Halloween Horror Nights is BACK! The award-winning Halloween event returns for its 33rd year with more houses and scare zones to scare the spit out of you. This year’s theme is the duality of fear – the Sinister who focuses on graphic horror and Surreal who loves psychological terror. After five nights of walking through houses and dodging the rain with friends and new victims, we are ready to review Halloween Horror Nights 33.

Haunted Houses

Halloween Horror Nights 33 features ten haunted houses based on popular movies and original concepts. This year the houses all seem to be received very well, and besides one notable exception, everyone’s favorite lists are vastly different. There are no bad houses this year – nine that are fantastic to really great, and just one misguided one.

Insidious Into the Further is a super headliner of this year’s Halloween Horror Nights and a house we consider not to be missed. This year’s house is not focused on one single movie or monster but instead a mash-up of all the terrors that await us in the further (⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ 1/2 ). Slaughter Sinema 2 is a celebration of horror B-movies and it returns this year with a whole new slate of cheesy movies to walk through. The fake movie aesthetic and Mystery Science Theater 3000 vibes are a winner in our book (⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️). Ghostbusters Frozen Empire is a surprise hit this year with a house significantly better than the movie that inspired it. Guests will come face to face with fan favorites like Slimer and Vigo plus new monsters (⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️).

A Quiet Place brings the two movies to HHN with a haunted house heavy on the scares and startles. We found ourselves slightly confused going through the house but the large puppets were very impressive. (⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ 1/2). Universal Monsters Eternal Bloodlines stars the daughter of Van Helsing as she slays monsters to save humanity. This house had a lot of scares including some special mummy scares like when a scare actor comes at you on a suspended harness. While not as strong as in prior years we enjoyed the sets and storyline (⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ 1/2).

Monstrous Monsters of Latin America is an import from Universal Studios Hollywood and focuses on the mythical demons found in Central and South America. The house is disturbing and gross, with baby snatching and lots of butchered animals, but if you can get past that you’ll find a beautifully designed house with an impressive mechanical figure in it (⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️). Triplets of Terror has the roughest story out of any of this year’s houses: we’re going back in time through a True Crime Podcast angle to witness the murders committed by this family. Once your expectations are calibrated you’ll find a terrifying house full of amazing details, like a Happy Birthday sign made with intestines (⭐️⭐️⭐️). Major Sweets Candy Factory harkens back to the old days of HHN where guests would walk through industrial settings designed to kill and maim – like Giggles & Gore from 2014. This house expands the backstory of Major Sweets from HHN 31 where we discover how the kids became obsessed murderers and the plot to destroy the city. This house has lots of gross-out moments, like puking and forced feeding, so those with a weak stomach should advert their eyes (⭐️⭐️⭐️). Goblin’s Feast earned the nickname “Evil Shrek” from our party, Goblin’s is a fun Dungeons and Dragons-inspired house where those aligned on Chaotic Evil eat those pesky humans. This house is fun, scary, a little gory, and will put a smile on your face (⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️).

The Museum Deadly Exhibits gets our “at least you tried” award for 2024 with a house with a fun concept but meh execution. While the Rotting Stone does bring terrifying things to life in the museum we think the whole concept of rot, along with some meta-commentary on museums, was missing (⭐️⭐️).

Scare Zones & Shows

Taking over Halloween Horror Nights’ scare zones are Sinister and Surreal, the two factors that combine to form the fear at Halloween Horror Nights. These demons have taken residence at the front of the park in the Duality of Fear where guests can interact with the two manifestations along with a gaggle of chainsaw wielders. While the chainsaws provide a nice rush for guests entering and exiting the park, the lack of a central theme or decorations really sets it back (⭐️ ½ stars). Guests venturing to New York will find Sinister’s two scare zones focusing on violence and evil. Torture Faire, the yearly RenFaire interested in all sorts of torture devices like the iron maidens to murderous turkey legs (no we’re not making that up), with dozens of scare actors roaming the streets as victims or torturers (⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ). Enter the Blumhouse is a cramped, small scare zone located in the San Francisco section of the park featuring characters from Blumhouse’s films like The Purge, M3GAN, and The Black Phone. Be careful of crowds after Nightmare Fuel and when M3GAN begins her dance (⭐️ ⭐️ ½ stars)

Surreal’s scare zones focus on the supernatural, the things that leave the hair standing on the back of your neck. First is Demon Queens in Hollywood, a scare zone dedicated to Surreal’s minions of horror. We enjoyed many of the demon queen costumes and the actors worked their butts off when we went through, but some costume design decisions leave us wanting (⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ). The final scare zone is Swamp of the Undead in Central Park which features zombies in a swamp. The concept might be simple but we enjoyed the execution and fun scare actors (⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ). While not officially a scare zone, the Death Eaters return to Diagon Alley to stalk the streets and recruit for He Who Shall Not Be Named.

Of course, it wouldn’t be HHN without some sexy dancing, and the fan-favorite Nightmare Fuel returns with the biggest changes to the show for its fourth year. This year the nightmare returns to a circus stuck in a murderous loop where our hero attempts to save the love of his life from an illusion gone wrong. The fire dancers, provocative dancing, daring stunts, and illusions return with an all-new opening and ending. We still consider Nightmare Fuel one of the best shows in Orlando and must not be missed. (⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ )

Food & More

Food this year was a large swing and a miss – the headliner food items for Ghostbusters like the smore were passable but the fried cheesecake and Korean corn dogs didn’t hit with our food reviewers. Several people who tried the A Quiet Place wooden board éclair did not like the final product and the mixed drinks were yet again overly sweet. Besides the stable classics of pizza fries, twisted taters, and pumpkin guts we would recommend the Universal Monsters fish & chips which was a hit. We suggest sticking to Universal’s existing counter service locations or CityWalk for a meal. On the flip side we are happy to see Universal has added hard liquor options back to the drink booths, this simplifies the bar setup at Finnegan’s and reduces waits overall. Now what about those blood bags….

Other Notes

Universal has implemented a major change in guest flow and operations at HHN 33. A new backstage hub located behind Men in Black is set up with the entrances and exits for Universal Monsters and Goblin’s Feats, restrooms, and drink carts. Now guests have the option of doing two houses, with breaks, without having to constantly walk behind Men in Black. This is a much-needed improvement and we hope HHN continues to improve the operations of the event.

TouringPlans Touring Tips

• Save Time and develop a plan before you arrive. Most guests enter the park and swamp the houses in New York, swerve, and go to the back of the park first.
• Guests in line at the park closing time will be allowed to experience the haunted house but Universal will inflate wait times to discourage entry into the lines. Ignore the inflated wait times, this is a great time to see the large IP houses.
• Wait times for rides during HHN are often longer than during the day, save the rides for the daytime.
• Nightmare Fuel is an extremely popular show, unless you are seeing the very first or last showing each night expect to queue at least 30 minutes before show time to grab a seat.
• Save Money and purchase tickets online before your visit. Prices are anywhere from $20 to twice as expensive at the gate.
• An Express Pass that is valid after 11:00 pm is sold for half the cost at kiosks in the park. Look for Express Pass kiosks and ask for the half-price Express Pass availability.
• Raining? Go anyway, the haunted houses operate rain or shine with shorter waits. Ponchos are allowed in the haunted houses but umbrellas must be put away before entering.
  • Monstrous is the only house with a fully covered, indoor queue.
• Prepare for the sun and heat during Stay & Scream – stay in the shade and hydrate as queues are outside.