A 1st timers thoughts on HHN22

[momof3girls6712]

As many of you know, this was my first time going to HHN. I went with my hubby and friends on Saturday. Thank you to everyone who gave me advice and answered my questions beforehand. I have been to Hallowscream and a few other events that helped base my opinion. My hubby and friends also gave me their thoughts.

Pros -
It was a fun atmosphere and we really enjoyed the look of it all.
We were all impressed with the makeup and decorations.
The scareactors on the street did a great job of interacting and looked good. The little treat tricking kids were creeeepy!
It seemed well organized as far as the annual passholder sign in, drink and food carts, and setup of the lines.
The house were great. I thought they did a great job of decorating. I was really impressed. Silent Hill and the Walking Dead looked spot on. My favorite house was Penn and Teller. I thought the room of lights was incredible and I liked the interaction of the food buffet.
Overall, we had a great night.

Cons -
There were lots of areas without scareactors (or maybe we missed them). It seemed like without the scare zones, the event was just missing something.
It might have been that we built it up to much in out heads, because I just imagines them roaming everywhere.
The lines were sooooo long. We were in the park by 4pm and the line to House of Horrors was already 30 minutes. We should have bought express passes. It seems like they are needed. Also, we should have asked for an order to go in. Here is what our plan was -

Alice Cooper - We weren't thrilled with this house, but it was a nice start. (30 minute wait)

House of Horrors - I really liked the classic monsters theme. One of the scareactors really got the hubby so he liked it. (30 minute wait)

Penn & Teller - We all loved the trippyness of this house. The lights and colors were awesome. Plus we liked messing with the other guests. (35 minute wait)

Silent hill - They say it was awesome and looked like the movie and games. (45 minute wait)

Gothic - I loved the look of this house. I was really amazing. (45 minute wait)

Dead End - never made it to this house

Walking Dead - Again they said this house was great and just like the tv show. I have never watched it so I am not sure. (it said 45 minute wait, but the we were in line for 1 hour and 25 minutes)

20 Penny Circus - I was really disappointed we missed the show. When we got in the walking Dead line we had a hour and 10 minutes before the show started and thought we could make it.

Bill and Ted - The hubby wasn't feeling good so we left before we saw this show as well. It was around 10:40pm when we left.

I am usually scared of everything and never once was I scared or spooked. The whole night I felt like cattle just being rushed through the lines. A few of the houses I wanted to look at more, but the line of people wouldn't allow you to take a few minutes to really look. Hubby said he liked the past years' events a lot better and felt they really missed the mark on this year. I just wasn't prepared for the massive amount of people. Even getting spooked or scared wasn't possible because you were being pushed through the house so fast. Plus I felt like there were not enough scareactors everywhere. The houses and streets seemed underwhelming.

All in all, we had a great time and really only regret missing the shows! But I am not sure if we will do it again. I offered the hubby another trip so we could go back and do Dead End and the shows, but he declined and is looking for something else. I am not sure if we will go next year or not. Most likely we will, but we will be smarter and have express passes!

 

[JessicaR]

Great post on your thoughts! If you can talk your husband into going again in a few weeks I think his experience will be better. Opening weekend they are still working out all the kinks and with Fridays rain they didn't really have a chance to do that. Also, seeing what you missed!

If not, I'm really glad you got a taste and maybe do it again next year!

Really enjoyed reading your take on it - thanks for posting.

 

[Metro West]

EPs are always good to have when you only have one night to visit.

Thanks for sharing!

 

[momof3girls6712]

Thanks for the advice. I explained to the hubby and he is debating a mid October trip back! We only live about a hour and a half away so it isn't that bad to drive down for a visit. This time we will most certainly have express passes! I usually plan the trips and hubby just goes along for the ride. I don't know why, but I just never imagined there would be that many people. Boy was that a hard lesson to learn. lol

 

[Nyheck]

I was there Saturday night also and it was definitely more crowded than I anticipated. Can only imagine how bad it'll get closer to Halloween.

I must have always been at the right place at the right time because every house or ride I exited always had scare actors between where I came from and where I was going. I'm surprised at how many people are saying how disappointed they were regarding the scareactors.

 

[Planogirl]

The biggest problem with these places is the crowds. I hate how popular attractions always rush people through but I guess that they have no choice.

It sounds like they need to bring the scare zones back. I always liked the idea of places to just rest and talk about what you'd seen so far.

Thanks for the review!

 

[Marquibiri]

I was at USF on Monday afternoon and was shocked on how little amount of props there were (out on the streets.. Some were stashed away in some corners but there were still so few of them...
I'll finally get to see how this year's HHN goes (Fri-Sun).

Cheers!

Marquibiri

 

[Metro West]

I was at USF on Monday afternoon and was shocked on how little amount of props there were (out on the streets.. Some were stashed away in some corners but there were still so few of them...
I'll finally get to see how this year's HHN goes (Fri-Sun).

That's because there are no "permanent" scarezones this year. That's why there were so many props in the past.