The time has come! The gates of HHN Hollywood creak open at the end of this week for another season of screams and we have the first reactions from one of our terror-spondents, BAMF Cosplay, who was lucky enough to attend the employee preview last night. Here are her first thoughts and spoiler free reviews of some of this year’s mazes. She also shares some insider terror tips to help all of you who are planning to attend this year’s event.
From the sound of it, this year’s HHN is ramping up to be one of the best ever. Take it away BAMF…
MAZE REVIEWS
US: This was my first maze and I had no idea what to expect. I think they did a great job matching the story, setting, and themes of the film. The scares were consistently fun and surprising throughout the maze. I give this one a solid 3 skulls because for me it wasn’t as intense as some of the others but it’s definitely one to not overlook. 
PANDORA’S BOX: As an HHN orginal maze, I had no idea what to expect from this one. This maze was filled with many twists and turns and I like how Universal is adding original themes along with the movie classics. The decor in this maze makes me want to replicate it at home so that my own place can have that spooky charm of “Pandora’s Cabinet of Curiosities”.
ROB ZOMBIE’S HOUSE OF 1000 CORPSES: Step inside “Captain Spaulding’s Museum of Monsters & Madmen.” This one was really cool with effects that play with your depth perception a bit so if you get sick easily maybe skip this one out. I really liked the creativity the HHN team put into ‘reskinning’ the story of the savage Firefly Family and of course, they got me several times with scares. 
HOLIDAYZ IN HELL: Another original maze concept which was as spectacular as it was outrageous, creative, and hilariously creepy. The scares kept coming and right when I thought I was safe they got me again. You will get sprayed (with water) in some parts so just know that going in. It covers all the holidays so it’s a great place to celebrate the whole year in a spooky fashion.
STRANGER THINGS: I’m so glad they brought this back from last year. While in line you are blasted with awesome 80’S music as you prepare to tackle the upside down, the town of Hawkins, Ind, and the Starcourt Mall. It does a nice job of taking you straight through the episodes of seasons 2 and 3 while definitely amping up the horror. By the end of the maze, I was like “OMG?!?!?” Because you are continuously assaulted with scares from various directions and levels in this maze. 
CREEPSHOW: This is a maze that I was very curious about too. Again, I thought it was super detailed and I’m sorry, not sorry, you can’t talk about all these mazes without tipping your hat off to the amazing HHN design team. There were detailed sets featuring the various stories from the original Creepshow movie and upcoming series and yes there were parts where they managed to totally get me with scares. I think folks will have a great time going through this whether they know about Creepshow or not.
Even with the employee preview night, the waits get did longer as the night went on so with it being a “school night” I sadly didn’t get to experience all the mazes like Ghostbusters, Killer Klownz, and Universal Monsters. Nonetheless, I plan to go back to see the rest of these mazes and to go through some of the favorites again.
BAMF COSPLAY’S
HHN 2019 TERROR TIPS
- Arrive early and download the Universal Studios Hollywood app to keep track of wait times during your visit.
- Manage your expectations and know that the lines are just a part of it (without Universal Express). I would pick an area of the park to start in and go through all the mazes there as going up and down between the lower and upper lots is a waste of precious time.
- If you are lost or have questions ask the staff that’s why they are there.
- Yes, it will be busy but please don’t be rude or cause craziness because we are all there to get our scare on.
- My last tip, if you don’t really have any preferred mazes or a plan of what you want to do at HHN then check which area of the park has the shortest lines when you arrive, on either the upper or lower lot, and tackle those “shortest” lines first. Inevitably you’ll encounter longer lines as the night goes on but try to be patient and enjoy the HHN exprience and ‘atmos-fear’.
