We finally made it to HU last Thursday (1/8). I went with my wife and three friends. Since we went on a Thursday, the price was cheaper - we got the unlimited ticket for $99 each. They opened at 4pm, so we got there at 4pm, and we stayed for six hours!
I'll give you my thoughts (it was a consensus with my whole group):
We managed to pick a date/time where it wasn't crowded AT ALL. When we arrived at open, there were maybe 20 people in line waiting to get in. They opened the doors, and the entrance hallways had all these cool posters about Legendary Truth artifacts with information on each. I was THRILLED to see LT was a part of this right at the start. Fantastic surprise!
We felt like we had the place to ourselves most of the time we were there. It's such a large space, so unless it's maxed out (I think the sign at the front said max occupancy was something like 3500?), it's pleasant to walk through and take your time. There aren't scarezones in the traditional sense, but there are themed areas with some really great scareactors that will interact loads with you. That was unexpected, but certainly welcome. My only complaint about these main areas was there was no fog. I was expecting at least some. I think some fog would add so much to the overall atmosphere. Aside from that, there are so many different actors and interactions you can have with them if you take your time and stay a while. It was REALLY fun.
As far as houses - here they are in order of favorite to least favorite:
1. Monsters - I really thought Scarecrow would be my number one as it was what I most looked forward to, but I'll get to that in a minute. Monsters was done perfectly. Pretty much all the biggest ones were represented. There is even a mini show towards the end where your group gets to stop and watch. I loved that! It was a terrific add to an already great house.
2. Scarecrow - this is one of my fave houses over the last 20 years I've attended HHN. I had high hopes for this. My issue is that there are certain scenes that were very memorable for me from Orlando that were reduced a bit here. For those who remember the original house - remember the crow room and how it felt like you were being pooped on by the crows? They didn't replicate that gimmick, and, while they do have a similar space, it's not as grand as the original. It's also not dark enough, and more birds need to be in there. I realize I'm nitpicking, but I can't help it. I was also expecting some really aggressive scareactors, but these weren't nearly as aggressive. Also, the pathways through are too wide. I remember feeling like it was tight in the original house which made it that much more suspenseful. This house is supposed to be SCARY, but something was missing. I still enjoyed it - maybe my expectations were too high? If the original house scored 100/100, then this replicated version gets a score of 80/100.
3. Texas Chainsaw - this was done very well as far as design. There was a lot of "oh, I remember THAT scene", etc. The actors also tend to chase down the hallways which we enjoyed. It takes a lot to scare me, so I wasn't scared, but I was amused and having a lot of fun with those actors.
4. Exorcist - none of us really cared for this house. While they did the props/sets in the usual Uni quality, it's the IP itself that is the problem. The movie was garbage and a flop, so I still don't know why they brought this to HU. I can't force myself to try and be scared by an actor 3 inches shorter than me and who looks as though a strong wind might take her away. That's a lot of what you get in there. I just find it to be kind of cheesy and forced. We still went through twice just to make sure we just didn't get a bad run, but they really need to put something better in that space - Insidious anyone?? Hell, I'd take Terrifier, too (never thought I'd say that - lol).
We had a blast watching Jack and Chance do their show. I was pleased that the actor they have doing this seems to really understand this character. I was even picked to get up on stage for part of it which thrilled me to no end since Jack is my favorite of all time! When the show was over, we went to Jack's bar and got a drink (I HIGHLY recommend "Jack's Juice" - DELICIOUS). While we were sipping said drinks, Jack and Chance both came into the bar and started interacting with our group. I was grinning so much, my face actually ached. He would NOT break character either. I showed him a custom lighter I had made years ago that has Jack on it from a pic I took of him at HHN. He said, "Ah, the good ol' days!" I said, "Do you want this? I have more!" He snatched it from my hand and shoved it up his sleeve. Then Chance came over and asked me why I didn't have a lighter featuring her? I said I never got a good enough picture. So, she posed for us, and then said the next time we see her, we better have a lighter for her. I'm doing it, too, btw. LOL
We ate at the restaurant "Premiere House". All the food is themed just like at HHN. We started with an order of the loaded chili fries - RECOMMEND! I ordered the hot honey chicken sliders which were so good. The prices were actually decent there as well. The whole restaurant area is themed to Blumhouse though. For me, that gets an automatic eyeroll as I'm kind of sick of them, but that's just me. If you like Megan (I don't) or the Grabber (was fine for the first movie, but a second one? NO), then you'll love that space as both characters are out every 30 minutes.
While I like the idea of a pulsed line, I have to wonder if this plays havoc with the actors' timing. There were several times that an actor completely missed all five of us (across all the houses - not just one), and I wonder if that's because there is such a large gap between groups. There were several empty boo-holes as well - and I question whether they understaff on a weekday during offseason? I say all this because it does affect the intensity. I think of last season's HHN and how crazy the end of the Jason house was, and I thought - they could never pull that off here. Overall, it's the intensity of it that I think we missed.
I do recommend going. As Freak said, it's great to have something like this year round to scratch that HHN itch. I just think they have a little more work to do to match the quality and intensity of HHN proper. Don't get me wrong - I'd go again, but I wouldn't plan another trip around it unless they change out/add houses.