What I love about HHN is that it's such a "concentrated" event. When we lived in IL, we were constantly running around to various haunted houses. We spent so much time driving and waiting in line that we were lucky to see two, or maybe three, in a night. In those days they didn't realize they could charge a premium for FOTL (I've noticed on their websites that many do that now), and we could only get to one early on any particular night, so it was rush to whichever we thought would be best, then rush off to another and pray the line hadn't gotten too long in the meantime.
At HHN, even without express we can get a lot done just by getting there early. Granted, that's an advantage of being a local and we use it to its fullest. I feel bad for people just visiting for a few days during a crowded time who have to miss any of the houses. It's like having a bunch of houses on the same level as the best ones in IL all one place.
The only IL house that HHN can't beat is a now-defunct one in Wheaton that was called "Silo X." It was an area 69-type thing, and it began when they shined an uber-bright light in your face to blind you, spun you around several times, and literally shoved you into a pitch black maze. Groups of total strangers would be clinging together to try to find their way through. It was a loooong house, and at the end the was an outside part with guys with machine guns...dunno what they really were, but they were just about as loud as the real thing. Ah, those were the days!
Agreed, the economy has to be the main culprit, but wondering if last year's crowds were also somewhat of a tipping point--a lot of money to drop to only see two house in a night. In any case it's a shame, because in terms of houses and scarezones, I think this is the best HHN since 2004 (or whatever the last year in IoA was).
