Halloween Horror Nights is back for its 31st year in 2022! And if you’re heading over to Universal Orlando to enjoy haunts - I’m going to go over every Haunted House, Scare Zone, and show as well as a few pro tips to make sure you have a great event.
Halloween Horror Nights is Universal Studios’ annual Halloween event that runs now until October 31st.
Halloween Horror Nights is separately ticketed and prices this year range from $73.99 to 104.99 for a single night. Unfortunately, your day ticket to Universal Studios will not give you access to Halloween Horror Nights.
But, if you don’t want to cram all your thrills into one night, you can also opt-in for the Rush of Fear Pass which is the first 17 nights for $129.99, which is one of my favorite passes to choose since the first few weeks tends to be the least crowded.
But, there is also the which is 27 nights for $179.99, the Frequent Fear Plus pass which is 36 nights for 219.99, and the Ultimate Frequent Fear pass where you can enjoy every single night of the event for $324.99.
PHOTOS
This year's event features 10 haunted houses, 5 scare zones, 2 live shows, and a ton of themed food, drinks, and merchandise.
I am a huge fan and look forward to this event every year, so I can say that I couldn’t wait to attend on opening weekend to try and experience as much as possible on Friday and Saturday night to give you all the rundown of this year’s event.
Like I said earlier, this year features 5 awesome scare zones that are spread throughout the park. In these scare zones, you’ll have to keep your eyes peeled because this is where the scare actors can roam freely and you never know who or what could be lurking in the fog.
The very first scare zone that you’ll come across when you first walk in the gates is the Horror of Halloween where the pumpkin lord has returned and has taken over this year’s event. In this zone, you’ll get to encounter the pumpkin lord himself as he summons all of his fiendish creatures.
The Pumpkin Lord was a fan favorite at last year’s event in the Wicked Growth: Realm of the Pumpkin House. It was my favorite house from last year and I’m so glad they brought him back for this scare zone because he is awesome.
If you walk through the Horror of Halloween scare zone, the next scare zone that you’ll encounter walking around the park is Sweet Revenge where you’ll encounter Major Sweets Candy Company who have turned kids into crazed killers. So, make sure to stay clear of all of the costumed kids in this area…no matter how awesome their costumes are - because they’re nothing but trouble.
Walking past Sweet Revenge, you’ll walk into our next zone which is Conjure The Dark where an evil sorceress has called upon monstrosities from the dark dimensions…and you’ll fuel their power with your blood..so, don’t get caught!
While you’re here, make sure to stick around to witness the sorceress and her minions as she goes through her ritual that happens throughout the night about every 10-20 minutes.
If you head over to the other side of the park, you’ll walk into my favorite scare zone of this year's Halloween Horror Nights - The Scarecrow Cursed Soil. Here you’ll walk through an abandoned farm where the scarecrow has risen from the earth to hunt you down to seek revenge. In this zone, you’ll encounter all of the scarecrows creatures who will work to harvest your screams while you’re there. I loved that this zone was like almost walking through a mini house all on its own.
Once you pass through the Scarecrow’s Cursed Soil, you’ll then encounter The Graveyard - Deadly Unrest where a dark storm descends upon this cemetery and awakens a few dead spirits. This graveyard is filled with numerous different haunts and ghouls lurking behind every gravestone in this area. So, make sure to stay alert as you walk through or you may not escape them.
In addition to these 5 amazing scare zone, 10 different houses are spread throughout the park
Starting back at the front of the park is Hellblock Horror where you’ll enter a prison whose inmates are monstrous creatures. If they break out of their cells, it’s a death sentence for everyone.
Just past Hellblock Horror is The Spirits of the Coven where a coven of beautiful flapper witches will lure you into their 1920’s speakeasy where they’ll reveal their true selves. Don’t get caught because they’ll turn your screams into their witch’s brew.
After the Spirits of the Coven is the highly anticipated Halloween house where you’ll step back into the 1978 classic horror film Halloween and relive Micheal Myer’s first brutal spree.
Right in the corner is the fiesta de chupacabras. Where you’ll get to visit a Latin American village where the villagers celebrate the chupacabras and the streets are lined with the blood of tourists. So, you’ll have to make sure to keep an eye out for creatures and villagers alike.
Right next door to the Fiesta de Chupacabras is Dead Man’s Pier - Winter’s Wake - which was my favorite house of this year’s event. In this house, you’ll step into a New England fishing village where undead fishermen emerge from the waves to seek their revenge.
After Dead Man’s Pier is the Horror of Blumhouse where you’ll step inside a new double feature house featuring Freaky and The Black Phone.
If you make it to the very back of the park, you’ll find the entrance to Bugs: Eaten Alive where you’ll tour a 1950’s home of the future where something goes wrong, and the hordes of bugs everywhere will descend upon you.
Also back here is Descendants of Destruction where you’ll descend into the subway tunnels of a deserted New York where you’ll encounter hungry mutants looking for a feast. So, make sure to beware.
Next up is the other highly anticipated house - The Weekend - After Hours Nightmare where you’ll make your way through the macabre mind of the Weekend as he stalks you through surreal nightmares filled with mangled maniacs, and a grotesque mannequin masquerade.
Last but not least is Universal Monsters - Legends Collide - where you’ll find yourself in an epic battle between the Wolf Man, Dracula, and The Mummy where they do anything to get their hands on the amulet to break their cures and will destroy anyone that gets in their way.
In addition to the scare zones and the houses, there are also two live shows this year.
First, there is Ghoulish a Halloween Tale, where you’ll find a ghost story that has come to life before your eyes through an amazing projection and fountain show. During this show, you’ll go beyond the grave in this amazing and spooky show that you can see at Universal Studio’s lagoon.
For the best viewing experience make sure to be on the east side of the lake near where the Scarecrow’s Cursed Soil scare zone is. This is the best vantage point to be able to take in the projection show entirely. The show happens several times during the night, so you’ll have to make sure to check the showtimes in the Universal Studios app throughout the night.
The other live show is Halloween Nightmare Fuel: Wildfire which was a fan favorite last year and is back for another year to fuel a new nightmare. This amazing pyro and aerial show is spectacular, and definitely, a can’t miss.
If you get hungry in between all of the screams throughout the night, there is a ton of new themed food and drinks featured during this year’s Halloween Horror Nights.
The classic favorite haunts are open like Mel’s Die In. But you can also find classic favorites like pizza fries and the twisted tater.
New must-try dishes this year are the maggot-covered cheese dog that you can find at the bridge by Halloween Nightmare Fuel. This cheese dog is a Korean-style all-beef hot dog on a stick that is layered in mozzarella cheese, rolled in puff rice cereal, and topped with gochujang drizzle and black sesame seeds.
The other thing that I couldn’t help but get this year was the "ground princess" and "spoiled angry bear meat". You can pick them up at the Meetz locker that is located in sting alley behind Starbucks. These cellophane-wrapped meat trays are complete with an ingredient sticker and are a sweet and salty treat that will mess with your senses…and will freak out your friends on social media!
A few of the other notable food items that I wished I got the chance to try were the pepperoni pizza skulls, The killer stovetop pumpkin custard, and the major sweets ice cream sandwich which you can find all at Gramercy Park.
One thing to keep in mind this year was the food lines were pretty long for opening night. Some people had to wait up to 45 minutes only to find out that the food item they were wanting to try was sold out for the night. So, if you are wanting to try any of the specialty food you'll want to swing by as early as possible to make sure you grab one before they sell out.
Before you leave for the evening, you’ll want to make your way through the tribute store!
The theme for the Tribute Store this year to an old amusement park dark ride complete with a track that you can follow throughout the store. Each of the rooms is tied to themes that you’ll find during this year’s event like a pumpkin patch, a cemetery, a witch’s cottage, and a Halloween town festival that is set in the same town as the scare zone sweet revenge.
