If you were wondering if you should visit Halloween Horror Nights (HHN) at Universal Orlando Resort this is your sign to go!I  just got back from HHN 33 opening weekend, and WOW! I went two nights to make sure I could go through everything a few times. HHN has been my favorite event for the last 20 years. Last year I did a house review for HHN 32, and I’m back for round two! This review will include a short synopsis of the house and storyline, my thoughts, and two ratings of the scare level, aesthetic, and story line. The first rating will be mine, someone who is rarely frightened, and the second will be from my sister, who is a self described scaredy cat turned HHN lover. The ratings will be out of 10, with 10 being the highest, and denoted as follows: Alex (👻), Lil Sis (🐈‍⬛). Keep reading to see the houses ranked in order from my least favorite to my favorite.

(c) Universal

The Museum: Deadly Exhibit (Near MIB)

You decide to visit the new folklore museum exhibit, The Rotting Stone, when an evil escapes from within, destroying everything in its path.

When you walk up to this house there are crates scattered outside, and a van that has just dropped off The Rotting Stone. You are entering the museum and listening to an audio “walkthrough” of the new exhibit, but the further you go the more everything (including the audio) begins to break down. I loved the costuming in this house, especially the statues that have come to life before your eyes. There were a few jump scares I wasn’t expecting. This one consistently had a short line, and we did this twice. Once when we first got into HHN, and it was a walk on, and then during the RIP tour.

Rating: 👻- Scare: 4 Aesthetic: 7 Story: 3
🐈‍⬛- Scare: 4 Aesthetic: 6 Story: 3

(c) Universal

Monstruos: The Monsters of Latin America (Orlando) (Minion Mayhem)

– ¡Ten cuídado! With La Muerte as your guide, you’ll be asking for mercy from these three terrifying monsters: the blood-sucking Tlahuelpuchi, owl-faced witch La Lechuza and bone-ripping El Silbón.

TW: This house depicts violence against babies.
This house features different lore from Latin America, and three different monsters. As mentioned above, the house begins with Tlahuelpuchi, who steals babies and that can be jarring for some. The first time I went through it surprised me, I wish there had been a warning about it or I had researched this house more thoroughly. The storyline of this house isn’t overtly obvious, they just seem like unconnected scary rooms. Overall, this house had unique rooms and in one room there is a giant La Lechuza. She is in bird form and the floor is covered in bones and bird droppings, and it smells extremely realistic. The first time going through I didn’t get scared. The second time we went through, I got a little spooked. At the end there was a giant “bone daddy” (El Silbón), as our RIP tour guide affectionately called him, who popped out of nowhere. He was huge, and definitely got a screech from me.

Rating: 👻- Scare: 0/5 (thanks to “Bone Daddy”) Aesthetic: 7 Story: 3
🐈‍⬛- Scare: 1 Aesthetic: 9 Story: 9

(c) Universal

Goblin’s Feast (Behind NMF Stage)

Visit a goblin village, where hordes of bloodthirsty goblins, orcs, hobgoblins and witches would love to have you for dinner.

It’s time for dinner, and we are on the menu. The house showcases different goblins from common to royalty. There are even wounded humans begging for help. This house is really aesthetically pleasing. It reminds me of the Bloodmoon house from last year, and fall harvest vibes. The outside facade is the front of a home, and the audio playing loops between screams, and a goblin saying “Quiet meat”.  We actually started night 2 here, before the RIP tour, and it was the last house we did with the RIP tour. We did this house twice because of the short line. Overall, this house wasn’t a stand out house for me.

Rating: 👻- Scare: 2 Aesthetic: 7 Story: 4
🐈‍⬛- Scare: 6 Aesthetic: 10 Story: 4

(c) Universal

Major Sweets Candy Factory (Fast & Furious)

You’ve been invited to chaperone a field trip to a candy factory. But this sweet tour is about to turn sour when free samples transform the kids into candy-coated killers wielding sharpened candies.

This house SMELLS SO GOOD! When we got close it smelled like caramel and something sweet baking. As you enter, you are a chaperone of a field trip gone wrong. Something is wrong with the candy, and the kids have lost it. I loved the candy factory vibe of this house but there was a puke scene (ew) which I did not enjoy. This house also has interactive buttons (they are big and red), make sure you press them for the ultimate experience! I am excited to do this house again! The buttons solidified this houses ranking, I am a sucker for anything interactive.

Rating: 👻- Scare: 1 Aesthetic: 8 Story:  8
🐈‍⬛- Scare: 8 Aesthetic: 10 Story: 8

(c) Universal

Triplets of Terror (Soundstage 24,Near Rip Ride Rockit)

You’re invited to the Barmy triplets’ birthday bash. But beware, they celebrate by recreating their family’s murders. Prepare for a gory gathering.

This house was a pleasant surprise for me. On their 9th birthday the triplets murdered their family, and now they show up in small towns to relive their favorite birthday tradition. Junior, Melody, and Harmony terrorize towns on their 59th birthday and you are invited to join them. There is a scene with a dog, and it made people going through feel sad, which is not the emotion you are expecting in a haunted house. This house reminded me of the Yeti houses, because parts of it looked similar. Also, interestingly they chose triplets (3) for HHN 33. I noticed 3’s as a theme throughout the event this year. There were a few scares that got us in this house, and they were unexpected.

Rating: 👻- Scare: 5 Aesthetic: 8 Story: 10
🐈‍⬛- Scare: 8 Aesthetic: 10 Story: 10

(c) Universal

A Quiet Place (Orlando 2024) (Soundstage 22, Near Rip Ride Rockit)

Silence your screams if you want to survive this terrifying, post-apocalyptic world based on the films “A Quiet Place” and “A Quiet Place Part II.” Like the Abbott family, you must keep quiet as you travel from the farmhouse, to the woods, to the foundry. As soon as you make a sound, monstrous creatures who can hear the slightest noise will hunt you down and silence you for good.

Even if you haven’t seen the movies, you will enjoy this house. As you travel to different locations, it is key to remain quiet to avoid detection. The terrifying creatures have incredible hearing, and the slightest creak will draw them to you. This house makes you feel as if you are wearing ear plugs. In most houses there is some noise traveling from other rooms, but in this house they have minimized it. In the beginning of the house you walk through a hall that is almost pitch black and silent. It was eerie. This house is also the first HHN house to feature ASL (American Sign Language). As someone who used to teach students who were Deaf, and studied ASL in college, I was thrilled! Unfortunately, due to timing I missed the ASL portions of the house. I am hoping to see it on my next trip. Usually the houses based on movies, or IP (Intellectual Property)  are not as exciting to me, as the OC (original content) houses.

Rating: 👻- Scare: 8 (the beginning) Aesthetic: 10 Story: 6
🐈‍⬛- Scare: 4/9 (the beginning) Aesthetic: 7 Story: 8

(c) Universal

Universal Monsters: Eternal Bloodlines (Orlando) (Behind NMF)

Join Saskia Van Helsing and the Bride of Frankenstein as they face off against Dracula’s Daughter and her monstrous alliance.

Girl power! This house is truly a female led house. The designer is female as well as the characters and scare actors. Saskia is the last of her line and she is ready to carry on the family business of destroying monsters. On her hunt she encounters the Bride of Frankenstein who saves and helps her, and she is conflicted. Does she befriend a monster? This house has a confusing storyline that is hard to follow. This is another house we did before the RIP tour, and I did not catch as much before the tour guide gave us the introduction to the house. In the house, the battle of Saskia’s emotions are hard to follow and it’s hard to determine who’s fighting who. Before we went in, our RIP guide told us of the two, Saskia Van Helsing & Bride of Frankenstein, only one survives the house. After we left, I wasn’t 100% sure who it was. I was able to guess, but it wasn’t totally clear. The background information from the RIP guide assisted in tying the details and storyline together for this house. We were definitely glad we were on the RIP tour! There were also some surprising scares in this house. The scare that made me jump was a She-Wolf flying out of nowhere. We are both big fans of the Universal Monsters houses every year.

Rating: 👻- Scare: 7  Aesthetic: 8 Story: 10
🐈‍⬛- Scare: 8 Aesthetic: 10 Story: 10

(c) Universal

Ghostbusters Frozen Empire (Orlando) (Soundstage 23, Near Rip Ride Rockit)

In this bone-chilling haunted house inspired by the film “Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire,” the Ghostbusters must team up to save the world from a second Ice Age. A new specter, Garraka, has escaped from an ancient artifact. He’ll stop you cold with a whole army of ghosts. Try not to freeze in fear as you dodge spears of ice and he freezes people solid before your eyes.

Enter New York City, suffering from an ice age, and watch while the Ghostbusters try to capture Garraka. This house was spectacular. The rooms were meticulously created, with icicles, a frozen dining room, and frosted citizens. Keep an eye out as you continue through the house and the paranormal activity continues. Mini sized Stay Puft Marshmallow Men are everywhere, and they even move. This adorable addition was my favorite part of the house. The tiny little troublemakers can be found all throughout. Also, the icy scenes glittered, making the house feel even more real. This was another house we did twice, but we did the second walkthrough after our RIP tour and only waited about 20 minutes. Aesthetically, this house was in my top 3, the designers were exhaustive in creating the details for this house. This is a must do!

Rating: 👻- Scare: 0 Aesthetic: 100 Story: 4
🐈‍⬛- Scare: 1 Aesthetic: 11 Story: 7

(c) Universal

Slaughter Sinema 2 (Near MIB)

If you’re dying for a B-movie horror marathon, head to the Carey Drive-in. Scream through scenes from creature features, grindhouse gore, spaghetti westerns and more.

Carey, Ohio Drive- In with monster movies come to life, and each room has a different movie come to life. In between the rooms with scare actors is a room showcasing which monster movie hit you will view next. This house was so detailed and it truly feels as if you are stepping into a movie scene. My favorite movie playing is “Mummy Strippers Unwrapped”. Each room gets wilder as you continue, but I won’t spoil all the surprises! This was the first house we did on opening night! This house is my favorite theming wise, because it has so much and is so detailed!

Rating: Alex (👻)- Scare: 2 Aesthetic: 10 Story: 9
Lil Sis (🐈‍⬛)- Scare: 2 Aesthetic: 7 Story: 7

(c) Universal

Insidious: The Further (Orlando) (Soundstage 24, Near Rip Ride Rockit)

Don’t get trapped in The Further as terrifying demons try to ensnare you. The Red-Faced Demon will lure you into his lair behind The Red Door, so he can possess your living body. And KeyFace will unlock your fears with his key-tipped fingers to keep your soul trapped in The Further forever.

Another house, with a movie I haven’t seen, but another house I LOVED in spite of never seeing its inspiration. You enter through a giant red door into The Further, and everything is not what it seems. This house purposefully keeps you on your toes, with mannequin scares, rooms of curtains (my favorite), and some of the best scares of HHN. This house was my favorite house because of its intensity; our RIP guide skipped this house because she said she only needed to do it once. This house scared me a few times because there are areas where you cannot see the scare coming, especially if you don’t know what to expect. I wanted to do this house a second time after the RIP tour, but my sister refused. I cannot wait to do this house again! This is my number one house this year.

Rating: 👻- Scare: 8 Aesthetic: 10 Story: 7
🐈‍⬛- Scare: 11 Aesthetic: 9 Story: 8

Halloween Horror Nights 33 is a can’t miss event. From flying She-Wolfs, to dancing marshmallow men, to interactive houses there is something for every horror fan. I cannot wait to venture back into the fog soon. Don’t fear! If you want to experience the scares for yourself, there is still time. The event runs until Nov 3rd. Which house are you most excited for? Let us know in the comments!

It’s not too late to get assistance planning your Halloween Horror Nights Trip! While the event itself is scary, planning your scarecation doesn’t have to be! Fill out the form below and a travel agent will be in touch to plan your spooky trip!