I went to Opening Night for Halloween Horror Nights 33 so you Don't Have to

I decided to go up to opening night for Halloween Horror Nights 33 at Universal Orlando Resort. I stayed for two hours. The number of people in the park was extremely high, and with how busy it was, all the lines for experiences were ridiculous. I guess it makes sense, a very popular event on a Friday night, which was opening night, on top of it being a holiday weekend. It was a perfect storm.

 I thought I could avoid some of the crowd by not going to the opening ceremonies, so I got there about nine o’clock. I knew I was in for a treat whenever I had to wait to park my car as I got there two hours into the event and every parking booth was open, a sight I have not seen in all my trips to Universal. I finally parked very close to the Volcano Bay security checkpoint where usually only Volcano Bay guests park there. Continuing the theme of full staffing, every security metal detector was fully staffed as well. It took about 20 minutes from the parking booth to the front of the park. I didn’t walk in there with any plan and good thing I didn’t because I probably would have failed miserably. The only thing I wanted to do was check out the scare zones, the crowd levels, maybe check out the tribute store, and on the slight chance that a house was under a 30-minute wait, I would have done a house.

The first “scare zone” called “Duality of Fear” is underneath the Halloween Horror Nights sign when you first walk in. It was four or five people ripping chainsaws really getting you in the mood early. The scare zone's length was rather small as there were no elements in between the two minion attractions.

 I made a right into Hollywood where the second scare zone was called, “Demon Queens” This one showcases the realm of SURR3AL who is one of the icons this year. This one wasn’t the best but it did have one large stage in the center of it with many scareactors performing on it which had a crowd surrounding and watching the two times I walked by.

Continuing on by Mel’s “Die” In which is a fun element but tonight was filled with picture takers lining up for the iconic neon sign. After this, I saw the first wait time sign which showcased the houses with over an hour-long wait and the several attractions open for HHN was hovering about 20 minutes on average except Gringotts which had a 45-minute wait. The crowds weren’t as bad in these areas as no houses and no scare zones were there. It felt good to take a bit of a breather even if I had just got there.

I took a left at Transformers to go check out the food stands and the next scarezone and the crowds came out. There were extremely long lines for all the exclusive items, they tangled all throughout the street leaving the usual crossers minimal room to get to their next places. This area of the park was about to be the new normal.

I walked past the three houses near Fallon and continued to walk by the Tribute Store which ALSO had a line, to enter my next scarezone, which is probably my favorite for this year which was, “Torture Faire” which was their play on a Renaissance Fair. This area was really fun, really crowded, but fun. Great costuming, great little side stages, and main stages that created some annoying bottlenecks but not too bad. It was a fun area. My favorite costumes were the Plague Doctor and the Jester. Both of which walked right beside me as I walked out of the area ready to peel off me onto unsuspecting guests.

The area outside of Fast was once again a nightmare. The crowds were really noticeable on that walkway. I figured it would be as it is pretty bad even during a regular day. I am just glad that the food stand has been taken away from that area to make walking much easier. I went inside Richter’s burger to refill my water bottle and it was PACKED in the bottom portion. If you turned left into the next room there were empty tables, and outside the back and on most of the perimeter of the restaurant there were empty tables and room to breathe if you need a break.

Right after Richter’s is another scarezone which is based on Blumhouse. Just a billboard for their production company. A few characters from their movies are spotlighted on stages like Megan and the character from Black Phone. Followed by another billboard for their property The Wolfman releasing in 2025.

Another small breathing area by Diagon Alley and if you go in, the Death Eaters are sometimes roaming. I went in at the top of an hour and it looks like they have a little show every hour would be my guess with the Death Eaters. Near the show is always nuts, I wasn’t able to do it tonight but during the rest of the event I will get over there.

The bridge to Simpsons is always crazy as they have two pop-up tents serving exclusive items. By Men in Black there is another house near their bathrooms and this area was once again, BUSY. The coke freestyle stations were also full.

The Simpsons area was not as busy, but once you get to the exclusive food stands the people in line started coming out into the walkway. It wasn’t nearly as bad as it was in New York. Dreamworks Land is closed off during the event, as the two house entrances are no longer a part of the event.

At this point, I was about ready to leave, the craziness of the park had gotten to me. I avoided the last scare zone by cutting through the show viewing area and walked to the Tribute Store in hopes the line was gone. I was definitely not used to seeing a line for a store. It had gotten even busier, passing by the Rockit and the house line was into the concert switchbacks usually illustrating how busy of a night it is. I was bobbing and weaving through the crowds to see a line was still formed by the Tribute Store. After fighting through the crowds for two hours I called it a night. Hoping to come back during a lighter crowd day.

The experience was a bit mixed. I am extremely excited for HHN, all the houses, and exclusive items but I will not be coming back on opening night. The lines for these experiences far surpassed my want to experience them. I will come back in a week or so to try again.

If you can help it, avoid the opening weekend. It is hot, it is busy, and the lines aren’t moving as efficiently as they will be. Give it some time, let them work out all the bugs, let it cool down in Florida, and give it a try.