Halloween Horror Nights in Universal Orlando is one of the biggest Halloween events in Florida. This year marks its sweet 16 and it just keeps getting bigger every year. It is not hard to find reviews telling you what’s new and what’s different at Halloween Horror Nights for 2006 on the web. I want to approach this from a different angle that is especially good for the first timers. So after 16 years, what can you expect from Halloween Horror Nights going by what they have done in the past? 

I can not think of anyplace else in Florida that is better equipped to pull off the gore and terror of Halloween like Universal Studios. Half their park is basically a movie studio. They have the talent, they have the environment and they have the experience. They even have great parking.

The environment they create has always been the best I have seen in Florida year after year. The laser affects overhead are amazing, one of my favorites almost made it look like you were under water with the wavy surface several feet overhead.

Islands of Adventure opened as a serious adult playground in the late 90’s but when Halloween Horror Nights took over the island; the screams came down from the coaters and into the darkened Smokey pathways. Every year I have gone has always been an immersive experience. Scare zones and well dressed actors roaming the park is something you will get if you go.

The only thing better than a great roller coaster is a great roller coaster at night. Riding The Hulk at night is something every coaster lover should do at least once. The transformed park from an overhead view is a momentary treat, after that the darkness takes over. On a perfect night, the moon in the night sky while on the ride is indescribable.

Before going any further, know I have been to this event many times… but I have not gone in the last two years. I have seen Halloween Horror nights when it was only held at the Universal Studios park and after it started taking over Islands of Adventure. This whole article is just my point of view from going for several years and multiple times in the same year. If you search the many message boards on the web talking about this event, you will find some of these points repeated by others.

If you go to this event, buy the front of the line pass or expect to go for at least 3 full nights if you want to see everything. The lines seldom get to be under 45 minutes log for any haunted house or ride and this continues for the entire night. I used to go on Thursdays or Sundays when it was not as busy. After a couple of years wasting most of my night in line I decided to stop going. The same year I decided to stop going, they open both parks to the even. I went two times that year and still couldn’t get into half the houses or rides. Both barks were open but only half of each park. If there was more space or more to do, I couldn’t find it because the park was still packed with lines that exceeded one and a half hours at times. They could fill every bit of both parks, but I have not seen it happen.

If you ever wanted to see the most obscure places of Universal, the long lines will take you there. They take you to places no one was intended to see breaking the Halloween theme and hiding a large line at the end of a long walk. I do not know if this is due to bad planning or done to stash people out of the way while they wait but either way it breaks the environment and confuses park patrons at best.

Not all rides are open, even the major ones you would expect to be open. Dueling Dragons is an awesome coaster set around a gothic castle. The entire line for this ride winds through a large castle. The line, for me anyway, is almost as enjoyable as the ride. On a slow summer day shortly after Islands of Adventure first opened, I rode Dueling Dragons at least 5 times in a row with no wait until I was sick. The perfect ride for Halloween Horror Nights was perfectly closed when it finally opened to the event.

The environment is great in the park and in the scare zones…but the houses tend to be a bit below my expectations. This would not bother me so much if it wasn’t every house every year. I have been to many Halloween events both small and large. I can tell when a haunted house is designed creatively or if they just toss money at it trying to make it scary. In the darkened hallways of a haunted house creativity will beat having a lot of cash any day.

So lets summarize this while thing up. Great teaming and environment, but broken in long lines set in the middle of nowhere. Awesome rides if they are open and you have time to wait in line or drop some extra cash to get in front of the others that didn’t. Haunted houses are OK but creativity stops at the story line.

It really would not take much to make this a truly great event. I know Ill never be in a position to make improvements but I’m writing this so I get to make them anyway.

Reduce advertising and put that money into opening up the rest of the park. I know it cost money to open and man a larger space but the event sells itself. Any lost customers with less advertising will be made up in return happy customers and word of mouth. They may need to eat the extra “front of the line” ticket sales but that business concept has never set well with me.

Get some pros in to do your haunted houses or at least consult when it comes to the planning. A good haunted house consultant alone (if taken seriously) could reduce cost, increase efficiency and get those lines in an out of the way place that dose not leave you waiting in a parking lot. It seems to me that their team dose a great job in a studio like environment where you can see but fails to make the houses edgy. This is a job for the specifically talented or a pro that knows haunted house design. Its not easy job. Don’t change a thing in the main areas of the park for theaming, you have that one nailed every year I have been so keep doing what your doing there.

This would not be an easy change even though on paper its only 3 things. So I would not expect a change anytime soon unless they loose customers. If this happens, some of their problems would disappear with a smaller crowd and nothing would have really been solved. So enjoy your trip to Halloween Horror Nights, ill be watching the message boards for a hint of improvement before I return even though I miss it so.

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