It's hard to believe its been ten and a half months since I last walked through the gates of Universal Studios for Halloween Horror Nights. But it has and tonight will mark the beginning of my fourth year attending the event. 2010 was my first year, and although many hardcore fans say it was an average year, to me it was incredible because it was my first time experiencing it. 2011 has been far and away the best of the 3 years I have attended so far, and many long time attendees say its in the top 3-5 best years in the events history. 2012 was to many people a major dud, for a myriad of reasons, some beyond the control of the people who create and run HHN. There were several reasons why 2012 was dissappointing..
1. 7 houses. for some reason the traditional amount of 8 houses didn't happen in 2012. We only got 7 but of course ticket prices remained the same as always. Naturally, one less house led to
2. Longer lines. With one less house to eat up people, the lines for the seven houses there were were ridiculously long all night every night. Even traditional slow nights such as opening night, Wednesdays, and Halloween night were much busier than normal. This was a major headache for many long time goers who cherished those precious few "slow" nights.
3. No scare zones: Universal ditched their usual scare zones last year for a "street experience." Instead of set zones where there would be actors throughout the parks, actors would be able to go anywhere throughout the park, even in stores and restaurants. The idea was there would be no "safe" zones and it would make the event scarier. The result was way to much "dead" space and the street experience idea was a major flop.
4. Inferior Houses: After the incredible houses of 2011, 2012 was a massive let down. On the HHN fan site, fans rated the 8 2011 houses with an average score of 8.1, with 6 of the 8 scoring at least an 8, and only one scoring less than a 7. In 2012? the average score of the 7 houses was only a 7.1, a full point lower. Only two houses scored at least an 8, and three houses scored less than 7.
So why so much optimism for 2012?
First off, there's going to be 8 houses again. The big reason however, was word has gotten out from some employees who were lucky enough to preview some of the houses before the event officially starts and the initial verdict from pretty much everyone was : WOW! So far 6 of the 8 houses have been getting unanimously rave reviews, with only one house of the lot getting not so great reviews. Here's what I think happened. NBC purchased the Universal parks in early 2012. They have not been shy about throwing money around, as evidenced by building a new hotel, new golf course, Transformers, Harry Potter 2.0, the list goes on. Many people believe they didn't realize just how big a deal HHN was and were reluctant to throw a lot of money at it when there was already a ton of money going elsewhere. The result was a cheapened 2012 event. When the less than stellar reviews rolled in, they realized just how popular the event was in the state, and have responded by throwing a ton of money into the event for 2013. So here's a preview of each of the 8 houses
1. Cabin in the Woods: This house along would make me jacked for the event. Ever since I saw this movie I wanted it turned into a house at HHN, and I can't believe I actually got my wish. This is by far the most anticipated house for me, and initial reviews have been so positive it's got me even more excited.
2. Havoc: Derailed: The first "sequel" house in a while for HHN. In 2010 Havoc: Dogs of War was a house at HHN centered around super soldiers, an experiment gone wrong. That house took place in the lab the experiment failed in, this year the house takes us to a train, where the Soldiers are being transported for further testing, but the train crashes unleashing the soldiers on the public. So far Derailed has been the one house getting not so good reviews but its definitely worth noting that on preview night in 2010, Dogs of War got negative reviews also and by the end of the event it was so loved it ended up winning House of the Year. Maybe history will repeat itself
3. Afterlife: Deaths Vengence: The yearly 3-D house at HHN this year, the premise being that a serial killer is getting attacked by his victims in the afterlife. So far very positive reviews as is normal for the 3-D house.
4. Evil Dead: Based on the cult horror movie classic from the 1980's. Very positive reviews so far
5. Resident Evil: Based on the video games of the same name. Average reviews so far, fans of the games are impressed, non fans not so much. I'm not a fan of the games so I'm not expecting much here.
6. La Llorona: This is one of the two potential "game changers" this year. There are three different locations for HHN houses, queues, tents, and soundstages. Typically soundstage houses are much more big and have a grander scale than the other two because there is much more room to work with. Every year this is 4 soundstage, 2 tent, and 2 queue houses. La Llorona is one of the two tent houses and initial reviews say it is the best tent house ever. Somehow Universal managed to build this at such a grand scale you would think you were in a soundstage. I can't wait for this one.
7. Walking Dead: Dead Inside: For the second straight year a Walking Dead house makes its way to HHN, and while last years house was very average, so far many say this years version is much, much better.
8. American Werewolf In London: This is the one. Based on the cult horror movie classic, many people who have had the privilege of going through it already say this is one of the best, if not the best house in HHN history. The leaders of the people who Build the HHN houses are massive fans of the movie and have been trying for 10 years to acquire the rights to build a house off of it. They finally got the rights this year and they planned on taking full advantage of the opportunity. I can not wait to see what this house has in store.
So that's HHN this year, and of course Bill and Ted will be there as always. It's not HHN without Bill and Ted. Of course there will also be other entertaining traditions such as fights and people getting arrested, the usual stuff that occurs when a bunch of drunk people are in the same space. That first time I see somebody getting punched then immediately getting restrained by police I'll just smile to myself and say "Yup, HHN is back!"
Friday, September 20, 2013
Friday, May 31, 2013
The Universal Renaissance
The "Disney Renaissance" is a term thrown around by many in the entertainment industry to describe the period between 1989-1998. Before 1989, the Disney movie studios had been throwing out awful movie after awful movie, leading many to believe their time as a premier movie studio was finished. Then, in 1989, the Little Mermaid came out, and led a Renaissance of the Disney Animation Studios. Over the next ten years, Disney released along with the Little Mermaid; Beauty and the Beast, The Lion King, Aladdin, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Pocahontas, Mulan, and Tarzan, all seen as classics today. This span is called the Disney Renaissance because it rejuvenated a dying Disney company returning them to premier status. Anyway, to the main topic, I use this term because I believe we are currently in the midst of a Universal Renaissance within their theme Park Resort. The Year is 2008, and Universal Studios hasn't opened a new attraction in four years, when Revenge of the Mummy opened up. Paint is fading, attendance is slipping, and Universal appears as if they've given in to Disney as being the only theme park giant in Orlando, and are about to fall into a status of being obsolete. Looking through different forums and going back to 2007-08, many people at the time were ripping into Universal for the parks being dirty, rides effects being broken, and the whole resort basically being in a state of disrepair. Many people look back on this time, now dubbed the "Dark Days" Of Universal and it is now generally accepted that the ONLY thing that kept Universal Orlando at float during this time without Halloween Horror Nights. Without the money this popular event brought in, its very probable there would be no more Universal Studios today. Anyway, the obvious parallel here is that the Universal Parks were basically the Disney Animation studios before the Little mermaid. So what was Universals Little Mermaid? Harry Potter right? Im going to say wrong and make the case the Renaissance of Universal happened one year before Potter, with the opening of Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit. When Rip Ride Rockit opened in August of 2009, it was a groundbreaking ride that allowed you to choose your own music and listen to it on the coaster. It was, and still is the only coaster in the southeast with a 90 degree lift hill, and it gave a thrill ride to Universal Studios, a park sorely lacking in them compared to Islands of Adventure. Looking back, August of 2009 was the beginning of a Universal Renaissance.
Then, in 2010, Harry Potter opened in Islands of Adventure. The island as a whole was a game changer, revolutionary, groundbreaking, and the first major addition to Islands of Adventure since the park opened in 1999. The main attraction, the Forbidden Journey, was hailed by many as the most impressive and immersive ride in the world. The dining aspect of the land was also a game changer. Butterbeer was introduced and proved that a beverage/food item can cause just as much buzz and popularity and be just as much of the theme park experience as a new ride can. Ever since Butterbeer rolled out, competing theme parks, and even Universal have opened new attractions with a centerpiece drink. When Cars land opened in Disneyland, Reds Apple Freeze was a highly publicized drink. Here in New Fantasyland at Magic Kingdom, Lefous Brew was the drink. When Sea World debuted its new ride last week, Antarctic orange chill was introduced to theme park fans. With Harry Potter, Universal now had a new major attraction in each of their two parks, restoring relevancy to their resort. Phase 1 of the Renaissance was complete, as Universal rode the success of Potter through 2011, without any major additions. Then when the massive amounts of money from Potter was brought to outstanding levels, Universal went back to work with that money with one goal and one goal only in mind, take a second shot at doing what they set out to do so many years ago: Take over Disney for Orlando Theme Park supremacy.
When we look back 10 years from now, I believe the period from 2012-2016 will truly be seen as a time of theme park expansion from Universal like nothing weve never seen before from any theme park. In 2012, Universal rolled out a popular new daytime parade, along with a new daily night time fireworks show. Now there was something in the parks to keep families there the whole day, rather than leave before the parks closed. Also opening, a new Despicable Me Ride, based off the most successful animated movie from any company since Toy Story. A new miniature golf course opened in City walk, and a new spongebob store was also open, the most immersive theme park store in all of Orlando. Again, all of these additions happened in one year.
Now here we are in June 2013. Two days ago Transformers opened, to absolutely raving reviews, most calling it the best ride in the park. Within the next week, the new Simpsons themed land will be opening along the old world expo strip outside the Simpsons land. This new land will be highlighted by what is being dubbed "Fast Food Boulevard." Universal took that concept of food/beverage being a big part of the experience here, with so many new food options straight out of the simpsons show coming. The frying dutchman, Moes Tavern, Krusty Burger, Panda Chicken, Lards Lads Donuts, and more will be opening at Universal very soon.
Looking to the future, Phase 2 of Harry Potter is slated to open in Summer of 2014, which will no doubt reset the bar even higher. In 2015, a new ride is rumored to be opening in Jurassic park, the current rumors suggest a highly immersive family coaster. In 2016, we can most likely expect a retheming of the Kids zone outside of ET, rumor suggests it will most likely become Bikini Bottom, hinting at a new Spongebob ride. Universal is clearly not finished, not even close. Other rumors without a set timetable include a new ride based on the Lorax coming to Dr Seuss Land, and a Fast and Furious ride, using the same ride system as test track, to inhabit the vacant lot behind the Simpsons ride.
Probably the most remarkable thing about the Universal Renaissance is how the exact opposite is happening at Disney World. The last major ride to open at Disney World was Toy Story Mania, 5 years ago! The lack of action at Disney World has become a running punchline on many fan forums, especially when compared to Universal current actions. Many joke about the sad fact that it is taking Disney longer to build a basic meet and greet than it took Universal to build Transformers. The Seven Dwarfs Mine Train is set to open in December, which MIGHT be the first major ride to open at Disney since '08, but many are saying the Mine Train will be a big flop, and if thats the case Disney has no current back up plan in place and will continue to go without any major additions for at least the next 2-3 years. Many fans are upset about the fact that Universal seems to be inviting Disney to a theme park war, and Disney doesnt seem to want to play along. Nevertheless, we are in the middle of the Universal Renaissance, which continues in a big way this week with the opening of Transformers, its an exciting time to be a fan of the Universal Parks, and its only going to get better.
Then, in 2010, Harry Potter opened in Islands of Adventure. The island as a whole was a game changer, revolutionary, groundbreaking, and the first major addition to Islands of Adventure since the park opened in 1999. The main attraction, the Forbidden Journey, was hailed by many as the most impressive and immersive ride in the world. The dining aspect of the land was also a game changer. Butterbeer was introduced and proved that a beverage/food item can cause just as much buzz and popularity and be just as much of the theme park experience as a new ride can. Ever since Butterbeer rolled out, competing theme parks, and even Universal have opened new attractions with a centerpiece drink. When Cars land opened in Disneyland, Reds Apple Freeze was a highly publicized drink. Here in New Fantasyland at Magic Kingdom, Lefous Brew was the drink. When Sea World debuted its new ride last week, Antarctic orange chill was introduced to theme park fans. With Harry Potter, Universal now had a new major attraction in each of their two parks, restoring relevancy to their resort. Phase 1 of the Renaissance was complete, as Universal rode the success of Potter through 2011, without any major additions. Then when the massive amounts of money from Potter was brought to outstanding levels, Universal went back to work with that money with one goal and one goal only in mind, take a second shot at doing what they set out to do so many years ago: Take over Disney for Orlando Theme Park supremacy.
When we look back 10 years from now, I believe the period from 2012-2016 will truly be seen as a time of theme park expansion from Universal like nothing weve never seen before from any theme park. In 2012, Universal rolled out a popular new daytime parade, along with a new daily night time fireworks show. Now there was something in the parks to keep families there the whole day, rather than leave before the parks closed. Also opening, a new Despicable Me Ride, based off the most successful animated movie from any company since Toy Story. A new miniature golf course opened in City walk, and a new spongebob store was also open, the most immersive theme park store in all of Orlando. Again, all of these additions happened in one year.
Now here we are in June 2013. Two days ago Transformers opened, to absolutely raving reviews, most calling it the best ride in the park. Within the next week, the new Simpsons themed land will be opening along the old world expo strip outside the Simpsons land. This new land will be highlighted by what is being dubbed "Fast Food Boulevard." Universal took that concept of food/beverage being a big part of the experience here, with so many new food options straight out of the simpsons show coming. The frying dutchman, Moes Tavern, Krusty Burger, Panda Chicken, Lards Lads Donuts, and more will be opening at Universal very soon.
Looking to the future, Phase 2 of Harry Potter is slated to open in Summer of 2014, which will no doubt reset the bar even higher. In 2015, a new ride is rumored to be opening in Jurassic park, the current rumors suggest a highly immersive family coaster. In 2016, we can most likely expect a retheming of the Kids zone outside of ET, rumor suggests it will most likely become Bikini Bottom, hinting at a new Spongebob ride. Universal is clearly not finished, not even close. Other rumors without a set timetable include a new ride based on the Lorax coming to Dr Seuss Land, and a Fast and Furious ride, using the same ride system as test track, to inhabit the vacant lot behind the Simpsons ride.
Probably the most remarkable thing about the Universal Renaissance is how the exact opposite is happening at Disney World. The last major ride to open at Disney World was Toy Story Mania, 5 years ago! The lack of action at Disney World has become a running punchline on many fan forums, especially when compared to Universal current actions. Many joke about the sad fact that it is taking Disney longer to build a basic meet and greet than it took Universal to build Transformers. The Seven Dwarfs Mine Train is set to open in December, which MIGHT be the first major ride to open at Disney since '08, but many are saying the Mine Train will be a big flop, and if thats the case Disney has no current back up plan in place and will continue to go without any major additions for at least the next 2-3 years. Many fans are upset about the fact that Universal seems to be inviting Disney to a theme park war, and Disney doesnt seem to want to play along. Nevertheless, we are in the middle of the Universal Renaissance, which continues in a big way this week with the opening of Transformers, its an exciting time to be a fan of the Universal Parks, and its only going to get better.
Monday, May 27, 2013
Vacation Journal
Wednesday May 15th: The first day of our mega
vacation and I woke up in an ecstatic mood. As I first woke up I watched the
Little Mermaid and Aladdin as the final movies I needed to watch to prepare for
the vacation. Dad got home about lunch we finished packing and off we went to
the airport. Our flight took off on time at 5:15; we got to fly over the
mountains which I thought was so cool considering I have never in my life been
out this far west before. It was very difficult getting through a four and a
half hour flight, but some snacks that included jelly belly’s helped, and I
also watched, without listening, to dad watching Life of Pi on his ipad while I
listened to my music. Once we finally ended it was very interesting seeing all
the slot machines like there was a casino in the airport. After getting our
rental car we drove down the Vegas strip just as it was getting dark and seeing
all the lights and different casinos was very exciting. We checked into our
hotels the next two nights, the Orleans, and after getting settled in walked
down to get dinner at Fuddruckers. After dinner I just relaxed around the hotel
room while dad gambled a little bit. Eleven months ago this dream started and
now we are finally here in Vegas, it’s almost surreal.
Thursday May 16th: First and only full day in
Vegas until next week, we started out around 9:00, and headed straight for the
stratosphere. Unfortunately, the observation deck doesn’t open until 10:00, so
we walked to Circus Circus, in the already very warm weather, before heading
back to the stratosphere. The view from the top is pretty incredible, and goes
all the way around. Im glad I bought a ticket for the Big Shot before we got to
the top, so I didn’t have a choice once I got up there. It ended being an
exhilarating experience, although not nearly as thrilling as Doctor doom in
terms of dropping sensation. After the stratosphere we headed back to the hotel
for sunscreen. Then we headed to Excalibur, walked around for a bit before we
realized they don’t have simulators anymore. We then headed to Luxor, which I
find to be the coolest looking one from outside. Then we went to New York,
where I rode the Coaster, which was extremely rough and I would even say
painful for the neck and shoulder. We then walked to the MGM, where I found a
Fat Tuesdays and got pretty buzzed off of the drink, a feeling not all that
welcome in the hot weather. After a quick peak in the Tropicana, it was back to
the hotel and dinner at Fridays. At night we went to Downtown Vegas, which
included some good music, a wacky dancer, and a cool canopy show to end off the
night. Tomorrow it is off to Disneyland.
Friday May 17th: The big day, off to Disneyland!
It was a long three and a half hour drive, but we finally reached Disneyland
around 1:30. I was ready to dive head first into the rides, but dad was
determined to eat first so we did that at Flos café. Then it was time for the
first ride, Radiators Springs Racers, which we waited 80 minutes for. After
that we did the Little Mermaid on only a five minute wait. After that dad left
and I headed over to Disneyland. I quickly realized the walkways were narrow in
Disneyland and it created a nightmare trying to walk around. It was kind of an
early damper seeing the massive crowds, and the effect of it being a grad night
only made it worse. I finally settled on Matterhorn as my first Disneyland
ride, a ride I absolutely fell in love with. I moved over to New Orleans square
where I did Haunted Mansion, which I was pretty disappointed in, much shorter
than the Magic Kingdom version. I decided to head back to the matterhorn for a
second ride since the single ride line was short and simple. After that it was
back to DCA where I did Its tough to be a bug while waiting for dad. After
meeting with dad we rode Soarin before lining up for World of Color, which was
absolutely amazing, the videos of it I watched don’t do justice to how awesome
this show is. After that it was back to Disneyland where we did Star Tours and
Space Mountain with fastpass. Space was definitely different than the Magic
Kingdom version, and in some ways better such as music and multiple lift hills.
I found it slower however, and prefer the single file seating in Orlando. After
that it was a second ride on the Haunted Mansion, and we closed on Pirates,
exhausted. Pirates is definitely far superior in Disneyland than in Orlando. A
long day that saw us leave the park around 11:35. We picked up Carl Jrs since I
had only eaten a tigger tail and mickey pop the whole day, and headed to the
hotel. A long, but fun day, and tomorrow will be just as awesome.
Saturday May 18th: Day two of four at Disneyland,
and a little bit of a later start than I would have hoped for. After some
debating as to what time and how I would get to Disneyland, we finally settled
on dad dropping me off, then him coming back later. I believe I was in the park
by around 9:30 and immediately got fastpasses for Tower of Terror. I ended up
walking around before using the fastpasses at 10:10, I enjoyed this version of
tower of Terror although it is not quite as amazing at the Hollywood Studios
version. I then went on California screamin’, which I found to be an incredible
coaster, albeit not the most thrilling in the world. I had pulled another fastpass
for Tower of Terror before I went on it the first time, so I was able to do
that again right after Screamin, at this point I met up with dad and we rode
Monsters Inc after about a twenty minute wait which was a pretty decent dark
ride, but the cars move so slowly which detracts from it a little bit. I then
went back to ride California Screamin’ a second time before we moved over to
Disneyland after seeing that Toy Story Mania was closed at the time. We got
fastpasses for Roger Rabbit, then I went single rider on the Matterhorn and we
went back to use the fastpasses for Roger Rabbit, I had been told this ride
would be a disappointment and it somewhat was, but I still found it a decent
dark ride, definitely on I wouldn’t mind having at Magic Kingdom. Then dad
left, and I walked through Tarzans treehouse, which was pretty bad, Swiss
Family treehouse is better, than rode the single rider line for Splash
Mountain. I ended up waiting about 45 minutes in the single rider line, and the
Splash Mountain here ended up being significantly shorter than the Magic Kingom
version and therefore disappointing. There is one cool scene in this version
not found at the Magic Kingdom however, that comes in between Brer Fox catching
brer rabbit and the drop. After this I went back and did the Matterhorn
Bobsleds yet again, yes, I am absolutely in love with that ride. At this point
dad picked me up and we went to eat dinner at Red Robin. After dinner we rested
at the hotel for about twenty minutes before heading in to the park at about
5:45. We had fastpasses for Indy at 7:05, and had time for one ride before them
so we rode Buzz which had broken down when we were in line earlier in the day.
This version I found superior to the Magic Kingdom version, because for one it
is longer and also because you can pick up the guns instead of being planted
into the vehicle, so its easier to shoot. Then we used our fastpasses for Indy
but still waited about a half hour, even in the fastpass line. Indy is simply
an incredible ride, similar to Dinosaur at Animal Kingdom only fifty times
better, and right up there with Matterhorn for my favorite ride in the park. At
this point it was about 7:45 and we had decided to use Saturday night to tour
Fantasyland and the large amount of rides it had to offer. We started with Snow
White and waited about ten minutes for it. I found this version to be better
than the no longer running version in Orlando. Then it was onto Pinocchio, a
ride not found in Orlando. It was only a 5 minute wait, and it wasn’t a great dark
ride, especially compared to the other fantasyland classics. After this we did
Peter Pans Flight which was about a half hour wait. This version I found to be
pretty inferior to the Orlando Version, and the nostalgia factor isn’t there
unlike the one at Magic Kingdom which I have fond memories of riding as a
little kid. After this we went on to It’s a Small World, where I found this
version to be slightly better than the Orlando version, at its longer and
included actual Disney characters throughout the ride. It was also cool because
it features outdoor portions unlike the Orlando version. After this we took a
break from Fantasyland to go back and ride Pirates, which has become my third
favorite ride in the park. I will never be able to enjoy the Magic Kingdom
version as much after riding the Disneyland version, which is twice as long and
includes a second drop to the Magic Kingdoms one drop. Then it was back to
Disneyland for a ride on Alice In Wonderland, another dark ride not found in
Orlando. It was a very cool ride, and would definitely be something welcome in
the Magic Kingdom, although the line moves painfully slow. Then it was onto a
ride that I knew would be emotional for me to ride, Mr Toads Wild Ride. My
favorite ride in Orlando as a little kid, had been shut down for good there
when I was 8. Now after 13 years I finally had the chance to ride it again. It
was just as fun as I remember it being, although Im told the Disneyland version
isn’t as good as the Orlando version was it was still a lot of fun to get a
chance to ride Mr Toad again. We just had one more Fantasyland ride to try, the
Matterhorn Bobsleds, which dad had yet to do. We waited about 20 minutes for
it, and off we went, my fifth ride on it in two days. The roughness of the ride
is starting to take a toll on my back as its starting to get sore and I know
this ride is the cause of it, but I just don’t care, the ride is way too much
fun to let it bother me. After this we left and were out of the gate at 11:25,
and back in the hotel a little after midnight. Another great day in Disneyland
with two left to go.
Sunday May 19th: Day three at Disneyland, and
this day I decided to sleep in a little bit and wait for dad and go in with
him. We left the hotel about 9:30 and at the parking gate were told we were
going to be guests of the day. The way we were told it seemed like we were in
for a day full of treats, which I was hoping included some fastpasses, but all
it really was was free parking and a closer parking space. Nice, but not as
nice as fastpasses. We immediately headed into Tomorrowland to get fastpasses
for Space Mountain then rode the Finding Nemo subs, which we waited about ten
minutes for, not bad since the line moves slow causing lines to be more than an
hour in the middle of the day. The ride was nice but I think dad enjoyed it
more since it gave him memories of riding the 20,000 leagues subs in the Magic
Kingdom. We had time for one more ride before our Space fastpasses and settled
on Matterhorn of course, for the sixth time on this trip for me. We then used
our fastpasses for Space Mountain, which is by far the most difficult ride to
decide which version I like better between this one and Orlandos. Theres so
much I like better about this one, but the large fact that I love the single
file rows in Magic Kingdom, and the Orlando version seems faster makes it very
nearly a tie. We then rode Jungle Cruise after a 20 minute wait, this one was
easy as the Magic Kingdom version is way better, as this version is missing the
cave scene found in Orlando and therefore is significantly shorter. We then
grabbed fastpasses for Indiana Jones, did the treehouse, dads choice not mine,
he wanted to see it, rode Winnie the Pooh, I ride which I found the Orlando
version to be much better, although dad strongly disagreed and found this
version much better. We then went back and rode Indy, and I was amazed by it
yet again. AT this point dad left, so I went and did the single rider line for
Splash, this time only waiting about five minutes. I then went to Fantasyland
to do the walkthrough castle attraction which I found to be rather lame, so I
didn’t have to worry about doing it again with dad later on. I went back and
rode splash after this because of how short the single rider line had been, and
again only waited about five minutes. I then decided on the Matterhorn Bobsleds
again, ride number seven of the weekend on it. I was now beginning to become
very tired and worn out from over 30 hours in the park in a short span of time,
so I did two 3-D movies, Captain EO and Mupper Vision before meeting up with
dad for dinner. Both movies are exactly the same as their Orlando Versions so
not much to report there. For dinner we walked to ESPN zone in downtown Disney,
I had the Salmon which was very good. We went back to California Adventure to
see the 6:20 showing of Aladdin. The show receives incredible reviews, but the
45 minute show time, as long as the suggestion to line up 45 minutes early
makes it a long time commitment so I was strongly considering skipping it. In
the end I decided we’d check it out, so we lined up at 5:40 for the 6:20 show.
We got very nice seats and I was blown away by how great the show was. It
honestly was so good Im surprised they don’t pay extra to see it, it was a full
scale broadway like show, and the actor who plays the genie was known for his
improve throughout the show and was absolutely hilarious. It absolutely blows
any show in any Orlando theme park completely out of the water. So I was very
happy I decided to not skip out on the show. By the time we got out it was 7:30
and we decided to spend the rest of our night at California Adventure which
closed at 10:00. I used the single rider line for California Screamin’ then we
got in line for Toy Story Mania. We quickly got out of line as we realized we
wouldn’t get off the ride in time to use our Tower of Terror fastpasses. We
went over and I was so happy to see dad decided to try it with me, after strong
persistence from me, I had finally got him to go on this. As expected he said
it wasn’t nearly as bad as he thought itd be, and even asked if I wanted to do
it again later in the night. We then walked around to Cars Land to explore it
at night a little more, and then used the single rider line for Radiator
Springs, which we waited about a half hour for. To close the night we finally
did get on Toy Story Mania, where I kicked dads butt 152,000 to 89,000. We were
off the ride by 10:10 and back in the hotel around 11:00. One more day at
Disneyland, Im not as upset over that as I thought Id might be. Three long days
in a row has kind of left me exhausted and sick of the large crowds and loud
noises that come from those large crowds.
Monday May 20th: Fourth and final day at
Disneyland, and while Im partially upset, I am also exhausted and happy after
tonight Ill be able to relax more on this vacation. Another short night of
sleep as I woke up at 7:30 to get to the park early. I was inside Disneyland by
8:45, though the park didn’t open until 9:00, so the crowd was stopped at a
rope in front of the castle. In all my years and trips to Disney, this was the
first time ever I was at the park for the opening moment. After a spiel the
rope dropped and the crowd scurried out to their various first rides. I
immediately headed for Mr Toad and was the first person of the day on it. After
that I headed to Alice In Wonderland, which was still without a wait, and then
on to Pinocchio also without any wait. Three rides done by 9:20, I decided to
head to a different part of the park, I did Haunted Mansion and Pirates, again
both with no wait, I then went to do Roger Rabbit to make it six rides
completed by 10:00, getting there at opening sure is nice. I then decided to
move to California Adventure to get one more ride in on Tower of Terror and
California Screamin.’ Besides those two I also did Goofys sky school and Its
tough to be a bug again. Having ten things completed by 11:30, and a half hour
until dad would be here, I decided to just walk around the park a bit and enjoy
the atmosphere. After meeting with dad we went on haunted Mansion and Pirates
for the last time. Then we went back and did Pinocchio and Mr toad for the last
time. We had fastpasses for Indy, a ride we both fell in love with on the trip,
but in the middle of the fastpass line the ride broke down, so now there was a
question on whether or not we would get one more ride on it in. We decided to
do Buzz and after that I got in one last ride on my beloved matterhorn. We then
decided to head back to Indiana Jones to see if it was back up, and lucky for
us it was. So for the last ride of our Disneyland trip, it was Indiana Jones,
and we were out of the park by 5 and headed to Burbank. The trip was only 36
miles but took us a little over an hour and a half with traffic. We then got
dinner at KFC and relaxed at our hotel before taking a night time drive through
Hollywood and past the Chinese theatre. Today was by far the hottest day of our
vacation, I don’t think the temperature got above 77 before today, but was up
to 84 today. It was still another cool night though; all four nights in
California have required sweatshirts to be worn by both myself and dad.
Disneyland recap: My
favorite attractions on the resort were 1. Matterhorn Bobsleds 2.
Indiana Jones Adventure 3. California Screamin’ 4. Pirates of the Caribbean 5.
World Of Color
Head to head Disney World vs Land
Rides far better in Orlando: Haunted Mansion, Winnie the
Pooh, Peter Pans Flight, Tower of Terror, Splash Mountain
Rides far better in Anahaim: Buzz Lightyears space Ranger
Spin, Pirates of the Caribbean, It’s a Small World
Too close to call: Space Mountain
Even though Orlando wins in the “clone” rides, Anaheim wins
by a long mile in the “similar” rides, meaning the Matterhorn Bobsleds are
better than Expedition Everest, Radiators Springs Racers is better than Test
Track, Indiana Jones is better than Dinosaur, and California Screamin’ is
better than Rock N Roller Coaster. The Aladdin show is also far better than any
show offered in Orlando and World Of Color is better than any night show in Orlando,
although Illuminations is close.
Tuesday May 21st: The first of two full days in
Hollywood and probably the day I was least excited about on this vacation. Not
that I was dreading the day at all, it just didn’t excite me as much as the
other days. We were out the door a little before ten and parked near the
Chinese theatre. After checking out the Chinese theatre we hopped on a two hour
bus tour through Hollywood. There were definitely some cool sights along the
tour, including Johnny Depps apartment, and Iron Mans house. We also drove
through Beverly Hills and Rodeo Drive and saw other famous spots like Pinks
Tacos and Mels Drive in. The tour lasted from 11:00-1:00 and we sat on the open
air top level of the bus, directly in the sun baking for two hours, its was hot
and drained me of a lot of energy. I was ready to head back to the hotel
already but dad wanted to do the bus tour through downtown LA, which was 2.5
hours. I gave in and we did it from 2:00-4:30. The only sight I was really
interested in seeing was the Staples Center but there were a few other
interesting things as well. After 4.5 hours sitting right in the sun I was
exhausted, and dad and I were both burnt pretty badly. We picked up Taco Bell
for dinner and headed back to the hotel. I took a long nap then pretty much
relaxed in the room the rest of the night. After four straight long days at
Disney it felt great to just relax for the night, and now I am reenergized to
fully pick this vacation back up tomorrow.
Wednesday May 22nd: Today was our day at
Universal Studios Hollywood. I was very excited about seeing how the opposite
coast Universal was, even though I knew it was much smaller than in Orlando. We
started out at house of Horrors which is a year round haunted house, I really
wish we had one of these in Orlando. Walking through it really got me pumped
for Halloween horror nights to come back, which is only four months away now.
After that we did the world famous studio tour, which was pretty neat. We saw a
lot of famous Hollywood sets, my favorite of which was Bate Motel from Psycho.
After the tour we did Shrek which was exactly the same as in Orlando with a
couple extra effects thrown in. We then headed down to the lower level of the
park (the park is separated into a lower and upper level, separated by four
long escalators you must take to get between the levels, very interesting.)
Down here we started at Transformers, with a posted twenty minute wait but we
ended up walking right on. It was a great ride and Im very excited it will be in
Orlando now with its opening next month. Then we did the Mummy with a posted 20
minute wait that actually was 20 minutes. The Hollywood version of the mummy is
much different than in Orlando, and I prefer Orlandos much better, dad said it
was basically a tie for him. Then we did Jurassic Park which was very similar
to the one in Orlando. We headed back up to the upper level to see their stunt
show which I was expecting a lot out of after reading rave reviews, but in the
end I was disappointed. Maybe I was just expecting to much because dad enjoyed
it. After the show we did the Haunted House one more time and decided to leave,
being in our car by 4:30. We ate dinner at Outback and headed back to the
hotel. After watching a great Heat/Pacers game I decided to try the workout
room. I speed walked/jogged for two and a half hours on the treadmill. After
eating pretty much nothing but junk food the past week it felt great to get
that exercise in. Tomorrow we head back for Vegas for three nights as the last
leg of our trip.
Thursday May 23rd: Up early for another long
drive back to Las Vegas. So far this trip has featured a five hour plane trip
and two separate 4.5 hour car rides, and still has another five hour plane ride
to go. It was about 2:00 when we were approaching Vegas which dad thought would
be too early to check in, so we decided to check out the Hoover Dam in the
meantime. It was pretty cool but unbelievably windy, I literally felt like I
could blow away at anytime and I had to take my glasses off so they wouldn’t
fly off. After five days in temperate weather it was also not so nice to step
back out into the desert heat Vegas had to offer. We finally checked into our
hotel about 3:30 and relaxed a bit before heading for dinner. We decided on the
buffet at our hotel for dinner, since dad insisted I needed to try a vegas
buffet before we left. In the end Im glad we did, I felt like I was eating a
kings feast with the unbelievable amount of options. I had plenty of salmon,
shrimp, pizza, roasted potatoes, rotisserie chicken, and lobster tails and
probably more I cant think of. Before I even got to desert I probably consumed
a full days worth of calories, and I probably doubled it at the desert station.
Key Lime Pie, Red Velvet cake, gourmet cookies, cheesecake shooters, banana
cream pie, and mini cupcakes headlined the deserts I stuffed myself with. After
dinner dad and I walked the strip to try and work off some of the 5,000
calories we had just put upon ourselves, the funny thing is I think I ate light
compared to most of the other people at the buffet. We walked through Ceasers
palace which I think is my new favorite casino, it is absolutely stunning the
detail put into it. We then checked out the Bellagio fountains which were also
very cool. We headed back to the room and then dad went down to gamble about
9:00 and a little after that I went down to explore the strip some more. As I
learned in New York there is something fun and adventurous about exploring a
foreign city by yourself. Walking the strip was absolutely jam packed with people,
and its only Thursday, its sure to get worse as the weekend arrives. I finished
off the night watching the 10:00 showing of the Volcano eruption in front of
our hotel which was an amazing sight.
Friday May 24th: Today we tried to get a somewhat
early start to head out to red rock canyon this morning, but ended up getting
out around 10:30 or so. We got to red rock canyon around eleven, a little later
than we would have liked because by this time the temp was already hovering
around 85 degrees, a little to hot to enjoy hiking or rock climbing. We started
at the visitors center where the highlight for me was seeing a 130 year old
tortoise. We then stopped at the first hiking point, we climbed some rocks and
did a little hiking but never did a full path, but it was still pretty
strenuous. On the second stop however, we got more than our moneys worth. We
started climbing a very steep and very high hill/rock, and just ended up not
stopping until we got near the top probably about a 200 feet climb. The climb down
was much harder than going up, and more scary, and by the time we got to the
bottom we were so hot and tired we didn’t make any more stops the rest of the
canyon, just driving along it. We got back to the hotel around 2:00, and
decided to head down to the pool. We spent about five minutes in the pool,
which was more like an ice box, im surprised the water wasn’t frozen, then
lounged beside the pool for about an hour, predictably ending in both of us
getting burnt. After so much running around the last week, it was great to just
relax in the sun for an hour by the pool. We got back to the hotel room and dad
took a nap, and woke up around 6:00, and we headed out for dinner. We had
dinner at Applebees tonight, I always love their tilapia and potato fingers. After
dinner dad headed out to gamble and I headed out for another walk along the
strip. I watched a couple showings of the Bellagio fountains, the mirage
volcano, then back to the hotel for the night, just one more day left on the
vacation.
Saturday May 25th: Last day of the vacation, and
with nothing really planned until tonight, it was just going to be a relaxing
day. Dad went down to gamble around lunchtime, and I decided to take one last
walk along the strip while our room was being cleaned. After that it was just
relaxing until about 6:00 when we left to see the cirque du soleil show across
the street. The show started at 7:00 and ended at around 8:30. It was a good
show, although not exactly my type of show, I did enjoy the stunts done. After
the show I watched the mirage volcano show one last time, then got Mcdonals for
dinner. I hadn’t eaten Mcdonalds in at least 10 months, and was surprised to
see they didn’t have chicken strips anymore. So I got the nuggets then headed
up to the hotel room for the night. It was a fun vacation, but after eleven
nights away, I am ready to go back home.
Friday, November 2, 2012
Final thoughts on HHN 22 and a review of the last Bill and Ted
Halloween Horror Nights 2012 has come and gone and my third year of attending this incredible event is behind me. In trying to think of how this year will stick in my memory it was hard for me to come up with an answer. 2010 will stick in my memory as the first year I attended the event and therefore that year will always have a special place in my heart. Last year will stick in my memory as the year I went every single night and for that it will have a special place in my heart. Unfortunately, I think this year will stick in my memory as the year of insane crowds. Thanks to the text message wait times I compared last years average wait time to this years average wait time. Last year the average wait time was 26.7 minutes for a house, this year? 48.3 minutes. almost twice as much. Those numbers include the first and last hours of each night which typically have no waits, so the middle of the nights would see average wait times of about two hours this year, as compared to about an hour last year. Overall the house lineup this year wasnt as strong as last years, but was better than 2010's, however the event as a whole, including street atmosphere was the worst of the 3 years ive attended. This is forgiveable because of all the construction going on in the park right now (transformers, harry potter) it was impossible for Universal to put on the type of grand scale event everyone has become accustomed to. There are 3 houses from 2010 that I miss alot, 4 houses from last year that I miss alot, and I think in a year, there will only be two houses from this year that I miss alot, Dead End and House of Horrors. Dead End took you through a house haunted by ghosts victims of gruesome murders that happened there. It was basically a walk through version of Disneys Haunted Mansion and it was an amazing house. House of Horrors took you through black and white versions of Classic monster movies, Frankenstein, Dracula, Wolfman, Phantom of the Opera, the Mummy, and Creature from the Black Lagoon. This house started off as my least favorite of the event at first because i thought it was to simple, but after several run throughs it was obvious this was by far the scariest house of the event because of how high energy the actors were, getting right up in your face. For that reason, I fell in love with this house. My final house count for this year is as follows
House of Horros: 25
Alice Cooper:19
Penn and Teller: 18
Walking Dead: 17
Gothic: 18
Dead End: 18
Silent Hill: 16
Bill and Ted: 23
Total: 131
Compared to last years number of 226, I didnt get through nearly as many houses this year. Again, the crowds.
Now onto the best part of every HHN, and a spectacle not to be missed, the final Bill and Ted show of the year. I think the fact that every year all the HHN dies hards spend the last hour of the event seeing the final show rather than getting one last run through their favorite houses proves how much of an impact this show has on people. The actors go all out and the audience cheers racously throughout the whole show, there really is no better way to end the event than with fellow Die hard fans of Halloween Horror nights cheering along to the final show, its kind of like a going away party.Here were some notable things that happened during the last show this year
1. After the opening dance number the actors would always dry hump each other for about 5 seconds or so before the principal of the school would break them all up. for the last show, the dry humping went on for about a full minute and a half, causing the crowd to go into an absolute frenzy the longer it went on.
2. During normal shows after Bill and Ted said theyd signed a domestic partnership agreement, and the principal would say, "thats for gay people", Bill would reply with a phrase like "Like Dwight Howard going to the Lakers gay?" or "Like replacement refs in the NFL gay?" there was about ten different ones he would use. During the final show he used all ten of them right after each other, with the crowd reciting all of them with him. After he was done, he pointed at the crowd and said "like the audience knowing my lines better than I do gay?" Then he looked at Ted and said "like wearing a wig thats the same color as your hair gay?" citing him wearing a black wig even though the actors hair is black. Ted replied "Like dying your hair for a theme park show gay?" citing the actor who plays Bill dying his hair yellow every year for the show. the whole part, which normally lasts ten seconds, lasted five minutes, mostly because they had to stop for a few seconds after each one to let the crowd go nuts.
3. During normal shows, a guy playing a high school teacher would slap one of his students butts, the principal would then look at him and say "yea, your fired." during the last show, the principal walked up and smacked her butt also. they went back and forth smacking her butt about ten times while the audience went crazy before they finally ended the scene.
4. When Bill and Ted introduce Abraham Lincoln (as the Vampire Hunter) during normal shows he would come out in leather pants, during the final show he came out in nothing but his underwear.
5. During the Avengers scene thor came out with ponytails in his hair, and the black widow, normally in a conservative cheerleaders outfit, came out in just a bra and skirt.
6. During the Avengers scene, when thor puts him hammer down, during normal shows Ted goes to try and pick it up, but can not do it because only thor can lift the hammer. During the final show, Ted lifted the hammer up off the ground, prompting the audience to go nuts, leading ted to say "Its just a shitty hammer, calm down."
7. During normal shows Ted would say "the best thing about America is, we have our own show every Halloween." During the last show he said "the Best thing about America is, we have the best fans in the entire world."
8. During the Avengers scene, when Hulk starts getting mad the Black Widow screams "Oh Yea rip your clothes off!" to which Bruce Banner replied "Seriously, you sound more desperate than Taylor Swift right now." During the last show he actually did take his clothes off, when Captain America said "Even in the cold weather Ive got more than that."
9. During the Snooki scene, after she has her baby, during normal shows it would go flying across the room and Ted would catch it. During the last show, Ted dropped it (intentionally) The crowd went crazy during this, because I think every one was expecting to drop it accidentally at some point during a normal show, but it never happened.
10. During the Obama rap scene, right before he was about to rap, he decided to call Michelle out to do the rap for him. During normal shows, a michelle obama characters was never part of the show at all, so I think this shocked the audience. This moment by far got the loudest reaction from the audience, as almost everyone was on their feet cheering.
11. During normal shows, after Obama was finished withi his rap, hed go to hand the microphone to Romney, but right before Romney would grap it, hed drop the mic at his feet. During the last show, Michelle actually handed it to him to which Romney said "Wow, you actually gave me the mic unlike your dick husband, Im putting you in my binder."
12. During ther dick clark scene, when dick clark says Ryan Seacrest was the biggest douchebag hes ever worked with, an actor playing Ryan Secreast came out and said "what the hell man." he said more but the crowd was cheering so loud I couldnt really hear it. Like the michelle Obama thing, a ryan seacrest character was never part of a normal show, so it was another big surprise.
13. During a scene where a guy is doing an interview with planned parenthood, the guy getting interviewed says "Thanks for the job, also I banged your wife." To which the person would reply "your fired." During the last show he replied "so has everyone else."
14. During the Magic Mike scene when one of the girls says "lets see your magic wand" the magician actually pulls out a wand, well the girl was insinuating she wanted to see his man parts. During the last show, he pulled out a wand that was about five feet long, to which the girl replied "thats what ive been waiting to see!"
15. During the princess pageant, during normal shows the judge would turn to snow white and say "Id love to dip you in polynesian sauce"' and then move one. During the last show, after he said that snow white pulled out a container of polynesian sauce, smeared some on her face and let the judge lick it off.
All those hilarious things, plus the audience interaction made seeing the last show an incredible way to end Halloween Horror Nights 2012. Cant wait until next year!
due to the increbly strict rules against filming the Bill and Teds show, this is the only known footage that got leaked this year. This is part of the dancing finale, not from the last show, but it will be the only way to relive this years show from this point forward.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I4NCZPBho9E
Here are some quotes Ive read from people on Halloween Horror Nights forums the past couple days
Its funny how much i slept yesterday after HHN... i got home, ate, passed out... woke up briefly & then slept some more. This year wiped me out and I didnt even go as many nights as last year. Most likely due to having to deal with the crowds...
speaking of the crowds... awful awful awful. I never want to see another long line again... ever.. lol
(okay.. anytime soon
honestly feel glad it is over. in 7 years that I have been going to HHN this is the first time I feel that way. I never felt that way before I was always sad about the end of HHN. I would miss it. right now this week at least I feel a little bit relieved. It makes me sad to admit this, because of the crowds and because I Was not as excited to see the houses as years before. really this is the first year I felt this way, just glad is over right now. I enjoyed it a lot but I ended up skipping some days at the last week too.
Its so weird because I honestly feel the exact same way. The one emotion I had when it was all over was relief, compared to last year which was straight sadness. I was just so sick of the crowds. I am going to immensely miss seeing Bill and Ted though. It was something I could look forward to every night to just forget about everything and laugh for a half hour. I love HHN for the houses, but Bill and Ted is what keeps me coming back every night. 322 days until HHN 23
House of Horros: 25
Alice Cooper:19
Penn and Teller: 18
Walking Dead: 17
Gothic: 18
Dead End: 18
Silent Hill: 16
Bill and Ted: 23
Total: 131
Compared to last years number of 226, I didnt get through nearly as many houses this year. Again, the crowds.
Now onto the best part of every HHN, and a spectacle not to be missed, the final Bill and Ted show of the year. I think the fact that every year all the HHN dies hards spend the last hour of the event seeing the final show rather than getting one last run through their favorite houses proves how much of an impact this show has on people. The actors go all out and the audience cheers racously throughout the whole show, there really is no better way to end the event than with fellow Die hard fans of Halloween Horror nights cheering along to the final show, its kind of like a going away party.Here were some notable things that happened during the last show this year
1. After the opening dance number the actors would always dry hump each other for about 5 seconds or so before the principal of the school would break them all up. for the last show, the dry humping went on for about a full minute and a half, causing the crowd to go into an absolute frenzy the longer it went on.
2. During normal shows after Bill and Ted said theyd signed a domestic partnership agreement, and the principal would say, "thats for gay people", Bill would reply with a phrase like "Like Dwight Howard going to the Lakers gay?" or "Like replacement refs in the NFL gay?" there was about ten different ones he would use. During the final show he used all ten of them right after each other, with the crowd reciting all of them with him. After he was done, he pointed at the crowd and said "like the audience knowing my lines better than I do gay?" Then he looked at Ted and said "like wearing a wig thats the same color as your hair gay?" citing him wearing a black wig even though the actors hair is black. Ted replied "Like dying your hair for a theme park show gay?" citing the actor who plays Bill dying his hair yellow every year for the show. the whole part, which normally lasts ten seconds, lasted five minutes, mostly because they had to stop for a few seconds after each one to let the crowd go nuts.
3. During normal shows, a guy playing a high school teacher would slap one of his students butts, the principal would then look at him and say "yea, your fired." during the last show, the principal walked up and smacked her butt also. they went back and forth smacking her butt about ten times while the audience went crazy before they finally ended the scene.
4. When Bill and Ted introduce Abraham Lincoln (as the Vampire Hunter) during normal shows he would come out in leather pants, during the final show he came out in nothing but his underwear.
5. During the Avengers scene thor came out with ponytails in his hair, and the black widow, normally in a conservative cheerleaders outfit, came out in just a bra and skirt.
6. During the Avengers scene, when thor puts him hammer down, during normal shows Ted goes to try and pick it up, but can not do it because only thor can lift the hammer. During the final show, Ted lifted the hammer up off the ground, prompting the audience to go nuts, leading ted to say "Its just a shitty hammer, calm down."
7. During normal shows Ted would say "the best thing about America is, we have our own show every Halloween." During the last show he said "the Best thing about America is, we have the best fans in the entire world."
8. During the Avengers scene, when Hulk starts getting mad the Black Widow screams "Oh Yea rip your clothes off!" to which Bruce Banner replied "Seriously, you sound more desperate than Taylor Swift right now." During the last show he actually did take his clothes off, when Captain America said "Even in the cold weather Ive got more than that."
9. During the Snooki scene, after she has her baby, during normal shows it would go flying across the room and Ted would catch it. During the last show, Ted dropped it (intentionally) The crowd went crazy during this, because I think every one was expecting to drop it accidentally at some point during a normal show, but it never happened.
10. During the Obama rap scene, right before he was about to rap, he decided to call Michelle out to do the rap for him. During normal shows, a michelle obama characters was never part of the show at all, so I think this shocked the audience. This moment by far got the loudest reaction from the audience, as almost everyone was on their feet cheering.
11. During normal shows, after Obama was finished withi his rap, hed go to hand the microphone to Romney, but right before Romney would grap it, hed drop the mic at his feet. During the last show, Michelle actually handed it to him to which Romney said "Wow, you actually gave me the mic unlike your dick husband, Im putting you in my binder."
12. During ther dick clark scene, when dick clark says Ryan Seacrest was the biggest douchebag hes ever worked with, an actor playing Ryan Secreast came out and said "what the hell man." he said more but the crowd was cheering so loud I couldnt really hear it. Like the michelle Obama thing, a ryan seacrest character was never part of a normal show, so it was another big surprise.
13. During a scene where a guy is doing an interview with planned parenthood, the guy getting interviewed says "Thanks for the job, also I banged your wife." To which the person would reply "your fired." During the last show he replied "so has everyone else."
14. During the Magic Mike scene when one of the girls says "lets see your magic wand" the magician actually pulls out a wand, well the girl was insinuating she wanted to see his man parts. During the last show, he pulled out a wand that was about five feet long, to which the girl replied "thats what ive been waiting to see!"
15. During the princess pageant, during normal shows the judge would turn to snow white and say "Id love to dip you in polynesian sauce"' and then move one. During the last show, after he said that snow white pulled out a container of polynesian sauce, smeared some on her face and let the judge lick it off.
All those hilarious things, plus the audience interaction made seeing the last show an incredible way to end Halloween Horror Nights 2012. Cant wait until next year!
due to the increbly strict rules against filming the Bill and Teds show, this is the only known footage that got leaked this year. This is part of the dancing finale, not from the last show, but it will be the only way to relive this years show from this point forward.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I4NCZPBho9E
Here are some quotes Ive read from people on Halloween Horror Nights forums the past couple days
Its funny how much i slept yesterday after HHN... i got home, ate, passed out... woke up briefly & then slept some more. This year wiped me out and I didnt even go as many nights as last year. Most likely due to having to deal with the crowds...
speaking of the crowds... awful awful awful. I never want to see another long line again... ever.. lol
(okay.. anytime soon
honestly feel glad it is over. in 7 years that I have been going to HHN this is the first time I feel that way. I never felt that way before I was always sad about the end of HHN. I would miss it. right now this week at least I feel a little bit relieved. It makes me sad to admit this, because of the crowds and because I Was not as excited to see the houses as years before. really this is the first year I felt this way, just glad is over right now. I enjoyed it a lot but I ended up skipping some days at the last week too.
Its so weird because I honestly feel the exact same way. The one emotion I had when it was all over was relief, compared to last year which was straight sadness. I was just so sick of the crowds. I am going to immensely miss seeing Bill and Ted though. It was something I could look forward to every night to just forget about everything and laugh for a half hour. I love HHN for the houses, but Bill and Ted is what keeps me coming back every night. 322 days until HHN 23
Tuesday, October 23, 2012
top 10 HHN scenes of 2012
The haunted houses of Halloween Horror nights are all a collection of individual scenes which mesh together to create the most immersive and impressive haunted houses in the world. Its not a coincidence that Halloween Horror Nights has won the award for best halloween event in the country for the last 15 years or so. They win it because they have an amazing ability to completelt immerse you in the environment they are trying to create. Unlike traditional haunted houses, which use effects such as darkness and strobe lights as you walk through, HHN uses movie quality sets in its houses to make you feel like you are really there. This post is dedicated to honor the individual scenes that I think best exemplify that immersive feeling this year. There are seven houses and each one has about ten scenes, so this is the top ten of about seventy.
HOH finale
Light room Newk Vegas
Conservatory scene
Chapel scene
10. Attic Scene (Dead End)
9. Pigeon scene (Penn and Teller)
8. Nurses scene (Silent Hill
7. No more Mr nice guy (Alice Cooper)
6. Creature From The Black Lagoon (House of Horrors)
5. Barn scene (Walking Dead)
4. Light room (Newkd Vegas)
3. Chapel Scene (Gothic) - This scene uses an amazing effect that makes you feel like you are hundreds of feet up in the air on the roof of the cathedral staring down into the chapel. Its an incredibly convincing effect and executed perfectly.
2. house of Horror finale scene:This scene was billed before the event as having the most scareactors in a single room in HHN history, and I believe it. You walk into the room and are attacked from all sides as the Wolfman, Dracula, Frankenstein, The Mummy, CFTBL, Boris Karloff, and others all get right in your face. To add to this immersive feeling like youve just walked into every Universal horror movie ever is long strips of film depicting these characters on them.
1. Conservatory scene (Dead End) - a very cool scene, this reminds me a little bit of the outdoor scene from legendary truth two years ago. The three scareacors in this room are all on point and agressive, and the set and props are the best in any HHN scene this year.
At the end of the day, the scenes this year are very dissapointing compared to last year. The top 4 on this list are amazing, after that it was hard to come up with a top ten. Last year, it was hard to come up with a top ten because I felt there were about 15 amazing scenes. This is my top 10 last year,
10. extraction facility (saws n steam)
9. hospital scene (nightingales)
8. The raven scene (Nevermore)
7. Light up hallway (inbetween)
6. finale of winters night
5. Spaceship (the thing)
4.Masque of red death (Nevermore)
3. String room (inbetween)
2.Leg rip scene (saws n steam)
1. Courtyard scene (forsaken)
All 10 of these scenes are better than 5-10 this year, highlighting my dissapointment with this year.
HOH finale
Light room Newk Vegas
Conservatory scene
Chapel scene
10. Attic Scene (Dead End)
9. Pigeon scene (Penn and Teller)
8. Nurses scene (Silent Hill
7. No more Mr nice guy (Alice Cooper)
6. Creature From The Black Lagoon (House of Horrors)
5. Barn scene (Walking Dead)
4. Light room (Newkd Vegas)
3. Chapel Scene (Gothic) - This scene uses an amazing effect that makes you feel like you are hundreds of feet up in the air on the roof of the cathedral staring down into the chapel. Its an incredibly convincing effect and executed perfectly.
2. house of Horror finale scene:This scene was billed before the event as having the most scareactors in a single room in HHN history, and I believe it. You walk into the room and are attacked from all sides as the Wolfman, Dracula, Frankenstein, The Mummy, CFTBL, Boris Karloff, and others all get right in your face. To add to this immersive feeling like youve just walked into every Universal horror movie ever is long strips of film depicting these characters on them.
1. Conservatory scene (Dead End) - a very cool scene, this reminds me a little bit of the outdoor scene from legendary truth two years ago. The three scareacors in this room are all on point and agressive, and the set and props are the best in any HHN scene this year.
At the end of the day, the scenes this year are very dissapointing compared to last year. The top 4 on this list are amazing, after that it was hard to come up with a top ten. Last year, it was hard to come up with a top ten because I felt there were about 15 amazing scenes. This is my top 10 last year,
10. extraction facility (saws n steam)
9. hospital scene (nightingales)
8. The raven scene (Nevermore)
7. Light up hallway (inbetween)
6. finale of winters night
5. Spaceship (the thing)
4.Masque of red death (Nevermore)
3. String room (inbetween)
2.Leg rip scene (saws n steam)
1. Courtyard scene (forsaken)
All 10 of these scenes are better than 5-10 this year, highlighting my dissapointment with this year.
Tuesday, October 16, 2012
top 5 HHN facades
To see where this year stacks up against the past two years, Ive decided to rank my top five favorites in different categories, starting with facades.
Facades
5. The Thing (2011): This was one of my least favorite houses last year, but the facade of entering an alaskan research base was very convincing and cool.
4. Havoc: Many have said this is the best tent house facade ever, and I agree, at least of the three years Ive gone.
3. Saws N steam (2011): A very cool facade with the smokestacks and the propaganda posters with the speaker of the guy talking about the Horizon in a chilling voice, it really set the mood for the house.
2. Winters Night (2011): Generally the soundstage houses have the better facades as there is more room, and my ranking reflect that as my top two are both soundstage houses. Winters Nights had a massive facade, a gate about twenty feet high marking an entrance into a cemetary. Add that in with the hearse, and the "snow" falling and it gets number two on my list.
1. Dead End (2012): Just an amazong facade, really sets the tone looking like a run down house, you really feel like your entering a haunted house. Its far and away my favorite facade since ive started going to HHN
Facades
5. The Thing (2011): This was one of my least favorite houses last year, but the facade of entering an alaskan research base was very convincing and cool.
4. Havoc: Many have said this is the best tent house facade ever, and I agree, at least of the three years Ive gone.
3. Saws N steam (2011): A very cool facade with the smokestacks and the propaganda posters with the speaker of the guy talking about the Horizon in a chilling voice, it really set the mood for the house.
1. Dead End (2012): Just an amazong facade, really sets the tone looking like a run down house, you really feel like your entering a haunted house. Its far and away my favorite facade since ive started going to HHN
Monday, October 15, 2012
HHN 2012 review
Halloween Horror Nights has passed the halfway point, with fourteen nights down, and eleven to go. I never judge the event or review it until I have done all the houses, and seen the shows several times, as they change throughout the course of the event, and my opinions on certain things after the first week, are often completely different by the end of the fourth week, and this year is no different. Ill rank my houses in order of 1-7, then say a few things about the house, what I liked, and what I didnt.
1. Dead End: A perfect example of my opinion changing, this house was ranked fifth out of seventh a couple weeks ago, but I have fallen in love with it. The facade would rank as my number one favorite facade since I began attending the event in 2010, and its not even close. The conservatory scene is my favorite HHN scene of the year this year, and the effects are stunning. I love the effect of the ghost walking up the stairs right as you walk into the house, I love how they did the vortex tunnel, and I love the music that plays throughout the house. The library scene is pretty cool, my only gripe about this house, and there seems to be one house every year where I think this, is that it ended so abruptly. There was no real finale or sense of finishing, it just ended. Thats not enough to move it from number one though.
2. Penn and Teller: This house was my number one for the first couple weeks, but Ive gotten a tad bored with it. Its still plenty fun to go through though, and I dont foresee it falling anymore in the standings. I love the puking guy before you enter the house, and I think the highlights of the house are the opening casino scene, and the light scene is incredible. The backstage scene with the pigeons I think is what officially made me fall in love with this house, and the Buffet scene and finale are also fun. My gripes are the hotel scene is way to empty, and the chapel scene is set up in a bad way, as you can see the actors long before they get a chance to scare you.
3. House of Horrors: After the first weekend, this house was dead last in my rankings, and I even declared this was the worst house at HHN since I started going. Since then, I have absolutely fallen in love with this house. I love the prelude to the house, with the movie posters, and the run down film room. My big gripe is I think the house starts way to slow, I dont like the Wolfman scene, and I dont like the Brides of Dracula scene, but after those first two scenes the house is amazing. The dracula scare is the best of the event this year, the Mummy scene is innovative, I love the creature from the Black Lagoon scene, the phantom of the Opera Scene is eerie, the Frankenstein scene is very cool, and the finale is absolutely incredible. The best finale of the year by far, and maybe the best since ive started going.
4. Gothic: People are going to rip me apart for putting the amazing Gothic in the middle of my rankings. Almost everybody else has this house at number one this year and many proclaim it to be one of the best ever at HHN. Im putting the brakes on that, its still very good, just doesnt do it for me. My huge gripe, is its way to short. I have to think its the shortest house of the year, its the only one that consistently takes less than three minutes to walk through. I do enjoy the chapel scene, but the outside rooftop scene with the flying gargoyle takes to long to reset, Ive seen it less than half of my run throughs. The candle effect, while cool, definitely could have been executed better. The lack of variety of costumes also hurts. Number four is a good spot to me.
5. The Walking Dead: This house was number two early on, but is the opposite of House of Horrors this year, it has dropped like a rock. It has just become bland to me, part of the house seem empty. there needs to be more people than one in the second part of the barn, the finale scene is set up so awesome, but you hardly ever see any actors in it, which is always a massive dissapointment to me. I enjoy the barn scene, and a couple other cool visuals, but its just become a not so great house to me.
6. Alice Cooper: Welcome to my Nightmare: My bottom two houses this year have been in the bottom half of my ranking from the beginning and have done nothing to make me want to move them up. Alice Cooper is not a bad house, I quite enjoy it, but its just...weird. The Kitchen scene, the stripper mausoleum scene, black widow scene, all cool scenes, but just weird to be mashed together in one house. I reallly enjoy the scene that goes to the song No more mr nice guy, but the Schools out scene was a big dissapointment, no creativity. The finale was really cool, which probably saved it from the bottom.
7. Silent Hill: wow, apart from the first couple days where House of Horrors was dead last, this has been dead last since, and I dont see any way it moves up. This house is set up so poorly its a shame. The first scene with the monsters put me in a dissapointed mood already. They had no place to hide, a lackluster start, this was followed by a guy writhing in a bed, weird, and not scary. This was followed by a long hallway of lockers with no scareactors, just an annoying air effect. After this the house does get better, but by this point im so disconnected I dont care anymore. The highlight of the house is billed as Pyramid Head, but again, his placement was executed so poorly Ive only seen him 2 or 3 times out of my so far ten walk thorughs. I feel bad for the people that pay a lot of money and only get to go through the houses once a year and miss stuff like that.
Roaming Hordes: I didnt really go into this with an open mind, I wanted scare zones, and I already had in mind I would not like this. But I have been pleasently surprised. It is pretty cool to walk into a certain area and not know which horde your going to run into, which brings an element of surprise to the event, avoiding it from becoming stale for people like me who go every night. the actors themselves are really working it, Ive never seen the street actors so agressive as they are this year. Their ability to go anywhere is kind of a thin line for me, sometimes its cool, and funny, other times its annoying. There are certain places I just want to sit and not be bothered or worried about a scareactor coming at me, but this year there is nowhere to go where that can happen, apart from the bathroom. I have for the most part really enjoyed this experiment, I think it was executed very well, but with that said, I want scarezones back next year.
Bill and Ted: Im biased towards Bill and Ted. It is my absolute favorite part of HHN, I enjoy watching this show more than I enjoy the houses even, plus you dont have to wait in line! I sometimes see the show up to three times a night. That said, I love this years show as I do every year. The highlight this year would have to be Magic Mike, but the Honey Boo Boo skit is a close runner up.
The crowds: Wow, I thought maybe I was imagining things and maybe it wasnt more crowded this year than usual, but after reading the forums Im not the only one who realizes the crowds this year are insane! Nights that last year were drawing 30-45 minute waits are drawing 60-75 minute waits this year. and nights that were drawing 60-75 minute waits last year are drawing 90-120 minut waits this year. This upcoming week is known as "hell" week. Most people think the last week of the even would be busiest, but its actually the second to last week. I would not be surprised to see 3, maybe even four hour wait by Friday this week. This is really all you need to know about the crowds this year; Last year I did not have an express pass and I went through the 8 different houses a total of 226 times. This year I do have an express pass and I have made it through the houses a total of 69 times. Since were about halfway through Im on pace for about a total count of 135, almost one hundred less than last year. The biggest reason for the drop off is that most years by 1AM most everyone had left and you could walk in any house with no wait the last hour, not so this year, even as late as 1:45 this year waits have been at about 20 minutes. After a lot of thought I think there are a number of factors that contribute to the busyness this year.
1. Only seven houses: Obviously cutting down from 8 houses to 7 houses is going to make the lines longer, its basic math.
2. The Walking Dead: This is the biggest reason. I cant believe how many people this year Ive heard say theyve never been to HHN before, but decided to come this year because they love the Walking Dead. This is apparent in the line for the Walking Dead house always being at least 30 minutes longer than every other house.
3. Construction: This doesnt make it busier, but its the reason why the whole park has been a major cluster of people this year. With so much construction theres a lot less space for all the people to walk, its been a major headache trying to get around the park this year.
Overall: Of the 3 years I have attended so far, this is the worst. I think the house lineup is actually stronger overall than it was in 2010, but the crowds, combined with the lack of scarezones, and lack of a theme, make me say that overall 2010 was an event year. This year doesnt even touch last year, as im told by many long timer HHN goers that last years house lineup was the best ever, and its certainly the best in the three years Ive been going.
Dead End as my number one favorite this year probably ranks as my number three favorite all time.
Last years number one Saws N Steam is still my number two favorite ever.
2010's number one Catacombs is still my favorite house Ive ever been through.
I wouldnt put any other house this year in my all time top 5
1. Dead End: A perfect example of my opinion changing, this house was ranked fifth out of seventh a couple weeks ago, but I have fallen in love with it. The facade would rank as my number one favorite facade since I began attending the event in 2010, and its not even close. The conservatory scene is my favorite HHN scene of the year this year, and the effects are stunning. I love the effect of the ghost walking up the stairs right as you walk into the house, I love how they did the vortex tunnel, and I love the music that plays throughout the house. The library scene is pretty cool, my only gripe about this house, and there seems to be one house every year where I think this, is that it ended so abruptly. There was no real finale or sense of finishing, it just ended. Thats not enough to move it from number one though.
2. Penn and Teller: This house was my number one for the first couple weeks, but Ive gotten a tad bored with it. Its still plenty fun to go through though, and I dont foresee it falling anymore in the standings. I love the puking guy before you enter the house, and I think the highlights of the house are the opening casino scene, and the light scene is incredible. The backstage scene with the pigeons I think is what officially made me fall in love with this house, and the Buffet scene and finale are also fun. My gripes are the hotel scene is way to empty, and the chapel scene is set up in a bad way, as you can see the actors long before they get a chance to scare you.
3. House of Horrors: After the first weekend, this house was dead last in my rankings, and I even declared this was the worst house at HHN since I started going. Since then, I have absolutely fallen in love with this house. I love the prelude to the house, with the movie posters, and the run down film room. My big gripe is I think the house starts way to slow, I dont like the Wolfman scene, and I dont like the Brides of Dracula scene, but after those first two scenes the house is amazing. The dracula scare is the best of the event this year, the Mummy scene is innovative, I love the creature from the Black Lagoon scene, the phantom of the Opera Scene is eerie, the Frankenstein scene is very cool, and the finale is absolutely incredible. The best finale of the year by far, and maybe the best since ive started going.
4. Gothic: People are going to rip me apart for putting the amazing Gothic in the middle of my rankings. Almost everybody else has this house at number one this year and many proclaim it to be one of the best ever at HHN. Im putting the brakes on that, its still very good, just doesnt do it for me. My huge gripe, is its way to short. I have to think its the shortest house of the year, its the only one that consistently takes less than three minutes to walk through. I do enjoy the chapel scene, but the outside rooftop scene with the flying gargoyle takes to long to reset, Ive seen it less than half of my run throughs. The candle effect, while cool, definitely could have been executed better. The lack of variety of costumes also hurts. Number four is a good spot to me.
5. The Walking Dead: This house was number two early on, but is the opposite of House of Horrors this year, it has dropped like a rock. It has just become bland to me, part of the house seem empty. there needs to be more people than one in the second part of the barn, the finale scene is set up so awesome, but you hardly ever see any actors in it, which is always a massive dissapointment to me. I enjoy the barn scene, and a couple other cool visuals, but its just become a not so great house to me.
6. Alice Cooper: Welcome to my Nightmare: My bottom two houses this year have been in the bottom half of my ranking from the beginning and have done nothing to make me want to move them up. Alice Cooper is not a bad house, I quite enjoy it, but its just...weird. The Kitchen scene, the stripper mausoleum scene, black widow scene, all cool scenes, but just weird to be mashed together in one house. I reallly enjoy the scene that goes to the song No more mr nice guy, but the Schools out scene was a big dissapointment, no creativity. The finale was really cool, which probably saved it from the bottom.
7. Silent Hill: wow, apart from the first couple days where House of Horrors was dead last, this has been dead last since, and I dont see any way it moves up. This house is set up so poorly its a shame. The first scene with the monsters put me in a dissapointed mood already. They had no place to hide, a lackluster start, this was followed by a guy writhing in a bed, weird, and not scary. This was followed by a long hallway of lockers with no scareactors, just an annoying air effect. After this the house does get better, but by this point im so disconnected I dont care anymore. The highlight of the house is billed as Pyramid Head, but again, his placement was executed so poorly Ive only seen him 2 or 3 times out of my so far ten walk thorughs. I feel bad for the people that pay a lot of money and only get to go through the houses once a year and miss stuff like that.
Roaming Hordes: I didnt really go into this with an open mind, I wanted scare zones, and I already had in mind I would not like this. But I have been pleasently surprised. It is pretty cool to walk into a certain area and not know which horde your going to run into, which brings an element of surprise to the event, avoiding it from becoming stale for people like me who go every night. the actors themselves are really working it, Ive never seen the street actors so agressive as they are this year. Their ability to go anywhere is kind of a thin line for me, sometimes its cool, and funny, other times its annoying. There are certain places I just want to sit and not be bothered or worried about a scareactor coming at me, but this year there is nowhere to go where that can happen, apart from the bathroom. I have for the most part really enjoyed this experiment, I think it was executed very well, but with that said, I want scarezones back next year.
Bill and Ted: Im biased towards Bill and Ted. It is my absolute favorite part of HHN, I enjoy watching this show more than I enjoy the houses even, plus you dont have to wait in line! I sometimes see the show up to three times a night. That said, I love this years show as I do every year. The highlight this year would have to be Magic Mike, but the Honey Boo Boo skit is a close runner up.
The crowds: Wow, I thought maybe I was imagining things and maybe it wasnt more crowded this year than usual, but after reading the forums Im not the only one who realizes the crowds this year are insane! Nights that last year were drawing 30-45 minute waits are drawing 60-75 minute waits this year. and nights that were drawing 60-75 minute waits last year are drawing 90-120 minut waits this year. This upcoming week is known as "hell" week. Most people think the last week of the even would be busiest, but its actually the second to last week. I would not be surprised to see 3, maybe even four hour wait by Friday this week. This is really all you need to know about the crowds this year; Last year I did not have an express pass and I went through the 8 different houses a total of 226 times. This year I do have an express pass and I have made it through the houses a total of 69 times. Since were about halfway through Im on pace for about a total count of 135, almost one hundred less than last year. The biggest reason for the drop off is that most years by 1AM most everyone had left and you could walk in any house with no wait the last hour, not so this year, even as late as 1:45 this year waits have been at about 20 minutes. After a lot of thought I think there are a number of factors that contribute to the busyness this year.
1. Only seven houses: Obviously cutting down from 8 houses to 7 houses is going to make the lines longer, its basic math.
2. The Walking Dead: This is the biggest reason. I cant believe how many people this year Ive heard say theyve never been to HHN before, but decided to come this year because they love the Walking Dead. This is apparent in the line for the Walking Dead house always being at least 30 minutes longer than every other house.
3. Construction: This doesnt make it busier, but its the reason why the whole park has been a major cluster of people this year. With so much construction theres a lot less space for all the people to walk, its been a major headache trying to get around the park this year.
Overall: Of the 3 years I have attended so far, this is the worst. I think the house lineup is actually stronger overall than it was in 2010, but the crowds, combined with the lack of scarezones, and lack of a theme, make me say that overall 2010 was an event year. This year doesnt even touch last year, as im told by many long timer HHN goers that last years house lineup was the best ever, and its certainly the best in the three years Ive been going.
Dead End as my number one favorite this year probably ranks as my number three favorite all time.
Last years number one Saws N Steam is still my number two favorite ever.
2010's number one Catacombs is still my favorite house Ive ever been through.
I wouldnt put any other house this year in my all time top 5
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