Please note that as I write this there has been no official announcement to if Universal Orlando will extend how long they are having the haunted houses, but on the chance they decide to continue this or open more houses, this is everything we learned!
Universal Studios Orlando opened two haunted houses this weekend: Bride of Frankenstein and Revenge of the Tooth Fairy. My first very important piece of advice is GET THERE EARLY. Unlike Hagrid’s you have to be physically inside the park to get a virtual pass for either of the houses. We got there at 8:20. The parks did not open until 9, but the line to get into Universal Orlando was all the way to the Islands of Adventure entrance. We were able to get into the park by 9am luckily.
To get a virtual pass, you will need to download the Universal Studios app. Link your pass as well. In order to get a pass you will need to allow the app to access your location as that’s what tells the app that you are in the park. If you don’t see at first, keep refreshing until it pops up. When you go to access it you will see a list of times, pick the times you want and say how many are in your party. If it says unavailable it will allow you to keep trying different times. If you are unable to get one, Universal does continue to drop times throughout the day so you can keep checking. Once you get into the virtual line, make sure you screenshot your pass in case the app glitches. The line itself once it’s your turn never took more than 30 minutes for us.
Once you get your passes you can leave the park if you want since you have already been accounted for. That information came directly from a park manager, so I would assume it’s good information. If you are looking for something to pass the time, I highly recommend checking out the Tribute Store or heading across the way and seeing all Islands of Adventure has to offer. The Tribute Store has an incredible beetlejuice set up and some deliciously scary snacks perfect for Halloween!
Now let’s talk about the actual houses because I know everyone is probably wondering how they work with covid precautions. Each group enters kind of on their own, that way they can make sure there is social distancing. Scare actors are then either six feet away or behind plexiglass. While I have heard some say they thought that the plexiglass gave away when the scare was coming, to me it was no different than when you saw a hole in a wall or curtain, you knew it was coming then as well. I personally rarely noticed the plexiglass and still jumped and screamed. You are required to wear masks inside the house at all times.
I thought the way they did everything was a swinging success. We had so much fun and honestly I am just so happy Universal brought us some scares. It is my hope that this will lead to more houses and more scares even during the week!
Marvelous Mrs. Morin 