Four weeks ago, before Halloween Horror Nights 34 even started, we convened a panel here to discuss whether we thought the event’s impending lineup was any good; now that we’ve had two weekends under our belts actually experiencing that roster firsthand, we’re coming back to the round table in order to tackle the next logical question: has Universal been able to deliver on all that immense potential?

Joining us for this Horrors Untold roundtable is another slate of all-star Horror Nights veterans:

• Seth – author of The Unofficial Guide to Universal Orlando
• (Speculation) Matt – HHN Twitter personality extraordinaire
• Ian – co-host of ParkStop Podcast and member of December Blue

(Note that our conversation started shortly after the event’s opening weekend concluded and continued on throughout the second weekend.)

Marc, creative lead of Horrors Untold:

So… the first weekend of HHN 34 is in the books. What did we think of it? What was the most surprising element to you (a specific scene, a bite or sip, an ops set-up — any- and everything under the Horror Nights sun)? What was the most disappointing? And what do you think is the most likely to change over the course of the event this year?

Seth, theme-park journalist/maestro:

I was lucky enough to be invited for media night, so perhaps I was influenced by the luxury of a free RIP Tour, but after my first visit, I think this is the strongest HHN so far of the 2020s. The creative team has been stretched thin on major projects for the past couple years, but you can really tell that Mike Aiello and Lora Sauls “got the band back together” for this year’s edition, resulting in a more aesthetically coherent event.

My biggest delightful surprise was the reinvention of the scare zones, which I feel had devolved into glorified selfie stations over the years (although not as photo-focused as what I experienced at HHN in Universal Studios Japan!). This year’s scarezones – especially the Toxic Twenties in New York and Cat Lady of Crooked Lane in Hollywood – return to being open-air haunted houses, with strong story-based set pieces and character interactions. Don’t miss the mini-show at the house in front of Animal Actors!

My only big disappointments this year, as longtime fans of both franchises, were the Fallout and Jason Universe houses. Fallout had some fun fan-service Easter eggs but felt unbalanced with too much focus on Lucy, and not enough of the Ghoul. And although I know many others loved the non-stop parade of Jason jump-scares, I sorely missed seeing any iconic kills from the Friday the 13th films.

The element most likely to change before the event ends is the optional bloodbath finale of Terrifier. It was already causing technical delays on opening night, and was disabled during my second run. Unfortunately, for now it’s also the only path that sees the dramatic finale, so I suggest enjoying the shower while you still can.

Matt, speculation impresario:

Although HHN 34 just officially kicked off, my experience with this event began back in June, when the very first lighting rigs began to appear around the park. From that moment, it became evident that this year was going to be unlike any other – I was seeing more lighting and signs of construction than ever. The idea that this year was going to be different in the best ways possible stayed true all throughout the rest of construction season, from seeing the return of the iconic pumpkin trees in Central Park to the toxic green goo of New York. Each set piece I saw was not only massive in scale, but incredibly detailed; there was so much theming being added in every nook and cranny of the park.

After following the construction updates near-daily for two months, it was finally time for the event to commence. There’s nothing that beats seeing the fog roll in and the park come to life. In my opinion, it is clear that the creative and operational teams behind HHN looked at last year and recognized that the product presented was not what guests wanted. Halloween Horror Nights 34 is one of the best event years I have ever experienced: the IP lineup is immaculate, there are some incredible scenic elements in the houses, the zones are detailed, and the new street experiences make the event feel more well-rounded. 

With HHN 34, the biggest surprise for me thus far was just how fun the “Art Attacks” are. Seeing Art the Clown roam around and interact with guests is simply incredible – the performers are phenomenal, and you can tell that guests genuinely love him. In a spooky game of “Where’s Waldo,” he really can pop up anywhere and everywhere; whenever we do spot him, he’s always spreading fear and joy to everyone he passes. Unfortunately, I do believe that his current format will not last long, as the popularity of the event grows – it’s easy for mobs to form as soon as he’s spotted. I imagine we will start to see him more frequently on balconies or behind queue ropes to ensure that he can entertain guests while maintaining safety and crowd flow, but I hope that there is a happy middle ground to be found.

It’s hard to say that any of the houses or zones this year are inherently “bad.” The most disappointing aspect of this year’s event for me, however, is Club Horror. While I appreciate the initiative to include “street experiences” in addition to traditional scare zones this year, this area falls short. When it was first announced, I had hope that Club Horror would be brimming with excitement and have tons of cool characters running around. Once I saw the platforms installed, I had pictured it as being a great spot to sprinkle in additional meet-and-greets to avoid the pathways clogging up, but, alas, that was not what they are being utilized for. Unless Art the Clown is “crashing” the club, it doesn’t really feel like the party atmosphere that was described, but I do have hope that this concept can be built upon in the future. After all, I love what they are doing with their other street experience, Mel’s Die-In: Zombies.

Overall, this year is incredibly well-done: the IPs are strong, the originals are full of great storytelling, and the zones are the best they’ve been in a while. I hope that the success of HHN 34 will carry into 35 and beyond!

Marc, creative lead of Horrors Untold:

Oh, man – you just had to mention HHN 35, didn’t ya? 

I am curious to see what effect, if any, this will have on next year’s outing… but that’s probably getting ahead of ourselves, isn’t it?

Ian, hardened Dungeons & Dragons vet:

Okay, I am no writer, but let’s give this a go.

I finally got to HHN this past Saturday. We typically do one RIP Tour a year, which is what this night was. We had Josh as a guide for the second year in a row, and I can’t sing his praises enough.

It seems every year they alter the RIP experience slightly. Last year, they had the upstairs of the VIP area set up with some snacks and food before we got escorted into the park slightly early and taken to Cafe La Bamba to start to enjoy our included food and drinks. This year, not only did they have Cafe La Bamba, but they added the Media Center for the Private RIP Tours. We enjoyed both stops. At La Bamba, we ate and enjoyed some small talk and took some pictures before heading over to the Media Center after hearing Art the Clown was there interacting with people. We got there, similar food offerings were out, and so was Art. We had some interactions with him before heading out to the mazes.

This year, I think things were definitely plussed up over 2024. The scare zones were generally a bit better, and I always enjoy the interconnection between them and a house. Now, I always appreciate the hard work and efforts of all involved in creating and running the houses, but this year I felt the level of theming and work was very well done. Jason is, in my opinion, the best use of the Fast & Furious-queue house in a while. I’d say the houses that stuck with me most were, in no particular order, El Artista: A Spanish Haunting, Gálkn: Monsters of the North, Terrifier, and Five Nights at Freddy’s. All for various and differing reasons – some for theming and scale, some for the flat-out views, etc.

Now, I’m not one that is easily scared, so I will have to go off some of the friends’ opinions that were with me. They essentially said the houses were great this year, even better in many ways than last, but 2024 was scarier for them. So, take that as you will.

Overall, I look forward to a couple more visits this year, to try and see what I missed due to staff changeovers and how/if the houses morph at all as the season goes on. Definitely go check out this year’s offerings, though.

For even more on the expansion and evolution of Halloween Horror Nights Orlando, be sure to check out Horrors Untold, the HHN guidebook/immersive horror mystery. You can read samples and buy your copy here.