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Old Hong Kong-Exclusive Halloween Attraction Reviews

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Old 10-13-2007, 07:58 AM
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Hong Kong-Exclusive Halloween Attraction Reviews

As of October 13, 2007, this information was written only for Virtual Magic Kingdom Community Fansite. Please do not reproduce any of the information listed here without the permission of the author.


For those of you who don't know, Hong Kong Disneyland is having a special promotional event in which they have given Space Mountain a Halloween overlay, created a walk-through HM-style attraction, filled Adventureland with villains and created a new parade. Here I will summarize and review my experiences for each of these events, since most of you will never get to experience it yourselves. Please note that I have never been to any other Disney park, so I can't compare these to Halloween attractions in the US (except The Haunted Mansion, of which I have seen many videos/pictures).


Space Mountain: Ghost Galaxy


Experience: The ride starts with you going steadily up a hill. Eerie and distorted music plays. Finally, you go down a hallway with flickering lights and glowing green pipes. Overall, it appears that an accident of some sort has occurred here. You then go up one more hill, at which you see a black hole. Suddenly, the black hole "moves back" to reveal it is the eye of a giant apparition made up almost entirely out of fire. It lunges toward you, and quickly disappears. Your car then goes through the place where the demon had been floating.

The rest of the ride is mostly the same as it normally is, except the music is much more intense and gives you the feeling that you're being stalked. Another key difference is the fact that the entity will reach out to grab you as you go down drops, claw at you while you make turns, and get right in your face pretty much whenever it pleases. During the course of the ride, you finally plummet into what appears to be its mouth.

Further on, you pass through a long tunnel with disorientating green lines that are constantly moving. The ride ends with you going through what appears to be an intense electrical storm. Finally, your car stops completely, and you can see eyes completely surrounding you. They don't just look at you, though. They open, close, and look around. After a few moments of this, you're brought back around to exit the ride- but not without the space demon showing up one more time.

Review: VERY nicely done. I was very impressed with the special effects with the space demon. At some points, you really did get the feeling you was going to grab you. Although, I found that after riding this several times, you begin to see the screens onto which he's being projected, so it loses a couple of points for that. Also, if you look at him from certain angles where he wasn't intended to be seen, it sort of takes away from the effect. I think that the ideal thing to have been done was to have had him projected on a 3D object, like Buzz Lightyear or Madam Leota. I'll admit that I almost laughed at one point when I was re-riding it, because I realized that the voice of the demon is pretty much the same one used in Aladdin for the Cave of Wonders.

Villains


Experience: The villains in the park were Captain Hook, Cruella DeVil (FC), Jafar and the Grim Gatekeeper (FC). In addition to those, Jack Skellington was in Main Street, and loads of original pumpkin-headed characters with different faces were released around the Castle.

Review: The villains were loads of fun. I'll tackle 'em character by character.
  • Captain Hook startled me, since at first I couldn't tell if it was a character or just a statue. You see, it's because each villain has a "station", so I couldn't tell if Hook was part of the station or the actual character.
  • Jafar always seemed like he was bored with job. When a cast member had trouble with my camera, he immediately gave the CM a look that said "I'm surrounded by incompetence." And that's saying something, since he wasn't a face character!
  • There were actually several GG's, each with a slightly differently color outfit. They were fun, but not only 'cause they simply acted eerie. Sometimes they'd stomp their feet and yell just as the CM is taking your picture! Priceless. <3
  • Cruella was a blast to be with. Despite being much younger than the Cruella's in the movies, she was totally in character. If you ever get the chance, try to start a small conversation with her- as long as there aren't a million people waiting, of course.
  • The pumpkin heads are fun to track down. Some are tall, some are short, and all of them have differently carved faces. Their personalities will also vary depending on what their face is, so each experience with one is different!
  • I was really excited to see Jack. From everything I had read, he was supposed to be the only one there. But guess what? Sally was with him that day! SCORE! Jack's got the spider-like movements down, which I was impressed with (I was expecting him to move like the GGs). Sally (FC) looks, acts, and sounds like the one in the movie, so she was fun to talk to. I had quite a bit of time to do so, too, since Jack's autograph takes some time. I DID manage to get an out of character giggle out of her, though. But that's just because I'm so incredibly funny. :3

Glow in the Dark Parade


Experience: The parade is headed off by a giant Jack Skellington sitting on a pumpkin. He talks and occasionally leans over to get a better view of the crowds. Following close behind are the pumpkin heads, each with a differently carved expression. A couple is even on stilts. Then, Dr. Finklestein comes in on his laboratory-themed float. Igor sits in the back eating doggie biscuits. Following him is Sally and her doll-like dancers. Maleficent follows close behind on her giant castle . If you look closely, you can see a small bluebird tangled in the thorns around the castle. Smoke bursts out of the well in the front every now and then. Close behind are a group of dancing girls with their hair done up in a devilish, horny fashion.

After them is the villains’ float, with the Wicked Queen, Frollo, and Cruella DeVil riding on it. A statue of Chernabog sits in the back. Then comes my favorite dancing group: the Haunted Mansion Ballroom Dancers. They strut down Main Street in a lifeless waltz, and sometimes crash to the ground and crawl toward guests. There's even a small ballroom-like float following behind with two more couples that act equally dead. Up next are a group of dancers dressed in flaming red outfits. The float after that is based on "the bad place." Fiery, bright, and smoking, three acrobats perform impressive stunts from bungee cords attached to the roof of the float.

The Main Street Band is next in line, only dressed in orange and black rather than their usual outfits. The Big 7 come next on what appears to be a giant pumpkin patch. A group of unusually dressed dancers are in the front and back of them. Finally, the Grim Gatekeepers walk along behind, holding the rope that marks the end of the parade. What really makes this parade special is that whenever the music ends, instead of looping, a gong is sounded and all the regular lights go out, leaving nothing but the black lights (which reveal spooky surprises!).

Review: This parade is just too cool! Along with being dark and eerie, the black light effects are just wonderful. From videos of other parades I've seen, this might be the best Halloween parade at any Disney park.

Main Street Haunted Hotel


NOTE: Many of the scares in this attraction, such as corpses popping out of unexpected places, are different for every guest. This means that there many be any number of hiding places not mentioned in this review. Also, I might have gotten the order of the rooms wrong.

Experience: The first thing you see when you walk inside is a long hallway with what appear to be busts at the end. Two old-fashion portraits hang on the wall to the left. The thing is, if you pay attention to them, the people in the pictures seem to age with every second. But it happens very subtly, so you have to pay attention! The busts follow you, too, in the same way as those in the Haunted Mansion do. True, these things are VERY similar to what you'll spot in the Haunted Mansion, along with many other things I'm about to describe, but trust me, this attraction is totally different.

The next room is the lobby, in which you'll see a rocking chair in motion with nobody in it. A piano plays a solemn melody all by itself. You just now start to gain confidence, thinking that the experience here won't be as scary as you thought. Right then, a ghostly desk clerk jumps out of a doorway, bruising your ego but not shattering your confidence completely. That's when a freakish, decomposing head jumps out of a flowerpot. You now realize that this is not going to be the HM-type attraction you thought it would be, and are left to wonder exactly what it is.

After that, you pass through what appears to be a bar. I myself didn't get any scares in this room, but I'd imagine there are several "traps" set up around the room. There was also a mirror on the left side of the room, which I found suspicious, but there wasn't anything I could see. You then walk into a sort of library. A cast member awaits you at the end of the room, ushering some guests through the main exit, while others go through a secret passage. Unfortunately, I was only able to go through the attraction once, so I was only able to take the secret passage. Although, I noticed before exiting that there was another changing portrait above the fireplace. Just to soak in the atmosphere, I looked at it while it was changing ... and then a corpse lunged out of it suddenly. I quickly hurried through the passageway.

Next up, I believe, is a gust room. A violin sits on the bed, and a small table with a mirror sits in the corner. Once again, many suspicious things aren't the room, but I didn't get any scares here. I then passed through a narrow hallway by what seemed to be a small bed with curtains draped over it. As I turned around to face another side of it, I realized that it was the ever-controversial body in the the bathtub. Thankfully, though, it was merely just an animatronic, so all I got was a small lunge and that was it. After this, you pass through a long, empty hallway as eerie music box music plays. This really helps set the mood, as you know something truly eerie is about to happen. As you round one final corner, you see ahead of you a ghostly bride, fading in and out of view. I'm not sure if it was a live scare actor with a Pepper's Ghost technique used, or simply a projection on a scrim. Unlike the Haunted Mansion, though, you don't actually need to pass the bride, but rather exit out a door on the right of the hallway, with the bride staying a good six feet away from you.

The next room is very similar to the first guest room. The difference was, though, that I actually got a scare here. The bed looked normal enough, but after a while another corpse popped out of a trapdoor that was cleverly concealed in the folds of the sheets. I also noticed a CM by a wardrobe, where really seemed suspicious to me. Once you exit this room, you find that the walls seem to be covered in vines. Eventually you find yourself in what appears to be a small, indoor garden with dead plants abound. Don't hurry through this scene, though, or you might miss the man hanging from the ceiling, struggling for his life with a noose around his neck.

Afterwords, you make you way into an elevator, shutting you off from the other hotel guests. The lights flicker on and off, and then go out completely, leaving you in total darkness. Although you remain in the elevator for some time, I don't think it actually goes up or down, seeing as you exit on the opposite side. Once you emerge, you hear ear-shattering screeches of electricity and machinery, and then see a large and hazardous looking mechanism behind a chain link fence. After turning a corner, you see another fenced contraption, only this time there is a man trapped inside. He wails in agony every time the machine flashes, and knocks what appeared to be a short metal pipe against his cage, beseeching the park goers for help. Of course, help doesn't come.

Strangely enough, a bakery is next. Watch out, though: a CM is waiting to pop through a window near the first turn. And while you're at it, watch out again: the same CM will give you the exact same shock from the other side. And, of course, it simply wouldn't be a haunted hotel without a basement boiler room. The large e boilers look fierce and imposing, but those who act as if it's nothing may get more than they bargained for when it blasts steam at them unexpectedly. As you leave the room, a CM guides you toward an exit, and you make your way back out into Main Street by the Plaza Inn.

Review: Amazing. Simply amazing. I refuse to believe this is only going to be a temporary attraction. The special effects that went into this place are simply astounding, from the ghostly bride to the many, many pop-out ghouls. Closing this place up after October would be huge mistake. With it's lack of attractions, HKDL needs it's spook house, and this is just it. It's much scarier than what I've seen of the HM, too, since it completely drops the lonely-ghosts-type feeling you get back in th US. The one thing I must say about this, though, is that you SHOULD NOT BRING SMALL CHILDREN. I believe that most of the jump-out corpses are automated, so the machine can't tell if it's scaring an adult who simply laughs off the machinery or a small child who is already clinging to this parents. But really, I don't think that it's any worse than the HM, since the jump-out ghouls are never around too long, and there are chicken exits EVERYWHERE.

I've heard people complain that the scenes of death, torture, and human agony are much too mentally disturbing for a Disney park. I'm sorry to say I very much disagree with this. While many of the themes presented in the Haunted Hotel are much scarier than you'd expect, I wouldn't say that it isn't suited for a Disney park. the scenes of death and torture really aren't anything different from what you might see in the Haunted Mansion (i.e. a manging man, pop-up ghosts, someone trapped in a coffin, a homicidal bride who's keen on hacking off heads, etc). All in all, I think that this is one Halloween attraction that should definitely stick.




If you have any questions, feel free to ask. :} I'll be getting pictures soon, too!
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Last edited by Garfieldo; 10-15-2007 at 04:25 AM..
  #2  
Old 10-13-2007, 08:04 AM
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Haha, the last line made me laugh.
Great review. I look forward to the next sections! Great to see you had a great time at Disneyland.
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Old 10-13-2007, 06:39 PM
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Wow! Seems very cool! I wish Disneyland would get that.
  #4  
Old 10-14-2007, 12:54 PM
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Alright, villains and parade review are up, along with the first part of the Hotel.
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Old 10-14-2007, 01:05 PM
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Great review!!! It transported me to the scene
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Old 10-15-2007, 04:24 AM
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Alrighty, the remainder of the Haunted Hotel review is up. :}
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