OhioStateBuckeye
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Sep 7, 2007
Just got back today from a great Disney/Universal vacation. I attended my second HHN and I want to give a quick recap in case my experiences help anyone.
I had purchased AP discounted tickets for this party. We were staying at Sapphire Falls and ended up leaving the parks around 12:30 to have a break. The heat and humidity have been brutal lately, so I definitely recommend a midday break to get ready for the night.
We ended up re-entering the Studios at 4 pm. We had day tickets for the parks so we were doing the stay and scream (this is open for anyone who has a day ticket/AP on the day that they are doing their HHN, you just have to be in the park before it closes). We got something to eat at the Simpson's taco truck and then it was time to head to our preferred corral. Universal closes the park and does a complete clear before the HHN starts. So long as you are in the park before close, you can choose one of several holding areas. I am not sure of the other holding areas, but we chose the area by Hello Kitty because it gives early access to the AHS and Exorcist houses.
So long as the houses are ready to go, people in the holding areas next to the houses will get a head start before everyone at the gates are let in. So basically, you can complete AHS and the Exorcist before anyone else even gets in, they will be walk ons. You should choose whichever holding area is next to the houses that have the most interest to you.
I am unsure of times, but I think we were in our holding area for about a half hour, there was some intense lightning and dark clouds but it didn't rain. We were let out of our holding area a few minutes after 6 and we headed right to AHS. We waited maybe 5 minutes. I'll do a review of the houses at the end of my report (so scroll there if you just want the reviews). After this we made a rookie mistake and skipped the Exorcist because no one in my group had that house high on their list. We should have done it because it was right next door. Instead we went to the Walking Dead house. We would have walked right into this one, but we had a 20 minute wait where the line did not move. Turns out Greg Nicotero and member of the Walking Dead cast and crew were having a private walk through of the house. We saw them as they left. After that we were quickly into the house.
None of us had a map, so we started to wander a bit and visited some of the scare zones in the daylight. The scare zones are much less scary in the daylight, but a lot of the scare actors are willing to pose with you for pictures in the daylight and there were some great makeup and costumes.
We did the Tomb of the Ancients next, I think we waited around 20 minutes.
We ended up at the Texas Chainsaw Massacre house and had our first long wait. I believe that wait was about 45 minutes, it is a brutal queue. You are packed in tightly with everyone and there was not much air flow in that area and it was all outdoors.
After that house we got some of the special HHN drinks. My drink with light up souvenir cup was $11.99, and you could get refills for $7 or $8. We were lucky to stop at the bar we did, as Greg Nicotero and co. was there and we actually got to talk with him, he was super nice. His favorite house was the Exorcist.
After that we were all really hot and a bit tired so we stopped for a bite to eat at the Simpsons food court.
Then we headed to the Ghost Town house, I think we waited around half an hour.
We wanted to try Krampus out but it was closed (maybe Nicotero and co was there?). We decided to head to the 11:15 pm Bill and Ted show. We got in the line a little after 11 and were seated in the middle section. Some people were walking up at 11:15 and there was still plenty of space. The show was pretty funny, very Star Wars heavy.
Half our group decided to call it a night at that point, it was midnight and our party was open until 1 am. The rest of us soldiered on and after a short break we waited about 45 minutes for the Exorcist. We were finished about 10 minutes after 1. Even though there was a long boat line for Sapphire Falls, we were able to get on the second boat which came a few minutes after the first left.
It was a very fun night, overall. I wish the humidity had gone down, but what are you going to do. I think we might have been able to finish most of the houses if we had done the Exorcist right after AHS, and if the Walking Dead hadn't been shut down so the crew and cast could walk through.
Well here are my reviews of the houses:
American Horror Story:
Queue: most of it is enclosed and inside with air conditioning and fans. There was a big video screen showing clips to keep people entertained.
Experience: I liked this house a lot. There were so many iconic moments from the 3 seasons they covered. There were a lot of scares and not all of them were the jump out kind. I think they did a good job making you feel like you were actually walking among the scenes from the show. My boyfriend doesn't really watch the show, but he says the production values of the house were really good, he didn't know what exactly was going on most of the house but it didn't matter, it was still scary.
Walking Dead:
Queue: I think all of it was outside.
Experience: I thought this house was ok. They did a good job trying to do different scenes from the seasons and not just rehashing the same ones. I attended HHN in 2014, and I feel like that season had way more actual zombies than this one did. I am not sure if I just walked through during a lot of resets, but I didn't think there were a lot of zombies. This definitely was not my favorite.
Tomb of the Ancients:
Queue: sorry...I honestly don't remember. Think it might have been mostly outdoors.
Experience: I liked this one a lot. Thought it was a lot like a cross between Indiana Jones and the Mummy, and I love that type of movie. The setting, an ancient pyramid type tomb area, was scary in and of itself and pretty unique. Also had a really good puppet at the end.
Ghost Towns:
Queue: outdoors, not too hot, more air flow then the others.
Experience: Another great one for me. I loved the western theme, this was my boyfriend's favorite concept. This one had a lot of unusual scares that came from all different angles.
Texas Chainsaw Massacre:
Queue: awful. You are in very close contact with hundreds of other people outdoors and there was 0 airflow, very hot and humid back there. You are also right next to a giant building (I think the side of MIB) and occasionally you would get blasted by hot air from some outtake in the building.
Experience: this one has the house front, so that helps the experience a bit, you feel like you are really entering the house. Other than that, no one in my group was very impressed. Just not too many scares and nothing really interesting about it. They did have a neat room that did that camera flash technique with the weird noise, but that was probably the most interesting thing. I think I was only startled once here and that is because I thought the house was done but there was more. Due to the queue and the experience, I would put this on the bottom of my list.
The Exorcist:
Queue: on the astro turf lawn in front of rip ride rockit. You do get a few video screens playing clips to keep you somewhat entertained.
Experience: This house was excellent. Great effects and production value, you really feel like you are in the movie. It had some 'great' smells (I'm sure everyone know what I'm talking about here). Really scary and very well done. I think this house will be a fan favorite, so it might be best to do this one early.
Rankings:
Mine:
1. AHS
2. Ghost Town
3. Exorcist
4. Tomb of the Ancients
5. Walking Dead
6. Texas Chainsaw Massacre
My BF's:
1. Exorcist
2. AHS
3. Ghost Town
4. Tomb of the Ancients
5. Walking Dead
6. Texas Chainsaw Massacre
Did not see:
Krampus (heard it was very good)
3d house (heard it was bad)
Halloween (didn't hear anything)
Scare Zones:
Fisherman's Wharf: I loved the costumes and makeup here a lot. There was a lot of good mist for the scare actors to hide in, they didn't do a lot of jumping out from behind things though. There were some chainsaws here which I didn't really get, I just think HHN likes chainsaws everywhere.
50's Vampire High:
I liked this one, they had all the stereotypes from high school and each scare actor really stuck with their role. There were some jerk guests talking back to the scare actors and just trying to be big men...dunno really what they were doing but don't act like that. This was more of a visual scare zone, not a lot of jump scares.
A Chance in Hell:
this one was ok, we stopped for a little to watch Chance on her little stage. I'm not big into the HHN storyline or history, so people who are might get a bit more out of it. It is more of a mini show than a scare zone.
Survive or Die:
This one was great, I didn't really get the storyline out of what they were doing, but tons of scares and the scare actors were really into their roles.
Lair of the Banshee:
This one was ok. Lots of jump scares.
Well I think that is about all. Anyone have any questions?
I had purchased AP discounted tickets for this party. We were staying at Sapphire Falls and ended up leaving the parks around 12:30 to have a break. The heat and humidity have been brutal lately, so I definitely recommend a midday break to get ready for the night.
We ended up re-entering the Studios at 4 pm. We had day tickets for the parks so we were doing the stay and scream (this is open for anyone who has a day ticket/AP on the day that they are doing their HHN, you just have to be in the park before it closes). We got something to eat at the Simpson's taco truck and then it was time to head to our preferred corral. Universal closes the park and does a complete clear before the HHN starts. So long as you are in the park before close, you can choose one of several holding areas. I am not sure of the other holding areas, but we chose the area by Hello Kitty because it gives early access to the AHS and Exorcist houses.
So long as the houses are ready to go, people in the holding areas next to the houses will get a head start before everyone at the gates are let in. So basically, you can complete AHS and the Exorcist before anyone else even gets in, they will be walk ons. You should choose whichever holding area is next to the houses that have the most interest to you.
I am unsure of times, but I think we were in our holding area for about a half hour, there was some intense lightning and dark clouds but it didn't rain. We were let out of our holding area a few minutes after 6 and we headed right to AHS. We waited maybe 5 minutes. I'll do a review of the houses at the end of my report (so scroll there if you just want the reviews). After this we made a rookie mistake and skipped the Exorcist because no one in my group had that house high on their list. We should have done it because it was right next door. Instead we went to the Walking Dead house. We would have walked right into this one, but we had a 20 minute wait where the line did not move. Turns out Greg Nicotero and member of the Walking Dead cast and crew were having a private walk through of the house. We saw them as they left. After that we were quickly into the house.
None of us had a map, so we started to wander a bit and visited some of the scare zones in the daylight. The scare zones are much less scary in the daylight, but a lot of the scare actors are willing to pose with you for pictures in the daylight and there were some great makeup and costumes.
We did the Tomb of the Ancients next, I think we waited around 20 minutes.
We ended up at the Texas Chainsaw Massacre house and had our first long wait. I believe that wait was about 45 minutes, it is a brutal queue. You are packed in tightly with everyone and there was not much air flow in that area and it was all outdoors.
After that house we got some of the special HHN drinks. My drink with light up souvenir cup was $11.99, and you could get refills for $7 or $8. We were lucky to stop at the bar we did, as Greg Nicotero and co. was there and we actually got to talk with him, he was super nice. His favorite house was the Exorcist.
After that we were all really hot and a bit tired so we stopped for a bite to eat at the Simpsons food court.
Then we headed to the Ghost Town house, I think we waited around half an hour.
We wanted to try Krampus out but it was closed (maybe Nicotero and co was there?). We decided to head to the 11:15 pm Bill and Ted show. We got in the line a little after 11 and were seated in the middle section. Some people were walking up at 11:15 and there was still plenty of space. The show was pretty funny, very Star Wars heavy.
Half our group decided to call it a night at that point, it was midnight and our party was open until 1 am. The rest of us soldiered on and after a short break we waited about 45 minutes for the Exorcist. We were finished about 10 minutes after 1. Even though there was a long boat line for Sapphire Falls, we were able to get on the second boat which came a few minutes after the first left.
It was a very fun night, overall. I wish the humidity had gone down, but what are you going to do. I think we might have been able to finish most of the houses if we had done the Exorcist right after AHS, and if the Walking Dead hadn't been shut down so the crew and cast could walk through.
Well here are my reviews of the houses:
American Horror Story:
Queue: most of it is enclosed and inside with air conditioning and fans. There was a big video screen showing clips to keep people entertained.
Experience: I liked this house a lot. There were so many iconic moments from the 3 seasons they covered. There were a lot of scares and not all of them were the jump out kind. I think they did a good job making you feel like you were actually walking among the scenes from the show. My boyfriend doesn't really watch the show, but he says the production values of the house were really good, he didn't know what exactly was going on most of the house but it didn't matter, it was still scary.
Walking Dead:
Queue: I think all of it was outside.
Experience: I thought this house was ok. They did a good job trying to do different scenes from the seasons and not just rehashing the same ones. I attended HHN in 2014, and I feel like that season had way more actual zombies than this one did. I am not sure if I just walked through during a lot of resets, but I didn't think there were a lot of zombies. This definitely was not my favorite.
Tomb of the Ancients:
Queue: sorry...I honestly don't remember. Think it might have been mostly outdoors.
Experience: I liked this one a lot. Thought it was a lot like a cross between Indiana Jones and the Mummy, and I love that type of movie. The setting, an ancient pyramid type tomb area, was scary in and of itself and pretty unique. Also had a really good puppet at the end.
Ghost Towns:
Queue: outdoors, not too hot, more air flow then the others.
Experience: Another great one for me. I loved the western theme, this was my boyfriend's favorite concept. This one had a lot of unusual scares that came from all different angles.
Texas Chainsaw Massacre:
Queue: awful. You are in very close contact with hundreds of other people outdoors and there was 0 airflow, very hot and humid back there. You are also right next to a giant building (I think the side of MIB) and occasionally you would get blasted by hot air from some outtake in the building.
Experience: this one has the house front, so that helps the experience a bit, you feel like you are really entering the house. Other than that, no one in my group was very impressed. Just not too many scares and nothing really interesting about it. They did have a neat room that did that camera flash technique with the weird noise, but that was probably the most interesting thing. I think I was only startled once here and that is because I thought the house was done but there was more. Due to the queue and the experience, I would put this on the bottom of my list.
The Exorcist:
Queue: on the astro turf lawn in front of rip ride rockit. You do get a few video screens playing clips to keep you somewhat entertained.
Experience: This house was excellent. Great effects and production value, you really feel like you are in the movie. It had some 'great' smells (I'm sure everyone know what I'm talking about here). Really scary and very well done. I think this house will be a fan favorite, so it might be best to do this one early.
Rankings:
Mine:
1. AHS
2. Ghost Town
3. Exorcist
4. Tomb of the Ancients
5. Walking Dead
6. Texas Chainsaw Massacre
My BF's:
1. Exorcist
2. AHS
3. Ghost Town
4. Tomb of the Ancients
5. Walking Dead
6. Texas Chainsaw Massacre
Did not see:
Krampus (heard it was very good)
3d house (heard it was bad)
Halloween (didn't hear anything)
Scare Zones:
Fisherman's Wharf: I loved the costumes and makeup here a lot. There was a lot of good mist for the scare actors to hide in, they didn't do a lot of jumping out from behind things though. There were some chainsaws here which I didn't really get, I just think HHN likes chainsaws everywhere.
50's Vampire High:
I liked this one, they had all the stereotypes from high school and each scare actor really stuck with their role. There were some jerk guests talking back to the scare actors and just trying to be big men...dunno really what they were doing but don't act like that. This was more of a visual scare zone, not a lot of jump scares.
A Chance in Hell:
this one was ok, we stopped for a little to watch Chance on her little stage. I'm not big into the HHN storyline or history, so people who are might get a bit more out of it. It is more of a mini show than a scare zone.
Survive or Die:
This one was great, I didn't really get the storyline out of what they were doing, but tons of scares and the scare actors were really into their roles.
Lair of the Banshee:
This one was ok. Lots of jump scares.
Well I think that is about all. Anyone have any questions?
This was my boyfriend's and our friends first time and I think they all really enjoyed it. 
