Official 2017 HHN-27 Thread

We're still here and enjoying ourselves
Decided no houses this year.
Scarezones however, I do enjoy a lot
I feel much more in control in the more open environment of the zone vs a house. I like being able to observe
We've also liked doing the rides
We also loved the Villain Dance show. Still need to try and get back to see Bill and Ted
I can see us coming back next year. Maybe I'll be up to trying a house
 
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The later in the evening, the larger the crowds for Bill and Ted

Last show tonight (1:30) will be packed

Many line up maybe 30 minutes in advance for the last show
 
Returned home yesterday from a great trip to Universal.

Highlights: Mac’s private VIP Tour, hanging out with Mac and my Sister in the parks and at HHN, meeting keishashadow and her hubby, meeting Lynne, goofeyfigment and her hubby and meeting Ron and Jeff and having the best tour guide ever David. Meeting chs27 and her son.

Thank you Mac for all your planning and on making the tour a great one.

Schumigirl thank you for your review on HHN 27. As a seasoned attendee your perspective was much appreciated. It is so nice to hear about your take on the houses presented at HHN. I would hope that Universal reads the reviews so they can work to improve the experience every year.

This was my second year of HHN. I attended my first HHN last year and was hooked for sure.

I love all things Halloween and have been fortunate to have been able to visit some incredible haunted houses over the years. I love to decorate for Halloween and do appreciate the details.

I did Mac’s private VIP tour, did UMH tour with Mac and visited the houses about 7 times each.

I remember Mac and I having the conversation about HHN and her take on visiting the houses multiple times was absolutely correct. You are able to appreciate each houses strengths and weaknesses by visiting them multiple times.

I will preface my review with the fact that this is no way a poor reflection on any scare actor or employee of Universal. God bless them for wearing all that make up and those costumes on those hot muggy nights. I know some people will say “well they get paid for it and the houses are air conditioned” , but I think it is a labor of love for them too. Those scare actors in the houses are doing hard physical repetitive actions in heavy make up and costumes and the actors in the Scare Zones outside are wearing costumes in that muggy heat. It was hot while we were there. I can’t imagine wearing a costume in that heat. I appreciate your hard work.

Will use Schumi’s rating system example.

1. My favorite house hands down was “ The Fallen”. What sent this house over the edge for me along with the design was the fact that there were 3 technical aspects of this house that I have never scene used in a haunted house ever before. They were used fantastically. I do not want to ruin the surprise for those who have not attended yet as to the description of the creatures, but one of them will fly at you on your left side midway thru the house, one flys over head and the other appears to be falling on you. I did not see all of these on the first visit through the house. It took multiple visits to catch them all. I did the day tour (UMH) and David the tour guide pointed out the apparatus that allowed the actors to perform these feats. AWESOME. Whoever had the idea for this house is a genius. 10/10

2. “Scarecrow the Reaping”. This house had a great exterior that prepared you for the house with the actual corn stalks, windmill and creepy scarecrow. There were lots of unexpected scares and I loved the fact that the section of the house where the birds were nesting above, gave every visitor a surprise ::yes::....LOL...I love the unexpected and boy was this unexpected. 9/10
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3. “Dead Waters”. From a design perspective very well done. This was one of the houses on the day tour and I was able to appreciate the attention to detail on this house. The slanted floor on the boat was a nice touch. Some nice unexpected scares. 8/10
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4. “AHS”. This house was also on the day tour and I was able to appreciate the attention to some particular scene details that were missed in the evening. In the Asylum Christmas scene the patients have decorated the tree with things that were on hand ie. IV bags and tubing, teeth etc. oh and a fellow that comes around only once per year and is known to be jolly came out from behind a mirrored wall and caught me off guard and scared me...LOL. I also saw a couple of things that were added to Roanoke section after I had been through it a couple times. 7/10
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5. “ The Shining” It was a struggle between the Hive and The Shining for 5th place for me. I love Vampires, but hand to hand it to “The Shining” on the nice climate effect leading into the “The Shining” was a great touch. The Danny boy thing was a bit overdone though. This house was also on the day tour. Appreciated some very nice details in the house. 7/10

6. “The Hive” again I love vampires. There were some nice scares. This was a house on the day tour and I was able to appreciate some aspects of the house again not noticed going through it during the evening. This house seemed to improve each time I went through it. 6/10

7. “Blume House” in all fairness have not seen movies affiliated with this house. Was on the day tour. Some nice details, a few scares. 4/10

8. “Ash vs Evil Dead. Did not see movies affiliated with this house. There was something in this house that started a good laugh between myself, Lynne and my sister towards the end of the house. I think it was partly because it truly was funny and it was hot and we were tired...LOL....No stand out scares 3/10

9. “Saw” the only thing I found interesting in this house is that there are a few interactive buttons on the wall in this house. If you see a lit up red button on the wall in this house you can push it. Surprise. Sometimes they worked, sometimes they didn’t. 1/10

Scare Zones

1. Trick ‘r Treat what’s not to like about 450 carved lit up pumpkins in the trees and on the ground. It made for a beautiful Halloween Scare Zone. Really nice details with the scarey trick or treater’s and music. Very nicely done 10/10.
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2. “Purge” this zone was one that seemed to get better every night I went thru it. The scare actors were very good. On Sunday evening Mac and I were sitting near the windows in Finnegan’s eating dinner when the folks dinning behind us started shrieking and I looked over my shoulder to see a Scare Actor pressed against the window menacing. Then 15 minutes later another one showed up. Hint: in this area if you look up at the upper building windows around the Purge Zone you would see the lights come on in various windows with different frightening scenes. My sister noticed this and pointed it out to me. Nice touch. 9/10

3. “Festival of the Deadlist” this zone improved every time I went through it. Nice touches. 8/10
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4. “Alters of Horrors” this was a nice walk through. The twins from “The Shining” were a standout and did not break character for photos. 7/10

5. “Invasion” this Zone the Scare Actors must have been terribly hot in those costumes. This scare zone would have been somewhat redeemed had the alien who was performing the gory experiment on the right hand side of the crashed spacecraft been highlighted brightly enough in a glowing green light to catch your attention. 4/10
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I agree with Schumigirl the Chainsaw Clowns are very much enjoyed by teens. One clown in particular who was in Cafe LaBamba on our VIP Tour night came over and kindly posed for a picture with our tour group. Thank you Mr. Clown.

Bill and Ted show and the pop culture references are really geared I think towards the younger crowds. My niece who is in her 20’s who was with me last year at HHN really liked it. I enjoyed a few laughs.

The official HHN store located in the Purge Zone was nicely decorated. Great touch.
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To all the TM’s and Scare Actors thank you for a wonderful time at HHN.

Thank you to Portofino Bay Hotel staff for making our stay another memorable one. You are all awesome.

I love all things Universal.

Thank you to Mac, Shumigirl, Keishashadow, Lynne, tink1957 and all the other Sans family that keep the Universal torch shining brightly for all us fellow Universal lovers and newbies.

Looking forward to HHN 28.
 
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Nice review Robo.........I agree the SA all put 100% into this event. Most of them come back to do the same job every year....they love the event too.

I hate feeling disappointed but have heard so many same the same thing and that is disheartening.........

But, high hopes for next year.
 


In an attempt to not be flamed alive...

I wear the Chain Saw Wolf :worship:colors @ HHN. I absolutely appreciate all the scareactors do, quite the sacrifice IMO as most hold down full time gigs too. However, you can only do so much with what you are given. Let's just say I hope they give them more tools next year.:rolleyes1

Loved hanging with old friends & finally meeting people here in RL:thumbsup2

What I enjoyed the most, in descending order. Surely, not to be confused with what might be the argueably 'best' house(s), as the art of the scare is certainly subjective:

Houses:

Ash (can't help myself:goodvibes)

Scarecrow (more than lived up to the online hype)

AHS (don't watch the series, still appreciated it)

Deep Waters (is it wrong to say a haunt is beautiful?)

Blum house (nice to be pleasantly surprised)

Fallen (for the technical stuff, some recycled but still appreciated. Being PC aside, struck me funny that the actual usuage of words Angels and Demons were forbidden)

The Shining (biggest disappointment of night)

Saw (scareactors worked the heck out of it)

Hive (took me a while to figure what this house represented)

Bill & Ted, so long, farewell. Wish they were able to do a more succient rewrite, but since on the fly &. I didn't see the original version, will give them a pass & hope the miraculously rise again next year in a different venue

Scare-zones:

Dem clowns had me @ chain saw :)

Halloween

Aliens - when on a public tour, killing time on one of the 9 beer breaks, was able to interact with the scareactors. Had quite a bit of fun here.

Purge (is this the new TWD? & we are moving on...)

Festival of lots of stuffs (plenty of T&A, what can i say? Something for everyone is a good thing?)

Crowds seemed low my dates, whether due to negative word of mouth or the weather cannot say.

Do hope Universal invests more $$$ & thought as to execution of house storylines into next years' production. I'll be back regardless. Ever hopeful & glad to enjoy comradiere of my friends.

PS - honored to have been part of audience for last showing of Terminator. Shout out to all who were part of this production over the years.

Ok, next person's take...
 
Liked your review Janet........yep take my hat off to the many SA who are just superb.......

I`m sorry you were disappointed in Shining....I know you`re a fan.......so many bits could have been done better......and I`m with you..... I wasn't sure what Hive was all about at first!!

I did lol at you with Ash........thought you`d still like it.......:D and yes Dark Waters was beautiful!!!

Bring on next year.........agree with everything you say!
 
I'm headed to my first HHN next Sunday! Are you allowed to wear small backpacks and bring in water bottles?

What are the hours technically?

We are staying at Cabana Bay resort. One TM on the phone told me that my whole party (me and 2 other adults) could get in early but the next one said that only I could get in early since I'm the only one that is a pass holder. So what is the truth?

Thanks!
 


All guests staying onsite are allowed the one hour early entrance to the designated park that morning

If all 3 of you are booked at Cbay, show your hotel key for the EE

If you are talking about EE to hhn, is it related to a pass holder event ?
 
All guests staying onsite are allowed the one hour early entrance to the designated park that morning

If all 3 of you are booked at Cbay, show your hotel key for the EE

If you are talking about EE to hhn, is it related to a pass holder event ?
No, the early entry would not be related to a pass holder event. They only have hhn tickets and I have the annual pass. Would we still be let into the park an hour before hhn start if we showed the cabana bay key?
 
I'm headed to my first HHN next Sunday! Are you allowed to wear small backpacks and bring in water bottles?

What are the hours technically?

We are staying at Cabana Bay resort. One TM on the phone told me that my whole party (me and 2 other adults) could get in early but the next one said that only I could get in early since I'm the only one that is a pass holder. So what is the truth?

Thanks!
The only way to get into HHN early is to have park admission for the day and to wait in a holding area where they will release you after all the regular day guests have left. Officially HHN starts at 6:30 but they will open a few houses early for the people in the holding areas.

Your Cabana Bay early entrance is only good for morning regular park entry not HHN.
 
The only way to get into HHN early is to have park admission for the day and to wait in a holding area where they will release you after all the regular day guests have left. Officially HHN starts at 6:30 but they will open a few houses early for the people in the holding areas.

Your Cabana Bay early entrance is only good for morning regular park entry not HHN.
Thank you!
Also, backpacks and water bottles are yay or nay? I get headaches on universal rides so I like to have a water bottle handy but don't want to carry it all night.
 
No, the early entry would not be related to a pass holder event. They only have hhn tickets and I have the annual pass. Would we still be let into the park an hour before hhn start if we showed the cabana bay key?
If no park day ticket then have to wait until park opens for hhn

You all can use the hotel entrance for hhn

It opens at 6:30
Just show your room key

This park entrance closes at 8:00
 
No, the early entry would not be related to a pass holder event. They only have hhn tickets and I have the annual pass. Would we still be let into the park an hour before hhn start if we showed the cabana bay key?

You get early entry for your hotel stay, not the AP.
 
Thank you!
Also, backpacks and water bottles are yay or nay? I get headaches on universal rides so I like to have a water bottle handy but don't want to carry it all night.
You can get a free cup of water at almost any location that sells cups of soda _ I think the map even shows you where you can get free water.

This was better than carrying something around for water IMO, and it is the same water they use for mixing the sodas so it is filtered from what I understand.
 
I'll be there this Thursday and Friday night with just regular ticket and no stay and scream. What time would you guys recommend getting there to get a jump on the crowd? Gates at 6:30 so 5/5:30 arrival time?

And as far as house popularity, I believe I've been seeing that AHS and Deep Water are among the top? Trying to get a gameplan to knock out a top one first before it's line builds
 
Thursday might work arriving at 5:30

But go earlier on Friday

Do hit those two houses early
Lines grow quickly for them

I went 7 nights and watched how some houses had long waits

I had the Ff + and ep

I hit houses in regular lines for the first 3 houses and then used the ep
Did shining and the two you mentioned early

Redid those 3 houses later

They are much better when dark

Trick and treat scare zone worth doing a couple of times

Expect crowds on Friday

Hope you have a great time

If you do bill and Ted for the later I'm the night show, go a good 30 minutes early so you can get in and aim for the middle section if possible

Thursday will have less crowds for that show than Friday
 
You can get a free cup of water at almost any location that sells cups of soda _ I think the map even shows you where you can get free water.

This was better than carrying something around for water IMO, and it is the same water they use for mixing the sodas so it is filtered from what I understand.
Backpacks and water bottle should be ok.

If no park day ticket then have to wait until park opens for hhn

You all can use the hotel entrance for hhn

It opens at 6:30
Just show your room key

This park entrance closes at 8:00

You get early entry for your hotel stay, not the AP.

You can get a free cup of water at almost any location that sells cups of soda _ I think the map even shows you where you can get free water.

This was better than carrying something around for water IMO, and it is the same water they use for mixing the sodas so it is filtered from what I understand.

Thank you all for your help! It's greatly appreciated. Now I'm just hoping the rain clears from the forecast on Sunday!
 
Thank you all for your help! It's greatly appreciated. Now I'm just hoping the rain clears from the forecast on Sunday!
Indeed...rain at HHN is not fun. The past two times I went over brought showers. I'm not going Sunday night so hopefully that means the rain will stay away...tomorrow night...look out! ;)
 
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Went last night for the first time this year. Going again tonight.

Academy of Villains: great performance on their main stage. They really have great crowd chemistry and put on a fantastic show. I don't think it was as good as last year's show, but that would be hard to top. I think it's a must see and I hope they continue to come back to HHN.

Bill and Ted: we enjoyed it better than we had the past few years. Sad to see it go after such a long run

Thursday night is the way to go for house lines. We did The Shining, Dead Waters, Blumhouse, Ash vs Evil Dead, and The Hive and I think the longest wait was about 20 min.

Planning on hitting the rest tonight with AHS being first on the list then Saw since those last night consistently had the longest waits at about 40-60 min all night. Then going through a couple others again. Want to hit The Shining, Dead Waters, and Blumhouse again if lines aren't bad. For Blumhouse i was hoping the lipstick face demon would look a lot more like the movie character and the Purge and sinister scenes were far too short.. But still enjoyed the house as I like all of those movies

Trick or Treat scarezone visually alone was great. Then some great scares and costumes throughout were good. Saw about a 12 yr old boy start screaming and crying in this scarezone and trying to run out of there lol. The Scareactors around got a kick out of that
 

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