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HHN Scream Early Review

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A few weeks ago, I was able to visit Universal Orlando for Halloween Horror Nights and did the add-on HHN Scream Early Ticket! Today, I will examine if it was worth it or not to help others decide if they should spend the money.

HHN Scream Early

HHN Scream Early

In prior years, I had an Annual Pass to Universal Orlando. So, I could enter the park whenever I wanted. However, I haven’t had an AP to Universal in a few years. This new Scream Early ticket sounded good to me. It gave me entry to the park at 2 PM and access to some houses early. So, I purchased the add-on ticket for $74.55, including taxes and headed on my way.

Sidenote: A tip I gave in my Halloween Horror Nights at Universal Orlando: Tips for Anxious Folks post years ago was to get acquainted with the park and its layout before the sun goes down. This new Scream Early ticket allows you to walk around the park during the day and spot where the scare zones, food booths, shows, and houses are. I highly recommend entering early if you are a nervous person.

Early Entry Houses

As I stated above, I was able to enter the park at 2 PM. However, due to the heat and rain, I opted to wait until closer to 4 PM to enter the park. Immediately upon entering the park, I headed towards Strangers Things since three houses open at 2 PM for Scream Early attendees. I could have also entered the lines for Hellraiser or Jack & Oddfellow as those also open at 2 PM. After a really reasonable and pretty quick 20 minutes or so wait, I was able to complete the Stranger Things house.

Opening at 5:15 PM, I lined up for Ozzy Osbourne’s house an hour early around 4:15 PM. Thankfully, Universal has opened additional sound stages for guests to wait in this year. So, I sat in a cool area for about an hour. Then, the line started moving and we went back outside for another 20-30 minutes. I was done with my second house by 5:50 PM. Then, I hopped over to the Tribute Store and purchased an Ozzy shirt.

Early Food

After knocking out the two houses I wanted to do, I headed towards some food. The food booths in Gramercy Park opened early. So, I got the Deathbringer Tempura Shrimp to enjoy around 6. Then, I walked around and got the Fried PB&J Bites around 6:20 PM. By 6:30 PM (the official start time for the event), I was sitting down enjoying some Pork BBQ Eggrolls from Sinners!

Is HHN Scream Early worth it?

As I stated above, the HHN Scream Early ticket is perfect for folks who want to wander around and get comfy in the park before it gets dark. It’s also perfect for folks who want to hit up multiple houses. The main drawback is the heat/sun and possibly afternoon storms. However, as I have proven, even if you wait until almost 4, you can still accomplish a lot before the event officially begins! I highly recommend this ticket and thought it was a great deal. I was able to see two houses, eat some food, and grab some merch before the event even began!

2026 Unmasking the Horror 6 House Tour Review at HHN

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I’ve just returned from a visit to Universal Orlando, where I was lucky enough to take the 2026 Unmasking the Horror 6 House Tour! Here’s a look at that experience.

2026 Unmasking the Horror Tour

2026 Unmasking the Horror

Back in 2023, I went to Halloween Horror Nights to see the Stranger Things house. While there, I did the Daytime Lights On Tour and posted a review of that experience. I’ve gotten a couple of comments on that post over the years, so when Stranger Things and Ozzy was announced for 2026, I decided that a trip back to UO was in order! Today, I want to go over my experience and compare it to 2023’s tour.

I’ll start by pointing out that in 2023, I received an email from Universal with a list of houses included on the tour. This year, that wasn’t the case. I booked my tour after someone posted on the HHN subreddit claiming that both Ozzy and ST were on the 6 house tour. So, I don’t know if that’s a permanent change or not. However, I would have preferred some communication from UO stating the houses. Nonetheless, the list the person shared on Reddit was correct.

Once again, this tour is listed as a 5 hour tour. I selected a 10:15 AM slot in order to sleep in some after attending HHN the night before. My tour wrapped up a little after 4 PM. So, I guess the new time guidelines are a little over 5 hours of tour, plus 45 minutes for the included lunch. Also, you have lunch after the 4th house instead of the 3rd now.

This year, the six house tour included: Sinners, Stranger Things 5, Evil Dead Burn, Ozzy Osbourne, Jack & Oddfellow, and Madlands. New for 2026 is that each tour did the houses in the same order, just 15 minutes apart. That way, all of the tour groups cleared the houses that open early for Scream Early (Stranger Things and Jack & Oddfellow open at 2 PM).

Light On Tour Before Lunch

We started out with Jack & Oddfellow. Our tour guide walked us through the story for the house and used his flashlight to show some of the effects in the house. Next up, was Stranger Things. I was happy that we were allowed to take so many photos in this house. Unfortunately, you can’t take photos in the scene where Will uses his powers against a Demogorgon for the first time. I loved being able to photograph the Wheelers kitchen though. Then, we paused for a restroom break.

Afterwards, it was time for Evil Dead Burn. No one in our group had seen the movie, so the guide walked us through the house and the storylines. Our tour guide made it seem interesting enough. I was impressed that he told us that a Universal creative hand-drew some of the artifacts in the room to match a book given to Universal from the film’s folks.

Then, it was time for Ozzy’s house. Unfortunately, we were only allowed to photograph in the first and last rooms of this one. I would have loved to have taken a photo of the train, but that wasn’t included. It was neat to see the little Easter eggs or references to various albums/songs in this house.

Tours After Lunch

We had a 45 minute break for lunch before heading over to Sinners. Once again, we couldn’t photograph a really big scene here: inside Club Juke. However, it was neat to see how the club can appear to be on fire.

Lastly, we toured Madlands. This was an original house that allowed you to photograph to your heart’s content. Unfortunately, I wasn’t really into the premise and didn’t feel compelled to take many photos here. I was impressed with Universal creating a park map and tickets for this fake zoo. So, props for attention to detail. It just wasn’t for me.

Lunch

In my previous review of this tour, I mentioned the stress of having to find lunch during the tour’s break. I’m happy to report that Universal heard our complaints and added a lunch buffet to this tour. Granted, the cost of the tour has increased significantly since I took it three years ago. However, a large part of that is probably going towards the food. It was great to not have to run around looking for food and being scared of missing part of the tour.

We were given 45 minutes to eat lunch. Unfortunately, I was on the last tour group of the day and they were literally taking down the buffet as we entered. In fact, we didn’t get a chance to try all of the food because they ran out and didn’t replace it. So, if food is important to you: don’t book the last tour.

The food itself was ok. I enjoyed some salmon, chicken strips, broccoli, and ravioli. I also liked the pumpkin pie. Supposedly, there were some crepes, but I never even saw them on the buffet. Again, I felt like it wasn’t right that they were clearing the food before we had a chance to eat.

Should you book a 2026 Unmasking the Horror Tour?

I paid $276.89 for this tour, after taxes. That’s a pretty good chunk of change. It also took almost 6 hours to complete the tours. I think it’s worth it if you are a big fan of one of the IPs, HHN in general, want to take photos in the houses, or are interested in seeing how the houses are built. However, I don’t think it’s necessarily a must-do to enjoy the event given the cost and time.

So, have you done a 2026 Unmasking the Horror Tour?

Halloween Horror Nights Solo Tips

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I recently took a trip to Universal Orlando Resort for a Halloween Horror Nights solo visit! I know the slogan for the event tends to be “Never Go Alone”. However, I decided to brave it in order to experience it on my own to see what it’s like. I thought I would share a review and some tips in case anyone else in considering doing the same.

Halloween Horror Nights Solo

Halloween Horror Nights Solo Tips

I know that everyone online makes a big deal about having a Scare Squad to visit with. Unfortunately, I don’t have much in the way of an extended group of people to travel with. So, that wasn’t an option for me. That’s how I ended up doing this year’s HHN by myself.

My Experience

I entered the park during the daytime with my annual pass and queued up for Stranger Things during Stay and Scream time. I managed to go through the house and get a Hellfire Club Sandwich by the time the event officially started at 6:30 PM! So, I highly recommend getting there early.

Also, I’m actually not really into haunted houses, however I really like Stranger Things. I was even more nervous about going through a house alone. However, I found that it didn’t really matter that I was alone as they kind of just push people through the house in a constant single file line.

After the house, I enjoyed some Stranger Things themed food (I enjoyed the sandwich even if it was a little too spicy for my sensitive lips and the Hawaiian Surfer Boy pizza was neat). Then, I sat and listened to the jams blasting from the Vamp ’69 scare zone. I also attended the live show and saw the Death Eaters. It was nice to go at my own pace and do as I pleased.

With this experience in mind, here are my tips for anyone planning to brave HHN alone.

Tips

  • Familiarize yourself with the park. I don’t think I would go to HHN alone if I had never been to the park before. I think knowing where at least a few things are makes it easier to navigate the park alone.
  • Pre-game during the daytime. On that same note, I highly recommend at least arriving early enough to see some stuff in the daylight and get a feel for things. I walked through the park the day prior to spot scare zones and the food that I wanted.
  • People watch. This is probably one of my favorite things to do when traveling alone. I enjoy sitting down and people watching. Doing that at HHN is even more fun if you get a view of a scare zone! I recommend getting something to eat prior to sitting down too.
  • Research your must-do’s. Being alone means you can do what you want. However, having an idea of which houses, zones, and foods you want to try is best so you can allocate time to each thing. If you decide to switch to something else, it’s no big deal.
  • No pressure. If you don’t feel comfortable going into a haunted house, don’t go. Being alone means no judgement from anyone else. It’s your night. Spend it however you want.
  • Book a tour. You can book a group RIP Tour to have a group to walk through the houses with. Alternatively, you can do as I did and book the daytime lights on houses tour to look at the houses without the scares.

So, have you ever attended Halloween Horror Nights solo? If so, what was your experience like?

Halloween 2023 at Universal Orlando Resort Guide

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Since I just took a quick trip to UO to experience HHN, I thought I would do a Halloween 2023 at Universal Orlando Resort guide.

Halloween 2023 at Universal Orlando Resort

Halloween 2023 at Universal Orlando

UO is known for their annual scary event, HHN. However, the resort leans into the holiday heavily and you can do various activities across the property to celebrate. Here’s a look at what all you can enjoy!

HHN 2023

Of course, there’s the main event – Halloween Horror Nights. This is what all of the hoopla is about and where things got started. This year there’s 10 houses, 5 scare zones, 1 live show, and themed food! I attended one night solo on this trip, but I didn’t exactly do it like other people. You can read my HHN Solo Tips post to read my full experience. However, I will say that I enjoyed the Stranger Things house and food! I also liked the show and Vamp ’69 scare zone.

I should point out that you can book tours for the houses at HHN. You can read my lights on houses tour review from last week. However, they also offer RIP Tours that allow you to skip the lines at the houses at night with the aid of a tour guide to walk you through the houses.

Themed Photo Opps

Chucky’s Twisted Playground is a room full of photo opportunities featuring Chucky at Universal’s Cabana Bay Beach Resort. However, it’s exclusively for UO resort guests only. Simply present your hotel room key to see 5 unique photo opps. New for 2023, UO has also set up a Universal Monsters themed photo scene at each of the 7 other resorts on property!

Themed Bars and Drinks

Cabana Bay’s Swizzle Lounge became The Spooky Swizzle Lounge complete with pumpkins! There’s also the Spooky Sunset Lounge at Endless Summer – Dockside Inn and Suites. Additionally, all 8 resorts have special themed drinks available at their bars. Plus, City Walk’s Red Coconut Club got a spooky re-theme to become Revenge of the Dead Coconut Club in 3D.

Halloween Tribute Store

I look forward to seeing the highly themed tribute stores whenever I’m visiting the resort. This year’s store for Halloween was themed to a comic book store with a storyline told in comic book form. I enjoyed walking around and taking it all in. My one complaint about this particular store is that it’s so dark in there, it makes it difficult to actually see the merch.

Spooky Season at Universal Orlando Resort

As you can see, there are lots of ways to experience Halloween 2023 at Universal Orlando! From a separately ticketed event with haunted houses to themed drinks and a merch store, there’s a little bit of something for everyone. So, have you ever visited UO in the fall? What do you look forward to the most?

2023 HHN Daytime Houses Tour Review

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Last week, I took a quick solo trip to Universal Orlando to experience Halloween Horror Nights. While there, I was lucky enough to do the HHN Daytime Houses Tour! This is the lights on Unmasking the Horror tour featuring 6 of the 10 haunted houses from Horror Nights. Since I couldn’t find many reviews online prior to booking this, I thought I would review it for others looking for info.

HHN Daytime Houses Tour

HHN Daytime Houses Tour

The whole reason I went to Universal Orlando this time was to see the “Stranger Things” house. My husband and I enjoy watching the show, so I really wanted to see the house. However, I wanted to explore it without being scared and to be able to take pictures to share with my husband. The Unmasking the Horror tour is the only way to do this.

I booked my tour in July, before they announced which houses were included. Sidenote: There’s also a 3 houses one, but this will focus on the 6 house one. So, it was a bit of a gamble. However, “Stranger Things” had been included in the 6 house tour the past two times, so I thought it was a relatively safe one. Thankfully, on August 1st I received an email notifying me of the six houses and “Stranger Things” was included!

2026 Update – I took the 2026 Unmasking the Horror 6 House Tour and did a separate post on it. Click here to see the updates from 2023 to 2026.

Behind the Screams

This is quoted as being a 5 hour tour. My tour time was 10:45 AM and we wrapped up after 4 PM. There was an hour long break for lunch in the middle of the tour. We spent roughly 30 minutes in each house. I had a great, very informative tour guide who walked us through the stories for each house as well as where the scare actors would be and how certain tricks were done. It was an interesting look at the houses as well as the development process.

This tour included: Universal Monsters: Unmasked, Chucky: Ultimate Kill Count, Stranger Things 4, Yeti: Campground Kills, Dueling Dragons: Choose Thy Fate, and Bloodmoon: Dark Offerings. I enjoyed seeing the attention to detail in Stranger Things, Bloodmoon, and Yeti. Universal Monsters was neat with the setting in Paris. Dueling Dragons was the coolest when you finally see the two dragons near the end.

Personally, Chucky in general (not just the house) isn’t for me. My tour guide is a Chucky house defender as he doesn’t think everyone understands the premise of the house. However, I am just not into the character or storyline. I attempted to watch the show prior to my trip and couldn’t get into it. However, it seemed neat for any fans as I recognized several scenes just from watching a few episodes.

It’s probably obvious, but my favorite house was the Stranger Things one. I enjoyed feeling like I was actually in the show. Plus, now I have pictures of Eddie’s house.

Pros

  • Perfect for IP fans – If you are a fan of any of the IPs or are intrigued by the original house stories, then this is perfect for you.
  • Great for HHN fans – This tour is also perfect for any fans of HHN who are interested in learning how the houses are designed and set up.
  • Good for horror fans – I thought it was neat learning how some of the scares/tricks are performed.
  • Can take some photos – This is the only way (besides being media) that you can take photos inside the houses. Granted, it is limited, particularly in IP houses. However, it’s still neat.
  • Can slow down – At HHN, they tend to run you through houses pretty quickly and there’s no way you will see everything. A tour is much slower and little details are pointed out and explained.

Cons

  • Expensive – It was over $100 for me to do this tour and it doesn’t include admission to HHN or the parks.
  • Long – Similar to my guidance in my Universal Holiday Tour Review, this is not an activity where you sit around and listen. Five hours is a long time to spend on anything, so make sure you are truly interested and capable of walking that long.
  • Rushed – While the walkthroughs were slower than at night, the tour still felt a little rushed at times. Also, lunch was stressful as we had one hour to go get something, eat it, and be ready to see Stranger Things. I wish the tour included a lunch, even a sandwich to cut out the stress of missing a house. I also feel compelled to point out that we didn’t get a single restroom break. The only break we had was for lunch. So, that wasn’t good for staying hydrated or the bladder. Ha.

Is the HHN Daytime Houses Tour worth it?

I think the HHN Daytime Houses Tour is only worth it if you are a fan of one of the IPs or horror in general. Plus, I don’t know that it would be a great use of time for someone’s first visit to Universal Orlando. However, I enjoyed my tour and don’t regret it one bit. So, have you ever done a Horror Nights tour?