Insider Review of Halloween Horror Nights

We attended the first weekend of Halloween Horror Nights 2018! As Premier Passholders at Universal Studios Orlando, we get horror nights tickets included with our pass but only on selected days. The first weekend of the event was one of the few weekends the ticket was offered. There was also early entry provided that day at 5:30 pm for pass holders to preview 3 of the houses. We didn’t make it at 5:30 pm because we had to go to Islands of Adventure and visit Hogsmeade (a must every time we’re there)

We opted for fast passes at about $100 per person so we got to see 8 out of 9 of the houses. Disclaimer: we still waited in line a bit. The fast pass lines were especially long at Poltergeist and Seeds of Extinction houses.  We attributed this to fast passes now living on people’s cellphones, I think for the first time. The attendants were having issues scanning the electronic passes. Either way, it was faster than the regular lines hence allowing us to enjoy the majority of the event.  Continue reading for a full review of Halloween Horror Nights 2018- featuring passholder insider tips on the haunted houses, scare zones, food, and drinks. We’ve been going for the last five years so we’re pros!

 

Halloween Horror Nights 2018 Haunted Houses

This year Universal Studios Orlando announced that they had more haunted houses than any previous year! This was very exciting although I’ll take quality over quantity any time. They offered just 3 big name movie and show houses -Stanger Things, Poltergeist and Halloween 4. The rest were based on original content.

The house everyone was most excited about was Stranger Things. It lived up to the hype as did Poltergeist but honestly, Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers was just ok. Especially compared to previous year’s Halloween movie houses. Of the other houses, I’d say Trick ‘r Treat, Slaughter Sinema, and Scary Tales: Deadly Ever After had the highest production quality out of all the non-big name movie houses. I think they did a disservice to the Blumhouse movies, The Horrors of Blumhouse was just meh. We actually missed Dead Exposure Patient Zero, which I’ve heard is one of the scariest haunted houses.  At the end of this post, I’ve listed my ranking of the houses.

Scare Zones

The scare zones at Halloween Horror Nights 2018 were good but not as impressive as in previous years. The best one was Vamp 85: New Year’s Eve. An 80’s themed vampire new years party complete with crazy vamps and a live stage dance show.  This one was where The Purge scare zone was located the previous year. Definitely, a hard act to follow since I thought The Purge was super relatable since the street setting made it realistic.

When scare zones are based on popular movies it just works better. This is the reason why Revenge of Chucky zone was really cool. They had a sort of twisted Chucky puppet show that was pretty entertaining. He was ragging on his two helpers as well as going off on people from the audience. The third best scare zone was Twisted Tradition. Halloween Horror Night’s has featured a similar scare zone in previous years but they added more characters, upgrading it.

The other scare zones were just ok. Killer Klowns From Outer Space was short, not well developed. The Harvest had stands featuring movies/haunted houses they had in previous years. I think, I’m not even sure what the point was. It was confusing since they named it “The Harvest” and it seemed like “Twisted Tradition” should’ve been named “The Harvest” instead. Again, not as impressive as let’s say the “Masquerade” scare zone located in the same corridor two years ago.

Vamp 85: New Year’s Eve Scare Zone

Revenge of Chucky Scare Zone

Chucky Puppet Show

Twisted Tradition scare zone

Food and drinks At HHN 28

It seemed like they tried having some outside vendors to expand food choices. This was interesting. We had a burger from one of them it was just ok. I will say that although the line for the Pizza Fries was very disorganized they were really good.  It was especially hot this weekend and water was a total must.

As for alcohol, starting last year they substantially limited the drinking options at Halloween Horror Nights due to unruly crowds and the issues that come with consuming large amounts of alcohol. This is why we can’t have nice things, people! In the past, I truly enjoyed having a wide choice of drinks to choose from while waiting in line. Having a cocktail or shot just made time pass by faster. (Again, Yes, you still wait in line with the fast pass!) One of the coolest parts of Halloween Horror Nights in previous years was the shot girls dressed as nurses offering blood transfusion jello shots. They weren’t super tasty but the presentation was everything – creepy, sexy and boozy. I miss that!

In the end, Halloween Horror Nights is the best Halloween/Fall event there is. Even if this year wasn’t their best year it was still pretty awesome! Hell, I’d go back to see the one house we missed.

Halloween Horror Nights 2018 Haunted House Rating

9.  Seeds of Extinction

This one was boring. I think they were going for a story similar to the one from the last Natalie Portman movie Annihilation but it was just poorly executed.

8.  Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers

Was the Halloween 4 movie any good? Then why base a house on it? Last year’s Halloween House was one of the scariest. This one had too many Michael Myers jump scares and not enough immersive scenes to capture your attention. When walking you could see the Michaels scare the group in front of you so take a step back to maximize scares. This happens in alot of the houses too.

7.  The Horrors of Blumhouse

This one merged The Purge, which I think can be quite scary with Happy Death Day. It could’ve been so good, but instead, it wasn’t that scary and two movies didn’t connect well.

6.  Carnival Graveyard

This one preys on those with fear of clowns and does a good job of it.

5.  Scary Tales: Deadly Ever After

Such a good idea to take fairy tales and twist them into something evil. You can relate and cringe as your favorite characters are murdered or turn evil

4.  Trick or Treat

The best entrance of all the houses. Classic Halloween frights.

3.  Slaughter Sinema

Old horror movies, this one has one of the scariest rooms/scenes in the event!

2.  Stranger Things

They did a great job, you definitely feel as if you are walking through the show. There are amazing scenarios of Demogorgon and Eleven.

1.  Poltergeist

I guess I picked this one as the scariest because this is one of the scariest movies I saw in childhood. You walk in through the empty, graveyard pool that’s in the backyard of the movie! The clown! The 80’s kitchen!