Halloween Horror Nights Orlando is celebrating their 33rd year of terrifying guests. We headed to Florida to test all ten houses and lived to tell the tale! Now, I'm a Halloween Horror Nights Hollywood fanatic, but I'm an HHN Orlando virgin, so I wasn't quite sure what to expect aside from the fact that everyone said my face was going to melt off (from awesomeness and Florida humidity, presumably). Orlando, you did not disappoint! We screamed, ate, and awed our way through ten houses, five scare zones, and lots of specialty-themed foods. Read on for our Halloween Horror Nights 2024 best houses picks and a rundown of everything Orlando has to offer.
The premise of this year's haunt is overseen by two sinister entities: Demon Queens Sinister and Surreal. As the duo welcomes guests to a night of pure terror, two paths are laid out before you. Sinister offers a path filled with physical gore (you'll find Ye Olde Torture Faire scare zone down this path), while the path of Surreal offers one of psychological fantasy horror.
Here's a quick peek at some of this season's offerings. Stay tuned to our socials for a look inside every house, and read on for a full breakdown of all ten houses below.
Triplets of Terror
Our first maze of the evening was this original house that centers on a trio of tiny killers — meet the Barmy Triplets. The triplets slaughtered their entire family during their birthday celebration, and as guests venture through the house, we learn the trio carried on a serial killer crime spree (inspiring the inevitable true crime podcasts and armchair detectives). As the three killer kids grow to adulthood, we recognize them by their creepy signature masks and bear witness to a bevy of crimes. Loved their signature masks, the lore, and the fun, original, bloody story.
Insidious: The Further
This is hands down my top pick for the scariest maze. We walked through the Red Door and into the Further (against our better judgment). I did not encounter Lin Shaye, but I did meet the Red Face Demon, Dalton, and other familiar faces ya' hate to meet in the dark.
Now, I happened to be perfectly placed to be the target of no less than one hundred jump scares. I went through a second time to see if it was indeed as scary as I initially thought it was… and I’m telling you, it still takes the top spot. Fear and unease mounted the entire time, and this one employed loads of misdirection. Prepare for the anxiety sweats. Also, it wasn’t until my second run-through that I realized when I was getting “wet” from an unknown source in the dark, I was getting “barfed on,” so heads up.
Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire
The big IP mazes like Ghostbusters tend to offer fans a really impressive walk-through of the movie, such is the case here. Fans will be excited about the impressive set pieces and recreated scenes from the latest film in the Ghostbusters franchise.
Ghostbusters Frozen Empire houses one of the tallest pieces the Horror Nights team has ever built on a sound stage. The 24-foot iconic firehouse is a sight to see in itself, but add to that the fact that it's snowing (a bonus welcome change from the Orlando heat), and the whole frozen New York scene is pretty magical. Fans will also geek out for an Ecto 1 appearance, Slimer, and other favorite characters. (Watch out for the tiny Stay Puft Marshmallow Men. They may be cute, but they're not to be trifled with!)
A Quiet Place
I haven’t done the Hollywood version of this maze yet, but I did do the behind-the-scenes walk-through of Hollywood's, and there are quite a few differences, so I actually did not know what to expect as I moved from room to room! The big highlight here is, of course, the creatures (featured in the video above). John Murdy and the Hollywood crew built these impressive animatronics and puppets at the Universal Hollywood location and shipped them over to Orlando. This house walks us through the first two movies and is the first Horror Nights house to feature ASL, which is featured heavily in the movie and is a huge part of the protagonists' survival. I was not able to remain silent with creatures gnashing in my face, but maybe you'll have better luck!
Monstruos: The Monsters of Latin America
This original house was so popular at Universal Hollywood last year they decided to do a Florida run. The monsters of Latin American folklore (and we’ve got some morbid stuff, gang. Hide the babies) are running amok. Death greets visitors before sending them to face off against Tlahuelpuchi, La Lechuza and El Silbón. The crowning jewel of this house is the massive La Lechuza animatronic (surrounded by massive piles of bird poop). Massive monster = massive poops.
The Museum: Deadly Exhibits
The premise of this one is fun — Everything in the museum has come to life! And we mean everything. Think Night at the Museum, but make it horror. The furniture, the artwork, the artifacts, it's all come to life and for some reason, none of it takes very kindly to the museum's human patrons! The poor museum security guard certainly didn't fare very well against it.
This is one of those mazes that has so much detail you wish you could stop and poke around a bit more, but with monsters leaping out from every dark corner, it's a little hard to stop and smell the roses if ya' know what we mean.
Slaughter Sinema 2
I did not get to experience Slaughter Sinema 1, but that’s ok; I wasn’t lost. Think of this as a living anthology. Slaughter Sinema 2 essentially acts as a slew of mini houses all rolled into one, a good way to test concepts! Each room is a different “movie,” and we’ve got everything from slashers (watch out for that Mardi Gras killer) to aquatic horror (it’s like coming face to face with Bruce the Shark). Mummy Strippers Unwrapped was a group favorite; we love a clever pun! I did not realize the Heavy Metal Horror skeletons were toting chainsaws. Once I did, it was too late, and I embarrassingly mowed over a fellow group member when my legs went into full Scooby-Doo mode (also featured in the above video, because I'm here to report the truth, even when it's mortifyingly embarrassing). My mouth was saying “sorry,” but my legs would simply not stop. Slaughter Sinema 2 makes my list of best houses of the haunt.
Universal Monsters: Eternal Bloodlines
An all-female Universal Monsters maze! We’ve got the Bride of Frankenstein, the brides of Dracula, the daughters of Dracula, She-Wolf, and hunting them all… Saskia VanHelsing. I dunno who I was supposed to side with here, but I didn’t feel like the monsters were going to eat me. I’m sure Saskia was just trying to help but I’m Team Monster all the way on this one. I watched Saskia kill The Monster in front of the Bride’s very eyes. The Bride then spends the duration of the house lamenting her lost love and outrunning VanHelsing. It’s actually very tragic! Monsters for the win, always.
Goblin's Feast
I was immediately sold on the facade, which stands like a giant wooden tavern, and as soon as I stepped foot inside, I wanted to join the goblin party. Until I realized I was on the menu. Enter the goblin village. These goblins certainly know how to party! Doin' a little jig, preparing a little feast. The world-building in this original maze is incredible. Taking the concept from scratch to completion, this one really felt like Halloween to me. A fantasy autumnal ride from start to finish. Again, so many details to take in, but don't dilly-dally too long — you are being hunted and harvested by the town's residents, after all. Goblin's Feast also ranks as a top pick house.
Major Sweets Candy Factory
What a delightful original maze! We are the chaperones for a children’s field trip to the candy factory. (Fun!) But Major Sweets’ sweets are poisoned, and the candy is turning the kiddos into candy-coated killers (not so fun)! As we work our way through the candy factory, there are tons of colorful characters to meet. Factory workers, children overtaken by the sickly sweets, and even Major Sweets himself.
Listen, Major Sweets is a tad maniacal but you can’t argue— the guy’s got style. AND HE'S A CANDY CORN FAN.
This maze smells really, really good. It’s whimsical and disgusting, and while the typical haunted house policy is to keep your hands to yourself, Major Sweets invites guests to keep an eye out for the big red buttons placed around the factory. When you find one of these buttons, feel free to push! But, of course… proceed at your own risk!
Universal Orlando 2024 Horror Nights Houses Ranked
It's hard to rank all ten houses because some are standouts for the scares, while others are impressive because of the design, artistry, originality, use of animatronics, etc. All of the houses are impressive. That being said, if we had to choose a top four, they would be:
- Insidious: The Further
- Goblin's Feast
- Slaughter Sinema 2
- Major Sweets Candy Factory
Universal Orlando 2024 Scare Zones
This year's festivities offer five scare zones:
-
Choose a path between SINIST3R, the manifestation of visceral horror, or follow SURR3AL, the incarnation of unearthly terror in “Duality of Fear;”
-
Brave the gloriously gory homemade torture devices ‘til they are put out of their misery in SINIST3R’s renaissance faire, “Torture Faire;”
-
Get caught in an otherworldly hellscape in “Demon Queens,” where four merciless queens loyal to SURR3AL rule;
-
Wander onto private property in “Swamp of the Undead,” where they are surrounded by zombies borne from the bodies of other brave trespassers;
-
Escape a terrifying gauntlet of Blumhouse characters in “Enter the Blumhouse,” including M3GAN, sinister sadists from The Purge and Black Phone, and more.
The Tribute Store
This gets its own section because, as an HHN Orlando newb, I thought this was just a building you enter to buy merch. Wrong! The tribute store is almost set up like an eleventh haunted house, except for this time you can pick stuff up and buy it. We gave you a little shriek peek at some of this year’s merch, and there’s tons more! Ghostbusters fans, you’re especially in trouble because there’s a very cool Slimer jacket in the mix.
Halloween Horror Nights Orlando Food Menu
I love a novelty food item, and I adore a themed menu. The fine folks at Horror Nights were kind enough to let us sample a cornucopia of their special menu. While it may not be the most exotic item on the menu, the Ropa Vieja Walking Taco was my favorite. A bag of Doritos sliced open and smothered in taco fixings. Doritos — good. Toppings — good. Mix it all together in a to-go bag, and you've got yourself a vessel of portable deliciousness.
Other themed menu items include The Red Door Samosa (Insidious), Pork Carniceria (Monstrous: The Monsters of Latin America), Mini Stay-Puft S'mores, Slimer Corn Dog (Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire), Abbott's Farm Corn Chowder (A Quiet Place), and fan favorites like Twisted Taters.
Effectively scared out of our wits and stuffed to the brim with delicious Halloween goodies, that's a wrap on Orlando Halloween Horror Nights! Thanks to our incredible tour guide Grace, and the entire team for having us out to celebrate the 33rd year. Up next — we'll see you at Universal Hollywood Horror Nights!
Halloween Horror Nights at Universal Orlando Resort is officially open, running 48 select nights now through November 3rd.
