With a perfect day at the Magic Kingdom under our belt, we had the remainder of our four days in Florida to spend at Universal. From our nearby hotel room just across the highway, we had an absolutely incredible Halloween weekend. Check out the video recap below of our adventure!
Olivia and I typically make our annual trip at the end of September to celebrate Halloween Horror Nights at Universal Orlando. Sadly, we learned back in August that the actual Horror Nights event would not be taking place this year, and we decided to cancel our vacation to central Florida. Of course, even 2020 couldn’t keep us away, and after Universal announced they would be opening two of their would-be haunted houses for this year, we knew we had to come check them out. With a coinciding road-trip to Boca Raton to visit Olivia’s family, we were easily able to squeeze in a few nights in Orlando.
As a Hilton member, we stayed at our trusty Home2Suites right across the highway from Universal–fantastic as always. Every night before bed we were able to fill out a (to-go) breakfast order for the next morning that actually had some pretty solid options. The staff was excellent and even Ellie enjoyed her stay! Not to mention, it is ridiculously convenient to drive less than five minutes to be at the parking deck at Universal.
The four years that I have attended HHN event (this year would’ve been five), we have never visited anytime close to Halloween, let alone the month of October. That made this year extra special. A good percentage of park guests were sporting their costumes and it was just a great spooky atmosphere overall.
This blog will more or less be a review of the Halloween specific offerings of the park, as we are frequent visitors of Universal and I have written about most of the regular park in previous blogs. Besides, that was the main focus of our trip, and we really did some different things that we don’t typically do—it was a nice change of pace. Didn’t even ride the Hulk if you can believe that!
Here is a quick summary of the individual Halloween experiences that we were able to try on our visit:
- The Bride of Frankenstein Lives – Haunted House
The first of two houses that were slated to be open, we started off with this one as we heard from others it was the best. We were definitely not disappointed, and even with masks and plexiglass to keep scare-actors and visitors safe, the house was incredible. Super scary, great set design, and a great backstory to go with it. It was super well-done and we knew right away this one would be tough to beat.
- Revenge Of The Tooth Fairy – Haunted House
Another solid house, albeit not as scary but still tremendously well-done given the circumstances. This one had a bit more of a confusing storyline, but the sets were incredible as always and the tooth fairy characters were absolutely terrifying. A great house to compliment Brides.
- Beetlejuice – Haunted House
This was the surprise of the entire trip, as this house was only open for two days, October 31st and November 1st. Universal did not make any previous announcements about the opening and kinda just dropped it out of nowhere. The house was only accessible via virtual queue reservations that were released both mornings just shortly before 8am. An early morning at the park Sunday did not go unrewarded, as I was able to snag two different return times for us to walkthrough around five that afternoon.
We actually had recently watched Beetlejuice to refresh ourselves with the storyline, but this house absolutely blew us away. Even in a regular Horror Nights year it would have been up there as one of the best. The house captured the vibe of the movie perfectly, and the sets were some of the most impressive I had ever seen. Apparently due to contractual obligations, in order to reopen this house for HHN 2021 Universal had to open it for at least a weekend in 2020. Strange, but I’m definitely not complaining. I was so happy to be able to experience it, even though we’ll probably catch it next year as well.
- Halloween Tribute Store – Special Halloween Experience
This was only the second (maybe third?) year that they’ve had the Tribute Store if I’m not mistaken, and it gets more and more intricate every year. I think they may have added more to it once Universal got word Horror Nights was to be cancelled, but regardless the additions were very welcomed. The store had four different rooms, each with their own unique theme and associated merch. The third room contained a display case for some awesome Halloween treats that all looked to die for—we had to do our best to not try everything they had to offer. It was a cool walkthrough and I really hope they continue to grow the tribute store experience going forward.
- Monster Cake Pop – Special Food Item
This is the treat we landed on at the Tribute Store, and I think we chose the best one in the place. This thing was chocolatey as all get out–almost like a fudge type chocolate so it was nice and rich while not being too overwhelming. I’m not the biggest chocolate person in the world, but this one was definitely a hit.
- Skeleton Bar – Special Halloween Experience
This was an extra bar/walkthrough experience that we got to checkout on our last day at Universal. Nothing too exciting but it was cool to see a heavily-themed bar experience for the first time at Horror Nights. We didn’t try any of the drinks this go-round (they had previous signature HHN drinks for sale), but we certainly enjoyed stopping in and checking out the scenery.
- Pizza Fries – Special Food Item
Our first time trying pizza fries! These are a Halloween Horror Nights staple that have eluded us until this year. While they are simply crinkle fries smothered with cheese, marinara, and pepperoni, the flavors go together remarkably well. We devoured this dish in a matter of minutes and will definitely check out in years to come.
- Chicken & Funnel Cake – Special Food Item
This was an extra food item that came from a newly-introduced food truck within the park. The food truck is only for seasonal events and the menu changes with each, but this offering for Halloween was near the top of my list. As you may know, I am a huge sucker for chicken and waffles, and a funnel cake is the perfect substitution. The dish had some super tasty strawberry and vanilla glaze on the chicken that was unique but very delicious. The chicken was just your run of the mill theme park chicken tender, but all together this snack was probably my favorite of the event. A menu item I would’ve come up with as a kid.
- Ocean Attack – Cocktail
Not necessarily a Halloween snack, but I wanted to include this drink that we got from the Chez Alcatraz bar near the San Francisco area of the park. It came highly recommended from a few of the theme park bloggers that Olivia and I watch, and we were pleasantly surprised. I’m usually not into “fruiter” cocktails but this one was actually delicious and refreshing. The bartender was also super cool and put on a nice show for us while pouring the drink. Definitely would suggest checking this one out!
I think that just about does it for all the special Halloween treats and surprises we were able to take part in this October at Universal Orlando Resort! We ended up getting to try just about everything we had on our list, and the visit was one we certainly won’t forget for some time. Although not the same as the typical Halloween Horror Nights event that we’ve come to love and look forward to over the years, Universal did a great job with the limited scope they had to work with in this strange year that is 2020. We were just happy to get some sort of Halloween, in it was even more special that we were able to be there the weekend of the 31st.
Thanks for reading and be sure to stay tuned for our next adventure!
– Walker
Texas-Ranger Travels 