Hey Travellers,
On Friday September 1st, Universal Orlando Resort kindly invited us to their opening event for Halloween Horror Nights. We were gifted a R.I.P Tour (Horror Nights V.I.P Tour) and we were able to explore all 10 Haunted Houses. Here is our review of them!
House 1: Dueling Dragons: Choose Thy Fate
The first house we did was a Universal Original House, themed on one of their old attractions – Dueling Dragons! The story of this house is of two warlocks of great power who were turned into dragons after trying to take Merlyn’s spell book. The theming inside the house was superb, and what a brilliant way to start our night. The house actually has two separate endings and you have to make a choice of which way to go. I went the “Ice” way and immediately got scared by one of the actors. Starting off strong, I’d rate this house a 9/10.
House 2: YETI: Campground Kills
We have seen the Yeti themed houses before at Halloween Horror Nights, but this time we ventured into a 1950’s campground overrun by huge, menacing yetis who rip apart anyone who gets in their way. While I loved the idea behind this house, I felt as though it wasn’t very scary. Mainly because the yetis are so big that you can almost always see them coming. However, I have seen multiple raving reviews of this house, so maybe it’s a sign for me to go back and try it again! My rating for this house is a 7.5/10.
House 3: Stranger Things
Wow!!!!! This house completely stole the show for me. I am a huge fan of Stranger Things and this house completely brought Season 4 to life. I genuinely felt as though I had been sucked into the series. While it was not the scariest house, the theming, the actors, the props were all out of this world. The house flowed so nicely, it told the story of Season 4 really well and the scare actors sparked a remarkable resemblance to the real actors. If you are an Eddie Munson fan, it is your time to shine. Escaping Vecna was such an adrenaline rush. I gave this house a rating of 100/10, it was by far the best house this year!
House 4: Blood Moon: Dark Offerings
This was my second favourite house of this year’s event. Blood Moon: Dark Offerings was another Universal Original and it completely blew my mind (and terrified me to death). The storyline was great, and the scare actors managed to get me every single time. The story for this house is that moon-worshippers witness a blood moon at their fall festival in their Colonial-era village. They decide to hunt down any non-followers. My rating for this house was a 10/10.
House 5: The Exorcist: Believer
The Exorcist: Believer is the first ever house that shows you a LIVE-ACTION TRAILER! That’s right, the movie this house is themed on hasn’t even released yet! You’ll be among the first to see/enter the most terrifying scenes of this Blumhouse Production. The story for The Exorcist: Believer is two missing girls have been found with no memory of what happened to them, but the ultimate evil has most definitely entered them. For me, this was one of my least favourite houses of the event, although I found the concept of it being a trailer for the movie extremely cool. My rating for this house was a 7/10.
House 6: Chucky: Ultimate Kill Count
This house was creepy in the best way! Chucky, the serial killer doll is back for a new gore-fest. He’s hijacked his own haunted houses with all kinds of bloody hijinks. I thought this house was very well done and there were plenty of Chucky dolls poking around. I gave this house an 8/10.
House 7: The Darkest Deal
The Darkest Deal is the story of a Blues musician who has to face the music after meeting with The Collector and trading his soul for musical glory. The storyline was ok, but I wouldn’t be in a rush to experience this house again. My rating for this one was a 7/10.
House 8: Dr Oddfellow’s Twisted Origins
Dr Oddfellow is the icon for this year’s Halloween Horror Nights. He can be found in all 5 scare zones and has his own house. This is another Universal original house and I really enjoyed it. The storyline was clear and the scare actors were creepy. I rated this house a 9/10.
House 9: The Last of Us
The Last of Us is inspired by the video game created by Naughty Dog. Step into a haunting and overgrown world where you’ll need to stay silent to survive the multitude of Clickers, Hunters and more. This house was quite long and visually pleasing. It was scary enough but also told the story of the video game perfectly. I gave this house a 9/10.
House 10: Universal Monsters: Unmasked
And that leads us to our last house. I always love the Universal Monsters houses, they give great scares – usually when you least expect it. This year did not disappoint. The characters were great and I got scared very badly at the end. I gave this house an 8.5/10.
To clarify, I thoroughly enjoyed every single house this year and I think it is one of the best Halloween Horror Nights that we have had in years. It’s extremely hard to rate the houses, especially on your first time going through them so these rankings may change as we head into our second viewing next week!
As well as the Haunted Houses and Scare Zones, there are a variety of themed food and beverages to enjoy at this year’s event including the “Left Behind Ravioli” from The Last of Us, “Yuri’s Peanut Butter Jar” from Stranger Things and this delicious “Graveyard Mini Cake”.
We were also able to view the Halloween Horror Nights exclusive merchandise, which we have to say is top tier!
We truly cannot recommend this event enough, it is so different and unique – full of scares, thrills, adrenaline and most of all FUN. It is something you have to experience at least once in your life! If you’re considering a visit to Halloween Horror Nights in Orlando or Hollywood this year, let us help with the booking process! Our services are 100% free and catered to your needs/wants. Click here to learn more.
We are so thankful to Universal Orlando for inviting us to experience Halloween Horror Nights this year, and we cannot wait to go back!
We’ll see you in the Fog!
