Spooky season has officially kicked off at Florida theme parks! There is so much to see and do during this time of year and I can’t wait to share more adventures with you, but for now we are going to start with one of Orlando’s most iconic events: Halloween Horror Nights at Universal Studios. This is a BIG year for Halloween Horror Nights as they are currently celebrating 30 years of fear. This means lots of houses and lots to unpack in this event, so let’s get started.
Let’s start with the general information regarding Halloween Horror Nights. Halloween Horror Nights kicked off September 3rd and is running select nights until October 31st, so you have plenty of time to get those scares in. Ticket prices start at $70.99, but can go up depending on the night. Want to save? Make sure you order your ticket in advance. Buying them at the gate is going to make them significantly more expensive. Same goes for express pass, which some nights will be more expensive than your admission. Premier Annual Passholders get one free night to experience Halloween Horror Nights.
The best way to get in and experience Halloween Horror Nights is definitely doing the Stay and Scream option. If you have theme park admission to Universal that day, you can enter the park prior to Horror Nights starting and stay in a queue area while they clear the park. There are several waiting areas, but the best one to wait is located by the Crepe stand near the Horror Makeup Show. You can enter this area around 3:45 and it will empty you right by Beetlejuice and the Haunting of Hill House (two of the most popular houses). We were already done with both of these houses prior to people even entering Horror Nights, so it definitely gives you an advantage, especially if you do not have an express pass.
There are ten houses, five scare zones, and two shows. Not to mention countless specialty food options available exclusively at Halloween Horror Nights. I am going to break down each house, the scare zones and shows so you can get a better idea of which ones are important for you to see. Let’s start with the houses:
• Beetlejuice- Beetlejuice was the first house we did and honestly it was a good time. If you are nervous about being scared and want to start off with a house that’s more on the tame side, this one is for you. It had minimal scares and was more of a really cool walkthrough experience through the film. It’s themed and executed really well, but this one is not what I would call scary.
• The Haunting of Hill House- Let me start by saying this is one of my favorite shows, so going in the expectations were very high. At first, I enjoyed this house, but once I really started to think about it I do feel like this one fell short. There were countless elements from the show that could have been included that they opted to replace with things not even in the show. Universal normally does a really good job putting you in the source material, but for me this one fell flat.
• Puppet Theatre: Captive Audience- I really enjoyed the theming of this one. The exterior was really cool and it definitely told a story. While this one does have a bit more gore than the two previously mentioned, I though Universal did a great job bringing this one to life.
• The Wicked Growth: Realm of the Pumpkin- This one was WITHOUT A DOUBT my favorite house this year. The concept was so cool and they did an incredible job taking you through this fantastical story. It was completely immersive with pumpkin smells, incredible costumes, and some of my favorite scares. If you can only do one house, definitely make it this one.
• Welcome to Scarey: Horror in the Heartland- I can honestly say this was my least favorite house. The story felt like jumbled mess and the scares didn’t live up either. Compared to the other original concept houses it just didn’t quite meet the mark.
• HHN Icons Captured- I think this one was probably my second favorite house. This one is pure nostalgia for HHN fans who have stuck around throughout the years. You get to see some of your favorite characters return like Jack, Chance, Lady Luck, and so many more. If you aren’t familiar with these characters, go and check out commercials for previous years on YouTube. It’ll help fill you in on who is who!
• Revenge of the Tooth Fairy- We opted to skip this one since we experienced the previous year, but I do want to mention how cool the storybook pop up at the beginning of this house is. This house is a bit on the gory side, so if blood and guts aren’t for you, maybe skip this one.
• Case Files Unearthed: Legendary Truth- This house was another home run for Universal! Take the X-files and put it in a noir film and that’s exactly what this house is. The concept was so cool and honestly now I want a movie made about it because it was such a good time. This one makes my top 3!
• Texas Chainsaw Massacre- This one we missed so I can only share what I have heard from other people, and honestly I’ve gotten mixed reviews. What I can tell you for sure is that it’s again a gore-heavy house. If you aren’t familiar with Leatherface, make sure you check out what TCM is all about prior to going in.
• Bride of Frankenstein Lives- This was another one we experienced last year when they had them open during the day and I will say I enjoyed it then. The opening scene with the Bride is truly breathtaking and I am always a fan of Universal getting back to their classic horror roots.
I don’t want to spend too much time on the scare zones, but I do at least want to give you a general idea. There are five different scare zones around the park. Universal is essentially a giant circle with all the houses connected to that circle. If you are going to each house you will also hit every scare zone. Things like weather will impact if scare actors are out in those areas so be mindful of that. Scare Zones can also get incredibly crowded so I recommend experiencing them again towards the end of the night once the park clears out a bit.
The last thing I want to talk about is the two shows that Universal has for Halloween Horror Nights: Halloween Nightmare Fuel and Marathon of Mayhem Carnage Factory. I want to start by saying I LOVED nightmare fuel, but the seating situation was the true nightmare. We were packed in like sardines in very close seats where I could feel the person behind me put their knees against my back. The show was amazing, but I wish we would have been aware of the seating arrangement beforehand. As for Marathon of Mayhem, I wish they would have done more. It was very heavy on TCM and Jack and with Universal’s rich history in horror I would have liked to see more.
Other general info I want to share is what the experience is truly like going through the houses. I am a big fan of haunted houses, but part of the fun is being scared. Universal pushes you through in a continuously moving line, so quite a few times it felt more like I was watching other people get scared than experiencing the scare myself. While it may be better for those who a little nervous with houses, for horror fans like myself it was a little disappointing to see Universal go back to that method. Overall, it is still a fun time and definitely a thrilling time, but it definitely made me miss the social distancing of the houses last year.
Make sure you head to my Instagram so see video of our experience at HHN in the highlights bubble labeled “HHN”. Happy scares, everyone!
Marvelous Mrs. Morin 