If you love a good scare, get excited for Universal Orlando’s Halloween Horror Nights 2018! The Halloween event made its opening debut Friday, Sept 14 and runs through November 3th. If you know us, you know we love Halloween Horror Nights Orlando! This is our 7th year in a row going, and before we became bloggers, we attended just like you. This year, we partnered with Universal Resort Orlando to attend Halloween Horror Nights Orlando 2018 for the purpose of this review and, as a result, for the first time ever, we got to try out a Halloween Horror Nights Express Pass. That being said, we know that upgrading to a Halloween Horror Nights 2018 express pass or taking a RIP tour isn’t always in the budget [but if you can swing it, it will save you a ton of time!] Before we get started, check out the Halloween Horror Nights Orlando 2018 houses map which also includes information about the HHN 28 scare zones.

 

There are strategies to seeing all of the 2018 Halloween Horror Nights Houses in one night without an express pass and if you comment below we will tell you ours! If you don’t think you will have time to see everything, we put together this list of the top Halloween Horror Nights Orlando 2018 houses and scare zones you should make sure to put on the top of your list. Get your tickets to 2018 Halloween Horror Nights Orlando here and get started planning your frightful trip to Halloween Horror Nights 2018!

 

We obviously think you should try your best to make it to all of the houses at Universal Orlando Resort’s Halloween Horror Nights 2018 but if you can’t make it to all of them, our suggestions are below. We know how busy and fun a trip to Halloween Horror Nights can be and we know you may not make it to every house! That being said, these are the 2018 Halloween Horror Nights Houses you just cannot miss! [Please forgive the quality of the photographs..taking photos of scare zones and houses while it is dark while walking can be difficult!]

Halloween Horror Nights Orlando 2018: The Best Haunted Houses You Shouldn’t Miss

The “Seed Of Extinction” House Was Our Favorite At Halloween Horror Nights Orlando 2018

My best friend who had gone to Halloween Horror Nights Orlando a week earlier told us that we must do the “Seeds Of Extinction” House. It was the last house we did of the night and we didn’t know what to expect. She called it “the plant house” and since I love plants I figured it could be cool! From the moment we stepped inside, “Seeds Of Extinction” became our very favorite Halloween Horror Nights house of 2018!

This house is NOT based on a famous movie and is a Universal Studios original creation. What we loved about this HHN 28 House was the originality and the scares! While zombies, bats, swamp witches, and killer clowns are all cool, killer plants are not overdone in the Halloween industry. You may be reading this and may be bored because “ew plants” but we are here to tell you this was also hands down the scariest house at Halloween Horror Nights Orlando 2018 too!

Why was “Seeds Of Extinction” the scariest HHN 28 house? Because the scare actors blended in so well with the surroundings you could never spot them! In many houses, you can sometimes look ahead and see if a scare actor is hiding against a wall or something of that nature and possibly predict the scare. In “Seeds Of Extinction” every scare actor is dressed up in organic matter, be it giant lumps of moss, covered in leaves, whatever. They will stand against the wall or up in other foliage and you will never see it coming! The originality and the max scare factor are the top reasons why we think “Seeds Of Extinction” should be the top Halloween Horror Nights Orlando House you choose to visit!

Netflix’s “Stranger Things” House At HHN 28 Was Lifelike And Realistic

We are HUGE Stranger Things fans so when we found out that Halloween Horror Nights Orlando would be having a Stranger Things Haunted House in 2018, we were thrilled! Since Stranger Things is so unique and brand new, we didn’t know what to expect as it had never been done before! From start to finish, this Halloween Horror Nights House was like jumping into the first season of Stranger Things.

We do not say this lightly as houses in years past are similar but not exact [looking at you Walking Dead]. Every single detail in the Stranger Things house was PERFECT to the Netflix Original Series. Not to give too much away, but the Demogorgon certainly makes multiple appearances and jumped out in stood for 5 seconds in the middle of the path in front of Terrence’s face. Who did I get scared by? Freaking Hopper of all people, one of the least scary characters in the entire show! It was so lifelike and exactly what it would be like living in the Stranger Things World.

Again, not to give too much away, but my favorite scene in the Stranger Things House at Halloween Horror Nights Orlando is the scene from the first season when Hopper and Will’s mom are in the upside down in the hazmat suits searching for Will. This scene was so well done at Halloween Horror Nights 2018 that you felt like you were walking right along with them! The Stranger Things House is the most popular house at HHN 28 so we recommend saving it for LAST! Don’t waste 2 hours of your day starting with this house first. Enjoy other Halloween Horror Nights Orlando Houses and finish big with Stranger Things.

The “Slaughterhouse Sinema” Halloween Horror Nights 2018 House Is An 80’s Extravaganza

This is another Halloween Horror Nights 2018 house my best friend suggested, another Universal Studios Original, and another winner to make our top list! This Halloween Horror Nights Orlando 2018 House was SO MUCH FUN and so unique! The amount of work that must have gone in to creating and executing the idea is clearly seen when you visit “Slaughterhouse Sinema.”

The theme of this Halloween Horror Nights House is 80’s movies/80’s horror movies. Everything is a throwback to one of the greatest decades of all time. If it was simply an 80’s haunted house, that would be cool, but may not land it on our top list. So why did “Slaughterhouse Sinema” land on our list of Halloween Horror Nights Orlando 2018 Houses you must see?

Each and every room of this HHN 28 House is themed on a different fake 80’s movie. When you walk between rooms, there is a made-up 80’s movie poster hanging in the hallway. This poster is a preview for the room that is to come and the scene that you will be stepping into! It took us a while to catch on that this is actually what was happening, but when we did, we enjoyed the house even more!

When you visit “Slaughterhouse Sinema” make sure to keep an eye out on ALL the movie posters in the hallways you walk through as this is exactly what the next room will be portraying! It is fun and unique and one of the most well-done Halloween Horror Nights Orlando 2018 houses!

The “Poltergeist” House Is Your Worst Nightmare Come To Life

The Poltergeist House is another one of the most popular Halloween Horror Nights Orlando Houses this year and it is easy to see why. I originally told Terrence I didn’t think this one would be that scary as I’m not scared by ghosts/demons, but boy was I super duper wrong! This HHN 28 house is based on the movie Poltergeist and the Haunted House depicts an actual haunted house atop a hill.

The variety of Poltergeist scare actors are what made this Halloween Horror Nights Orlando House scary. It wasn’t that they jumped out at you and startled you like the “Seeds Of Extinction” House above, it was that they were actually just scary and terrifying! The costumes, designs, and scale of these demons was incredibly life-like and I was sorry I said I didn’t think it would be scary! If you appreciate horrifying demons, make sure the Poltergeist House is on your list when you visit Halloween Horror Nights Orlando 2018.

The “Carnival Graveyard” House Had A Fresh Take On Killer Clowns

How many times have we seen haunted houses with killer clowns during Halloween? A lot. The “Carnival Graveyard” House At Halloween Horror Nights Orlando 2018 was so different from any other type of “clown” haunted house we had ever experienced! Now, carnivals are something that make me uncomfortable in real life, so I was very judgey before going into this HHN 28 house.

“Carnival Graveyard” was NOT the fun, bright colored, clown haunted house you are used to seeing. It was very “dark” and realistic and looked like a run down carnival which honestly gives me the creeps as again, carnivals and clowns scare me in general! We loved this 2018 Halloween Horror Nights House because it wasn’t as brightly colored as the usual clown house.

This Universal Studios Original house is a must, especially if you hate clowns in real life or are jaded from visiting “carnival” themed haunted houses at events. We won’t say more as we don’t want to spoil it for you, but “Carnival Graveyard” is worth the visit when you attend Halloween Horror Nights Orlando 2018.

Halloween Horror Nights 2018: The Best Scare Zones You Shouldn’t Miss

“The Harvest” Scare Zone Is Visually Stunning

“The Harvest” Scare Zone is the best to visit at Universal Orlando Halloween Horror Nights 2018. and was very similar to last year’s “Trick Or Treat” Scare Zone. It also made our list of best scare zones last year and it once again makes the cut. “The Harvest” Scare Zone is more visually stunning than it is scary, although there were more than enough people running around and screaming in fear!

There are thousands of hand-carved pumpkins suspended from the trees and you will run into living pumpkins who have had their heads smashed in and more scary characters during your walk through this  Halloween Horror Nights Orlando 2018 Scare Zone. This Scare Zone is perfect for those of you who love more “traditional” Halloween as there are lots of pumpkins and “Halloween” colors decorating the area. Make sure to take some time to enjoy “The Harvest” Scare Zone at  Halloween Horror Nights Orlando 2018 but watch your back!

The “Vamp ’85 New Years Eve” Scare Zone Is Fun But Startling

The Vamp ’85 New Years Eve Scare Zone AT Halloween Horror Nights 2018 essentially transports you to the New Years Eve “ball drop” In Time Square in 1985. There is a rockin’ dance performance and we were enjoying the show when the dancers broke apart and became scare actors! There were SO MANY of them that you couldn’t tell who was a scare actor and who was just a regular person in the crowd!

The Vamp ’85 New Years Eve Scare Zone is fun because it is 1980’s theme, but startling because the scare actors are very unassuming until they are RIGHT on you. They aren’t dressed like a scary ghoul or clown. They are dressed as 80’s vampires and you won’t see them coming until after they scare you! We enjoyed a cold drink while hanging out in this scare zone and so many people got scared because they couldn’t initially tell who was who! Make sure to stay for the dance performance when visiting this scare zone at Halloween Horror Nights 2018!

And there you have it! Another epic year at Halloween Horror Nights Orlando 2018 and more houses than ever to review! If you have already gone to Orlando’s Halloween Horror Nights, comment below and tell us what your favorite houses and scare zones were! Did they line up with our suggested ones? This is our favorite event of the year and we hope you have a great time!

Please note: This post was written in collaboration with Universal Orlando Resort Halloween Horror Nights. All opinions and statements are true and our own and do not reflect Universal’ Orlando Resort’s views.