Last weekend, I got to experience a real thrill at Universal Studios Orlando, called Halloween Horror Nights. As an Orlando local, I have skipped this event every year. I am not a huge horror movie buff, so I did not think this was an event I would enjoy. I decided to give it a try this year with our Universal Studios Sales Team and was quite surprised - it was alot of fun! Our special night started with a VIP Party in the soundstage, with some special guests including Wolfman, Chucky, and Saw. After the reception, we were guided around Halloween Horror Nights for our VIP Tour. They actually called it the RIP Tour!
Each year, Halloween Horror Nights has a different theme. This year, the theme is around movies from the big screen. We were escorted around the park by Cinema Ushers. The main movie characters are Wolfman, Chucky and Saw. For this special event, there are only a few rides open including Mummy, Simpsons and Men in Black. There are also a couple shows that are open including the very popular Bill & Ted's Excellent Halloween Adventure. This adult comedy show spoofs on the most popular happenings in 2009, all in fun Halloween fashion. The other popular show is the Rocky Horror Picture Show, that is the perfect Halloween show!
The other popular attraction to Halloween Horror Nights is the screams in the Scare Zones and Haunted Houses. Each year, these are new and are the highlight of this popular special event. On this night, the Haunted Houses ranged from 60-90 minute waits. They do have some fun games and trivia to enjoy while waiting in lines (if you had a phone), by texting a number listed by the Haunted House.
The Haunted Houses this year were the best ever featuring themes from popular movies including Dracula, Frankenstein, Saw, Chucky, and Wolfman. The feature Haunted House was called Silver Sceam which was themed after a movie theater where each theater featured a different scary movie. You scrambled through the theater hoping the next theater would be a comedy, but each movie theater was one horror movie. The feature house was quite scary, but amazing details!
My other favorite Haunted Houses were Chucky and Wolfman. Chucky was not what I would expect to be too scary. After all, they are just toys! However, there were some great and unexpected moments where characters jumped out to scare you. One moment was the scariest moment during the whole trip that caused our entire group to scream and almost fall like dominos. The Haunted Mansion themed after the movie, Wolfman, was incredible scares and special affects. The Wolfman would jump out, fly, and even run at you full steam, before getting shot by the silver bullet. Simply incredible movie type affects.
For Scare Zones, these area are just plain fun screams. The best Scare Zone was Cirque du Freak, which was themed after a "soon to be released" movie. This was an interesting and scary zone with lots of characters jumping out at you. All of the Scare Zones are open areas that you walk through. The Scare Zones have lots of smoke and sometimes you can only see a few feet in front of you. So, they are prime areas to be startled by themed characters.
Halloween Horror Nights is a special event with a paid admission outside of a regular theme park ticket. This event is for only adults ages 21 and older. It is a great event and was alot of fun for our entire group. Be prepared for lots of screams and lots of laughs. For more information about Halloween Horror Nights at Universal Studios, contact our agents at Destinations in Florida Travel.
