Since 1991, Halloween Horror Nights has been a must-go attraction, thrilling crowds into the Halloween spirit. People travel far to be able to attend the event at either the Universal Orlando Resort or Universal Studios Hollywood. Each year the event has a new theme to help create the haunted houses, scare zones, and shows for people to enjoy; this year’s focus was scary movies. Halloween Horror Nights was held from August 30th to November 3rd, with the largest crowds filling the parks in October. The following is a review of my visit of Oct. 22nd.
Halloween Horror Nights is known for its haunted houses, which each portray a disting story. This year, Orlando featured ten haunted houses while in Hollywood, there were eight. Both resorts had Insidious, A Quiet Place, Ghostbusters, and Eternal Bloodlines. Orlando-exclusives were Monstruos, Slaughter Sinema 2, The Museum: Deadly Exhibits, Major Sweets Candy Factory, Goblin Feast, and Triplets of Terror. Hollywood had an additional four: The Weekend: Nightmare Trilogy, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Monstruos 2, and Dead Exposure: Death Valley.
“I love the haunted houses every year I go. This year my favorite was Insidious, it was so much fun to walk through it,” says Junior, Riley McCaughey.
As every review spoke of how the Insidious house was the scariest, I opted not to visit it. My tolerance for terror has its limits, and mine were reached at the Goblin Feast and its masked green creatures jumping out at me from the darkness.
The scare zones at Halloween Horror Nights bring chilling themes to life. Each zone immersed visitors into unique horror environments, featuring an intense and loud atmosphere and gory characters. For example, walking into Hollywood’s Universal, one entered Chainsaw Punkz, which greets guests with chainsaws chasing after you. Another scare zone is Skull Lordz which showcased a gothic royal court of monarchs. In Orlando’s Universal, Torture Faire took over the plaza in front of the Mummy ride, and placed visitors into a haunted Renaissance Fair with unsettling torture devices and outfits.
“Walking through Torture Faire was terrifying, but also so fun. Some of the scare actors took a selfie with my friends and me. I loved watching them scare other people,” says Junior, Emma Markin. All these scare zones help create a better experience at Halloween Horror Nights, it brings life at night while walking around the park deciding what to do next.
Universal has another attraction that guests can go to, the live shows. Each show adds a unique layer of entertainment and horror to the experience. At Orlando’s Universal, the Nightmare Fuel: Nocturnal Circus show made another appearance this year. This show featured an explosive combination of acrobatics by actors and intense music and sets. The set is a horror circus and puts the viewers in a dark arena to make it feel like your worst nightmare. At Hollywood’s Universal, The Purge: Dangerous Waters show is staged in a water venue, with a high-stake performance inspired by The Purge films. The stunts represent a crazy world where chaos reigns, characters attempt to escape The Purge on a remote island.
With lines for each house often exceeding an hour, it’s impossible to take in every attraction. “I did not attend a show this year, but in years past I have gone to shows and they are so exciting and wake me up with the crazy stunts and thrilling actions the actors do,” says McCaughey. These shows create a high-energy environment and are a nice way to be able to sit down, but still get the Halloween Horror Nights experience.
Halloween Horror Nights is a great blend of fear and excitement. The way the stories are told through the haunted houses, scare zones and live shows keeps the guest intrigued. It brings life to the nightmares and is a great way to celebrate Halloween. Halloween Horror Nights is an experience you can not miss.
