more and more flaws and wish they'd stop recycling things, but it is a buisness and most people don't notice the flaws and still keep coming back year after year... but this year HHN isn't doing too well in the attendence numbers... hasn't sold out one night yet... suprisingly... maybe the first time in HHN history... so far last Saturday was the busiest night with 38,000 guests... last year there were multiple nights where they had 50,000 guests... so I think a lot of people got upset from last year's fiasco and are taking a year or two off...


As for Terror Mines, did you get to wear a hat or even notice that they had miner's helmets for guests? They're really cool and are computer controlled to react with different elements and areas of the house...

My brother wore one....it's a neat thing but it still doesn't save the house. The theming sucked and I was not scared once....the white cloth hanging was annoying as well....since when does that represent a mine? IMO, it's one of the worst of all time.

 

[NemoRocks78]

As much as I love HHN I'm almost glad to hear that they haven't sold out. Why? Because maybe Universal will now realize that they really needed to step the event up some.

I'm sorry, but I think it's a bad thing when more people leave HHN talking about how great instead of how scary a house was.

Maybe Uni will get off its high-horse now.

That's exactly how I felt --- they focused way too much on the theming (which was nice) but not on the scares. With Skip Sherman and Adrian LePeltier out of the picture now (as they are both involved with HHN development) though things will hopefully start turning around next year.

 

[Legacy]

That's exactly how I felt --- they focused way too much on the theming (which was nice) but not on the scares. With Skip Sherman and Adrian LePeltier out of the picture now (as they are both involved with HHN development) though things will hopefully start turning around next year.

I still think they should hire me... :lookaroun

 

[JROK]

You sure Adrian is out of the picture?? I didn't hear about that... but I did hear that a certain Mr. Roddy (From creating HHN X and being the Bill & Ted writer fame) is back... I'll agree that this year isn't the best... it is good... but not the best... the event is beginning to out grow itself and needs a lot of changes to bring it into it's future... still countless sites out there that review theme parks and specifically theme parks' haunted events, rank HHN as one of the top... just be glad we don't have some of the other 'fear fests' out there...

 

[pheneix]

I've worked the event or been in the park as a guest every night this year. Some of the houses are just amazing (Body, WEH, and Cantina), but on the whole this event is just horrible. I heard Howl o' Scream really creamed us this year, but I will have to see that for myself this weekend before I believe it. It wouldn't be surprising though.

Next year will definitely be different though, as not only have the people up top been sacked, but the entire design staff is being restructured. Dtiching Skip and Adrian are just the beginning of the changes in the entertainment department, and it couldn't have happened soon enough.

In my opinion we also need some changes in the operations side, as from my perpective operations has just been a disaster this year. There is no reason that a night with 20,000 guests should feel like a 50,000 night...