The white smoke appearing over Universal Studios Florida isn’t news that they’ve elected a new Shrek, no, it’s Halloween Horror Nights season! The world-renowned Halloween event returns for its 34th year, featuring hit movies, TV shows, video games, and even wrestlers. In this article, we will share our thoughts on the event, what we think you should prioritize, and our crowd observations.

Houses

The main event at HHN is the haunted houses, which bring to life nightmares in gorgeous (and gory) detail. These elaborate walkthrough experiences are E-Tickets on their own and rival the most elaborate attraction queues. Universal uses a multitude of technologies and human actors to create scares and startles. We will be breaking down the houses into three categories: Must See for the ones we think you should plan your night around, Worth Your Time for houses that are excellent but don’t hit the same highs as the others, and The Remainder for houses that are good but not great.

Must See

Terrifier was highly requested by the fans for years due to its over-the-top gore and existing haunted house vibes the movies give off. And do those vibes pay off, as Terrifier is one of the most disturbing and grotesque houses ever created for HHN. The iconic Terrifier clown, Art, haunts every corner in the house as he tortures and maims his victims. WARNING: This house is not for the squeamish or faint of heart, with lots of gore, disgusting smells, and even a “Bloody Path” ending, which covers you in blood (water).

El Artista is this year’s passion project for the original concept houses, with huge sets and unique scares in a creepy atmosphere. In this hous,e we witness a multitalented artist lose his sanity as demons and ghosts haunt his house. The monsters on the page quite literally jump out to attack in this non-stop action packed house. We really appreciated the sets in this house; they were spectacular and full of detail. Even if you aren’t a fan of scares, you owe it to yourself to walk through this house.

Jason Universe stars the iconic slasher from the Friday the 13th movies as he hunts down those pesky kids at Camp Crystal Lake… or does he? Jason is everywhere in this house, with dozens of hockey mask-wearing scare actors coming at you with sledge hammers, hatchets, and knives. But keep your butts on for the last third of the house as you walk into Jason’s mask and must face an unending onslaught of the man himself.

Worth Your Time

Galkn takes on Nordic folklore and legends in this year’s supernatural house. A town and its people are directly in the middle of the wrath of an ancient evil that’s spawned from the fjords nearby. Escape the town to survive, if you can.

Hatchet & Chains is a duo of demon hunters from the 1800s Wild West, and in this house, they’re out to wrangle up the lava demons in a Wild West town. Expect lots of action and cool costumes as you witness the glowing demons crawling out of the townspeople’s mouths.

WWE Wyatt Sicks is a love letter to the WWE and the late Bryan Wyatt. Conceptualized as a WWE production taken over by the Sicks, expect to see lots of dead WWE employees along with the twisted machinations of the Sicks. While I’m not a wrestling fa,n I did feel the love and attention paid to the details in this house.

Dolls Let’s Play Dead shrinks guests down to the size of a small toy for a sadistic little girl. What starts as deformed dolls and toys quickly turns more gruesome and threatening as we see her depravity becomes more horrible.

The Remainder

Five Nights at Freddy’s is the much-anticipated house based on the hit video game series and movie. While the audio-animatronics in this haunted house are very impressive, the overall experience felt a little flat with long scare resets for effects that must be far away for guest safety. To crib video game reviews of a mediocre game, it’s for fans of the series.

Grave of Flesh asks the age-old question of what happens after we die? Well, in this house, your body is harvested by demons in a hell dimension. Not a bad house at all, but it is mostly tight corridors through dense rock work, making it feel a little like Hagrid’s queue.

Fallout is one of my favorite game series with a hilarious and gory lore behind it. So why is the house so… ok? Outside of some small shout-outs to the series, it feels like a generic junk yard/wasteland house. This is disappointing as there are tons of iconic and weird things they could have pulled from the show and games!

Scare Zones

Universal heard us loud and clear last year that the street experiences were underwhelming and stepped up their game this year. We now have four fully realized scare zones plus two street experiences, things that aren’t quite full scare zones but fill out the park full of Halloween excitement. I can happily report that the scare zones are good this year and lots of fun. First up is The Origins of Horror, a catch-all zone set in a conservatory taken over by nature that houses the effigies of the IPs featured in this year’s event. Grab your selfies with Art or Freddy Faz Bear but make sure to avoid the lurking gargoyles. Masquerade isn’t just the name of a Phantom of the Opera song (or the new immersive show), it’s also a scare zone where you don’t know if it’s a human or a vampire behind the mask. The Cat Lady of Crooked Lane is one of the highest concept scare zones in years, with a full story and showpiece at the end of the zone. You see, trick-or-treaters come to the lady at the end of Crooked Lane expecting treats, but instead get one bad trick: they’re turned into real cats. As you progress through the Central Park section of the park, you’ll notice the scare actors change from trick or treaters to humanoid cats, all leading to the worn house of the Cat Lady. While it might not offer the most startling, it offers immaculate Halloween vibes with countless pumpkins in the trees. Mutations: Toxic Twenties realizes that unchecked greed and growth is just a cancer on the world by using toxic ooze as the metaphor for that decade. Expect mutant flappers, oozing cops, and lunging gangsters.

Shows

Nightmare Fuel is the event’s headliner show, and this year delivers another pulse-pounding show with the familiar circus theme.  Fan favorite Fuel Girls return with their fire acts plus over a dozen dancers and aerialists. When the show isn’t attempting to light the theater on fire, there is lots and lots of suggestive dancing, making this a show we suggest only for teenagers and older. Nightmare Fuel is a must-see show at either the first 8:00 pm show or the last show at 12:30 pm, but be warned, the show can take up to 45 minutes of your night to see.

After a hurricane shut down the last lagoon show halfway through HHN, Haunt-O-Phonic returns with a reimagined show that’s an homage to the first show with updated segments and effects. The show lasts roughly 12 minutes, and walk-up viewing is easily available up to showtime. Thanks to its quick show time and easy in-and-out nature, we highly recommend watching Haunt-O-Phonic as a quick break during the night.

Overall Thoughts

Halloween Horror Nights 34 is HHN at full strength with fleshed-out scare zones, solid haunted houses, and two good shows to create an overall good year. It’s easy to see why HHN has the Golden Legend Ticket Award from Amusement Today as the best Halloween event. The house intensity ranges from terrifyingly intense to suspenseful, supernatural horror to bloody gore. If you are on the fence with Horror Nights, go for it; we think you’ll enjoy the party atmosphere with a little bit of the scares.

Halloween Horror Nights runs on select nights now through November 2, 2025. Tickets and Express Passes are now on sale.

What are your thoughts on this year’s Halloween Horror Nights? Leave your reviews, thoughts, and opinions in the comments below!