I'm back! We went Oct 2-6 every night save Saturday. I thought the crowds were a lot lower than last year.
Good:
-projection show. I loved this! It was great with the classic monsters, I liked all the 8 bit stuff with Stranger Things, and when the Stay Puft was defeated everything turned white.
-AOV: I always really enjoy their shows. I liked the storyline this year and the music. Could have done without the contortionist, but he was still very talented. I kind of wish I'd seen it twice.
-pizza fries at Louie's. I had them in past years from the counter service stand, and these were so much better. They were hot and fresh and not soggy at all. If you want them, get them from there and you can also have a nice air conditioned break.
Bad:
-the scare zones.
Vikings: this one was ok, but nothing special
Vanity Ball: interesting to sit at a table and watch for a while, but not scary
Zombieland: probably the most interesting to me. I liked the little sets (the carnival drop ride, the prize hut where Tallahassee hid). I loved the jogger zombie.
Rob Zombie: didn't really understand it, were all the weird things from his music videos or album covers? Was not sure what that robot with the car, the tuxedo guy and white dress girl had to do with each other.
Anarchade: visually nice, though I was disappointed. I feel like they really could have done so much more with deranged video game characters. But that scare zone by the park entrance is always just a picture zone, I never expect much from it
-sweet potato smore fries: I love sweet potato fries. And I really love sugary snacks. But it was not working for me. I'm glad I tried it, and if I'd only eaten about 10 it might have been just right. It was too much, I wished that they were just regular sweet potato fries.
House Rankings from worst to best:
We did most houses at least 5 times, except for 1,000 Corpses which only got 2 run thrus.
10. 1,000 Corpses
I was just meh about the whole thing. Didn't find the material that interesting, didn't think it was that scary.
9. Nightingales: Blood Pit
I very much liked the idea of this house, but it didn't all come together. The Nightingales were pretty scary, though they kind of reminded me of Doctor Who things (btw, can they please just do a Doctor Who house?!?!).
The house just smelled so bad though, it took down my enjoyment of it quite a bit. Towards the end of the house everytime, I was having trouble breathing and just wanted to get out.
8. Stranger Things
I was more than halfway through this list before I even thought of Stranger Things. So if that says anything...I thought it was well done in regards to feeling like I was in the tv show. I was baffled why they wanted to combine Seasons 2 and 3. 3 had so many iconic settings and they barely used any of them.
I might be a bit over Stranger Things. I didn't think seasons 2 or 3 were particularly scary.
7. Depths of Fear
I liked this one decently well. I don't know if I kept missing scares or they just weren't there. I felt there were a lot of places where I was expecting them and they never manifested. I was surprised there weren't more water effects.
6. Us
One of the scarier houses in my opinion. Whenever scare actors crawl on the floor that always gets me. Crawling stuff? No thanks, walk normally please. I also thought the scareactor who played Red did a great job with the creepy walking and moving.
This almost got the number 5 spot, but I just seriously love Killer Klowns.
5. Killer Klowns from Outer Space
This one would be higher, but it just wasn't that scary. Like Ghostbusters, it was like walking into the movie and I really loved that.
I was surprised they had the giant clown puppet, but happy.
Also had fun pressing all the red buttons, only got myself with water once.
4. Yeti: Terror of the Yukon
What a great house. Everyone loves yetis. It was freezing and I liked how it slowly built up to the yetis. Didn't see them much at first but there were hints. One walk through one of the humans audio wasn't working so he just said hi to us and chatted us up.
3. Ghostbusters
Not scary, really. But it felt like stepping into the movie. I loved Janine, I loved the ghost in the book stacks, didn't even notice that effect until my third time in. Slimer was great!
Really loved the Dana as Zuul scene, and that the Rick Moranis Keymaster popped up. The Gozer scene was also fantastic.
2. Graveyard Games
Really the only truly scary house, in my opinion. So many creepy good effects. Loved the punk teenager at the beginning with the aerosol can who called us dorks.
1. Universal Monsters
In preparation we watched all the original films. I discovered that I really enjoy the Frankenstein series, Wolfman and Creature from the Black Lagoon.
I had my little wolfman that I won from the prize booths and he got pats from almost all the creatures at one point or another.
Just so well done, loved the Hunchback Room with all the mirrors and the bells and the gargoyle. Loved the Phantom's area with the disappearing walls. The Wolfman getting tossed back from the rifle shot. The only thing I was bothered by was the Bride's scream. Tone that volume down just a tad.
Final thoughts:
Still love HHN. I hope I get to come back for the anniversary year next year. We are planning on potentially doing
Disneyland's Halloween party, and Hong Kong DL (if it's still there). So we'll see. It probably depends on the houses and theme and scare zones when they announce them.
I think we finally worked out the best way to do the event. We stay at Cabana Bay and walk over to Volcano Bay in the mornings. Then we take the afternoons easy, then head over to stay and scream. Loved that combo.
I went on
@soniam private tour. It was a blast! But I gotta tell ya, maybe save that for your last night. It was a bit difficult going back to two more nights and not being able to just walk up to whatever we wanted. The private bar/food area was also fantastic.