slford00
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- May 1, 2014
- Messages
- 145
Went to the first three nights of HHN this weekend, and went the first 2 nights as part of the "perk" of the annual passholder early entry to the event (more on that to come in later posts)
It's late and we're exhausted (closed the parks down both Friday and Sunday HHN) and have an early flight in the morning, but here's my immediate thoughts:
- AHS and Halloween II were my favorite houses; HII probably scariest, and AHS the longest with some decent scares, but probably more effective and fun for people who've watched the 3 seasons featured in the house. Krampus and Tomb of the Ancients were my least favs (but could always improve over the next several nights!). Walking Dead was much better than the past couple years.
- Bill & Ted had some decent laughs, but the experience was hurt by a packed crowd on a HOT September evening. The entire amphitheater was a sauna, which hurt the experience.
- Dance Academy of Villains (or whatever it's called) was WAY better than my expectations. IMHO, it's a must-see, even if just for a portion of the show before moving on.
- Scare Zones: Vamp 1955 was by far the best, with a clever concept executed by very fun scare actors who 100% bought in to their performances. I could've spent an hour people watching crowd-scareactor interactions.
Chance scare zone was a very close second. Chance herself was available on her platform/stage for most of each night, and she was INCREDIBLE. She steals the show of the entire HHN for the moments she's available. The other performers in the area were committed* (pun intended) to their roles as well, and were very fun to interact with. However, the area was pretty short and typically was reduced to a small mosh pit gathering around Chance just watching whatever shenanigans/jokes she wanted to perform.
Survive or die was a high-concept idea and was executed pretty well, but with such a large zone the "story" was mostly lost, and it was more or less just lots of random post-apocalyptic-themed mayhem. Replace the actors uniforms with creepy masks and add some machetes to the chainsaws, and it's The Purge zone from 2 years ago (which, to be fair, was one of my favorites).
Banshees Lair was weak (I always find the Central Park area scarezone to be too short and ineffective), and Dead Man's Wharf was my least favorite. It was SUPER small (10-20 feet? Maybe a little more?) with 4-5 non-threatening, non-verbal actors walking slowly around in slicks and silly masks. No fun moments or scares of any significance. The best part of the zone is the creepy fisherman at the front of the main boat structure, standing amongst the mist billowing over the boat (better in the dark).
Tomorrow or the next day I'll give a more detailed run down of my experience and possible tips for those going later this season.
I hope that those currently here continue to have a blast, and that those coming in the following weeks have as much fun as we did!
It's late and we're exhausted (closed the parks down both Friday and Sunday HHN) and have an early flight in the morning, but here's my immediate thoughts:
- AHS and Halloween II were my favorite houses; HII probably scariest, and AHS the longest with some decent scares, but probably more effective and fun for people who've watched the 3 seasons featured in the house. Krampus and Tomb of the Ancients were my least favs (but could always improve over the next several nights!). Walking Dead was much better than the past couple years.
- Bill & Ted had some decent laughs, but the experience was hurt by a packed crowd on a HOT September evening. The entire amphitheater was a sauna, which hurt the experience.
- Dance Academy of Villains (or whatever it's called) was WAY better than my expectations. IMHO, it's a must-see, even if just for a portion of the show before moving on.
- Scare Zones: Vamp 1955 was by far the best, with a clever concept executed by very fun scare actors who 100% bought in to their performances. I could've spent an hour people watching crowd-scareactor interactions.
Chance scare zone was a very close second. Chance herself was available on her platform/stage for most of each night, and she was INCREDIBLE. She steals the show of the entire HHN for the moments she's available. The other performers in the area were committed* (pun intended) to their roles as well, and were very fun to interact with. However, the area was pretty short and typically was reduced to a small mosh pit gathering around Chance just watching whatever shenanigans/jokes she wanted to perform.
Survive or die was a high-concept idea and was executed pretty well, but with such a large zone the "story" was mostly lost, and it was more or less just lots of random post-apocalyptic-themed mayhem. Replace the actors uniforms with creepy masks and add some machetes to the chainsaws, and it's The Purge zone from 2 years ago (which, to be fair, was one of my favorites).
Banshees Lair was weak (I always find the Central Park area scarezone to be too short and ineffective), and Dead Man's Wharf was my least favorite. It was SUPER small (10-20 feet? Maybe a little more?) with 4-5 non-threatening, non-verbal actors walking slowly around in slicks and silly masks. No fun moments or scares of any significance. The best part of the zone is the creepy fisherman at the front of the main boat structure, standing amongst the mist billowing over the boat (better in the dark).
Tomorrow or the next day I'll give a more detailed run down of my experience and possible tips for those going later this season.
I hope that those currently here continue to have a blast, and that those coming in the following weeks have as much fun as we did!
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