Halloween Horror Nights (HHN) at Universal Studios Florida is an event I’ve always fondly marveled at from afar but only recently had the opportunity to experience.
I’ve visited multiple Halloween events in the past, like Halloween Haunt at Worlds of Fun and Kings Island, Pumpkins in the City at Silver Dollar City and Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party at Magic Kingdom, but never the supposed crème de la crème of Halloween theme park events.
So, how does Halloween Horror Nights 2024 compare? Let’s look at the ticketing, food, houses, and overall atmosphere to see how it stacks up to other events around the country.
My group and I decided to go with the Rush of Fear Pass, which gave us access to the event on all three nights of our trip (Thursday-Saturday). We opted to go without Express Pass (I know, I know, super risky). With our annual passes, we were able to utilize their system for early entry into HHN called Stay and Scream. This was a hit for us on Friday, as it allowed us to do multiple houses before the event’s official start. The same cannot be said for Saturday, as our section hit capacity early, and we were subjected to waiting in the craziest line I’ve ever seen.
Major Sweets Candy Factory at Halloween Horror Nights 2024 at Universal Studios Florida
While it was nice to utilize our multi-day tickets, if we had known what Thursday had in store, we might have gone with a single-night ticket because, due to rain and it being a school night, the park was glorious. The longest we waited for anything was 50 minutes, which would be our trip’s best night. We learned very quickly that rain is something to be hoped for on HHN dates.
We went straight from the airport to our hotel to check in and then to the park. We missed out on Stay and Scream and ended up getting to the park about 30 minutes after the opening scaremonies. What followed was probably the most perfect visit we could hope for.
Slaughter Sinema 2 at Halloween Horror Nights 2024 at Universal Studios Florida
In the six hours that we were at the park, we were able to finish seven of the 10 houses, see the show, walk on three rides, visit with Death Eaters and even try some food.
Our first house to walk through was The Museum: Deadly Exhibits. I had seen that this was at the bottom of many lists, and, unfortunately, that was the case for us as well. Walking through, I was thinking about how it felt like an average house at Halloween Haunt and was honestly worried that the event had been overhyped.
Unfortunately, the disappointment continued. We were underwhelmed by both A Quiet Place and Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire. The sets were beautiful, but a few of the set pieces were missing on our walk-throughs, which was a huge disappointment (RIP Slimer puppet), especially since we utilized our Stay and Scream for them. It was not a good look to have many guests who paid extra not to get to see those pieces. Even my group members who were going in completely blind felt a little let down by the experience.
Thankfully, the houses did get much better. Insidious: The Further is well worth the hype. It was easily the scariest Halloween attraction I’ve experienced. The entire sound design, visuals, house layout and scare actors package was absolutely unmatched. It was light years above every other house I’ve experienced.
I kept thinking about how, at other Halloween events, they pulse groups through, and I simply couldn’t imagine walking through that house alone with just my group. By the end of it, we were all hunched over in a fight-or-flight position. It only got better on our second walk-through the next day.
Upon completing the houses on Friday night, we decided our top five houses were:
- Insidious: The Further
- Monstruos: The Monsters of Latin America
- Slaughter Sinema 2
- Triplets of Terror
- Goblin’s Feast
On the opposite side, it is worth mentioning that we were less than impressed by this year’s scare zone offerings. While Torture Faire brought on the chills and entertainment each night, the remaining zones left much to be desired. Most of them felt empty or without a clear storyline. This was quite frustrating as we’ve seen much better areas at other theme parks.
We spent most of our free time at the Torture Faire following plague doctors around or dancing with Megan in the Blum House zone. So at least there were these bright spots.
That’s where the negatives stop for us, though, because the food was on a whole new level. Everything we tried, we liked.
Universal has always impressed me when it comes to food, but having such good experiences with temporary food stands is definitely not experienced at other parks. Our favorite bites included Abbott’s Corn Chowder, In the Fog Fish ‘n Chips and the Say “Cheese” Burger.
Along with the fun themed options, we also tried two HHN staples. The tater twists were far above the ones at Silver Dollar City, and it physically hurts me to say that but it’s the truth.
The pizza fries were also a welcome snack late in the trip when we were exhausted.
No matter how exhausted we were, though, the event’s atmosphere kept us going. I’m very pleased to say this makes this event so special. Everything from the ridiculous amount of fog to the impeccable Tribute Store, to the scare actors doing their best to scare the absolute crap out of us made everything fall into place.
Despite the complaints online of lesser scare zones and tamer houses, as well as the arguments over crowds and chaperone policies, this is still a premiere event. The employees are really what made this experience the best for us. That’s not to say that the employees at other events are lacking, but there’s something special about our interactions with staff.
Our most memorable moments came from our interactions with Death Eaters, scare actors and bartenders.
It might not be the best year of Halloween Horror Nights that Universal has ever put on, but it was our best year — our first year where we made memories that we will have for a lifetime. There is no doubt in my mind that you’ll see us in the fog next year!
To learn more about Halloween Horror Nights 2024, visit the Universal Orlando website.
Have you visited Halloween Horror Nights 2024 at Universal Studios Florida yet? Let us know what you thought of the event in the comments section below.
About the Author:
Elora Maxwell is a writer based out of Missouri. She writes mostly fiction novels, but also loves to write about her travel experiences in her free time. She enjoys parks that provide great food and even greater roller coasters. Her dream is to one day be on a social media team for a theme park.
I’m a chicken and hate going into haunted houses but if it’s Insidious themed I’d have to make an exception
I’m going with a rip tour vip pass, a lot of people complained about the crowds from last year in 2023 saying that it was so overcrowded, you could barely walk or enjoy people chasing you in the scare zones, did you feel the park was too crowded that you couldn’t walk or enjoy the scare zones?