The world's biggest theme park Halloween event kicks off again tonight at Universal Studios Florida. Halloween Horror Nights returns after a one-year pandemic delay, for a celebration of the event's 30th year.
With 10 houses, five scare zones, and two new shows, Universal Orlando is not taking it easy for HHN's return. I will be at the opening tonight and will post a review and videos later this evening. In the meantime, I briefly previewed two of the houses this morning, in which I talked with Senior Show Director Charles Gray and Senior Manager Lora Sauls about honoring the 30-year history of Halloween Horror Nights.
Or at least I tried to... because a big part of that history - Jack the Clown - crashed the show.
Highlights of this year's Halloween Horror Nights at Universal Orlando include houses based on Netflix's The Haunting of Hill House, as well as Warner Bros. Beetlejuice, and fan favorite The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. Universal's own The Bride of Frankenstein gets a star turn in Universal Monsters: The Bride of Frankenstein Lives, and the icons of past Horror Nights take over a house in Halloween Horror Nights Icons: Captured.
As Gray mentioned, fans will encounter even more iconic characters from past HHN events in the 30 Years, 30 Fears scare zone. Other scare zones include Crypt TV; Lights, Camera, Hacktion: Eddie’s Revenge; Gorewood Forest; and the alien invasion dystopia of Seek and Destroy.
Original concept houses this are The Wicked Growth: Realm of the Pumpkin, Welcome to sCarey: Horror in the Heartland, Case Files Unearthed: Legendary Truth, Puppet Theatre: Captive Audience, and Revenge of the Tooth Fairy.
On the Universal lagoon, an all-new version of the Marathon of Mayhem projection show, Carnage Factory, will play, while Halloween Nightmare Fuel takes the stage for a music-driven performance of aerialists and fire performers.
Halloween Horror Nights runs select evenings through October 31, and tickets are available through Universal's website. In California, Halloween Horror Nights starts at Universal Studios Hollywood on September 9, and, yes, we will be back in California to cover that one, too.
Who's ready for Halloween's comeback?
Update: The (re)opening moment:
Halloween is back! #HHN30 @UniversalORL pic.twitter.com/7gnyVBPujv
— Theme Park Insider (@ThemePark) September 3, 2021
Get our full coverage of opening night, including video of all houses and shows, at Ranking the Houses at Universal's Halloween Horror Nights.
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