Transcript
Speaker: Welcome back to Thrills, Chills, and Spills, where we spill the tea on all things theme parks, special events, and a especially spooky season. After our last episode on the East Coast, we are coming to you from the West for the start of spooky season with HHN Hollywood plus more adventures in California. I'm Joey.
Speaker: I'm Rafa. And I'm Kelly. And as always, we start with our spills. So my first one is pretty quick. um Six Flags recently just announced that they have purchased Ariforce 1. She lives.
Speaker: She lives. They are refusing to say where it's going. I think they already know. And it seems like it might be King's Island, but I guess we'll wait and see. But the most annoying part of this announcement to me is that they decided they're going to keep the name.
Speaker: I'm like, really? Really? RE Force 1, Air Force 1, whatever it is. like The general public is going to have no idea why it has this weird name. um I don't understand why. It was part of the sale contract.
Speaker: That's what I was thinking. If he really put that into the contract, that's crazy. My name on it, boo. Yeah. yeah like i'll take 5k off if you that's crazy um that is hilar because i was genuinely looking forward to seeing how they would like repaint and re-theme it into another park and now it sounds like they're just gonna move it and keep it the same so oh well i was like thinking like maybe like oh like maybe they'll like instead of airy force, so just go with like air force one. Right. Um, I was thinking that, but like for them to keep the name is is pretty funny. I don't know. I don't care that much, but I think it's pretty funny. Have a six flags day. It's very, yeah very, that that's great.
Speaker: All right. And Kelly. I have been obsessed with the Netflix true crime crime documentaries. I know it's like a trend going around right now to pretend you're getting mic'd up for an interview for one, but I have been watching like all of these murder stories and I don't know why I'm so like infatuated with them. It's so creepy and it gives me nightmares, but like,
Speaker: I am watching them every time I'm on the treadmill. I'm watching them after the kids go to bed. Like they're just, it's just so interesting. I recently watched the one about the preacher's wife. um I know some of our other friends watched it because I discussed it with them. It is a wild story.
Speaker: you really makes me feel like my life is like pretty boring and I'm all here for that. I was going to say, this is like peak white woman era, like listening to your murder podcast in spooky season. i can't do it. Like these like true crime documentaries, like Shay will fall asleep to them. And I'm like, I'm, I don't want to hear that while I'm trying to fall asleep.
Speaker: She loves, it's like music to her ears. She's like, oh this is so interesting. And I'm over here like, okay, I'm terrified. Do they graphically describe the murders? oh yeah. There's like sticks and everything.
Speaker: Oh, my gosh. Wow. What a delightful bedtime story. That's so crazy. Okay. Well, it is very appropriate for a spooky season, actually. It's true. Yeah, for sure. It's just a little too real for me.
Speaker: All right. And Rafa, you have a spill from our California adventures. Yes. So we had a lovely Airbnb right under the Hollywood sign, which was really cool.
Speaker: But we were sharing the space with like a trillion ants. Yeah. Oh, no. And was ridiculous. And, like, don't get me wrong. Like, I understand that we're paying for the location, truly. Like, just to yeah just to be able to say that, like, you're under the Hollywood sign. It's incredible. It's really cool.
Speaker: But there were ants all over that place. Like, everywhere, Kelly. Like, I mean, like, every little... I wouldn't have slept there. Every little, every little. Well, okay. Well, I didn't see any of my room.
Speaker: I did. yeah Joey did have some in his room though. I don't know if you did as well. i didn't see any in my room. I think it was safe. Yeah. Yeah. Zach was, well, Zach also like his bed had like this whole like thing over it, like shelving that surrounds the, the bed. so like, I don't know if maybe like it was just like in there, you know, people probably like, you know, whoever was there previously may have left like,
Speaker: food or beverages or whatever but it they were everywhere like outside we would get in the hot tub and you couldn't lean against like the wall that's how we discovered it yeah that's how you guys found out leaning against the hot tub outside and then bethany's like wait a minute what's going on it's like ants crawling on her and turns out they were all over the edge of it and it was dark outside so we just couldn't tell It was a nightmare situation for me. I yeah, it was a lot.
Speaker: Yeah, that was that was pretty gross. Like, and it was really annoying because like, you really couldn't lean on anything. Like you couldn't leave anything in the kitchen or else the next morning it would be dance. Like it just was not OK. Like it was it was pretty gross, actually. And, you know, they had these like little measly little like ant killers, like the little bug killers, like in the little corners. Like that's doing much. Yeah. but Yeah. It was.
Speaker: It was interesting. We survived. We survived. Yeah. And it was very, very conveniently located to the park. It was only like a 10 minute, you know, drive or Uber away. So, yes, the location is cool. But, yeah, the ants were not. Anyway, speaking of, um moving into our thrills section, um both Rafa and I and a group of, I think, 10 of us total um were out in Southern California, um obviously staying and near the Hollywood sign. um And we attended a variety of parks and activities around the area.
Speaker: And in parallel to Kelly and Tyler's trip, Rafa, you actually started out with a trip to Disneyland. um So first of all, was this your first time there?
Speaker: Yes. Okay. This was my first time at those parks, which I loved both parks. I mean, Yeah. I love both. And I do think maybe it's just because I've always been around Disney World. Like i kind of like Disneyland more than Disney World. I could see that personally. Like to me, it felt more like a locals park, whereas Disney World feels very, very busy. Rightfully so. I mean, it's the Disney World, you know, like and you have like the castle like this castle is not that castle for sure. Yeah. um
Speaker: But it was like, i don't know, like just the overall feel was great. It also helped that it was a very dead day while we were there. And we only I think our longest wait that day was probably like 20 minutes.
Speaker: We really didn't wait long at all. So everything worked out perfectly. But. But yeah, just to run through a couple of my favorite things. um it The only thing that kind of sucked going into it, I caught a cold the the morning before this trip, which I think ruined me for that day. But I pushed through it, but I was feeling meh for the most part, but whatever. So starting off, we went to California's Adventure and um
Speaker: we started off with Guardians, which I loved. That's probably favorite ride in that park. Hot take, I know with Kelly, I think I might like it more than Tower of Terror. oop um my god.
Speaker: I hit that unmute button so fast. Ha ha ha ha. So I don't know. I, kind okay. The reason why I think I like it and it's okay.
Speaker: The theme i think is better in tower of terror. I'm not taking anything away from that. I just feel like guardians is like straight to the point and there's the dropping, like the going up and down feels longer than tower of terror because tower terror has that whole show sequence. Basically like you're, you're going through I guess everything, those rooms that you're going in through before going, you know, up and down.
Speaker: So I just kind of like the fact that this one just felt like, okay, like you back up and then you just start going up, down, up, down, up, down until rides over. i like that, but I understand why you would like Tower of Terror more.
Speaker: It's just spooky, obviously, but I feel like there's more storytelling to Tower of Terror. Whereas this one is just more about the thrill. And it works well with Guardians, with the theme of it all. Like, it's great for that. But yeah, I think I like Guardians. Yeah, I got It's definitely potentially more thrilling experience just from straight drop tower standpoint.
Speaker: Yeah, I think definitely like if you're looking for a more thrilling ride, you're going to like Guardians more just because it feels longer. The drop sequence is longer. um But Tower of Terror is more of like a ride.
Speaker: It's like an attraction. Like it's just like, you know, it's just whatever. You get what I mean. So, yeah, I love that. Yeah. I feel like, and sorry to interject, but I feel like all of these newer Marvel-themed areas in the Disney parks and Marvel-themed rides, they really are just trying to slap a story on an attraction instead of basing an attraction off of a story.
Speaker: Yes. And it bothers me. Don't get me wrong, I love me some Guardians this Galaxy Cosmic Rewind. I love it. But, like, come on. Yeah, I just get at that. and You know? it Yeah. and And honestly, like, I mean, I didn't really, i mean, I don't know if it's the same thing with um Web Slingers. That is the one ride that we didn't get to do, um which I wasn't going crazy about it. I did want to try it, but I was like, whatever. Like, it is what it is. um But yeah, we had skipped that one.
Speaker: and then we did in credit coaster which was a lot of fun and what else is there oh my gosh the disgusting swinging gondolas i was i got so nauseous from that ride like it was so i don't know if i think it was because i was sick but i started to get really nauseous i think i started getting really pale like just the motion of the swinging got me so bad um So I wasn't a fan of that.
Speaker: And what else is that? California adventure. I'm trying to think highlights. I didn't get to do Soarin' because I was feeling nauseous from the gondola, so I had to skip that. But...
Speaker: But Ryan, Shane Ryan wrote it and they loved it. um Radiator Springs is so adorable. It is so nice. And I can't wait to see what they do with the Pistons Peak over here um in Magic Kingdom. down That's going to be really neat. But yeah, Radiator Springs is great. i have a crappy wild mouse.
Speaker: yes the wild mouse as well which we didn't get while we were there the line was kind of long so we're like okay no we have two parks to hit up we'll be back eventually it's disney um what else what else what else yeah i think that was i'm trying to think of what else i missed from dca is guardians your favorite there then Guardians was definitely my favorite there. Yeah. it's that That park definitely feels incomplete.
Speaker: Like it feels like there's supposed to be more and there isn't. I like the vibe. I love like everything that they do have is great, but it feels like it's missing like a good portion of the park.
Speaker: Like, yeah, it still needs more like Avengers campus obviously is a work in progress. They're still working on more, which that desperately needs it in my opinion. Like it feels very incomplete.
Speaker: um But yeah, i mean, overall, that park is really neat. It's really nice. I think it's just a vibe walking around. Loved seeing how many food and drink options they had.
Speaker: Wasn't feeling 100%. So I did not drink, nor did I eat much that day. i just wasn't feeling it. But I did see a lot of options. So I really did like seeing that. um Disneyland was very nice. I really like Disneyland actually. um The Space Mountain was so much better than Magic Kingdom Space Mountain.
Speaker: So much better. I hear that from people. yeah Although recently Magic Kingdom Space Mountain has been hitting well. I've always loved Space Mountain here though. The nostalgia it all.
Speaker: the nostalgia of it all I heard Tyler behind me literally hooting and hollering like it was a thrill coaster. Like it was everything.
Speaker: But yeah, I agree. The one at at land is very good. It's it's very good. I i loved it. um That was really good. Tiana's. what the hell? Like they that thing waterboards you.
Speaker: It is ridiculous. I was like, what the heck? And I had seen, thank God I saw videos prior to getting there. Because i told I told Ryan, I'm like, Ryan, you're sitting in that front seat. I saw him in flip flops. I'm like, you are going in that front seat.
Speaker: i was like, there's no chance for man that I am sitting there. And he was like, fine, I'll take it. He said that he went the night before in vans and he was in the front seat and he was like drenched. He was like, I have to wrap it up. It's like I have to go back to the hotel.
Speaker: um But yeah, it was it was crazy. But no, I love the Tiana's. I haven't done the Florida one yet. So this was my first time doing that. And I think the theme was adorable. It was like really, really nice.
Speaker: um What else? Oh, I forgot to mention in DCA, I love... along with Haunted Mansion. The holiday re-themes, it's so cool. like The Guardians one with like the monsters at night was so cool. I love that they do that. like you You get two different rides. like you know You'll ride in the morning.
Speaker: It's totally different ride than a different you know ride at night. And then the Haunted Mansion was great. Like the whole like Nightmare Before Christmas stuff was really neat. um So I do like that about Disneyland. I wish Disney World would do things like that, but I get that it's too busy of a park.
Speaker: um But what else were some highlights in that park? what do you think of Matterhorn? Matterhorn? Okay, so I didn't hate it I feel like everyone hates on Matterhorn. I don't, I didn't think it was bad. Like I i was like, it was fine. it felt like to me, like it was like an outdoor Florida space mountain.
Speaker: Yeah. Yeah. Like that's basically what it is. And it was fine. it was fun. Like I, I didn't hate it um Ryan was telling me that too. He's like, everyone hates on it, but I love it. And we, we all had a good time. Like it was, it was fun, but i know a lot of people hate on it. yeah.
Speaker: I enjoyed it. I'll give them that. um But what else? Oh my gosh. Indiana Jones is my favorite freaking ride at that park. I think that was my favorite ride between both parks. Indiana Jones was so freaking good. Like I see why they're bringing it over to Animal Kingdom to replace Dinosaur. Like it made me realize like how I guess...
Speaker: like not one dimensional, but like it just, it, it showed like the lack of variety in dinosaur because it felt like when you compare it, like Indiana Jones, you're going in through these sets that look incredible. You have the flames, you have all of, all of that going on. Whereas like dinosaur, like you're kind of just like Bob and left and right. You're like seeing a dinosaur here, a dinosaur there. And I know that there isn't so much that you can do with dinosaur, but like,
Speaker: yeah Indiana Jones feels like a far more complete ride, so I get why they're bringing it bringing that over to um Animal Kingdom. so Definitely loved Indiana Jones. and I'm trying to think if I'm missing anything else, because everything else felt like...
Speaker: I didn't do any of the Star Wars stuff just because I knew that both rides were basically copies of the Florida version. So I'm like, okay, we only got, you know, one day to do these two parks. So we're going to skip those. I didn't do Mickey and Minnie's.
Speaker: I love doing some of the, the, um the dark rides that they had. Like Mr. Toads was interesting. That was really weird, but we got off and Brian looks over at me He's like, what the hell is that?
Speaker: It was just very interesting. And i think that's the only other one that I, I was missing. Yeah. We did star tours only because I had like a really short wait. We did snow white. um That was pretty neat.
Speaker: And Yeah, overall, we didn't do any of the nighttime shows just because we were so tired at that point. We're like and we had flown in that morning. Our flight was at 5 a.m. m We went straight. Yeah, we went straight to the park. That was after like what, like nearly like six hours of flying because we had a layover.
Speaker: um So yeah, we did not stay for the shows. But overall, like I can't wait to go back. I want to check out both of these parks. Maybe give both of them like their own day. Even though I don't feel like DCA really has much to do in a whole day.
Speaker: But we got really lucky. Crowds were very minimal. It worked out perfectly. But yeah, I can't wait to go back. Definitely. it's It's made me want to plan my trip for like January or February of next year already. so we'll see. Yeah, we'll definitely go like after whenever like the break is over, go right after the break. I feel like crowds will probably be similar to what we had. We got super lucky. I was expecting it to be busy because i was like, OK, maybe maybe Some people will do the same as we are and just like extend their Labor Day weekend, you know, for the week prior.
Speaker: But it was dead. Like it was the lines were super short, you know, lightning a lot. And um yeah, it would have worked out perfectly for us. So definitely get out there. It's it's really fun.
Speaker: oh Yeah, that's Disneyland. um Also, as part of this weekend, we ended up at Knott's Berry Farm on a Saturday, which is tariff always busy. um And we definitely did not get it there at open because we were coming off of a night of Horror Nights. um So we got there midday. We were there for, you know, a couple hours, like four or five hours, I think. Not too, too long.
Speaker: Um, the park was definitely slammed as kind of i expected for a Saturday at Knox. Um, but I think you hadn't ridden accelerator before, right? Rafa. I hadn't, it was my first time writing.
Speaker: So that's kind of primarily, I feel like why we were there because it had been down for a while and it's always going down and it actually happened to be running. So we were like, let's go ride accelerator. Yeah. What did you think? so We were missing, you know, some of us were, um we went during the stumble, the l LA stumble, which we didn't get that. We didn't get Montezuma's. We didn't get Jaguar. yeah So, you know, we had some creds to to get there.
Speaker: What did you think of Accelerator? I really enjoyed it. And I wish we would have ridden again. But the I was not waiting in that line again. Their operations are terrible. That launch was great. But that wait was just brutal. So rough.
Speaker: Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. But yeah, it's a fantastic launch. Oh, yeah. So fun. So fun. um We also did the renovated Montezuma's Revenge, which, appreciate the out of the theming. um The way that they reversed the queue is a little bit strange, but it is what it is, I guess. um I didn't really feel like it was different enough to warrant calling it a new roller coaster. I definitely did not count it as one. I know that you all hadn't ridden it, so it didn't really matter for you. yeah um But, I mean, I didn't find the launch to be like particularly punchy or impressive or anything. It just kind of felt like...
Speaker: I don't know, our kind of run of the mill launch and does what it does. The loop is pretty intense. um And the the spike is cool. But yeah, that's about it. Yeah, it was fine.
Speaker: Yeah. Or as Tyler would say mid. Yeah, exactly. um And then what did we do? Oh, and then we went to go print out our single use fast lanes for our prestige passes. And for some reason, I had five of them. So I printed all of them out. Like Zach had four of them and we all went to ride Ghost Rider.
Speaker: That was running really well, I thought, actually. Like really smooth. Like, yeah, had a really fun ride on that. yeah Yeah, we had a great night ride on that, which I don't think you weren't with us, were you? No, no I didn't stay super late. yeah Okay, yeah, you guys left earlier, that's right. Yeah, it's it was fun. um What else? Oh, and then we went to go ride ah Timber Mountain Log Ride.
Speaker: Oh, yeah. Which I had forgotten how good that is. It is so good. Like the amount of dark ride scenes. There's so many dark ride scenes, it's crazy.
Speaker: yeah I just completely forgot. It's really good. Like I, I didn't realize though. I don't know if there's like, there's gotta be an opening like at the bottom of the log in the front. Cause I was in the front seat and we went down this dip and a bunch of water came in like over my shoes. I was like, no, no, no.
Speaker: I was like, I was over here thinking that like I had my feet like positioned like in a way that like, I wouldn't have to worry about them getting wet. Nope. They got wet. That stinks. I got lucky then because I didn't get very much of anything. but Yeah, that was really fun. I'm trying to think of what else we did. It wasn't a lot because the park was so busy.
Speaker: um I know that we rode Silver Bullet. um That was fun as usual. That's one of my preferred inverts. I enjoy the like floatiness that it has. um And then did you try the chicken restaurant?
Speaker: I didn't. I missed it. I missed it. Some of our friends did. I was feeling not great. So I did not eat the chicken, but I sat there and watched them eat it and they really had a good time. It sounded like the mashed potatoes are really good and um the fried chicken and stuff and pie were all good. So I guess check that restaurant out if you get a chance. It's actually outside of the park. So you can go to it without having to to go in.
Speaker: Yeah, I'll have to do that next time. yup Anything else on knots? No, I mean, it was like we mentioned earlier, it was very busy. Like we have to park in the back, like over by the other entrance, which was insane. Like I remember driving in and we went in to the main parking area and they just kept telling us to keep going, keep going, keep going. Then they're like, turn left once you reach the light. And then you're going make another left. And then i then we're in a field. And I'm like, yeah what is happening right now? It was very confusing trying to park there for sure. Usually when I go there, I park in the like lot right across the street. And and I was yeah so confused where they were directing us. It was definitely a very busy day.
Speaker: um And yeah, it's unfortunate how... For like the quality of the park that it is their operations are just so slow. I will give them credit for Ghost Rider because they added the lockers and they did fix the problem of this really, really long ride stacking every cycle. It doesn't stack anymore. They send the trains out like very efficiently there, but everywhere else. o but Yeah, they were not good. Like the six minute dispatches on accelerator. Oh,
Speaker: grass was off That was That was rough. Yeah. Yeah. Like a line that isn't even that long is, is actually like 60 plus minutes. So yeah. um Hopefully they can continue to work on that. Cause it'd be rough.
Speaker: Anyway, we didn't spend a ton of time in there, so we don't have a lot of thoughts about it, but I think everybody's kind of familiar with knots. Yeah. um Another thing that we were able to do on this trip was on the Sunday. um We were planning to go to six flags, magic mountain.
Speaker: And it turned out to be a full day washout, um which is so unusual for California. We were like, what is happening? But it was pretty much rainy all day. um So we went out for like a breakfast, which was nice. And then we were like, what do we do? And we ended up going to the Warner Brothers Studio Tour, um which I had done before in like 2019. So it'd been many years. um And then you guys were,
Speaker: first timers and I know that Shay and Bethany were very excited to see stars hollow from Gilmore Girls. What did you think of the tour? It was really cool. I really i i loved it. i thought it was a good time.
Speaker: It was i didn't know going into it like that we were going to see like I didn't know of some of the sets that we would go into. And I like geeked out when I saw the Abbott Elementary like entry. I was like,
Speaker: I was like, what? And then like seeing like the trailers and stuff for The Pit, which was really cool. um Yeah, it was really neat. And feel like our tour guy was pretty funny. He was vibing with us a lot. I think he was saying something about... We're so obnoxious. When we were talking about... think he mentioned the new Space Jam with LeBron James. And then you have like the three of us in the back, me, Bethany, and Shay going like LeBron, James, like so obnoxious of us, but he thought it was. He did it back though. He did it back. He did it back. So he, he passed the vibe check or at least we passed the vibe check. But yeah,
Speaker: It was it was hilarious. But yeah, overall, it was a really neat experience. And I'm glad we did it because we did have we weren't planning on going to Magic Mountain, but we were going to make it like an L.A. day, see what we can do out there. um But with the whole weather situation, this ended up being like the best option, I think.
Speaker: Yeah. Like, I mean, it was still actively raining during the tour, but the tour vehicle is covered. um So for a part of it, like you're not exposed. And luckily the times that we did get out, it kind of like slowed down raining and stuff. So that was nice. Yeah. um For those of you that aren't familiar, it's, um you know, like there are parks out there that have studio tours on big trams. This is sort of like,
Speaker: a like souped up golf cart. It sits three across in like four rows. So it's a pretty small tour vehicle. Um, and the tour is pretty intimate. Like the guide kind of talks about the, the movies and TV shows that you've seen. He'll like ask you, what have you seen? And like, they'll try to point out stuff that you know about or you're looking for, which is nice.
Speaker: Um, yeah and you tour like the but back, back lot sections of, um, The studios, they show you the sound stages. You get to go into one of the sound stages, which was super cool because we got to see a sound stage where they do um with a live audience. So we were like sitting in the chairs where the live audience sits and you can see all the microphones, like all the sets are in front of you. Yeah, um that was super cool. And then at the end, they bring you to like a series of museums that have props and exhibits and stuff. um Bethany road wrote a broom.
Speaker: ah for Harry Potter on a green screen. Like we did a Lord of the Rings, like a big, small, like camera angles thing. Yeah. and There was like a sound exhibit, like, and then a bunch of Harry Potter stuff at the end. So like they had all kinds of interesting things to see. It was, it was a, it was a neat experience.
Speaker: Yeah, it's definitely worth the visit. I definitely enjoyed it. um If you're a Harry Potter fan or if you're a DC fan, also like both of them had their own exhibits. But just the tour were alone, like on the golf cart, I think that made it worth it. That was my highlight. Like that's the best part for sure.
Speaker: Yeah, it feels different from the Universal one because like it's it feels more like you're actually at a real studio. Yeah, because the one at Universal has like the fake you like disaster sets and stuff like that. And this one is like, no, like we're literally filming here sometimes. So like, yeah, yeah, definitely.
Speaker: But it was yeah, all in all, it was a fun time. I really enjoyed it. Glad I checked it out. Yeah. um So speaking of the Universal Tour, um let's cover the thrills at Universal Hollywood. So this is outside of HHN, but we all also attended the park during the daytime to see some of the attractions. um you Had you been before?
Speaker: No, that was my first time going. Yeah, so the day before you guys went, we spent like half the day there. um We didn't get to ride everything on that first day. I think we were just missing like the Backlot Tour at that point.
Speaker: And of course, we didn't do like Simpsons or Transformers. We didn't really care to do those. But yeah well we basically did everything else. Oh, Super Nintendo. We didn't go into there either. Yeah, which is a copy of the existing one at Epic. So it's kind of like, okay.
Speaker: Exactly. Yeah. So this was my first time going and it was very bizarre. i don't know. It feels it's a very interesting park. Like I appreciate it because it's pretty cool. Like how it's built and like the location and all. But the The upper and lower lot thing is just very weird to me. Yeah.
Speaker: And the amount of escalators that it takes to get from one to the other. ridiculous. It takes so long to get from the upper to lower and back. It's ridiculous. I will say, though, there's beautiful views on the way down and up, just looking out on the San Fernando Valley. It's really pretty. Yeah. Yeah.
Speaker: um But I think like, I don't know if you agree, but both of us having come from experiencing Orlando first, this park is automatically at a disadvantage because a lot of the attractions are copies.
Speaker: Yeah. Like, okay, well, I've seen this exact Harry Potter land over there. And there's very minor differences, but not enough to be like interesting. Yeah. Yeah, doesn't. It's not. Yeah, it takes away from the excitement for sure. Like, if it's your first time going to the Wizarding World and you're going to Hollywood, you're gonna think it's amazing because you haven't experienced anything like it. But like when you're comparing it to like Orlando, it's literally the same thing minus Hagrid's like, honestly, 100%. Yeah. And you can see the door where Hagrid's is supposed to be. And it's just not exactly. It's so awkward. Yeah. yeah i mean in comparison to um the orlando resort i guess some of the ah unique features are and which we did the secret life of pets dark ride which is actually really cute and like it's really filled with animatronics it's very well done um what else is unique studio tour so what did you think of that that was the kind of like spoofed up universal version of a of a backlot tour Yeah, it's funny because at first I was like, that was really neat. And then like after doing the Warner Brothers, i was kind of like, damn. I was like, okay, that was not that great, I guess. Okay, it was great. But it's, you know, i mean, it at the end of the day, it is still a theme park experience. 100%, yeah. They're different vibes. Yeah, it's a different it's a different vibe. But I mean, I really enjoyed it. I thought it was really cool to see like some of the sets that they had.
Speaker: um It was... very exciting to see the Odyssey um set piece at the very end. That was my highlight for sure. um And then, and yeah, I mean, that was, that was basically it. I mean, it's, it's really cool. I liked it. And then I like the scene where you go into the subway station The earthquake. Yeah, the earthquake. Yeah. and that Because it took me back to the Florida earthquake ride um that they had years ago.
Speaker: um But that was that was really neat. But yeah, it was it was good. it was ah it was a good time. but Like I said, once you compare it to Warner Brothers, you know, it doesn't really compare. But it was a good time. and It's interesting for a theme park.
Speaker: and something you know we're not used to an experience like that in florida's park i think that's the what universal florida like misses like they don't have that kind of like they don't really have much hollywoodness anymore in that park i feel like i feel like before like with um with earth and twister yeah yeah Yeah, I feel like the Bourne show is probably the most Hollywood thing that we have down here.
Speaker: Everything else and then Animal Actors, which is closing R.I.P. um But yeah, like those are the few experiences that do give off like movie set and, you know, film experience and all that stuff. So it is nice to see that. I think that they do.
Speaker: like that a little bit better. Like they do make you feel like, you know, this is about the movies along with Waterworld, which Waterworld is incredible. Like the way that show is and the stunts and all of that, like that feels very cinematic. That feels very Hollywood. as it should I mean, it would be I'd be worried if it weren't the case in Hollywood.
Speaker: Yeah. but yeah but Yeah. I mean, I would say like in terms of unique experiences that the tram tour and the water world show are kind of like the biggest highlights really that are, you know, kind of speaking to what the park is, but yeah. That was my first time. I've been to the park before, pretty much done everything except for Waterworld. So I was happy to see it this time. And it is a really well done show with like the the stunt performers who are, you know, like have done a bunch of TV shows around California and and movies and stuff. And they're just yeah hanging out in this show at Universal, like jumping off things and getting set on fire and...
Speaker: ah that's throwing water at people as well because dang they took those buckets of water and just hauled them at people's faces that was of crazy like me yeah i know you sat in the wet wet section you're crazy they did not that that one jet ski got me so bad oh my gosh that's right yes the jet skis like spin out in front of the audience and bam they hit them good Yeah, but it was a really fun show. I enjoyed that a lot.
Speaker: um I think that's really all that the highlights are, to be honest, outside of the other stuff. The park definitely feels like smaller and sort of less grand than than Universal hollywoodly or Orlando does. yeah But that's definitely just partially because we've seen some of the stuff there before.
Speaker: right um Of course, one of the big reasons that we were going, though, was the opening of Fast and the Furious, which Hollywood Drift, I should say the whole name. It's a mouthful. um But it is not officially opening until September 16th. I think that's correct.
Speaker: um But luckily, during the time we were there, although when we first got there, there was there was a coaster train valid in one of the launches and we were like, oh, no. um luckily by i think around like 12 p.m right after the water world show actually um they had started cycling it and got it up so we were able to ride it i think when we walked up to the entrance it was already posted at like 100 minutes yeah which was like oh no um but we had all heard that the single rider line was kind of like the the trick to get on it quicker and that is true uh it was wait like 13 minutes
Speaker: Yes, like we I think the day before some of you guys had done it in like 20 minutes and it only took us like 12. It was wild how fast that thing moves. wow but Yeah. So I think I got to ride it um four times over the course of the visit. um Some of us were able to ride it during HHN as well because of the special types of tickets that you bought. um At this point, if you're looking to do that, the only kind of ticket you can buy that gets you it for HHN is the RIP ticket. um until it opens on the 16th and then who knows what happens after that. but um So yeah, it's a soft opening period and it was kind of like who knows, but luckily we got a good number of rides in each person, I think.
Speaker: What did you think? I... Okay, so I really enjoyed it. It just, it just, it felt too short for me.
Speaker: um it it does feel a little short. I do agree with that. Yeah. Yeah, it feels a little short, but I do think that it's impressive, like where it's built.
Speaker: I think the views are incredible, um which adds to the experience. And i don't, I didn't get a full dark ride, so you can talk on, you know, talk about that, but The darkest I got was like sunset, you know, but i think I feel like even after I do a night ride, this is a daytime ride just for the views alone.
Speaker: um I could see that. Yeah. Yeah. I could definitely just for the views. i feel like it is definitely like a daytime, you know, as long as there's sunlight out, it's going to be a better experience. But I really, I liked it.
Speaker: And we did get one ride that didn't drift, which was interesting. Yeah. Very weird. Like we went through the whole first half, like, you know, drifting and then we stopped and then we went right before that dive, that dive loop. um That's when we started just going forward and it felt so weird because it just, that is weird.
Speaker: It felt out of place. It felt like we were supposed to be spinning this whole time and we're just like going straight into it. And it was, yeah, yeah it was weird. But I mean, I think overall, I really like it. I think it's a very good coaster. I think it's a great addition that needed it That park needed that for sure. hundred percent.
Speaker: Yeah. So much. Yeah. Yeah. I enjoyed it. What'd you think? Yeah, um I agree. i I enjoyed a lot. um I definitely went in with temperate expectations, just having heard from people like don't expect velocicoaster level intensity, that kind of thing. So I went in. um I feel like my expectations were pretty much met on that, um like expecting something that's not like the highest level thrill, not super intense, but just fun. And that's pretty much how I describe it. Like it's really fun.
Speaker: but it's not like excessively thrilling or like violent or or anything like that. really um the The track is very smooth. The drifting is very smooth. Like it's a very um calibrated experience is maybe the best way to put it. yeah I will say the one moment that I do really like that gets a little bit more kind of like crazy is there's a moment where you're kind of diving down the hill, go through sort of a sideways airtime hill while the car is spinning backwards. And that's one of my favorite moments on the ride. think that's my favorite part too. Yeah. Yeah. That was really fun. um And probably like the most unexpected as well. Yeah.
Speaker: But I think like definitely like the visuals is a big part of it. You can see the whole valley. It's like the same view that you get when you're going down the escalators because it's essentially built right next to it. Right. But also the visuals of...
Speaker: you seeing other people in the other cars as you're spinning. One thing that was really fun about the single rider line is like, we were almost always like on the same train, just in different cars. So I was always like spinning around and like seeing somebody over in another car and just like waving at them. um But yeah, it it was it was very fun. I mean, like, i the night ride for me, I think don't know if it was the night. I think it was more that I finally got the back car, the fourth car, kind of bumped it up for me. I think that was my favorite place to ride it.
Speaker: oh um But I'm thinking more, like... I don't know, like it's top 50 probably and might be 40s, 30s. I don't know. But not like top 10 or top 20. That would be like crazy high for for what the experience is, I think. But I think it's very well done. Like it's it's a good ride and I'm glad it's there.
Speaker: um And I'm really excited to see the version that Orlando puts out because the track layout is, I think, going to be a different experience. Yeah, I think especially with like the rotating cars like and some of the elements that we see in the Orlando one, it looks like Orlando's is going to be more intense, I think, at least. Yeah.
Speaker: We'll just have to wait and see. i don't know. Depends on how fast it goes. Yeah, it' yeah because I will say that that's another thing. It's called Fast and e Furious, but... There's really only one launch on the ride that feels like you're going fast. It's when you're all the way down at the bottom of the valley and it kind of launches you back up. You're like, oh, now we're going full speed. Yeah. Because when you first start, the first quote unquote launch is more of like a roll off.
Speaker: That is such a sad launch. Yeah. There's nothing to that. Yeah. it's I was expecting like a, I was thinking like a little push kind of like the first launch in Hagrid's. And that's more, this is way more tame than that little. green Yes. And I was expecting that. And it wasn't that at all. it was just like, it was just like an acceleration, like, boom like it was just, so yeah, it was nothing.
Speaker: Yeah. Yeah. So the launches are not really the highlights of this. It's more like the drifting and the visuals and the ah pops of forces like here and there kind of thing. Yeah. I think I think the public I mean, clearly, like you can see the line for it. But I think the public is going to continue to love this ride over time. Like, I don't think its popularity is going to drift away. um yeah i think it's it's here to stay because um it's it's very well calibrated for like the the public to be able to to enjoy it and repeatedly like you could ride that thing like all day. Oh, yeah.
Speaker: unless you're averse to spinning, but I don't even think like we had people in our group that don't love spinning and the drifting really they were like, okay with it. They were like, it didn't feel like yeah it doesn't feel out of control. It doesn't feel like it's overdoing the spinning like it feels like it spins when it's supposed to spin. Like it doesn't like it doesn't mess you up that much.
Speaker: Yeah. All right, cool. Well, that was our daytime experience at Hollywood Universal. And now we're moving into chills. And so HHN, let's go. um Let's see. So um I guess for some clarity, like I think all of us had tickets where we were able to be in the park before HHN officially started, which is very helpful. get to that in a minute. um But I guess...
Speaker: both of us are coming at this, actually all of us on the trip, we're coming at this from the lens of we've done Orlando. Now we're doing ah Hollywood for the first time. um And I think that definitely kind of colors your impressions of it and everything. So I'm curious what you thought overall of that event in comparison to Orlando and then just like on its own, how it, how it worked. Yeah.
Speaker: ah i'm I'm torn. Because it was good. Like, I didn't dislike it. i think it was a good time.
Speaker: But I think like the streets lacked so much, which we'll go into that. mean, we can honestly just say now because really don't have much to say about it. But like the overall feel like with the streets, like I feel like most of the action was going on at the front of the park.
Speaker: Nothing else is going on. And that kind of like. ruin the experience a little bit. It didn't feel like there was much HHN going on elsewhere besides the music blasting, of course, and some lights and projectors here and there, but like, it wasn't anything like crazy. um It feels... It definitely felt cheaper than Orlando.
Speaker: It felt cheaper. But there were things that I do think they did better. um Which we'll go into that with the houses. But, i mean, overall with the houses, I feel like...
Speaker: their scaring techniques are a little more, I guess, creative or a little more unpredictable than the scares that we get in Orlando. Like i feel like Orlando, they rely so heavily on the double-sided boo doors or whatever. And it, once that's in like,
Speaker: every single house it's so easy to predict that like okay i had one guy jump out of me here when i turn the corner he's gonna jump out there like in hollywood they jump out like they jump out of the walls they jump out of like the wind like these windows or or doors like it's a little more like it's just less predictable um yeah i don't know i feel like hollywood they do certain things better i think that know. I'm torn. What do you think? What do you think? Because i just I just feel like I don't know if one night was enough for me to get a true feeling of how this event is. Yeah.
Speaker: i don't know. i um I feel in terms of comparing them, I really have to see the Orlando event this year before I can make a full judgment call. Yeah. um Because there's so much overlap with the houses that...
Speaker: directly comparing them is going to be something we're doing. And then like just comparing the experience of the scare zones and everything and the the vibes in the park. But honestly, kind of loved it. um I don't know. I just like really had a good time. um i completely agree with you in terms of the atmosphere in the park that it's very contained to the upper lot area and really only like the front portion of the upper lot. And once you go beyond that, it just kind of dies out. yeah But I really did enjoy
Speaker: the the vibes in that area, like where they actually had all the scare zones roving and the music playing and the lights flashing and the fire. Like that was, I really enjoy that. And it felt a little less chaotic maybe, or actually, you know what it is? it It felt a little more um claustrophobic, like in a good way. The pathways are a little bit tighter than Orlando. So um you can get a little bit more unexpected interactions and stuff as opposed to like the streets of um what am I thinking of? Like the Masquerade scare zone, whatever the street area it called is called. It's so wide.
Speaker: yeah Hollywood Street. It's so wide. New York is the same. Like the New York street is usually so wide and like walking through it, you feel like the scare zones are just out in the, or the scare actors are just out in the open, like roving towards people. Whereas at Hollywood, it's kind of like dense and they're like, you don't even know that there's a scare actor there until they like come right up on you. um And I enjoyed that aspect of it.
Speaker: Um, I think the house quality, like set design wise, definitely like not quite as much money being spent, but I completely agree with you on the scares. Like I have never been gotten that much at or Orlando in one night. And that's partially a function of how many houses I was able to go through, but also the uniqueness and like creativity of some of the scares in those houses. Um, so I yeah really enjoy that aspect of it. And like how many times I got, got, cause that was really fun. Yeah. And that's something I'll mention. um
Speaker: You had a far more, guess you got to check out a lot more than we did. Yeah. you know we had We ran into a bit of a delay with the whole Fast and Furious thing, and then we kind of stayed behind, and we really didn't get to do anything until later on. So we were kind of a little we were a little more than time crunch, um so we didn't get to repeat as many houses, and we also didn't have that early entry ticket, which was my bad. i didn't even read that everybody got – I must have missed the message where everybody got the freaking ticket. But – It's all good.
Speaker: We at least had, we at least had Zach and Ryan with us. um And we got to do every house still, but we didn't get to do every house. Like we didn't get to rerun anything. Like we did house just one time. yeah So, you know, that's the reason why we didn't get to really try as many food items as we would have wanted. um So definitely for those that are going for the first time,
Speaker: get that early access, get that express. You'll get the most out of it. Um, but yeah, that's what I wanted to talk about next. It's just like, yeah, strategically we had purposely purchased express in advance. Cause we were just like, we, we have one night we're in Hollywood. Like it's a different park.
Speaker: We want to be able to get everything done and have that ease of mind. Um, and then I got convinced later cause I didn't have an initially to get this early access ticket, which it's very confusing compared to Orlando because it's, even if you're in the park already for the day, you don't automatically get early access to the houses there. yeah You have to either purchase the early access ticket, which is like 20 to $30 depending on the night, or you have to have a specific type of ticket like the day plus night ticket or the after 2 p.m. ticket in order to have that early access. Yeah.
Speaker: However, Scott convinced me. Thanks, Scott. Shout out to buy it because. Yeah, that's the thing. I didn't know. So to my understanding, I think only like two people had it. i think Bethany and Caleb were the only ones. like Okay. I was like, it's all good. i didn't know that other people started buying it. So then when I saw that you guys had it, I'm like, I know I would have bought it. Scott started convincing us. guess what It is is.
Speaker: So the difference being, and it's funny because like they they label, there's two wristband colors. And if you have the early color, they will let you in the houses early. But if you have the standard color, then you can't get in until seven, which is when the event starts. yeah um The early access wristband says 530.
Speaker: But in actuality, if you look in the app, the houses actually start opening at five. um So strategically, we went down to h lot which if you're not familiar with Hollywood is basically past the castle down a hill. It's sort of like the back tents, the the new tents um at Orlando where you have to walk quite a while to get to them.
Speaker: um So we went down there first around 445 at 450. They like open the gates, let us through. We were able to walk down to the house and Hellraiser opened at five.
Speaker: Walk on. We did it twice. um And then Evil Deadburn was right next to it. We got on that within like 15 minutes. um We walked up to the back out to the upper lot area and Sinners was a walk on. We did it twice. Then we went down to the lower lot and were able to do Stranger Things, which by then had a longer line. It was like 30 minutes ish. But we did that. So we did um five house, no, six house runs between five o'clock and seven o'clock in two hours. So that's huge to me. Like I was like, i know had a yeah i know you guys are stuck. It's so um so but I learned from my mistakes. It will not happen again. But no, you guys had a very successful start to. Yes. I would say that compared to Orlando, the early access is like even better because they're just people aren't aware of it, it seems like or aren't as savvy about how to get to the houses ahead of time because you can really knock some stuff out.
Speaker: And like, yeah did we need express that? at that point, no. But having it obviously was like super helpful and we can talk about how much time we saved there. um But yeah, so we did six houses early and then we did all of our express houses. And then those of us that stayed all the way till the end of the night, um the lines did die down and we were able to get another three runs in. So we ended up doing like 16, I want to say, um house runs. We like ran all of the houses more than once except for two. um So it was a really successful night. um
Speaker: Definitely credit to express though, because some of those lines were, whoo, especially like Ozzy at one point I saw sinners was one 20 at one point, which was kind of crazy. um So yeah, that definitely was a contributing factor to our experience.
Speaker: Yeah. Cool. um All right. So before we start getting into the houses, we just want to do a quick overview of the food and beverage we had. Are there any highlights for you?
Speaker: Um, yes. Okay. So i think my number one food item was the bark at the non. Yes. It was so good It was so good. So it was a, I've got the description here. It's a non taco filled with ah chicken tikka masala, red cabbage, diced pineapple, lime crema and cilantro. That was my favorite.
Speaker: That was so good. That's probably the best HHN food item I've had. i was with this I was about to say the same, but I was like, let me not be dramatic. But no, I think so too. It was just so flavorful. like it was It didn't feel like something you would get out of a theme park. No, not at all. And it was also huge. Like it was very filling. Oh yeah.
Speaker: Yeah. It was really, really good. That was definitely my favorite. And even though I missed out on the burnt ends, which we'll talk about later, but like, even though I missed out on that, this, I feel like it would have been my favorite food item. It was just so good. It was so flavorful.
Speaker: Yeah, it it was and also like super unique to have like a tikka masala something at HHN. It just felt different to me. I also had like the perfect amount of heat where it wasn't like crazy, but it was like, oh, yeah, it was it was delicious delicious. But yeah, I also shocked that I'm like so excited about a food item because normally I'm like, they're good. But like, you know, I'm like, you know yeah um it's really good, though.
Speaker: Yeah, I also tried the, um I did try the Remix burnt ends, which they don't have in Orlando. and And the sauce on those and the tenderness of the the meat was really good. um Those were really good. I got to try Caleb's and Scott's because they both got some over the course of the day and just little bites. But I was like, yeah, that was really good. um And then somebody got the also from the Oz, no, not from the Ozzy bar, from the Dio de los Muertos Plaza area. There were beef birria tacos.
Speaker: Those were also very flavorful um and delicious. oh so good So shout out to that. um couple other things I tried, um the pecan and whiskey bread pudding at the sinner's booth.
Speaker: How you... Yeah. How do you feel about that? i thought it was good, not great. It was a little too dry for me, um but I did like the balance of like saltiness and sweetness in it is kind of where I landed on it.
Speaker: So here's my thing with it. I felt like it was inconsistent all around. it tasted good, but there was some parts that were too dry. also felt like there were parts that were too salty. hmm.
Speaker: um So but then the parts that weren't those two tasted great. Yeah. i don't know. I feel like I'd be like I'm glad that I at least had like part of it taste good. Yeah. Or to me. But I feel like I would have been so pissed if I would have gotten one and it had like the saltiest like portions, you know, like I would have been so mad.
Speaker: but It was a little undalanced. Yeah. Honestly, though, like it's a very shareable item. I don't think I would have had a whole one. i don't know if you ate the whole thing, but I shared mine. Yeah. didn't want whole thing.
Speaker: yeah but it was it was good it was it was fine i definitely want to try it in orlando um yeah to see if i have a better one is it not try it it was one of the few things on my list that i didn't try because i was trying to mostly share things with tyler for like money can't eat my stomach and he can't eat that so and i'd already chosen two things he didn't want to eat in the trip so i was like uh i'll just wait till next time but Yeah. We shall try this in Orlando. We shall. Yeah, for sure. To compare.
Speaker: um And then drinks wise, right at the beginning, actually, kind of our start to HHN was we went to Mulligan's Irish Bar, which they sort of had converted into a club juke location with some of the Sinners themed drinks. I got one that was like, ah I can't forget you, Bluesberry.
Speaker: I think it was what it was called. Yeah. I was probably to you i love the Bluesberry. There it is. yeah Yeah. Yeah. I wrote it down here. Yeah, I got the same. And that was pretty good. I thought i thought it was good. i think it just like I think halfway through I was kind of like over the blueberry. Yeah, that's the flavor was a little bit like a little sweet for me, but it it tasted good.
Speaker: I liked it. I don't think like I tried some other people's drinks over the course of the night. I didn't think that any of them were stellar compared to the food. I thought that the food that I tasted was like, yeah, this is really solid. Yeah. Drink wise, though, I did. I did try the um over at the Oz booth. I got a margarita. it was the Blizzard of Azzurita, which I really like that drink. OK, good.
Speaker: Yeah. Then again, I'm a big tequila person, but yeah, it was, it was pretty good. It's like, it had like rock candy on it which was pretty interesting. Like it had like a rock candy, like sugar rim or something like that. Yes. They said really good. Yeah. Overall it was, it was a good flavor. i was able to drink that whole thing and not kind of be grossed out like the blueberry, but yeah, but no, it was good. It was good.
Speaker: Yeah. Also, ladies beware, some of these drinks had like, what was it? Like a blackberry rim or something. And that stuff gets everywhere. so oh Oh, yeah. Maybe ask for it without the rim if you don't want this like black stuff all over your lips and tongue and everywhere. Bethany was like, I hate this.
Speaker: ah But yeah, was there any other food that you tried? like um what else did I try? Nope. we We talked about the four that i tried. So I had the two drinks and then I had the the bread pudding and the naan.
Speaker: Cool. So I guess the overall message is if as long as you like Indian food, get the get the naan taco because it's damn good. it's It's so And unfortunately, it's not in Orlando because I would literally get it again. um Yeah, that is a Hollywood exclusive there.
Speaker: All right. um So that answered Zach's question, by the way, best Hollywood food and drinks. um He was there as well. And I think he shouted out the non taco as well as one of his favorites. So non taco and the well, both from the Oz booth. So the the non taco and the blues arena or whatever it's called. Yes. Perfect.
Speaker: All right. So we're not to spoilers quite yet. But before we do hit the spoiler territory, we're just going to do a pure ranking. So we're getting into the houses. We're not going to rank the scare zones. And we'll explain why a little bit as we get into the spoiler section. Um, so this is just going to be our list of the houses. And then we're going to go ahead and throw the terror tram into there. Cause it's kind of a house walk through things sort of not really, but close enough. Like it's, it's a longer experience. So we'll count it as one of those and put it into the ranking.
Speaker: All right. Um, you go ahead and go, do you want to do like, uh, in order from the bottom we can alternate? Yes. Yeah, we can do that. Um, okay. So at nine, I have the terror tram. Hmm. I had at number one, which is so embarrassing to think back. Yeah. It's all good i I've been debating this, but I think I'm also going to put the Terra Tram at nine.
Speaker: Okay. yeah it's Yeah. We will talk about that. it yeah Okay, number eight, I have Stranger Things. Number eight, I have Killer Clowns. Ooh, okay, so you're going to be surprised when I'm eye-ranking.
Speaker: Okay, so seven, I have Sinners. I have Stranger Things. Okay. Six, I have Evil Dead. Also Evil Dead Burn. Okay, okay. Number five, I have Hellraiser. Okay, okay. I have Kill Signera.
Speaker: Okay, number four, I have Kill Signera. Okay, and yep. I have sinners as four. Okay, and number three, I have killer clowns. Wow, okay. We're going to have talk about this. I have Hellraiser as number three.
Speaker: Okay, number two, I have dead, deader, and deadest. Same. So our number one Ozzy Osbourne. Oh my god, you guys! Yeah, it was, it's so good. We'll go into detail, but it is. yeah good I am so excited to hear your thoughts after the Orlando one because of all the IPs. Those are like clearly yeah probably the most different.
Speaker: Yeah. I'm so excited to see the differences between those IPs. And Tyler and I have Ozzy as our number one. Oh, okay. Well, all right. So this is your spoiler alert. We're about to start talking about some of these things in more detail. So if you don't want to hear it, scram. Yes. All right. So we're going to start with um kind of the other stuff and end with the houses. So ah the first thing we're going to talk about is the show, which is purge dangerous waters.
Speaker: um I'm just going to say this is basically just HHN water world. It is HHM Waterworld like no splash zone, but correct. There's like blood splatter, which was cool. was wondering. The splatter was shocking at first. I did not. I was like, whoa. I was like, what the heck just happened? Someone gets like stabbed and then all of a sudden, I'm like, wait, wait, wait, wait. It very violent. What is going on? Very interesting.
Speaker: They also only set one person on fire in Waterworld and they set like five people on fire in the perch. I was like, what? It was a little dramatic. Very. It's a little dramatic, Universal. What are we doing? But I mean, like, for me, the show is just an opportunity to sit down and I really needed to in the moment that we saw it. So I was like, oh, thank God. Yeah. And it was like still entertaining, but it did feel a little redundant if you'd seen Waterworld the same exact day like we did. But if you hadn't, I can imagine that it would be more, you know, like fresh if it was the only show you saw that day.
Speaker: Yeah, 100%. I didn't mind it. It was but it was fine. Yeah, it just felt like Waterworld. It didn't like blow me away or anything. but Yeah, exactly. It was a fun watch. It's no nightmare fuel, but it's it's a good time.
Speaker: Yeah, I actually ended up doing a universal survey because they sent me one. And one of the comments I put in there, and I was like, I kind of feel that you need like some music or dance elements to that show to differentiate it from the daytime. Because it just, it was lacking in that like music, like heavy metal. I don't know. Something, something was missing. yeah um So yeah, not much to say on that. Okay.
Speaker: Scare zones. So... I don't even know if we necessarily need to list the names of them. I don't even know the names. For one of them. Yeah, I can't even remember the names of them, to be honest. um It's very interesting. So, like, ah the the walkway in the front of the park, like, from the entrance down to Fast and the Furious is essentially a combination of four scare zones put together.
Speaker: um And actually Universal is calling some of these street experiences, which I'm like, there's really no difference discernibly between those. yeah um I wish they would add or I wish they would just call everything a zone. Yeah. yeah like one Or just call it all street experiences because honestly, it's more like that in Hollywood. Yeah. Hollywood is more street experience than scare zone, honestly. Yeah. I mean, the except for one, which is this and this is kind of interesting. And I kind of like the idea of this, which is that Kilsen Yara, the house dumps into a scare zone that's kind of in an alley. So it gives you the opportunity to like walk through it. And yeah that was the most detailed of any of them. Correct. Like it was actually cohesive. There was a theme. It also had sort of like how cat lady had that walkthrough area with scare actors in it. There was a sort of like mini house thing that you could walk through in this scare zone, which was kind of cool.
Speaker: it was too low key though. I feel like when we went in, I love that nobody was in there because the one guy that's in there scaring people jumped out at us and you wouldn't have expected it, but like nobody was in there.
Speaker: Yeah. Yeah. That's be like the worst job. but like If I were auditioning as a scare actor and they put me there, I'd be so freaking pissed. I know. But to be fair, he destroyed some of us in our group because we did not expect that at all. He got us so good. um But yeah, that's the one that's as close as to being a traditional scare zone in the Orlando context. All of the other ones are quite light on the props. Not that there are none, but they're very localized. Like the props are like within a range of like 10 feet of each other and that's it like the fort nightmare scare zone is essentially the battle bus a couple platforms and the hhn trust doing lighting stuff there's really no extendedness to that zone it's not better at orlando
Speaker: Shocking. It's longer, I'm sure. But yeah. oh yeah um What I will say is that although, you know, Orlando obviously has a way bigger budget in terms of the props and stuff. Again, like I really enjoyed...
Speaker: the interactions between the scare actors and the guests in these areas. Cause it was, it's the pathways tighter. um They're kind of like roving more. And for me, I got more unexpected moments with the scare actors, like in that area, even though it was kind of indiscernible, which one you were even at. um I like felt like the scare actors were able to have a little bit more fun because it was a little more tight.
Speaker: Yeah. Yeah. I agree. But other than that, there wasn't really like a ah particular highlight of any of them. Like they have the crows, they have the Banshee character, they have Chainsaw Guys, but it all just kind of blends together.
Speaker: And the lower lot is just so dead. Yeah, the lower lot does not have a scare zone. It just has like music playing and lights and stuff, but... And the Oz bar. That was it. Like that was all that was all that there was. And then if I mean, there was always like a roaming Arthur Clown there. I did notice that. Forgot about that. OK, I will say that was probably the best of any street experience or scare zone. I saw art like eight times over the course of the It was crazy. Like it was so fun just to like constantly be seeing him. And you would see like Christmas art and like regular art and the art with a trash bag, pulling stuff out of it and like banging on things. Like we saw him so, so, so many times. He wasn't getting bombarded?
Speaker: No, not at all. People like... basically left him alone. Like they would interact with him if he approached you, but they weren't like following him around with phones. So I think it's partially the behavior of the guests that's helping with that. And then also the arts were very mobile. Like they would not, they just kept it moving, kept it moving. Yeah. Especially if they saw that they were about to get swarmed by people. But like we were in the,
Speaker: the Dio de las Muertas Plaza area. And that was very open. And like, um, people were just sitting there eating and art came up and just started interacting with us. And then he interacted with the table next to us and nobody else like came and swarmed over. He just kind of like people just interacted with him like in the moment. And that was super, super fun.
Speaker: Yeah. Roaming Nikki. Yeah. I did not. Yeah. I don't, I think there are less of her than there are of art. Maybe just one or two. Cause I didn't see her. But also feel she would be way harder to recognize. She looks like a normal person. like pretty rough reviews I was on shout out Meg. I was on her podcast earlier today talking about obsession and she wanted me to ask you guys if you saw her. So yeah, we did not see her. That was a mess. That was a mess. Unfortunately.
Speaker: Yeah, I will say I kind of love um the Hollywood truss with the fire like blazing on top of it and the way that the lighting was done. It's very energetic, um very dynamic. So I liked that a lot. That was cool. I know that this year Orlando is like I've seen a picture of it obviously already. And that one looks pretty cool, too. But it's better than typical. Yeah.
Speaker: Yeah. Yeah. Because in the past years, it's kind of just been bit. But yeah, Hollywood's is kind of like pretty, pretty wild. And it definitely gets you hyped up like when you're walking in. But then after that, it kind of dies out afterwards. so Yeah. And it's so funny because I've always like thinking about it. Like now thinking back, like I think of like the videos that I've seen in the past of like Hollywood and all of the energetic stuff that I thought was so crazy. And I was like, damn, like they must go crazy and they must go hard in Hollywood. It all went down to the front of the park.
Speaker: Like I never really saw much happen out outside. else Yeah. Yeah. I mean, I definitely saw like an art in the lower lot, but that's about it in terms of character interactions, which it was good that they had him down there. I think part of it is a logistics thing because I feel that the night we were there was not slammed. i looked at the queue times on Sunday and holy crap. It was really good. And they had rain, which sucked. Yeah.
Speaker: Yeah. So I think because the lower lot is such a dead end with just like walls on all sides, I think they kind of wanted to keep it clear just for logistics reasons to make it easier to navigate down there. But yeah, um but yeah the scare zones are definitely not as grand in scale. And that was a little bit surprising.
Speaker: um Okay. What else? Yeah. Next up, the Terror Tram. the unique Hollywood HHN experience. It seems to be very polarizing.
Speaker: I guess so. Which I'm like, how? I was truly so pissed off just being in there. Yeah. It ruined my mood. I'm not going to lie. It kind of ruined my mood.
Speaker: Like, i It just... It feels... too cluttered. Like, it feels like they dumped too many people there. And for what it was and for what the theme was, it felt like it wasn't enough to carry that many people walking through it.
Speaker: Yeah. Something... I think part of the reason that there's been different experiences is that something was going on wrong when we were there. I can't imagine that's how they normally operate it because... For people to think it was good, like, we have to have had a bad run. Right. Because, like, ah I mean, we had Express, and even with Express, we walked into the, like, platform area, and they were not grouping the trams. they're just sort of like... go them It's just a mess of people trying to get on them. So, like, took a while to even get on one. And then once we get on it... We drive down the hill and we're just stuck like waiting to get off the tram because there's like three trams in front of us also waiting to get off. So there's something logistically was wrong. And we were sitting there with this art Christmas song playing on loop on loop on loop on loop.
Speaker: Oh my gosh. So that was really rough. um When you get off the tram, I will say that the way they start the experience is pretty cool because like you pull up in the tram and Art is just standing there like looking at you menacingly.
Speaker: And the next thing you know, all of these other characters start coming out and they're like, okay, stand here, stand here. And then they kind of do this like mini show to start it out. And then they end it by just rushing you with like chainsaws. um And then you start this walkthrough experience. It's I kind of have a hard time even like explaining what it is. It feels like a really wide outdoor haunted house thing. If anything felt cheap, it was that.
Speaker: Yeah. Like, it was, like, it felt like, what would be something, to me it felt like a local haunt, almost, like, the way that they would do like a haunted house, like, yeah.
Speaker: And like there were a lot of cute little scenes with art which were like fun to watch, but they weren't scary. Yeah. um And it didn't really feel like they were trying to do much scaring, maybe with less people because again, like there were so many people getting off the tram that it was just immediately backed up.
Speaker: um And we were just in a big clump of people trying to get through. ah But yeah, I mean, i guess I expected it to be a little bit more... scare zoney housey and it was kind of a more photo op slash walkthrough thing it felt too photo op for me yeah yeah it felt too much like i think yeah i think it was something like you said something was definitely going on there because other people seem to have enjoyed it it a lot and yeah for us it just wasn't
Speaker: a great experience. My highlight of that was, was walking through the world of the worlds set. and That one part. Yeah. That was it. The only part that I liked about it. Everything else just felt like, like if it truly felt cheap in the sense that like,
Speaker: it felt like they put art, the clown or whatever character, or the little girl from the second one, like they would just put them in like random Christmas scenes. Like, yeah, it just, it, it didn't, I don't know. It just, I could see how like the Blumhouse one may have worked last year. Like Scott was raving about it. Scott was actually very disappointed. He was very upset about it. Cause like, no, like it was, it's so much better than that.
Speaker: But yeah, It just, I just don't think that art, the clown was enough to carry an entire tram experience. Yeah. And like, maybe they shouldn't have picked the Christmas theme. Cause like, it felt a little bright and weird. Um, yeah. Wasn't super impressed with that, unfortunately. And kind of feels like it takes a while to do it. Cause the tram down and the tram up and you're kind of like, why did we just do all of this? I was so angry. Yeah. well we had also reached a point in the night when we did the tram we were like ready to like sit down and like relax and then it ended up being kind of stressful so we were like yeah i think at that moment yeah because at that moment we like split off because i was like you know what i'm tired now yeah i'm gonna get these houses done which again get express like if you're only going for one night express is totally worth it after this show what what time did we do terror tram i don't remember what time we did terror tram like We did it at about 930, I want to say, because we hit the 11th show. you know It was around that time. And once we finished that, like since we were still missing, like, I think like five houses, we're like, all right, you guys go watch the show. We're going to go finish the houses. And we got done with every remaining house within an hour.
Speaker: Like, so Express helped so much. Yeah. Yeah. um I wrote this down. I wrote down all of our times like that we actually waited versus what was posted. And for for our group, at least, um we saved 356 minutes, which is like six point something hours of time.
Speaker: That's Yeah, i mean, it worked incredibly. Like, honestly, I never had. i mean, this year is probably different, but I feel like I have never had that smooth of a night at HHN with Express. Like, right. Yeah, I think it seems like less people buy it in yeah Hollywood because, I mean, I literally have it written down. Like some of these were essentially walk-ons because it it it took us one minute to basically just walk the queue and then we were let into the house. So I wrote down one minute was how long we waited, which in Orlando, you know, you always see like an express queue, like a people who are probably waiting like 10 minutes at least. yeah So it was highly convenient and interesting.
Speaker: It also, yeah, made the day feel a little more relaxing, which was kind of nice. Yeah, I agree. But yeah, okay. So there's Territram, unfortunately, a disappointment. Maybe in future years it'll be better, but I'm not sold that it could be. so Yeah. um Moving on to the houses, the kind of feature of the night. um So maybe we just kind of want to start um towards the bottom of our list and work up, because ours were mostly similar.
Speaker: Mostly, yeah, I think so. Um, so we both had Terror Tram at the bottom. yeah Um, we both had Stranger Things pretty low. Um, what did you think? I feel like Universal, because they did this with Stranger Things 4, I feel like they don't know what, like, scenes and characters are the best ones to put into these houses.
Speaker: It felt like some of the scenes in there were just, like, no one asked for this, but they went with it. Like, it just, I don't know. it did It didn't do much for me. We did get some good scares um with the Vecnas in there, which <unk> I'll give them that, but it just...
Speaker: It wasn't anything special. And that ending, and it's funny because you guys mentioned something about an ending in Orlando's. The ending here was just, what is that? Like, what was that? Say what it was. This is spoilers. It's, so you go, so like you go into the last room it's literally nothing. It's a dark room and you have a screen and it's Elle's face And it's the whole scene of when she dies, basically. Like when like the wind and she has her eyes closed or whatever. or Like that's that's it. Like it's on a random tiny little screen and then you're out of the house.
Speaker: I didn't even notice that. Oh, so your TV is pi off but maybe there was It was literally a tiny screen and it shows Elle's face and there is nothing going on. You would think that maybe there would be some set or like some fog or something. And that would be like kind of like just like adding on to it. It was literally just her face as she's dying.
Speaker: And then that's it. Weird. That's worse than Orlando's even. because Because ours is what I remember was Joyce's Like destroying Vecna. That's the last thing I saw. Yeah, so that happens. And then the screen. Once you go to the next room, it's literally just a dark room. It's just black. You probably thought that it was just like like an awkward path. probably i did. I probably wasn't looking for anything.
Speaker: Probably, but it was literally just a screen. It had Elle's face, and it's the end scene. Like, it's just her face, but it looked so cheap, and it looked yeah so bad. Yeah, I mean, I will say, like,
Speaker: This one's tough because especially if you're really familiar with the TV show, like you have certain expectations about what the set design is going to look like. And it's difficult for them to execute at that level in a haunted house. And a lot of the spaces just kind of felt like like upside down vines hanging from the ceiling between rooms. And I'm like, OK, whatever. but the wormhole scene was kind of cool. Like going into that room was kind of cool. You kind of step down and then you have that whole wormhole thing. And then you had, um, what's the name of that character? the one that's with Max?
Speaker: No, no, no, no, no. that The guy, the the one that she's with Lucas is Lucas. Yeah. Yeah. Lucas. So Lucas, like he jumps out in there. Like there was a good scare in there, um which I appreciated, but that was probably the only room that like,
Speaker: I like that one. Yeah. Like the tunnel was seen was pretty cool like the water on one side and, and yeah, yeah there was also like the, the melting white room sort of, but it wasn't very well executed. I didn't think it was so bad. Um, and what else? The houses are not the same. Well, no, I don't expect that they are, which is kind of exciting for us. Yeah. um I did get caught by Vecna pretty well. Like, they had the one scene where Vecna pops out and then, like, El pops out from the other side. Mm-hmm.
Speaker: My favorite scene was... was um Mrs. Wheeler with the wine bottle. And that was pretty fun. um That's probably the most fun I had in it. Just like watching that happen. um But yeah, it just, I don't know. I don't know It's not very scary, I guess. And it just doesn't feel, it doesn't feel like you're being transported as much.
Speaker: No. as As some of the others do. So yeah, that's Stranger Things. Yeah. Not too much into like or Orlando, but I just think in general, it's a big undertaking to take on a full season of a show. But this full season of the show, every episode was movie length.
Speaker: yeah like my biggest critique was that there's really missing characters and scenes just like you said rafa but it's like i guess it is a tall task to like include everything but it's like you kind of have to get at what the basis of this of the series and the the whole basis of the show is which i think they missed out on in orlando at least i'm interested to see what you guys think when you go through that one too so curious yeah yeah but Yeah, so that's Stranger Things. um Also towards the bottom-ish of our lists was Evil Dead Burn. Yes. um i
Speaker: I enjoyed this. I mean, having not seen it. So Dex, I think, was the only person that had seen the movie. And he got out of this house and immediately was like, that's the best thing ever. Like, it followed the movie completely. It was perfect. It did. It did. followed. Okay. So that's what I will say. That was one of my points because I did watch the movie. So going into it, that was one of the things that i appreciated the most. And it made me actually, it almost made me appreciate the movie a little bit more.
Speaker: not by a lot i mean i still didn't love the movie it was fine but i just don't care to watch it again but like it was like it was very spot on with its scenes like a lot of the scenes a lot of the characters they did really well with that but i think yeah dax was he was loving that house he that was like and don't know i don't think it was his favorite but it was up there for him um He did just watch the movie like on his flight to LA. Yeah. Yeah. So he was like fresh in there and he loved it. He actually thought that was the best evil dead of the three.
Speaker: Yeah, he liked the movie. yeah. I was like, oh, i was like, interesting. Okay. So, so yeah, but yeah, that was my biggest um thing. Like the most positive thing I'll say about the house. It was very, um it was very true to the movie.
Speaker: I think for me, my issue was mostly just the, like the timing for my scares were not there. Well, same for me. Yeah, I didn't, I ran it twice.
Speaker: And neither one was it particularly scary for me. And that really brought it down for me. Yeah. Because I was i having not seen the movie, I could see the storytelling like I appreciated that because you start out in the woods and you go in the house and the house is on fire and you see the dog and everything and then you go back out in the woods. So like I thought the flow is there.
Speaker: Yeah. And some of the sets were kind of cool like but yeah. And they had like a dog animatronic, which is cool. yeah Yeah. But yeah. And also the first part, I will say that was a little weird because they were like, I guess it was supposed to be the Necronomicon like lighting up or something with the transparency things.
Speaker: We got lost at one point because we did it so early and there wasn't like the conga line quite yet. And like we were, i don't know, we turned the wrong direction basically because of those things. And so that part fell a little off, but it just wasn't my favorite. Something similar happened to me. Like when we were in, i believe it was the Aussie house the first time, you know how like the group at sometimes groups like start to run cause they're afraid. So we got like a huge,
Speaker: like gap between us and I was not about to walk that fast. And there was a hallway in there that was so dark. I literally couldn't see anything. Tyler was behind me. He's holding onto me and I'm doing this in front of me. And I turn a corner that I'm supposed to go and literally touched a scare actor. It was a boo hole, not the turn. i was like, Oh, I'm so sorry. I can't see.
Speaker: That's kind of what happened to us because we were making a right when we were supposed to make a left. It turned out to be the boo-hole, but he didn't try to scare us. He was just like, go the other way. like At least he didn't go into like awkwardly go into like a janitor closet. That happened to me one year during Horror Nights. And I was like, whoa, that's a broom. That's a mop. I don't think i'm supposed to be in here.
Speaker: Yeah, that's not quite right. That's funny. um But yeah, I will say actually that that brings up something about the overall event that I noticed. um The conga lines aren't as conga-ee in Hollywood, which might be to the detriment of the length of the queues, but they do a lot more. um They don't stagger every group or anything, but they do periodically just stop.
Speaker: And they kind of let it flow in and then they release the next group. So you have a lot more chance of kind of getting some gaps in between groups. And like it's it's not they don't quite stop up as much as they can in Orlando where like people in the front are just going so slow and then you're just standing there like, OK. or You're like in the facade room for like 30 seconds. Just like, right. I've heard the same vocal stim 15 times. Right. right yeah so i will give them credit for that because it's kind of nice that they yeah i think i think that like um it's just orlando's popularity because before the recent years like they used to do it like that they used to do it that same exact way yeah yeah cool so that's evil dead burn um i'm trying to like think of the average of where the next thing was which is probably sinners i guess yes
Speaker: Okay. I had that. Yeah. I had that. That was my four. um I actually really enjoyed this. Like, I know that I didn't, it was my four. It wasn't like top three or anything. Right. But it was still, it was still like up there compared to mine. i think, okay. I think my biggest issue with this house was maybe it's the location because some people were saying that that location, which was the, um it used to be the walking dead year round haunt that they had. Right.
Speaker: um i've heard from people that it's a very small it was a small attraction and i felt this i felt like this house was too short it felt like to me it felt like we were missing so much not story-wise but it just felt Like we were supposed to get more, more, but we just didn't have the space for it.
Speaker: Like, that's how it kind of felt for me. um So like, and it was the first house that we went into and there was barely like, we didn't have many people around us. So we had just, you know, it was just us. So scares weren't a hundred percent there for me. I will say, I think that the costumes were incredible here. Like they all looked so good. And the little like, um, the little shining eyes, growing eyes. That was so cool. That was really cool. I love that. But I don't know. It just felt like once we got in, maybe we just walked through it too fast. It felt too short to me.
Speaker: Yeah. I don't know. i It felt a little short to me, but not like necessarily hugely to its detriment. um I mean, i will say I didn't rank it like at the top because yeah like the scares were lacking for me as well. um It wasn't a super scary house um in general, but i I thought that the storytelling was pretty cool. like I loved at the beginning the little fireflies and you're kind of going through the woods before it actually kicked in. There was kind of like a lull you into a false sense, and then all of a sudden the vampires start appearing.
Speaker: um Yeah. And i did I did think some of the sets were pretty cool and like some of the scenes that they had in there were well done. I especially liked the two-story barn kind of sequence where you see like one of the actors on the second floor and like that was really cool.
Speaker: um But yeah, the only time I got got was the first time I went through it. there was You enter the the juke right away and there's like these... windows to the side and Remick comes up in bam right ah yeah and Yeah, it's so loud. And I was like, oh my God, like that was really good. And then there was the one where he he like lifts up he flies, flies up, which was so cool. So I'll give him that. Like that was one my favorite moments in any of the houses. But yeah, I think for me, the low ranking was just because of the amount of scares. Yeah. um
Speaker: And how was the casting? well good casting was really good they all shook by orlando's so i figured yours would be good yeah they all looked very much like the characters i the first like smoke and stack i saw i was like like michael b jordan here is this one of those times Yeah, yeah, it was no they they did a great job with the casting. They did. I think I kind of mentioned I think I mentioned that casting was like a huge perk here. But yeah, it was it was ah it was a good house. I just for me, I think it just it felt short for me.
Speaker: Yeah, yeah, I hear that. And I did want to mention there was something kind of unique about this, like. it almost had a sort of pre-cue that was themed. Yes. So like the beginning of the house was ah just one switchback, I think, or maybe one, two, three, maybe. It was like three switchbacks. Yeah. And you're like in the juke and, but it's sort of the like swirling music scene kind of. So you have um the character. Oh, I forget his name. Who's playing the banjo. Sammy.
Speaker: Sammy is playing up there on the stage. That was cast really well too. That was. He's up there. playing the banjo, but then they had all of these scrims around the walls. And so like the, there would be like a DJ playing like rap that would like appear behind the wall. And then there'd be like ah I think it's like smoker stack appears behind one of the doors and comes out, and has some lines. And then over here, like, I can't remember what the, the other music, another musician, like I think an electric guitar or something appeared over there. So like while you're winding through this little pre-cue, the kind of like little musical moments are happening. And that was really cool. Yeah.
Speaker: yeah yeah yeah that was very interesting i did like when i went in i'm like whoa like what is going on i know but it was really cool it's very very cool for a second i was like are we at unleashed like a themed queue what what's happening yeah all right so that's sinners um let's see i'm gonna save the controversial one for later ah kill senora Kill Signora, I have a little bit... I have it two spots higher, though three spots higher than Sinners. I think that I love the set design of this one.
Speaker: I really loved it and I think I have it higher because it was just because of its uniqueness overall. Like I wasn't I didn't know what to expect from this house. And I will say that I was expecting something totally different.
Speaker: Yes. um I was expecting something a little campier. I was expecting something, especially them like this is a 15 year old girl. And then like she's summoning like ghosts or whatever, like her spirits, you know, on her like on her bullies and stuff like that. Like that's what i read in the description and it felt little too serious for a theme like that. I could see that. Yeah. Yeah. So, but I mean, overall I thought the costumes were great here. The scares were effective for me here as well. um
Speaker: Yeah. Overall, i I really liked it. and the music in there was pretty good too. Like I liked like the music going around. It was very, it went with it very well. Yeah, yeah. um This one was kind of like, I think I had a little bit lower than you. This one was a tale of two halves for me because the first half kind of didn't didn't really have it. And then the second half, it really picked up for me, um just in terms of the like the scares, I think. um there's one with i a skeleton mariachi band and i feel like a complete idiot because i was looking at them and i was like oh there's got to be a real one there and then i kept looking at it and i was like oh no they're actually all fake and that moment is when the guy pops right out at me and he was real i was like no like ne room that was really cool yeah that was great um also pretty cool that like
Speaker: And this is true about all of the houses at Hollywood actually. i think this is true, except for the soundstage ones, maybe like all of them have facades, even the outdoor ones. So this one has like a really cool facade of like, you know, like a Hispanic building and like the the girls up on the balcony, like singing.
Speaker: Yeah. And that was like a neat way to set the scene before you go in. Yeah, I really like that. I wish I had gotten a second run on this one. This is one that we were trying to get in, but we just couldn't get it in at the end of the night, just with logistics. So um it would have been nice to get another. I enjoyed it.
Speaker: Yeah. All right. um Okay, let's do the controversial one. Killer clowns. Killer. I had it at number three. Number three. Oh my gosh. That's crazy to me. Oh, okay. Yes. This main, it does not have the best set by any means. yeah does It barely has one. Let's be real. Like it was mostly like,
Speaker: like carnival circus tent looking walls basically. But we had every single actor popping out at us. We got every, like almost every actor came out there. If there were any missing, I don't, I don't know where they were because we got every single one of them. And,
Speaker: Like there was one once again, don't know if you saw this one. did you see the toilet seat one? one that wets you? Oh, yes. Yeah. That thing soaked my entire like leg. Oh, no. I was like, what the hell where did that come from? But no, for me, it was mostly just It was obviously a silly house. you it's you You can't take it seriously. It's killer clowns. But for us, like every actor was like on point with us. Like the timing was perfect for us. So I think that's why I have it up there.
Speaker: Overall, it's a very like it's it's a clown house. There isn't much to it set design wise. Costumes, you know what to expect from killer clowns. But for us, the actors were on it. We had every actor jumping out at us. Also, I think we were.
Speaker: we were very staggered at in that house so all the scares were jumping out at us because we didn't have anybody in front of us anybody behind us um yeah so that that's my reasoning for how high it was it was mostly because of the scares but it was fun and i feel like mine's the opposite like yeah i just didn't get any scares really in this one um i maybe i was in front of behind or everything that was happening but It was a combination of it not being super scary and and maybe there was a shift change or something because it didn't feel like it was super populated with actors either.
Speaker: um And then just the general vibe of the house was kind of cheap and I don't know. It just didn't. And it was a little bright too. Like it just didn't feel spooky or scary. Like it felt campy. And maybe it's because I don't know the characters that well. Like maybe I would have enjoyed it more if I kind of knew the IP a little bit better. um Because like there were a couple moments where I was like kind of laughing at, you know, so what the characters were doing. But overall, I just kind of left it.
Speaker: And I was like, ah okay. um And most of our group felt that way. So I think we all got stuck with the same like kind of rough run through it. That's what i was going to say because our group, um myself, Shay, Ryan, and Zach, we all loved it. We all thought great. We were all surprised by it. We're like, oh, we're like, okay, that was a lot more intense than and we thought just because of the actors being everywhere.
Speaker: um so yeah, definitely. i think it was just a run thing. We had a great run. yeah It just goes to show you how impactful just a difference between one run can make. Yeah, 100%. So it was nice that we were able to get multiples in some of these, but I did not get a second one on this one.
Speaker: All right. um Continuing to move up. Let's see. Hellraiser. I had that as number three. I think you had it as like four or five. Yeah, I think I had it at four. Okay. Very true to the movie.
Speaker: Yes. on Very, very, very true to the movie. um I didn't get too many scares. That's why I have it a little bit lower. Scares weren't there for me. The beginning of the night, like we really didn't have the best run.
Speaker: Yeah. Some of these houses like we did. Sinners first, which was not the greatest scare wise for us. And then Evil Dead Burn and Hellraiser as well. We didn't have the best runs in those either. and We didn't do them again. So yeah, obviously, I'm sure that another run would have been great. But I love the prosthetics in this one.
Speaker: um Like all the costumes in there were really neat. Mm hmm. um i haven't i didn't watch the third movie before going i saw the first two and i don't think i really needed to watch the third i'm gonna still watch it before we go to orlando but overall i think as long as you watch the first and second you're good don't really need to watch more um but yeah for me it was more the costumes were great the prosthetics were great um And yeah, I mean, the the scares, they looked like they were great. They just we didn't get them. You didn't hit the timing. Yeah.
Speaker: The timing just wasn't well for us. It wasn't great for us. Yeah. This one was weird. um Our group was able to do it three times. um And again, like the first time we went through was literally it had just opened. Yeah.
Speaker: And there they had left some kind of light on or like there was a ah ah tent flap open or something. And we realized that at the time that like we went through and it was actually like way brighter than it was supposed to be in that house.
Speaker: um And we we all still enjoyed And we're like, oh, yeah, like we recognize all the scenes from the movie. And then we got out of the house and we were like, oh, it's it's still a walk on. So we were like, let's just do it again. So we went back in and bam, like so much darker. That second run, like the the night and day difference between it was crazy. Um, cause we were actually like struggling to like see in parts of the house this time. Um, it's just, it's part of the thing, like, you know, going from like the direct sunlight into a dark house and you're just like, where am I? Um, but yeah, no, I, I really enjoyed this one. And on that second run, um, they got me good a couple times.
Speaker: Um, um, And on the first run, they got me really good with this scare at the end where you probably saw it and didn't hit it. But there's like this statue with this arms folded at the towards the end. And it just pops out and wrecks people because it just does not look like it's going to do that. Yeah, I saw the people up ahead get scared by that one. I was kind of bummed. when I know. was like, that would have really gotten me good. It's such a good scare. yeah But yeah, I really enjoyed like seeing all of the scenes that were faithful to the films. um like There's the scene with the little like mausoleum and the moving beds are going in and out. There's the scene with the the like asylum with all of the beds and their like faces have the little things from the cube on it. um And then the that creepy guy comes out of the window. um Yeah, it was it was just really fun to like see see it created. um
Speaker: And they definitely like represented all of the different Cenobite characters like you saw them repeatedly throughout. yeah i agree it like wasn't as effective on the scares as some of the other houses, which is why it's like not higher up, I guess. um But yeah, I really enjoyed it.
Speaker: If I would have had more runs, I probably would have it higher. Yeah, that's I could see that. And I feel that way about a lot of these houses. I mean, the only thing that will... confidently and comfortably keep the bottom spot will be Terra Tram and that's not going anywhere yeah but yeah but with everything else I there was potential with everything i mean Stranger Things i think I think that would stay lower too but like everything else I think can be interchangeable like it all depends on your run honestly Yeah. Yeah. I would say like, yeah, besides like terror tram and maybe a little bit killer clowns. Like I didn't think that any of these were bad.
Speaker: Yeah. Like I thought they were all fun and like had enjoyable aspects to them. Right. Um, Yeah. OK, so we are finally down to our top two um and our number two was dead dead or deadest, which is an original um based on a mortuary. It's got a pretty cool facade again. Yeah, I don't know. I didn't know what to expect for this house, which is probably part of the reason why i ended up liking it. But um we went through it twice and both times they scared us really well.
Speaker: Yeah, they had some great scares here. And i think it was mostly because we didn't know what to expect from this house. We truly didn't know what to expect. We didn't know much about it. Yeah. um But they had some great scares. And I feel like the a lot of the um like a lot of the set was easy for them to jump out of. And you wouldn't have expected it. Mm-hmm.
Speaker: Yeah, I think I think like like they like you had like the people in like the the little like what's it called? The cremation things like the. Oh, yeah. the ovens. The ovens. Yeah, it would jump out of that. And I was like, what the?
Speaker: i was like, what is going on? And then there's that weird one with like the the melty fat guy. And then two of them just boom, boom. They come out. You're like, what is happening? Very, very weird. Very weird. It was like weirder and creepier than I expected it to be.
Speaker: Yes. A hundred percent. And I think there were some water effects in this one, if I'm remembering correctly. Yes. I don't remember where it was, but I do remember getting wet in that house too. Yes. Yes. Which is gross.
Speaker: ah Yeah. I like, I don't even necessarily remember like specific moments. I just remember like repeatedly getting scared and then they do, I guess, kind of like the insidious method, like towards the end of the house, they do a really good, like boom, boom, boom, ping pong. So I just get you, get you, get you. And it's so fun.
Speaker: Yeah, that's what solidified it, like, in the tops, like, one of the top spots for me. Like, I i thought, like, I was really, like, going back and forth between Ozzy and this one, but Yeah, ultimately I went with Ozzy as my number one, but this is one that I had like at the bottom, like towards the bottom of my list. Yeah. For my hype, for my hype list. So to have that great of an experience, I think, yeah, it was, it was great. I love that.
Speaker: Yeah. I want to say. think the name gives Campy. Yes. a little bit. I was like, uh... yeah to extent and to an extent it can be seen that way like with the green like stuff coming out of their mouths and stuff it looks horny like it doesn't look like anything scary but those actors like were something else like they were just jumping they were lunging at you they were working it out they were intense so yeah yeah they they were good And that's something I forgot to mention. Hellraiser. They were like, they all had the like blades and stuff. They were getting so close. wow It's like, oh my gosh, this is alarming. i got, I got accidentally touched twice. you?
Speaker: my God. Yeah. I think there's, and like, obviously it's, they're not trying to, they're just trying to get as close to you ah to scare as possible, but that they need to, they need to hone in on that. Cause it's like, yeah. Yeah, it was kind of crazy.
Speaker: um I think that's yeah part of the reason it's high for me, too, is just like i think both of us had it lower than Kilsenera in terms of IPs for the hype list. And then we were just surprised by it. We're like, that was really good. OK. Yeah. And I wish I had another run, but it was. Yeah, that one run was great. Like, I have no complaints about it. um It did feel.
Speaker: a little shorter than others, but the scares were effective. So it, it makes up for it. was just a good time. Yeah. Um, and it was consistent on both of our runs too. So it wasn't fluke. I was like, yeah, they, they were doing it. They were. Yeah, it was good.
Speaker: All right. And here we are. Our last one. Ozzy hop on the crazy train. Um, this was both of our favorites at the end of the day. yeah um I will say just even starting out, like this had one of the best facades. um Pretty cool, like kind of decrepit columns and building. And it says Ozzy in the windows. And you're like, oh, cool. There's like fog out there. They're playing new music. I'm glad we didn't have a glitch. Apparently one of the Y, like the Y where it says Ozzy, the facade, apparently the screen went to the sleep mode of Roku. oh no. So if people were like, um okay, like that's awkward. Yeah. Yeah. you didn't see that. It was normal for us, but it was really cool.
Speaker: I'm trying to like sum up why i put this one number one. And I think it's just kind of the combinations of all the the things you want out of an HHN house. Like I'm not super familiar with Ozzy's like life. I know some of his songs. I'm not a super fan by any means. So I'm kind of going in like not sure what to expect really. Like, I know he's British. I know the song crazy train, but that's, you know, like about it. Right. So going through it, I was like, just so curious how it would be executed. um And this definitely had like some of the most impressive set pieces, cool animatronics, um different types of sets. Like you go through the actual train and they have an animatronic train and like um there's pretty cool like masks and different types of actors in it um and then also just super effective at the scares like yeah this again at the very end man i think it was we did it three times and i think it was on the second run towards the end they bam bam bam i think there were four or five in a row that they just hit me every time we're going at it though it was anywhere and i think that's why and this was one of those houses where like i did realize like how effective
Speaker: Like the like the way that they go about their scare actors jumping out and like they were just jumping out like you would think that you're just looking at a wall or like just a curtain and they're jumping right out. it like Yeah. you like Like it's not like in a little hole where you like know something might be in there. Right. They're coming out of nothing.
Speaker: Yeah, they had some really effective setups there. And it felt like some of the hallways or like angles, like the way that you go around a turn were tighter than they do in Orlando. And so it gives you more and of an opportunity not to see what's coming before you make that turn. And that's how they're able to get you because you don't see it in advance.
Speaker: Right. Yeah, no, overall, I mean, this house, I feel like this house had at like the best thing about each house here. like we have Like the best, like, like it did the scares. Well, it had a great set. It had like the music blasting, which was great, which set the tone. The um was it at the end? i think it was towards the end. That huge train.
Speaker: ahhu amazing that thing looks so cool yeah um and yeah I have no complaints about that house it was so good I'm so excited for you guys to see Orlando I can't wait definitely doesn't sound the same like No. at all I mean, so supposedly the one in Hollywood is more based on his life and the one in Orlando is more based on his albums. So yeah there were definitely like some elements like there was part where there's like a mental institution and like coming out with like syringes and stuff. It was like the the Osborne Asylum that you're walking into. Yeah, yeah. um
Speaker: And so you kind of like saw elements of that throughout. Obviously, if you're a real fan, you probably recognize more of it, but i still enjoyed it regardless. Right. 100% yeah overall I mean and I knew going into it that you know I had different expectations for Hollywood just because I was really hyped about the Terror Tram and like some of the originals I just didn't know what to expect like Kill Senor and stuff like that but you know what made me so hyped about the Orlando one which now I know it's the same in Hollywood too like as far as like quality goes is that like you really don't know what to expect from some of these like music IPs like you don't know what you're gonna get out of it and
Speaker: Like I'm not a listener of Ozzy Osbourne, but it's so crazy how like it matches the sound of Ozzy Osbourne. Like when you're hearing it blasting and you see everything that's going on, it all just comes together and it makes sense. So it was really neat like to see that come together.
Speaker: 100%. Yeah. It, yeah. It was just very cohesive. Well done. Like cool costumes. Just everything, everything went together so well. Yeah. And yeah, I'm very excited to see the different interpretation of, of this and how it, how it could be different. Yeah. Same. Yeah.
Speaker: Um, well, that's it. We hit the end of all of the houses. That is, I know I'm looking at this list just to like, think about it from the the perspective of like, you know, how many of these houses are ones that I'm like, I really want to go in that again.
Speaker: um also having been able to do multiple runs in a lot of them. And it's like five, which I feel is pretty good. um like to have five out of eight houses be ones that I'm like, I really want to go back in that again. um it's, that's pretty good.
Speaker: Yeah. Yeah, I agree. I agree. there's there's I want to try a bunch of these houses again. i wish I were going back. I wish we had two nights. but I know. Yeah.
Speaker: Maybe next time. Well, there we are. That's our recap of HHN Hollywood. and We did have some questions come in. um and I like this one from the last episode. So I pulled it forward for Hollywood as well. um Chris asked, given that you know the memories are still fresh,
Speaker: um what would you have changed? What went really well and what still needs improvement for HHN at Hollywood? um i mean, I think we spoke to the fact that the scare zones could probably use some more props and maybe some more spreading around the park.
Speaker: And the TerraTran needs improvement. Just the queue management and crowd management for that. version And I would say, I mean, Express went really well.
Speaker: I feel like they do their scares really well there. Yes. Like that seemed to be an overarching theme. Yeah. I think, I think the scares are a lot better there than Orlando. Again, it could be because I'm too familiar with Orlando at this point. And i I still get got all the time. But like over here just felt different. Like I did not know where they would come from. So it felt more aggressive for whatever reason. Like I don't I don't know how they managed to do that. but Because the houses themselves you're not like
Speaker: you're not thinking actively while you're going through it while this style of house is so different from Orlando. But then now that you think about it, when you go back and think about how the scares were executed, you're like, oh, there are some differences in the way that they kind of think about how to create the setups for this stuff.
Speaker: So interesting. Yeah. but Yeah. I know that Scott kept saying he's like, well, Hollywood is full of people who want to be actors. So that might be contributory to the scare actors being like really good here. And I'm like, well, very true. Very true. That could be, that could be the case. it could be, it could be. Because they did feel just super engaged. Like, like I said, even the ones out in the scare zones, even if there was like two of them, they were like moving around and getting in your face and like being very interactive. And there were like the two. Did you see the stilt guys out in that plaza?
Speaker: Yes. Like those were they were super fun and like interacting with everybody. And yeah, like it it just felt like all of the actors were. And to be fair, this was their opening weekend. Yeah, that's the thing too. I was going to mention that like maybe we just didn't get it. Like they were still like learning how the event was going to go They were learning like.
Speaker: the vibe, like how everything was going. And yeah, well, and there also might've been some excitement in the houses in terms of the scaring. Like we were getting them at their sort of like peak opening night energy. And that might, that could dwindle over the event. Who knows? Right. um Exactly. a lot of things can change between now and the end of the season. That's for sure.
Speaker: Yeah. Well, speaking of scare actors, Allison had the question, out of these houses, which one would you most want to be part of as a scare actor? Such an interesting question.
Speaker: um And it's hard to come up with an answer to, to be honest. Hmm. would want to be in Sinners. Just like I can have those those eyes. Glowing eyes. yeah Yeah. That would be cool. That would be cool. would be pretty cool. I'm trying to think of what, like, I would not want to want to be in one of those killer clown costumes. They look hot. that's my last choice. Hell no. Hellraiser could be fun, though, because I like that they get to, like,
Speaker: like put knives in people's faces and stuff like that. Yeah. that' What else? Let's see. And I mean, Ozzy could be fun. Just like, although that might get old hearing the music, just like your whole shift. Ozzy would be fun. Yeah. I think, i think for sure centers make, I want to be the one that goes up and down that flies up. Oh my gosh. down up and down up and down we were we were joking because there's a will in stranger things who has to stand there and there's a there's a uh what's it called ah a demogorgon but it's just sort of a statue on the wall that gets lit up and so he's just having to stand there and repeatedly do that like gesture like he's awkwardly to the side yes
Speaker: why is that happening there this poor guy just has to do the same like move and nothing's actually happening over and over again i was like not want to be that guy that's so fucking weird yeah um almost wonder if it would be more fun to be like i would want to be an art i'm not tall enough for that but that would be so fun yeah art would be fun Just being able to like walk around and kind of terrorize people and mess with people. It's a little more like movement than being in a house and kind of in the same position over and over again.
Speaker: Great question, Allison. Okay. And then we kind of already addressed this, but Mullet asked, did the Aussie house do the legend justice? absolutely i hope so i would hope so i can't say for certain but i like it's our number one house so yeah and sharon osborne was there the night before we went and i think they were asking her about it and she was like i think he would have loved it so yeah i'll tell yeah that's awesome yeah All right.
Speaker: Any final thoughts to wrap up HHN Hollywood? Do you think it's worth going? Do you think it's you should go there first over Orlando or like do Orlando first or?
Speaker: I think you just have to go into both events without a specific like expectation. i think yeah that, you know, they do things very differently, but they do things very well. Like, yeah, like we said, the scares are great in Hollywood.
Speaker: you know, Florida is very like their sets are incredible, you know, like their scare zones are incredible are incredible over there. But then the energy in Hollywood, along with the food options and the drink options and yeah it they're two totally different events to just go into it knowing that you're not going to get like HHN Orlando in Hollywood. You're not right. yeah Right. You know, so it's, it's a good time. I can't wait to go back. I wish i had a second night, but I definitely do want to return and the future just to compare to this year.
Speaker: um Yeah, you never know. You never know how your experience is going to be like decks, for instance. He was telling me that he was i actually enjoyed HHN Hollywood more than Orlando. And, you know, it's different all around, you know, like it go into it knowing that it's going be a different experience.
Speaker: Yeah. Yeah. I mean, I, part of that is definitely colored by the fact that we had express and like, right. Dex was with me and we just had such an a crazy night with the number of house runs that we were able to do, which just feels next to impossible in Orlando. But obviously if you get express there, which I've never had, it would be a little bit easier.
Speaker: But that being said, like, like we said before, the express lines are a little longer there. So I don't know if it actually does feel a little bit easier, but, um, Maybe at some point we'll try something like that in Orlando to have ah yeah have a comparable experience. I don't know that I would go to Hollywood every year just because it's being an East Coast person. It's kind of a pain to fly over there. That's what I was going to say. I would love to go next year, but it is, and the you know, to fly over there. and I mean, it would have to work out. Like, you know, it really depends.
Speaker: But I did like really enjoy it to the point of I would go back and not feel like Orlando is the only place that I need to go in the future. Like I would enjoy, especially if they had some um IPs that like felt really cool or something like that. I would love to go out again. 100%.
Speaker: hundred percent Agreed. All right. So that's our West Coast recap. Hopefully you enjoyed it. Thanks for listening, Kelly. Yeah. Thanks for being with us. And we're so excited to experience the Orlando side of things soon kind of report back on our impressions of the same IPs that are on both coasts. Really, really excited for that.
Speaker: um So stay tuned. um Follow us on your favorite podcast platform, Instagram, thrills, chills and spills. um And I believe our next ah episode is going to be recapping um all of our or most of our Rafa visits. I won't be here next time, but I will be the following just so you guys can hear my thoughts. um But we will be attending Epic Stumble with Buzzbars, which includes a visit HHN Orlando. And so that'll be my first time experiencing it this year, um which is really exciting. So stay tuned. Thanks for listening and stay spooky.
Speaker: Bye. That's tea, actually.
