HHN 22 opening weekend review.

[jarrdisney]

I will keep this short and sweet with the least amount of spoilers as possible. We have FFP w/express and live a short 10 minute drive to Universal, so need less to say, we're fortunate to go as much as we want.

We went into this HHN with the expectation that the lack of scarezones and free roaming scareactors was going to be a real bummer. Turns out we were right. Take our opinion with a grain of salt, but I would go into this event not expecting much when it comes to the streets. Even with us going in with NO expectations, we were still disappointed. Universal marketing did a great job at making you believe that "no place is safe," but at the end of the day, we hardly saw any actors. I believe the ones we saw were trying, but it really didn't work.

The lack of themes throughout the streets also put a really big damper on the whole vibe, save the wooded area through central park and the ET area. The music, lighting, and fog helped a bit, but overall I think this year will go down as one of the worst when it comes to the streets.

The houses overall were pretty good, but have a lot of kinks to work out. I feel bad for those that came one night this weekend and won't get to to experience HHN in it's prime. It's unfortunate that the event works that way, because if I were to base my opinion solely on last night, I would be very disappointed. Fortunately enough for us, we can go back often, and know the houses will get better with time. The common problem I found in the houses was the lack of scareactors. I think they had the same issue last year as well, but it's an issue that should resolve itself.

Bottom line, go in with an open mind, and don't expect much from the street experience. If it turns out to be great, then so be it, otherwise you'll be really let down from years past. Be prepared for a weird setup throughout the park with a couple streets closed off for construction and bottleneck sections through what was once amity. Based off Sat night my fave houses were Silent Hill, Gothic, and Dead End. My least favorite was definitely House of Horrors. I imagine this list will change by the end of HHN 22's run, as it always does.

 

[Metro West]

I didn't buy Express this year since I plan on going every Sunday night now.

Thanks for sharing.

 

[PammyK]

Spent the weekend at HHN (and boy is my body angry with me, this getting old sucks!) and maybe I'm a cockeyed optomist, but I didn't think the roving scare zones were any less impactful than last year's pretty unspectacular scare zones. In fact, I saw more people scared by the roving bands of scareactors this weekend than I saw all of last year. And, given that the weather on Friday night kept the scareactors inside for a good portion of the night, they really haven't had much opportunity to truly make this work in the presence of guests.

So while I don't think the new philosophy regarding scare zones is perfect, I am hopeful that it will just get better as the season proceeds. I'm sure they're already reviewing guest comments and feedback and will implement improvements for the coming week.

 

[jarrdisney]

Spent the weekend at HHN (and boy is my body angry with me, this getting old sucks!) and maybe I'm a cockeyed optomist, but I didn't think the roving scare zones were any less impactful than last year's pretty unspectacular scare zones. In fact, I saw more people scared by the roving bands of scareactors this weekend than I saw all of last year. And, given that the weather on Friday night kept the scareactors inside for a good portion of the night, they really haven't had much opportunity to truly make this work in the presence of guests.

So while I don't think the new philosophy regarding scare zones is perfect, I am hopeful that it will just get better as the season proceeds. I'm sure they're already reviewing guest comments and feedback and will implement improvements for the coming week.

I'm more into the separate themes of each scarezone and really missed it this year. We were there Sat from about 730-1130 and saw one person get scared while walking around the park.

I know HHN will get better the longer it runs, I just feel bad for people that only got to go this weekend. What I gather from those that went, is that they were not impressed. In fact, it was pretty much unanimous that the employee preview night was the worst they ever had.

I think the scareactors are doing the best they can under the circumstances, and it's my hope that mgmt will heed the opinions of guests that are not thrilled with the experience.

That being said, I still LOVE HHN! We were totally stoked to be there last night and still had a great time. I wish we could go tonight, but alas it's the only sunday it isn't running.

 

[PammyK]

I'm more into the separate themes of each scarezone and really missed it this year. We were there Sat from about 730-1130 and saw one person get scared while walking around the park.

I know HHN will get better the longer it runs, I just feel bad for people that only got to go this weekend. What I gather from those that went, is that they were not impressed. In fact, it was pretty much unanimous that the employee preview night was the worst they ever had.

I think the scareactors are doing the best they can under the circumstances, and it's my hope that mgmt will heed the opinions of guests that are not thrilled with the experience.

That being said, I still LOVE HHN! We were totally stoked to be there last night and still had a great time. I wish we could go tonight, but alas it's the only sunday it isn't running.

That is always the risk of attending one of the opening weekend nights, unfortunately. No matter how much they prepare, until the houses and scare zones actually open for guests, there will always be glitches for the first weekend that are typically addressed over the course of the season. It does stink for folks who could only go once but I think there was still enough to enjoy and make it worthwhile.

One thing I'm realizing now is that depending on how you tour the event, you might not be exposed to all the street teams. We got to see the chainsaw prison girls on Friday night, but I don't recall seeing or hearing them last night. Lets face it, the growl of a chainsaw motor revving up in your ear will make all but the most jaded HHN-goer jump just a bit. Though personally, I find the big, hairy, chainsaw wielding guys a lot more intimidating than the chainsaw girls.

 

[Nyheck]

I went last night with the ap early access and I thought that the no scare zones was great. It appeared at least to me and my friend that the scare actors were everywhere. They just appeared from out of nowhere most of the time and I even saw a few follow people into stores. It was much nicer than the lame scare zones from last year where between them was just universal studios at nighttime.

A little disappointed that we weren't able to get through all the houses (missed 2) even with early access but like it's been stated already here, the lines were pretty long. After waiting in line for dead end for an hour, we left around 11 as there was no way we were gonna 75 minutes for walking dead.

 

[Drfate102]

We also went to the AP night, and we were dissapointed. The lack of an Icon and overall theme just showed. The houses were great as were both shows, but the lack of solid scarezones was just dull.

 

[Maytrix]

As I commented in the other review thread, I agree.

Haven't been since 2008 (went every year 2003-2008). So this was our 7th and I'd rank this in with the others at the bottom.

Problem for us was also that we went Friday night - the rain really put a damper on things, but even with that, the only area we really saw a lot of scareactors was near the walking dead. Houses were also just ok, nothing great and not at the same level we saw in past visits.

While it might get better, we have always been opening weekend, so past experiences should compare pretty well.

What I found somewhat lacking was the costumes weren't spectacular like I know we've seen in the past. Some were good, some were just ok but what I remember from the past was some amazing costumes and we just didn't see that - there was no Wow! factor.

It was still a fun night out though with friends.

 

[JessicaR]

Thanks for your review. I have been reading many elsewhere. Seems anyone that went Friday was pretty underwhelmed. I know I would HATE opening night in the rain. We'll be there thurs-sunday going every night can't wait to see how I compare it to years past! Going with the expectation of having fun and an open mind!

 

[Maytrix]

I don't think the rain alone would have been that bad - especially if they took the opportunity to sell more ponchos and had people selling them in the queues.

Even without a poncho, I think had my feet stayed dry it also wouldn't have been a problem, but the draining in the back lot was so bad we literally walked through a river. Once our feet were drenched it became very uncomfortable.

 

[keishashadow]

OP thank you for your review. Hadn't expected construction to be such a big factor, bummer.

 

[jarrdisney]

Just to make it clear, we were there on Sat night, so there was NO rain. We arrived around 730, as it started getting dark out. We were totally stoked and enjoyed some liquid courage ahead of time at Velvet Lounge.

The first house we hit was Silent Hill and we were both impressed, though we never really got scared. I think everything kinda went downhill from there, but I have faith that come Thurs, it will be better!