Universal Studios Halloween Horror Nights, this year was simply spectacular. They managed to jam pack so many of my absolute favorite horror icons, all in one amazing night of fun!
If you plan on going to Universal Halloween Horror Nights this year, here is our advice:
- Don’t go on a weekend or the last few days of October, if you do, absolutely get the Front of the Line pass.
- Get the early entry pass because…
- You can enjoy Harry Potter and some of the other rides that will be closed later
- This is your chance to have a beer or two before the drink limits are set (you will be limited to two 12oz beers during the event)
- You can get early access to most of the mazes, right when the event starts and avoid the lines
- Start with The Shining, right when the mazes open (at the bottom of the park) then hit Ash Vs Evil Dead, Saw, & American Horror Story WAY down the hill, in the backlot- the lines will be very short
- Try to go for Insidious and then back up to the upper level of the park for the rest of the mazes- as the night wears on, the lines will only get longer
- Do the Terror Tram last, but before 11:15 PM, when it stops running.
- Once you get all the mazes in, enjoy the rides for the rest of the night
- Don’t eat the grilled cheese sandwiches from the taco truck– Trust us!
- And be sure to read HHN’s Before You Go page!
Universal Halloween Horror Nights, the only place you will get to see your favorite horror icons come to life!
The thing that makes HHN so unique is that it is the only place you will get to see your horror favorites brought to life by the very studio that created them! The real movie pros are bringing you a professional and realistic touch that you simply won’t find anywhere else. HHN’s attention to detail is uncanny. We were especially impressed with the maze “sets” which look just like what you’ve seen on the screen. The lighting was noticeably better than years past. The props and effects were all top-notch. HHN also did a great job putting in some fantastic distract-and-scare spots throughout all of the mazes.
Horror isn’t pretty, but immersive smells shouldn’t pull you out of the experience!
We felt that HHN fixed this one (almost). The immersive scents were SO much better! We have always loved the “good” added smells in the mazes and we appreciated that the offensive ones were toned WAY down! For the record, we don’t think there’s anything scary about smells that make you want to run out of a maze and vomit- last year there were a couple that were really this bad. There was the smell of dirt went walking through the underground tunnel in American Horror. We smelled a hint of pine when we were walking through Ash vs Evil Dead. And The Overlook Hotel had just the right blend of aromas to make you believe that you were really in a hotel.
In no particular order, here are the mazes and briefly what we thought of them…
The Shining
This one was the best out of all the mazes! It really felt like we ventured right into The Overlook Hotel. They had all the details nailed, right down to the chromatically psychedelic carpet! We may be a bit biased here because it’s arguably one of the best cinematic masterpieces, in its own right, aside from the horror aspect, but HHN did an amazing job on this one! All of the “Jack” jump scares were really good. The old photos on the wall and the “make Jack a dull boy” typing that you actually walk through were especially nice touches.
Ash Vs Evil Dead
Probably our all-time favorite horror franchises- it was something special to see the Evil Dead world come to life! The detail in this one might have actually been the most impressive, especially the cabin. As you approach the cabin, it almost feels like you are really outside and once inside, it’s just like you are in the original Evil Dead movies! Old Henrietta, in her fruit cellar, at the end looked fantastic!
American Horror Story: Roanoke
We really liked this maze in how it captured most of the elements from the last season of Amercian Horror Story. Especially impressive was how much the actors in the maze looked just like their counterparts in the real show. The scents were great in this one. You could smell hints of pine in the woods and an unmistakable moist earth smell in the underground tunnel. The scents definitely made the immersion of the experience seem much more real.
Saw
The Saw franchise is a sinisterly fun one to watch with nail-biting anticipation met with over-the-top ways to murder someone. There were a lot of familiar elements in this maze and again, the detail was quite amazing but we didn’t find anything that really built that suspense that you would expect. We really wanted to see someone panic in one of Jigsaw’s traps for just a little while before they were ripped in half. They did have something like this in a couple of places, but it never built up the suspense needed. They really should have played up the video screens you watch of the victims in the traps much more before you get to the actual room where the horrible deed is done. Still, a pretty good maze, none the less.
The Horrors of Blum House
This was a great maze and a little odd, too. First of all, it was quite long because this was a maze that spanned three different films from the same production company, Blum House. So the odd thing was that it featured Happy Death Day which, at the time of when we went through the maze, the movie wasn’t out yet. It started with The Purge, which was interesting and certainly gave us an uneasy feeling as we ventured in. Even not knowing the context of the Happy Death Day portion, we were thoroughly impressed with the elaborate set details. The impressive thing on the last portion of the maze, Sinister, were some of the effects, including disemboweled people on a stage/table and a great robotic jump scare.
Insidious
Have to admit that we haven’t seen this movie but the jump scares were pretty good. The voice over of the old woman is super creepy. The monster with the crazy eyes and absurdly long ultra menacing fingers was especially terrifying! And yes, we agree, Tiny Tim’s Tiptoe Through the Tulips works very well in a maze to add a very special kind of unnerving.
Walking Dead
A permanent attraction at Universal Studios, but still necessary to mention as part of the whole HHN experience. First off, what makes this walkthrough so great is that the line cue is practically like a maze, in itself. We wish all haunted attraction walkthroughs would take advantage of the captive audience that is waiting outside of the maze like this. This is the haunter’s chance to immerse the crowd into another world. This is where you build up the suspense while possibly entertaining everyone at the same time. If done right, the line can be almost as good as the maze.The authentic detail throughout this attraction is unparalleled. The set scenery is practically real (at least if you touch it, it feels like it is). The robotic zombies and effects throughout are really, really good. Our only complaint on this one is that it’s just too short! Maybe that’s because we are HUGE Walking Dead fans!
Titans of Terror
This maze was a lot of fun, bringing together three of the most classic horror icons out there. Freddy, Jason, AND Leatherface! Lots and lots of detail in this one. That’s probably because HHN has done some variation of these horror villains many times, over the years. It’s great to see the references to Camp Crystal Lake, the boiler rooms, and meat hooks, all in one place. If you grew up in the ’80s, this is your maze! There was a lot to distract your eyes so, in turn, there were plenty of fantastic jump scares.
Titans of Terror Tram, Hosted by Chucky
So much fun! Be sure you get on the tram in time to do this one! Chucky from the ’80s horror hit, Child’s Play was the perfect little terror to set up the awesome backlot experience! The Terror Tram is so unique because you get to walk through the areas that normally the tram drives through, earlier in the day. When you first get off the tram, you have to make your way through a band of Chuckys with chainsaws. Then you get to walk right through the original Bates Motel set from Psycho and up the hill where the house is, as you are assailed by Leatherface and Jason.There’s a special photo-op at this point where you can wait to have your picture taken right on the porch of the actual Psycho house! A truly one-of-a-kind experience! Don’t pass it up! After the Psycho house, you have to make your way through a barrage of Freddys that look very convincing and offer up some very good scares.
Scare Zones
A quick mention about the scare zones. This year, they were much better. We like the one at the entrance with the go-go dancers, Hell-O-Ween, and we REALLY liked the one at the bottom of the hill, in the backlot, Urban Inferno. They are great to just hang out in and watch others get scared.Overall, we had a great time! We hope our guide will help you get the most out of your night if you go. Let us know in the comments below, what you think.
