Closing Down Halloween Horror Nights: Is it Worth the Exhaustion?

HHN closing it down

Halloween Horror Nights is one of my favorite theme park events. I have been going consistently ever since I moved to Orlando in 2021. Back then I was working at Universal, so I was able to take advantage of team member preview. An awesome perk for working at the company. Unfortunately, I don’t have that luxury so I have to try all sorts of strategies to get as many houses done as possible. 

It was a Saturday in September and the lines were hovering around 45-60 minutes. We decided to shut it down instead of Stay and Scream. As a person that usually goes to bed at 1030-11:30 I wasn’t too excited about the idea of showing up to the event at 11:00. We had 3 hours to do as much as we could. 

At the toll plaza they had more than enough lanes open, I believe a new change this year is that free parking is only available at midnight instead of 10 PM. We got parked and from the time we left our house to the front gate of Universal was 30 minutes. The crowd was leaving the park as we fought the crowd to enter instead of exit. 

When we first got into the park, the scare zones were really light but the wait times were still heavier than what I wanted. The only one below 30 minutes was Museum. A house that I was not looking forward to. It was posted and we waited 11 minutes. The best part was that the line was constantly flowing, a very mediocre house though. 

We had already gone through Monsters and Goblins so we skipped it in favor of a 35 minute Sweets wait. Slaughter Sinema was about an hour so we avoided that one too. The Sweets line went by slower but a much better experience as most of it was in air conditioning. This was our longest wait of the night at 25 minutes. One of the better houses for sure. 

We stopped by the bar at Lombards which was completely empty and got a drink to wait in the longest line in the back, Slaughter Sinema. Posted 35 minutes and we waited 17. Not quite as pleasant of a wait, but the house was extremely fun.

Finally we made our way to the front to end the night. I was tired, it was 1 AM and we were walking all over the place. 

We walked immediately into Triplets, no wait at all. It was posted 20 minutes. 

Next was Ghostbusters which was a 30 minute posted wait and we did it in 10 minutes. After this one I was really feeling tired. I had been in the park for only two and a half hours but I was ready to go home to sleep. 

Against my better judgment I was talked into Quiet Place. Posted at 30 minutes and we once again waited for 10. Before we could get to Insidious the park closed. Six houses in three hours with no express. With two of them being two of the most popular houses, Ghostbusters and Quiet Place done in a combined 20 minutes. 

Goblins and Monsters were walk ons when we were in line for Sinema so it could have been an even more successful night. I think if we got there at 10:00 we could have done every house that night. Ending with the big ones in the front. While everyone waits in the sun during Stay and Scream, which should be added into the wait time for the houses. You can relax and go later in the night and do all the ones you want.