Having never been to the HHN programme before (yes, I know, where have I been, etc, etc 
), I managed to make it to the two opening nights (Fri and Sat) this year, and came away hugely impressed. Now, with no previous experience to compare it against, I can't really say if it is any better or worse than the one-park set-up. But, for an evening at any of the parks, I have seldom seen better.
Was I scared? No, not really; the 'no touch' rule takes away that essential element of surprise for me. Was I entertained? Yes, hugely, with the combination of the haunted houses, scare zones and rides making for a superb line-up of choice.
First, for those keen to know all the rides on offer, here was the line-up:
IoA - Hulk, Poseidon, Dr Doom, Spiderman, One Fish, Cat in Hat, and Caro-Seuss-El. PLUS (not advertised on the park map), on Saturday night, Dueling Dragons was open until 11.30, and THAT is a real blast in the dark!
USF - Jimmy Neutron, Shrek, Beetlejuice Revue, Mummy and Twister.
Then there are the 7 fright Houses, four Scare Zones, Bill & Ted's Excellent Halloween Adventure (7 shows) and the Festival of the Dead Parade (four times). There are dry ice/fog machines at strategic points, and the two parks are linked via 2 back-stage routes, creating one big park with the only entrance and exit at IoA. The 'mega-park' stretches only as far as the Pandemonium Circus venue at the entrance to Toon Lagoon on one side of IoA, and as far as Poseidon's Fury (including all of Seuss Landing) on the other. Toon Lagoon and Jurassic Park are both dark. The two back-stage entrances to USF are just behind One Fish, Two Fish and the far side of Poseidon. Once inside USF, half the attractions are actually in soundstages and other areas normally off limits, as well as in Production Central, New York and San Francisco (as far as Earthquake). Amity, World Expo, Kidzone and Hollywood are all dark.
The 7 Houses are then the Disorientorium (IoA), Hellgate Prison and Horror In Wax (between the two parks), and Ghost Town, Horror Nights Nightmares, Castle Vampyr and Deadtropolis (USF), with Scare Zones the Fright Yard and Field of Screams on the two linking routes and Midway of the Bizarre in the old Boneyard area of USF.
If that's the basic lay-out, the reality is a lot more impressive. The main entrance plaza (at the top of Port of Entry) is officially the Point of Evil, one of the 4 Scare Zones, but there is little real scare factor at work here (although the eerie effect of the strangely-costumed stilt-walkers, the laser lighting and the copious amounts of fog is quite clever). If anyone is seriously spooked by the fog and the occasional strange character jumping out of dark corners, they may be in trouble in the fright Houses!!
Now, having been through Terror on Church Street, both in its original location and then when it moved (briefly) inside Church Street Station before it closed for good, Skull Kingdom on I-Drive and the (short-lived) Haunted Mansion in Kissimmee, I was pretty sure what to expect but actually imagined the genuine 'fear factor' would be a bit higher. All the above actually incorporated rather more in the way of technical gadgetry to add to their live actor effects (Skull Kingdom in particular), but Universal utilise huge numbers of actors to provide most of the 'terror' (although the Disorientorium, one of the 7 Houses, does use a few extra physical effects as well - over and above the obvious use of strobe lighting, air blasts and soundtrack FX). So, if someone suddenly jumping out at you and saying a slightly more sophisticated version of 'Boo!' does not scare your pants off, you probably won't have too many real frights en route. Unless you go very early on when crowds are at their lightest, you will also be in sight of other park guests at all times as you wind your way around the Houses, hence some of the surprise tactics will be seen in advance (I actually got to be the very first 'victim' through Deadtropolis on the Saturday night, which was great fun!).
When you do all 7 Houses in a row, it becomes hard to disinguish between all of them, as there are a number of similarities in the way they work, as well as the obvious differences of theming. But they all operate on the same walk-through principle of sudden shocks, lighting FX, gory and macabre scenery and LOUD screams, etc (not all of them from park guests!). To me, it is just plain fun to watch out for their tricks, to appreciate the make-up, scenery, etc, and to see the reaction of others to the 'shock' tactics. There wasn't a single House which didn't make me laugh at some point with the tricks they used, or which didn't provide a great spectacle simply to walk through. I actually wanted to linger in places to try to work out the effects, but you are chivvied along to keep moving (not surprising when the lines were an hour or more in places).
The sheer number of actors involved is amazing; their quality is uniformly good, and some are downright Oscar material, in a creepy kind of way! The ones who impressed me most were the 'inmates' of Hellgate Prison (some really inventive dialogue here!) and the 'zombies' of Deadtropolis (if you can appreciate the finer points of someone with half a face barfing into an oil drum!! ). The lighting is just first class and there always seemed to be some clever detail to appreciate, if you took the time to look (strangely, that seemed to be lost on some folks!).
The parade was fun (if inclined to hit you in the face with some beads if you weren't paying attention
) and Bill & Ted's was another highlight (even if some HHN regulars think the material has been better in the past - I thoroughly enjoyed the gags and innuendo, the gusto of the performers and the clever links from the Bill & Ted movies to current events). The audience certainly seemed to enjoy every minute, and the fact they can do it 7 times a night is testament to the effort they all put in.
Having been there from 7pm to 1.30am on the first night, and 6.30 to 11.30 on the second, I can safely say I enjoyed every minute. The Hulk and DD in the dark were just terrific, and the lines for the rides were always a handy fall-back when the Houses were at their busiest. I'm not sure I could queue for an hour or more for some of the Houses (our longest wait was barely 20 minutes with judicious use of early arrival and the occasional use of Universal Express), but there always seemed to be an option when the lines were at their longest.
I certainly take my hat off to Universal for the way they have configured both parks to make it a real one-off experience, and for the sheer quality of the horror effects. It was something akin to being a bit-part actor in a real-life horror movie, albeit one in which you know your 'character' will survive the evil onslaught. To my mind, there is more comedy than out-and-out horror, but some people certainly looked like it was the other way round for them! All the Houses were worth doing more than once, but Deadtropolis and Hellgate Prison were probably my favourites (for the more original input of the actors more than the sheer scare factor), with Castle Vampyr and Ghost Town a close second. However, the Disorientorium probably had the best physical effect of all, which did genuinely make you jump if you hadn't seen it advance.
And, ultimately, I may need to have the smile on my face surgically removed after my first (and definitely not last) experience of HHN!!
), I managed to make it to the two opening nights (Fri and Sat) this year, and came away hugely impressed. Now, with no previous experience to compare it against, I can't really say if it is any better or worse than the one-park set-up. But, for an evening at any of the parks, I have seldom seen better. Was I scared? No, not really; the 'no touch' rule takes away that essential element of surprise for me. Was I entertained? Yes, hugely, with the combination of the haunted houses, scare zones and rides making for a superb line-up of choice.
First, for those keen to know all the rides on offer, here was the line-up:
IoA - Hulk, Poseidon, Dr Doom, Spiderman, One Fish, Cat in Hat, and Caro-Seuss-El. PLUS (not advertised on the park map), on Saturday night, Dueling Dragons was open until 11.30, and THAT is a real blast in the dark!
USF - Jimmy Neutron, Shrek, Beetlejuice Revue, Mummy and Twister.
Then there are the 7 fright Houses, four Scare Zones, Bill & Ted's Excellent Halloween Adventure (7 shows) and the Festival of the Dead Parade (four times). There are dry ice/fog machines at strategic points, and the two parks are linked via 2 back-stage routes, creating one big park with the only entrance and exit at IoA. The 'mega-park' stretches only as far as the Pandemonium Circus venue at the entrance to Toon Lagoon on one side of IoA, and as far as Poseidon's Fury (including all of Seuss Landing) on the other. Toon Lagoon and Jurassic Park are both dark. The two back-stage entrances to USF are just behind One Fish, Two Fish and the far side of Poseidon. Once inside USF, half the attractions are actually in soundstages and other areas normally off limits, as well as in Production Central, New York and San Francisco (as far as Earthquake). Amity, World Expo, Kidzone and Hollywood are all dark.
The 7 Houses are then the Disorientorium (IoA), Hellgate Prison and Horror In Wax (between the two parks), and Ghost Town, Horror Nights Nightmares, Castle Vampyr and Deadtropolis (USF), with Scare Zones the Fright Yard and Field of Screams on the two linking routes and Midway of the Bizarre in the old Boneyard area of USF.
If that's the basic lay-out, the reality is a lot more impressive. The main entrance plaza (at the top of Port of Entry) is officially the Point of Evil, one of the 4 Scare Zones, but there is little real scare factor at work here (although the eerie effect of the strangely-costumed stilt-walkers, the laser lighting and the copious amounts of fog is quite clever). If anyone is seriously spooked by the fog and the occasional strange character jumping out of dark corners, they may be in trouble in the fright Houses!!
Now, having been through Terror on Church Street, both in its original location and then when it moved (briefly) inside Church Street Station before it closed for good, Skull Kingdom on I-Drive and the (short-lived) Haunted Mansion in Kissimmee, I was pretty sure what to expect but actually imagined the genuine 'fear factor' would be a bit higher. All the above actually incorporated rather more in the way of technical gadgetry to add to their live actor effects (Skull Kingdom in particular), but Universal utilise huge numbers of actors to provide most of the 'terror' (although the Disorientorium, one of the 7 Houses, does use a few extra physical effects as well - over and above the obvious use of strobe lighting, air blasts and soundtrack FX). So, if someone suddenly jumping out at you and saying a slightly more sophisticated version of 'Boo!' does not scare your pants off, you probably won't have too many real frights en route. Unless you go very early on when crowds are at their lightest, you will also be in sight of other park guests at all times as you wind your way around the Houses, hence some of the surprise tactics will be seen in advance (I actually got to be the very first 'victim' through Deadtropolis on the Saturday night, which was great fun!).
When you do all 7 Houses in a row, it becomes hard to disinguish between all of them, as there are a number of similarities in the way they work, as well as the obvious differences of theming. But they all operate on the same walk-through principle of sudden shocks, lighting FX, gory and macabre scenery and LOUD screams, etc (not all of them from park guests!). To me, it is just plain fun to watch out for their tricks, to appreciate the make-up, scenery, etc, and to see the reaction of others to the 'shock' tactics. There wasn't a single House which didn't make me laugh at some point with the tricks they used, or which didn't provide a great spectacle simply to walk through. I actually wanted to linger in places to try to work out the effects, but you are chivvied along to keep moving (not surprising when the lines were an hour or more in places).
The sheer number of actors involved is amazing; their quality is uniformly good, and some are downright Oscar material, in a creepy kind of way! The ones who impressed me most were the 'inmates' of Hellgate Prison (some really inventive dialogue here!) and the 'zombies' of Deadtropolis (if you can appreciate the finer points of someone with half a face barfing into an oil drum!!
). The lighting is just first class and there always seemed to be some clever detail to appreciate, if you took the time to look (strangely, that seemed to be lost on some folks!).The parade was fun (if inclined to hit you in the face with some beads if you weren't paying attention
) and Bill & Ted's was another highlight (even if some HHN regulars think the material has been better in the past - I thoroughly enjoyed the gags and innuendo, the gusto of the performers and the clever links from the Bill & Ted movies to current events). The audience certainly seemed to enjoy every minute, and the fact they can do it 7 times a night is testament to the effort they all put in.Having been there from 7pm to 1.30am on the first night, and 6.30 to 11.30 on the second, I can safely say I enjoyed every minute. The Hulk and DD in the dark were just terrific, and the lines for the rides were always a handy fall-back when the Houses were at their busiest. I'm not sure I could queue for an hour or more for some of the Houses (our longest wait was barely 20 minutes with judicious use of early arrival and the occasional use of Universal Express), but there always seemed to be an option when the lines were at their longest.
I certainly take my hat off to Universal for the way they have configured both parks to make it a real one-off experience, and for the sheer quality of the horror effects. It was something akin to being a bit-part actor in a real-life horror movie, albeit one in which you know your 'character' will survive the evil onslaught. To my mind, there is more comedy than out-and-out horror, but some people certainly looked like it was the other way round for them! All the Houses were worth doing more than once, but Deadtropolis and Hellgate Prison were probably my favourites (for the more original input of the actors more than the sheer scare factor), with Castle Vampyr and Ghost Town a close second. However, the Disorientorium probably had the best physical effect of all, which did genuinely make you jump if you hadn't seen it advance.
And, ultimately, I may need to have the smile on my face surgically removed after my first (and definitely not last) experience of HHN!!
), and the police presence was a bit heavy at times. But at least you are allowed to drink in line (it could get pretty thirsty otherwise!) and we did find it easy to get away from the occasional 'over-imbiber' when necessary (the Confisco Bar was actually a good hang-out for a while in late evening).
