I had the pleasure of attending the media event on opening night for Universal Orlando’s Halloween Horror Nights on Friday, and wanted to give our readers my first impressions. I definitely had my favorites for the houses, scare zones and food options, but I hesitate to list “worsts”, because it was a solid experience overall.
Halloween Horror Nights is a big deal among horror fans, especially those of us in Central Florida. Many people even visit multiple times each year, but let’s face it, it’s pricey. A basic ticket starts at $85.99, and Express Passes (almost a necessity if you are only going once) start at $179.99 (and yes, you need to purchase both if you want to do the Express Pass).
The media event is the equivalent of an RIP tour, so we were able to visit all ten of the houses, all four scare zones, attended the Nightmare Fuel show, sampled a variety of the themed foods and beverages for Halloween Horror Nights and visited the Tribute Store.
Let’s start with the food. HHN is known for its unusual themed food creations, and this year was no exception. For me, the standout was the faux deviled eggs. They 100% looked like regular deviled eggs, but were instead coconut panna cotta (made to look like boiled egg whites) filled with a pineapple whipped ganache, sprinkled with Tajin. They were DELICOUS!
The Pumpkin Séance Mousse was also very tasty, particularly if you are like me and love anything pumpkin spice. It was pleasantly spicy, but not overly sweet.
On the other hand, the massive FNAF-themed cupcake (chocolate cupcake with raspberry and cannoli filling, topped with a huge mound of buttercream frosting) was WAY too sweet. One bite was plenty for me. The Terrifier Sunflower Sugar Cookies were not sweet enough. They weren’t bad, but they needed a little more sweetness.
Other winners were the surprisingly good Spaghetti and Meat Ball pizza, the Cram Tots & More (chili glazed Spam with cheddar tater tots) and the Flamin’ Hot Barria Ramen.
Houses:
The houses are without a doubt the most popular attractions for HHN-goers, and they did not disappoint this year. The only one that I personally felt was meh was the Fallout house. Maybe it’s because I haven’t watched the series, but it just didn’t scare me at all.
Dolls: Let’s Play Dead was my favorite house, due to its creepiness factor. Very creative use was made of the mangled, partially-melted oversized dolls throughout the house, and I love the fact that one room smelled like crayons.
Though I do not follow WWE at all, I did quite like The Horrors of the Wyatt Sicks. I thought it was very touching to see the use of the lantern that represented Bray Wyatt, and the characters and setting were effectively scary.
Terrifier was fun (I do not enjoy walking around in wet shoes, so I chose the dry path), Five Nights at Freddy’s was spectacular-looking, but not very scary, and Jason Universe honestly had too many Jason characters throughout. It’s not really a jump-scare if it happens over and over again with little time in between. But it was still great to see the re-created scenes from the movies.
El Artista was positively gorgeous, while also being creepy. It was probably the most visually interesting house.
Nightmare Fuel: Circus of Decay was a show that delighted and stunned. Pyrotechnics, aerial performers, a deliciously creepy contortionist, eye-catching costumes and highly skilled dancers adept with fire all combined to bring a show that was incredibly entertaining. I think it ran about 30 minutes, but it felt like five, and it was very fast paced.
Scare Zones:
Where the scare zones were concerned, The Cat Lady of Crooked Lane had the best storyline. Visitors who got to that zone at the right time were treated to a mini show before walking past all of the eerie, creepy cats slinking around in the fog.
Also very entertaining was Masquerade: Dance with Death, which featured elegantly costumed vampires. These “scare actors” were the most interactive of all the scare zones.
All in all, Halloween Horror Nights at Universal Orlando was great this year. And yes, it definitely elevates the experience to go with the RIP option, or even an Express Pass. My advice would be to buy the most expensive ticket option(s) you can afford, as it’s the only way to be able to hit all of the houses and scare zones in one night.