And honestly, during those three weeks, I did not enjoy it as much as usual because, as ridiculous as it may sound, I didn't want to attach emotion to an event I knew would be off limits to me.
Truth be told, while refusing admission at the park entrance would be easy, there is no way to monitor admission if an employee were to enter from the back, but if caught, their employment may be terminated and for me, it was not worth the risk. So...I just didn't go.
However, on the final night of HHN (November 2), my son bought me a ticket...and not just a regular ticket either. He bought me an express pass!!!! Which meant that he and I could take in all 10 houses and see the laser show twice!
I don't remember the EXACT order of the houses, but I'm going to do my best...
The evening commenced with US. This house was based off the movie by the same name (which I have yet to watch). It was an incredibly detailed house but not having seen the movie I was left to stitch together what I knew from the previews and form my own story line. Still...a good house.
After that we moved on to Yeti. I had been through this house one time before and the theme is just as you'd expect. A walking trip through the Yukon looking to avoid the massive Yeti and the terrible fate that befell those who went before you.
I believe at this point, we moved to the back of the park and this is where the house order gets a little fuzzy. So I'm just going to do them in the order of location.
House of 1,000 Corpses
Let's start with the obvious, this house has 1,000 corpses. This was yet another house based off a movie I have not seen so there wasn't much of a reference point, but still was good for providing some creeps.
Depths of Fear
I went through this house quite a bit before being banned from attending. The premise being creatures that spew acid and infect an underwater mining facility. The sounds in this house were impressive and really added to the details, HOWEVER, big thumbs down to Universal for putting an affected and suffering dog (complete with high pitched whining) in the house. BOO!
Nightingales:
The first time I went through this house, the smell nearly did me in. I am not sure what they were going for, but the odor was not enticing at all. On this night, it was toned down a bit. The house takes you back to ancient Rome where the Nightingales feast on the bodies of the dead and dying. The house was pretty underwhelming in my opinion.
Graveyard Games
I feel certain this house could have become one of my favorites of all time if I had the chance to go through it more than the three times I did. As implied by the title, a group of teens playing in a cemetery awaken the corpses of the dead. This house was good for a lot of creeps, especially at the end when you hear ghosts whispering, "come play with us."
Monsters of Universal
This house features many of the iconic Monsters from Universal films....Dracula, the wolfman, Frankenstein, the Mummy, and the Creature from the Black Lagoon. I really enjoyed this house.
At this point, we got a spot to watch the 9:00 laser show.
This 10 minute show was jam packed with water effects, lasers, and projections from Stranger Things, Ghostbusters, Universal Monsters, and Killer Klowns from Outer Space. Exceptional!
After the show, we rushed over to Ghostbusters and Stanger Things. . No doubt Stranger Things is a fan favorite, but again, I have not watched season two yet so the overall theme of the house escaped me. I thought Ghostbusters was good as a fun tribute to the movie, but not good for scares (which I was okay with).
After that, we decided to wait in a short standby line for Killer Klowns. Last year a scare zone....this year, a full-fledged house. A fun, bright, and whimsical house filled with yummy smells, neon lights, carnival music, and lots of killer klowns! Love the movie ---loved the house.
We capped off the evening by watching the 11:00 laser show and going through Killer Klowns using our express passes.
It was an amazing evening and I'm so grateful to my son for it!!!!
