I guess it's been some five years since I'd last attended an HHN and from what I posted about it, I guess my experience had something to do with my long absence. Fortunately, much of what irritated me about what HHN had become is now apparently much improved. Or maybe it's just my attitude that's more upbeat.
In 2012, I griped most about the chaotic security screening process. Now, screening is much more streamlined. Just as I've experienced on earlier visits to the Universal parks, you now get to pass through the metal detectors at the parking structure hub. No 45 minute wait BS. Plus, with most people doing like I did, printing tickets that were emailed to them, no BS at the gate to the park itself either...easy-breezy entry.
On my visit Sunday night, I arrived around 7:00 pm and the park was already quite packed. I kinda figured. Even though it was a Sunday night and probably not as busy as a Friday or Saturday, it was the last night until November where the cheapest ticket price with either a Coke-product UPC for non-passholders or the passholder discount would be available. The cheapest price tickets through the rest of the month will be about $3 more. Oh, what was that "cheap" price? For me, a Preferred Passholder, $57.50 with tax.
The weather early on was great, the sun was setting and the temps were nice. It did start to rain, and the rain stayed steady for a few hours, starting around 11 pm but by then I was almost ready to leave so it was no big.
The Scare Zones were OK but it seems the characters were less "in your face" and the dry ice fog was thinner. Again, likely nods to "safety" and "security." Oh I pine for the days before Scare Zones when the creatures roamed freely around the park and you never knew when they'd pop out at you with their then-omnipresent gas-engine chainsaws which were apparently real working chainsaws, with fake blades of course. Now...I can't recall even one. Wastefully burning fossil fuels is un-PC these days. Who needs even more global warming from a few costumed actors at a theme park event, right?
The houses. I got to three this year. Yeah! Quite a feat without any Express Passes. The longest wait time was for The Shining at 45 minutes and the shortest was 35 minutes for Ash vs. Evil Dead. The other I went to was American Horror Story which I think was 45 minutes too, actually.
The Shining: I kinda spoiled the experience a bit since I'd watched video of both the Hollywood version and ours on YouTube to see how they compared. Like the consensus of commenters mentioned, Hollywood's looked a lot better. But I'm not complaining, the house looked really good nonetheless. You entered the Overlook Hotel through the snowy hedge maze (not chronologically correct of course in terms of the film) with the movie's creepy opening funeral dirge music playing. Suddenly you're in the great room with the Indian rug wall hangings and Jack's typewriter. Then in a trick mirror "infinite" hall floored in that iconic carpet, with Danny on his Big Wheel. The Grady Sisters! Both their bloody bodies and their chilling, singing ghosts. Then through the green bathroom of room 237. Boo! There's the rotting naked old lady...sorry straight guys, no younger, hotter version. I think from there we go through the Gold Room which appeared to be a mash up of the bar featuring Lloyd and the skeleton-filled ballroom. Oh oh, there's the dog-headed cocksucker. (Not sucking cock here though.) And we're soon in the bathroom with Wendy fending off the axe-wielding "Johnny!" as he's trying to chop through the door. Oh snap, I forgot about the bloody elevators, that was just before the bathroom scene I think. The exit is out to the snowy hedge maze again with a snow-covered frozen Jack while the speakers play the 1920s-ish creepy tune.
Very nice! Great set design, nice details and great character acting. I notice this year though, again likely due to security concerns, that there are a ton more staff standing guard around nearly every corner. Many of them looking totally bored. Kinda dampens the atmosphere. There were a few of them that did smile and react to us guests, especially the scaredy-cat screamers, but they were the exception, not the norm. I even saw one teen-aged staffer with earphones, obviously tuning out altogether. Not cool. We paid dearly for this experience guys, at least try to look somewhat engaged. Or make yourselves fully unseen as in the past.
I wanted to next get to the nearby situated "Saw" house, but it was coming on 8:15 and I knew I had to get to the Bill and Ted's theater early for good seating so I made my way there after The Shining.
Prior to getting in queue at The Shining I'd grabbed a fountain service Diet Coke but now I was ready for a drink. I opted for a fancy mixed concoction with rum and juice in a blinky-LED-light souvenir cup for just over $13, but it was quite weak and hard to drink with its twisty straw and funky duel chambered cup design. I finished the drink as I sat through Bill and Ted's and put the empty souvenir cup in my left front pocket. The pocket was ample enough to hold it okay, but as I walked through the queue of the next house, I accidentally bumped into the guard railing (no, I didn't drunkenly stumble from one drink!) and heard the cup crack. Sure enough, it was ruined so I tossed it in the next waste bin. It would have just sat in my cupboard unused anyway since it's design made it impractical. Again, no big.
Ash vs. Evil Dead: I wasn't originally planning to go through this house but since I was at this end of the park due to just having exited the Bill and Ted show, I figured I'd do it since the wait time was pretty favorable. I never watched the show this house was themed on but I was familiar a little bit with the character Ash. The actors in the house that played him did well and the attention to prop detail was really nice. This house wasn't as well-done as The Shining though and the scares were modest at best. I actually jumped in The Shining...not so much here. Not bad overall though. Certainly not horrible like the house in this same location back in 2012. That's for sure.
Grabbed an IPA in a plain old plastic cup from the nearest kiosk after exiting via this very long...and I do mean loooooong assed exit queue (it felt like half a mile of walking!) and sipped that down while watching the other show of the night Academy of Villains: Afterlife. A brash, loud and invigorating spectacle featuring syncro-dancing mimes, massive LED screen visuals and booming house, dubstep and hip-hop topped off with popping pyrotechnics. Not bad. Not long either though...only 15 minutes. It was performed at the "old" stage area right by Mel's Drive In (themed Mel's Die In during HHN) and as all shows there was standing only.
American Horror Story: I think I actually liked this the most of the three I went through. It featured tight, twisty halls and rooms highlighting scenes and characters from Asylum and Roanoke and, according to the brochure, Coven as well. But frankly, I can't really recall anything from Coven. Probably 'cause I don't recall much from that season of the show either. Not one of the better AHS seasons, IMHO. In Asylum, which was first, we walked through the foyer with that notable spiral staircase and bleeding-eyed statues, then the day room with the mad Santa and the crazy French nun ditty playing overhead. No pinheaded Pepper though! Aw shucks. The operating theater featuring the mad Nazi doctor, the monsters in the woods and the Angel of Death. Very nice. I think Coven was represented by some iron-barred cages with people locked in them including Kathy Bates antebellum ghost? That's about it. Scenes from Roanoke included the entry of the house with those funky windows, the Pig Head guy, the crazy nurses with MURDER on the wall and a winding path through the redneck's pot plant filled barn. Very nice touch of detailing in that as you walked through the barn you could smell an herbal fragrance that represented the scent of fresh weed (not really accurate, if you know what weed really smells like, but we get the idea) and just at the end the smell of ham perfumes the air as the Pig Man makes a final attempt to spook you. Sweet! It's subtle touches like this that make these houses worth the wait. Nice job Universal!
After leaving AHS around 11 pm or so, it was raining quite hard now and I made my way over to the Boulangerie after seeing that the Saw wait time was still too high. I was ready for a little bite to eat so I got one of that shop's awesome coffees and a nice, hefty slice of Cherry Jubilee Cheesecake. Pure fucking ecstasy from first bite to last. OMG, this place has the best cheesecakes in the world!
Rain continued through my exiting the park, CityWalk and the drive home. I4 was a fucking terror at night in the pouring rain and with the night work being done on it throughout downtown, traffic was re-routed through a confusing and jammed detour. Fuck this, I said and made my way through downtown side streets meandering northward to get back home. I don't think I'm even going to attempt to take I4 to the parks any more. I'll just use 436 then toss a few quarters at at toll booth or two to altogether avoid that real-life horror story.
All in all, a great night! As I pulled some of the soggy rain-soaked receipts of my purchases out once back home I realized I, as always, totally forgot to use my annual pass to get these drinks and snacks discounted. Ugh! Well, maybe next time. Oh, not for HHN. Once visit per year is all I can afford, but on my next trip to the parks. I rode no rides Sunday night so I'm kinda jonesin' to get back on those coasters soon. Hmmm, maybe next weekend?
Hey! Wait a minute! I forgot to tell you about the Bill and Ted show! Ugh!
First out the gate where normally it's just a voice-over notifying us audience members about the potentially risque, scantily-clad, adult-themed show, the use of pyro-technics and the prohibition about taking pics or filming the show, these topics were screamed at us to our face by an actor doing a freaking spot on mimic of Melissa McCarthy's SNL spoof of former White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer! His voice was ON POINT!! I had to squint to be sure that it wasn't actually Melissa McCarthy, that's how convincing this (guy?) was.
After Spicy and his rolling podium (featuring a smiling poo emoji instead of the usual WH seal) was through, the boys came out amidst the thunder of our collective feet stomping the bleachers to the beat of We Will Rock You. My eyes were tearing up a little. This is the last time I'll every see this show. How sad.
The show this year was premised on the idea of Death challenging the duo to prove to him that humanity was worth sparing extinction by finding some redeeming quality amidst the myriad crap that was Pop Culture. And the myriad was certainly spoofed: Everything from a pseudo-Spanish singing Justin Bieber, lame superheroes, Trump Tweets and, of course, the obligatory tongue-in-cheek jab at the competitor, Disney, with a reference to the newly-opened Avatar World saying "...and we still don't care about Avatar!"
The show ended with the usual medley of pop tunes. I actually recognized quite a few too, surprisingly. But the final song went to "We Are the Champions" with none other than Freddy Mercury himself belting it out.
Check out this site I found while pulling up reference material to jog my memory while writing this post. Nice review of this year's HHN. And how about this. How cool...a history of the show's evolution through the years. Like getting in that phone booth and travelling through time with the boys!
Millennial: Hey man, like...what's a phone booth?
Me: Sigh. Never you mind, twerp! It's something from history now, which you don't give a shit about anyway. Walk lazily away, you, with your duck-lipped, selfie-face glowing in the light of your ever-present phone while you vape up a bitchin' cloud.
EDIT: This reverie for HHN nostalgic reminded me of a Facebook Throwback Thursday pic Roger Garm put up a few years ago in which I was tagged. I'm almost positive it was during one of the first (if not the first) HHN I attended. Certainly it's Universal original park and it's definitely from the 90s. I'm pretty sure it's the "I Wanna Rock N' Roll!" night. The guy on the far left is a friend of Roger's then-wife (I forget her name) who I think was her hairdresser or something? Or maybe a friend or relative of her's who was a hairdresser? Not sure. Absolutely "family" though, I guess that's obvious. Then we have Roger and his wife and last but not least, an incredibly young and thin me. Man, I was hot, if I say so myself. That hat, long gone now, features none other than my current avatar, Marvin the Martian. Ah, the good ol' days. Here's the pic:
