One of two houses this year Even though Halloween Horror Nights at Universal Orlando Resort has been canceled this year, you can still get a taste of it. Universal decided to open two haunted houses. Unlike Halloween Horror Nights, the two houses are open to the public during regular operating hours. My daughter is a huge fan of Halloween Horror Nights, but I’ve never been. Somehow, I let her talk me into going to the two houses.
I am not a fan of haunted houses. Blame it on a werewolf back from when I was in 10th grade. Still, I figured that this would be okay. At Universal, the Scareactors (the title of the characters in the houses) are not allowed to touch you; unlike that werewolf. I also figured that with social distancing in place, no one would be able to get too close. I am glad that I went, I had a great time.
The first of the two houses that we visited was Universal Monsters: The Bride of Frankenstein Lives. The Scareactors were really into their roles! There were a couple of spots where there might have been a decent scare if there were no walls. Still, they did get me once. There was plenty of blood and gore, but it wasn’t realistic.
The second house is Revenge of the Tooth Fairy. From what I understand, this is brand new this year, and it is a really twisted story! The short version is that a kid refused to give up his tooth, so the Tooth Fairy decided to take it out on the whole family. Story-wise, this one was definitely creepier. We saw a couple of children leave in tears. That said, I think I liked this house more. They got me once with a scare here as well.
The houses are not meant for children who are under 13 years old. There are plenty of signs stating that, but we still saw a lot of kids going through. I wouldn’t recommend them for young children, but I know that there are plenty of tweens out there who could handle them.
There was no wait for either house, but there were markers outside to keep parties apart if there is one. Inside the houses there are plenty of Team Members. Part of their job is to make sure that parties keep apart. Even though there isn’t anything to touch, hand sanitizer was still placed in everyone’s hands before entering.
I can’t compare these houses to Halloween Horror Nights, but I think that they are well done, considering the guidelines that Universal needs to follow. We ended up going through each of them three times. For a few minutes, we had a little bit of fun, while still following guidelines that are designed to keep people safe. Well done, Universal Orlando Resort.
The two houses will be operational at Universal Studios Florida until November 1. If possible, you might want to go on a weekday instead of a weekend, because weekends have been much busier lately. Costumes are allowed for now, although I didn’t see one person wearing one. If you’d like something seasonal for the little ones, head to Islands of Adventure instead. Kids 12 and under can trick or treat there. That is also through November 1.