Halloween Horror Nights 2024 (It's Terror Time Again)

 

    Hello everyone, Hector here once again, and I'm so excited about our latest topic for my blog as it's about one of my favorite things ever! Recently, I've visited one of my favorite events, Halloween Horror Nights at Universal Studios Florida for its 33rd year and for the past few years since 2021 (AKA the best vacation ever), I've been attending the event. Coming into HHN 2024, I was optimistic but skeptical as the prior year I experienced wasn't great as many of the scare zones, haunted houses, and overall vibe weren't clicking with me unfortunately. In retrospect, I was disappointed by the experience as something felt missing or off. It wasn't a total disaster though as I enjoyed a couple of the scare zones and some of the haunted houses were fantastic, like "The Darkest Deal" (the best house of 2023), "Dueling Dragons", "Universal Monsters: Unmasked", and "The Last of Us." 

    I walked into the haunted houses and scare zones with some familiarity of what was going to be at the event, mainly with the big IP names like Ghostbusters, Insidious, A Quiet Place, and Universal Monsters, along with a couple of other things, but I wasn't as caught up with this year's houses and scare zones, at least compared to previous years. I didn't know what to expect going into these various haunted houses and scare zones beyond the usual expectations of hoping to have a good, scary time. Despite last year being a letdown, I'm more than happy to report that this year of Halloween Horror Nights was excellent, as many aspects of this year's event were an improvement, and what this year had to offer were far more interesting. The haunted houses were the biggest highlight of this year as they were visually stunning, had effective storylines, and were scary and surprising in the best way possible! There were a couple of houses I wasn't into as much, but they were still enjoyable thanks to the talented scare actors and creative team members who made these haunting yet wonderful and meticulous set pieces. 

    

    The standouts this year in terms of the haunted houses were Slaughter Sinema 2, Goblin's Feast, and Ghostbusters Frozen Empire due to their imaginative set pieces, fantastic scares, and utilizing their concepts to full effect! I'm not into Ghostbusters, but Frozen Empire's house blew me away with how it used the monsters, scare actors, and set pieces. I loved it so much that I decided to watch the new movie after experiencing the house and the movie was okay as it had its moments, but I'm more than happy that this movie inspired one of the best houses I've experienced at any of the Halloween Horror Nights years! Up next is Slaughter Sinema 2, a B-movie inspired house using various movies from monster movies to grindhouse type films, and more that are kind of meshed together, which sounds messy on paper, but it is executed well as it uses that idea to its advantage as it's unpredictable and chaotic, making it the most intense and scariest house this year. It's a bit too loud for my liking, but other than that, it's a phenomenal house that I found a lot of joy in experiencing! 

    As for Goblin's Feast, it has more of a joyful tone compared to the other houses, but its premise of goblins and other monsters eating people is gruesome, had some effective scares throughout the house, and had some great sets and visuals. Not much else to add to it, but it was another pleasant surprise! I would love to revisit these houses or at least see these houses return in future years in some capacity. 

    Regarding the rest of the haunted houses, while I much prefer the three houses I mentioned prior, they were still a worthwhile experience. Museum Deadly Exhibits was creepy fun, as well as Monstrous: The Monsters of Latin America. Universal Monsters Eternal Bloodlines I enjoyed as that had some solid scares and beautiful scenery. As for the big IP houses, both Insidious and A Quiet Place were atmospheric and creepy, but admittedly I didn't have the best runs and the wait times were too long, so a Universal Express Pass is required whenever you go to Halloween Horror Nights. As for Triplets of Terror and Major Sweets Candy Factory, they were okay as it did have some elements I love (I.E. love the candy smell in Major Sweets), but compared to the other houses it didn't capture my attention as much as I was hoping for unfortunately. 

    

    Up next are the scare zones, which had me curious as I didn't know what to expect going in, and after experiencing them, I'm mixed on it, but overall, I did enjoy them as they were fun to experience. My favorites were Demon Queens and Swamp of the Dead as those two had the scariest looking scareactors and the sets and decorations used added to the environment and scares. Torture Faire was fun to walk through as it uses the Renaissance medieval torture theming effectively, thanks to some memorable scareactors and gruesome but effective sets and props. Enter the Blumhouse didn't have any eye-catching sets, but the scareactors that were playing the iconic Blumhouse characters were wonderful and looked amazing! However, Duality of Fear is easily the weakest one as there are no sets, save for this giant platform with the Halloween Horror Nights logo, but what salvaged this forgettable scare zone is the amazing scare actors where you meet the two icons, SINIST3R and SURR3AL, as well as the chainsaw drill team (There's a common pattern, but it's true as they really gave it their all).

    I'll briefly touch on it, but there was also the annual HHN Tribute Store. It had this theming where it looked like a location you would see in a post-apocalyptic setting, being set somewhere underground with graffiti art, danger posters, various items survivors would use, and a scary looking bat creature to look out for. The theming, while not as colorful as previous years, looks excellent as it feels lived in, making you wonder what caused this situation to begin with. With this being a store, make sure to get something cool there when visiting as many of the HHN items are exclusive to the event. But if nothing catches your eye, no worries as the theming in the store alone is worth visiting. 

    If all the scaring is making you hungry, no need to fear as the event got you covered with a bunch of exclusive food and drink options. There are a lot to choose from and admittedly I didn't try a lot, but the food I tasted ranged from serviceable to amazing! I had the "In the Fog" Fish N Chips, as well as the "Bloody Good Time" bag (Fried chicken and fries with onions), which were serviceable, though the chips were decent, and the "Bloody Good Time" bag had a simple but fun presentation as it was given out as if the bag was covered in "blood." I also had the pleasure of trying out the "Mini Wooden Board Eclair", themed to A Quiet Place, and I enjoyed that one, though it hits you with a surprising but tolerable spice. What impressed me the most however was its presentation. 

    After purchasing A Quiet Place related food in an alley that is close to Torture Faire, instead of waiting to be called on, you would walk into said alley, but without making a sound. The employees would communicate without talking and give you your food as in A Quiet Place, the monsters would catch you if you made any sound of sorts (I heard they even incorporate American Sign Language from other people that experienced this specific dining area).  While it is brief, it's a memorable and inventive way of theming and presenting food to the paying customers that I would love to see incorporated in other food spots and restaurants as it would make the process more interesting, immersive, and fun. 

    

    Speaking of fun, it leads me into my personal favorite food from Halloween Horror Nights, the Mini Stay-Puft S'more. Themed to Ghostbusters, it has an adorable presentation as the marshmallow is shaped like the iconic Stay-Puft Marshmallow Man from the Ghostbusters franchise, placed on top of a Hershey's chocolate bar and graham cracker! Aside from the marshmallow design, there's nothing too elaborate about this dish, but that doesn't matter as the presentation is still amazing and the taste is to die for! I had some other S'mores in my lifetime and they're amazing also (like the one I had in Hershey's Chocolate World in Times Square, New York), but this one may be my favorite due to its presentation and simple, but wonderful and sugary taste! I would love to have this again in the future somehow! 

    There were a ton of other food, drinks, and other stuff that were present at the event, including a show called "Nightmare Fuel: Nocturnal Circus", but I didn't get a chance to experience any of that unfortunately. I can't say much on that, but everything else that I experienced at Halloween Horror Nights was incredible! The houses were fantastic, the scare zones were enjoyable, the food was good, and the overall feeling/vibe this year felt right to me compared to last year's event. It's not my favorite HHN year thus far (then again, 2021 was such a huge deal for me that I can't imagine any future year being on-par, let alone better than 2021), but I can happily say this was a fun time that I didn't want to end. Bring on next year's Halloween Horror Nights!!!