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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?

Disney World Halloween vs Christmas: Holidays Compared

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With the holidays quickly approaching, I thought I would write a post comparing Disney World Halloween vs Christmas!

Disney World Halloween vs Christmas

Disney World Halloween vs Christmas

I’ve seen lots of folks online wondering if they should plan a trip to Walt Disney World during the fall months to experience Halloween or wait to experience Christmas. Today, I’d like to help people decide which one is right for them by comparing Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party to Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party!

The Decor

Let’s start with the most obvious difference – the holiday decor! For Halloween, you can expect to see Main Street decked out in orange with lots of pumpkins! Plus, there’s fun character pumpkin wreaths around the park. For Christmas, there’s garland and Mickey wreaths. Don’t forget the huge tree at the front of Main Street!

For me, I think I prefer the Halloween decor because it’s unique. I can see Christmas wreaths back home and around town. However, you don’t see near as much fall decor or specialty fall wreaths around.

The Entertainment

I wrote a Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party Guide with Tips a few years ago and took a look at all of the different entertainment options at the party. From a parade to fireworks and special castle stage shows, there’s lots to see and experience. My Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party Review briefly touched on the entertainment at its party. However, it is very similar offerings at the Christmas party, with fireworks, a parade, and stage show too.

Again, I would pick Halloween for this one. However, I feel like lots of places offer good Christmas shows that the whole family can enjoy. Once again, I think it’s harder to find a good Halloween offering that is family friendly.

The Treats

Who doesn’t love to go trick-or-treating? I love visiting the Halloween party and coming away with a full bag of candy! It’s fun to go around the park and see what all goodies you can get! The Christmas party hands out cookies and drinks. I enjoy that too. However, I can eat several pieces of candy and only a few cookies. Full disclosure: the vast majority of candy and cookies typically come home with me to be enjoyed for days to weeks to come.

I think the candy has to win due to being able to enjoy several different pieces of it versus just a few cookies.

Outfits

Lots of folks dress up in costumes for the Halloween party. I enjoy sitting on Main Street and watching people walk by in their outfits. At Christmas, people wear a variety of Christmas outfits. Typically, it’s a Christmas shirt/sweater or pajamas. I think the Halloween costumes are more fun.

Ambiance

Halloween will get some of the catchy tunes stuck in your head “It’s really not so scary…. boo to you!”. However, there’s something special about watching it snow on Main Street! So, I’ll give Christmas this one.

Weather

Unfortunately, Halloween takes place during hurricane season. So, you will have to deal with the heat and potentially storms if you visit during Halloween. By Christmas, hurricane season is mostly over and it’s cooled down. I’ve got to hand this one to Christmas. Granted, it can be chilly at Christmas parties, but I’d rather deal with that than the heat of summer/fall in August.

Other Offerings

People can visit just for the parties, but they often visit the other parks on their trip. So, I will say that Halloween is mostly concentrated at Magic Kingdom. Epcot will have Food & Wine in the fall. Hollywood Studios may have a few Halloween treats and their character dining gets a Halloween layover. Animal Kingdom usually doesn’t do much of anything, but may get a few Halloween treats.

Christmas at Disney is a whole thing. Every park has special decor and events! Hollywood Studios has Jollywood Nights. Epcot has Festival of the Holidays. Animal Kingdom has the merry menagerie. Disney Springs even has specially themed trees! The resorts get in on the fun too with special trees and decor.

So, if you are wanting a full holiday experience, then you have to go at Christmas!

Should you visit Disney for Halloween or Christmas?

I love visiting Disney for both holidays. However, I’ve been hard pressed to find a comparable Halloween experience. Meanwhile, I love Christmas and can be happy with the offerings at lots of different places. So, I will vote for Halloween but just know that I don’t think there’s a bad answer here. You are going to Disney and it’s going to be great!

Goofy’s Kitchen Halloween Breakfast at Disneyland Review

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On my recent visit to Disneyland, I was able to try Goofy’s Kitchen Halloween Breakfast! Here’s a look at that experience!

Goofy's Kitchen Halloween Breakfast

Goofy’s Kitchen Halloween Breakfast

Last year, I was able to do the Fall Brunch at this restaurant. So, this trip, I opted to book a breakfast time slot. Breakfast is a few dollars cheaper ($69 vs $74). Plus, I thought this would give everyone a good idea of the differences between the two meals.

The Characters

Even though I technically ate here last year, I got to see the characters in different costumes! Disney is continuing to use last year’s Halloween costumes at this meal. That’s great for anyone who didn’t visit last year or for anyone (like me) who didn’t get to see everyone in their costumes last year. Once again, I got to meet Goofy, Minnie, Chip, and Dale in last year’s costumes! Unfortunately, I missed out on seeing Pluto.

You get a picture with Goofy when you first arrive and it’s uploaded to your Disney account. Then, you see the other characters during the meal. I had several great interactions with the characters at this meal. In fact, I wore last year’s Disneyland Halloween shirt to this meal, which matched this meal’s vibe and costumes! Minnie actually noticed my shirt and was excited about it!

The Food

As I stated above, I booked a breakfast time slot. However, I have to admit I was a touch disappointed with the food this time. The waffles were as hard as a rock! I tried to cut an ear off and it was almost too hard to cut! The pizza was also tough and hard to cut or bite. I don’t remember what it was called, but there’s also a Mickey shaped egg thing. It tasted ok enough but was also tough. I’m guessing the food was left sitting out too long and got hard/tough.

The dessert spread was plentiful. Although, it’s still odd to me that they serve dessert at breakfast. The beignets/donuts were pretty good. I also liked the cinnamon roll.

Is Goofy’s Kitchen Halloween Breakfast worth it?

At $69, it’s a pretty pricey meal! Personally, given the quality of the food, I was disappointed in this meal. I think from now on I will just stick with brunch as I prefer those types of foods. Plus, it seems like that food might be fresher.

Clarabelle’s Enchanted Halloween Dinner Review

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I’ve just returned from another solo trip to Disneyland where I got to experience the new Clarabelle’s Enchanted Halloween Dinner! So, here’s a review of that experience.

Clarabelle's Enchanted Halloween Dinner

Clarabelle’s Enchanted Halloween Dinner

Clarabelle’s Enchanted Halloween Dinner is the newest seasonal character dinner meal at Disneyland Resort. It’s held at Storytellers Cafe at the Grand Californian Hotel during dinner only. During the morning hours right now, you can experience Mickey’s Autumn Adventures Brunch or Breakfast, which I was lucky enough to do last year. You can click that link to read my review of that meal.

I will start by saying that this turned into a really long meal. For whatever reason, they were running behind schedule. I wasn’t seated until 20 minutes after my reservation time. An hour later, I had seen only two characters! It took right at two hours to see everyone! I don’t know that I’ve had a character meal last that long since they are usually pushing you out the door. However, I did notice several people approaching the characters before they came to their table. If you are reading this, please don’t do that. The whole point of a character meal is that the characters come to your table while you are eating.

The Characters

The best part of this meal has to be the special characters! Let’s start with the fact that it’s headliner is Clarabelle Cow! I actually had never met her, so it was exciting to finally meet her. Also, I’m a sucker for Donald. So, I am happy to see Disneyland adding more Donald to the character meals. Daisy, Goofy, and Pluto are also at this meal.

Plus, I loved that the characters are wearing Halloween costumes! It was the perfect way to begin my Halloween trip to Disneyland!

The Food

Given the high price tag for this meal, I appreciated the various food options here. The standout items to me were the lobster ravioli and pumpkin bread pudding. The ravioli was the only thing I went back for for seconds. The salmon was also pretty good as were the mashed potatoes. The apple cider pork chop didn’t have as much of an apple cider flavor as I was hoping for. The chicken was a little dry. The vegetable medley was good but basic. The pumpkin cookie was fine. I actually liked the bat macaron. It features a peanut butter cream that I really liked. The chocolate cake thing was meh for me. A little one note.

Overall, it’s an elevated buffet meal. I think there’s something for everyone at this meal.

Is Clarabelle’s Enchanted Halloween Dinner worth it?

It costs $79 per adult, plus tax and gratuity to eat this meal (Kids are $42). So, it’s a really expensive meal. Plus, this experience ended up running long. So, I think those are important pieces of information to know before declaring this meal worth it or not. Personally, I enjoyed the food and loved meeting the characters in their unique costumes. So, it was worth it for me. However, it’s definitely a budget buster and time suck. I can see other folks determining it’s not worth it.