Universal Orlando’s Halloween Horror Nights (HHN) is a haunted after-hours event voted the Best Halloween Event by the Golden Ticket Awards for over a decade. While Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party at Walt Disney World focuses on family-friendly activities, Universal embraces its horror roots to create an edgy, adult-oriented event. In this two-part series, we will cover all you need to know about HHN 2024: Part 1 focuses on planning and tickets, Part 2 covers attractions at the event and touring tips, and Part 3 covers all there is to eat and buy at the event.

Touring Halloween Horror Nights

The big day is here and you are ready to get spooky. So where to first? What is there to see? How do you effectively tour the park? How are some guests already in the park? Are there any attractions open? This section will answer all of those questions and provide a touring plan for the event.

Halloween Horror Nights opens at 6:30 p.m. every night, but gates usually open 15 minutes early. We suggest arriving at least 45 minutes before the official opening on weekdays and at least 90 minutes on weekends and weekdays in mid to late October. If you are already in the park for the day or want to get a leg up on others, we suggest participating in Stay and Scream.

Stay and Scream

Stay inside the park during turnover and be the first through the haunted houses with Stay and Scream. It is sort of like Early Entry for HHN, here is how it works:

• Have a daytime admission ticket or a Scream Early Ticket.
• Be inside the park before closing at 5:00 p.m.
• Find the Stay and Scream areas in New York at Minion Cafe or World Expo at Lombards. Today Cafe can be added as a location as crowds demand.
• Follow Team Member directions and scan your HHN ticket.
• Wait in the holding areas after the park officially closes at 5:00 p.m.
• Select haunted houses open between 5:15 p.m. and 6:00 p.m. for early access before the park opens at 6:30 p.m.

We suggest participating in Stay & Scream if you have the correct ticket, most guests can experience two houses and be in line for a third before the park opens. It is your best way to see all the houses at HHN without purchasing an Express Pass.

Haunted Houses

Universal Orlando builds brand new, E-Ticket-level walkthrough experiences called haunted houses each year. The haunted houses are based on existing films, games, and TV shows (“IPs”) plus original creations (“originals”). These walkthroughs are grand in scale and execution, on par with or surpassing the most elaborate attractions designed by Disney or Universal. Make no mistakes, these houses can be scary!

This year Universal offers ten sinister houses for guests based on popular properties and terrifying original concepts. The numbers match the map above.

1. Monsteruos: The Monsters of Latin America – Monstruos, the jungle-themed haunted “house”, stars three Latin American monster legends: the shape-shifting, Mexican vampire Tlahuelpuchi, the Mexcian murderous owl-humanoid La Lechuza who stalks drunks, and the Colombian and Venezuelan El Silbón who terrorizes “womanizers”. Timely.
2. A Quiet Place – based on Paramount Picture’s A Quiet Place and A Quiet Place II horror films where the noise you make attracts blind monsters with sharp hearing. Universal is embracing this unique challenge of sound design and horror by building a new concept for a haunted house with new design tricks and even casting actors who can communicate with American Sign Language (ASL) in the house.
3. Insidious The Further – Walk into the ghostly realm that haunts the stars in the Insidious films in this all-new haunted house. This one promises to be very intense and features many startling scares.
4. Ghostbusters Frozen Empire – Ghostbusters returns to Halloween Horror Nights with a new house based on the latest Ghostbusters flick, Ghostbusters Frozen Empire, with the evil Garraka.
5. Triplets of Terror – It’s the Barmy’s triplets birthday party and you’re invited! There aren’t pony rides and bounce castles at this event, instead, it’s decorated in the recreations of the family’s murderous habits in the town. We are expecting this house to be filled with gore and blood for the squeamish out there.
6. Major Sweet’s Candy Factory– A prequel to the 2022 Halloween Horror Nights “Sweet Revenge” scare zone, Major Sweets Candy Factory is a look at the dark plans that lead to the famous Halloween parade invasion. Walk into Major Sweets’ factory and discover how he turns regular children into feral monsters.
7. Goblin’s Feast – Fantasy meets graphic gore in this comedic haunted house right out of a game of Dungeons & Dragons. Goblins, orcs, and witches are preparing a feast of lost explorers and we’re included on the menu. Before arriving at the feast, guests will walk through woods and a goblin village.
8. Universal Monsters: Eternal Bloodlines – The daughter of Van Helsing, Sasia, and The Bride of Frankenstein team up to defeat the daughter of Dracula, She-Wolf, and the mummy Anck-su-namun. HHN’s Universal Monster houses are small stories in and of themselves and are among the best houses of the year.
9. Slaughter Sinema 2 – Halloween Horror Night’s salute to schlocky movies is back in Slaughter Sinema 2. Your night trip to the local Carey Drive-In Theater runs amuck as scenes from the schlockiest movies this side of the 1980s. Expect to see rooms themed to grindhouse flicks, spaghetti westerns, and neon punk skeletons. The original house was a fan favorite and we expect this house to have long lines due to the built-up hype.
10. The Museum Dead Exhibits – A folklore museum displaying the Rotting Stone reawakens the evil spirit in the stone. Now we must escape the museum, avoiding killer exhibits and violent history, to live another day.  We can’t help but notice how much this haunted house concept sounds like Mystic Manor at Hong Kong Disneyland, only if the released spirits were murderous and not simply kooky.

Haunted houses operate as a single file line through the experience, jokingly referred to as a conga line between HHN fans. Scares come in the form of starling sounds, special effects, puppetry, and scare actors, the loving term for those who are paid to scare you.

Note: Photography of any kind is prohibited in haunted houses. Open food, alcohol, and light-up items are also not allowed inside. Team Members are positioned inside the house for guest flow and assistance, if you need any assistance talk to them or wave.

Scare Zones & Shows

Universal Studios Florida’s existing lands transform into spooky, startling, or bizarre new locations called scare zones. These themed spaces are found at the front of the park, Hollywood, New York in front of Revenge of the Mummy, San Francisco, and Central Park. Scare zones use fog, lighting, sound, scare actors, and special effects to startle and scare guests.

1. Duality of Fear – Two new characters, Sinister and Surreal, welcome guests to Halloween Horror Nights 33. Choose one of two directions – Sinister and her visceral horror, or Surreal and her psychological thrills.
2. Torture Faire – Sinister’s Renaissance Faire with a specialized focus on medieval torture – fewer maypoles, more iron maidens.
3. Enter the Blumhouse – Iconic fiends from Sinister’s favorite Blumhouse horror films.
4. Swamp of the Undead – Surreal’s zombies in a Louisiana swamp are awakening and emerging to get us.
5. Demon Queens – Four horror queens and loyal subjects to Surreal lead minions in an alternate realm.
6. Nightmare Fuel: Nocturnal Circus – The fan-favorite Nightmare Fuel show returns with a new circus theme. The show features fire, loud music, explosions, PG-13 dancing, and skimpy outfits. The show is a perennial favorite.
7. Halloween Horror Nights Tribute Store – Themed store that sells HHN souvenirs, clothing, and snacks. The store is so elaborate that it’s a mini walkthrough attraction. Open during daytime operations with fewer guests in the store.
8. Peacock Halloween Horror Bar – A small diversion with a meet and greet with an NBC horror character – like Chucky, characters from The Purge, or even one Mr David S Pumpkins. The bar serves batch-made cocktails with lots of sugar, a full bar, beer, wine, and an assortment of snacks.

People watching in scare zones is an attraction in and of itself and we suggest taking some time out to enjoy the actor’s skill. We love to grab a snack and drink from a booth and watch the action from the sidelines. Universal removes actors from scare zones during sustained rain or lighting, but the special effects and lighting remain operational. Scare zones close between 1:15 am and 1:30 am.

Rides

Four popular Universal Studios Florida rides are open during Halloween Horror Nights:

• Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit
• Revenge of the Mummy
• Harry Potter and the Escape from Gringotts*
• Men in Black: Alien Attack

*Closes at 11:00 p.m.

Touring Plan

Treat Halloween Horror Nights like any day at a theme park – arrive early, take a mid-day break, and stay till close. The popularity of the houses and house entrance locations changes yearly, making it hard to develop a touring plan before the event starts, but follow these touring guidelines to avoid crowds.

• Determine which haunted houses, shows, and attractions to visit. Develop a plan before arriving at the event.
• Arrive at the park gates at least 45 minutes before the event starts or 90 minutes on busy days. Stay and Scream guests must be inside the park by 5:00 p.m. at the latest.
• Stay & Scream: 
  • Two primary Stay & Scream locations are New York (entrance near Starbucks) and Springfield USA (entrance near Central Park Crepes). Guests in New York can access the haunted houses in Music Plaza Stage and Race Through New York starring Jimmy Fallon; Springfield accesses the houses by Men in Black: Alien Attack. Sometimes Stay & Stream is offered at Richter’s Burger Company for entrance into the house at Fast & Furious and Hollywood for the house entrance at the front of the park.
  • Note house open times on the placards, pick one with a short line and an early opening. Avoid the large IP houses till immediately before the park opens.
  • Cycle through the haunted houses until the park opens, then move to the house at Fast & Furious: Supercharged once the park opens.
• Main Gate:
  • IPs at the front of the park will have the longest lines of the day. At opening the queue will already be full of Stay & Scream guests.
  • Proceed to the original concept houses at the front of the park and experience if the lines are 15 minutes or less. If none are present go to the next step.
  • Next, proceed to the back of the park now and experience the houses at the back of the park by Men in Black.
• Arrive at 7:30 pm for the 8:00 pm Nightmare Fuel show. If you miss the show join a queue for any of the houses located in the back of the park.
• Wait times should be increasing for all houses and crowds are picking up in the streets. Escape to CityWalk or the hotels for a break. Return to the park by 10:30 pm.
• Wait times will drop after 11:00 pm for houses at the front of the park. Return to New York and Production Central to experience the original concept houses.
• If you missed Nightmare Fuel arrive at midnight for the 12:30 am show.
• During the last hour of the event visit the remaining houses at Men in Black and New York or return to your favorites. Universal will overestimate wait times to discourage guests.

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, especially for Revenge of the Mummy, Gringotts, and Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit. We don’t advise experiencing USF’s rides during HHN unless the posted wait time is 10 minutes less.
• Nightmare Fuel is extremely popular, 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.
• Prepare for the sun and heat during Stay & Scream – stay in the shade and hydrate as queues are outside.

Are you ready for Halloween Horror Nights 30? Let us know what you’re most excited to see in the comments.