Park Journey
  • Home
  • Six Flags
  • Universal Studios
  • Disney Parks
  • Cedar Fair
  • SeaWorld Parks
  • Other Parks
  • Beyond The Parks
  • The Other Side of the Tracks
  • Industry News
  • Cruise Journey
  • Theme Park Art
  • Past Updates
    • 2021 Updates
    • 2020 Updates
    • 2019 Updates
    • 2018 Updates
    • 2017 Updates
    • 2016 Updates
    • 2015 Updates
    • 2013 and 2014 Updates
  • Contact Us
  • Home
  • Six Flags
  • Universal Studios
  • Disney Parks
  • Cedar Fair
  • SeaWorld Parks
  • Other Parks
  • Beyond The Parks
  • The Other Side of the Tracks
  • Industry News
  • Cruise Journey
  • Theme Park Art
  • Past Updates
    • 2021 Updates
    • 2020 Updates
    • 2019 Updates
    • 2018 Updates
    • 2017 Updates
    • 2016 Updates
    • 2015 Updates
    • 2013 and 2014 Updates
  • Contact Us
Search by typing & pressing enter

YOUR CART

Universal Studios

9/13/2021

Halloween Horror Nights Hollywood Opening Weekend Review

This past Thursday we were invited out to Halloween Horror Nights Hollywood to take in our first full-fledged Halloween event in almost 2 years. In fact, it had been 676 days since the last night of Horror Nights in 2019. I think we can all agree that was far too long. And it was great to be back. 

In this review we'll not only share our pics and video from opening night along with our initial maze rankings, but also a bit from our visit on Sunday where we used our Halloween Horror Nights Hollywood Survival Guide. Did it work? You'll just have to read on to find out. :) 
Written by Gregg Condon
Picture
I think we're in the right place, but it's been so long we're not sure.
Picture
Taylor says come to HHN!
Picture
Even though we had Express on Thursday, we did stand by for the short mazes first!
Picture
FIRE!
Picture
The Screen QueenZ scare zone is amazing!
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
We love that Wizarding World is open during HHN! Hope it stays that way forever!
Picture
The Haunting of Hill House and Pandora's Box are in a new location for mazes this year. We thought this location worked great and wouldn't be surprised to see it used in future years.
Picture
Picture
Picture
Amazing maze!
Picture
Are you ready to Purge? The return of the Terror Tram was pretty awesome.
Picture
Picture
Picture
The Exorcist is back, and in a new location!

The Mazes

Despite a few returning mazes, a rarity for Halloween Horror Nights, this years line-up of mazes is truly great, with no truly "bad" mazes, and a couple that are destined to be classics. 
Bride of Frankenstein LIVES
On both Thursday and Sunday, this was pretty much everybody in our groups favorite maze. The concept of a sequel to one of the classic monster movies is amazing, and the story is fleshed out (pun intended), well told and the talent in here is amazing. Set design is top notch, and the creature/Bride actors are stellar all the way around. Now if we could just get the Slash soundtracks on vinyl. 
The Haunting of Hill House
Not a literal retelling of the series, which wouldn't work in a maze, but more being inside Hill House, which is pretty freaky anyway. A rather dark maze with scattered scares, this one isn't about jump scares, but about the creepyness of the entire house. And it works. 
The Exorcist
I'll admit to being a bit disappointed in The Exorcist when it was a maze in 2016. It was very repetitive, and the room scenes just didn't tell the story well enough. To be fair, this has to be one of the hardest movies to translate to a maze. However, in 2020 the maze has a new location, in a soundstage, which gives them more room to do more. And they have. This years maze tells the story very well and has some great jump scares throughout. Not to be missed. 
The Curse of Pandora's Box
Not the 2019 maze we would have picked to come back (give us Killer Klowns or Holidayz in Hell), that said, Pandora's Box is a ton of fun, the talent in here is great and the scenery and lighting is spectacular. 
Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers
Another returning maze, this one has fixed a few things from the 2019 maze and it definitely works as one of the better "Halloween" mazes in recent years. Still a bit disappointing they didn't go with the new Halloween Kills, but a repeat of Michael Myers is better than no Michael Myers. 
Terror Tram: The Ultimate Purge
The Terror Tram is back, with a bit of a new route through the War of the Worlds sets and lots of Purging going on. This has always been about the unique experience of getting to walk through a part of the backlot and see the Bates Motel and Psycho House up close. The Purge is definitely a fun theme this year (if you haven't seen the new Purge movie, check it out, it's the best since the first one and very timely). 

That said, I felt that they rushed everybody through this experience a bit too much this year. I realize they need to get people through the experience, but I'd like to actually enjoy it. Especially on Sunday, the tram only had a 5 minute wait most of the night, plenty of time to let people just take their time and enjoy this awesome experience. 
Texas Chainsaw Massacre
I'll admit to two things here. 1) Texas Chainsaw Massacre is my least favorite Horror Franchise. It just never did anything for me. 2) This maze was MUCH better on Sunday than it was on Thursday. That said, we've seen all of this before. It's still fun, and if you like Leatherface you're going to enjoy this one. But definitely wouldn't mind seeing them give this franchise a break for a few years. 

Side Note: Why is it the maze in this location always has the longest lines? Is it a capacity thing? Every year, without fail there's something about this location. 
The Walking Dead
Something has to be last, and of course it's The Walking Dead. Nothing really different in here from it's closure in early 2020. Not even the facade has been put back up. But it was nice to go through this attraction again even if there are no changes, and it increases the capacity of the event which is a positive. 
Once again, overall we are pleased with this years mazes. And since we have the Frequent Fear we'll be experiencing all of them a few more times, and we may feel differently in another month and a half. 

But the mazes aren't all there is at this years event. Let's check out the rest of HHN Hollywood. 

Dia De Los Muertos

Typically the Universal Plaza is used as an extended queue for the Parisian Courtyard maze. Not this year, it's been transformed into Dia De Los Muertos. It's lively and fun, there is a bar and food and places to sit and relax. Definitely needed! 
Picture
Much better use of this space!
Picture
Some rather "lively" characters throughout.
Picture
Picture
And of course some yummy looking food that we'll try one of these visits.
There's even some fun animatronics that do a fun show. I think there is more than one, we'll definitely have to check next time we're at HHN. 

Merchandise

There's a lot of really great Merchandise this year. Probably more than any other year. We got a few things this weekend, we'll surely be getting more. 
Picture

Sunday Night Visit 

Sunday Night we headed back to visit with our Frequent Fear Passes. This is the second year we've gotten the Frequent Fear Pass after loving it so much in 2019. Universal Hollywood is one of the easier parks for us to get to and it's nice to just pop in for a few hours and not have to feel like we have to do everything in one night. 

That said, using our Survival Guide, we did manage to do pretty much everything in one night. 

We did a Twitter thread during our visit that you can see below. 

Following our survival guide. A thread.

6:12 and we’re already through Exorcist. #UniversalHHN #Halloween #HHN #UniversalStudios #UniversalStudiosHollywood pic.twitter.com/Y2Iymp8RFo

— Park Journey (@Park_Journey) September 13, 2021
Picture
We arrived about 2:30 and stayed on the upper lot since we had to come back around 4:00pm to get our early entry wristbands.
Picture
Picture
Lots of warning signs for daytime visitors
Picture
Picture
Picture
Heading down to the lower lot
Picture
The Exorcist brought it on both Thursday and Sunday night
Picture
A bit weird going through while it's still light out, but a lot of fun in this one!
Picture
Picture
Hill House is so good and creepy!
Picture
Have we mentioned how glad we are that Wizarding World is open for HHN?
Picture
Picture
Heading down to the Lower Lot just to get a Texas Tea and some Funnel Fries!
Picture
Jurassic World looking great at night!
Picture
We saw a few people getting the 22" hot dog, it looked REALLY good!
Picture
Be warned, this Texas Tea (Long Island Iced Tea) is definitely NOT "Theme Park weak". You're gonna feel it.
Picture
The Funnel Fries were delicious!
Picture
Back with the Scream Queenz!
Picture
Picture
Picture
The Upper Lot Scare Zones were brining it both nights!
Picture
Alright, that's going to wrap it up for our opening weekend update and review. We hope you enjoyed! Did you visit HHN this past weekend? We'd love to hear your thoughts in the comments below. 

We'll be back in a couple of weeks for more fun, and of course, we'll be doing a late-night visit at some point for Chainsaw Chaseout! 

​Thanks for reading! See you in the fog! 

Related Videos

Related Updates
  • Universal Studios Hollywood Update: HHN and Super Nintendo World - August 10, 2021
  • Universal Studios Hollywood Update - July 20, 2021
  • Universal Studios Hollywood Update - July 6, 2021
  • Universal Studios Hollywood Reopening Update - April 19, 2021
  • Universal Orlando Resort Mardi Gras and Velocicoaster Update - February 12, 2021


If you enjoyed this update please share with your friends and make sure you "like" us on Facebook and "follow" us on Twitter, Instagram and YouTube. 

If you have any comments, please share them below
https://www.hometownstation.com/news-articles/how-to-find-custom-essay-service-for-your-assignment-295186 link
10/26/2021 07:18:24 am

To be straightforward I am enamored with vehicles and I have a gigantic vehicle assortment. I as a rule have an assortment for the mid year season and a different one for winter. I feel that vehicles should be kept up with so they don't have any issues with their motor.


Comments are closed.

    Categories

    All 2014 Attractions 2015 Attractions 2016 Attractions 2017 Attractions 2018 Attractions 2019 Attractions 2020 Attractions 2021 Attractions 2022 Attractions 2023 Attractions Bourne Stuntacular Cabana Bay Despicable Me: Minion Mayhem Diagon Alley Dreamworks Theater Epic Universe Eyegore Awards Fast And Furious: Supercharged Grinchmas Halloween Horror Nights Harry Potter Harry Potter And The Escape From Gringotts Harry Potter And The Forbidden Journey Hogwarts Hulk Islands Of Adventure Jupiter's Claim Jurassic Park Jurassic World Lunar New Year Mario Kart: Bowsers Challenge Mario Kart: Koopa's Challenge Minions Nintendo Nye Race Through New York Starring Jimmy Fallon Reign Of Kong Secret Life Of Pets: Off The Leash Simpsons Springfield Studio Tour Super Nintendo World The Incredible Hulk Coaster The Voice The Walking Dead Toothsome Chocolate Emporium Transformers: The Ride Universal Cinema Universal Citywalk Universal Orlando Universal Running Universal Studios Florida Universal Studios Hollywood Universal Studios Japan Volcano Bay Wizarding World

    RSS Feed