It is officially spooky season in Orlando and that means that Halloween Horror Nights at Universal Orlando Resort is back! If you are looking for a high-quality, scary, Halloween event, then look no further. Halloween Horror Nights or simply HHN is an amazing horror event that takes place on select nights from August 30th through November 3rd, 2024. In general, you can expect the event to be held nightly from Wednesday – Sunday from 6:30pm until 2am.
In my opinion, this is the premiere Halloween event in the Orlando area. The amount of work that is put into Halloween Horror Nights is hard to beat and I have such a great time at this event every year. A big warning that this event is scary. There is blood, gore, and a slew of trigger warnings throughout the event. This is not Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party and I don’t recommend this event for everyone. While it is lots of fun and the vibes at the event are fantastic, if you don’t like being scared or seeing gruesome scenes, you may want to sit this one out.
Alright, now that we have the warning out of the way, let’s get back to the event! At HHN, you can walk through 10 haunted houses, 5 scare zones (although I argue there is only really 4), watch a live show, feast on themed food and drinks, and take a spin on select attractions.
The true draw of the event is the haunted houses followed by the scare zones. Each year ALL 10 houses are rethemed. That means each year is completely different and you can look forward to even more great houses. The houses are usually a mix of original concepts and houses based on IP. Let’s take a look at the houses at this year’s event:
Haunted Houses
A Quiet Place
Make a sound and you won’t last long. Monstrous creatures will hunt you down as the world of the first two films comes to terrifying life.
Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire
An ancient artifact has released a chilling new entity, Garraka. He’ll stop you cold. Only the Ghostbusters can keep you from getting iced.
Insidious: The Further
Enter The Further as demons try to ensnare you. The Red-Faced Demon will lure you into his lair. KeyFace will unlock your fears. And more.
Universal Monsters: Eternal Bloodlines
Get caught in an epic battle as Saskia Van Helsing and the Bride of Frankenstein go up against Dracula’s daughter and her monstrous mavens.
Monstruos: The Monsters of Latin America
¡Ten cuidado! With La Muerte as your guide, try to survive the night with three terrifying legends: Tlahuelpuchi, La Lechuza and El Silbón.
Slaughter Sinema 2
It’s time for another horror movie marathon at the Carey Drive-in! Scream through scenes from creature features, grindhouse gore and more.
The Museum: Deadly Exhibits
A folklore museum’s newest exhibit, The Rotting Stone, has released an evil spirit that decays everything. And it’s coming for you.
Major Sweets Candy Factory
You’re chaperoning a fieldtrip to a candy factory when the free samples transform the kids into candy-coated killers.
Goblin’s Feast
Enter a goblin village, where a feast is being prepared for goblins, orcs, hobgoblins and witches. And you’re the main course.
Triplets of Terror
You’re invited to the Barmy triplets’ birthday celebration. But their kind of party involves recreating the murders of their entire family.
My Personal Rankings
If you don’t want opinions, just skip over this part, but here are my favorite houses this year:
- Slaughter Sinema 2 – This house is so much fun! Definitely on the lighter side and I love all the different movies that you walk through.
- Goblin’s Feast – This house has kind of Lord of the Rings/Dungeon and Dragons vibes and it is perfect. There are lots of hidden details in here (look up as you are walking in, and make sure you check out the back of the jail cell).
- Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire – Confession: I have not seen the new Ghostbusters movies, but I still really enjoyed this house! It is also not as scary as other houses, but the set design is fantastic. I also love all the Stay Puft Marshmallow Men inside!
- A Quiet Place – For being a “quiet” place, there are a lot of shocking noises. However, I still really enjoy this house and I think the set design here is fabulous.
- Major Sweets Candy Factory – I love the concept behind the house and really enjoyed this house. It is a bit loud and has a few too many things that touch me (air, water, etc.), but the scare actors have always been great in here.
- The Museum: Deadly Exhibits – Such a cool concept and executed well. The details inside the museum are present throughout and I have enjoyed this house so much. Honestly, a lot of these houses are kind of tied in my opinion which made it really hard to rank them,
- Triplets of Terror – Who doesn’t love a true crime podcast? I love the concept behind the house and it is gave me a lot of satisfaction that the scare actors were almost always in threes (three scares from each of the triplets).
- Universal Monsters: Eternal Bloodlines – I may slowly be understanding the storyline behind this house, but I am still slightly confused by it. You get to travel to a lot of different locations and if you are big into Universal Monsters this house may end up higher on your list!
- Insidious: The Further – By far the scariest house at the event! I have not seen the movies so that may be a slight reason why it is ranked so low. If you are looking for scares, this house is for you!
- Monstruos: The Monsters of Latin America – The house is very well done, but the bird monsters just weren’t for me. There is also a strange smell and the story of child kidnapping and harm just wasn’t for me.
Scare Zones
In addition to the ten haunted houses, you will also find five scare zones scattered throughout the park. The scare zones have set pieces and scare actors that walk around scaring guests. If you are hoping to avoid being scared, I have found that walking on the sidewalks of the scare zones is your best option. Or find a group that is screaming like crazy and walk right beside them as the scare actors usually pick on them.
Overall, in my opinion, the scare zones this year are just okay.. I argue there is really only four scare zones, but technically there are five. The Duality of Fear Scare Zone is when you first walk into the park, and beyond some chainsaws, there isn’t much there. You occasionally will see the icons on top of the Halloween Horror Nights sign, but the night I went with my camera I never caught them up there. Torture Faire is probably the best overall scare zone, although it is a bit gory. I also love the vibe inside Swamp of the Undead, but if you are headed to HHN, you may as well walk through all the scare zones! They are all worth at least a quick walk-through, if not some more time to admire them.
Here is the full list of Scare Zones you will see this year:
Duality of Fear
As soon as you enter the gates of Halloween Horror Nights, you must choose a path: follow SINIST3R, the manifestation of visceral horror. Or follow SURR3AL,the incarnation of unearthly terror.
Demon Queens
Get caught in an otherworldly hellscape ripped from the darkest corners of your mind. Four merciless queens loyal to SURR3AL rule, surrounded by hordes of fanatical followers.
Torture Faire
Come one, come all, to SINIST3R’s renaissance faire with the devious theme of medieval torture. Brave the gloriously gory homemade torture devices ‘til you’re put out of your misery.
Enter the Blumhouse
Escape a terrifying gauntlet of Blumhouse characters. From sinister sadists from The Purge and Black Phone to M3GAN dancing into your nightmares, you’ve never known horror like this.
Swamp of the Undead
In backwaters Louisiana, you unwittingly wander onto private property, where you’re swamped by zombies borne from the bodies of other trespassers who were killed and dumped in a nearby bog.
My Personal Rankings
- Torture Faire – This one is probably the most gory, but the theming is incredible here! From the music, to the scare actors, to the set pieces, I feel like this scare zone feels the most cohesive.
- Swamp of the Undead – The scare actors in the scare zone have always been fabulous! I love looking at the set pieces and somehow it really does feel like you are walking through a swamp.
- Demon Queens – This one is super vibey in my opinion. This is definitely one you will want to go through both during the light and dark. You can see the characters much better during the day, but the lighting at night looks great.
- Enter the Blumhouse – This scare zone has so much potential, but it just falls a bit flat for me in regards to set and design. You will see lots of iconic characters roaming though and all the scare actors have been amazing!
- Duality of Fear – I will strongly argue that this one shouldn’t even count as a scare zone
Themed Food and Drink
In addition to the haunted houses and scare zones, there is also a wide variety of food and drink available. Some of the normal restaurants are open during the event, but there are also various food booths that are just for the event. The food booths offer fun, themed food! I have only tried a few things this year, and I haven’t been incredibly wowed, but there are some really unique food options available.
The first food item I tried was Slimer’s Korean Corndog from the Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire booth. I enjoyed it and it was A LOT of food, but nothing that overly impressed me. The outside was nice and crunchy, but it also tasted like it had likely been sitting out for a while. There was lots of cheese in the middle and decent pieces of hotdogs on either end. The amount of cheese in the middle was a bit much for me (which I can’t believe I am saying as I love cheese). I am not sure I would get it again, but I also enjoyed it and I am glad I got it.
I also tried the Walking Taco from the Carey Drive-In Booth. I was mostly convinced because of the Nacho Cheese Doritos. I was really craving them that night. I would say this is your average Walking Taco. There was a decent amount of meat and all the toppings you would expect. Nothing that blew my socks off, although I would recommend maybe crunching up the Doritos as it was a bit hard to eat if they were the full chip. It definitely satisfied my craving for some Nacho Cheese Doritos though!
I will continue to update this section as I try more food options at this year’s event!
Other Entertainment
You may be thinking, that is a lot of stuff at Halloween Horror Nights! But, we are not done yet! There are a few more things you can do while at Halloween Horror Nights.
Nightmare Fuel: Nocturnal Circus
Another confession time: I haven’t seen the show yet this year. I know, I know…BUT, I have seen the show in years past and they are similar iterations of each other. It is a live-action show with dancers and stunt performers, and it has always given me a Cirque de Solei kind of vibe and the show is usually at least somewhat risqué. The show is usually incredibly well-done and entertaining. The shows do fill up fast most nights, so either arrive early or try to go to one of the later shows which usually don’t have quite as big of crowds. I am hoping to make it to the show soon, and will update this section with more information!
Death Eaters Encounter
If you head to Diagon Alley during the event, you may just happen upon the Death Eaters. They come out a various times throughout the evening, although the times aren’t posted so you either have to be lucky or wait around until they do come out. The Death Eaters do a super quick show on the stage and then roam around Diagon Alley interacting with guests.
I always love seeing the Death Eaters and highly recommend trying to stop by to check them out! You can’t usually see them outside of HHN.
Rides & Attractions
During the event, you can also ride on select rides and attractions. The wait times are definitely lower during the event, however, there is so much to see at Halloween Horror Nights, that I usually don’t recommend waiting for the attractions. The attractions that are available include Revenge of the Mummy, Harry Potter and the Escape From Gringotts, Men In Black: Alien Attack, and Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit. Also, make sure you stop by to check out the Halloween Tribute Store! This is also open during normal park hours so you don’t necessarily need to do it during Halloween Horror Nights.
I am fortunate to live in Orlando and to be able to purchase a Frequent Fear pass which allows me to attend the event on most event nights. Halloween Horror Nights is always one of my favorite events of the year and this year is no different. I love getting to step into the fog for a few hours and have a great time. The team members put SO much hard work into this event each year and it truly shows.
If you are only attending for one night, I would suggest planning on staying the whole evening. As well, taking advantage of Stay and Scream will help you get even more done. There is A LOT to do and if you are trying to get it all done in one night, you will likely need to stay for most, if not all, of the event.
Thanks so much for stopping by my blog and reading all the way through here! I truly love the Orlando area and writing about all the happenings. If you have any questions, please reach out to me or leave a comment below! I always love to hear from you. Until next time, happy travels! ~Colette
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