Not only does its opening night signal the start of each haunt season, but this year, it’s a return to form of Halloween Horror Nights’ golden years!
Halloween Horror Nights is a separately ticketed event located at Universal Studios Florida that runs forty-one select nights between September 6, 2019 and November 2, 2019, including every Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday as well as most Wednesdays and the Tuesday prior to Halloween. For 2019, Halloween Horror Nights features ten brand new haunted houses, five official scare zones (plus an unadvertised sixth inhabited by a roving chainsaw gang), live entertainment, as well as most of your favorite Universal Studios Florida attractions, including Harry Potter and the Escape from Gringotts, Men In Black: Alien Attack and Revenge of the Mummy.
Ghostbusters
Jump through the movie screen of the original 1984 film and walk through some of your favorite scenes like the Temple of Gozer and more.
In this haunted house, you’ll be transported to the streets of New York as the rift between worlds opens, releasing ghoulish spirits, hideous specters and ectoplasm-dripping phantasms in every shape and size. Come face-to-face with the voracious Slimer, the all-powerful Gozer the Gozerian, Stay-Puft Marshmallow Man and more.
Peter, Ray, Egon and Winston will have to save the day as these paranormal creatures materialize in unexpected places – but will their proton packs be enough?
Ghostbusters is unquestionably one of the most iconic horror/comedies of all time, so its inclusion as a grand scale, high budget haunt is a natural fit. With such a popular – and timeless – franchise comes lofty expectations, and Halloween Horror Nights 29 completely than delivers with one of the most memorable houses in recent years.
Surprisingly, despite the Ghostbusters Firehouse facade standing in Universal Studios Florida for nearly thirty years, the queue for this haunt does not start at its doors. Even once inside the soundstage, there’s not much of an entry statement, as a modest stone wall implies the exterior of the film’s iconic library scene. Inside, shelves of books line the walls from ceiling to floor – some of which seem to move on their own as a ghostly librarian appears and disappears, urging silence in her midst.
The Firehouse interior becomes the first of several wow-inspiring set pieces – intricately detailed and built to an impressive scale. Naturally at her desk, Janine Melnitz fields the phones as some apparently annoying calls begin to come in from all around the city. Portrayed by a live actor sporting a microphone, Janine makes some snarky comments to callers on the phone, while pausing to occasionally heckle guests passing through in perfect character.
The hotel ball room is once again under attack by Slimer, portrayed both in projection and puppet form (complete with human arms to grab at guests while they pass.) Dana’s freshly cursed apartment reveals the coming of Zuul, leading to an absolutely epic showdown between Gozer and the Ghostbusters on the rooftop steps to her temple high above NYC. Gozer fights off our heroes with a powerful blast of image mapped projection, activating the entire scene with bolts of electricity and demonic power.
Ghostbusters, the haunt, checks off all the boxes fans of the iconic film will want to experience, including crossing the proton beams, an epic battle with a larger than life Stay Puft Marshmallow Man and a whole lot of Slimer cameos for comic relief. While this haunt isn’t particularly “scary” to the degree one might come to expect from Halloween Horror Nights, its execution is so strong that it feels more like walking through a multi-million dollar dark ride.
Yeti: Terror of the Yukon
Deep in the remote tundra of the Yukon, loggers and trappers seek refuge from the frigid grip of an arctic blizzard. But out in the darkness, a terror lurks far more dangerous than the deluge of snow and ice. These unfortunate souls have intruded into a territory that is haunted by their worst nightmares. Enter a logging camp that’s been torn apart, floors caked with snow, bones and gore. Right outside, screams are frozen on the faces of those who fled the towering monsters only to succumb to the elements. But there is no escape from beasts as brutal as the winter.
Just when you thought the only thing to fear was the elements, an icy terror will descend over you. Cringe at the trail of blood leading to caves none have lived to see. As you enter the labyrinth of caves, you’ll hear the screaming echoes of those who couldn’t escape the inevitable. If you survive long enough to see the end, you’re likely to find the remains of those who came before you and meet their same demise. You’re in Yeti territory now. They’re stone cold vicious and will stop at nothing for a taste of blood. If the cold doesn’t get you, they will.
Yeti: Terror of the Yukon is an original-themed haunt that stands tall as perhaps HHN 29’s most memorable, and certainly its most frightening. Beginning with a grand-scale entry statement inside the soundstage, guests find themselves “outdoors,” on a cold, snowy night – their only refuge being a ransacked log cabin situated between the trees.
That cabin offers as little sanctuary as one might expect in the darkness of a frigid forest somewhere in the middle of the Yukon Territory – a land that legends have long claimed is home to the bloodthirsty Yetis. Surviving this frigid nightmare will send guests in and out of the various cabins that make up the village – creating a constantly changing spacial scale, from low ceilings to infinitely high “outdoor” forests. Stepping outside each building greets travelers with a powerful blast of Arctic air, and at times, even snowfall from the dark night sky above. Perhaps most chilling of all is what lies within the Yetis’ ice cavern lair – a place few have seen and lived to tell the tale.
And then there’s the Yetis themselves. These costumes are massive, detailed and horrifying. Mouths full of razor sharp teeth, fur dripping with blood, most are so tall that they tower over passers-by. The Yetis move incredibly fast, stalking their prey through the woods and seemingly striking out of nowhere. These creatures are pure nightmare fuel – and not just when they’re tearing the intestines out of a still living victim.
Yeti: Terror on the Yukon is so fresh, different and scary that it will be remembered among HHN’s best of the best, even long after the blood-soaked snow melts.
Us
Walk through the Wilson family beach house and Santa Cruz Pier, where you might spot a familiar character outside of the Fun House. You’ll also venture through the unnerving tunnels that stretch for miles deep below America and come face-to-face with “The Tethered” – a group of terrifying doppelgängers of every living man, woman and child in the country. You’ll quickly discover that you are your own worst enemy.
Follow in the footsteps of Adelaide Wilson as she experiences a horrifying and traumatic encounter with her tethered double, Red. Watch her face off with her menacing mirror image in a deadly dance with a fatal ending.
As you venture deeper through the haunted house, you will be transported to modern-day, and witness “The Tethered” rise-up from their underground labyrinth, ready to take on their privileged upperworld counterparts – determined to enact their plan of murder and revenge.
Prepare to run for your life, as there is no escaping yourself.
We’ll begin with the clear disclaimer that Jordan Peele’s Us is not a film we have seen quite yet. As such, some moments will likely be far more recognizable to others than they were to, well, us. However, we’ve long said that the sign of a good attraction is one that is able to stand on its own, whether or not you knew it’s story beforehand; whether or not you’re a fan of its IP.
To that level, Us – the haunt – does a solid job at crafting an off-putting world full of trance-like scareactors who evoke an instantly uncomfortable mood. It is the cast that truly brings the world of Us to life at Halloween Horror Nights, drawing guests into a warped reality where they are no longer safe, even within the walls of their own home.
Beginning at a Vision Quest carnival attraction facade that hides a forest-themed mirror maze, guests then find themselves in the Wilson house, but clearly all is not well. The Wilsons have been overtaken by The Tethered, their catatonic doppelgängers out for blood. Us features some highly detailed set pieces, including a full scale two floor living room in the Wilson home. Just beyond it, a believable forest hides a full scale Land Rover vehicle.
At the end of the day, Us’ biggest detraction – if you can even call it that – is being included in such a solid year full of fantastical haunts that transport you to bizarre and foreboding worlds. Us is unquestionably creepy – and stands on its own as a solid haunt whether or not you’ve seen the film – but its setting inside “just a regular home” doesn’t quite stand out enough to deliver a “wow!” to the degree of its HHN 29 peers.
Stranger Things
Okay, mouthbreathers, get ready! This year, you’ll experience an all-new haunted house where you will travel back to the small town of Hawkins, Indiana and walk-through some of the most terrifying scenes from Stranger Things 2 and 3.
Not only will you come face-to-face with snarling Demodogs, but you will also make your way through iconic scenes and locations, from Chief Hopper’s cabin to the Starcourt Mall.
The second of HHN 29’s Headliner IPs, Stranger Things is based on the insanely popular Netflix series of the same name. Although technically returning from the Halloween Horror Nights 28 line-up, make no mistake that this haunt is 100% brand new. With 2018’s focused solely on Stranger Things – Season 1, the IP returns at HHN 29 to feature Seasons 2 and 3 (although, the haunt is much more centered around Season 2, ending with just a small – albeit incredibly impressive tease of Season 3’s biggest “wow!” moments.)
Last year, we noted that while Stranger Things was a stunningly detailed walk-through attraction, it really didn’t feel like a “haunt.” HHN 29 changes that formula, making Stranger Things much more scary, but managing to still keep it in tune with the series to evoke a sense of authenticity. In fact, the action starts strong with the one scene we preferred from the Universal Studios Hollywood event, allowing guests to walk directly through the center of the climatic battle between Eleven and the Demogorgon.
From there, it’s into Dustin’s bedroom, where his new pet Dart has shed its skin and broken free, about to evolve into a dreaded Demodog – who appears several times attacking in puppet form, sometimes lunging at guests from out of no where.
Much of HHN 29’s Stranger Things exists within the Upside Down, allowing for a much more chilling and dangerous tone. Darker spaces flicker in the light of floating particles that hang in the air, while Demogorgons and Demodogs hunt their prey from beyond the shadows.
Stranger Things’ Season 3 finale scenes really up the “wow!” factor, beginning in Hooper’s cabin, ripped to shreds by the lifelike head of a Mind Flayer puppet breaking through the ceiling. From there, it’s off to the Starcourt Mall, where a grand scale, full bodied Mind Flayer towers over everyone, spelling certain doom to this seemingly never-ending story.
House of 1000 Corpses
Ever wonder how many corpses you can fit inside a house? One…10…do we dare say 1000? Find out in the new haunted house based on Rob Zombie’s horror masterpiece.
This fall, you’ll discover firsthand why this house is built on horror. Come face-to-face with the psychotic Firefly family and their collection of blood and gore. Watch “The Legend of Doctor Satan” come to life right before your eyes. Keep a lookout for the latest addition to Captain Spaulding’s Museum of Monsters and Madmen, Fish Boy! And if you’re lucky, you’ll escape the house as fast as a rabbit, minus the fluffy bunny costume and tragic ending.
House of 1000 Corpses is one of those attractions where you need not be familiar with the source material to appreciate the chaotic danger unfolding before your very eyes. Beginning with an impressive exterior facade of the gas station from the film, long-time HHN fans will be thrilled to find a not-so-hidden easter egg from the much beloved Bill & Ted’s Excellent Halloween Adventure shows: their iconic time-traveling phone booth.
Once inside, the action unfolds at rapid pace, with so much going on that you’d be hard-pressed to see it all in just one trip through. Each scene is highly detailed, and just as highly violent and gory – including one particular moment where a victim is scalped with a razor blade right in front of guests.
Like Us, we’ve not actually seen House of 1000 Corpses – but in this case, that’s certainly a compliment given the degree to which the haunt stands on its own as one of HHN 29’s more memorable offerings.
Flowing through the maze, scenes transition like a movie, leading guests from houses, to the castle-like Museum of Monsters and even a not-so-festive Christmas season. For the unfamiliar, the narrative itself may be harder to follow, but the level of detail and theatrics, from lighting to fog and even some pretty wild use of projection wall (and ceiling) effects allows House of 1000 Corpses to carve out a memorable impression.
Depths of Fear
The workers of a deep-sea mining company have found themselves in a dire situation. They’ve delved too deep and encountered a parasitic race of creatures that turn out to be deadly. Panic ensues as you find yourself encountering infected miners and acidic creatures. The pressure builds as the self-destruct sequence counts down to the inevitable implosion of the facility.
As you venture further into the depths, you’ll encounter the creatures known only as the “Mouthbrooders.” Picture being trapped in a claustrophobic mining installation underwater with a countless number of these slithering monsters. Your worst nightmares will come to life as these fiends spew flesh-eating acidic eggs at human hosts, and you witness miners being driven mad by the infection.
Depths of Fear tells an original story not linked to any existing intellectual property. A modest exterior facade sends miners deep below the surface, into the undersea Fathomcorp station. It’s clear from the moment one enters to find what’s left of a Mouthbrooder hanging as a warning to the rest that this will be anything but a pleasure cruise.
The interior of the Fathomcorp facility is brought to life with a level of authenticity that instantly immerses guests into its storyworld. Curved ceilings and tighter than usual spaces evoke the mood of a deep sea world one might expect to find on a submarine.
The crew aboard this station is clearly in a state of disarray – some frantically trying to escape, others fighting for their own survival and the rest – well, it’s probably already too late for them. Infected by the acidic eggs spewed by the Mouthbrooder monsters, the remaining humans inhabiting this facility are living on borrowed time.
The Mouthbrooders take the form of over-sized, piranha-like monsters. They’re somewhat equal parts cool looking and overly cartoony – skating the line of outlandish and landing in a “just right” spot that helps to bring the terrors that lurk within Fathomcorp to life, in turn creating one of HHN 29’s more thrilling haunts.
Nightingales: Blood Pit
Ancient Rome is suffering its worst drought in centuries. The ruthless emperor has declared the gladiatorial games to continue nonstop until the rains return. The gruesome bloodshed of the games is horrifying enough, but then come the creatures.
As the blood soaks into the earth, the nightingales feed on the dead and dying. The nightingales are a grisly race of creatures that have been here since the dawn of time. You may think you’re familiar with their past feeding frenzies, but you haven’t seen them like this. You’ll try to survive alongside the gladiators as the ravenous nightingales tear into their victims and notice that fresh blood has come into their midst…
The experience of Nightingales: Blood Pit is established before even stepping foot into this haunt. In what is easily HHN 29’s most impressive exterior facade, the remains of a Roman coliseum lined with columns stand tall against the moonlit night. A tipped chariot, complete with it’s deceased horse lay on the ground. A slain Nightingale beast is lifeless atop the pile, clearly caught off guard in its feeding frenzy.
Once inside, the mood gets even darker. Blood splatters accent stone textures that line the Roman architecture. It’s a mix of gladiatorial grandeur and forgotten catacombs. Weapon racks line many of the walls, enforcing the importance of battle to this lost society. It all builds toward an all-too-intimate encounter with the Nightingales in what can only be described as their nest, deep within the sewers below the coliseum, creating a genuine feeling of hopelessness and panic.
A vicious lion puppet hungry for meat, lurking somewhere within this gladiatorial arena earns the spot of HHN 29’s single most impactful scare moment – coming quite literally out of nowhere, with just the right amount of distraction from a nearby Nightingale creature to make for the ultimate surprise
Universal Monsters
The world’s most terrifying monsters unleash havoc – thirsty for anything and everything in their paths. As you try to escape to safety, you’ll step into each monster’s domain – but beware – they refuse to let anyone get out alive…
Come face-to-face with Dracula in his gothic castle, the Wolfman in a dark Bavarian forest, and the man-made monster within Dr. Frankenstein’s lab. And if you survive them, you still may encounter the vicious Creature of the Black Lagoon, the ancient evil of the Mummy and more.
Universal Studios – the blockbuster film production company – has a rich library of some of the most memorable intellectual properties to ever hit the silver screen. But one of those IPs was responsible for launching Universal Studios into world-wide acclaim, making the company a household name: Universal Monsters. Think of an iconic classic monster character and try to name just one that wasn’t brought to life by Universal.
Dracula. Frankenstein’s Monster. The Wolfman. The Mummy. Creature from the Black Lagoon. The Phantom of the Opera. The Hunchback of Notre Dame. Each one a classic piece of cinematic history; each one a cornerstone of the horror genre; each one the perfect fit for Halloween Horror Nights. And now they’re all here, together, in one of the most impressive haunts to ever tackle the Universal Monsters brand.
Simply put, this haunt is Universal Monsters done right. Structured in a clip show fashion, guests travel from world to world without transition – but in this setting, it actually works quite well. Outside, a logo graphic wraps one of the park’s parade warehouse structures, enhanced and brought to life by atmospheric projections of rain, lightning, and more. Once within, an impressive entry statement of a castle – the obvious home for many of these classic monsters – is flanked by Gothic-styled stone statues of each titular character.
Gargoyles literally come to life as guests enter the castle, only to be transported into a wooded cemetery, setting the perfect scene for an attack from The Wolfman. A cable rig allows for shockingly sudden and uncomfortably close lunges from the beast, while hunters try to find him off with their silver bullets.
In the legendary cathedral of Notre Dame, the Hunchback calls for sanctuary while swinging – and ringing from the bell tower. Each leap on the rope creates an echoing chime, before ricocheting Quasimodo high into the rafters and out of sight. Church bells give way to the horn of a ship from above the watery depths of Black Lagoon, of course home to the infamous Creature (from the.) Seaweed hangs from the water’s surface, blocking the path – with dark caves lining the walls, making the perfect hiding place for a lurking web-toed monster.
Castle Dracula is home to a particularly violent take on the legendary vampire. Gone is the elegant, well-spoken villain, replaced by a bloodthirsty beast and his brides, each of home will stop at nothing to satisfy their hunger by devouring all intruders. The castle’s stone passages lead way to a centuries sealed Egyptian tomb. Its cobweb-covered walls do little to stop The Mummy from lunging out to continue his curse.
Phantom of the Opera is, perhaps, the most compelling section of Universal Monsters – with grand scale sets, impressive scrim effects and effective use of mirrors to expand the theater’s backstage into near infinity. Naturally, no chandelier is safe – nor is any mad scientist once Frankenstein’s Monster gets loose, lumbering through the castle-like laboratory of his namesake, out to seek revenge.
The only somewhat disjointed moment of Universal Monsters comes in its finale, set under the bridges of a generic big city. It is here that a random assortment of monsters appear one last time. The scene looks fantastic – and the scares work well; it just doesn’t particularly have much of a story flow. Luckily the rest of this haunt is so overwhelmingly solid that this hiccup does little to hinder what will be long remembered as the best Universal Monsters-themed maze on either coast.
Graveyard Games
In the Ascension Parish Cemetery, it’s normal to find teens playing amongst the tombstones. You’ll find yourself witnessing the repercussions of the disrespectful antics of two teens who have awakened the spirits of the dead. As you roam through the cemetery, you’ll wind through dark mausoleums and decaying piles of coffins.
Ghosts of every shape and form will rise from the tombstones to exact their revenge as you try to escape the maze of crumbling tombstones and mausoleums. Skeletal beings, ghastly apparitions and vengeful spirits will try to drag you to the grave. And in the end, you’ll find out what happened to those who set out to deface the cemetery.
It’s just a game. It’s all in good fun. Who’s really going to care if a little spray paint gets on some tombstones. Graveyard Games takes a mischievous dare among teenage friends and adds very real consequences from those defiled spirits who call this their final resting spot. This original story takes place in a cemetery on a dark, rainy night – and instantly creates a “classic Halloween” mood that makes it a perfect addition to HHN 29.
Prior to entering, the park’s parade warehouse sees its most modest exterior statement to date; nothing more than a single projector acts as a bit of pre-show ambiance, cycling through Facebook posts by the teens prior to their jaunt with the supernatural. Inside, however, the story kicks off in a big way, with a grand scale, heavily detailed scene that brings guests through the gates of the Ascension Parish Cemetery. Rain falls from the blackened sky above, as fog wisps between the trees, seemingly dancing around each tombstone. The glowing beam of several flashlights swirl in the air, as some of the (remaining) teenagers are still in the middle of an, ahem, spirited game of “Ghost in the Graveyard.”
The path through Ascension Parish Cemetery weaves in and out of open crypts, between tombstones and into the shadows. The mix of extremely low ceilings with wide, “outdoor” spaces creates a constantly changing mood that adds authenticity to the storyworld. Like any good movie, the spirits that rest within Ascension Parish reveal themselves slowly at first, building toward all hell breaking loose – literally.
If we’re being honest, perhaps the one weak point of Graveyard Games is the scareactor costumes. It seemed as though most spirits were simply dressed in generic latex masks, and many relayed on typical “boo!” scares to get a reaction. Luckily, however, the mood and tone within Graveyard Games are each so rich, the overall experience is not hindered by it.
Naturally the experience builds to each of the spirits coming out to play – and within the blackness of night, supernatural flashes of UV light make it instantly clear their favorite game is one we were never meant to win.
Killer Klowns from Outer Space
Go beyond the mayhem and madness of last year’s wildly popular scare zone and step right up for an entire haunted house experience based on the cult classic film, Killer Klowns from Outer Space. This new experience will feature a gaggle of new characters including the baby Klowns, Boco, and Klownzilla, as well as new scenery like the Klowns’ circus-tent spaceship, and the cotton candy cocoon storage room where they keep their victims.
Throughout the house your sense of fear will be triggered by your sense of smell as you encounter strong whiffs of familiar fairground fare like sweet cotton candy, stale buttery popcorn and ice cream. Don’t be fooled though, these otherwise pleasant aromas are a sign of the murderous gang of klowns that awaits you as you move from scene to scene.
Try to evade them or you’re likely to end up captured in one of their cotton candy cocoons and doomed to a terrible fate. There will be no escaping the big teeth of the Big Top.
Killer Klowns From Outer Space – the film – is perhaps one of the most bizarre cult classics of all time. It’s wonky and dumb in all the right ways, resulting in an inane popcorn flick that has rightfully amassed a growing following, even decades beyond its premier. This is one of those IPs that you’ve probably thought year after year could make a fantastic haunt – and you’d be right.
Don’t step into the big top looking for Halloween Horror Nights 29’s scariest maze; frankly, being so wouldn’t be true to the movie’s brand. Instead, Universal Orlando wisely goes with a more comedy-focused approach, and what results is one of the event’s very best haunts of 2019.
Beginning before even entering the queue, Killer Klowns From Outer Space offers a rare HHN character photo op – Shorty and Slim are available throughout the night for pictures in front of Jojo’sIce Cream truck from HHN 28’s scare zone of the same name.
Once inside, its clear this haunt will take things to another level. The smell of popcorn is so strong that it literally wafts from the circus tent to the queue outside. Killer Klowns From Outer Space kicks off with some high tech surprises, including several projected shadow puppet gags straight from the film. As the Klowns descend on the town of Crescent Cove, the mood quickly turns from playful to perilous.
Memorable moments from the cult classic film are brought to life, including an unlucky police ventriloquist dummy, the aforementioned shadow puppets and a trip under the big top. Elaborate sets and massive screen-accurate Klown costumes evoke a sense of stepping through the movie screen and entering the world of Killer Klowns from Outer Space. In its twenty-nine year history, this may be Halloween Horror Night’s most impressive wardrobe outing to date.
Other highlights include a gigantic Klownzilla puppet that snaps at guests from above like tasty snacks, and a trip around the cotton candy cocoon merry-go-round for a memorable finale full of sounds, sounds, smells and a whole lot of Killer Klowns popping out from every which way. Simply put, and in the best possible way, Killer Klowns From Outer Space is all-out stupid fun.
Officially, five Scare Zones take residence around Universal Studios Florida – mostly situated on the west side of the park. It’s interesting to note that once again, there is a sixth unadvertised Scare Zone in Springfield (the area adjacent to The Simpsons Ride) – home to an energetic chainsaw gang. With their live wire glowing faces and LED shining chainsaws, they would be right at home in one of The Purge movies. Below, we’ll focus on the advertised five Scare Zones:
Anarch-cade
An 80s-inspired arcade has taken over Avenue of the Stars. At first glance, you may think it’s a party. However, you quickly learn that “Game Over” means a permanent end for you. A gang of neon slashers are out to play and this is one game you won’t want to lose.Halloween Horror Nights 29’s entry statement is once again a bit on the lackluster side. Implied to be an arcade from the 1980’s, Anarch-cade is really nothing more than four video game machines positioned against two chain link fences. Their TRON-like glow evokes the time period well enough, but overall, Anarch-cade does little to set the tone for this year’s event.
Zombieland: Double Tap
It’s time to brush up on those rules of survival. Based on the hit film and its upcoming sequel, this scare zone puts you in the middle of the United States of Zombieland. The infection has spread and bloodthirsty zombies are everywhere. The most important rule to remember: Always double tap.The New York streets are turned into a scene from the Zombieland sequel film, Double Tap. Again, expect minimal decor, with little more than a few parked cars. Perhaps most interestingly, a scale model of an S&S Space Shot was erected as the Scare Zone’s focal point. Even casual guests will recognize the ride system, as two of them have operated as Doctor Doom’s Fear Fall for twenty years next door at Universal’s Islands of Adventure – but fans of the Zombieland movies will definitely appreciate the iconic inclusion.
Zombieland: Double Tap is jam-packed with scareactors – but in truth it sometimes comes across as though they simple wonder in circles without a true story-driven purpose. Without the Zombieland logo on display, this could just as easily be “Generic Scare Zone #2.”
Rob Zombie Hellbilly Deluxe
You know his music, now it’s time to live it. Step into the heavy metal horror of Rob Zombie’s music and imagery in this pulse-pounding scare zone. From otherworldly beings to brutal maniacs, you’ll come face-to-face with his twisted creations as the music cranks to a frenzy.
Rob Zombie’s Hellbilly Deluxe might be one of the event’s smallest Scare Zones – but it crams in instantly recognizable themes and content from its namesake performer’s iconic horror universe. A mix of roaming scareactors and ambiance dancers on raised platforms, Hellbilly Deluxe even features a stage with the Living Dead Girl “live” on display.
Vikings Undead
We’re all familiar with the brutal Viking warriors. It’s terrifying enough thinking about facing them alive. Now picture facing them as the undead. They have risen and laid siege to Central Park with an onslaught of gore. Bloodlust never dies.Vikings Undead benefits from its tree-canopied pathway – one that has long been home to some of the stronger event Scare Zones throughout the years – if for no other reason, it’s more intimate-feeling setting. This year is no different, with over-sized viking helmets on ceremonial display, and even a crashed dragon head long boat washed ashore amid thickly foggy air, glowing underneath flickering strings of lanterns.
The mood is solid, but its the costumes that feel a bit out of place. Make no mistake – they’re detailed and frightening, and as such absolutely have a place at an HHN event. However, in some cases we felt they read a bit more voodoo or black magic than they do viking-flavored. Enter this Scare Zone not knowing its name and you’ll be impressed; but walk in with the expectation of something that evokes a Viking mood and you may be just a bit confused.
Vanity Ball
Beauty is pain. Literally. In the streets of Hollywood, your flesh becomes the canvas as blade-wielding artists slice up willing participants into horrific living works of art. Here, going under the knife takes on a whole other meaning. The center of the street is home to a double-ended runway akin to something you might find at a fashion show. Occasionally, scareactors walk that runway, but during our visits, it never seemed to have any sort of theatrical or story-driven payoff. Despite a fairly large cast, Vanity Ball feels a bit one note, and doesn’t – at least as of yet, do much to energize that section of the park.
Academy of Villains: Altered States
This wicked talented group of artists is back for an all-new, bigger and better performance featuring a killer mix of dance and theatrics.
There’s no question that for some, Academy of Villains is a highly popular piece of Halloween Horror Nights. Unfortunately, we aren’t drawn to dance shows, and as such, we continue to opt to skip this HHN offering.
Halloween Marathon of Mayhem
Watch as the lagoon transforms with a spectacle of neon and synth, featuring iconic scenes from top horror films, cult classics and TV shows in “Halloween Marathon of Mayhem”.
Grab a bucket of popcorn and get ready as the lagoon lights up with iconic scenes from Netflix’s Stranger Things, Ghostbusters, Universal Monsters and Killer Klowns from Outer Space. This new show features a blend of fountain-based media, state-of-the-art technologies and special effects in a new way. This is one 80’s nightmare you won’t want to miss.
Universal Orlando’s Halloween Horror Nights, now in its twenty-ninth year, has long been considered one of the industry leaders in seasonal haunts. Over the course of nearly three decades, we’ve seen some ground-breaking efforts, and others that felt a bit lower than the bar the event has solidly set for itself. We’re screaming with joy to share that Halloween Horror Nights 29 is one of the strongest event years we’ve seen.
2019 brings a solid mix of iconic intellectual properties such as Ghost Busters, Killer Klowns From Outer Space and Stranger Things, as well as several of the event’s strongest original themed mazes in Yeti: Terror on the Yukon, Graveyard Games and others. The inclusion of perhaps the best Universal Monsters-themed haunt we’ve seen is the epitome of branding come to life at an event where characters like Dracula, Frankenstein and the Wolfman should always call home. Perhaps most impressively, this is the very first HHN we’ve ever reviewed that did not see a single maze rated below 4 Keys.
Talking about HHN always merits addressing the elephant in the room – or in this case, the tens of thousands of elephants in the room. Yes, this event can get over-whelmingly crowded, at times making it feel a bit more like an endurance test than a casual night of Halloween fun. Universal Express passes – although expensive – are highly worthwhile, and often become the only way to guarantee you’ll see everything in a single evening. Even with Express, we recommend you think on your feet, and make ample use of the Universal Orlando smart phone app, as well as digital wait time boards located throughout the park. Halloween Horror Nights is not an event where you can simply work your way around the park in a circle; expect to bounce back and forth across Universal Studios Florida to hit mazes as their wait times dip – and be quick, because there’s tens of thousands of other haunt-goers all around you who have the exact same idea.
Stay And Scream, an option available to those guests who have both a day ticket (or annual pass) to Universal Studios Florida and a Halloween Horror Nights ticket for that evening offers your best chance to get into the two most popular haunts of the event before opening: Ghostbusters and Stranger Things. Other lines can and will fluctuate throughout the evening, but expect those two blockbuster headliners to stay well over an hour from park open to park close.
Last year’s HHN 28 was an improvement and clear upward trend over Universal Orlando’s event in recent years, and Halloween Horror Nights 29 far surpasses it with its own quality. We hope these past two events signal a new golden age for Halloween Horror Nights, leading to its 30th anniversary in 2020 and beyond.
You can find an extended photo gallery from our night at Halloween Horror Nights 29 in this exclusive album on the Escape Authority Facebook page! While there, why not give us a “LIKE” if you haven’t already? We’ll give you candy!
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Venue: Universal Studios Florida
Location: Orlando, FL
Dates: Select Nights September 6th – November 2nd
Hours: 6:30 pm – 1:00 or 2:00 am (depending on the night)
Cost: $119.99 at the gate, or save as much as $52 per person if purchased in advance online.