Another visit to Universal Studios Halloween Horror Nights has come and gone! This was my third year attending the event and my first time doing the Halloween Horror Nights Behind the Scenes: Unmasking the Horror tour. This blog is going to focus on the Halloween Horror Nights event itself and largely center on the houses I went through during my visit. I will be doing a separate blog on the behind the scenes tour. Trust me, there is a lot to unpack from both of these experiences! Before getting into all things spooky I want to quickly throw my thoughts out on the new developments at Universal Orlando.
This was my first visit to the park since Minion's Land opened at the front of the park. I have to say that Universal did a nice job with this area. The new Villaincon attraction (did not get to ride) looks like it fits right in with the area and while I will forever miss Shrek, the popularity of the minions cannot be denied. Minion's Cafe would actually be my biggest surprise in the park. At first I was mildly put off by the mobile order only system, but I'm glad my party decided to still go to it (fun fact: the app wasn't working right so we ended up being able to order at the counter). The restaurant is themed incredibly well. I never ate at the previous Monster's Cafe, but from what I understand, Minions Cafe is head and shoulders above what was previously there. The food was really, really good. So good in fact that I ended up eating there twice. I'd say it's probably my favorite spot in Universal to eat right now with the Leaky Cauldron being a close second. The theming was also great with multiple rooms. The room we sat in was a breakroom and had all the crazy things you'd expect to see right down to a table that doubled as a fully functioning foosball table. The soundtrack was also great with a mix of popular songs and rip offs of those songs sung by the minions themselves. The construction over at the kid area is also moving along nicely. I'm thinking it's going to look pretty nice when it's done. I do have one major complaint about the park for the first time, but that is a whole other blog in itself, so that will have to wait a bit. Anyway.... Onto to Halloween Horror Nights!
Since we were in the park already we were able to line up in one of the stay and scream areas. After much debate we settled on Dueling Dragons: Choose Thy Fate. It was a sort of tossup between that and Stranger Things 4, but we had a couple express pass passes so we figured we'd save Stranger Things for later. For this next part of the blog I will give my thoughts on each of the houses we went through. I did not get through all of them, but all of the ones I did go through were incredibly well done. Unfortunately we cannot take photos while in the houses, so those will have to wait for another time. Obviously there are spoilers about the houses ahead, so if you don't want that, please feel free to scroll on to the next section.
Dueling Dragons: Choose Thy Fate
This was one of my most hyped houses due to the theming. I never had a chance to see the Dueling Dragons Roller Coaster, but a house based off the ride with a fantasy theme is right up my ally. This house was really cool. It wasn't really scary, but the story telling was top notch. Right from the get go the scene is set with the two warlocks, Pyrrock and Blizzrock (fire and ice respectively) attempting to seize Merlin's spellbook after he is turned into the great oak tree. The two eventually reach the spellbook, but Merlin has cursed it and transforms the warlocks into dragons. This is portrayed incredibly well as the house continues on. You see the warlocks starting to take on more dragon characteristics as they continue to battle through the woods. Evidence of both fire and ice are everywhere and it's clear that the citizens and creatures of the kingdom are by no means spared from the fighting. All throughout the house the minions of Pyrrock and Blizzrock will pop out at you as they fight for their masters.
All of this leads to seeing both dragons in full dragon form where guests must then choose thy fate. Yes, this house has multiple endings. Four in fact, but that's for another time. All in all this house lived up to the hype that I had for it. It was for sure one of the least scary, but simply awesome from a story telling and design perspective. I really liked all of the fire and ice effects throughout and the costume design on the actors were really top notch. The final room before choosing thy fate with the two full sized dragons was also quite a site to behold and certainly was a highlight of the house. Universal really did a great job of bringing a roller coaster to life and while the coaster may be gone, it's clear that the parks still have a soft spot for the story of the dueling dragons.
The Exorcist: Believer
I'm not going to lie, this was probably my least favorite of the night. Part of reason for that could be because the house is based on a movie that wasn't even out at the time that I went. So it was a little weird going through a movie based house and only really being able to try and piece things together that probably are all referenced in the movie. Treating it like it's own thing like the original houses is probably the better mindset to go into here unless you've seen the movie that has now come out. Anyway... The house itself was still well done and had some really cool effects. My favorite of these involved some shadow play at the top of a staircase that showed the silhouette of a girl appearing possessed. The other top parts of this house for me were the actual exorcism scenes as the actors involved in them all did really well with their roles that were a bit more complicated than the standard scare actors. I'll be real honest here, possession movies aren't my favorite genre of horror, so I can't really gush too much about this house. I'm sure for some people it's great, but for me it was still certainly good and had a few really cool moments, but if I were to go again, it wouldn't be on my must do list.
Stranger Things 4
Unlike The Exorcist: Believer, this house had me hooked. That probably has a lot to do with the fact that I'm a big fan of the source material. That's the interesting thing with the IP based houses though right? Your enjoyment of them is probably partially linked to your enjoyment and familiarity with the source material. That's a big reason why I didn't go into The Last Of Us house as I am not at all familiar with the game or the show. Moving on. This house was really really cool. It is basically a walk through of the fourth season of the hit Netflix show. If you know the plot, you have an idea of what to expect from Vecna, Eleven, and the rest of the crew from season four. While the house largely surrounds the Vecna plot from the time of his first curse on Chrissy to the epic showdown at the end of the season as well as Eddie's showdown with the demobats. That said the Hopper plot really isn't shown outside of a Demogorgon attack at the end of the house. It's all done very well and Universal once again did a great job of immersing guests into the upside down when appropriate. Three of my favorites in this house include the scene in the trailer in the upside down where you look up and can see the inverted real world. I also thought the opening in Eddie's trailer with Chrissy contorted in the air with an actor screaming for her was really cool. Lastly it can't be denied that the rock show with Eddie and the demobats with "Master of Puppets" blasting is really awesome. Yes, "Running Up That Hill" is also featured in the house. While not in my top three of houses, this house was a lot of fun that was only enhanced by being familiar with the source material.
Yeti: Campground Kills
Whelp this was about the farthest thing from Expedition Everest that I could have imagined. Yeti: Campground Kills sees guests venturing to Shadow Creek State Park in the 1950's. Things go south in a heartbeat as we quickly see a bunch of blood around the sheriffs station. It isn't long before we see a very big problem. We see a teenager poking a dead baby yeti with a stick and making fun of it. Well it isn't long before a big yeti shows up and drags that teen off. Now the whole yeti clan is out for vengeance over their slain baby. This house has the perfect amount of comedy, horror, and gore. We see the yetis with many of their kills such as a beekeeper who was killed by having his face smashed into some beehives. We also see one get forced back by a lady wielding a frying pan as her husband lies dead, again, a nice mix of horror, gore, and humor here. I mean what could be more dangerous than a group of yetis? How about a spitting snake hiding in a toilet? How about a bear? Yep the Universal bear is here! Even when you think you've escaped the campground there is one final yeti waiting for you just outside that final curtain. This house was a ton of fun. The different yeti costumes were all really cool and you can tell that the designers had a ton of fun with this house. More on that in the behind the scenes blog though. There is a very wide variety of scare effects happening in here too. It's not just costumed people jumping out at you. You'll also be contending with some really cool mechanical scares as well, so be ready at all times for something to happen. It's hard for me to pick out a particular favorite in this house since it was all so fun. Perhaps it's the lady with the frying pan... If you haven't experienced this house, I strongly suggest checking it out if able.
Dr. Oddfellow's Twisted Origins
Dr. Oddfellow is this year's Halloween Horror Nights icon. He opens the park for the event and can randomly be seen on the streets as well. His symbol dominates the event and can be found in pretty much every house. His house tells his backstory and also contains another long time Halloween Horror Nights icon. The house is circus based so there is a whole lot of clowns and other oddities to be seen throughout. Throughout the house Dr. Oddfellow is beckoning you to witness his power and give up your soul so he can distort it and send it to another plain of existence. All the while Jack the Clown's presence is felt which leads up to an eventual fight with the still mortal Jack fighting with Oddfellow. Oddfellow wins that fight by killing Jack and ultimately sends the clowns after you as you head towards the exit. There are a lot of real good scares if you are afraid of clowns in here. My favorite scare/effect has to be when one of the clowns pop out with a bit hammer and smashes the head of a victim onto one of those test your strength games that sends blood (water) spraying onto guests. I'm a big fan of good story telling so I really enjoyed seeing Oddfellow's origin story play out in his quest for immortality. Looping Jack the Clown in I feel like was a real natural fit given the circus aesthetic. I did a little research on this house after the event and learned that Oddfellow was actually injured during his fight with Jack and his blood dripping on Jack actually leads to Jack also becoming immortal. I thought that was kind of cool really. Anyway, if you are into the Halloween Horror Nights icons, this house tells a good story alongside a good deal of horror, violence, and gore. If the icons aren't your thing, it is still a solid circus based haunted house that I would recommend to anyone not drop dead terrified of clowns.
Chucky: Ultimate Kill Count
Love him or hate him, Chucky has become one of the most popular characters across the horror genre. It's crazy that it took this long for the killer doll to get his own house, and whst a house it is. The house features scenes and characters from the new tv series, the Childs Play movie franchise and some original aspects making it a Chucky fan's dream.... or nightmare... Chucky's house features some of his most famous kills across the movies such as the Tiffany Valentine bath execution from Bride of Chucky and Michelle Cross being being split right down the middle from Chucky's chainsaw in the TV series. Lots of really good gore in this house for sure. The queue was also a bit unique in that it takes advantage of the Fast & Furious Supercharged garage to highlight the backstory of the house. The queue, as well various TVs in the house highlight the various kills Chucky makes in the TV series and movies. The queue also reveals the originality of this house. This is a house that Universal Studios made for Chucky. They heard Chucky was coming to visit so they built him a haunted house in his honor. Well, Chucky hates it and shows that by literally killing Universal team members all throughout the house. At one point the house appears to end as guests exit to the outside only to be greeted by a panicked Universal team member who begs guests not to continue into the second half of the house.
For an IP house, I really like what they did with this. I really like the idea of turning Chucky into a real character and having him literally hunting down Universal team members simply because he didn't think the house they built was good enough for him. It was a really great way to pay homage to the TV series and movies while making the character feel more real than ever before. Houses like Stranger Things and last year's Halloween do a great job of bringing their respective IPs to life and making guests feel like they're in scenes from the movies or show, but here rather than just be a showcase of kills from the series and movies, we have the feeling that Chucky is hunting us and the team at Universal down. As you may expect, there is a bit of comedy interwoven into Chucky's house as well. My favorite of this is a nutcracker in the Christmas scene that has been stabbed a ton of times for literally no reason. I've heard mixed things about this house from people, but I found it to be real enjoyable, largely thanks to that extra originality that went into it.
Bloodmoon Dark Offerings
We've arrived at the Dead Man's Pier of 2023 (meaning this house is really really good). This house fights hard to be my favorite of the houses I went through this year. Set in colonial times, a starving village falls victim to a cult that worship the blood moon. With the blood moon rising the cult begins to collect their harvest from those who do not join them. Throughout the house we see cult members attacking guests and other villagers for harvest. This usually is in the form of some body part. That's an important fact mind you as the villagers are construction something... In the distance a church bell can be heard. That ringing slowly gets louder as the ever present blood moon continues to make it's presence felt throughout. There is blood and gore everywhere in the house. The cultists are not messing around and as the house continues the means the villagers use to kill becomes more and more complex. Continuing through the town the church bell continues to grow louder as guests go through various buildings such as a bar and continue to bear witness to the cult's carnage and try to avoid becoming part of the harvest themselves. I'll go into more detail on the story of this house in my behind the scenes blog as it really is awesome what Universal did with this house and I want to have some more material to help drive that point home.
I'm sure you can tell by now that I really enjoyed all of the houses that I went through. My top three are Dueling Dragons: Choose Thy Fate, Bloodmoon Dark Offerings, and Chucky: Ultimate Kill Count. It's so hard for me to pick between Dueling Dragons and Bloodmoon though. It's pretty much flip flopped on the daily since going through them. So what else did I do at horror nights this year? Not too much honestly. I did walk through all of the scare zones and they were all well done as always. Dark Zodiac was particularly cool with all of the zodiac signs being represented in one way or another. Vamp'69 Summer of Blood was hilarious as a sixties music festival twisted by Dr. Oddfellow into well... a vampire and zombie sixties music festival. The other areas, Dr. Oddfellow's Collection of Horrors, Shipyard 32: Horrors Unhinged, and Jungle of Doom: Expedition Horror, were all good in their own rights as well. My one gripe with the zones this year lives in Dr. Oddfellow's Collection of Horrors.
I by no means am an expert on things Halloween Horror Nights. I've only been going for the past three years and while I am super into it, I can only go off of what I've seen for the past three years. That said, I felt like Dr. Oddfellow's Collection of Horrors was dialed back a bit compared to the other zones. I'm not really sure why that is, but the entrance area of the event just did not hit nearly as hard or as scary as it had the past couple years. The only thing I can think of is that since that area of the park has been rethemed to essentially a kids/family area, Universal decided not to go as hard. To my knowledge, outside of being part of a queue line, the former kids area at Universal wasn't really used for Halloween Horror Nights outside of as parts of queue lines. That's the only reason I can think of as to why there is less fog and less terrors in that area versus the others. That or they wanted to keep that area more open or something like that. It's not a major complaint at all as Dr. Oddfellow is present in the area which is great, but it is something that I noticed compared to previous trips.
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| The shipyard had so monsters for sure |
Unfortunately the M3gan horde was not performing that night due to lighting issues so I was unable to see them. I was also unable to see Nightmare Fuel Revenge Dream due to time as we were all pretty dead tired as our Disney cruise ended at 730am that morning. I was able to see the Death Eaters in Diagon Alley. That was a really cool and simple addon to the event. They had their own little show where at one point they all raise their wands, the lighting goes green all around, and then.... Nothing seemed to happen. It appeared that they were summoning the dark mark, but I looked all around and didn't see it anywhere. Not sure what that was all about, but it was still really cool to see the Death Eaters out and about.
All in all I feel like Halloween Horror Nights 32 was once again worth every second. The houses I went through were all very well done and the park itself once again provided and incredible atmosphere. Dr. Oddfellow's presence could be felt literally everywhere which served as an incredibly solid reminder as to who the icon of this event was. Did the park seem to have a bit less fog than usual? Yeah, I think so. Did any of the special food appeal to me this year? Not really. Do I wish, but understand why there was no show on the lake? Of course. All of that still didn't dampen the spirit of this event for me and I'm already trying to figure out how I can get down to Halloween Horror Nights 33 next year.
I'm not finished with my thoughts on Halloween Horror Nights 32 yet. Next up is going to be my thoughts on the Halloween Horror Nights Behind the Scenes: Unmasking the Horror tour. In that blog there will be pictures from inside the houses. Quite a few probably as there was a lot of different things we were able to take photos of during the tour. I'll also go into some more of the house stories and also give my thoughts on how another house looks that I didn't get to go into during the event. Bear with me as that blog is going to take a bit of work to put all together! Thanks for reading and I look forward to typing up the next one!
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